#she's elizabeth bennet coded

[spilledw1ne]

Satoru Gojo is apologizing to her. Today is a series of firsts for both of them.

It's an untrue, needlessly sharp thought born from habit; her cataloguing this interaction as if he doesn't have an ounce of seriousness in his body. As if Gojo is a wicked, cruel god sent to play with the unworthy mortals like herself until they no longer fit his entertainment quota. His heart is a mysterious thing but it's not unknowable.

He touches her now with care despite the shock of the situation, lets her hide her face as she rides out the lingering wave of grief, knowing how quick she is to fluster and forget herself. I'm here to save you.... Utahime... Maybe she should be mad -- where was this Gojo all along? But she isn't.

She's a wreck, and she doesn't know what any of this means, except for the fact that Gojo means something to her. He always has. A light is what he is, vibrant in a way that makes her want to reach for it, like trying to catch a livewire between cupped palms. Maybe it's the fear of the burn that has always held her back.

Utahime lets her arms wind around his waist, cheek pressing into his chest, willing his heartbeat to sing the truth to her. He smells real, no lingering scent of blood and cursed spirit that she half expects. He's whole, strong, beneath the squeeze of her limbs. "I couldn't stand the thought that I might have sent you to your death," she holds herself against him a little longer. "You're a hard person to replace. It's so annoying."

She pulls back to look at him, letting her arms drop and choosing to ignore the loss she feels because of it. Part of her wishes he'd take the blindfold off, just this once, and part of her knows it would only make things worse. "I like having you around, believe it or not. I know I haven't always.... suggested that. But I do. I couldn't stop thinking about all of the..." things I didn't get to say. Things I didn't know I wanted to say. "I couldn't stop thinking about you."

it’s like this day keeps getting weirder, she just kissed him, and now she’s crying over him. utahime, the same woman who had always voiced some kind of dislike for him, is crying over him now. he’s stunned, at least for a few moments, letting her shake him. and then, using the hand that rests against his cheek, he wipes away some of her tears.

“ i’m sorry. ” the words slip out, before he can say anything. there’s no joke, no snarky comment about how she actually is crying, just a genuine apology. he can’t even imagine how she must’ve felt, how he sought her out, how things ended after…

utahime, you cryin’? teen satoru gojo would’ve eaten this up, tease her relentlessly for crying over him. but he doesn’t, not yet, anyways. maybe when things have calmed down.

instead, he leans down, giving her a proper hug, holding her in his arms. maybe it’s to protect some of her dignity, he’s no longer staring at her, after all. or maybe it’s because he wants to hold onto her, provide some kind of comfort, for being the reason tears are being shed. or maybe, it’s a little bit of both.

he might be playing with fire now, kissing the top of her head, before resting his chin on top of it. “ i know i should’ve reached out, but i just… ” didn’t think you cared. “ but i’m here now, right? that’s what matters. ”

[bring-cringe-back]

Okay I might just be reading too much into this. But while I was watching the episode *cough cough* procrastinating *cough cough I realised that they don't show how the Doctor and Ruby got there.

And I know that it's probably just meant to be vaguely like 'they just went for fun'.

BUT this is the third episode in a row where we haven't seen them arrive. And for 73 yards it was clearly a doctor who episode when it started but it immediately gets rid of the doctor. ( I know that for 73 yards and for dot and bubble it was because Ncuti Gatwa was filming other stuff but let me cook) In Dot and Bubble you could effectively be forgiven for assuming that it was a random Black Mirror episode or something similar until the Doctor turns up, and tbh if you were just flicking through channels and haven't been watching Doctor Who you could probably basically not know for much longer. In Rogue they are just there, except for the title screen (the same for dot and bubble) you could basically watch it as a Bridgerton episode until the Chuldur turn up.

(And there's whole other rant about how the Chuldur fits into the theory about this basically being a TV show within a TV show, I don't know the name for this theory)

But anyway these episodes are increasingly separated from the Doctor and Ruby as plot points particularly in the beginning of episodes. They are more and more like an excuse to tell the story or explore the topic that the writers want to explore. Which isn't totally different from the occasional episode of previous series, but this is a lot more in my memory at least from previous series. So it feels a lot like they are skimming over the more sci-fi doctor who elements. Which fits in in my mind to the idea that the 'One who waits' is a representation of story telling. I've seen theories that it's Ruby but she doesn't know it which makes sense, I think it would also make sense for it to be her parent(s) who left her, or alternatively just it's own thing all together. But it feels very like that bit where Amy is living a life and starts to realise it's all fake.

The narrowing down of these episodes into not showing them arriving, and at least in Rogue - I can't remember in the others - not showing them leaving the story, feels very different.

It feels more and more like story telling. They have covered fairy tales, Period pieces/Romance, Dystopia, War/SciFi, Musicals, Political Drama. They are also showing the doctor playing his role, something that we see companions doing often enough but we seldom see the doctor doing it.

In Space Babies he is scared of a new creature. In the Devil's Code he sings a song that makes little sense in the story, he doesn't question the road making noise. In Boom he's more himself but it's also the closes to his 'normal' environment. In 73 Yards they just fully remove him from the story, which I realise was done for filming requirements but would have been so interesting to see the doctor in a Political drama. In Dot and Bubble he plays the role of the outsider bringing information to those living under a Dystopia, how is he UNABLE to access the inside, sure he plays a role that's fairly similar to himself but Doctor Who is really Dystopian.

In Rogue he is becoming more and more his role, he is playing the role of a sort of Elizabeth Bennet style character, a strong romantic interest for the brooding man. Which is great, he makes fun of the genre, but he is hyper aware of the genre and still ends up in its pitfalls. He trusts a man so quickly he ends up handing over his sonic, he gets proposed to and basically immediately accepts. Now I am really hoping that Rogue gets to stay around I really liked him as a character, regardless of which theory of his identity if any are true. But the Doctors reaction to him is still a little out of character, he is feeling what he is SUPPOSED to feel and he is acting how he is SUPPOSED to act.

It just feels to me like an increasing number of these episodes are more and more story like and more and more separated from the more Doctor Who elements. And the lack of an introduction of how they get there, and the lack of them leaving in the TARDIS is so unusual to me and stands out to my brain so much.

It feels like they are removing elements that don't fit the genre. Anyway not sure if that makes any sense but I'm vibing with it.

[the-doomed-witch]

hey boo, can u make 1800's reader and married nat having secret affair but reader convinces nat to run away with her somewhere else where they can live and love peacefully, inspired by ivy and the lakes

MAGNIFICENTLY CURSED

Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Summary: You question your need for running away with the woman you love passionately, but her dreamy desires do it for you anyway. // based on ivy by Taylor Swift; the lakes by Taylor Swift

Word Count: 1.0k

Warnings: 18+ ONLY MINORS+MEN DNI. set in the 1800s, infidelity, homophobia + closeting, allusions to smut not really described, nat is like a whole ass poet bro i will cry 😭

SEND ME REQUESTS BASED ON TAYLOR SWIFT SONGS

Author’s Note: hi anon, i hope this justifies your request <3 obviously this is emisue-dead poets society-anne with an e-elizabeth bennet coded bc i’m a raging lesbian with an obsession with the 1800s for no reason at all🤭

MASTERLIST // NAVIGATION

— ✦ —

Stealing glances with Natasha was the glory of her. She was a distinguished woman, known to be married to one of the most revered men in town. The ladies at the lunch discussed stories of her well established marriage, but no one knew the truth except you, and Natasha.

Sometimes you would go to meet her, with the excuse of needing to talk with her clinquishly. Her husband was a fine fellow, a gentleman who’d welcome you to their warm domicile, and let you take your time alone with his wife.

On the days when your blood boiled with envy of his nauseating smile, you’d meet her in forbidden places, near rivers of estrangement, and away from the common folk.

She held no love for him, you weren’t oblivious like the neighbourhood women. What made you bitter was the way he was associated with her throughout the town. He was the one credited with your efforts of making her the happiest woman around.

Oh how you longed for Natasha to be known as your lady.

But it’s worth struggling for, when she touches your lips, when she kisses them, and when her hands entangle with yours. “My most beloved,” she addresses you every time before she dares to break the space between the two of you. You respond, “Yes, my lady.” before leaning in.

It’s been years of meeting Natasha in darkness and in delight, touching her as if speaking of poetry. Your hands find their place in the heat beneath her gown, leaving her to the euphoria of gushing. She does the same for you in return, sometimes sitting on her knees to have a peek of what her fingers feel.

You have a rendezvous in the privacy of her own house, while he’s patiently sitting on the porch, doing something like pretending to read a newspaper. She sighs loudly against your kiss, it’s almost romantical.

He knocks on the shut door, asking if everything was alright. You break your contact with her abruptly, and answer him with a loud, stern voice, “Yes, Natasha is trying a new corset I brought along with me. Nothing to worry about.” He walks away with not a single penny of care, unbeknownst to everything you could do only if his wife had her corset taken off.

“I sense something bizarre about you today, my love.” she remarks, pushing your back against the stone cold wall, opposite to which is sat the notorious husband. To think the two of you could be vulnerable within inches was a terrifying thought. “I don’t think standing here is a good idea..”

“What would he even do if he finds us out? He can burn this house all he wants, at least my death greets me with you in my arms.”

“Natasha…”

“Tell me what is troubling you, my Y/N. What is so tragical that I can’t take it away from you?”

Her poetic mouth never failed to leave you enraptured. “W- well, all I've thought of since the past nights is running away. I mean to take you along, but I’m troubled by all the presumed consequences.”

“You meaning to take me along is singularly the greatest thing I’ve heard. To be with my muse, in a place where all the poets went to die, is a privilege I'm blessed to have.”

“I don’t belong, and Natasha, neither do you, you understand it, and I know it. But going out into the wild, with no shelter to take? I’m worried to death.”

“Again, my beloved, at least death greets us with you in my arms. I don’t fear it.”

You entwine your finger in her fierce red hair, and pull her face close to yours till you can hear her breathe and feel her heart pound against your chest and tell her, “Your musings, God, they make me want to be with you all the time, alone. Your poetry is the sole reason I live, dearest.”

“You’re the sole reason my poetry lives. You’re my muse, Y/N.”

You push her against her vanity, with an attempt to taste her delicacy, this time not confining her sounds to your secrecy. You lift up your leg, to give Natasha a place for grinding slowly. The skirt of her apron is lifted, along with her pale yellow dress.

The door smashes open, with her husband walking in, “You’ve been alone for far too- What is going on here?!”

Natasha speaks in a fake pleading voice, “Sir, let me explain to you.” before she gives you a long kiss, and grabs your hand. She squeezes your palm, hinting you to follow her along.

His chin falls agape, the green nerves of around his wrist pop out, irefully.

“What monstrosity is this, Natasha? I thought you were a pristine lady, but evidently you’re a disgustful woman! You should be- Get away from her Y/N!” He comes forward to push you away, but she doesn’t let him finish, and runs out of the house with you.

You hold up your dress to make yourself a room to run with her through the fields. After fleeing for a while, you notice he has missed the trail. So she tugs your arm again, making you run till you reach the illustrious lake, till you’re out of breath.

She laughs as you hold her in an embrace, and screams towards the deserted forests and mountains on the other side of the lake, “I can feel the freedom in me. I can feel it in my blood!” Her voice echoes back at you.

You join her laughter, eyes filled with tears, and cry out, “I am in love with Natasha! I am a woman, and I wholeheartedly love another.” She pecks your lips repeatedly, till you can’t stop laughing and hold her blushing red cheeks away from yours, “We’ll find ourselves a home, we’ll find us a way to live. I promise you.”

You lace her gentle hands with yours. They’re cold with the breeze and the disquietude. You grasp her untamed heart, and she cleaves on to your pain.

[bethanydelleman]

The scene at the Netherfield Ball with Caroline Bingley is very interesting to me because I think Elizabeth Bennet, by saying that Darcy was behind it, entirely misinterprets what's happening. We also know that what Caroline says is entirely true (this is the important part in between the snobbery): Let me recommend you, however, as a friend, not to give implicit confidence to all his assertions; for as to Mr. Darcy’s using him ill, it is perfectly false; for, on the contrary, he has always been remarkably kind to him, though George Wickham has treated Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner. In my opinion, there are three possible explanations for why she did this, and two of them are praiseworthy:

She was trying to protect Darcy from slander (Good)

Caroline knew her brother was interested in Jane and was trying to keep the Bennet family from getting worse

Caroline was surprised by how much Darcy hated Wickham and decided to tell Lizzy about it, despite it being against Caroline's interests. Rgency girl code! Added bonus that it might shame Lizzy (still a good deed)

It makes absolutely no sense for Caroline to tell Lizzy just to make fun of her, Caroline is smart enough to know that the best way to get rid of a rival is for them to be into someone else. It’s even better in this case for Lizzy to like Wickham because Darcy hates him. And she has ample other things to make fun of Lizzy about! Her family is making an absolute embarrassment of themselves all over the ball.

I think the real point of this scene is to show how people disregard information if it comes from a source they dislike. Lizzy falls for Wickham's charming flattery, but she dislikes Caroline's haughty sneer and therefore totally ignores the truth.

[firthbetterorfirthworse]

2005 Pride & Prejudice

oh boy. I realize I am about to tread on dangerous ground here

I will say that I fully recognize that my prejudice (snort giggle) has influenced when I've seen this in the past. Colin Firth was my first Darcy and that's a hard thing to let go of, even setting aside my obsession preference for him.

That being said, this movie is visually GORGEOUS. Beautiful shots, sets, music, etc. I just...don't love the characterizations of the main characters. Most of the secondary characters I love! Explaining Charlotte's viewpoint for a modern audience and making her warmer, an awkward Collins (I could make a whole post about how if P&P were written today we would consider Collins autistic-coded), they did great! Also, Caroline gives the sassiest, bitchiest curtsies, which I adore.

I appreciate Lady Catherine, not just because I love Dame Judi Dench but because they clearly paint a picture of someone holding onto the past. Not that the costumes in this adaptation are particularly, you know....accurate. in any way. BUT she's got a style that more closely aligns with 1790s than 1810s. (Although maybe that was intentional? Cursory googling suggests the director wanted to bring it back in time but then why isn't everyon- you know what it's fine, it's fine I'm not gonna get into it here, but basically be hyper-accurate or throw all realism out the window, there shouldn't be an in between it just feels lazy)

I very much appreciate the heat in the proposal. It is a FIGHT. I think modern audiences can easily lose that feeling when they're reading the dated text on the page, but they are saying VERY impassioned things and making accusations and I really appreciate the energy this adaptation brings! And the almost kiss, it's hot I get it it's not true to the book but it's fine it's not fair of me to care so much for inaccuracy in this adaptation but not others. still gonna tho I miss the intimacy of her admitting the tragedy of Lydia only to Mr. Darcy, I understand that having the Gardiners there saves time and is more appropriate, but I have strong feelings about that scene where Elizabeth returns Mr. Darcy's trust when she doesn't have to and how it really speaks to her feelings.

Speaking of Lydia, LOVE that she's clearly so so young. Sometimes it's not as obvious.

And my dear Mr. Darcy, bold of you of all people to help Mr. Bingley practice a proposal

but oh dear if that scene isn't just absolutely adorable. I appreciate that this Bingley found some fortitude and requested a private audience with Jane. On second thought, maybe it's for the best that Darcy is the one to help him so he can be like "here's what not to say"

(I'm sorry, she even tells Mr. Bennet about what Darcy did for the family and they STILL didn't include the line about "I'll offer to pay him back, he'll rant and rave about his love for you, and that will be an end to the matter"?? How rude) (But I do adore Donald Sutherland, good scene for him)

The little epilogue scene is sweet, it's cute. I understand why people love this movie. It just doesn't hit me the same way please don't hate me

[odyssean-flower]

reader in the winding path of fate is totally elizabeth bennet coded. that woman with a quiet kind of beauty, that you don’t notice unless you look at her a few times. that you don’t get to know in just a few small talks because she’s SO much more than that. i stan her. i love her. i’d die for her. she has neuvilette wrapped around her little finger and she doesn’t even realize that man is whipped

Lololol you see the vision! I always liked heroines who go their own way and leave their love interests running after them haha

[whosbian]

sometimes i wonder if jane austen would disapprove of me lesbianifying Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet and calling them audhd… then I realize she’s 1. Dead and 2. If she didn’t want this to happen why are her characters so audhd and lesbian coded? Huh? Riddle me this.

[brightbookworm]

this is so Elizabeth Bennet coded. She’s so me

[shadowqueenjude]

Hello~ I hope you're having a wonderful day! ^^

I absolutely loved reading your thoughts on my last question. Your responses always make me smile! It's not just that I agree and relate to them, but it's also so much fun talking with someone who loves and appreciates Elain and Lucien as much as I do <3

Let's keep the fun going with another question ^^

What AU couple(s) do you think has the most Elucien vibes?

Also, what are some of your favorite fictional couples besides Elucien (they don’t have to be limited to books)?

- Your Secret Santa 💗🦊

AHHHHHH HI SECRET SANTA

Sorry for answering late, I took a looong nap haha.

I’m not sure what you’re asking for on the first one, so I hope this is what you were looking for!

Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are SOOOOO elucien coded. Nick being sly as hell (and a literal fox??) and teasing Judy and Judy being prim and proper yet matching him for every stroke!

I shared this video here some time ago, but this is literally Elucien!

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider are SOOOOOO elucien coded! I headcanon Elain as a healer, and Rapunzel can heal. people. with. her. HAIR??? And Flynn being this snarky, smooth talker who’s rendered completely awkward around Rapunzel??? Magnificent. Flynn showing Rapunzel the lanterns 🤝 Lucien showing Elain the tulips

Lastly, Finnick and Annie are so Elucien coded! Imagining Elucien in the Hunger Games, I imagine it would’ve gone something like that! Elain is more resourceful than people realize, so she could’ve won just like Annie, but it would hurt her. It robbed her of her light. She becomes close to the Elain at the beginning of ACOWAR. Meanwhile Lucien being so fucking hot that it’s literally pointed out by everyone but he’s in love with only one person. And Finnick and Lulu are both SA victims 😢

As for my favorite ships…

I recently got into Star Wars and when I tell you I have the biggest Anidala (Anakin and Padme) obsession 😩they’re actually happily married and living with their twin children your honor.

I love the Bridgerton TV show, but of course my favorite couple is Kanthony (Kate and Anthony)🥰. Ugh, their RAW chemistry on screen…you forget that Jonathan Bailey is actually gay😂

(also a bonus but Kanthony is regency Neris coded)

I loooooove Snowbaird! If I had a nickel for every time my blonde hair blue eyed blorbos fumbled a baddie and became a genocidal dictator, I’d have two nickels, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

My bio says Jurdan (Jude and Cardan), but Ima be real I’m not a huuuge fan of the ship because of how Cardan treats her in the beginning… I’m more just a Jude fan haha.

Elide and Lorcan from Throne of Glass has my whole heart! My favorite SJM couple that is confirmed endgame! Ruhn and Lidia from Crescent City is amazing too!

My first ever OTP was Percabeth (Percy and Annabeth) from Percy Jackson and they will always hold a special place in my heart even if they’re not my CURRENT obsession.

Maxon and America from The Selection is pretty great too!

And of course, I’m a P&P addict, so Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy has to be on here😍

A super niche one, but Queen Katharine and Pietyr Renard from the Three Dark Crowns series is so beautiful too!

[songs-about-girls-like-me]

Code Names

I am very proud of calling the names here actual Code Names and not only just cool names I chose. I am totally taking this from how Carrie in Sex&TheCity changed Mr. Big's name lol I think it's brilliant!!

My name: Rees.

Starting in R and finishing in S, this is code name for the main character in all self insert fanfictions of the 2010's (a.k.a. Rayis)!! Loll I thought it was cool to include that piece of fanfiction culture here and I tried to find a name inspired in "y/n" but "Rees" convinced me in the end. Plus, it sounds very blue to me, and that's my fav color.

The Besties

Olivia: when bestie moved to England and noticed everyone there had a middle name, which she doesn't, I gave her the name "Olivia" as her middle name in 2013 lol had her in my phone as that for years. Also, One Direction's Olivia.

Ella: short for Elizabeth, inspired in Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice cause bestie loves the movies but also, she wanted to be called "Ella" as a nickname in 2011 lol.

MJ: inspired in her real name's initials, and also Mary Jane Watson from spider man. Both Kirsten Dunst and Zendaya version, cause she is the ultimate cool-girl girl, just like them.

Poppy: inspired in Poppy Moore from Wild Child, cause she reminds me too much of her. And we all were very obsessed with the movie, she gave my real life those vibes.

Indie: taken from the literal genre of indie music. Bestie had the most wannabe indie vibes of the bunch and she really made an effort to like cool music. We bonded over tumblr., music and shows. We love.

Lol I actually love how these turned out. Plus, iykyk. First chapter coming today!

[blocksruinedme]

My hallmark Christmas Smalletho + smallidarity au. it was supposed to be a quick summary of an idea, surely less than 1k.

It's not done and it's over 5k. It's almost Christmas so I'm posting what I have, there will be more. If you want to watch it happen in real time, dm me here or on discord to join my server. You must be 1) 18+ 2) not morality cop. (kill the cop inside yourself who says to police other people. acab.)

Alright so. Joel is a big city boy who is burning out hard cause he's such a toxic sweat. he's in a long term healthy and happy relationship with jimmy. Joel spends december in to rural canada (not as rural as Joel claims) to take care of his great aunt trudy, who is packing up her house to move to assisted living near her daughter. He plans to spend christmas there because jimmy’s going to visit family, and he’s never been very into christmas.

Joel can work remotely and that's why he's the family member who got sent up to canada. He always liked her when he was a kid, but he was a kid and hasn’t seen her in ages. He went in expecting to find a frail old woman who needed to be rescued, out in the misery of rural...ality? but instead he finds someone feisty, who knows far more than he does about life, and is ready to knock him on his ass if needed. She's not being forced into anything. She used to be very physically active, mountain climbing and shit, but now she wants to live somewhere warmer and be able to call an uber. It's not assisted living, it's like the place my grandma lives, it's just age restricted and has like community center stuff. It’s even queer. Joel realizes in retrospect she was very lesbian coded but he was a kid, and then a sullen early 20 something. 

Every day Jimmy texts Joel to tell him to "touch grass" and Joel grumbles and finds different grass to send him a picture of. One day, bored, he wanders far afield while searching for slightly different grass.... 

Etho finds Joel down on his knees staring at grass. Etho looms over Joel and startles him. Joel yelps and stumbles, and Etho laughs at him and Joel growls like an angry tiny dog. Etho tries to soothe him but Joel rants at him and insults him while Etho tries to hide his amusement. Eventually Joel shouts and storms off and it's the most interesting thing to happen in Etho in years. Who is this guy?

(Note: Getting a bit of a pride and prejudice vibe, but with Etho being less of a bitch than Darcy. Go watch “Fire Island” for gay asian-american pride and prejudice it’s so good. Bowen Yang is Jane. Here, Joel (Elizabeth Bennet)  is convinced Etho (Darcy) is this big imperious asshole who thinks he's better than everyone, but Gem and his great aunt know he's a goober.) 

This is a really small town and Etho... ETHO IS FIXING TO GREAT AUNT TRUDY 'S HOUSE. Which Joel didn't know for a few days cause Trudy didn’t want to have work going the first few days Joel was there. Monday, Joel comes downstairs in his pjs and Etho and Trudy are having coffee together. Joel is in cutesy snail pjs got him for Christmas.

Joel is so angry, enraged, how dare big stupid Etho be helping someone he cares about. Joel storms upstairs (he knows he’s not subtle but it is HARD) and calls Jimmy to rant. After a few minutes, Trudy texts him and says Etho is outside. 

Joel comes back down, fully dressed, and Trudy lets him complain. Yes, she remembers him complaining about the nameless asshole the other day, and now it's the fucking guy fixing up the house so they can sell??? And he lives so close??? How dare he! 

Joel he can’t focus on work, no big deadlines because it’s the end of the year, and he doesn’t even have any meetings. They have a generous vacation policy and things mostly shut down in December. Joel sighs dramatically and shuts his laptop and sulks and paces and Trudy laughs. After an hour of Joel being absurdly grumpy, Etho comes in and says “hey sorry there's a thing I need to do but it's physically impossible without someone else, even for a big strong guy like me”.

Trudy and Etho laugh like there's an inside joke Joel's not part of and he seethes. He hates being excluded, especially if it’s because of *Etho.  And Etho says he'll look for other things he can do while he waits to get someone to help tomorrow. But Joel can't get home until the house is done, and that’s his excuse when he announces he's doing it. And Joel feels like Etho is being patronizing but he isn't. They do the task well, work together easily, and Joel also hates that. He hates everything about Etho, especially the way he stays out and helps Etho with other things even after that one is done. Clearly Etho needs… supervision. Can’t trust that big asshole.

Etho's over every single day for a week. Trudy is constantly finding excuses to send Joel out to offer Etho snacks, or to offer help carrying things. Joel fumes but never actually tries to not go. Trudy feigns "oh I'm too old to go offer him coffee" and it's bullshit and they both know, Trudy doesn’t even keep a straight face.  Etho is terribly amused to see he's being "set up with" Trudy's cranky great nephew from the city. Which is clearly a funny joke, Etho knows that he's a non-serious flirt, and that Trudy knows that, and Joel’s only here a couple weeks. Nothing could possibly happen. So Etho thinks clearly Trudy thinks Joel would enjoy flirting... and Etho quickly finds it really enjoyable to flirt with Joel.  Etho isn't analyzing that right now! Flirting is fun and this is a normal amount of flirting! Flirting is just fun! A game, a game where half the time he just lets himself be super awkward and jokey!  

Now it's Saturday afternoon and Joel hasn't seen Etho since Friday afternoon, and that's FINE that's GREAT actually! Because Etho is so annoying, and he stomps, and the construction work is loud sometimes and wakes Joel up - though of course by the end of the week Joel's out there most of the afternoon, and there hasn't been loud work in the morning. (Joel is too stupid to realize Etho did that on purpose, stopping the loudness in the morning. Such a silly boy.) 

So Joel is restless with no Etho to argue with and be annoyed by. (Note: Etho doesn't think they are arguing and Joel doesn't seem to be really annoyed, now does he?)

Joel goes out shopping and, like Joel was warned, the gps is really spotty out here. So he's pulled over the street and angrily trying to figure out how to get to the store before it closes. He's not going to go back to ask for help and it's just that there's no street signs most of the time, he's going through offline maps, he's absolutely so close to figuring it out when there's a knocking on his car and he SCREAMS. So loud Etho hears him outside Trudy's pickup truck. Joel turns and looks at him with a mix of confusion and rage and Etho steps back, waving. Joel rolls down the window and Etho explains he was waving but Joel wasn't looking up, and Etho instantly realizes Joel's lost and Joel is SO MAD. 

Etho says don’t worry, oh follow me to the store, I need to go to the store anyway. (note: Etho does not need to, he gets some stuff but he wasn't out of anything.) Joel is enraged when they get there because it's like two turns away! Etho could have told him! What, did he think Joel would get lost??? Etho doesn't engage with it, just chuckles and acts like Joel isn't Being Like That. He realized on Wednesday he could just ignore it and it would be fine. 

They finish shopping and Etho really doesn't want to say goodbye, though he tells himself he's just being nice to the traveler. He invites Joel out to go bowling, Etho genuinely is meeting people there. Why would Joel do that! When Etho is so annoying, he could go home and call Jimmy and maybe jerk off together, maybe just complain about Etho, but somehow it seems he said yes, why did he say yes, what the bloody hell now he's renting *bowling shoes*. 

Joel realizes Etho's asking him what he wants on his pizza (they sell it there) and etho knows Joel is vegetarian and isn't being weird about it, which Joel assumed everyone out here would be so he tries to hide it. He said he just wants cheese, then asks for pineapple to see if Etho is mean about it. Etho is not mean about it. By the time Joel has his shoes on, Etho is back and quickly describing people they are meeting and Joel is shocked Etho has friends. He knows that's rude and stupid but he just imagined Etho as a friendless introvert. But he's happy and comfortable with his friends - though it's true he only has a couple friends. 

And GOD DAMN IT but Etho is GOOD at BOWLING. Joel goes to the bathroom and frantically reads about how to get good at bowling real fast. Etho does not comment how it's obvious Joel is suddenly Trying Techniques. They eat pizza, they drink beer (joel doesn't really like beer, he's all into mixology but he drinks anyway after some complaints). Everyone can see they are flirting and generally think it's adorable. 

Joel finds himself genuinely comfortable - he blames the beer for dulling his senses. In truth, the beer is helping him calm down and drop some of his overactive brain that tries to protect him from pain by protecting him from everything. 

They finish a set, or a whatever a round of bowling is. People are taking a break, they go off for more pizza and giant pretzels and deep fried mac and cheese balls and the bathroom and stuff. Etho comes back with beers for himself and Joel. They wind up alone for a few minutes, as Etho teases Joel about his fancy cocktails, asks about them and mentally takes note of his favorites so he can go get the ingredients and... he's not sure what. The alone time stretches on a bit cause Etho’s friends are deliberately staying back and watching. 

Then Gem walks in.

Gem walks in the front door and finds the group trying to look innocent. They all walk back with her cause it would be insanely awkward to have Gem go over alone to Etho who is flirting with Trudy’s nephew who she’s never met. 

Etho isn’t sitting next to Joel, that would be too much to deny, which means once everyone is back they aren't sitting next to each other. Gem sits next to Joel and cheerily says she heard about the new guy, and Joel splutters and says he's temporary, and she's friendly and chatty but god Joel wishes he was still talking to *Etho*. He's so upset that it's true. 

Joel starts texting Jimmy just to have something to focus on, and goes to take his first turn, and comes back to his seat and... Etho and Gem are flirting, They are clearly flirting, and seeing it he realizes several things at once

A) Joel and Etho have absolutely been flirting

B) Etho is flirting with Gem like Joel isn't even there

C) It feels bad D) Joel hates that it feels bad

However bad it feels (a lot), Joel tells himself he can't leave because it would be obvious why, everyone would know he minded Gem and Etho flirting. Then maybe Etho would *say something* or even worse *apologize* and he'd die on the spot. Or maybe Etho wouldn’t say anything, wouldn’t care, wouldn’t offer to walk him to his car, and that’s terrible too. (And more terrible that he wants that)

Joel tries four times to explain the situation to Jimmy, and then just asks if he can do a call later, asking when is Jimmy going to bed.

[cut to: Jimmy looking at his phone with his brow furrowing, ready to stay up as late as Joel needs.]

Two people leave after that set/round, and Gem says Joel has drunk too much to leave, she can drive him home later cause she's not drinking tonight. Joel feels like he’d be sober fairly soon, but Gem’s not *asking*, she's informing Joel that therefore he should drink the beer she's handing him right now, and she's so nice and honestly so pretty and Joel's drinking the beer, and whoever he was splitting the pitcher with says they are done and Joel should finish it.

Why? Because tonight is unique and strange, and Gem has seen *something* and she's not going to let Joel go off and... sulk? She feels like this is a one time opportunity, if she lets Joel get away that'll be it, something will be gone, and for the worse. She can't put words to whatever is going on but she's going to be in control of tonight. 

Meanwhile Joel doesn't even think about the fact that he has a car here that will need to get back, he's so used to just taking cabs/lyfts around it just feels like an alternative to that. 

Etho does not comment, sipping his own beer... and getting another, because he also wants an excuse to not drive. Part of his mind is making a *fuss* about this behavior, making a fuss about the way he keeps looking at Joel, but he's ignoring it.

Eventually bowling is boring. Joel isn't as good as Etho, but he isn't always last, even while drinking. (Maybe everyone except Gem is drunk, but he’s not paying attention to anyone besides Gem and Etho). Joel is texting grumpily and Etho teases him about being grumpy, he says he's explaining to Jimmy that he's drunk on *beer* and it's appalling how far his standards have fallen, he gets over dramatic and silly

Due to miscommunication between multiple people, Etho has wildly misunderstood things and thinks Jimmy is Joel's long time housemate. He knows people in the city do that because everything is so expensive. They’ve lived together across multiple apartments, which sounds nice, to have a friend like that, a partnership of some kind.  Etho thinks they are both queer, which seems normal and also nice.

Gem laughs and asks what Joel normally likes to drink, and Etho starts teasing about Joel's fancy drinks, and Gem moves so she's as far away as she can be (it's a small space). 

[Gem is the woman doing math meme]

Joel winds up at Gem's place, which is walking distance away. He thinks it's because that's how he gets back home - to Trudy's, that is. He’s feeling so complicated and he hates it and there’s no way he can process it tonight. Therefore, Joel is giving himself permission to do whatever because he's very loud about how he's drunk on beer and it's too much liquid to put in one person and he's back to cocktails and shots after this. 

Etho teases him about being small and touches him and it's the first time they've touched. Joel is so ANGRY because he wants Etho to touch him more, touch him in other ways, and either Etho just flirts with people or maybe Gem's his *girlfriend* and Etho's probably *straight* this isn't the city why would he be....

They’re almost to Gem’s and  Etho bumps Joel's side with his own, teases him about thinking too much. Joel gets grumpy back and suddenly they're at Gem's, and it's five people and maybe Etho’s going to leave and it feels like if he does it’s forever, he’ll never see him again, but the other two disappear so fast and it's the three of them. Etho says he can't drive yet but he doesn't *seem* drunk - but then Gem is offering them cocktails, and Joel had sworn off more drinking but it's *civilized* here and Etho laughs so loudly and Joel should really just leave.

He doesn't.

In honor of the season, a prompt:

You have been tapped to write/direct the next Hallmark Christmas special. Which blorbos do you cast as your romantic leads and what's the summary of your feel-good holiday tale?

[jackoshadows]

Why do you think there’s such a strong fixation on Jonsa? I watched the whole series and didn’t see it. I just finished A Game of Thrones and didn’t see it. I’m a big supporter of Jonerys (although I don’t think Kit and Emilia had very good on-screen chemistry but that was partially due to a bad script) but I’m very curious about the mindset going on with people who enjoy other Jon pairings. I can at least see where people are coming from with Jonrya even if I’ll never be able to see them as anything but siblings. They’re very close and think of each other often but at least in book one, Jon and Sansa’s relationship is non-existent. I guess Jon and Dany’s is even more non-existent, but the show at least planted a seed of what could be, and the same cannot be said of Jonsa

I think you are the nonnie who send me the Dany ask and I always hesitate to answer these (rather sensible and intelligent) asks because you have not finished reading the books and I hate to spoil the story for you 😂!

Have you read Pride and Prejudice? The equivalent of the Jonsa ship would be like shipping Darcy and Jane because one likes Jane Bennet and then argue that Darcy actually falls for sweet, gentle Jane and not Elizabeth and that Darcy/Jane is canonical. And if we disagree with this it’s because we are sexist Jane haters because Jane’s a girly girl. Absurd right? That’s pretty much the absurdity of Jonsa for book readers.

So why is Jonsa so popular? Briefly, Jonsa is the result of Sansa stans not liking the canon suitors the author has given the character in the books for various reasons. They want Arya's canonical relationship with Jon possibly turning into a romance for their favorite character Sansa or they want Jon and Sansa falling in love instead of any future romance between Jon and Dany. Which is why 80% of their blogs is devoted to tearing down Dany and Arya and involves an unrecognizable mess of a character they call Jon Snow.

Sansa is also the typical beautiful girl who is into romance and songs and fashion and knights, feasts and tourneys - that’s why she gets shipped with everyone. I think she’s the most shipped character in this fandom. And that’s always been a thing since this series started in the nineties. SanSan or Sansa/Sandor Clegane (The Hound) was one of the most popular ships of the series and GRRM has even commented on it.

[As an aside the funny thing is that GRRM is trying to subvert tropes and also write romance for the non conventional girls like Brienne and Dany and Arya (Lyanna is the equivalent of Helen of Troy and Arya is a mini Lyanna) and still this fandom disparages girls like Arya as being ‘male-coded’, ugly and undesirable.]

With the show, they totally ignored SanSan (Which makes sense considering Rory McCann was like 40 or something on the show and Turner is so young - the show cannot go where the books do in terms of these relationships) and instead gave Sansa the story of another tertiary character in the North. Combining characters meant that she got dumped into Jon Snow’s plot and now all of a sudden we have these two good looking actors Sophie Turner and Kit Harington sharing scenes and Jonsa is born (Despite their characters fighting and arguing in 90% of their scenes, and Sansa lying and betraying Jon).

Benioff and Weiss’ Sansa fanfiction meant that Sansa now gets all of Arya’s story beats and narrative themes on the show. And instead of treating it like a crack ship/AU fanfiction, they try to shove this ship into the books and attack anyone who tries to point out how absurd this ship is. And despite GRRM insisting that his story is different and going in different directions, they think that the garbage writing of the show is going to happen in the books

I would also like to point out that, from my experience in fandom, most Jon Snow fans don’t ship Jonsa. And I am talking about fans who genuinely like book Jon Snow. Not the one’s who claim to be a Jon fan and their blog is 90% about Sansa.These two characters have nothing to do with each other in the books!

Jonsa is a Sansa ship for and by Sansa stans. Jon is simply a prop there for Sansa to become QITN, get a direwolf Ghost, get her disney princess happy ending with ten babies. Their version of Jon Snow has nothing in common with the book character.

To refer back to my original P&P comparison, to make Darcy fall in love with Jane one would have to change Darcy’s entire personality.  If Darcy falls for Jane’s beauty and gentle nature instead of Elizabeth’s wit and intelligence, then that’s no longer Pride and Prejudice is it? That’s an AU version of Pride and Prejudice. Or fanfiction based on Pride and Prejudice.

A Darcy who falls in love with Jane Bennet is not the Darcy in the story Austen is writing. In the same way a Jon Snow who falls in love with Sansa Stark is not the Jon Snow in the story George R R Martin  is telling.  

For Jonsa shippers their Jon Snow will be repulsed by Arya Stark and does not care for her, only helps out his friends because they are stand ins for Sansa, is shallow and self-loathing because he thinks he’s not good enough for beautiful Sansa who ignored him because he’s a bastard and craves for the approval of the woman who abused him, Catelyn Stark.

In fact, the Jonsa fandom came up with one of the worst, most nonsensical iterations of Jon Snow I have ever seen in all my years in this fandom. Let me introduce you to the horror that is Political!Jon. You can google it.

Political!Jon is Littlefinger 2.0, a sociopath who will pretend to love Daenerys to get her dragons, deceive her and then kill her, all his true love Sansa Stark can become QITN. And oh, because he does not want his true love to take care of any undesirable bastards, political!Jon will also give Dany some moon tea to abort her baby - that’s abortion!Jon. And Jonsa shippers think that Jon Snow seducing a rape victim, stealing her children (the dragons), aborting her baby and then killing her for Sansa is all so romantic!!

And if not Jon Snow, then it will be Arya who will kill Dany. That’s the whole point of the sword Jon gave Arya - it’s not about their bond and their love and being symbolic of home and identity for Arya. No, Needle is so that Arya can kill Dany and Jon and Sansa can get together! Arya will then turn into a Jonsa cheerleader and fuck off into nowhere on a ship.

I have always compared the Jonsa shippers to the flat earthers of this fandom. Some of the most ridiculous and absurd theories have come out of that side of the fandom and debating with them is like debating with a wall. One can smush all the book text and quotes in their face and they will still be there talking about how Jon Snow loves Sansa because some snow fell on her face in one of the chapters....

[dwellordream]

“...The commonplace critical opinion of Pride and Prejudice is that Elizabeth has to reconsider her willfully obtuse "prejudice" against Darcy's legitimate "pride," in himself and in his legitimate public humiliation of her. Only readers of eighteenth-century periodicals and of Austen's novels would know that Darcy's inexcusable rudeness to her is similar to the rudeness of The Spectator wits to Mary Astell and of Emma Woodhouse to Miss Bates. Darcy appears to assume that a woman freely thinking in public does not deserve a gentle and loving proposal. Elizabeth does take pride in her judgments of people, and in Darcy's case she was initially profoundly just. It has always seemed to me that Austenian studies persistently offer some very peculiar special pleading on this man's behalf.

Darcy's training has been as deficient in the school of the heart as Catherine Morland's has been in the school of the mind. For all his great privileges, including an extensive library from which he has failed to learn good manners, he refuses to adapt himself rationally and pleasantly to the various social circles to which his rank and his sex introduce him. He lacks social kindness. His type stalk their way not only through the feminist literature of the time, but through the novels of Burney and Edgeworth as well. Elizabeth Bennet's conduct and her speech patterns are supposed to indicate to alert readers that she has resorted to reading, observation, and experience, as well as the Enlightenment feminist imperative to think for herself. She has even had to teach herself "to think on serious subjects," which is a code word for "religious subjects," although as a woman, her creator could not say so (PP, 283). 

The disgraceful marriage of her parents and her repugnance for contemporary dictates about male dominance as she saw it practiced all around her were in conflict with her own ideas of theological and social justice. Darcy's rudeness to her neighbors and to herself offended her understanding of a Christian gentlemen's manners. Elizabeth's conduct-book reading would have warned her not to aspire to Darcy. The men warned women against the sin of social ambition, and the feminists warned them that the Darcys have "tutors and masters in abundance. But all for the head, and none for the heart... . By being taught" to consider themselves only "as heirs to a great fortune," they "lost" that "delicacy of the moral feeling" without which the earth's privileged creatures predictably refuse to recognize the social claims of lesser mortals. The "consciousness of .. . elevated rank, and splendid fortune" ought not to "give birth to pride" in one's birth-privileges and to prejudice against those born without them, but all too often it does (Hamilton, Letters to the Daughter of a Nobleman, I, 164, 165,169, 109-110). 

Elizabeth has had to teach herself the curriculum of both the head and the heart, since her parents refuse to do so. Her observations on the state of affairs between the sexes have been very depressing. Her father had married a stupid woman because he thought too little of women to hope that he might find an intelligent one. He mocks his daughters as "silly girls" throughout the novel, and locks himself in his library, but his books have taught him neither patience with his lot nor kindness to his daughters, whom he has left without any dowries. Elizabeth's neighbor, Sir William Lucas, is genial compared with her misogynist father, but he prefers to go to the expense of playing the village squire rather than providing for his daughters. His delight in his oldest daughter's outrageous marriage is sad commentary on his care as a father. Elizabeth's first and second marriage proposals from two different men both strip her of self-respect. 

She has watched her sister Jane suffer from a flirtatious suitor, who casually takes advantage of the fact that Jane is all heart and no head. The marriage of Charlotte Lucas to Collins is another shock to Elizabeth's sense of the "melancholy disproportion" between the sexes, which is as sharp as her creator's. Elizabeth's first refusal of Darcy is the product of experience and, as he later handsomely admits, of his public rejection of her and his officious meddling in her sister's love affair. But Elizabeth does demonstrate one failure of understanding. Because Darcy and Collins have both treated her as though she deserved no respect, she assumes that charming young George Wickham is trustworthy about facts because he exerts himself to be very attentive to her for self-serving reasons. Wickham tells her one truth that the whole village already knows: Darcy may be an aristocrat but he does not behave like a Christian gentleman when he is bored, and Elizabeth therefore assumes that Wickham, a truth-teller about one subject, is reliable on all subjects. 

Because Wickham is tender toward Elizabeth, she assumes that he has integrity— which he does not. Because Darcy is crassly arrogant, she wrongly assumes that he lacks integrity in family matters. Once he has taken the trouble to show her that he can be as gracious to her and her relatives as a squire should be, she can accept that a man may be a social disaster in public and a caring benefactor to all his dependents in private. Elizabeth's healing of her pathologically shy sister-in-law is one of those marvelous moments when Austen combines irony with tender and reconciliatory feelings: Georgiana Darcy has been her brother's ward for a decade, and his patriarchal style has badly damaged her. 

His new understanding that kind manners make the gentleman and brother, as mere rank, money, and fraternal authority never can, now extends to his sister, whom he graciously consigns to Elizabeth's bracing love, until the "attachment" of the two women becomes "exactly what Darcy," in his new generosity, "had hoped to see." For her part, Georgiana now learns a new understanding about men and women: "Her mind received knowledge which had never before fallen in her way. By Elizabeth's instructions she began to comprehend that a woman may take liberties with her husband, which a brother will not always allow in a sister more than ten years younger than himself' (PP, 387— 388).

…Those few contemporaries of Austen who were familiar with all three types of conduct-book literature would recognize the satire of Emma as a battle of the conduct books. In a rarely perceptive essay called "Reading Characters: Self, Society and Text in Emma" Joseph Litvak describes this novel "as a contest between Emma and Knightley" or "between two equally compelling interpretations of the self—especially the female self—and society." While candidly admitting that "Emma is frequently 'wrong,' " as indeed she is wrong, fully as wrong as Darcy, Litvak claims that "she is 'right' to question the absoluteness with which Knightley" pronounces "the distinction between them... Patriarchal criticism of Emma, of course, takes Knightley's side," in which his "right" seeks to correct her "wrong." 

Litvak is one of the few students of Austen's fiction who insists that readers must "give Emma some respect and construe the conflict" partly as a difference in two distinct perspectives, the male and the female. Many of the dialogues and some crucial authorial comments in Emma address the problem of Emma's education, and implicitly, the education of gentlewomen. Emma's governess was beautifully trained to teach her pupil the feminine understanding of the heart, but she fails dismally because she is sadly deficient in human, or mental understanding, and so she can do nothing to ease the "intellectual solitude" from which Emma suffers (E, 7). Emma is often quite prescient about what is wrong with her education: when she is to be left as nursery governess to her nieces and nephews, her sister charges her to love them and her brother-in-law insists that she discipline them. 

She replies that she can satisfy both charges, since "happiness must preclude false indulgence and physic" (Ε, 311). As a governess, she will not separate the heart (maternal indulgence), from the head, or "physic," that is to say, from cool medicinal treatment when necessary. Readers who enjoy demolishing Emma should look again at a charming scene where she is cuddling an eight-month-old niece, who is "happy to be danced about in her aunt's arms," and all the while, Knightley is giving her one of his scolding sessions, which always contain great justice to his own position, and almost none to hers (Ε, 98). Austen's analysis of Emma's "intellectual solitude" may well have emerged partly from her favorite, Thomas Gisborne. 

While bemoaning the "general contempt" under which women labored, Gisborne nonetheless laid the blame for many women's "mental indolence" upon the women themselves: "disappointed at not perceiving a way open by which they, like their brothers, may distinguish themselves and arise to eminence; they are occasionally heard to declare.. . that the sphere in which women are destined to move is so humble and so limited as neither to require nor to reward assiduity" (Gisborne, Duties of the Female Sex, 10-11). Emma's incapacity for "steady reading.. . industry and patience," and a preference for "fancy" rather than "understanding," for which Knightley condemns her (Ε, 37), are all symptoms of her restless mind, which has never been rewarded for the "assiduity" it does possess. 

She is about to make a sketch of Harriet Smith and she "produced the portfolio containing her various attempts at portraits, for not one of them had ever been finished, that they might decide together on the best size for Harriet." The rest of this authorial description contains a quiet, sad rebuke for a system that had produced this creative apathy in a woman of Emma's quirky brilliance: "her many beginnings were displayed. Miniature, half lengths, whole lengths, pencil, crayon, and watercolours bad all been tried in turn" (E, 44; emphasis mine). Any instructor of troubled youth, particularly troubled women, will recognize this symptom. The contrast between Emma, who is without rigorous and kind instruction, and Jane Fairfax, who "had received every advantage of discipline and culture," is deliberate. Jane lived "with right-minded and well-informed people"; "her heart" and her "understanding," and even "every lighter talent had been done full justice to." 

No wonder these two women are suspicious of each other. Emma had been trained to be a surrogate wife and free nurse-companion to her father. Jane had deliberately been offered the best education possible for a woman, precisely because her feminine poverty forced her to undergo the classical fate of the governess. Now, with "the fortitude of a noviciate," Jane steels herself "to complete the sacrifice and retire from all the pleasure of life, of rational intercourse, equal society, peace and hope," and to abandon herself "to penance and mortification for ever" (Ε, 165). There are four spinsters in this novel, whose education—or lack of it—defines them. Intellectually polished Jane is frantic about her future; the impoverished and untutored Miss Bates, a poor clergyman's fatherless daughter, has none, and Harriet's education has left her as ignorant and as vulnerable as her illegitimacy. 

Emma has had no companion who could "meet her in conversation, rational or playful" (Ε, 7). But there is something very grim about the fact that the three women whose minds had been neglected were trapped at home, whereas the one woman who had been well trained, is now facing exile. There is something even grimmer that Emma and Jane, the two most intelligent women characters, should both be placed "en Penitence." Emma's struggles with the deliberately created split between her head and her heart often leave her morally exhausted with humility and a profound desire to "repress imagination all the rest of her life" (Ε, 142). 

Emma's crimes of the heart, her jealousy of Jane's fully developed talents, her self-serving association with Harriet Smith, and her cruelty to Miss Bates have been so thoroughly canvassed that they have obliterated the intellectual poverty and the other social deformities that have engendered such outrageous behavior. Readers need to consider carefully the plight of a woman such as Emma, who watches over an agoraphobic father so carefully that she can barely leave the house, who grieves for the loss of her governess, even while she rejoices that Miss Taylor has found security in marriage, and whose strong maternal streak has been as thoroughly exploited as her mind has been neglected. 

Anne Elliot, the heroine of Persuasion, is twenty-seven when the novel opens. She is an interesting model of the sadder and less indignant of the moderate feminists such as Wakefield, Reeve, or Austen's favorite, Hamilton, rather than a fictional version of the warrior woman represented by Wollstonecraft and Hays. Her age makes her predicament more poignant and more potentially fatal than the predicament of other Austenian heroines: "She had been forced into prudence in her youth"; now she shares with other intelligent reading heroines of Austen, Burney, and Edgeworth the capacity to muse over her experiences and to make some independent judgments. She "had learned romance as she grew older—the natural sequence of an unnatural beginning" (P, 30). 

That suggestive verb, "forced," and the quietly ominous phrase, "unnatural beginning," describe the difficulties of all Austen's heroines as they begin their perilous journey toward their socially prescribed destiny. As the novel opens, Anne is musing over the eight years of "suffering" that had followed her anguished refusal of the intelligent and witty naval lieutenant, Frederick Wentworth, at her godmother's behest. Anne thinks not only of "the misery of parting" and of the lonely years with a hostile sister and father, during which she had "hardly anybody to love," a fate she shares with all the heroines, but she is also considering the causes and effects of a renewed crisis of the heart (P, 28, 26). 

Even as she prepares herself to face an angry Frederick's return, she is able to separate her mature response—that she need not have refused Frederick as matters turned out—from the received wisdom of her original acquiescence, firmly dictated by all the male conduct-book literature—that subservience to older and presumably wiser heads was appropriate at the time. Anne Elliot has the elegant speech patterns of Elinor Dashwood, Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, and Eleanor Tilney, the charming young woman who will eventually become Catherine Morland's sister-in-law and her female instructor in human understanding. With the exception of Emma, they all try to use their intelligence to instruct defenseless people of either sex in the art of self-protection, as though the role of instructor eased their own "intellectual solitude." 

Anne becomes the bereaved Captain Benwick's tutor in his recovery from grief, in which she has had almost a decade of practice. Like the ideal governesses and tutors, from Astell and Locke to the moderate feminists, Anne's principal tools are "the persuasion" of interest and sympathy under the control of judgment, and exact advice about specific bad habits. In this case, Benwick has collapsed into the dangerous practice of nourishing grief rather than working through it. Anne "had the hope of being of real use to him in some suggestions as to the duty and benefit of struggling against affliction... and to say, that she thought it was the misfortune of poetry, to be seldom safely enjoyed by those who enjoyed it completely." She recommended "a larger allowance of prose in his daily study," such as "memoirs of characters of worth and suffering, as calculated to rouse and fortify the mind by the highest precepts and the strongest examples of moral and religious endurance." 

Anne sounds like Elizabeth Hamilton, whose most pervasive prescription for suffering women was prayer, endurance, and the consolation of bracing literature. Anne may have been properly solemn with Captain Benwick; as a sensitive woman, she knows from experience that it would be the height of crudeness to laugh at suffering or to brush it off. She comforts him and advises him because she is "emboldened" to teach the arts of self healing, "feeling in herself the right of seniority of mind" and of suffering, since he has been in mourning for his dead fiancee for less than a year. But as she says to herself, "he has not, perhaps, a more sorrowing heart than I have. I cannot believe his prospects so blighted forever. He is younger than I am; younger in feeling, if not in fact; younger as a man. He will rally again, and be happy with another" (Ρ, 100-101, 97). 

Anne knows herself very well, although she cannot conquer the unhealthy habit of public diffidence that the early death of her mother and her father's irritable hostility have taught her. Yet she can legitimately lay claim to the province both of the mind and of the heart. Her own "submissive spirit" and her "patience" in the feminine school of adversity have not prevented her from acquiring a "strong understanding" of books and people, which she knows from sad experience can "supply resolution." But she admits that she lacks "that elasticity of mind" with which to repair the internal damage done to her by her father and sister. In some ways, Anne does less than justice to herself and her own gentle humor, which in itself had almost been able "to counterbalance every other want" (P, 154). She is constantly amused to find other people "caught" in the "too common idea of spirit and gentleness being incompatible with each other," an archetype as dangerous as the assumption that separates women's minds and hearts.

As to whether "a persuadable temper" in a woman improves a man's happiness more than "a very resolute character," she ironically asks herself whether "it might not now strike" Frederick "that, like all other qualities of the mind," female resolution, and even male, "should have its proportions and limits" (P, 172, 116). Even after Frederick's profound apologies to Anne that he had not earlier "learnt to distinguish between" her "steadiness of principle," and Louisa Musgrove's "obstinacy of self-will" or between "the resolution of a collected mind" and the needless "darings" of an undisciplined heart, Anne will not exploit his newly learned generosity. If she should wish to redirect the reigns of her marriage to Frederick, she will simply copy Sophia Croft's tactfully persuasive habits with her own commanding naval husband. Frederick's new-born respect for Anne's "perfect excellence of mind" will allow her to do so, because she is artless in the delicacy of her human understanding. Her mind is even more acute than her modesty will admit to herself; in fact, it is almost as "excellent" as Frederick, in the second flush of love, thinks it is (Ρ, 242).”

- Alison G. Sulloway, “The Eve Principle and the Schooling for the Penitent Heart.” in Jane Austen and the Province of Womanhood

[luckydragon10]

P&P Chapter 47

(Chapter 46)

Sentimeter check: The gap between the characters continues to narrow. Will Darcy actually reach positive digits for the first time ever?!

Lizzy +5

Darcy -5

The (completely biased and subjective) point gap is almost nothing now! *gasp*

~~~

Chapter 47

Chapter opening is 100% trying to logic through what's happening, which makes sense, but it gives me very little to call out.

C'mon, give me something to be snarky about!

“But you see that Jane,” said her aunt, “does not think so very ill of Wickham as to believe him capable of the attempt.” Lizzy: “Of whom does Jane ever think ill?"

If Lizzy hadn't said it, I would have.

Mrs. Bennet: "And now here’s Mr. Bennet gone away, and I know he will fight Wickham, wherever he meets him and then he will be killed, and what is to become of us all? The Collinses will turn us out before he is cold in his grave, and if you are not kind to us, brother, I do not know what we shall do.”

She seems to make a hobby of killing off her living family members in her imagination, doesn't she?

“This is a most unfortunate affair, and will probably be much talked of. But we must stem the tide of malice, and pour into the wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation.”

Maybe Mary is employed in a secret service and is actually talking in code to everyone around her, but she doesn't realize no one else is in the secret service.

As for Lydia's letter to Harriet, well, yep, she's a right git is what she is. Still just an idiot child, though, so I'm not wishing harm on her. I imagine she'll come out of this worse for the wear and I hope a lot wiser, one way or another.

Jane, about Mr. Bennet: “I never saw anyone so shocked. He could not speak a word for full ten minutes."

Well. Maybe he'll also be a little wiser after this. Maybe. Growth opportunity, sir! Growth opportunity.

Lizzy: “She had better have stayed at home,” cried Elizabeth; “perhaps she meant well, but, under such a misfortune as this, one cannot see too little of one’s neighbours."

Given the way people gossip about each other in this neighborhood, she's quite right. Good job, guard dog Lizzy. I'll give you 5 points for recovering your familial protectiveness.

(Chapters 48 and 49)

[iamthenightcolormeblack]

Impressions of Wilde (1997)

I really liked this movie and I'm sure you will too! It's a great introduction to Oscar Wilde (who he was, a glimpse into his personal life, and why he remains relevant and incredibly charming) and also a celebration of homosexuality.

1. Overview:

The movie doesn’t tell the whole story of Oscar Wilde's life. It covers the 1880s, his rise to fame and sudden fall, and ends shortly after his 1897 prison release. Some Oscar Wilde fans were disappointed because they wanted to see the early parts of his life (how he got his inspiration and crafted his aesthete persona).

The costumes and sets are absolutely gorgeous and transport you back to the late Victorian era; lots of deep red fabric curtains, detailed mahogany wood furnishings, intricate paintings, and lavish costumes.

The lead actors are amazing and they resemble the real people almost exactly.

2. Casting:

Stephen Fry as Oscar Wilde. One could say he IS Oscar Wilde reincarnated; he looks almost exactly like Wilde. Most importantly he perfectly combines Wilde's charm and intelligence. The film also tries to show Wilde as a father and married man in addition to the "gay fop" identity that he's usually placed in. As much as he mocks society, he's kind and loving (still cares about Bosie even though it's obvious at times that Bosie doesn't deserve his kindness).

Jude Law as Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, Wilde's lover. I must say that Bosie definitely reminds me of Dorian Gray because he's blond, beautiful, and selfish. He throws lots of temper tantrums and reminds me of a teenage boy trying in vain to rebel against his father, the Marquess of Queensbury (Wilde's enemy who plays a big part in his downfall). He does seem to care for/love Wilde, but is still selfish in that his first concern is himself.

Jennifer Ehle as Constance Wilde. You may know her as Elizabeth Bennet from the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. Film Constance is quite intelligent and unconditionally supportive of Oscar Wilde.

3. Scene Recaps:

The film begins quite unusually in the Wild West (no greater contrast between the gritty Colorado mining town and the elegant parlors of London). Wilde makes his entrance in a fancy fur coat, dressed to kill. He successfully entertains the miners with a story about an artist.

Back to London; Wilde was in Colorado on his North American lecture tour. At a party he meets Constance and marries her "because all artists need an audience." Quite an interesting quote because there's this general conception that artists are isolated people who need to get away from society to produce their best works, when in actuality they need others to appreciate their works. Constance is a good match for Wilde because she's intelligent and constantly (coincides with the name) supports him even though he cheats on her with his gay buddies.

We are then treated to a lovely scene where he walks through a crowd of lawyers (marking him as a nonconformist).

Robbie Ross, one of Wilde's best friends, introduces him to gay sex.

“Dinner with lord and lady Asquith” = code language for a fling.

Then he meets John Gray, a handsome bohemian played by Ioan Gruffud, a pretty guy with long hair, and has another fling with him. Gray brings up the idea of art as a means of capturing the soul (inspiration for The Picture of Dorian Gray, which brings scandal to the Wilde family).

Oscar Wilde has 2 boys with Constance. He loves his family and cares about the wife but he’s always away in London working on his plays/stories or having flings with his gay buddies.

I really liked how the film used Oscar Wilde's children's story The Selfish Giant as a metaphor for his relationship with his family. His success isolates him from his family; he's often away and doesn't visit often, much like the giant hides behind a wall.

He meets Bosie at the premiere of the play Lady Windermere’s Fan (not historically accurate). Bosie says something smart to flatter Wilde, summing up what Wilde did in his work: using wit to mock and amuse people simultaneously.

Bosie is a beautiful, selfish rich boy and wants Wilde for his own entertainment. He has some affection for OW but loves himself first; Wilde's friends and Robbie Ross are concerned for him. Wilde and Bosie have a passionate, open relationship. At times Bosie has sex with other men while Wilde watches.

They dine together without a concern for others’ opinion (another of my favorite scenes from the movie).

Wilde genuinely loves Bosie and sees him as the victim of bad parenting (what a pity, since it's unclear at times whether Bosie loves Wilde).

Eventually because of his relationship with Bosie, Wilde makes a powerful enemy in Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensbury. Queensbury attempts to insult Wilde several times before sending him a card accusing Wilde of being a sodomite. Wilde sues for libel and that precipitates his downfall, as all the details of his personal life are revealed.

In the trial, Wilde tries to explain "the love that has no name" and is convicted. Then follows a heartbreaking scene where he tries to maintain his composure while being haggled and booed at by spectators, while his friends can only watch in silence.

Bosie swears to Wilde that he loves him, but while Wilde languishes in jail, he complains that the imprisonment affects him most as he's suffering (what a selfish person).

I have ambivalent feelings about the “happy” ending where Oscar Wilde is reunited with Bosie. As much as I like happy endings in LGBTQ+ movies (because that doesn't often happen), Bosie clearly isn't a very good person and maybe would have been bored with Wilde and left him.

4. Some things not included in the movie:

The film doesn't include the fact that Oscar Wilde slept with teenage boys and male prostitutes. The flings seemed to be consensual but some of the sexual partners were underage.

Constance is advised to change her last name to save her social reputation, but the film doesn't show that she actually did (changed it to Holland).

The last part of the film (the trial to the ending) merely serves to remind us that Wilde was courageous for being a nonconformist in a stifling society. They don't really show what happens to Wilde after his imprisonment with the exception of the reunion with Bosie.

Conclusion:

Definitely watch this movie if you haven't already; it's an excellent introduction to Oscar Wilde, or if you're a Wilde fan, it will be great entertainment.

I was going to write some more intelligent things about this movie but I just started college and I didn't get around to finishing this little post until a few weeks after I watched the movie (so I've forgotten some stuff in it/my other thoughts about it).

[jerakeenc]

It Was You, My Shine Light by old_enough_to_know_better

ATEEZ, K-Pop | Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi | Teen | 11,304 words

The world was grey, shades ranging from brightest white to darkest black. Everything was drab and dreary, until you met your soulmate. At least, that was how it was supposed to work. Mingi's always been able to see in color. How will he ever find his soulmate when he never knows when he'll meet them?

The Family You Choose by TunaFishChris

Avatar: The Last Airbender | Gen | The Gaang & Zuko | Teen | 36,049 words

Some people are born with soulmarks. Zuko has them, but his grandfather burned them off because they "make you weak." Team Avatar has a few things to say about that.

Louder Than Words by TheMarkOfEyghon

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Ripper Giles/Randall | Mature | 36,740 words

In a world where everyone is born with their soulmate's first words to them marked on their arm, Rupert "Ripper" Giles is born with no words at all. Terrified at the prospect of growing up into a life without love, he becomes jaded and embittered, diving headfirst into loveless one-night stands and casual affairs. And then he meets Randall Evans. A non-verbal boy with a bright smile and even brighter eyes and his entire world is sent into a tailspin.

two halves of a soul by angel_deux

Game of Thrones | Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth | Teen | 42,773 words

Brienne really does think it's a coincidence that Cersei Lannister starts being extra cruel to her after catching sight of Brienne's soulmark at a slumber party. It's not.

Après moi le deluge by beyond_belief

Generation Kill | Brad Colbert/Nate Fick | Teen | 15,054 words

"That," he says, "is how you know it was close." - Sebastian Junger, War

The Fault in My Code by LiaS0

Hannibal | Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter | Mature | 90,434 words

Soulmate AU: Soulmates find their other half when they look into their eyes. After the next time they sleep, they wake with one eye the color of their intended. Will Graham avoids eyes. He's never wanted a soulmate, never wanted to be told by the universe who he was supposed to feel a connection to. He already struggles enough with connections, thank you very much. As a psychiatrist, he works with soulmates who have lost their other half through various means, part of a social system that regards the journey to your soulmate as the most important thing a person can do. Coerced by Jack Crawford to consult on a case where the assailant is targeting soulmates, Will finds himself turning to the notorious Dr. Lecter to gain insight on how he's choosing the soulmates to target. Things go horribly awry when he looks into Hannibal's eyes, though. The next morning, he wakes up with one eye blue, the other maroon. He's never wanted a soulmate, least of all one behind bars for murdering dozens of people and eating them. Hannibal thinks it's delightful -it's been dreadfully boring since he was locked up. Romance, thriller, mayhem, mystery, soulmate au with a realistic twist, and a grumpy Will Graham

Written on the Heart by who_la_hoop

Harry Potter | Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter | Explicit | 113,984 words

Harry doesn’t mind that so many Slytherins from his year have returned to finish their NEWTs, really he doesn’t. It’s just – do they have to be so friendly? He’s not prejudiced, really he’s not. It’s just – they’ve got to be up to something, right? Unnerved by the attention he’s attracting from everyone – the Slytherins are the least of it, to be fair – and struggling with a raft of changes to Hogwarts itself, Harry wishes he could be happy that one constant remains: Draco Malfoy really fucking hates him. When he’s hit by an illegal love-spell though, Harry finds he has more to worry about than whether or not Blaise Zabini actually wants to be his friend. For if everyone affected has been blessed – or cursed, by the look on Malfoy’s face – with a magical tattoo revealing the name of their soulmate, what does it mean that Harry’s skin remains completely bare?

Meadow of Ink by esama

Hikaru no Go | Gen | Shindou Hikaru | General Audiences | 933 words

It's the ones that matter who leave a mark.

Fastening One Heart to Every Falling Thing by thefourthvine

Hockey RPF | Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin | Explicit | 51,519 words

Geno can't. Sidney won't.

my heart is gold (but my hands are cold) by Rock_n_Fuckin_Roll

Karate Kid | Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence | Teen | 12,674 words

“No, please, don't, stop!” Those were the words that haunted Johnny Lawrence. One's that followed him day and night, ones that he looked at late at night in the darkness, when no one else was there, and traced them, thinking that they were the rightful punishment he got. That the first time he met his soulmate, they would scream for him to stop. To stay away. It was the punishment for Johnny Lawrence.

Nobody Lost, Nobody Found by ClaraxBarton

Marvel Cinematic Universe | James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton | Explicit | 108,331 words

"Look, dude, I get it. You’re fucked-up. HYDRA fucked you up. I’ve been there. But you’re my fucking Soul Mate!" “I can kill you. I could kill you without even realizing what I was doing. I’m not fucked-up, I’m a monster. I’m a nightmare. You can’t be here. You can’t- All the people I’ve killed- I will not murder my Soul Mate too. Not after everything else I’ve-” Clint worked his left hand between their bodies and managed to land a punch to the man’s right side, forcing him to shift his weight, and Clint brought his right hand down on the place where the man’s metal arm met his torso - hidden by the shirt he wore, but on full display in the video Clint had watched. The man released Clint with a grunt of pain, and Clint pressed his advantage, landing another punch to his abdomen, backing him up against the opposite side of the RV and then pressing the kitchen knife he had pocketed while cleaning up earlier to the man’s throat. “Like I said, I’m not a Boy Scout. I’m plenty dangerous myself. We clear on that?”

The Mark for Everyone's Souls by siderealOtaku

Persona 3 | Arisato Minato/Mochizuki Ryoji | Teen | 2,330 words

Minato Arisato's body is covered in marks. His mother called him blessed, until she saw the pitch-black skull on his left hip. "Death!" she screamed. "He is Death's soulmate!"

An Ever-Fixed Mark by AMarguerite

Pride and Prejudice | Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy | Teen | 190,537 words

One would think that having the name of one's soulmate appear on one's wrist on one's sixteenth birthday would make matrimony much less complicated. It mostly does not. And not at all for Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourne.

Pair Bond by Kass

Stargate Atlantis | Rodney McKay/John Sheppard | Explicit | 5,734 words

"I'm sorry," the librarian said. His voice sounded genuinely regretful. "But I can't possibly grant access to a lone electron."

your favorite old-fashioned fairytale romance by sinead

White Collar | Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey | Explicit | 12,442 words

Such a small touch, that whisper of skin against skin.

can you help me unravel my latest mistake by suzukiblu

The Witcher | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Explicit | 17,099 words

“It’s just a soulmark,” Geralt says, fist tightening. He feels like Jaskier’s about to get up and leave and he’ll never see him again, and he . . . “It doesn’t mean anything.”

See the Long List at Dreamwidth