#so today for example

[bennetsbonnet]

Much has been made of Mr Darcy's "confession" to Elizabeth that he does not converse easily with strangers. It is repeatedly used to support neurodivergent interpretations of his character. And I suppose that when taken at face value, a character confessing that they do not easily converse with strangers and struggle to catch their tone or appear interested in conversation can absolutely scream AUTISM! (I say as an autistic person myself)

But this line is often taken in isolation. When considered in terms of the passage in which it appears in Chapter 31, it appears far less of a smoking gun than may initially be suspected. After some discussion about Elizabeth and Darcy's prior acquaintance in Hertfordshire, Colonel Fitzwilliam asks Elizabeth for information about Darcy's behaviour there. She readily supplies it:

'Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of,' cried Colonel Fitzwilliam. 'I should like to know how he behaves among strangers.' 'You shall hear then—but prepare yourself for something very dreadful. The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire, you must know, was at a ball—and at this ball, what do you think he did? He danced only four dances, though gentlemen were scarce; and, to my certain knowledge, more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner. Mr Darcy, you cannot deny the fact.' 'I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the assembly beyond my own party.'

What Darcy leaves out here is that it was he himself who chose not to be introduced to anybody. As we learn from the description of his behaviour at the Meryton assembly in Chapter 3:

Mr Darcy danced only once with Mrs Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party.

Anyway, Elizabeth correctly does not buy his excuses. Not only does she respond with a cutting sarcastic remark, but she tries to bring the discussion with an end by speaking to Colonel Fitzwilliam:

'True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball-room. Well, Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next? My fingers wait your orders.'

But Darcy does not get the hint and continues conversing with Elizabeth rather than quitting while he's ahead. However, I don't believe him to be missing a social cue here. Rather, this is an exceedingly conceited man who cannot conceive that anyone would not want to speak to such a Superior Being as he and more-so, is determined to defend himself from a perceived slight against his impeccable character.

Then we come to the passage containing the oft-cited line which allegedly contains proof of his neurodivergency:

'Perhaps,' said Darcy, 'I should have judged better, had I sought an introduction; but I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to strangers.' 'Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?' said Elizabeth, still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam. 'Shall we ask him why a man of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is ill-qualified to recommend himself to strangers?' 'I can answer your question,' said Fitzwilliam, 'without applying to him. It is because he will not give himself the trouble.'

Once again, Elizabeth does not buy his excuse for even a single second. She's fully aware of all the advantages a man such as he will have received in society (opportunities not open to women, might I add!) and draws attention to that fact. It's a brilliant, cutting line from her and she really set that one up for Colonel Fitzwilliam to deliver the knockout blow.

Not only do we have the testimony of Mr Darcy's cousin, that 'he will not give himself the trouble,' to appear cordial to strangers, but we have evidence from Wickham too. Although after this statement, Wickham quickly goes onto misrepresent Darcy's kindness to the poor, which contradicts Mrs Reynold's later testimony, I do believe Wickham to be telling the truth (for once!) here, when he tells Elizabeth in Chapter 16:

'Mr Darcy can please where he chooses. He does not want abilities. He can be a conversible companion if he thinks it worth his while.'

Which, again, demonstrates that Darcy is capable when he wants to be. That is the crucial point. Autistic people fundamentally lack the ability to understand social cues, they cannot turn it on and off as they please because they are snobs.

So, now we come to the infamous line about Darcy's supposed social struggles, and I hope that I've provided enough context to the line to make you see that it should not be taken at face value:

'I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,' said Darcy, 'of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.' 'My fingers,' said Elizabeth, 'do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault—because I will not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman’s of superior execution.'

Again, Elizabeth is not buying his excuses for even a single second and tells him if he feels like that, maybe he should put the effort in. She has seen him in numerous social settings and been thoroughly unimpressed with his behaviour which, when you consider his rudeness to her at the Meryton assembly, she has every right to be.

So, what do I make of the line?

Well, I think it's abundantly clear that Darcy absolutely can speak to people when he wants to. Perhaps, in his mind, he struggles to make that deeper connection and make friends easily. But making friends is not always easy, it's a process you must invest time and effort into. If you do not do that, it stands to reason that you will struggle. Plus, if you hold others to ridiculous standards (as Darcy does) without recognising and fixing the flaws within yourself, you're not going to have deep, lasting friendships.

While this quote may appear to be a moment of vulnerability where he does confess a fault of his, which is astounding given his pride, personally I do not think it was not a soul-searching exercise. It was to make Elizabeth stop grilling him. It was self-serving. Although, I don't think he's entirely lying. Darcy is veeeery careful with his words and though this statement is not considered and perhaps comes out rather abruptly, it doesn't necessarily follow that it isn't true. I can imagine that it is probably something he's felt for a while, yet it is a rather desperate attempt to defend himself from a woman who sees right through him.

I think perhaps Darcy does realise that he isn't as naturally gifted as other men he knows (such as Wickham, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Bingley) when it comes to forming acquaintances. However, he looks outwards and turns that bitterness against the world rather than looking inwards, reflecting upon himself and improving his manners which would be the correct thing to do. Thankfully, he later does this, but it took him twenty eight years...

In addition, Darcy appeared to have been under the illusion that he could coast by on Pemberley's reputation... which has always worked... until he met Elizabeth. For perhaps the first time, he encounters a woman who is not awestruck by him and his reputation and delivers the rebuke that he always needed.

So, while personally I'm inclined to believe there is some truth to his statement, as Mr Darcy is many things but he isn't a liar, I think it is said in desperation. His feeling stems from him knowing what he should do, but he can't be bothered to enact it... rather than any inherent social deficiency stemming from being neurodivergent.

Although, even if he does struggle socially, it's still no excuse for the rudeness he displayed to Elizabeth! My main issue with neurodivergent readings of Darcy is when they are deployed to defend his behaviour, when they attribute his rudeness to any potential neurodivergency and when they excuse his laziness. That is an awful message! Autistic people who struggle with social cues often do not, nor should they, go around insulting others. They should and often do put plenty of effort into being considerate and polite. In fact, I think, if anything, a love of rules makes us more likely to have good manners, rather than the reverse.

Ultimately, I'm not sure this line makes Mr Darcy the sympathetic-poor-sweet-innocent-shy-boy-autistic-representation that people want him to be. In fact it makes him look even worse, if anything. On matters such as these, he is every inch the conceited proud man he was widely believed to be at the Meryton assembly. Luckily, Elizabeth is an incredibly smart woman, who doesn't fall for it and immediately calls him out on his behaviour in a way that he has never experienced before. As she should!

[dotpyenji]

Dragalia Lost Period Tracker

[skunkes]

[paradoxbeta]

i wish i got to hear more about the dynamics iterators had with their cities as a whole because i think its one of those things that occasionally gets glazed over in favor of iterator social dynamics post-mass ascension. for this reason i am upgrading glass arena from civil unrest to civil war! anyways... tell me about your iterator/city populace dynamics 👀?

[rururaragaga]

hi kaoru nation

older stuff unda da cut

[razziematazz]

guys is there a reason everyone decided that stones first name is aban and his color is ourple or did that just Happen?

[todayisdeadinside]

ever notice how fetus larry's hugs were always so... stumbly? like they always sort of stumbled into each other's arms and i think thats so cute and precious.

[erinwantstowrite]

More in-depth thoughts on making the switch to csp? I’ve been debating it for a good while now and would love a secondary opinion! Also thoughts on having to use new brushes after the switch? <3

I'd been using krita since 2012, so it felt like i'd be cheating on it if i switched to csp. I think it was a combination of the fact that i know krita very well by now, plus i had made a whole bunch of pens on there and i'm pretty sure i can't bring them with me to csp, etc. oh and also the fact that krita is free. That was major for me, because i grew up without a lot of money and so i learned to work around getting expensive art supplies and such

However... Csp is totally worth it. It's been a process figuring out the set up and configurations, because it's not as simplified as krita (though krita has these same tools, some of them are different in either program. Some things are just two clicks in krita, and take longer in csp, while other things are a fifteen step process and krita, and csp already has an entire docker there waiting for you). But it's not too hard and it's fairly easy to look up anything i have questions about. They would be tied when it comes to set up, if not for the fact that csp has set ups ready to go for comics that feels a lot easier to work with. So that's win 1 for csp

Win 2 for csp was the brushes and stamps, etc that are on there. It takes a lot of getting used to, and i'm not a fan of the stabilization so far (not exactly sure if there is another option yet, but from what i can tell, individual brushes have stabilization options. Not bad, until i struggle to find an overall stabilization option, if there is one). In krita you can just hit "E" and it will turn whatever brush you're using into an eraser with the same texture and settings as the brush, and pressing "E" again turns it back. But in csp, erasers are limited and i don't like them very much.

But!! Texture,,, i'm a big fan of the everything else about the brushes. it kind of feels like working with actual physical materials (as much as it can). Watercolor mixes and acts like it's on real paper, etc etc. i'm really liking the pens that i found (because in csp, you really should be using the assets page to find brushes, or look up tutorials to make your own, but the default brushes are still amazing if you don't want to adventure out!). Krita is very limited on these. Csp sort of gives the effect of physical media and texture, whereas krita always has a digital look to it. If that makes sense? I'm not saying csp doesn't look digital, but it just has way more of that oomph that i've been wanting for my art for years now

All in all, i can say that i still recommend Krita, especially for beginners, and especially for people who can't afford to spend money on a program. It's still a VERY good place to draw and i'll likely still use it. It's a great starter and honestly, you don't have to make a change if you like it. But csp is also very much worth the money and you won't regret it

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

three Bible characters you relate to in some way? with or without elaboration as you wish?

[jon-sedai]

Underrated reason why Lyanna as the KotLT just works is because it follows a pattern of deconstruction re the concept of knightly chivalry and honor, from Lyanna herself to her son 15yrs+ later. Lyanna as the KotLT is a gender-swapped version of the ‘knight rescues a helpless maiden from raucous bullies’ trope, but grrm of course puts his spin on it because one Lyanna is not even a knight to begin with and two, she’s a girl. Then knight!Lyanna fights the bullies which is again an adaptation of another trope: the ‘mysterious knight-errant enters the joust and wins then dips’, which is interesting because these types of knights sometimes fall into the black knight trope. And the black knight is, more often than not, not the hero. But the main reason why this is so interesting is Jon. Lyanna “cosplays” a black knight, but her son Jon later becomes an actual black knight. Jon then repeats his mother’s actions by defending Sam in AGoT, which is another subversion of the aforementioned ‘knight rescues a helpless maiden trope’ because the helpless maiden in this case is a helpless…lad…Though Jon and Lyanna acting as agents outside the bounds of knighthood (Lyanna being a northern woman and Jon being a member of the NW) puts them more in line with the traditional black knight (who is usually an anti-hero/villain), the actual essence of their actions puts them closer to the more valiant and honorable white knight according to tradition.

[nerdy-hyperfixations]

Since I have to be awake for the next who knows how long

Hot take: immediately claiming a female character is evil for having a flaw is misogynistic, but also denying that she ever did anything negative in the first place can also be misogynistic because, while probably unintentional, it reaffirms the idea that women should be flawless.

And Ragatha is indeed very fake. She's like the definition of nice, not necessarily kind.

[likesdoodling]

Got into Witch Hat Atelier last year sometime and yesterday finally got around to drawing Qifrey. And we've got some pictures of Coco too :D

(I'd forgotten my pencil so this was just inked straight without sketching first which is not what I typically do, but I don't think it went tooooooo badly...)

My favourite is definitely the top right one of Qifrey. I was using the manga for reference (hanging out at the public library with a friend so there were books right there), and I really like how it turned out tbh.

[nanistar]

May Commission Roundup!

[sn0wbat]

🏳️‍⚧️

[einarr, he/him]

[myokk]

Hello! I see your art come across my for you page all the time but I just realized I don't know much about your MC! 2, 8, & 15 for Eloise?

Hello ‼️🥹♥️

Eloise is just a little historical fashion barbie for my art BUT the reason I love her is truly for her personality and how I write her🥹 thank you for the questions🫶

2: What’s your MC's favourite subject? What do they like about it? Anything they dislike?

Eloise has two favorite subjects: Arithmancy and Transfiguration. She is very much a person who is trapped inside of her own mind, prefers thinking and theory, and gets a HUGE sense of accomplishment over successfully doing something complicated. & because Arithmancy is numbers-based and she DOES like being able to predict the future somewhat (divination is TOO wishy-washy).

The only subjects she truly hates are Beasts😔 (animals TERRIFY her which makes sense if you’ve read my fic) and the flying class because it is very un-ladylike to wear pants and fly😒

8: Once your MC graduates Hogwarts, what will be their best and worst memories? What will they regret?

Eloise will always associate Hogwarts with positive/bittersweet memories of learning who she is and how to advocate for herself. She makes lifelong friends who like her for her, and grows from a very quiet, self-conscious girl into the woman she was meant to become. But these things don’t come easily for her at all😣 she will always fondly remember lazy afternoons by the Black Lake, excursions to Hogsmeade, her classes…she will NOT miss the quidditch matches though😤

She will regret never being able to repair the relationship with her brother Leonard before he dies though😭😔😔 his death is why she wants to research it as an Unspeakable😔

15: Wildcard: Tell us the funniest/most bizarre fact about your MC

AHHHHHH THIS ONE IS SO HARD BC SHE IS QUIET AND SERIOUS AND MAYBE KIND OF BORING😭😣

She spent five years at a muggle finishing school so thst she could at least give her family more connections with the muggle world and was actually betrothed to be married to a wealthy muggle landowning family (her parents just see her as a way to make connections as we see later on in my fic too😣).

Eloise HATED living with the muggles, they all thought she was so weird bc she CLEARLY came from money and yet they’d never heard of her family, she didn’t even know who Queen Victoria was or the popular composers or authors or ANYTHING😭😭😭 but, ever since that time she has always harbored a deep love for muggle literature and playing the piano♥️

THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS🥹♥️♥️♥️

[greengrassandcyansea]

The dependence on ChatGPT for knowledge is so dangerous and will be responsible for someone’s death someday