Aww!

I got a reblog on my "Faramir/Éowyn consumes Faramir's arc far more than Éowyn's" post that definitely brightened my day:

[A reblog from Tumblr user ravencromwell reading:

#for all! that I stand by my earlier tag comments re Eowyn and Faramir and how Faramir builds a life continuing his brother's work even if #it's not in the White City. this!!!!!!!! is also so very true!!!!!!!! and beautifully fucking written to boot: #op is one of those people with whom my fandoms don't overlap a lot but every! time I see Anghraine on my dash I'm just vibrating #cause this is gonna be thought-provoking and beautiful #LOTR #Eowyn #Faramir]

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Hey, further casting for the Amazon Middle-earth series! They look pretty cool tbh.

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An anon said:

Just wanted to let you know that your The Rich Are Always Respectable series has my favourite Darcy of all time, and really highlights all my favourite aspects of his character from the books. I am not a very emotional person and rarely cry, but every time I re-read it I have tears streaming down my eyes.

I replied:

Oh hey, thanks! I wrote it a long time ago at a very difficult time of my life that it helped me get through, so I’m glad it still speaks to people.

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I reblogged a set of quotes I had posted the previous year, on Christmas of 2019:

Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? To congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?

I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.

I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh. Mr Darcy sends you all the love in the world that he can spare from me. You are all to come to Pemberley at Christmas.

<3

In 2020, I added:

It's that time of year!

Tagged: #i always love imagining that first christmas at pemberley #with georgiana and the gardiner kids and mr and mrs gardiner and darcy and elizabeth all together #i just #:')

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I’ve talked about this a million times before, but every time I see arguments about which broody adapted Darcys are better, I just think of:

“I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love,” said Darcy.

“Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes what is strong already. But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away.”

Darcy only smiled.

-

“There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil—a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.”

“And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody.”

“And yours,” he replied, with a smile, “is wilfully to misunderstand them.”

-

“It is your turn to say something now, Mr Darcy—I talked about the dance, and you ought to make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples.”

He smiled, and assured her that whatever she wished him to say should be said.

-

“What think you of books?” said he, smiling.

“Books—Oh! no. I am sure we never read the same, or not with the same feelings.”

“I am sorry you think so; but if that be the case, there can at least be no want of subject. We may compare our different opinions.”

-

“It is a proof of your own attachment to Hertfordshire. Anything beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I suppose, would appear far.”

As he spoke there was a sort of smile which Elizabeth fancied she understood.

-

“Indeed, Mr Darcy, it is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to my disadvantage in Hertfordshire—and, give me leave to say, very impolitic too—for it is provoking me to retaliate, and such things may come out as will shock your relations to hear.”

“I am not afraid of you,” said he smilingly.

-

“I have always supposed it to be my own fault–because I would 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.”

Darcy smiled and said, “You are perfectly right. You have employed your time much better. No one admitted to the privilege of hearing you can think anything wanting.”

-

Elizabeth walked on in quest of the only face whose features would be known to her. At last it arrested her—and she beheld a striking resemblance of Mr Darcy, with such a smile over the face as she remembered to have sometimes seen when he looked at her.

-

she sat in misery till Mr Darcy appeared again, when, looking at him, she was a little relieved by his smile.

LET 👏 DARCY 👏 SMILE 👏

Tagged: #not tight brief smiles either #darcy smiles enough for it to show up in a /painting/ #or at least he used to and still does around elizabeth #yes he's a fundamentally serious person but not anywhere near to the degree of the adaptations #thanks for coming to my talk and goodbye

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An anon said:

Darcy loving the Gardiners and becoming BFFs with them is one of the best and most underrated aspects of P&P. I'd love to see a fic where they visit Meryton before the ball and Elizabeth's shocked that Darcy actually gets along with them, once he realises they're nothing like Mrs B.

I replied:

It really is one of my favorite parts, and where I see the most actual change in Darcy’s beliefs. And that very fic concept has rolled around in my head for YEARS.

I think Darcy would be slower to warm to them than in canon because of his preconceptions at that point, but that he pretty consistently is able to adjust his initial opinions of people to account for new data. He doesn’t question the underlying worldview until really shocked out of it, but he can adapt on an individual basis—as with his friendship with Bingley, say. He’s certainly perceptive enough to see that the Gardiners are very different from Mrs Bennet, and I think could make a mental ‘adjustment’ there; they’re special, like Bingley.

Alternately, it’s possible that their profound difference from his assumptions about what they’d be like could startle him enough that it begins the (in the AU) gradual process of him reconsidering his basic preconceptions and not just his application of those preconceptions to particular people. I think which happens would depend on the strength of his impression of them and the course of their relationship and so forth, but either could happen.

Either way, I do agree that he would soon come away with a positive impression of them and conduct himself agreeably enough towards them, which I also agree would be pretty !!?!???!? to Elizabeth in itself. On top of that, the stark contrast between his behavior towards the Gardiners and e.g. Mr and Mrs Bennet would make it clear that some level of personal disapproval is at work there, not just general elitism, which is harder to take (as we see in her response to the letter, his opinion of them does trouble her—I think in part because she fundamentally agrees with it and has tried not to think about it). And I don’t think Darcy at that point (maybe any point) would be inclined to hide his preference for the Gardiners, so it would just be very apparent and strain her assumptions about him.

Whether that would extend to straining her general reliance on assumptions about people, once she’s realized that she wasn’t quite right about him, is a more complicated matter, as with the “Alternately…” for Darcy above. But it’s possible that this all results in slower and less painful but no less profound epiphanies for both.

I’ve thought of both very specific and general scenarios for all this, so … maybe someday I’ll get to one of them.

Tagged: #i didn't get into what the gardiners think of him and wickham in the au #or how wickham figures at all #but that's also part of it in my head

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I was going over some fics and … while I mostly prefer my recent-ish Darcy-Fitzwilliam family headcanons to the old ones, I do miss Cecily and Ella sometimes.

Tagged: #this means nothing to most of you but idk—i was planning tolerably well acquainted and figuring out which configuration worked best #for what i want to do and remembered that my most recent one didn't have either of them #eleanor is more my /type/ and i think the first fitzwilliam oc i came up with and i'm deeply fond of her #but i have such a soft spot for cecily #flibbertigibbet poor relation that she is

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Anyway, the actual current Fitzwilliam headcanons c. 1796 [assuming a 1795-6 calendar for P&P, which I do], dramatis personae-style

CATHERINE, Dowager Countess of Ravenshaw—the very elderly grandmother to Lord Ravenshaw, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Lady Anne Darcy. She is reserved in person, though opinionated when she does speak, and maintains a lively correspondence with her family and friends while living quietly at one of the smaller Fitzwilliam estates.

EDWARD FITZWILLIAM, Earl of Ravenshaw—the wealthy and powerful (if short) head of the Fitzwilliam family. Lord Ravenshaw is interested in his near and extended family, Whig politics, and private theatricals. He is otherwise a severe but good-natured man with a good reputation among his peers and dependents alike.

LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH, née Lady Catherine Fitzwilliam—the elder of Lord Ravenshaw’s two sisters. Despite her arrogant, domineering personality, she is generally on good terms with the other Fitzwilliams, whom she regards with pride and something like affection; in particular, she genuinely loved and was loved by her sister, Lady Anne Darcy.

MARY, Countess of Ravenshaw—the earl’s gracious, accomplished, and generally accommodating wife. Lady Ravenshaw is conscious of coming from a family of lesser fortune but greater age than the Fitzwilliams, but also somewhat daunted by the strong personalities around her. She is, unexpectedly, an excellent speaker and happily joins in her husband’s theatrical enthusiasms.

RICHARD FITZWILLIAM, Viscount Rochford—the eldest of Lord and Lady Ravenshaw’s children. He is handsome, kind-hearted, and agreeable enough in his way, but withdrawn, shy, and intensely high-strung. At thirty-five, he has never married, courted, or even seriously flirted with anyone, preferring books and the company of those he already knows.

LADY ANNE BRYDGES, née Lady Anne Fitzwilliam—Lord and Lady Ravenshaw’s elder daughter. She was a generally pleasant but very stubborn girl, and remains a generally pleasant but very stubborn woman, though she has become more assertive among her easy-going husband and in-laws than among her own intense and generally forceful relations.

LADY MARY CARLISLE, née Lady Mary Fitzwilliam—Lord and Lady Ravenshaw’s younger daughter. She bears a strong physical and temperamental resemblance to her sister Anne, though she is more reserved and abrupt. She was married young to a baron’s heir, but he predeceased his father and Lady Mary returned to her family with her two daughters.

COLONEL THE HONOURABLE JOHN FITZWILLIAM—the younger son of Lord and Lady Ravenshaw, and at thirty, their youngest child. While conscious of his comparatively disadvantaged position among his relatives, he is very loyal and close to them, especially his Darcy cousins. He is usually easy-going, but strong-minded and very pragmatic, all of which won the approval of his uncle Darcy.

ANNE DE BOURGH—the only child and heir of Sir Lewis and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and thus niece to Lord Ravenshaw and Lady Anne Darcy. This Anne is quite genuinely frail, unlike the usually hearty Fitzwilliams, and has been sheltered to the point of suffocation by her mother, but also over-indulged by her. At twenty-eight, she is passive and resentful of slights, but not malicious.

FITZWILLIAM DARCY—the only son of Christopher Darcy, a wealthy, influential Fitzwilliam ally, and Lady Anne Darcy, the beloved sister of Lord Ravenshaw and Lady Catherine. Their affection extends easily to Darcy, whose personality falls well within the ordinary Fitzwilliam range—proud, intelligent, and forceful, but combining reserve and awkwardness with a basic good nature and competence.

GEORGIANA DARCY—the younger child and only surviving daughter of Christopher and Lady Anne Darcy. Her brother was the indulged youngest of the Fitzwilliam grandchildren until Georgiana’s birth twelve years after his own, yet he doted on her from that moment, as did their relatives and servants. She is nevertheless not at all spoiled, but shy, anxious, and uncertain of herself.

SOPHIA CARLISLE—the quiet, intelligent daughter of Lady Mary Carlisle and the Hon. Stephen Carlisle. Her father’s sudden death left her family as something like dependents on the new heir, which grated on Lady Mary. She received permission to return to her father’s household with the girls, and Sophia and Margaret were gladly welcomed by the Fitzwilliams.

MARGARET “MEG” CARLISLE—the younger daughter of Lady Mary Carlisle and the Hon. Stephen Carlisle. Meg is more outgoing and high-spirited than Sophia in general, but prone to fits of absent-minded silence. As the first children living at Ecclesford in a generation, Sophia and Margaret are particularly beloved by their grandparents, uncles, and most of their cousins.

Tagged: #i know this is probably of interest to like ... no one #but it's helpful to me and was fun to do SO

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In response to this, heckofabecca said:

i love them all

I replied:

thank you :)))

nellification said:

With great respect: wasn’t Fitzwilliam Darcy’s father named George? I don’t know that this is stated explicitly in canon, but he’s George Wickham’s godfather, and it was customary (I believe) to name a child after an important godparent. Also, there’s Georgiana: her aristocratic name is a combination of “George” and “Anne”!

I replied:

The previous Mr Darcy’s name is at no point stated in canon. His name could be George and both Wickham and Georgiana named for him, but it is equally possible that they’re named for different people. Godchildren were sometimes named for important godparents, but by no means always, and George was an immensely common name.

“Georgiana” is an independently existing name that was used repeatedly among the aristocracy of the time without any reference to George+Anne. For instance, the most famous Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire (who incidentally would have spent part of the year extremely close to Pemberley) was simply named for her mother, Margaret Georgiana. IIRC it is etymologically just a fancy elaboration of Georgia or Georgina (this isn’t uncommon for names ending in -ana or -iana).

TBH at least half the reason my senior Mr Darcy is not named George is because the fandom is so insistent that it must be that, even though it’s not canon. I’m a pretty contrary creature at the best of times and I’ve been corrected with fanon so many times that I get a kick out of ignoring it.

Tagged: #i don't mean to sound hostile but i'm just ... really not fond of austen fanon

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I reblogged a post from dxntloseurhead on Tumblr about how far Tumblr blogs drift from what people actually followed them for.

Tagged: #lmao i started as a sw blog and it's what the bulk of my followers came for #meanwhile: babbling about my pride and prejudice/mansfield park fusion headcanons

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heckofabecca responded to this post:

Prettttty sure I came for the Austen?

I replied:

Haha, I think so, actually! But most of my followers came with the sequel trilogy and that one HP post.

tree said:

CECILY <3

I replied:

MY GIRL!!

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I reblogged a gifset of Cassian Andor coming to Jyn's rescue after seeming dead on Scarif, and added:

#a precious baby who has done nothing wrong in his whole life #;) #idk this came over my dash and i was astounded anew that somehow sw gave us this character

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I reblogged my Fitzwilliam headcanon dramatis personae post, and added:

Note: when I was re-conceptualizing my Fitzwilliam headcanons, I had the idea of using an actual title invented by Austen, and then actually having the earl be that person and going from there. So:

• The dowager Lady Ravenshaw here = the grandmother whose death puts an end to the theatricals in MP
• Lord Ravenshaw here = P&P’s Lord ___ + MP’s Lord Ravenshaw, “one of the most correct men in England”
• Lady Catherine = P&P’s Lady Catherine (of course)
• Lady Ravenshaw = MP’s Lady Ravenshaw, who was playing Agatha very well
• Lord Rochford = Colonel Fitzwilliam’s implied older brother in P&P
• Lady Anne Brydges = mine, all mine!
• Lady Mary Carlisle = the mother of the children whose existence necessitates the governess (playing the cottager’s wife) in MP
• Colonel Fitzwilliam = P&P’s Colonel Fitzwilliam
• Anne de Bourgh, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Georgiana Darcy = P&P
• Sophia and Margaret Carlisle = children overseen by MP’s governess

Tagged: #me overthinking things? it can't be

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According to Wikipedia (I know, I know), all grey-eyed people actually have little splotches of different color in their eyes, even if you can’t really tell. I do, for instance!



Naturally, this makes me think of Tolkien and the 90% of his cast with grey eyes … do they have the splotches?

Is it special because they have improbably clear grey eyes or do they look more like most grey-eyed people IRL?

Is it more silver-grey or iron-grey?

Is there some range (blue-grey, green-grey, light grey, dark grey?), and that’s why it’s so noticeable when someone has the Super Special-type grey eyes?

I just have a lot of questions!!

Tagged: #this is a very deep post #but honestly i thought grey eyes were THE most boring thing to have until tolkien #and then having dark hair and grey eyes promptly became :D :D :D #i tragically don't have black/near-black hair like my parents but still #i wonder about éowyn's sea-grey eyes for instance #do we take that as blue-grey? stormy grey??? is it classic númenórean grey from morwen or typically rohirren grey?? #i choose to believe that some of the vast number of them have grey eyes like me of course

/seethes in autistic

I am very deeply tired of the posts about how no one is neurotypical actually, everyone is disabled if you think about it, mental disabilities are just poorly conceived associations of traits and you shouldn't limit yourself with a label, blah blah blah.

I get that some of this is spurred on by inaccurate generalizations and assumptions about neurotypical people from neurodivergent people who may not fully understand the variations and nuances of NT experience, or who are simply wrong about certain things, or whose venting is imprecise, etc. But some of this so patently arises out of a visceral resentment at not being centered in every form of disability discourse and advocacy, and refusal to countenance the idea that neurodivergent people a) exist as such and b) are marginalized in a way that many NT people are not.

Some of these posts/commentary are coming from other neurodivergent people with whom I simply disagree. But most that I have seen are pretty clearly written from the POV of someone who knows they would ordinarily be considered neurotypical and resents it in a birdsrightsactivist kind of way:



[A screenshot of a Tweet from the user ProBirdsRights, aka birdsrightsactivist, reading "I am feel uncomfortable when we are not about me?"]

Autism on any scale but the most severe (and that only sometimes) does not seem real to most of the people writing these posts, additionally. That's part of the thing that makes this so frustrating for me, personally. This line of discourse is overwhelmingly dominated by allistic people who all but say everyone is autistic in their own way, while revealing a mind-boggling lack of comprehension or basic empathy about what it is actually like to go through the world as an autistic person. They very evidently regard autistic self-advocates as, at most, slightly eccentric but basically normal, self-indulgent people whom they just find kind of grating for some mysterious reason that they do not interrogate at all.

It's like ... even when I'm ranting (like now!), I try to put things in a careful way, in large part because I am very easy to misunderstand IRL and I don't like it. But so many of these posts that I see being reblogged (by well-intentioned people who just ... don't get it) make me want to start screaming. Often the frustration takes me hours or days to articulate. Sometimes I'm just trying to think of some phrasing other than "shut the fuck up, you don't know what you're talking about." I never say that directly to any individual. But there is so much utterly unearned and misplaced overconfidence in so many of these posts that it's difficult not to feel it.