Anghraine

An anon said:

I just reread Subsequent Connections on AO3, and was wondering in that universe, what the Fitzwilliam family reaction would be to a Darcy/Elizabeth relationship? If they had any ambitions for Darcy's marriage, I guess there would be some disappointment with Elizabeth, but at the same time she is family, and the coming back from the dead thing makes it hard to begrudge her I guess! And I'm curious about Lady Catherine's reaction to her daughter being jilted for her favourite niece this time...

I replied:

Yeah, that’s pretty spot-on, I think. One of Lady Catherine’s objections to canon Elizabeth is that she’s unallied to the family at large, which wouldn’t be an issue here, even while they certainly had higher ambitions for Darcy than a quasi-poor relation. But SC!Elizabeth is still a Fitzwilliam and they already love her, so it’s easier.

Also, I imagine that some of the Fitzwilliams would guess what was going on before Elizabeth did herself, lol. Eleanor, certainly James, and oddly enough, probably Milton. Cecily would like to see it but can’t quite associate Darcy with romance. Lord Ancaster is completely oblivious, as is (in a sadder way) Lady Ancaster. And Lady Catherine, of course.

It would definitely be hardest for Lady Catherine, both because of her plans for Anne and Darcy, and because she’s genuinely fond of Elizabeth and has planned for her advancement. I think she’d be less angry, but more upset, if that makes sense (there would still be a Scene) but come around much more quickly when the usurper is an actual Fitzwilliam.

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