Reblogged a picture of Lavinia Swire and it got me thinking what makes a good love triangle and why I think Mary - Matthew - Lavinia were a very good one.
Basically, you have to be able to see both possible relationships as potentially working. If, as with Lavinia and Mary, it's believable to see the person in the middle building a relationship with either of them - if they are both likeable - so likeable that even if you're rooting for the other ship you end up feeling sorry for the character who ultimately loses - oh, it can be exquisite and, in my opinion, more true to life.
In Matthew's case especially I think him picking Lavinia as Mary's replacement was very realistic. He is a romantic. He wants to marry for love and scorns more materialistic considerations when choosing a partner, at a time when it was not an obvious position to take. Of course he wouldn't choose an awful girl to propose to, even if he did it on an impulse after a pretty short acquaintance. He needed to believe that he could love her. While I think that a big part of Lavinia's attraction to him at the time was that she was as different from Mary as possible - in looks, personality, background, views - she was also remarkably well suited to him. If you think about it, better suited than Mary in a lot of aspects. Lavinia and Matthew were from the same background and shared a lot of views and values. There definitely was less of tension and conflicts between them than between Matthew and Mary. There was friendship, tenderness, support and gentle, genuine affection. You could definitely believe that they could marry and be happy.
Except, of course, that in the end you couldn't because it soon became obvious that Matthew was still passionately in love with Mary. And this was one component which we never saw in his relationship with Lavinia - passion. At least not on his side, there are hints that Lavinia loved him passionately - but we never get such hints about him. He loved her, I think, but differently than Mary. There were no open mouthed stares at Lavinia or following her around the room either just with his eyes or literally, like a puppy. There were no heated glances exchanged over the dining table or through the length of the room. We never heard this kind of risky flirting as we get with Mary when he is finally engaged to her. And this is why it seems all too probable that if he went through with marrying Lavinia while still feeling all this for Mary it would end up in disaster of some kind for everyone concerned and when Lavinia finally gets the proof that this is the situation she is in, she immediately and wisely decides to cancel the wedding and break their engagement.
Matthew and Mary are so different from each other in so many ways - background, views, values, tempers - but they also are similar in some very important things. They are both principled and dutiful people in their own way, they are both sharply intelligent, they clearly have compatible sense of humour and common interests. Of course they are also madly in love with each other and have explosive chemistry, but it's those other things which makes them work as a couple in the end. There is a clear intellectual connection as well as physical attraction. There is respect on both sides. There is deep commitment to each other, even when they don't expect to be together.
There is a reason I remain obsessed with them and yet care for Lavinia very much.
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Pairings: Tom Branson/Mary Crawley, Matthew Crawley/Lavinia Swire
Rating: Mature for mentions of Kemal Pamuk
Summary:
When his wife Sybil dies of the Spanish Influenza in April, 1919, Tom Branson is left in Downton Abbey with no way back to Ireland and no money to start over again. He’s essentially trapped.
When Matthew leaves for America in June, 1919, Mary has to reevaluate her character, her life, and what she wants when her fiancé becomes the earl. She’s got no one to lean on.
They’re left alone in that big house with nothing but a stack of books and a yearning for memories. So, what’s a pair to do?
— state the character, romantic or platonic, the format of the request, and what you want with it
— do you have any specifics for the reader? male, female, blonde, poc, etc?
— requests can be send through inbox or dms, but inbox is heavily encouraged!
— PLEASE ACTUALLY SPECIFY WHAT YOU WANT WITH YOUR REQUEST!! ITS VERY HARD FOT ME TO WRITE SOMETHING THAT JUST SAYS “_____ x reader fluff” WITH NO FURTHER EXPLANATION!! GIVE ME A PLOT LINE!!
WHAT I WILL WRITE:
platonic
romantic
familial
any gender x any gender
headcanons
poly relationships
sensitive topics
x reader
ships (canon or non-canon, so long as it’s not problematic)
i. i WILL write cheating, but not if a character is going it to the reader/another character. i’ll make someone comforting another person after being cheated on, but i won’t write finnick odair cheating on someone
same thing ^^ goes for homophobic, transphobic, ableist topics like that, and. well i guess the same goes for abuse?
WHAT I WONT WRITE:
smut (i’m 14)
yandere
incest
student x teacher
canonically gay character (ex: wylan van eck) x fem!reader for romantic requests
canonically lesbian character x male!reader for romantic requests
songfics (nothing against them, i just don’t know how!!)
bill denbrough, eddie kaspbrak, richie tozier, ❍ stan uris, beverly marsh, ben hanscom, ❍ mike hanlon
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL
❍ agatha of woods beyond, ❍ sophie of woods beyond, tedros of camelot, ❍ hort of bloodbrook, ❍ hester of ravenswood, ❍ anadil, ❍ dot, nicola, aric, rhian mistral, rafal mistral, leonora lesso, clarissa dovey
THE LAND OF STORIES
❍ alex bailey, ❍ connor bailey, ❍ red riding hood, ❍ jack, ❍ goldilocks, ❍ bree campbell
SCOOBY DOO
daphne blake, ❍ fred jones, shaggy rogers, velma dinkley
LITTLE WOMEN
❍ jo march, amy march, beth march, meg march, ❍ laurie
A GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO MURDER
pippa fitz-amobi, ❍ ravi singh, naomi ward, ❍ cara ward, connor reynolds, ❍ jamie reynolds, nat da silva
THE MIGHTY DUCKS
❍ charlie conway, adam banks, ❍ lester averman, guy germaine, ❍ connie moreau, julie gaffney, ❍ ken wu, dean portman, luis mendoza, dwayne robertson, ❍ fulton reed
DRACULA
dracula, ❍ lucy westenra, mina harker, arthur holmwood, ❍ renfield, dr seward, abraham van helsing, ❍ quincey morris
FRANKENSTEIN
victor frankenstein, ❍ adam frankenstein, elizabeth lavenza, justine moritz, ernest frankenstein, henry clerval, the bride
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
henry jekyll, ❍ edward hyde, ❍ richard enfield, gabriel utterson, hastie lanyon, lucy harris
MONSTER HIGH
gotta update this one guys,,,
THE BREAKFAST CLUB
john bender , ❍ claire standish, allison reynolds, brian johnson, andrew clark
Family: Lady Mary Crawley (mother), Matthew Crawley (father), Lavinia Crawley née Swire (mother), Elizabeth Crawley (older sister) Theodore Crawley (oldest brother), William Crawley (older brother)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Will Crawley
Full Name: William Reginald Crawley
Nickname(s): Will
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 16 in 1939/born 1923
Title: Mr William Crawley
Position:
Family: Lady Mary Crawley (mother), Matthew Crawley (father), Lavinia Crawley née Swire (mother), Elizabeth Crawley (older sister) Theodore Crawley (older brother), Catherine Crawley (younger sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Lizzy Crawley
Full Name: Elizabeth Cora Crawley
Nickname(s): Lizzy, Liz
Face Claim: Anna Bamford
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 20 in 1939/born 1919
Title: Miss Crawley
Position:
Family: Lady Mary Crawley (mother), Matthew Crawley (father), Lavinia Crawley née Swire (mother), Theodore Crawley (younger brother), William Crawley (youngest brother), Catherine Crawley (younger sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Theo Crawley
Full Name: Theodore Robert Crawley
Nickname(s): Theo, Teddy
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 18 in 1939/born 1921
Title: Mr Crawley
Position:
Family: Lady Mary Crawley (mother), Matthew Crawley (father), Lavinia Crawley née Swire (mother), Elizabeth Crawley (older sister), William Crawley (younger brother), Catherine Crawley (younger sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Roisin Branson
Full Name: Roisin X Branson
Nickname(s): N/A
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 16 in 1939/born 1923
Title: Miss Roisin Branson
Position:
Family: Lady Sybil Crawley (mother), Tom Branson (father), Saoirse Branson (older sister), Coilin Branson (younger brother)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Coilin Branson
Full Name: Coilin X Branson
Nickname(s): N/A
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 14 in 1939/born 1925
Title: Mr Branson
Position:
Family: Lady Sybil Crawley (mother), Tom Branson (father), Saoirse Branson (oldest sister), Roisin Branson (older sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Ned Gregson
Full Name: Stephen Edward Gregson
Nickname(s): Ned, Neddy
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 15 in 1939/born 1924
Title: Mr Gregson
Position:
Family: Lady Edith Crawley (mother), Michael Gregson (father, deceased), Beatrice Gregson (younger sister), Henrietta Gregson (younger sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Bea Gregson
Full Name: Beatrice Helen Gregson
Nickname(s): Bea
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 10 in 1939/born 1929
Title: Miss Beatrice Gregson
Position:
Family: Lady Edith Crawley (mother), Michael Gregson (father, deceased), Stephen Gregson (older brother), Henrietta Gregson (twin sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Henny Gregson
Full Name: Henrietta Anne Gregson
Nickname(s): Henny, Henry
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 10 in 1939/born 1929
Title: Miss Henrietta Gregson
Position:
Family: Lady Edith Crawley (mother), Michael Gregson (father, deceased), Stephen Gregson (older brother), Beatrice Gregson (twin sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Joyce Bates
Full Name: Joyce X Bates
Nickname(s): Joy
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 16 in 1939/born 1923
Title: Miss Bates
Position:
Family: Anna Bates née Smith (mother), John Bates (father), Lady Mary Crawley (godmother)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Walter Lang
Full Name: Walter X Lang
Nickname(s): Walt
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 17 in 1939/born 1922
Title: Mr Bates
Position:
Family: Henry Lang (father)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Diana Winters
Full Name: Diana X Winters
Nickname(s): Di
Face Claim: Frances O'Connor
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 20 in 1939/born 1919
Title: Miss Winters
Position:
Family:
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Harold Napier
Full Name: Harold X Napier
Nickname(s): Harry
Face Claim: TBD
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 19 in 1939/born 1920
Title:
Position: The Honorable Harold Napier
Family: Evelyn Napier (father), Charlotte Napier (younger sister)
Biography Stub:
———————————————————————
Charlotte Napier
Full Name: Charlotte X Napier
Nickname(s): Charlie, Coco (only by family)
Face Claim: Lily Dodsworth-Evans
Fic Title: As the world turns
Age: 17 in 1939/born 1922
Title: The Honorable Charlotte Napier
Position:
Family: Evelyn Napier (father), Harold Napier (older brother)
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Couple having gay sex in the study hall attic (Talmud)
Final chapter is up! <3 <3 <3
Again, so many thanks to @chryssadirewolf for creating these pretty montages which have just added another amazing layer to Lavinia/Richard (I’m seriously tempted to just dive into another fic right now haha).
Also one more thank you to @queenlovett for confirming that I wasn’t alone on this ship. I may have gotten around to writing this eventually but knowing there is someone to sail with is always a gift - the rarepair seas can be a lonely place lol <3
Okay, so a couple Silver & Pearls updates left to do but then I think it might be just about Jade Sea sequel time ;)