#xix. ⸻ • 𝐣𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧 • general.

[storytelers-arc]

@niksnarration​ asked: "Margaret!"

Elinor tried to push her way through the crowd to gain control of her youngest sister, but the girl was small, easily squirming from Elinor's grip and slipping between the passerbys, in the direction of the hat shop again.

How many times did Elinor have to tell her? They couldn't afford new ribbons: they would have to make do for this season. But her sister was insistent, claiming she could persuade the shopkeeper to give them a discount (one of which Elinor feared would involve a persuasion of the more illegal kind; theft, no doubt).

She was still trying to manage her way through the sea of tourists, many of which were visiting the small village of Devon to escape the heat of the countryside, when she found herself slammed straight into a man hurrying in the opposite direction. Grunting harshly and stumbling gracelessly, Elinor raised a hand to keep her hat in place before a string of apologies escaped her. "I'm terribly sorry, sir..."

(from Miss Dashwood to Mr. Thornton)

Meetings on the continent to establish new supply lines had run long; a two weeks turned into four in the blink of an eye, keeping him away from the mill for too long. His mother and the overseer would have things well in hand, he was sure of it. Still, he felt uneasy, and he knew full well that until he had the books in his hand and gone over the accounts and order himself, he would remain so. 

The stop in Devon was supposed to be a short one; John had no interest in the seaside and whatever had made everyone else decide to come to this blasted place at the same time as him. There were no horses to take them on their next leg of the journey and it would be hours before the horses they were using were rested enough to continue. After prowling the inn for an hour, large frame walking back and forth, scaring the customers away until the innkeeper politely asked him to vacate the premises, he had been forced to leave.

The streets were packed, the noise deafening (which it a lot coming from him, a man who has spent most of his adult life inside a cotton factory, living beside one for the past decade). And if that wasn’t enough, he had to deal with stupid country girls running into him. “You should watch where you’re going.” he replied gruffly, taking a step back, a hand rising to steady his own hat, but he only found hair. “Wonderful.” As if this day couldn’t get any worse.

[storytelers-arc]

It was not in his nature, or habit, to take a vacation. John was a man of business, of action and enterprise; he taught himself self-denial at a very young age, denying himself any trace of comfort and now that he had money and prosperity, he still struggled in indulging in any sort of leisurely activity. A trip to the coast... Well, he felt like he had stepped into another world.

It was Doctor Donaldson’s doing. After a terrible bout of pneumonia that left his bedridden for a week, he was ordered to find a place to rest for a month and regain his strength. John had looked to his mother, expecting her to scoff and say he was no delicate lady and did not need sea air, but she had been frightened by his sickness; her strong, tall, unshakable son, shivering in pain, had softened her northern heart. Fanny knew just the place. She had been begging to go for years now, saying the waters were just the thing for her delicate constitution.

Three days after arriving, John was certain he would go mad before he ever recovered; there was nothing to do here. Except make calls and participate in society, things he never learned how to do, and was sure he would take no enjoyment from. There were books to read, and he always meant to go back to his studies, but when he looked at the selection at the house they were renting, he had no idea where to start, becoming dizzy even though there weren’t that many options.

If only the hands could see him now, sitting down on the sand, bare feet and trying to make sense of greek philosophy — finally, he deserved their scorn.” Twenty-five days, you will make it.” he said out loud, unaware there was someone near.

@remcmbrances​ • john starter call

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• ENDLESS EDITS OF JOHN THORNTON ( mutuals may reblog ) •

feat @moretreasurewithin​

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• ENDLESS EDITS OF JOHN THORNTON ( mutuals may reblog ) •

john hearing people make stupid points (or just his sister speak)

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@htilney​ asked: “Oh dear, I cannot tease you about that. What a shame, for I dearly love to laugh.” - for john lol

Then why say anything at all? What a waste of words, breath and time! Both of their times! Nausea unfurled in his gut, making him feel hot and cold at the same time. The shame of what had transpired, the stickiness of his skin from he had bumped into the men covered in apricot jam, made him want to dash away and disappear, to leave this man’s presence and never have to look in his laughing smart face again.

“I’m aware of how much you like to laugh.”

bother my favorite muses • accepting

[storytelers-arc]

• ♡･ﾟ: *FLAWS  ! •

john thornton

easily scared ✧ whiny ✧ repetitive ✧ selfish ✧ arrogant ✧ easily excitable ✧ too silly ✧ stubborn ✧ blank minded ✧ overly cautious ✧ loud ✧ easily bored ✧ untrustworthy ✧ disloyal ✧ manipulative ✧ over sensitive ✧ possessive ✧ clingy ✧ obnoxious ✧ gullible ✧ annoying ✧ judgmental ✧ tactless ✧ merciless ✧ unlucky ✧ soft-hearted ✧ sarcastic ✧ reckless ✧ paranoid ✧  unsophisticated ✧ pushy ✧ self-critical ✧ smart-ass ✧ solemn ✧ erratic ✧ antisocial ✧ complex ✧ dubious ✧ egotistical ✧ tongue-tied ✧ temperamental ✧ lazy ✧ sadist ✧ masochist ✧ predictable ✧ withdrawn ✧ skeptical ✧ rebellious ✧ proud ✧ perfectionist ✧ impatient ✧ audacious ✧

emma woodhouse

easily scared ✧ whiny ✧ repetitive ✧ selfish ✧ arrogant ✧ easily excitable ✧ too silly ✧ stubborn ✧ blank minded ✧ overly cautious ✧ loud ✧ easily bored ✧ untrustworthy ✧ disloyal ✧ manipulative ✧ over sensitive ✧ possessive ✧ clingy ✧ obnoxious ✧ gullible ✧ annoying ✧ judgmental ✧ tactless ✧ merciless ✧ unlucky ✧ soft-hearted ✧ sarcastic ✧ reckless ✧ paranoid ✧  unsophisticated ✧ pushy ✧ self-critical ✧ smart-ass ✧ solemn ✧ erratic ✧ antisocial ✧ complex ✧ dubious ✧ egotistical ✧ tongue-tied ✧ temperamental ✧ lazy ✧ sadist ✧ masochist ✧ predictable ✧ withdrawn ✧ skeptical ✧ rebellious ✧ proud ✧ perfectionist ✧ impatient ✧ audacious ✧

the lady amalthea

easily scared ✧ whiny ✧ repetitive ✧ selfish ✧ arrogant ✧ easily excitable ✧ too silly ✧ stubborn ✧ blank minded ✧ overly cautious ✧ loud ✧ easily bored ✧ untrustworthy ✧ disloyal ✧ manipulative ✧ over sensitive ✧ possessive ✧ clingy ✧ obnoxious ✧ gullible ✧ annoying ✧ judgmental ✧ tactless ✧ merciless ✧ unlucky ✧ soft-hearted ✧ sarcastic ✧ reckless ✧ paranoid ✧  unsophisticated ✧ pushy ✧ self-critical ✧ smart-ass ✧ solemn ✧ erratic ✧ antisocial ✧ complex ✧ dubious ✧ egotistical ✧ tongue-tied ✧ temperamental ✧ lazy ✧ sadist ✧ masochist ✧ predictable ✧ withdrawn ✧ skeptical ✧ rebellious ✧ proud ✧ perfectionist ✧ impatient ✧ audacious ✧

marina thompson

easily scared ✧ whiny ✧ repetitive ✧ selfish ✧ arrogant ✧ easily excitable ✧ too silly ✧ stubborn ✧ blank minded ✧ overly cautious ✧ loud ✧ easily bored ✧ untrustworthy ✧ disloyal ✧ manipulative ✧ over sensitive ✧ possessive ✧ clingy ✧ obnoxious ✧ gullible ✧ annoying ✧ judgmental ✧ tactless ✧ merciless ✧ unlucky ✧ soft-hearted ✧ sarcastic ✧ reckless ✧ paranoid ✧  unsophisticated ✧ pushy ✧ self-critical ✧ smart-ass ✧ solemn ✧ erratic ✧ antisocial ✧ complex ✧ dubious ✧ egotistical ✧ tongue-tied ✧ temperamental ✧ lazy ✧ sadist ✧ masochist ✧ predictable ✧ withdrawn ✧ skeptical ✧ rebellious ✧ proud ✧ perfectionist ✧ impatient ✧ audacious ✧

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ENDLESS EDITS OF JOHN THORNTON ( mutuals may reblog ) •

Night after night he took books and papers into his own private room, and sate up there long after the family were gone to bed. He thought no one knew of this occupation of the hours he should have spent in sleep. 

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if i had a nickel for everytime one of my muses had a freakout inside a bus because they were afraid of going against social norms, i’d have two nickels. which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it’s happened twice

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@aprcus: ❛  bastards  can  rise  high  in  the  world  .  ❜ for john , 1867 / 1892 clara, your choice <3

“Is that so?” Shooting her a quick glance from the corner of his eye, his attention still seemingly focused on the host’s speech. “What does that say about us?” They are, after all, in the same room as this despicable man, and when push comes to shove, John is a lot more similar in background to him, than to everyone else here. Having to claw their way up, never allowing anyone else to dictate their fate, forces of fate that couldn’t be contained. The only thing that set them apart, and in these society meetings, it really was an inconsequential little thing, was that John was a decent man.

During a moment of silence, the tension in the room lessened, people raising their hands to clap and get this over with; it was no use, a second later he went back to his speech denouncing the suffragette movement. Yeah, she was right, he was a bastard. And he had been right too, when his sister begged him to let her accompany him: there was nowhere worst in this country than London.

bother my favorite muses • accepting

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• ENDLESS EDITS OF JOHN THORNTON ( mutuals may reblog ) •

sit on john’s lap, tell him to stop working.

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ENDLESS EDITS OF JOHN THORNTON ( mutuals may reblog ) •

About thirty—with a face that is neither exactly plain, nor yet handsome, nothing remarkable—not quite a gentleman; but that was hardly to be expected.