#yes its pride and prejudice

[enemies-to-lovers-50k-slow-burn]

jason's stressed.

well, perhaps stressed isn't the right word. he has trouble admitting it to himself much less anyone else and that's exactly why he's staring at kyle, draped across his chest, like a creep.

just before kyle's mission jason had the strangest thought.

they were sitting in his living room. jason on the couch with a book and a tea on a table next to him, kyle a bit further with paint on his hands and cheeks as he created another masterpiece. there's a soft melody in the background and it's peaceful in a way it only ever is with kyle.

and jason thinks that it wasn't supposed to happen.

the peace.

warm and loving and made out of feelings so sincere - of feelings he once thought were unreal.

it wasn't supposed to happen, he thinks, there was pain which lead to even more pain which lead to death.

and there wasn't supposed to be anything after that.

but somehow there is.

huh.

there was pain and death, but now there's peace, warmth and... love. such pure and sincere he sometimes worries it will leave the same way it came.

across the room kyle starts humming the melody that's filling the room. it was such a minor thing in the background and now it's all he can focus on. he relaxes back into the couch and reads.

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

and oh.

i love you, he thinks, marry me.

and suddenly he's so terrified.

he was sure it would pass by the time kyle came back from space.

and then he catches himself thinking about what ring would suit kyle best. if he would cry or laugh.

he doesn't notice just yet, but not even for a moment does he wonder if kyle will agree. like it's obvious, like it can't end in a way other than a "yes".

the fear doesn't leave, not really. it's there, but - jason thinks - it has always been there.

and it's no longer about losing what he has now.

god only knows kyle is too stubborn and too loving for that.

no, he's not afraid of losing kyle.

rather, about how much he wants it. craves it, longs for it. he's terrified of how much he loves him.

so clearly, the decision was already made for him.

then he remembers. a memory, a small store in saudi arabia and jason is across the country before any of his siblings can react. he's back the next week with a small box in his pocket and is sure, absolutely sure that this is it.

it's so much bigger than anything he has ever done.

when kyle returns there's a feast waiting for him. after that, he insists he's not tired and jason stares for a long, long moment before thinking one intense "fuck it" and dragging him out of the apartment.

they end up on a field and suddenly jason has no idea what to do.

so kyle, the love of his life, puts his arms around his shoulders, leans on him and hums the same melody that played in his apartment that day.

and jason thinks that this is actually the end. because there's just simply nothing else. there was nothing before kyle and there will be nothing after him. jason can only feel his heart if he has kyle in his arms.

“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

there just simply won't be any "after kyle". this is it.

there is no power in any world, any universe that could make him stop loving this man.

he isn't doing this right, he thinks, he's supposed to be on his knees offering kyle his heart.

instead he takes kyle's face in his hands, looks him in the eyes and offers him everything he has, everything he is and will be.

offers him his heart, his soul and his life. gives and gives until he has nothing left.

"marry me"

he already owns him, might as well make sure everyone else knows that.

kyle smiles, so beautiful and sure. jason feels the acceptance pressed into his lips. he will feel it for days, weeks, months after this moment.

and that's, he thinks, that's the reason. that's the reason it's so easy.

because he looks in his boyfriend's, fiancé's, future husband's eyes and sees everything he feels mirrored in them.

he does not believe in god, never has, but - he thinks - he's quite sure this is what salvation feels like.

[strawberryspence]

It's raining. It's raining and it's still the best day of Steve Harrington's life.

The Party is scrambling their way into the house, formal clothes getting wet from the sudden down pour. Joyce and Hopper are herding the grandkids into the bathroom so they won't get sick from the rain. Nancy and Jon are checking if no one left anything important in the backyard. Robin's checking the foods. The rest are scattered trying to dry themselves.

Steve's just sitting in the couch, Dustin ushered him into the couch when the rain started, making him promise that he won't move because it's their special day. He can watch the rain gliding down the big window of their home, like crystals falling from the sky, as the pitter patter of the rain calms his nerves. He takes off his blazer, his shoes and socks next, both wet from the rain and mud.

"My dear." Steve looks up from loosening his tie. Eddie's looming over him, two cups of coffee in hand.

"Don't call me my dear. That's what my mom calls my dad when she's annoyed." Eddie snorts, handing him one of the cups.

The couch is huge, Steve made sure it was so it would fit all of them, but Eddie sits next to him, leaving no space between the two of them. Steve sets down the mug on the coffee table.

"Well, what do you want me to call you then?" Eddie asks, hiding a smile behind his cup. He's wearing a white button down, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, the denim jacket he insisted on wearing long gone.

Steve pushes even closer to him, getting a whiff of his familiar cologne, humming as he feigns thinking, "Stevie for everyday, sweetheart for special days, baby on special occasions."

Eddie snorts, but his eyes are full of fondness and adoration for the man beside him, "And when I am annoyed? Should I call you Mr. Munson?"

Steve shakes his head, smile growing on his face, "You may only call me Mr. Munson when you are completely, and perfectly, and incandescently happy."

Eddie's whole face lights up as he smiles, he sets down the mug on the coffee table to cup Steve's face in his hands. Steve instinctively melting into the touch.

"Mr. Munson." Eddie kisses his left cheek.

"Mr. Munson." Eddie kisses his right cheek.

"Mr. Munson." His nose.

"Mr. Munson." His forehead.

Eddie beams at him, letting his forehead fall on Steve's forehead, smile all toothy and big and Steve wonders if they'll end up hurting their jaws by the end of the day.

"And how are you on our rainy, wedding day, Mr. Munson?"

Eddie's smiling as he kisses Steve on the lips, their teeth clashing together but Steve couldn't give a damn. He's kissing his husband.

"Very well, Mr. Munson."

[purlty23]

Everytime I have ever gotten a burst of popularity or notes or followers its been because of Dewther

Or kitty aether

[bethanydelleman]

Okay, so this is the post where I defend first cousin marriage, which is featured in Mansfield Park, Sense & Sensibility, and also comes up in Pride & Prejudice (I mean Anne de Bourgh and Mr. Darcy, Mr. Collins is a distant cousin to Elizabeth, at least 2 degrees removed, Mr. Elliot in Persuasion is another second cousin, though his line about Anne not changing her name might be the most cringy pickup line in romance history).

Firstly, 1st cousin marriage, in general is a squick NOT genetically dangerous. Yes, the Hapsburgs did happen, but they were intermarrying like crazy and within a very small dating pool. For most people, the genetic danger is equal to a woman over 35 having a baby. Negligible.

You also have to consider why cousin marriage was a good idea. Yes, you want to maintain wealth within a family, but more than that, women are vulnerable in marriage. When divorce laws are strict, and even running away from abuse is heavily frowned upon (just see The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) it becomes very important to choose prudently. Now who should you trust not to be abusive? The man you met at six balls in heavily chaperoned settings or cousin Charles, who you've known since birth and who has always been kind to you? I'm going with Charles. And you have more allies (hopefully) in that situation. You can go to your uncle for help if something is going wrong. You have an established network.

You can see why the overly cautious and continually neglected and verbally abused Fanny Price doesn't want to chance it on the wider world! She knows Edmund about as well as a human can know another human.

Now I'm sure this didn't always work perfectly, it certainly didn't for Eliza Brandon, but I can really see the logic behind it especially in Regency England.

In most Western countries, first cousin marriage just seems weird, but it's probably because we have such large dating pools these days and much longer dating periods (usually). People don't marry in a matter of weeks, they often date for years. With the benefits of cousin marriage fairly incomprehensible, we tend to focus on the risks.

Also, we have to remember that these people were not raised being told it was wrong, it wouldn't be gross to them. In fact, in Mansfield Park the idea that it would be a real fear for Fanny to marry one of the sons comes up more than once (at the ball we are told onlookers might have thought Sir Thomas was raising Fanny as a wife for his second son). In Frankenstein, Victor's parents specifically call Elizabeth his cousin instead of sister, assumably because they shipped those two crazy kids at five years old.

Anyway, many cultures still today prefer or practice first cousin marriage. The genetic risk increase is very small (it raises from about 2% to 4%) and we now have genetic testing as well. While it may be gross to you, it is not wrong or immoral, it is a difference. I can see why women might consider it a safer and desirable option.

I'm bringing this up not just because I read way too many posts about how gross the ending of Mansfield Park is to people, but because many people alive today are married to their first cousins and if you meet one, please be civil.

[anghraine]

I think one of the reasons that I've always been deeply annoyed by the conception of Darcy as a brooding, humorless love interest (and inferior because of it) is because I actually really enjoy his sense of humor.

Maybe it's because I don't have much of a sense of humor, myself (so I also find this annoying because of the assumption that not liking most humor is some kind of moral failing). But when I do find things amusing, they're often dry and understated asides that I find really funny. I love, for instance:

“I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.”

Miss Bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face, and desired he would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such reflections. Mr Darcy replied, with great intrepidity,—

“Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

+

“I am afraid, Mr Darcy,” observed Miss Bingley, in a half whisper, “that this adventure has rather affected your admiration of her fine eyes.”

“Not at all,” he replied: “they were brightened by the exercise.”

I think my other favorite Darcy-Caroline interchange is even simpler, but I do find it entertaining:

“Tell your sister I am delighted to hear of her improvement on the harp, and pray let her know that I am quite in raptures with her beautiful little design for a table, and I think it infinitely superior to Miss Grantley’s.”

“Will you give me leave to defer your raptures till I write again?”

I also always laugh at the book version of this scene:

“That is a failing, indeed!” cried Elizabeth. “Implacable resentment is a shade in a character. But you have chosen your fault well. I really cannot laugh at it. You are safe from me.”

“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.”

Here, I also enjoy the use of a quite serious contemporary philosophical point (and the fact that he references it in a conversation with a woman at all, tbh), but the sudden shift to banter is what makes the interchange to me.

None of these are like ... haha-funny jokes, but I wouldn't find those amusing, anyway, while these always make me giggle.

[nekomiras]

i like them a normal amount

[ace-fandom-dumbass]

Caved and watched P&P&Z despite not liking zombie horror because I needed to see what matt smith as collins would be like and oh my god when he interrupts lizzie and wickham at the ball it looks/feels exactly like whenever 11 runs in to interrupt amy and rory like I swear I've seen this exact shot in doctor who he's making the same goofy expressions I can't believe this is what gets me to watch a fucking zombie movie

[buddyhollyscurls]

Find it very weird when ppl say even as a joke that Elizabeth started liking Darcy bc of his great house bc like it's not the case. Like obviously yes she was quite impressed and taken with Pemberley (who wouldn’t be honestly) but also we can see she's not a materialistic person. If she was I don't think she'd have ever rejected his proposal in the first place. Like if she really was attracted to more materialistic things I feel like she'd have actually been more receptive to Darcy considering how obvious it was that he noticed her. Ya know?

[djeterg19]

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[potter-inthe-tardis]

Im gonna need someone to cast Joe Keery in a period romance asap

[numbknee]

kyman has rotted my brain so bad I've started fantasizing about falling in love with a giant dickhead who I can bend to my will with nothing but my wits and fiery disposition 😤

[catastrxblues]

good morning it is now 4 am and i have just finished watching atonement good night

[chilipepperconverse]

the jane austen girlies were really on to something huh

[misscrawfords]

Should I do a PhD on intertextuality between Jane Austen and her contemporary novelists???

[anghraine]

It's very weird when people talk about fandom as if fix-fic were the totality of fannish practice and also a job.

I've written some, for sure, and much of my stuff has some element of at least commenting in some way on things I find annoying or objectionable in the canon or in the discourse around it. I have no issue with fix-fic in itself. But the idea that all fandom activity is or should be about elevating flawed canons through hard work and moral rectitude is—damn, I'm not paid enough for that.

"This is a hobby" is not an excuse for bigotry, to be clear, but I swear, some people talk about fandom like its entire purpose is to be a second and particularly joyless job in which you receive nothing but the righteous glow of producing morally improving works.

[brechtian]

my annotations from volume 2 chapter 11 of pride and prejudice aka darcy's flop proposal