if I have to suffer, I'm taking you all down with me

[meretricula]

I just watched the BBC adaptation of North & South and am currently being consumed with emotions. if you have not seen it yet, it's a delightful period drama which one might describe as "Pride and Prejudice set during the Industrial Revolution". the heroine is fantastic, the hero is a borderline-abusive jackass who puts Darcy to shame (seriously, at least Darcy just insulted Elizabeth's family before asking her to marry him; Thornton tells Margaret that her friends deserve to starve and be beaten by the police, and then goes ahead with the proposal like it's no big deal) but manages to have a convincing redemption arc, and the cinematography is gorgeous. the last scene. I just. ALL MY FEELINGS.

anyway, I then went looking for fic! and was severely disappointed because there was almost none! come be disappointed with me, guys. and write me all of the post-reconciliation fic ever.

Sick of Shadows by lettered is an abandoned WIP, but if I have to cry myself to sleep over how THERE'S NO FUCKING MORE OF IT WHYYYYYYY you guys do too! it's an AU where Margaret is persuaded to marry Thornton to save her reputation after she rescues him from the rioting mill workers, and slow burn does not even begin to describe the chemistry the author builds between John and Margaret. read it. also definitely read the final porn outtake, it almost makes up for the THERE'S NO FUCKING MORE OF IT WHYYYYYYY at the end.

Age of Evolution by SummerRed is the best of the pickings on the AO3 (WHERE IS ALL THE YULETIDE FIC? WHERE ARE THE FESTIVIDS VIDS? THIS IS NOT NEW SOURCE MATERIAL, FANDOM, I AM DISAPPOINT), and it's a really charming story about the Thorntons getting married and going on their honeymoon. and also talking about ethical business practice and Charles Darwin, of course.

and since I finally solved the mystery of WHERE THE HELL IS THE REST OF THE FIC, I thought I would share my discovery with you! North & South appears to have evolved as some sort of offshoot from Austen fandom, which has its own special corner of the internet. long story short, there's almost no fic on the AO3, but there is quite a bit on the forums at C19. you have to get an account before you can read anything, which is a bit awkward, but I'm burning my way through completed fics as fast as I can find them and if anything exceptionally delightful turns up I will certainly let you all know!

I will now return to crying about how I have homework and don't have time for a new fandom, goddamn it. like that has ever actually worked.

Comments

[nahco3.livejournal.com]

NORTH AND SOUTH IS THE BESTTTTT

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

RIGHT????

god. I DON'T WANT TO POSSESS YOU, I WISH TO MARRY YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. fuck you and your beak of a nose and your perfect delivery of that line, Richard Armitage. fuck you.

[nahco3.livejournal.com]

i actually watch it like, every three months with my friend and we spend the entire time like SCREAMING AND CRYING

LOOK BACK LOOK BACK AT ME dflkgjdlkfjglkfj goddamn it

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

that gifset floating around on tumblr with every time she does look back at him but he doesn't see and then him standing by the window begging her to look back and not leave him fffffffffffffffff

I had feelings about North and South before I ever even saw it.

[nahco3.livejournal.com]

THATS BECAUSE IT IS LITERALLY THE GREATEST THING OF ALL TIME SKLDJFLKDJGLKDFJG

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

and now I have just spent a ridiculous amount of time in the John Thornton tag on tumblr looking for that gifset because of reasons.

YOU'RE COMING HOME WITH ME?

OH GOD ALL HE WANTS IN THE WORLD IS TO BRING MARGARET HOME

[nahco3.livejournal.com]

KLSDFJLDKJGLKDFGJK I NEVER ASKED FOR THESE FEELINGS

i wish i a) knew how to write fic about a canon i find so perfectly contained and b) was currently capable of writing fictional sentences because then i would write SO MUCH FIC

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

it's funny, I don't find it quite so contained -- I think I've been conditioned by all my romance novels, so I do have a bit of a HDU STOP BEFORE THE WEDDING THAT'S NOT THE END??? reaction, haha. but feel free to join me and paper_tzipporah down below if so inspired in speculating about John Thornton, confused and awkward virgin! :D?

[paper-tzipporah.livejournal.com]

Okay, my friend brilligspoons and I just re-watched this last night and she was like, "I might have to do yuletide this year just so I can request North and South." And I said, "Or we could write so many fics that it won't qualify for yuletide!"

The latter scenario is unlikely, I'll grant you. But we can try.

Anyway, HEY WE OVERLAP ON A FANDOM AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LIKE TEN YEARS. WHAT UP?

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

I am entirely in favor of this venture! :D :D :D

dude. DUDE. what if, like. basically every N&S fic that features the wedding night has Margaret climbing up the bedroom curtains because SEX??? I'M VICTORIAN PLEASE MAN-EQUIPMENT GOES WHERE??? and Thornton must of course gently initiate her into the ways of making babies but I would kill for a fic where he is a confused virgin who doesn't know what to do with these ~feelings (his dad died when he was young! everyone assumed he already knew how to do it! HE'S JON SNOW OKAY) and Margaret is like, I grew up in the country, I got this.

role reversal is my jam ok

and Margaret teaching John about sex would be the best

REGRETTING OUR FANDOM OVERLAP YET? :P

(I maintain that John Thorton being a confused virgin who doesn't know what to do with all these feelings would kind of make sense given his behavior towards Margaret. WOMAN?? WANT TO TOUCH AND MAYBE SNIFF HAIR BUT. HOW TO MAKE WORK? OFFER FRUIT AND HAND IN MARRIAGE!! WHY NOT WORK?!????)

[paper-tzipporah.livejournal.com]

JE NE REGRETTE RIEN

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS IS PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL. BRB, STARTING A GOOGLE DOC FOR CONFUSED VIRGIN THORNTON, MY NEW HEADCANON

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

SUCCESS IS SWEET

god, the more I think about this the more convinced I am that it is entirely correct. HE'S NEVER LOVED A WOMAN BEFORE, HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. what is this strange tingling feeling when he thinks about her touching his hand? she agreed to marry him so he gets to touch her hand whenever he wants right? right??? or maybe that's not how marriage works? god please let her kiss his hand again please please please he will be so good can he just sit close enough to smell her hair --

I bet Margaret had to put his arm around her shoulders herself when they got in the train carriage and he almost expired except she kissed him again so his brain stopped functioning and kissing is literally the one thing he knows is okay because they've done that already so he just wants to kiss her very chastely on the lips the whole way home

AHAHAHA OH GOD MARGARET PROBABLY THINKS HE'S JUST RESPECTING HER MAIDENLY MODESTY AND TRIES TO TELL HIM HE CAN BE A LITTLE LESS RESPECTFUL AND HE'S JUST LIKE ????????? I DON'T UNDERSTAND

[paper-tzipporah.livejournal.com]

WHY ARE YOU NOT WRITING THIS FIC RIGHT NOW?

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

NOOOO THE WHOLE POINT IS THAT I ENABLE OTHER PEOPLE TO WRITE THE FIC

(more seriously I don't want to have to research Victorian England, ugh.)

[paper-tzipporah.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have this book at home, and I will read it tonight so I can write fic with VERISIMILITUDE.

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

PERFECT

[paper-tzipporah.livejournal.com]

Also do you have any recs from the C19 forums? I just finished Sick of Shadows (including the bonus porn from the unfinished section, grlhkafslhkagjafshklfdlhkadf HOLY SHIT), and I am kind of dying for more fic.

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

nothing will ever be as good as Sick of Shadows, just fyi, but... hm. there's nothing truly outstanding, but harrietvane (of Social Network and recently bandom fame, idk if you've read her fic before but she's quite good) has a youthful effort up there, and True North by Damaris is all right if you don't mind Margaret being interpreted as almost painfully naive. (it's not my favorite reading of her, but... I'll forgive a lot for good grammar at this point.)

[aramley.livejournal.com]

I HAVE WATCHED THE FIRST EPISODE. PLEASE SEND HELP AND/OR RICHARD ARMITAGE.

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

WATCH THE REMAINING THREE AND THEN RETURN TO FLAIL WITH ME

[paper-tzipporah.livejournal.com]

Heads up, new N&S ficlet: http://archiveofourown.org/works/694453

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

aww yisssssssss

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

ps you have to read the Civil War AU on the C19 forum so I can share my rage and frustration that it's currently unfinished. Somewhere In the World by kleindog. I need a kvetching partner: help me, Obi-Wan, you're my only hope!

[x-los.livejournal.com]

Heya,

I know this is super-random, but GOOGLE BROUGHT ME HERE. Did you end up finding any gems on c19?

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

hey! :) not... really? there's a fic by harrietvane that's decent, and a WIP by kleindog (I think it's called Somewhere in the World?) which is a quite interesting Civil War AU, but there wasn't a lot that was memorable otherwise, alas.

[x-los.livejournal.com]

Le sigh. Thanks anyway, shall check out those two!

C19 recs

[shanghaiedinla.livejournal.com]

Late to your party here, I know, but 'Pack Clouds Away' (Lucy) is IMO by far the best continuation fic at C19 (or anywhere). It is novel - not series - based though. For a more series based interp, 'Mistress of Marlborough' (Louisa) is pretty good (and well written), but assumes premise that J/M actually still have a long way to go working through their baggage. (It's also unfinished/abandoned which unfortch is often the case on C19.) All of Kleindog's fics are interesting (and addictive) but her characterization of Margaret I find frustrating at times. There are some nice one-shots (e.g. CinemaBare) ... ChocolateIsMyDrug started an AU where J/M meet a decade earlier that I would have read the HELL out of if she had finished. Plus her abandoned multi-chap AU with very similar setup to SOS (good but not as good as Lettered's)...

There has been a bit of a resurgence on ffnet in the last year or so, perhaps bc of the NS10 (series anniversary). 'Sum of all Wisdom' is probably my favorite ATM and although she doesn't update often, it's not abandoned.

I was hoping I had missed some fic on LJ which is how I wandered over here. I've ~literally ~ run out of fic to read. :(( I know it can be a difficult fandom to navigate - largely bc there is no central community or platform. Some still like C19; some are only on ffnet; there's almost no one on LJ anymore, but neither is there a tumblr presence (which is where most fandoms are active these days); still others use wattpad or even go directly to amazon to publish (without a trial run elsewhere); ao3, as mentioned, has little that ffnet doesn't also have (except 'Touch' - uncannily similar to Lettered's smut/SOS outtake, which the author claims is coincidence).... I personally wish we could once more pull everyone together in one 'place' as I sense it was in the very early days on C19.