cynicinafishbowl

[cynicinafishbowl]

Semi-Final Two

Propaganda...

Mr Knightley (2009):

Johnny Lee Miller as Knightley is JUST SO. I mean the way he says "if I loved you less I might be able to talk about it more" IS JUUUST. The dance scene. The tentative shy smiles. The fact you can see in his eyes the entire time " I am completely in love with this woman. She'll never love me back BUT I DO NOT CARE I'LL LOVE HER FROM A DISTANCE ANYWAY" IS JUUUUUUST

We need to appreciate Mr Knightley more for both his snark and for those soft eyes just so full of love for Emma

GIF by dearemma

I was just going to send in the actual dance but the little panic he has when Emma says she knows his secret is just soo charming. There was some thread on twitter a few years ago about how a romcom man's most important quality is knowing how to look at a woman and JLM is just the master of it in this Emma

I really feel like the pictures say it all. He stands there, head tilted to one side. He is listening to you. His posture is relaxed. His gaze open, frank, candid. He's not trying at all. He just is.And that's why he is Knightley.

GIF by night-unfurls-its-splendour

Some propaganda, not just for Jonny Lee Miller, but the general interpretation of 09 Knightley. I have some excerpts here from my review of the 09 adaptation:

What I really think is great about the 2009 interpretation of Mr. Knightley is what an easy and comforting presence he is, without being apologetic when he scolds Emma. I think this is communicated especially well by how often we are actually shown Mr. Knightley taking his almost-daily walks to Hartfield, how smoothly he comes and goes, and how happy Emma is every time she sees him coming up the path (usually, just at the perfect moment when she needs something to put her back to rights.)

Here is Emma, feeling lonely after Miss Taylor's wedding. And in the background, walking up to Hartfield--there's Knightley. He's always been there for her, and he always will be.

And also this Mr. Knightley is as understated as ever, but I wanna highlight this outfit and why I love it: This is Knightley’s first appearance in the series and it’s the perfect establishing shot that shows the viewer everything they need to know about Emma and Knightley’s relationship and how it has always been. He sort of materializes, out of focus in the background, but Emma immediately knows he’s there. And to accentuate how much Knightley is part of her home and scenery, his clothes (similar shades of pale tan, white and minty green to the wall behind him) almost camouflage him and make him seem at one with the moulding of her home.

Additionally, Jonny Lee Miller captures Knightley’s playful qualities, and his exasperation is so endearing

GIF by christophernolan

GIF by sashajames

GIF by christophernolan

I can’t be the only one tickled by this Knightley’s frustration with Emma! JLM FTW!

Jonny Lee Miller is mesmerizing in any role he inhabits. It’s 2009 Knightly all the way.

no but can you actually go vote for mr knightley he was FOUNDATIONAL for 16 year old me my favourite portrayal of my favourite austen man cannot fall at this hurdle!!!

He is my ultimate Austen Dream Man, I'm with him until the end. Honestly this adaptation is my very favorite of them all (P&P 1995 is a VERY close second) because it made me fall in love with Emma as a story? Honestly no other adaptation or indeed even my reading of the book made me love it quite as much. My crush on JLM goes back to 1995 and I do think he is one of the better actors of his generation - his range alone is just impeccable. The fact that he can go from Sick Boy to Mr. Knightley to Sherlock to Jordan Chase is really something. Of all the actors I know, his range is the most impressive. But i love how bright and sunny this adaptation is. The colors, it is as vibrant as Emma should be! The Kate Beckinsale Emma is dark and terrifying to me, not at all suitable an adaptation. I like the Paltrow Emma a lot, but it's got the same issue the 2005 P&P has for me -- it's just too short. This is tonally just right, and the casting is lovely, and JLM is just at his dashing best. His face is so expressive, he is so capable of communicating so much without saying a word. His open jealousy of Frank Churchill is delightful to watch. His face when Emma tells him his secret is out at the ball! JLM is maybe the most underrated actor of his generation and I LOVE that he has been multiple Austen heroes. I maintain that in a future adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, an older JLM would make an EXCELLENT Mr. Bennet. He would convey the right amount of grumpy but fond beautifully.

Look. Do people realize JLM hates wearing period clothing AND hates dancing? And yet in Emma he's sashaying around in pink jackets looking amazing and is THAT convincing? That's called BRILLIANT ACTING!!

A tiny bit of Mr Knightley 2009 propaganda but I love that they put in that bit from the book where he looks like he's going to kiss Emma's hand when he's saying goodbye but then he hesitates and doesn't and I just...it's such a tiny detail but conveys so much!

GIF by myforeverworldofmovie

It’s the only Emma adaptation that really hits the romance notes well. Knightley’s crowning moment of awesome really feels like it (when he rescues Harriet from humiliation) and his subsequent dancing with Emma does make you feel a shift in their relations. Love this adaptation. - This Knightley and Emma in particular are equals. They quarrel, not because he’s telling her off, but because they can have an argument because they know each other, trust each other and care about each others opinions, and there is never a sense of domination of one over the other. This adds so much fire to the romance, and it’s so unusual for a romance of that era (or even one written today!!). - Emma is rich, clever and beautiful and as powerful as a woman of her age and situation could be at the time and she married Knightley for no other reason but because he’s her best friend and his company for the rest of her life will enrich her. - He even leaves his house to move in with her!

Captain Wentworth (1995):

Ciaran Hinds has that perfect ruggedness yet friendliness to his face that makes him the perfect charming Wentworth. And all of the longing that he manages to convey in his eyes is so hot.

Wentworth may be angry/resentful with Anne but in general he is charming and the best friend you could ever have. Ciaran gets the pleasant parts of his character and brings them out, while keeping a guarded coolness (protective camouflage) with Anne.

GIF by molinaesque

I dunno if this counts as propaganda or not, but Ciaran Hinds has a face that looks like it was jackhammered out of a shale cliff.

If a line like 'I am half agony...half hope' comes out of a face like that you know that man has a soul for poetry.

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in

F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never.  

This is propaganda for the next round because I need my boy to be a finalist! But this letter is all the persuasion I need to know that he is a winner

Ciarán Hinds in this is a whole other level of "a good man" He makes Anne's decision at the end so much more perfect.

#i swear to fucking god #i will start uploading the persuasion fic #if that helps Wentworth get over the line #why is this twink not obliterated #there is only one correct answer

[cynicinafishbowl]

Propaganda...

Mr Darcy (2005): ...

Mr Darcy (1995):

There's a reason why Colin Firth is forever known as Mr. Darcy above all other roles he's had and will have! Even ignoring the wet white shirt, which has become A Thing now, he is so hot with his curly hair and his little half smiles and his intense looks of longing and his legs that go on for milessss.

#why is Colin Firth not absolutely obliterating that twink #1995 best darcy #pls vote

[cynicinafishbowl]

#these all slap #question about why it's specifically canadian beef in 10

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i flipping hate ao3's layout there's too many goddamn words

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“I hope this email finds you well”

First of all the only emails that ever find me well are from AO3

[cynicinafishbowl]

Finished the Bridgerton fic, if you enjoy the inherent eroticism of someone looking after your animals, then you're going to love one paragraph of this.

#my fics #bridgerton #anthony x kate

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#tried to categorise my fics #probably all man vs man tbh #about the author #the demons dance around mephistopholes

[cynicinafishbowl]

Mary is deeply optimistic about her walking skills post serious injury lol

As with most things, all I have to go off is personal experience. After two months of not being allowed to put weight on it, I had an extremely embarrassing physio session when I realised I had forgotten how to walk properly, but then I was (figuratively at least) off to the races. It took me a couple of days to get off crutches fully for long distances, but then I was happily cruising around (until the evening when it would swell up like a flesh balloon and I would squeeze it into a sports compression sock).

#about the author #ask the author

[cynicinafishbowl]

Bridgerton connoisseurs will know that the greatest part of the best book is when Kate has a panic attack during a thunderstorm and Anthony takes the opportunity to not be a dick for once.

And here's my version in my ongoing modern AU.

But also we have discussions of PTSD as well as some fun anecdotes about a place where I used to work. So, you know, CW something.

#my fics #bridgerton #anthony x kate #about the author

[cynicinafishbowl]

Now that the P&P universe is complete, I'm working on the Bridgerton fic again.

UPDATES FOR EVERYONE

#about the author #my fics #bridgerton

[cynicinafishbowl]

I'm on a roll

#about the author #my fics #pride and prejudice

[cynicinafishbowl]

So like I know I kept saying that I would finish this fic.....

But I actually finished it.

aaaaa

#about the author #my fics #pride and prejudice

[cynicinafishbowl]

#jesus actual christ dad I'm only allowed to pick one?

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me writing fictional couples: oh wow…. the tenderness, the devotion, the romance

me irl:

#about the author #the demons dance around mephistopholes

[cynicinafishbowl]

Fic update:

Remember how I said I'd have my Bridgerton fic done before s2 drops? Well kids, that is what we call hubris, because that is Extremely Unlikely to happen. Turns out having a bunch of deadlines at work and also training for a lifting comp means that I have zero spare time (who knew).

It'll be done soon, mainly because I won't let myself watch it until the fic is done, and I desperately want to watch s2, so stay tuned.

#about the author

[cynicinafishbowl]

New fic, champions

#my fic #bridgerton

[cynicinafishbowl]

An update:

Ok babes, I recognise that it's been a while. Apologies etc etc etc, I recognise that I'm useless. (Remember back when I was popping out a chapter a week? I do. I wish I was that productive)

IN BETTER NEWS the end is in sight for a number of my fics (as in I'll complete them). Both of my P&P fics are two half-written chapters from completion, and even more excitingly I'm actively working on them.

Before that, however, I've got a Bridgerton fic that I'll be dropping before the release of s2, because book two was my favourite and I know for a fact that they're going to make some #choices so I want to get that out there before it's ruined.

Looking elsewhere on the backburner, once my current crop of P&P fics are done, I've got a whole new batch set in a modern AU where brexit results in a violent civil war. It's also got a Persuasion prequel. I hope you're ready to be STABBED with the knife of FEELINGS.

And then we have the original fiction. Do you like spies and the Soviet aesthetic and the cold war and experimental rocketry? Because I sure do, enough to write an entire novel of it. Stay tuned.

#about the author