A Part-time Fangirl

some people really do need to start reminding themselves that the answer to "why didn't the character just do [something entirely different]" is often simply "because then there wouldn't be a story"

Those who think that wisdom and whimsy are mutually exclusive have neither. It's vitally important to do the right thing when the consequences are dire, and to do a whole bunch of utterly frivolous silly dumb shit when it doesn't matter what you do.

"There's no platonic explanation for this" <-you need to be nicer to your friends. Right now

One of the most annoying genres of people on the internet are people who act like they believe science is one single monolithic thing. Like, you'll see an article saying something like "scientists studying the movement of tectonic plates", and then in the comments there'll be several smug people saying "smh why are scientists doing this instead of finding a cure for cancer", like. Why would a geologist be doing that.

It’s probably a really cool and good sign that this post I made in 2014 is going around again, right?

Not to be cliche, but Jane Austen's novels are a lot about how great power & wealth should come with great responsibility, and how most of the wealthy and powerful fail at that. She's asking questions like, "Is that insanely wealthy person polite, charitable, and considerate in a way that befits his station in life?" and she's finding most of them wanting.

Darcy being rude at a party matters because he's so wealthy. Emma insulting Miss Bates is so horrible because she's so wealthy. Those in power were supposed to set a higher standard and be an example of morality and correct conduct to those of the lower classes. While we might not totally agree with this concept today, that is why their behaviour matters so much to Jane Austen. And it's valid because a person who is careless with that much wealth and power can cause a lot of damage. What if everyone in Highbury decided it was now acceptable to shun Miss Bates? It would be diasterious for her. Darcy could easily ruin a woman's marriage prospects. It mattered.

This is why I get so annoyed when people are all, "Of course Darcy was rude! All these women are throwing themselves at him all the time. He's tired of it. His life is so sad!" because that's the price of being an heir to a massive fortune. The poor poor little baby is in the top 1% of the 1% just because he was born male into the right family. As a balance for this insane luck, he's expected to be benevolent, charitable, and polite. It's a pretty small ask, and he's not doing it. (Though he is great at the charity part, which Elizabeth discovers when she visits Pemberley). "But he never knows if someone actually loves him for him!" Then he can give his entire fortune to me. Problem solved. Sorry, if he wants to be filthy rich he has freaking obligations.