Oblique Stroke

this staged affection, a mix of theatricality and intimacy, the couple holding still for a couple of moments and now immortalised in a very set sequence of embraces and kisses. there is a charm to it even when I can’t tell whether this was a genuine couple portait or just actors hired by the photographer.

let us start with the kiss on the cheek (eyes averted! oh the pose! these were taken between 1910-1940)

or the nearly opposite energy (how daring!) of the kiss or caress with direct eye contact (1910-1930)

and then the innocent – yet so flirty – classic of the park encounter! (1890-1920)

and oh, I am not done, look at this – the adoration of the woman! look at this expression, this pose, this decorum! (1910-1940)

and then some of my favourites from the more playful or direct category, enjoy (1910-1930):

[Extreme breach of scientific ethics]

[Violent abuse of power]

[Method that actually doesn't obtain any information]

[Controlled double-blind studies of phenomena where that is literally impossible]

[Seeking empirical proof that a word has the meaning that it's defined as]

[Study that would have a dropoff rate of 100%]

it’s not weird to love it and comment and leave kudos because the author will probably still see it someday and it will make them happy.

it’s not weird to like said author’s work so much that you want to go look for other fics from them.

it’s not weird to go through the authors profile and look for other fics from the ships you like (or maybe some that you’ll give a chance because you liked the author) and maybe bookmark them for later.

it’s not weird to read these other fics and like them too and comment on them because you actually like them and you want to let the author know.

it’s not weird to read fanfiction from 5, or 8, or 10 years ago and actually enjoy and engage with it because it’s perfectly normal to relate to something that’s less than a decade old!

let’s stop treating fanfiction like they’re instagram posts that stop being interesting in 24 hours! fanfiction is NOT social media, fanfiction is art!!! and art doesn’t get old in one day, one year, or even a decade!

The word you want is “wanton” not “wonton”. Wanton is the word that means unrestrained/loose/lustful.

fanfic that I like

Pride and Prejudice 1995 text posts, part 9 of ? - prev set

"Look Charles, there are five of them, four are pretty, they all have different personalities so there must be one who clicks with you, take her off my hands."

"Yes, Mr. Bennet STILL refuses to let me take them all to London. I could get these girls married off so quickly if I could get them there, you cannot even imagine."

John Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility is great example. He is very self interested, but he doesn't want to be viewed poorly in society:

He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather cold hearted and rather selfish is to be ill-disposed: but he was, in general, well respected; for he conducted himself with propriety in the discharge of his ordinary duties.

As much as I really doubt he cares at all about his stepmother and three half sisters, he's not going to throw them out of the house until they've found somewhere good to stay because he doesn't want it to reflect poorly on himself. He won't actually do much for them, but he also won't do them active harm, because that is the action of maximal self interest. Yet he's still very much an antagonist and causes pain.

Caroline Bingley of Pride & Prejudice "dropped all her resentment" because self interest is more important to her than cruelty. She may not like Elizabeth Darcy or be happy about Jane Bingley, but she will not prioritize snarky comments above her all important connections. Self interest wins.

In Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, the new Mrs. Gibson, Hyacinth Clare, does not care about her stepdaughter Molly at all. However, self interest dictates that she treats Molly well, because she doesn't want to disrupt her relationship with Molly's father or become talked about as a cruel stepmother in the town. She is a very selfish character, I honestly doubt she cares if Molly or her own daughter Cynthia live or die, but that self interest dictates that she give at least the appearance of kindness. She still causes a lot of distress in Molly through her "kindness," because it is rooted in selfishness.