Considering what Antonio’s manor room would look like, assuming that they All live in the manor at the same time.
Assuming they get basic furniture, a bed, chest of drawers and desk. I assume it would be primarily wood, with heavy paneled walls, and floral wallpaper.
The room itself has a very heavy feeling to it. Antonio’s room in particular I think is generally pretty dark, the light comes in through a window during the day, and with a few sparing candles here and there at night. It Feels dimmer than it actually is, because all his furniture is dark and cozy.
He’s got a pretty comfortable bed with a dark red soft blanket, and just one plain pillow underneath. He’s got a desk, lots of overflowing papers and notebooks on it, with wine stains on half. A wine bottle always sits on the desk, and beside his bedside table, though they are not Usually the same ones as the night before. He Does keep a glass in the room, and it moves around often. From the bedside table, to the desk, to the dresser, to the floor.
His closet is half-open with a coat hanging atop it when he’s not wearing it, otherwise it’s surprisingly neat. Theres a separate chair just for his violin, she gets her own chair, and is never in a proper case. When anyone but him is in the room, he’s holding her- he wouldn’t let someone else even attempt to touch her.
It’s a bit dusty and smoke-filled, which can either be annoying or sensual depending on your perspective. It smells kind of bad, but not in a .. dirty way, more in a decaying way. He’s practically a walking corpse- his blood doesn’t pump very quickly, and his stitches sometimes come undone. Occasionally he’ll spray cologne on both himself and in the room, so sometimes a wooden, warm, berry-like scent will fill the air, but there’s always an undertone of death. Decay, and a hint of mold are common smells alongside the Cologne and wine-smell. I think the cologne he uses smells like rosewood, amber, and dried out berries.
The air itself is very stagnant and heavy, it’s a shock sometimes when opening the door to Feel the air density change. It doesn’t help that the room stays generally warm, so the temperature difference from the hallway is also notable.
Overall he has a very comfortable room, weighed down with red black and brown, little spots of light from candles, and near-constant violin music.
Just finished watching it tonight and despite a rocky start I loved it. Spoilers beneath the cut.
Many, many thoughts ...
Fan Fiction rather than canon
First of all, this retelling of Anne of Green Gables is official fan fiction. It isn’t canon, and I’m totally fine with that. I’m comfortable with the characters being borrowed from LM Montgomery’s universe and used to tell different stories and deliver different messages. So you’ll never find me being annoyed about things deviating from canon.
That being said, episode 1 made me deeply anxious at the Marilla-Nate dynamic and had to stop watching for a little bit. I didn’t want to believe that they were going to go there ... and have Marilla be so susceptible and vulnerable.
Nate was such a smarmy bastard and I couldn’t believe that Marilla would be attracted to him - particularly as she’s clearly been emptying out his gross chamber pot on a daily basis!! :D Dunlop was quite an interesting character to me - he clearly enjoyed and was good at baking, wanted to belong and had a slightly different motivation and attitude to Nathanial - but was still a Bad Man.
Marilla, Matthew and Mrs Lynde
I think they remain very true to their book counterparts. Sure, the series explores more of their back stories and in fact creates new back stories and textures for them - but these all felt very believable and authentic to me, so I was happy with that.
Mrs Lynde is borderline. There were moments when she was very true to the books, but there were moments towards the latter part of the season where her manner towards Miss Stacey was just spiteful and malevolent with no particular reason.
Anne
Anne remains a complex character. Amybeth McNulty is amazing and portrays her so beautifully but McNulty’s Anne is just so different and almost jarringly strange compared to Megan Follows’ portrayal that even though I’ve told myself that these are completely different ‘universes’, I still feel a little odd sometimes. McNulty’s Anne is so damaged. I don’t mind the gritty reality and pain of her portrayal of Anne as if she’s borderline traumatised and clearly suffering from PTSD.
I think I’m more frustrated with Anne when she’s selfish, bratty, rude, talking over the top of others. The way she treats her devoted Diana is one example of it. Often she doesn’t seem to care about Diana at all - Diana is so loyal and loving and yet Anne’s so oblivious to her.
It’s not McNulty’s fault - the writers have moments like the scene at Aunt Josephine’s party where an artist is imparting some words of wisdom to Cole and Anne kind of bursts in with a torrent of words all about herself and her views on it - when that moment is actually supposed to be Cole’s. We see the world through Anne’s eyes so I get why they did that, but it actually just made her look selfish. She did it in episode 9 when Gilbert’s trying to engage with and talk to Miss Stacey and Anne’s interrupting constantly. I think the different in that episode is that they are deliberately trying to make Anne look selfish and self-absorbed... but not sure I’m entirely happy that characterisation. Anne has many faults but I didn’t think selfishness was one of them. Similarly in the scene when she bursts into their little cottage in the woods and is in a fury and a rage about how badly she looked in front of Miss Stacey - she doesn’t give Cole a chance to get a word in edgewise. She comes across as bratty and unlikeable.
Sometimes she also comes across as a bit stupid sometimes. Anne’s supposed to be impetuous, prone to scrapes and misfortune but this Anne is almost dumb sometimes - spinning around and tearing a veil, knocking her candle onto the ground and starting a fire that burns her essay ... That is pushing the limits of ‘unlucky’ Anne a little far.
Nonetheless, McNulty is amazing and still manages to make the character lovable despite her very severe shortcomings and flaws.
Gilbert Blythe
He remains incredibly true to my image of Gilbert - whether the book version or the Jonathan Crombie version.
His adoration of Anne is constant and beautiful and I really liked the way they explored his character, sent him off to faraway lands - something entirely consistent with his intelligent and inquiring mind. I continue to ship Anne and Gilbert madly - I’m so glad this show hasn’t changed that.
Other observations
Modern sensibilities. Yes, some of the messages were blatant and unsubtle. But I’m ok with them. I thought it was interesting to explore diversity and inclusivity in Avonlea. Aunt Josephine (and her Gertrude), Bash, Cole and others were effective ways to consider these issues.
Jerry Buote. I have to say I love Jerry in the series. A tiny character in the books, he’s been fleshed out, given his own storyline, dialogue and personality. I really like him.
Mr Phillips. I’ve never liked Mr Phillips in any of the variations of the story but I’m really not that happy with them making him a closeted homosexual. Combined with his inappropriate and almost predatory relationship(s) with his students, that is almost reinforcing an unfortunate stereotype about homosexuality that makes me feel uncomfortable.
Miss Stacey. I really liked her character, the actress who played her and her storyline. I did not like the way they had Anne behave around her, though. That was just horribly embarrassing and inconsistent with my idea of Anne.
Billy Andrews: So glad that they had a tiny redemption for him at the end in the form of the fox. Until then he was terrifyingly psychotic.
I loved the many shippy moments. Blowing out the last candle at Christmas ...
Gilbert waiting outside the freight train:
Since they didn’t have Gilbert rescuing Anne as Elaine in a rowbat, it was almost the next best thing.... having him waiting outside the carriage with an amused, faintly quizzical expression on his face.
I liked their newfound accord at the end of season 2 when Anne admits that she’s behaved poorly towards him.
I can’t wait until season 3 ... The characters continue to be interesting and delightful and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Mary’s son seems extremely dodgy and suspicious to me.
Will they have Diana tread her canonic path of domesticity with Fred (who is very good) or will they allow her to take flight and do something different?
Is Ruby still doomed, or will they let her live - like Matthew?
Which elements of the books will be incorporated and which ones will be ditched?
Hellooo, I ofc found you on here through AO3 however I’ve gone back and reread your world and I needed to let you know you’re really awesome at writing. So yea, love your fics and grateful you take the time to write 🥰
