idanit

[idanit]

#maybee bertie is the one that forget some details (@eirinstiva) I'm more ready to accept that than I am to accept Jeeves not remembering things, that's for sure.

I don't think I've seen people talk about this, but it bothers me.

In "Leave It to Jeeves", Jeeves talks of his former employer:

“I wonder if I have ever happened to mention to you, sir, a Mr. Digby Thistleton, with whom I was once in service? Perhaps you have met him? He was a financier. He is now Lord Bridgnorth. It was a favourite saying of his that there is always a way. The first time I heard him use the expression was after the failure of a patent depilatory which he promoted. (...) His depilatory failed, but he did not despair. He put it on the market again under the name of Hair-o, guaranteed to produce a full crop of hair in a few months. It was advertised, if you remember, sir, by a humorous picture of a billiard-ball, before and after taking, and made such a substantial fortune that Mr. Thistleton was soon afterwards elevated to the peerage for services to his Party. It seems to me that, if Mr. Corcoran looks into the matter, he will find, like Mr. Thistleton, that there is always a way.

In "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg," he likewise mentions him:

“It was a maxim of one of my former employers, sir⁠—as I believe I mentioned to you once before⁠—the present Lord Bridgnorth, that there is always a way. I remember his lordship using the expression on the occasion⁠—he was then a business gentleman and had not yet received his title⁠—when a patent hair-restorer which he chanced to be promoting failed to attract the public. He put it on the market under another name as a depilatory, and amassed a substantial fortune. I have generally found his lordship’s aphorism based on sound foundations.

Doylistically, I think this is Wodehouse reusing his bits and tripping up, or maybe making a little in-joke for the readers who know and remember his previous stories. But watsonianly, what is happening here? Lord Bridgnorth couldn't possibly have made a depilatory that failed, rebranded it as Hair-O, amassed a fortune and a title, then made a hair restorer despite already having a successful hair restorer product, and after its failure rebranded it as a depilatory, right?

Is Jeeves misremembering? Inventing his anecdotes? Lying? And for what?

#I guess I need to read more of these to see how often things don't quite make sense #but it's hard because I wouldn't have noticed if I haven't read LEAV and HARD in quick succession #the timeline of these stories will never make perfect sense i don't think #so I'm not even going down the road of “how much time might have passed between the events and bertie writing about them” #but the internal logic of the stories does interest me somewhat #idanit chats #jeeves and wooster #jeeves

[idanit]

I don't think I've seen people talk about this, but it bothers me.

In "Leave It to Jeeves", Jeeves talks of his former employer:

“I wonder if I have ever happened to mention to you, sir, a Mr. Digby Thistleton, with whom I was once in service? Perhaps you have met him? He was a financier. He is now Lord Bridgnorth. It was a favourite saying of his that there is always a way. The first time I heard him use the expression was after the failure of a patent depilatory which he promoted. (...) His depilatory failed, but he did not despair. He put it on the market again under the name of Hair-o, guaranteed to produce a full crop of hair in a few months. It was advertised, if you remember, sir, by a humorous picture of a billiard-ball, before and after taking, and made such a substantial fortune that Mr. Thistleton was soon afterwards elevated to the peerage for services to his Party. It seems to me that, if Mr. Corcoran looks into the matter, he will find, like Mr. Thistleton, that there is always a way.

In "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg," he likewise mentions him:

“It was a maxim of one of my former employers, sir⁠—as I believe I mentioned to you once before⁠—the present Lord Bridgnorth, that there is always a way. I remember his lordship using the expression on the occasion⁠—he was then a business gentleman and had not yet received his title⁠—when a patent hair-restorer which he chanced to be promoting failed to attract the public. He put it on the market under another name as a depilatory, and amassed a substantial fortune. I have generally found his lordship’s aphorism based on sound foundations.

Doylistically, I think this is Wodehouse reusing his bits and tripping up, or maybe making a little in-joke for the readers who know and remember his previous stories. But watsonianly, what is happening here? Lord Bridgnorth couldn't possibly have made a depilatory that failed, rebranded it as Hair-O, amassed a fortune and a title, then made a hair restorer despite already having a successful hair restorer product, and after its failure rebranded it as a depilatory, right?

Is Jeeves misremembering? Inventing his anecdotes? Lying? And for what?

#letters regarding jeeves #I fell behind on the mailing list but I'm catching up #jeeves #jeeves and wooster #leave it to jeeves #jeeves and the hard-boiled egg #am i not understanding something here. #idanit talks #jeeves the unreliable narrator of his life tinfoil hat

[idanit]

and "so true, Bertie"

Modern day Jeeves and Wooster au where instead of saying ‘indeed’ Jeeves just says ‘for real for real, sir’

#jeeves and wooster #jeeves #idanit chats

[idanit]

get peer reviewed (tags by @yeah-thats-probably-it)

Just like with some of my own plot suggestions, we would need a reason for Bertie to assume/realise Jeeves will go and be queer at the ball because most people there were still straight, but yes, this is great and I need to read it.

Dear Jeeves and Wooster fandom, lovely fic writers, my betters in bertieprose. Why are we sleeping on Lady Malcolm’s Servants Ball, held annually in London from 1923 to 1938 specifically for people in domestic service, with a reputation of drawing in queer and gender-nonconforming working-class crowd? A servants' ball where people were, for a time, "allowed" to crossdress and dance with same-sex partners? (Before it drew too much attention and got banned.)

Where are my fics about:

Jeeves moving his day off around so he can attend the ball, crossdress, and/or dance with other men?

Bertie finding out about the ball and asking questions?

Bertie sneaking into the ball pretending to be a servant and crossdressing in order to dance with other men? Perhaps he has been doing this for a few years until the year he hires Jeeves, and that year they accidentally meet at the ball. Perhaps they're both in drag, or only one of them is in drag. Perhaps only one recognises the other, or both of them do (I believe this was a costume, though not necessarily a masked ball). Perhaps Jeeves has to explain that if he has questions, they're not precisely objections, and he only worries that Bertie might be recognised and blackmailed — or perhaps Bertie has to explain that Jeeves is not in any danger of losing his job and Bertie doesn't mind him crossdressing at all. And they dance.

Bertie ordering a fancy bespoke dress for Jeeves so that he can go to the ball? ("Wealthy households would fund their workers to go, with some even loaning them evening dresses." [link 2 - though it probably means dresses for maids]) Bertie getting some jewellery for Jeeves and watching him apply make-up?

Bertie finding out that this is the best ball for servants around and telling Jeeves that he should totally go because he always has to attend the fancy parties as a butler or Bertie's valet, not there to have fun, and Jeeves agreeing because he's very insistent? Perhaps Jeeves is very secretive about the costume he's preparing even though Bertie's dying of curiosity. Perhaps once Jeeves leaves, Bertie starts having all these Very Strange Feelings, and after suffering in the flat for a few hours, he ends up going as well. And then he either can't find Jeeves until Jeeves chooses to reveal himself to him, or he finds Jeeves and almost perishes on the spot. And then, of course, they dance.

or whatever silly plot come on this is so juicy

ADDED: I wrote all this and then I discovered a great Jeeves fic that does make use of the ball, except it's not Jeeves/Wooster, but Wooster/Haddock (which is how it initially escaped my notice). If you don't mind that, go read it and enjoy the queer dancing, the crossdressing, and a delightful version of Jeeves: We Want Haddock.

#idanit chats #jeeves and wooster #would love to see people write more prompts <3 #(and fics of course)

[idanit]

Dear Jeeves and Wooster fandom, lovely fic writers, my betters in bertieprose. Why are we sleeping on Lady Malcolm’s Servants Ball, held annually in London from 1923 to 1938 specifically for people in domestic service, with a reputation of drawing in queer and gender-nonconforming working-class crowd? A servants' ball where people were, for a time, "allowed" to crossdress and dance with same-sex partners? (Before it drew too much attention and got banned.)

Where are my fics about:

Jeeves moving his day off around so he can attend the ball, crossdress, and/or dance with other men?

Bertie finding out about the ball and asking questions?

Bertie sneaking into the ball pretending to be a servant and crossdressing in order to dance with other men? Perhaps he has been doing this for a few years until the year he hires Jeeves, and that year they accidentally meet at the ball. Perhaps they're both in drag, or only one of them is in drag. Perhaps only one recognises the other, or both of them do (I believe this was a costume, though not necessarily a masked ball). Perhaps Jeeves has to explain that if he has questions, they're not precisely objections, and he only worries that Bertie might be recognised and blackmailed — or perhaps Bertie has to explain that Jeeves is not in any danger of losing his job and Bertie doesn't mind him crossdressing at all. And they dance.

Bertie ordering a fancy bespoke dress for Jeeves so that he can go to the ball? ("Wealthy households would fund their workers to go, with some even loaning them evening dresses." [link 2 - though it probably means dresses for maids]) Bertie getting some jewellery for Jeeves and watching him apply make-up?

Bertie finding out that this is the best ball for servants around and telling Jeeves that he should totally go because he always has to attend the fancy parties as a butler or Bertie's valet, not there to have fun, and Jeeves agreeing because he's very insistent? Perhaps Jeeves is very secretive about the costume he's preparing even though Bertie's dying of curiosity. Perhaps once Jeeves leaves, Bertie starts having all these Very Strange Feelings, and after suffering in the flat for a few hours, he ends up going as well. And then he either can't find Jeeves until Jeeves chooses to reveal himself to him, or he finds Jeeves and almost perishes on the spot. And then, of course, they dance.

or whatever silly plot come on this is so juicy

ADDED: I wrote all this and then I discovered a great Jeeves fic that does make use of the ball, except it's not Jeeves/Wooster, but Wooster/Haddock (which is how it initially escaped my notice). If you don't mind that, go read it and enjoy the queer dancing, the crossdressing, and a delightful version of Jeeves: We Want Haddock.

#jeeves and wooster #jeeves #jooster #crossdressing #queer history #Lady Malcolm’s Servants Ball #this is sooooo self-indulgent #dancefics and gender-playful fics are my weakness #pulling this from discord in the hope that someone steals this from me #another ball where crossdressing and homosexuality were happening was Chelsea Arts Ball #but it was for a more artsy crowd I believe #idanit talks #fic rec

[idanit]

This reblog has the audience of 0, but. Polish Drone names.

twelve years old bitches wanna be creative with their usernames on tiktok but no one will beat Julian Tuwim at creating banger nicknames

🔥🔥🔥

#polish #pg wodehouse #Jeeves #jeeves and wooster #Klub Trutni #at least some of them #Folcio-Berżer? #Pikador? Twardzioch? Dyzio Teofil Małpiarz #Korek Amorek #Rozbij Tuwicki #Ikacy Ikacewicz #Psmith becomes someone pulling a Pseudeckq to get the cki ending #or probably Kowalsq <333 #or nowaq

[idanit]

It was a pleasure to draw with you! <3

Some magma doodles!

#jeeves and wooster #good omens #reginald jeeves #bertie wooster #crowley #posting all of my sketches (rearranged and with the writing and other people's strokes removed) #but i'm only really fond of the dancing one #though god knows what they're dancing #anyway this was a SUPER fun evening thank you so much for organising it Basile! #i need to do more sketching and what's better than sketching together #idanit chats #magma

[idanit]

Please, Jeeves - Translation Proofreaders Wanted!

Hello, all! You may have heard tell of a fan translation project for Please, Jeeves - the Japanese manga adaptation of the Jeeves and Wooster short stories by P. G. Wodehouse! Well... we at Right Honyaku Translations (yes, it's a group started solely for this project) are quite happy to announce that the translation of the first chapter is complete!

However, while I (Red, the translator and moderator of this tumblr) may have a lot of dedication and enthusiasm, as well as several years of Japanese under my belt, but in truth I am not entirely fluent in the language and still make mistakes. As such, we are looking for proofreaders for the translation! It may be a long shot, given that there are a lot of moving parts and the whole thing is a volunteer project, but in a perfect and ideal world we would love to have the following:

A Japanese speaker, preferably fluent, with experience editing English-language texts. This is in order to make sure the translation of the original Japanese has no mistakes. (Familiarity with the Japanese translation of Jeeves - specifically, Morimura's translation, as it differs in many respects from the newer translation by Iwanaga and Koyama - is not a requirement but would be a great bonus.)

A British English speaker, preferably with some knowledge of old British literary style, and P. G. Wodehouse's writing in particular. This is in order to make sure the English translation does not dip into any non-British pitfalls we as Americans are unaware of, and sounds suitably Wodehousean.

However, if you don't fit those descriptions, but think you can lend a hand, let us know! We'd appreciate all the help we can get.

There are also two things to note, so the translation doesn’t look utterly strange. I'll stick those under the cut if you're interested.

Firstly, since much of this manga is taken from Morimura’s Japanese translation of the original Jeeves canon, a good deal of this is back-translation i.e. rather than literally translating the Japanese, I am often replacing it with its original English line as written by Wodehouse. This will only change if a scenario in the manga is extremely dependent on the Japanese wording over the original, which I have not yet encountered. One thing this manga does a lot is have partial alterations made to Morimura’s translation in its dialogue, in which case I translate it by combining the original Wodehouse line with some changes of my own.

Secondly, given that Japanese is a radically different language from English, it does not really possess equivalents for all of the broad, hyper-specific Edwardian slang as used in the original stories - for example, you end up seeing “cove” being translated simply as 「男」or “man”. So I have endeavored for my translation to be not just a translation, but also something of a Wodehouseification - in short, making the translated dialogue sound as if it would fit into the written world of Jeeves, even if it means putting extra Edwardian flair in the dialogue that wasn’t present in the Japanese original. A bit like a localization, what? I’ve done something similar while translating Japanese fan comics of The Great Ace Attorney (since the official English version adds a great deal of Victorian flavor in its structure and word choice and I thus wished to mimic that), and I’ve written fanfiction in the world of Jeeves before, so I hope that I am reasonably up to the task.

#reblogging to boost #And also because konnichiwhat ho in the header/description killed me #get those proofreaders Red #idanit chats #jeeves and wooster #jeeves

[idanit]

I love your thoughts. I kept rotating them in my mind, but I'm sorry it took me ages to acknowledge them!

I totally agree about how the best genderbends aren't a simple switch, which is why I'm thinking way too deeply about all of this. I really like the general little methodology of how to genderbend you came up with, which I see like this:

determine a character's relationship to their canon gender (and possibly to other genders, as context): ● where, how and why do they conform to the stereotypes and expectations of their gender ● where, how and why do they not conform

determine a character's core traits regardless of gender and what tends to motivate most of their actions

try to flip it in a way that makes sense in the context of the world they live in

To sum up:

fem!Bertie has anxieties about appearing ladylike just like m!Bertie has anxieties about appearing masculine, but fem!Bertie's activities are more masculine than not, so she chafes against gender roles more than m!Bertie

what fem!Bertie truly cares about is being moral, not being proper/ladylike (I really like that thought about how the ladylike code being about propriety would make fem!Bertie more comfortable going against female gender roles. Let's put Bertie's sense of morality in "core traits" and watch the genderbent changes fall into place, etc.)

m!Bertie's non-rejections of fiancees stem as much from an internal code as from external auntly pressures, but in a genderbend, fem!Bertie's non-rejections stem mostly from outside demands: keeping Aunt Agatha happy and appearing ladylike

Of course, there isn't such a thing as a "perfect genderbend" (one that makes 100% sense and creates zero issues for the story/world/characterisation), only choices to be made. One can ask questions like "does a fem!Bertie who is easily overpowered by more dominant people and predisposed to anxiety even end up developing a penchant for drinking, misdemeanour, and betting on horses if she would be more punished for it and have less opportunities for it than canon Bertie, and if so, was she perhaps growing up under some slightly different circumstances (like, say, having less contact with Aunt Agatha until age X or whatever)?" practically ad infinitum.

One has to stop somewhere, though, and I agree that Bertie has to love parties and light mischief to be Bertie, which automatically makes fem!Bertie more improper than her male counterpart. The more interesting questions to me are questions like "what is her relationship to the stereotypically feminine activities that she would have been encouraged to participate in?", "are there any historical figures or traditions she would see herself in or hold dear in the same way that the knightly tradition is vivid in the mind of a male Bertie?", "would she have any strong feelings about being a Wooster if she wasn't the last of the Woosters in the patrilinear way?", and "why does Bertie have some mild anxieties about appearing masculine/feminine?".

That last question opens up some interesting avenues to consider. To me, the answer is mostly that Bertie wants to have the respect of other people and thus, on the social side, maintain a wide social circle, and on the familial side, be trusted and left alone to do as he/she pleases. But while m!Bertie, to be respected, has to go somewhat against his weak-willed nature from time to time, no one would bat an eye about a fem!Bertie being unambitious, disinclined to work, and easily overpowered by stronger-willed people. That's a rather convenient personality to have if one's supposed goal in life is to marry some rich and titled guy, right?

I'm also interested in what a genderbend would do to the stories in a zoomed-out kind of way. My lens is mostly that of a romance fic writer reader, so obviously characterisation is the chief thing that concerns me, but there are also considerations of genre, what makes the comedy tick, etc. For example, if independence is not a trait that a fem!Bertie would work hard to maintain the appearance of possessing (rather, she would probably work on somewhat concealing her tomboyish and independent streak, at least as far as family is concerned), it might possibly take away some comedy in Bertie submitting to her servant's scheming and whims.

It would also be worthwhile to note the ways in which the canon is already subverting expectations and take care not to unsubvert them in a genderbend, accidentally making the story more boring. The main piece of attractive subversion in the canon is based on class (Bertie the useless aristocratic pushover + Jeeves the learned capable servant of noble brow and countenance), but I think it's a little bit subversive about gender as well. To me, some of the comedy comes from how being pushed into marriages and having children by one's older female relatives is something that would be more likely to happen to a female character from the 1920s, but it happens to m!Bertie. A genderbend might, therefore, need some new element to stay engaging. Thankfully, I think making fem!Bertie more stubborn and tomboyish when she's not anxious about how other people see her already makes this work. Instead of "local woman expected to marry, more at nine" (or "local pushover aristocrat man forced into matrimony by the women around him once more"), we have a "local stubborn tomboy forced into matrimony by the people around her who want to make her a proper lady, saved by her maid once more".

Certainly a different kind of story, and possibly one with a different audience, too, but not that boring. (Can you imagine the Wodehouse books, but they're written primarily for women, even though they're often about avoiding getting married? Truly demoralising literature! <3)

would people have looked more askance at a rich old maid than a rich old bachelor? maybe someone else knows

This, I would like to know as well. My uninformed impression is that a rich old bachelor would be a suspicious eccentric, but a rich old maid would, by some, be considered a kind of a failwoman, unless she had some sort of a tragic backstory (I'm sure Jeeves could arrange one). I don't even think it would be because of the "woman = soft, romantic, and wants to marry" stereotypes. Probably moreso because of the "woman = has to be protected to be safe in the world and has to have children to fulfill her womanly duty" stereotypes. The male protection is in part financial and thus delightfully inapplicable to fem!Bertie, but I think the stereotype went deeper than that. All of this to say that I agree that fem!Bertie's lack of interest in romance would make her gender-nonconforming and, with time, raise more questions than male!Bertie's lack of interest, because misogyny.

And we haven't even touched on fem!Jeeves. I recall a post or a remark someone has made somewhere saying that canon Bertie cares more about morality (with little regard as to propriety), and Jeeves about propriety (and has rather flexible morals). It rings true for me, but I can't imagine a fem!Jeeves being a sort of an auntly presence in the home, frowning at Bertie smoking cigarettes and drinking herself silly every other evening because it's improper and unladylike. Fem!Jeeves would have to be gender non-conforming in a different manner than fem!Bertie, and the challenge in her genderbent characterisation, much like the Code poses a challenge for coming up with a genderbent Bertie, would be to maintain Jeeves's hidebound ways.

sopping wet bertie wednesday

#genderbend #i will always be delighted by long replies and read them with interest even if i take ages to respond or fail to respond in the end #as always feel free to disagree and argue with me everyone #also. sorry. I need your swear jar user y-t-p-i #long post #idanit chats #idanit metas #i guess.

[idanit]

grumpy Berties

#jeeves and wooster #jeeves #bertie wooster #me months after starting to draw art for this fandom: ok maybe i will actually look at these men and draw them from reference a few times #(it's something i usually start with) #(but I'm usually a fan of mostly one medium/adaptation and this time I'm a fan of both the stories and the show so eh) #ballpoint pen with digital fixes #can't wait to draw jeeves he has such a Face #idanit makes #idanit draws

[idanit]

Vote with your heart, dear followers (I don't believe there is a wrong answer to this poll), but also. Consider if you want to go without the river glow shining over you for the rest of your life. Food for thought.

round 7: THE FINALE

#idanit chats

[idanit]

"The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy" out of context (there is no context for this)

#jeeves and wooster #jeeves #pg wodehouse #reginald jeeves #drew this in 5 minutes in ms paint when someone posted the quote on discord a while ago #added the typography today #the brussels sprout has not been heard of before or since #jeeves the weirdo #idanit draws #idanit makes

[idanit]

Oh wow, I did NOT expect a reply from you. Glad to have made your day a little brighter!

Incidentally, I read C’est déjà gémir a few days ago, and I can confirm that it was delightful. Hilarious, great Bertie voice, appropriately silly shenanigans, and some nicely subtle hints at (future?) Jeeves/Wooster — go read it, people. There are a few other good Jeeves fics with prominent F/F out there, and while they do not scratch that exact itch, it makes me quite happy that people are bringing lesbian OCs into the world and writing Florence Craye into sapphic communes.

I have flown too close to the sun drawing my Jeeves and Wooster genderbends. Now I desire a >50K epic "How the mouth changes its shape"-style

#idanit chats #jeeves and wooster #fic rec

[idanit]

oh, to be a fly on the wall in the mind of the artist who drew the illustration for the front cover of the first edition of "Carry on, Jeeves"

#jeeves and wooster #jeeves #pg wodehouse #carry on jeeves #it looks like a proposal it looks like he's begging it looks like. many things. #is this pose from a story i haven't read? #i'm sure i don't know. possible #i need no context to appreciate it though #and i love that they chose this one for the cover whatever the thought process behind it was #I spent a little while trying to track down the name of the illustrator but no dice #if someone owns this please tell me if they credit the artist inside #idanit talks

[idanit]

If I might add another off-AO3 fic I've come across,

WOOSTER AT WAR (chapters 1, 2, 3)

inspired by Wodehouse's doings during the war — Bertie does a radio show from Berlin and is deemed a traitor in Britain

Jeeves/Wooster, dark and angsty, but the happy soppy ending does come

do you ever want to just sigh throw everything away and start life over with jeeves and wooster fanfiction

#jeeves and wooster #jeeves #fic rec #Jeeves and wooster fanfic #idanit chats

[idanit]

bertie does tumblr boops

#jeeves and wooster #Jeeves #Jooster #boop #I'm gonna regret posting an extremely low effort silly late night sketch in the morning #but whatever #It's april 1st #we can post bad art

[idanit]

@yeah-thats-probably-it Excellent tags! Tell me more about how courtship would work in a genderbent AU, smart people. I've been thinking about this for a while and it seems to me that the Code of the Woosters is one of the most challenging canon elements to genderbend, steeped as it is in the knightly ideals of what a preux chevalier should be. Male Bertie can't tell a woman she's unwanted, but a female Bertie is absolutely culturally permitted to rebuff an annoyingly clingy bad poet, right? So either her characterisation (the willingness to be obstinate and speak her mind) or the canon plots would have to be reworked. My idea was largely to ramp up the auntly pressure even higher, so that refusing a suitable suitor who's interested in her would be met with auntly wrath of frightening proportions, but that only works for the suitors who are aunt-selected, or at least potentially aunt-blessed.

On a side note, I feel like the traditional code for gentlemen was more about morality while any equivalent code for ladies would be more about propriety, so that's something to consider as well in the AU. The things considered ungentlemanly and unladylike are not the same.

Also, the idea of a fem!Gussie is delightful. This bespectacled newt-fancier girl recluse WILL lecture you about amphibians.

sopping wet bertie wednesday

#loose musings #feel free to disagree and/or correct me #I'm just here to provide visual fodder as I slowly acquaint myself with the stories #and try to stay firm in my resolve not to write for this fandom lest I lose the rest of my sanity #so I appreciate it a lot when other people run with my ideas and/or do the thinking #of course when inventing a genderbend AU we could go two ways #1. genderbend Bertie and Jeeves and bend the setting around the genders of everyone else #so that now Bertie will be supposed to date the Drones and be friends with the Honorias and Madelines of the world or #2. genderbend everyone. which I think is the slightly easier approach #idanit chats #jeeves and wooster #jeeves