#marilla... rilla... rilla-my-rilla... ;)

[the-moral-of-the-rose]

If anybody wanted to write a crossover between L.M. Montgomery's books, here is a little help with the ages of the characters (@no-where-near-hero maybe it will be a tiny help for your fanfic):

Anne Shirley - born on 5th of March 1865

Gilbert Blythe - born in 1862 or 1863

James Matthew "Jem" Blythe - born in July 1893

Walter Cuthbert Blythe - born in 1894

Anne "Nan" and Diana "Di" Blythe - born in 1896

Shirley Blythe - born in 1888*

Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe - born in 1900*

Gerald "Jerry" Meredith - born 1894

Faith Meredith - born 1895

Una Meredith - born 1896

Thomas Carlyle "Carl" Meredith - born 1897

Jims Anderson - born in August of 1914

Emily Byrd Starr - born on 19th of May 1888

Ilse Burnley - born in 1888 (probably)

Perry Miller - born in 1887

Frederick "Teddy" Kent - 1887 or 1888

Dean Priest - born in 1865

Patricia "Pat" Gardiner - born in 1913

Rachel "Rue" Gardiner - born in 1919

Winnifred "Winnie" Gardiner - born in 1910

Sidney "Sid" Gardiner - born in 1912

Joseph"Joe" Gardiner - born in 1908

Hilary Gordon - born in 1911

Elizabeth "Bets" Wilcox - born in 1913

David Kirk - born around 1893

Jane Stuart - born in May 1918 or 1919

Valancy Stirling* - born 1883**

Barney Snaith - born 1877**

Cecilia "Cissy" - born 1886**

Olive Stirling - born 1884**

Gay Penhallow - born in 1904***

Nan Penhallow - born in 1904***

Roger Dark - born in 1890***

Donna Dark - born between 1894 and 1896***

Virginia Powell - born between 1894 and 1896***

Peter Penhallow - born between 1888 and 1890***

Margaret Penhallow - born 1872***

Brian Dark - born 1916***

Hugh Dark - born in 1887***

Joscelyn Penhallow: born between 1889-1892***

*In both Anne of Ingleside and Rainbow Valley Shirley is two years older than Rilla. But in Rilla of Ingleside, he turns eighteen few months before Rilla... it is pure chaos. Rilla was supposed to be nearly fourteen, according to the RV, in 1914, but she is nearly fifteen in RoI. So I apologize, but I had a lot of trouble here...

**The Blue Castle is the most difficult to place in time. It is set several years before it was published, and in my own opinion: before Tangled Web and Pat of Silver Bush. Why? Because of this reference: "This was before the day of bobs and was regarded as a wild, unheard-of proceeding—unless you had typhoid." (The Blue Castle). Bobs were already "in fashion" at the beginning of Pat of Silver Bush (so, in 1919, when Pat was six years old: it was said that Winnie wanted to have her hair bobbed) and in Tangled Web (which is set in 1922). Yet, the cars, motorboats and movie theaters were a rather common occurence in The Blue Castle's times. But... there might be an explanation. Valancy doesn't live on PEI, which might have been a little "behind" the rest of Canada, as far as modern technology went. It is my own personal opinion, but I think that it might be set just before the war, at the same time as the end Emily's Quest. I know that the clothes seem more "modern" in TBC, but Emily wore "a little sport suit" and dress that was described as followed "there was so little of it". Teddy and Perry both had cars, as sone of Ilse's cousins. I would say that the Blue Castle book might be set around 1912-1913. Still, the timeline is extremely elusive. Please, let me know, dear Blue Castle Book Club's members, what is your opinion? I think I have read some amazing discussion about TBC's timeline a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, everyone was certain that this novel was set post WWI (me included, until this very moment when I tried to place Pat and Tangled Web and remembered the "bob" quote). So I choose 1912 as the beginning of TBC, when Valancy was twenty-nine.

*** the ages of characters in Tangled Web:

"They were first cousins, who were born the same day and married the same day,--Donna to her own second cousin, Barry Dark, and Virginia to Edmond Powell--two weeks before they had left for Valcartier. Edmond Powell had died of pneumonia in the training camp, but Barry Dark had his crowded hour of glorious life somewhere in France." (Tangled Web).

"Virginia Powell, whose husband had been dead eight years and who was young and tolerably beautiful" (Tangled Web).

"Valcartier, Quebec was the primary training base for the First Canadian Contingent in 1914."

- from: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/going-to-war/canada-enters-the-war/training-at-valcartier/

So, from this I assumed that Virginia's husband died in 1914 (so Tangled Web is set in 1922-23). Gay is 18 at the beginning, so she would be born in 1904. If Donna and Virginia were 18-20 when they got married, they would be 26-28 (so still "young"). at the beginning. Peter was 14 when Donna was 8, so he'd be 32-34 at the beginning of the book (same age or a bit older than Roger). Hugh was 35 at the beginning. I guess Joscelyn was a bit younger- most of LMM's heroines are at least two years younger than their love interest. I'd say she might have been 20-23 when she got married, so she'd be around 30-33 at the beginning of the book. I would say Brian is about six years old - he doesn't seem to attend school yet, but is big enough to be sent to the harbour. Margaret Penhallow was about fifty at the beginning of the book.

So sorry that this post was rather long, but it was a great fun to write (even if it took me A LOT of time). Thank you for reading. Please, let me know if you agree. Any feedback will be very welcome!

#lm montgomery #emily of new moon #anne of green gables #tangled web book club #tangled web #aogg #blue castle book club #the blue castle #Pat of silver bush #Rilla of ingleside #Rainbow Valley #I know I haven't included marigold or kilmeny #But I don't know how to place Kilmeny tbh #And I need to reread marigold before i will be able to include her here #I think I will reblog or add them later on

[sangahnomiya]

I used to be a big fan of the Anne of the Green Gables books when I was a kid, and one thing that has stuck with me through all these years is this one nickname a character had for his sweetheart

his sweetheart's name was marilla, but her nickname was rilla. her friends and family called her "rilla-my-rilla" as a lil joke, but whenever HE called her that, he would look directly at her eyes and say "rilla-MY-rilla"

now imagine furina blending in human life and making friends, and her castmates call her "rina-my-rina" as a sort of inside joke. even clorinde has slipped into the habit on occasion, and furina has never been happier to have such a nickname.

neuvillette, of course, knows abt this- it's impossible to not hear them cheering for furina at curtain calls. and secretly, he wants to try calling her that way too— rina-my-rina, furina-MY-furina.

#focallette #neuvifuri #RILLA OF INGLESIDE FANS WYA #genshin impact #genshin #neuvirina #furillette #furilette

[alwayschasingrainbows]

I am a bit shy to post this poll, but also, very curious about your opinion, so here we go.

After reading the Finnish sequel to Emily of New Moon series, and comparing it to the later Anne books, another question came to my mind:

(the "Emilia Kent - Runotytön tarina jatkuu" by Satu Koskimies and Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen spoilers under the cut - as well as the origins of this question and my own opinion):

Thank you all for voting!!! I really appreciate each one of your answers ❤.

The origins of the question (and spoilers of a Finnish sequel!) under the cut:

SPOILERS for Emily's sequel (my opinion is beneath the summary):

It was a quite important issue in the Finnish sequel. Emily was very apprehensive when it came to an eventual motherhood. It was stated multiple times that she had no maternal instinct whatsover (very Rilla-like). She didn't want to sacrifice her writing - and she felt that she would have to, if she had children. One of the things she was dealing with in this sequel was writer's block - she found it very difficult to write. Thankfully, she overcame the issue and wrote another novel, at the end of the story. Emily was not exactly against having children (more like, resigned "If they come, there is nothing to be done"), but she certainly was not excited about the idea, unlike Anne.

Emily went as far as telling an annoying reporter that she and her husband were NOT going to have any children. Teddy, on the other hand, was described as wanting a family (which, for a short time, was a bit of a sore issue between them).

Emilia Kent - Runotytön tarina jatkuu takes place during the first two (?) years of Emily and Teddy's marriage. They don't have any children during this time - yet the narrative suggests that Emily is pregnant during the last two chapters (nothing is said straight-forwardly, though).

END OF THE SPOILERS for Emily's sequel.

My opinion:

I personaly have trouble picturing these two as parents. They seem far too invested into their work to find time for their eventual children.

On the other hand, LMM herself wanted children - and it was quite difficult to prevent pregnancy at these times (not impossible, of course, but difficult). Usually, marriage meant having children.

Also... Rilla, who did not like babies, couldn't help loving little Jims. We learn from "The Blythes Are Quoted" that she and Ken had, indeed, become parents to young Gilbert Ford.

Rilla's maturation is partly described via taking care of her war baby - as if to say that even people who seemingly had no parental instinct, could grow to love a child (it is not exactly true in a real world, but LMM seems to use this trope rather often; Aunt Elizabeth with Juliet and Emily, Marilla with Anne and the twins, Andrew Stuart with Jane, etc).

Also, this paragraph from Emily's Quest suggests that Emily might have wanted children at the end of the story:

"Daff," she said, "there is an old fireplace in that house—with the ashes of a dead fire in it—a fireplace where pussies should bask and children dream. And that will never happen now, Daff, for Mabel Geordie doesn't like open fireplaces—dirty, dusty things—a Quebec heater is so much warmer and more economical."

Emily's dreams are connected to the Disappointed House - I always felt that she talked about her feelings there - but that is very far-stretched and the only thing that might suggest something.

So, if I were to answer my own question: I would probably say: either none, either 1 or 2. I definitely don't see her as having a big family.

I am very curious about your thoughts!!!! Sorry for the long post.

#lm montgomery #emily of new moon #poll #emily of new moon sequel #finnish sequel of emily of new moon

[gogandmagog]

If you had L.M. Montgomery as a pen pal and were able to have her expound on or clarify (3) Anne events or plotholes what would you choose?

(ESL so I’m apologizing if the format of this question is poor.)

No waaay, the format of this question is actually perfection and so's your English! And the question itself, too. Do you know that you’re one of my most elusive LMM mutuals? I have hardly any clues about your viewpoints… and I’d love nothing better than to be able to hand you a mic, and sit down tailor-style in front of you, while you shared your takeaways. (All this to say that I’m returning this very question to you, in your own ask-box, the very next moment after I press ‘post’ here!)

1.) About the aftermath of Walter’s ‘going away.’ Especially, was there any kind of memorial or funeral? Can the narrative catch Una up in its grasp at that moment, if there was? Montgomery communicates grief with such harrowing candour after both Matthew and Joy’s deaths (even Ruby's!)... we get these really saudade and wrenching passages that will never go stale against the readers feelings because each time they bring you to burn with the intimacy of fresh sorrow... but then here comes ‘Rilla of Ingleside,’ and we only get mild surface knowledge of Anne’s long emotional convalescence or one-line mentions of Rilla’s initial shock and her own bitter nightly weeping. The whole thing almost feels like a deferred action to me, comparatively. I don't really like books that consistently spoon-feed you tragedy because I find they typically start insisting upon themselves, but I could have used a little more detail in this particular instance. But maybe I just wish for more Walter, always!    2.) I’d grin soooo stupidly if we could get Shirley’s birth year sorted — his whole entire timeline set out in a clear and linear fashion, really. If we could also hear more about his life (before, during and after the war), I’d be riveted, I’m sure. Where Andrew Stuart has his epic on the life of Methuslela that he dreams of writing, I have my own Shirley (+Mi’kmaq girl) Blyography to dream of writing in a really white whale sort of way.

3.) Hey, and you know what? One small inconsistent thing that has always bugged me, that I’ve just now remembered, thanks to this ask... in the chapter ‘Dawn and Dusk’ in House of Dreams, we’re told that Phil, with her big golden heart, wrote Anne a congratulatory letter as she’d heard of Joy’s birth... but not of her death. But this is puzzling to me, because... exactly who would've told Phil that Joy had been born, but not that she’d passed? This chapter is titled ‘Dawn and Dusk’ because the wee white lady lives only from morning to evening. Anyone that knew of Joy’s birth, knew also of her death. Certainly, Anne wasn’t writing far-reaching announcement letters in those very short hours of gladness she was given. Gilbert knew from the first that Joy could not live the day out, so we can fairly rule him out, too. Susan and Marilla are further impossibilities, as they were made aware of the looming sorrow almost just as soon as they were aware of Joy’s arrival. The only others at the House of Dreams at that time were Doctor Dave and a nurse. It'd be absurd if it was them. So…?

#thaaaanks for this

[batrachised]

Oh, Anne Shirley, and her wonderful, uplifting, sweet, wholesome stories. The series begins with a little orphan girl who finds a home and a family, saving Matthew and Marilla just as much as they save her. Anne walks as if about to fly, wandering through life with her head the clouds but her heart in the right place, and even through all her scrapes, from the embarrassing to the wrong to the hilarious, she keeps her eye true to herself and retains her sense of wonder and imagination even as an adult.

So, how do we reconcile this with how the series ends?

You mean Rilla of Ingleside, batrachised? you ask, thinking of our more heartbroken and downtrodden Anne. But no. I'm referring here to The Blythes are Quoted. This is the book that actually contains the last glimpse we see of our beloved Anne Shirley. And, to be frank, it's dark. I read it the other day (although my friend gogandmagog warned me, she WARNED me) and had to sit with it.

Before I share the passages, some context: LMM intended TBAQ to be published, although it wasn't published in her lifetime. The foreword to the book notes the difference between the Piper poem referred to Rilla, and Walter's hopeful letter about making Canada safe for the poets of the future--and then, what we see in this book.

Here is the last chapter we get in Anne Shirley's story [warning: heartbreaking]:

So there we have it-- a poem where Walter imagines killing a boy (although I personally think we could read this as Walter actually killing someone, because how would Jem know?) and then Anne steadily saying she is thankful Walter didn't live to see what the world would become. At the end of TBAQ and the Anne series, WWII is raging. Rilla reflects on how, once again she's waiting for the horror to end, but this time with a son at the front. Even Jem, so bold in the first book (although he returns "no longer the laughing boy brother" who left), now has sons in WWII, now the one waiting at home for their safe return.

There's a lot to reflect on on this passage; how LMM clearly became disillusioned by WWII -shown in Anne's words, how the front impacted Walter's imagination and creative outputs, how this is the ending LMM chose for the characters (although perhaps she would have written more if she had lived longer, we can never know)--"The End" here is stark. "We forget because we must," the last words LMM wrote for Anne's story.

But, I think Jem is wrong (from a certain point of view). I had to mull over the contrast between what Jem says and what Walter writes (and also because, to be honest, my ability to interpret poetry is of equal capacity to a toenail's). Jem describes himself as made of tougher stuff than Walter, but what stands out to me here is that, from a certain perspective, Jem's thoughts are radically different than his brother's. Jem explicitly says they must forget; Walter explicitly says they must remember always. Even in the poem, assuming this isn't a publisher error, those words aren't italicized, emphasized amidst the rest.

Of course, Walter is discussing the pain of remembering; his message is that he'll never be able to forget, which parallels Jem's of having to forget. Both touch on the horror of WWI from different directions. To be clear, I think that was LMM's intent. But stepping beyond her intent, there's an underlying, unintended (?) message here of how forgetting risks repeating, something the characters are living through. Forgetting risks rendering the sacrifices made futile.

To my earlier question of how we reconcile this end: we don't, at least in my opinion (although I'd love to hear other's thoughts). I think the message here is all the more powerful because it's from our beloved Anne. It demonstrably condemns war, without any sugarcoating or even hope. A sharp contrast to the rest of the series, yes, but I think it's a fair one.

#the blythes are quoted #walter blythe #aogg #anne shirley #i'm about to do my “every time LMM foreshadows Walter's death” post too haha #it's PAIN TIME #i recognize these thoughts are rambling but please do not expect me to be coherent or normal about this passage #it's too SAD

[rillabrooke]

ok so what if DID get my (fake) last name from katherine brooke? how cool would that be??

i've always assumed i picked up "brooke" from john brooke in little women because i remember thinking how lovely it looked on paper. BUT i think i picked this pseudonym around the time i read anne of windy poplars for the first time, and i remember feeling really drawn to katherine. (as much as i wish i was an anne, i'm very much a katherine.) and of all the aogg side characters, her development is one of my favorites—the fact that even katherine could be a bosom friend!

so i got my first name from marilla cuthbert/rilla blythe and my last name from katherine brooke, and in doing so, i've traversed the entire series. how full circle would that be!

#rilla.txt #dl #this is going to be my new hypothesis as to where my name came from #it's kinda funny. i picked this name all for myself to represent me and yet i have no idea where i got it from.

[mrsdoctordear]

Marilla Cuthbert. Rilla Blythe. Two different timelines. Nonetheless, two characters that start out a little unlikeable for various reasons, but when they each take on the responsibility of caring for the child they didn’t really want or expect in the first place, it transforms them into someone we love by the end of their respective books.

Because of their wonderful growth, these two Marillas are among my favorite characters in the Anne series—and I think they both deserve more appreciation!

#anne of green gables #rilla of ingleside #marilla cuthbert #rilla blythe #rilla my rilla #aogg #literature #canadian literature #classic literature #classic books #books #character analysis #favorite characters #book characters #l m montgomery #l. m. montgomery #lucy maud montgomery #aoggsource #anne shirley #anne shirley blythe #anne blythe #jims anderson #book analysis #literary analysis #character parallels #character growth #character development #character arc

[dru-izzy-sophie]

#anne of green gables #Bertha marilla blythe #rilla blythe #my bookmarks

[rai-knightshade-art]

Concept: what if,,, we kissed,,, in the 1840's,,,, and we were both girls,,,, ha ha jk jk,,, unless???

Aka I had a dream a while back in which Marilla got a girlfriend back in the 1840's that became a full au where everything's the same except Anne gets adopted by a pair of wives and their ace brother/in-law. And then that dream was real cause I drew it. Enjoy? Oh also a bonus "hold my flower" meme for Anne and Gilbert courtesy of @anneofgreengablesincorrectquotes because that IS their relationship in a nutshell.

Close Ups, a full description of the dream, and some design thoughts below the cut! (Image ID's have been moved to Alt Text!)

The close-ups:

The Dream:

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert go to school with this girl named Adelaide Johansson, nicknamed Addie. She's much like Anne, spunky and adventurous, and she's fast friends with the more withdrawn Marilla. She goes on all kinds of adventures, usually set up by Marilla (her Rilla or Rillie) cause she enjoys puzzles. Only problem is, Rilla is slowly falling in love with Addie, but Addie is absolutely smitten with Colin Andrews (brother to Harmon Andrews and future uncle of Prissy, Billy and Jane), a boy in their class. (He's their "Gilbert" except he doesn't drink his Respecting Women Juice near as much. Or at all.) Colin, at one point, actually notices Addie, and they get semi-engaged (like they're 16 at this point so it's kinda official but kinda not), and Addie is happy for a while and Rilla is happy for her, really she is, and it doesn't matter if she doesn't have any interest in any of the other boys, it's fine! Really! But then Addie goes on her biggest adventure yet: she travels all across Canada, exploring and learning all she can about it and cataloguing native plants and animals and making friends and doing what she does best. All the while she's writing letters home to Colin and Rilla, talking all about her adventures and that she can't wait to get back home in a couple years to show them all she's found and be married. Imagine her surprise when she arrives home, only to find that Colin's been stringing her along the whole time, pretending he was still honoring their "engagement" when in reality he's courted another girl in town and today is their wedding day instead. Addie can't believe it, Rilla had been bedridden from fever and had no idea (or she'd have warned her dearest friend), and she and Matthew (Matt) comfort Addie in her heartbreak, letting her live with them at Green Gables. Over the course of a year or so, while she stays there, Addie finally realizes the love that's been staring her in the face the entire time: Rilla, quiet, steadfast Marilla, who loves her heart and soul, and Adelaide feels the same way.

And so, when Marilla, years down the line, an "old maid" alongside Matthew's "confirmed bachelor", suggests that they need a boy to help around the farm, Adelaide looks up from where she's sketching one of the local plants (it's seemed to crop up a new variant in recent years so she's cataloguing it) to agree with them; after all, the three of them are getting on in years, and some help could be very beneficial...

And that's the story of how Anne Shirley accidentally gets adopted by a pair of wives and their ace brother/in-law.

(Adelaide, of course, absolutely adores Anne when she arrives instead of a boy, and happily takes her on adventures across Avonlea and is instrumental in getting her stubborn wife to cave and let the girl stay. Anne is initially confused why the townspeople call Marilla and Adelaide a "pair of old maids" when the two themselves refer to each other as wives, but she eventually understands and of course adores them regardless.)

(Addie and Rilla are initially concerned about one Gilbert Blythe, fearing that he'll be Anne's version of Colin, but then they actually get a good look at him while he's out with Anne and realize that, no, that boy is absolutely smitten with their girl and would never do something so crass and disingenuous. When they hear about Anne and Gilbert's engagement, they're ecstatic.)

Design Notes:

I based young Adelaide's fashion on fashion of the 1830's, following the book!canon timeline of events (Anne being 11 in about 1876, and Marilla being 51 when Anne showed up according to Anne of the Island); I almost regret not picking either the movie or the show/AnnE timelines so that I could find a more... Aesthetically pleasing, shall we say, time period, but honestly this one was the most set-in-stone and I didn't wanna have to figure out the math behind either nightmare the visual versions call a timeline. Sue me. So we got a 10-year-old Addie in approximately 1831-35 fashion (ish), and then young adults in Adelaide, Marilla and Colin in 1840's fashion. I gave Adelaide flowers in her hair or bonnet at every opportunity cause she's a studied botanist! She'd love making flower crowns with Anne whenever possible. I also gave her dark brown hair to contrast with Anne (bright red) and Marilla (I Headcanon her to have been a natural blonde in her youth).

I made Colin look like a typical 1840's "gentleman" but with the smarmiest look on his face I could give him. He's a cad.

For Anne, I didn't have a specific iteration of her in mind for reference, and her personality is somewhere between all three versions I'm familiar with, but I think her appearance is closest to the movie version (1985) because it was the version I first saw as a child, and idk something about Anne has always had me picturing her with soft, whispy bangs across her forehead, so that's what I gave her.

Gilbert is the same, and comes off a bit more generic I think. The curly-haired sap look is universal among all Gilbert iterations, methinks. He might be closer to the show AnnE version but not by much.

Matthew, ironically, I think may have been a deep pull from watching the animated show as a child 😂 it's the mustache I swear

#anne of green gables #aogg #anne with an e #gilbert blythe #marilla cuthbert #matthew cuthbert #mathew cuthbert #(wait is it spelled with one t or two) (nevermind we'll use both) #shirbert #anne x gilbert #myposts #myart #oc: adelaide johansson #oc: colin andrews #anne shirley cuthbert #historical fashion #i got your flower meme #meme redraw #au: adelaide of avonlea #i like to think anne would approve of the name adelaide #its very princessy

[mondscheinprinzessin]

Yes please do stand on a balcony and ask where miss marilla kaunisvesi is 😤🥺❤ also her baby pictures, we all have pets, we know there's folders full of them sorted by year

I doubt that I can scream as loud that it reaches Finland, let alone America, so it might be in vain and superflous to embarrass myself like that to the whole neighbourhood.

Omg baby Rilla pics😭

My mum is getting two kittens in the middle of May and I can make a ton of pics and vids and then dm him on insta and ask for an exchange if he doesn't willingly want to hand them out like that.

#answered #I just need Rilla content #we have Minna for Rommi #but who can take on that job for Rilla #itsfandomsgalore

[eddis-not-eeddis]

Meet Marilla and her mother Meryl (featuring a cameo from Antionette the chicken). I have it on good authority that ’Rilla spends most of her time in that old roaster pan that my sister handily converted into a manger. Isn’t she a doll?

#Poor antionette has been viciously bullied by her sisters #And we plan to put an end to it #So my sister and I have hatched a kidnapping scheme #We shall bring her into the house until her feathers have grown back

[onlymollygibson]

Anne of Green Gables Fanfic Recs

@itspileofgoodthings‘ Anne of the Island post has got me in an Anne of Green Gables sort of mood, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite Anne fics rated T or below.  This list is by no means comprehensive, and if you like these, I suggest you take a look at the Anne of Green Gables fics on fanfiction.net for more like them.  Now, usually I’m an AO3 kinda girl, but for whatever reason, ff.net has a thriving community of Anne writers that have turned out some absolutely fantastic stories. 

By a Simple Twist of Fate by kslchen My absolute favorite AoGG fic right now.  A modern AU of Rilla of Ingleside, focusing on Rilla/Ken, in which Ken is the heir to the British throne, but it’s so much more than that.  It’s a deep dive into Rilla as a character that allows her to stay true to her LLM characterization while still being a thoroughly modern person.  Featuring the extended Shirley/Blythe family living their best lives, including Jem and Faith as doctors, Shirley as a college dropout turned successful Silicone Valley ap developer and Di as a microbiologist/lesbian icon. Also, thanks to modern medicine, Joy and Marilla and Anne’s mother are alive! This fic updates every Wednesday.    Through the Dark Clouds Shining by kslchen  Same author, totally different flavor, still absolutely amazing.  Rilla becomes a nurse and goes to Europe during WWI.  The level of historical research is phenomenal and the characterization maintains the  flavor of the characters in the book but goes much deeper.  Warning on this one for in an in depth look at exactly how terrible WWI was.   Catching Moonlight by Catiegirl Tropes treated seriously.  What if Anne and Gilbert were accidentally in a compromising situation and had to get married? Super fun, sometimes angsty, but also really fluffy, domestic and sweet. This author has several other excellent stories as well.  The Redmond Diaries by katherine-with-a-k This link is for the first year, however this incredibly skilled, knowledgeable and prolific AoGG fic writer has written all four Redmond years.  She also has tons of other wonderful Anne/Gilbert fics, all written with a wonderful attention to detail, extensive knowledge of Victorian era culture and a hilarious take on Sloanishness.  The Land of Heart’s Desire by Mrs. Von Trapp   What if Anne had not been adopted by Marilla and Mathew?

#anne of green gables #shirbert #fanfiction recommendation #seriously fabulous fics #alternate universe #arranged marriage #royalty au #fic recs #aogg #anne shirley #gilbert blythe #anne x gilbert #l m montgomery #victorian era #charlie sloan

[goldoradove]

tag game

i was tagged by @natolesims - ty!

nickname:  rilla is short for marilla :D

zodiac sign:  capricorn

height:  5′5″

last movie:  black panther

last thing that i googled:  hackers 1995 film

favorite musician/artist/s:  paul simon

current song that is stuck in your head:  baby come back by player

other blogs:  @rillabrooke (main blog) @goldora-ccfinds

lucky number:  18

currently wearing:  gray blouse, blue-jean capris, black chonky shoes

dream job:  editor at a publishing company

dream trip:  tour of the british isles

languages:  english & br portuguese (though I struggle to speak it)

oceanside or the mountains:  mountains!

do you play any instruments:  piano, percussion (i play a little of everything, but my specialty is marimba); i used to play cello and violin

current favorite song:  literally anything from build a problem by dodie

one random fact about yourself:  i am severely trypanophobic and i’m really looking forward to my upcoming dentist appointment -_-

describe yourself as an aesthetic:  anything raven themed lol

tagging @meksims @simmanatti @coatedinhoney @an0nymousghost - as always, feel free to ignore!

#tagged #natolesims #rilla.txt

[ellsey]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe/Kenneth Ford Characters: Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe, Kenneth Ford Additional Tags: Drabble Series: Part 239 of A Drabble A Day 2021 Summary:

The war is over, and now Ken is standing at Rilla's door

This was my drabble for Aug 26 and I’m trying to spread my wings and write new things haha

#rilla of ingleside #rilla blythe #kenneth ford #rilla x ken #drabble

[batrachised]

Tell me all about your love of L.M. Montgomery!

i could MARRY you for asking me this question

it's honestly difficult to nail it down to one reason--at its heart, I simply love slice of life novels, but if I had to list things I loved about LM Montgomery, it would be (1) a remarkable sense for characterization (2) a sly sense of humor and, (3) an overarching theme of recognizing the beauty in everyday things and everyday living.

Starting with (1) [and yes, I'm blatantly using this as an excuse to write a full essay], we all know Anne and Marilla and Gilbert, but LM Montgomery's ability to create a lived in character within a few sentences is incredible to me. Within a few throwaway words, she'll establish a realistic character with motivations, values, and a back story. She often does this to add perspective to the main character--for example, when Jane from Jane of Lantern Hill travels to meet her father for the first time, her companion thinks how she had never met such a dull child. This gives us insight into Jane, but it also gives us insight into Jane's world and the people who inhabit it. A better example would be one of the statements from Mrs. Lynde or Miss Cornelia--a lot of times, a single line of theirs will sum a drama that, just like with Jane's companion, fleshes out the world that our heroines live in quite effectively. For example, my absolute favorite moment of this is the following line of Miss Cornelia's from Anne's House of Dreams:

"He was one of those wicked, fascinating men. After he got married, he left off being fascinating and just kept on being wicked. "

Within those two sentences, you learn everything you need to know about Fred Proctor and his family. You know what his wife valued, how he romanced his wife, why she married him, and how it ended up. There's also just the general paragraphs that tell anecdotes from the village life. Like in Anne of Ingleside when Anne is hosting a party at Ingleside and poor child Walter doesn't understand:

""Did you hear what happened to Big Jim MacAllister last Saturday night in Milt Cooper's store at the Harbour Head?" asked Mrs. Simon, thinking it time somebody introduced a more cheerful topic than ghosts and jiltings. "He had got into the habit of setting on the stove all summer. But Saturday night was cold and Milt had lit a fire. So when poor Big Jim sat down...well, he scorched his..."

Mrs. Simon would not say what he had scorched but she patted a portion of her anatomy silently.

"His bottom," said Walter gravely, poking his head through the creeper screen. He honestly thought that Mrs. Simon could not remember the right word.

An appalled silence descended on the quilters. Had Walter Blythe been there all the time?"

Even beyond the side characters seeming very real, the main heroines are girls/women who seem like real people to me. LM Montgomery's women are flawed. They get angry, make mistakes, can be flibbertigibbets, brood over silly things, have their head in the clouds, allow themselves to be run over instead of standing up for themselves--but also--and this is what I really love--they grow. This is best seen in Rilla (something I've talked about before), but it also applies writ large. The men are also usually likeable--I say usual because in a few of the lesser known books, they can irritate me (*cough cough teddy and emily*), but Gilbert Blythe is the ideal man, and Barney Snaith is too, and Andrew Stuart is a heartwarmingly loving father. They have flaws too--short in temper and too blunt for example--but once again, it just makes them all the more likeable. Walter Blythe is also a great example here, but that's deserving of its post because his situation is more complex (I will never forget how he wrote that he was glad he would die in WWI because he didn't want to live in the world after the horrors he'd seen).

Lastly, and very importantly--LM Montgomery's characters are different. They're distinct from each other. It's not the same generic woman copy and pasted into different books. Marilla is very different from Anne, who is very different from Jane, who is very different from Rilla. Admittedly, Emily and Anne and I'll just throw Pat in there get to be more similar, but it's not to the point where I'd fault anyone for it. Each of those woman has their own voice, which is just a treasure trove for me.

Okay, (2)-- the sense of humor. The passages I've already shared do an excellent job demonstrating this, but LM Montgomery does a fantastic job of slyly (but usually not meanly!) making fun of people and their quirks. See Jane as she leads the escaped lion through the neighborhood--each of the reactions are hilarious, and also a callback to the earlier point of a well fleshed out character in just a few words. Beyond the amused commentary on human nature, she also just has really funny situations. My favorite short story of hers is where a spinster woman who notoriously hates men and dogs but loves cats, and a man who notoriously hates women and cats but loves dogs have to quarantine together and end up falling in love. It's ridiculous (and to be blunt, definitely sexist in some ways) but hilarious, and it also gave us this amazing quote: "The more I saw of men, the more I liked cats." Back to point 1, I also love how the spinster woman, while extremely practical and sufficient, is terrified of teaching a child Anne Shirley in Sunday School because the questions that child asks! An interesting wrinkle to have a character we're supposed to root for be intimidated by a character we also love.

LM Montgomery poking fun at humans leads me to the last point, (3)--she's not afraid to celebrate the little joys of life. The best example of this is Anne's famous quote about being so happy to live in a world with Octobers in it. It makes her writing warm, and cozy, and more than that--hopeful, even when she deals with darker storylines like WWI. I know LM Montgomery gets accused of being saccharine, and it's fair--she does have long passages describing the glories of sunshine haha--but she doesn't shy away from the darker elements of life. It's only implied in Anne, with her orphan backstory, but it's more explicitly stated in her later books, probably best in Rilla and The Blue Castle. There are characters who were neglected and abused; characters who have sex outside marriage in scandals; characters who are deeply depressed; characters who miss out on their happy ending; characters who are just plain narcissists (looking at you, Jane's Grandmother); characters who have miscarriages; characters who are literally groomed (see Emily and Dean, although LM Montgomery doesn't critically examine it). I don't really give much credence to the claims of being saccharine beyond a few books, because the grittiness is there if you look for it, and often times it's in a form that's all too real to life. Sure, everything gets wrapped up a happily ever after bow at the end the vast majority of the time, but that's just the genre haha. LM Montgomery tells the stories of characters who experience things most of us do in our everyday life, both the joys and sorrows, and it's enough. It doesn't need to be anything more. It recognizes the quiet dignity and joy in everyday living, and I love, love, love when stories do that. It's a refreshing response in a world in which a lot media that can either be boomingly fast paced or boringly cynical.

anyway, thanks again for your question and letting me ramble to my heart's content (you're talking to someone who just wrote a nearly 30k word fanfic based on Jane of Lantern hill), i could literally write a thesis on my love for LM mongtomery lmao

#i need to reread magic for marigold too #also a tangled web #there are so many books lol #lm montgomery #anne of green gables #anne shirley #the blue castle #rilla of ingleside

[rillabrooke]

Have you read Rilla of Ingleside? If so, who is your favorite character and did you cry at all?

I have! Rilla Blythe is, in part, who I named myself after (besides the iconic Marilla Cuthbert - my favorite maternal figure in all of literature)! Frankly, I don't have a distinct memory of the book because I read it a long time ago, but I'm currently rereading the series (I'm about to start House of Dreams). I can probably say a bit more in a couple weeks :D

Walter was is my favorite Blythe sibling, so I definitely cried over him. However, I relate to Rilla a lot. I think a lot of people would consider her unfeeling and maybe selfish, but I completely understand where she's coming from. The ending is so bittersweet :')

Can I just say that L.M. Montgomery is the master of making me cry? I rarely cry over books, but I always find myself bawling over her characters. The one that hit me hardest while rereading (besides Matthew) was Ruby Gillis. Gosh that one hurts.

#hi yes you asked about my favorite series so now I'm going to go on a tangent :D #i mention this every once in a while #but rilla brooke isn't my real name #it's the pseudonym i adopted when i started publishing my books online #and now it's the name i use online all the time #marilla... rilla... rilla-my-rilla... ;) #ask #dottiejohnson #anne of green gables