I would like to say Happy Women’s Day to all women out there (and to people on the non-binary spectrum who have any sort of affinity to the term), and especially those in the MFMM fandom! since this is an mfmm blog after all

You extraordinary people, you’ve given the fandom just as much as the show has, and your enthusiasm and dedication make any day a little bit better. This is one of the best fandoms and it’s just a pleasure to be here. Thank you for everything. I wish you health and many good days.

this show is not at all subtle

what a life, looking dapper, flirting with boys (i was unable to catch it but cec winked ;) )

thoughts on 1x10

not that anyone’s asking for them

It’s been some while since I’ve seen Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. I watched it at Christmas with my parents (whom, for the record, also like the show very much), but I didn’t keep any record of my thoughts. I wanted to do so for this one, although I’m not sure why. Maybe because it cheered me up from my tired and upset disposition.

There’s no accusation, no hurt, and no expectation that Mac should have told her. Only the painful realization “I have hurt you.” The unspoken apology.

you’re obviously incapable of dealing with this

Jack doesn’t actually tell her to get out until he starts making a scene. We all know he values and respects her very much, but it’s so much more clear when it’s put in contrast with such a sexist character.

You can write books on their interactions, and especially the looks they offer each other. Jack is not utmost expressive but my god, his eyes. (but then again, there are episodes where it’s shown more clearly). The quiet fondness. ‘I can’t believe I’m attracted to you, but yes I am’

But what made me go ‘ooooh’ the most was this moment:

First off, that’s literally that meme, only it’s “Phryne NO!” “Phryne YES!”

Secondly, he calls her Phryne when he’s worried about her. We have enough other instances, when she’s held in captivity in that episode with George Sanderson, or when he thinks she died but I wonder if this is the first time he calls her Phryne out of worry. I don’t know. I’m quite tempted to watch the former episodes just to see if I’m right or not. Another detail that I noticed as I screenshotted these: his eyes do not leave her, especially after he secures the murderer. He catches her and stays like that for a few seconds, his eyes not leaving Phryne, hoping she’s still alive. You can read the fear easily on his face, and it doesn’t fully go away even after she says she’s alright (but he closes off right back).

Another detail I noticed just now: The tender way Hugh holds Dot. Oh gosh.

Least but not last, their conversation at the end. It struck with me so much, I will spend a few minutes screenshotting all of it.

And she looks at him as she takes the letter, he nods, and she burns it. 

There’s several points I can make of this conversation.

He already knows of what’s happened, but he still reads her letter. He still wants to know her side of the story. He still wants to know everything she wants to offer him.

I adore everything beginning with “I hope you’re not asking for my help.” The things they’re saying and the things they’re not saying....man, I need a minute. The intimacy of Phryne asking him “Tell me not to place myself above the law”, the vulnerability of it has me shaking. ‘I know what the right thing is, but I have a hard time following it right now. I need a rock.’ And he says ‘You never listen to me’ and she laughs, some of the tension goes away. But then ultimately he tells her “You know what to do” (’ I trust you.’) He is her rock, he offers her support but he doesn’t tell her what to do. He doesn’t place himself above her, even though, funnily enough, the scene starts like that; him standing, her sitting. And then she rises up and they’re on the same level. And they see each other on the same level. He trusts her judgment, he trusts that she knows what to do, even as she’s saying she doesn’t know.

Goddamit these two.

It’s marvelous. The way the women are poised, both on one side of Aunt Prudence, their smug looks. The happy middle for doctor McMillan - even though her lover is gone, she’s still a doctor, and she receives a proper apology from Aunt Prudence.

i was tired and in a bad mood and decided i may watch miss fisher as i eat, because for sure i will cheer up. i was right.

Sorting MFMM characters into Hogwarts Pt. 2

Who-hoo, this one took a while. Here I will tag the lovely @scruggzi because we’ve talked a bit about a few characters and I’ll offer credit where credit is due. I’m eagerly waiting for anyone’s opinions, whether in agreement or disagreement! (especially if it’s disagreement :D  )

Jane Ross

Ravenclaw/Slytherin with some Gryffindor tendencies

Arguments with analysis: 

Jane is a street-smarts by force and a book-smarts by choice. She is a girl who loves learning; She’s willing to stay in a school even if many of her classmates are terrible because she loves its’ library (honestly, I relate). She brings books everywhere she goes  and she connects with other people through her love of books. 

 When she meets Foyle and he befriends her in Miss Phryne’s kitchen, she doesn’t sense anything dubious about him because her usual self-preservation instincts are overridden by curiousity; his mention of being an ancient history university teacher banish the other thoughts in her mind - she’s also very interested in attending university and passionate about ancient history. She connects with Phryne’s cousin Arthur through helping him read and write.

She doesn’t trust easily, but once she does, she’s deeply loyal (which is a thing commonly associated with Slytherins), as shown by her initial reluctance to confide in Miss Fisher. She’s an independent girl, who likes to try to solve her problems by herself; she doesn’t tell Miss Phryne about her issues with her mom. (although that could be either Ravenclaw or Slytherin; they’re both relatively independent) She’s willing to leave behind all the good life she’s had for the sake of her mother.

Her Gryffindor tendencies manifest through the same desire of justice that Phryne strives for and encourages; even to the point that she’s almost expelled when she defends another classmate from bullies at school. However, she’s not usually reckless enough to consider those anything more than tendencies, nor does she have a view of life commonly associated with Gryffindors. (of course, if some people would rather fancy her a Gryffindor, she could be still.)

Final House: I think I’ll go for Ravenclaw; I see in her more of a mindset of a Ravenclaw, once she’s in a safe environment. Her Slytherin-ness seems to be more learned by necessity; she’s more trusting of other people when she doesn’t have so many reasons to distrust them (ex: letting Fletcher into the house). Also, I quite like the image of Jack and Jane geeking out together (about books) like the nerds they both are.

Doctor Elizabeth ‘Mac’ MacMillan

Ravenclaw

Arguments with analysis: I think Mac is one of the easiest characters to sort. To me, she’s easily Ravenclaw. In her own words: “I’m only here because I was born with the type of the inquiring mind that often gets me into trouble.” She’s a non-conformist, dressing in a masculine way, despite what society believes. She’s open-minded, analytical, witty, dry, does her job without complaint, even if she doesn’t like it. She’s rational and picks her battles very well (having learnt how to ignore taunts from other people). She’s often helped Phryne with anything medicine related, whether in helping her find poisons or looking over corpses. If I were to think of another house, I could perhaps suggest Gryffindor, considering her willingness to help Phryne even when there are risks, not mentioning being brave for being herself. But my main take is still Ravenclaw.

Final House: Ravenclaw

Prudence Stanley

Slytherin

Arguments with analysis: As scruggzi put it so well, I cannot not quote her, Aunt P is deeply concerned about class, and remaining within what’s established. She’s deeply focused about image, what’s proper and what’s not, to the point where she often intervenes between Phryne and Jack to rudely interrupt them from possibly kissing - for propriety, one must think. She does view things in a rather black/white way, she’s also deeply loyal to her family and close friends - especially to her late husband (to the point where she wouldn’t accept that he could’ve possibly lied to her while alive - in the Christmas episode). Her kindness is not evident and shows itself more through charity (another thing which contributes to her image.)

Final House: Slytherin

Lin Chung

Slytherin/Gryffindor

Arguments with analysis: I have heard valid arguments for Slytherin. And I think I may agree, even though my initial thought was Gryffindor. But he is willing to an arranged marriage even if he disagrees with the family he’s marrying into because he knows it will be beneficial to him and his family later. He decides that as a head of family, he can stop the distribution of opium that his future wife’s family does (= an ambitious and determined man). His family’s image and safety (as well as Phryne’s) are important to him.

He is a noble man; he refuses to send his fiancee back to China when he learns of her predicament, even if that would give him an out from the marriage and is willing to help her in any way possible. In the end, he decides to marry her because he realizes why she’d be a great wife, that wouldn’t succumb to his grandmother’s wishes.

Final House: Slytherin.  Image and power are important to him; but he’s one of the healthy Slytherins.

Rosie Sanderson

Slytherin

Arguments with analysis: I will confess that when this was requested, I was puzzled at first. I didn’t know whether Rosie would be Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff; I only knew that she gave me vibes of Not-Gryffindor. Yet the more I thought about it, the more she jumped at me as a Slytherin.

In the episode where George Sanderson is accused of murder (and later proven innocent), Rosie confesses she has resented her ex-husband’s apparent lack of ambition, acknowledging now that Jack is good where he is. (in her words “I wanted you to climb the ladder like Father. But I can see what you like about where you are.”) Therefore we can conclude that she’s an ambitious woman, that may want to get higher in society. Slytherins, in general, are aware of the importance of the image they're projecting in society - and this is one of the things she and Phryne have in common. She’s a private woman, who keeps her feelings and thoughts mostly to herself. Only the concern for Jack’s safety (both emotional and physical) make her speak up to Phryne and tell her opinion that she’s ruining his life; and only her deep betrayal over her fiance and father’s illegal activities, disregard for others and lying makes her open up to Jack again to cry on his shoulder.

Final House: I would personally go for Slytherin.

Concetta Fabrizi

Gryffindor/Hufflepuff

Arguments with analysis: Much like with Rosie, I was uncertain at the beginning whether she belongs in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. We don’t know much about Concetta. But we know enough that I could consider her either a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff. She's kind, loving, family-oriented and the more we learn about her, the more we see she hides a deep passion.

When we meet Concetta, we learn that the she's a widowed woman; later it's revealed that it was an arranged marriage, and she didn't love her husband. She would have stayed with him though, for the sake of her family.

She's kind; she offers Phryne food even when she doesn't know her. She doesn't like fights, generally trying to prevent them. She's willing to put aside the whole issue with her former husband's death, in exchange for a peaceful life.

She patiently asks Jack out, not requiring an immediate answer. She accepts the idea of removing herself from her family, if they will force her into an unwanted marriage, wanting to marry for love this time; and despite the fact she wants Jack, she's willing to step aside when she sees he's in love with another woman. She wants his happiness as much as hers.

I think it’s reasonable to put her in either aforementioned house. She projects a softer kind of loving, which I associate more with Hufflepuff, although she demonstrates her passion at the end (and she could easily be compared to Neville Longbottom, a canon Gryffindor who demonstrates his bravery and boldness at the end of the series). Now it really boils down to where she would want to be, or where she would be more suited, which house would be to her greater advantage. 

Final House: Now it’s pretty 50/50 for G/H in my opinion, and either houses are a good choice. We don’t actually know enough about Concetta to make a fairer assessment. Whether the rest of her family would be a Gryffindor and she’d go to Gryffindor to be with them (which would be possible), or whether the hat would look at her and choose. But I’ll call for Gryffindor.

some thoughts

I don't presume to think I'd be the first one to think about that, but the revelation came to me regardless and I had to type it. I’m not saying I’m right, it’s just one way of interpretation.

So as I watched the show I had genuinely hope they'd have a kiss between these two once per season. (They'd certainly had opportunities where they could kiss and it'd still be within the element of: "We Have To Kiss Because Of Circumstances" + Quality Mutual Pining + Angst. Alas, they didn't, therefore it's fanfiction's domain now)

I've been thinking today though about their first kiss. It cannot possibly be a coincidence that said kiss happens in the episode where Rene, Phryne’s ex and abuser, appears.

My mind immediately jumped on the symbolism of it. 

Phryne is an emotionally distant woman when it comes to romantic relationships. I think we can safely conclude that Rene was a big reason for it. I’m not saying that it’s wrong for Phryne that she doesn’t want to marry; it’s just that I personally read the statement that she gives Lin that she doesn’t belong to any man as ‘being in a relationship will mean i belong to that person’; it would make sense given her history of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her ex, in any case.

While I didn’t like that much that the situation was in such a manner that Phryne’s consent couldn’t really be asked for, I like the symbolism of Jack prying Phryne’s eyes away from Rene, and we later learn that the kiss was very much reciprocated. (If you’d even doubt it after what heart-eyes they give each other). It’s like the narrative saying “It doesn’t have to be this way! You don’t have to be influenced by that man anymore!”

Like, both kisses were like a passage into change. Well, it took a long time from the first kiss until the second, but it was a journey.

On Wikipedia I was able to find out a bit about Sonny Clay, and here it’s more about the band playing at the aforementioned nightclub.

I think the song played during this scene is this one, but I could be wrong.

Very very long post but I just...wanted to throw a little appreciation for Nerine. Like, this character has been through a lot. Not only daily racism, but she’s had to marry at 16 to a shithole of an abusing boyfriend, without knowing better, and said husband later refuses to divorce; and then when she’s found a man she thought was good for her another ***-hole blackmails her and forces her to have sex with him so he’ll keep quiet. And when everything is found out, her second husband has no empathy at all, and she decides to take the blame for his murder [although he really didn’t deserve it, piece of ****] and he almost lets her take the blame (he was slow in confessing to the murder).

Just, she was a strong amazing character, who has been through a lot.

And I think MFMM could really have done with showing more black women (and more black people in general).

i don’t even know how to caption this

they look so pleased to see each other!!!!

obviously

she’s adorable, praying for the zebra