theloupgaroux:
Tom Branson requested by janeaustenlover & greenkneehighs
Ship(s): w/ Sybil Crawley. Also, revolution.
Headcanon: Tom and Sybil move to America where they meet up with Charlie Cox’s character on Boardwalk Empire. Hilarity ensues as Owen falls for Sybil and is a surrogate brother for Tom. (Although the character clash as Tom seeks a non violent answer and Owen is all for murdering everyone) Writes itself, really.
Thoughts: I feel Branson is one character I oddly needed to defend? It was ridiculous when people were saying he was ‘pushy’. OMFG. No. Sybil was all over the garage, not the other way around. I felt like people were really battering his character, just for something to do. And that lessens the validity of the argument when it does need to be made, when a man is really pushing a female character around. So it is important not to make those charges lightly, or incorrectly. Because they are rampant across fandoms, but they aren’t here to the extent that certain people were saying.
Tom really brought out my history feels, and got me more interested in the Irish Revolution and the IRA in general. I had studied the print and book aspects of it at university, but not the larger ramifications of it and now I just wish I had several books on it to devour. I love how he was really a vehicle for Sybil’s own character growth, instead of the other way around. That was incredibly refreshing. Also, how he was a feminist of sorts but he doesn’t expect a cookie for it. He didn’t constantly tell Sybil how he thinks she should have rights, and thus how he thinks he should get her. Nope. Instead his presence forces her to question her own existence and her own happiness. She left, because he was “her ticket”. He was not only someone she loved, but also someone with the right lifestyle. Instead of a woman trying to change a man, we had a realistic portrayal of choosing your partner based on shared goals and economic happiness. I love how he stood up to Sybil’s father, and spoke not of their shared happiness, but of Sybil’s happiness with him. This was never about Tom, it was about Sybil. I’m hoping that next season we get to explore more of Tom, outside of Sybil.

butwhatabouttimewithBransoninsideofSybil?
