Lizzie Bennet Diaries is killing me.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if you aren't watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, you're a damn fool. (And you might want to stop reading this, for spoilers sake.)

Look at that gazing. Oh the power of that male gaze! (Lit major, you know. I can't help it.)

I discovered LBD sometime towards the end of last year. I clicked on a Pinterest link, and boom, there it was. At first I thought it was kind of silly, and really with as much makeup as she is wearing in that first episode, it does come off as waaay cheesy. However, I have watched every other version of Pride and Prejudice ever made, so I thought I would stick with it for a while. And then something magic happened. I fell so deep deep deep in love. Like how much Darcy loves Lizzie in love. Really, it's kind of gross how much I love this show.

Yes please.

I love Pride and Prejudice in all forms. There is something so compelling about loving someone in spite of yourself, loving them even after they've rejected you, and using that love to transform yourself into a better person. I love me a piner. All it really takes for me to love any book or show or whatever is for there to be a guy who is secretly (or not so secretly) pining over a girl he can't have. And Darcy is the ULTIMATE PINER! He loves her secretly, loves her despite it all, pines for her for the entire story. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he is always hot, rich, and hunky. Daniel Vincent Gordh is definitely no exception. Even if his shirt is sadly always dry.

When I first saw Daniel as Darcy, I was less than enthused. He was awkward and stunted and all flaring nostrils and grimaces. Bleh. Of course, that was the point. We're to see him the way Lizzie sees him; at first, he is rather abhorrent, but as time passes he softens and starts gazing at her and joking around and becoming all cute and squidgely. Therein lies the beauty of this adaptation: the better-than-you Darcy from the book is now just a really awkward Darcy who can't manage to attract Lizzie even with his piercing blue eyes and chiseled jaw because he is just too uncomfortable all the time. Awwww. So many of the social foibles that drive the story aren't issues today, and the writers have done a truly impressive feat in modernizing it in ways that are plausible, inventive and fun.

Well, this is the last week of Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and you know what that means. They finally got together and fangirls across the world squealed and died. Including yours truly. I am, in fact, writing posthumously. And not only did they get together and kiss and yes!, but we also got two videos of them being all happy and coupley and so so cute. 

I think I may have peed a little when I saw this moment from Saturday's Q&A video. It's so stinking cute that it caused my body to stop functioning briefly. Playful Darcy! Who smiles! And she would have said yes! Plus, it sent me into a flurry of "they've totally done it!" thoughts, since he totally wouldn't be picking her up if he wasn't comfortable touching her bod, if you know what I mean. Wink Wink. I'm not the only one who thought this either, if the large amount of smutty fanfiction out there is any indicator. 

Nerd Alert.

Today was the last video with Darcy, which is unsurprising though still sad. Only one more video left. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself once it is over. Wait, that's not true. I decided to re-read all fourteen of the Robert Jordan books, so I will be doing that for basically the next 6 months. Hopefully it will go faster once I am not so obsessed with LBD that I'm reading fanfiction every day instead of actual books. But that is neither here nor there. Today's video was thankfully nice and long and we got lots of Lizzie and Darcy cuteness, which all the people in the comments were griping about, but I could pretty much watch forever. I wish it never had to end. Darcy was very generous with the smiling today, too, which was nice. I went on a long rant to my husband over the weekend about how talented Daniel Vincent Gordh is to convey so much emotion with so little movement of his mouth. My husband did not care. But I still talked about it for a good fifteen minutes, then forced him to watch the video again for posterity's sake.

This post seems to have gotten away from me a bit. I had originally intended to share my Lizzie Bennet Diaries smashbook page and tell a little bit about why I love the show, but apparently I love it too much to bot gush for an hour. Meh. Here is the page I made about it.

I was pretty pleased to find that DCWV had a Dear Jane paper stack with tons of lovely Austen inspired images, and quotes from Pride and Prejudice. Way to make something for a very specific type of nerd, DCVW! I had to have it. Even the hubby couldn't protest when it was so clearly made for me. 

I sure will miss LBD, but I am looking forward to seeing what obsessions April has in store. Any suggestions?