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[cuddyclothes]

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Comments

J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

Do you have any Jeeves and Wooster headcanons you would like to share?

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

I'll start this off simply: I think of Jeeves as 10 years older than Bertie (although I know there's no official answer). Born in 1890 and 1900 if I want Bertie to be in his mid-20s during mid-Prohibition. Maybe 1900 and 1910 if I want them to be alive and kicking in the 70s and 80s.

Re: J&W headcanons

[cuddyclothes]

I place Jeeves as 15-20 years older than Bertie, based on the stage directions for "Come On Jeeves" (credit: wotwotleigh). I like to put them in the early to mid 1930s, as I find that a more interesting era than the 1920s. Plus I don't want to deal with Prohibition in the US.

I don't base Bertie and Jeeves on the TV show, rather my own images of them. Bertie is tall, slender (not skinny but nicely built, like a greyhound) with wavy light brown hair, small distinct features with a slightly pointed nose, around 28-30. (Younger if I want him stupider.) The one thing I carry over is his being able to play the piano and sing.

Jeeves is extremely tall, broadly built, early to mid 40s, a good body going soft in middle age. Large heavy-lidded dark eyes, Roman nose, high cheekbones. Not a lot of brilliantine, enough to keep his hair in place.

One trope in fic is that when Jeeves ages, the only signs are some crow's feet and dashing grey around the temples. I lean toward a more realistic idea, still handsome but distinctly older, slightly jowly, a bit more wrinkled. As for Bertie, I dislike the idea that he's going bald. My dad didn't start balding until he was in his 70s.

Bertie would try a number of fashion fads through the decades, including a crew-cut (causing Jeeves to move out until it grows back), zoot suit (which he only wears at the Drones)and maybe in old age Beatle boots.

The only concession Jeeves gives to fashion is that he wears his hair ever so slightly longer and with less brilliantine. Also, he has his uniforms faultlessly tailored as he ages*

*There are older men in my building who don't have their suits tailored and it looks awful! The shoulders show it the most. The shoulder pads slip off as the shoulders slope more.

Re: J&W headcanons

[thesadchicken]

I tend to go with Wodehouse's purposefully vague idea of when the events in the Jeeves stories take place. I mean, obviously it's somewhere between the early 20s and late 30s, but I like not knowing exactly when. It's almost as if there is no War, no Great Depression, no Prohibition in the Wodehouse World. Everything is oojah-cum-spiff. I quite like that, to be honest, that sort of complete innocence. I find that not knowing exactly when things are happening makes it all the more light-hearted and happy.

My headcanons for Jeeves and Bertie's ages are only a little bit more specific. I place Jeeves as approximately 10 years older than Bertie, and I like to think that when they met Bertie was in his early-to-mid twenties.

In my mind they look a bit like they do in the TV show, but not exactly. It's hard to describe really. Let's just say that their general appearance does resemble that of the TV show, but there are little details that in my mind are different.

Other than that I have a few random headcanons I'd like to share:
- They only get together after a few years of good ol' pining
- Even when they're alone, Jeeves almost never calls Bertie by his name. He uses a myriad of terms of endearments (such as "darling", "my dear", "dearest") but never "Bertie" or "Bertram".
- Once or twice Jeeves actually does call him Bertie/Bertram, but only in cases of immediate danger. When they've had a row, Jeeves goes back to calling Bertie "sir", even when they're alone.
- Bertie keeps calling him "Jeeves" for quite some time, but eventually it becomes "Reg" or "Reggie".
- They eventually adopt a cat (Bertie with a cat is just too adorable)

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

Aaaaw kitty!

ladykeane's modern AU Bertie's Blog stories have this adorable thing where Reg calls Bertie all sorts of silly nicknames. Such as "my radiant faun" and "my peppermint". In that context it works perfectly. I highly recommend all of them.

Re: J&W headcanons

[quaffanddoff]

I am into the "dignified endearments normally, Bertram or sir occasionally" paradigm. There's also a part of me that likes "Mr. Wooster/sir" forever no matter what kind of relationship that develops.

Re: J&W headcanons

[cuddyclothes]

I prefer "Mr. Wooster" or dignified endearments but never Bertie or Bertram.

Ditto "Jeeves", with somewhere sillier endearments.

Re: J&W headcanons

[thesadchicken]

We all seem to agree hehehe
And I love the idea of Jeeves calling Bertie silly nicknames in the context of that modern AU! So sweet and funny! I really have to read that fic ~

Re: J&W headcanons

[worth_a_wound]

I think it would be a loss if Jeeves stopped using "sir" and "Mr Wooster" because I'm really into that. Dignified endearments are fine but I like thinking they keep "Jeeves" or "sir" and just change the way they say it.

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

Awesome headcanon I came across on Tumblr (https://dorkshadows.tumblr.com/post/113749310661/i-might-kind-of-sort-of-be-developing-a-headcanon) and immediately adopted for myself:

I might kind of sort of be developing a headcanon for young!Jeeves. Since he worked at an all girls’ boarding school in his adolescence, one of the girls could have been lazy about her classes and bribed him to crossdress and attend in her place (when he’s off-duty). And going by Bertie’s descriptions of him, Jeeves probably was pretty enough to do that.

Re: J&W headcanons

[thesadchicken]

OH ME GOSH YES? YES!
Someone needs to write the fanfic!

Re: J&W headcanons

[worth_a_wound]

The way I imagine them depends on what I'm reading.

If it's fanfic then I tend to picture them looking and speaking pretty much like their TV actors but with Jeeves being about 10 to 15 years older than Bertie.

When I read the books I imagine them in a different way but the age difference of 10 to 15 years stays the same here. I like to think that Bertie has an average or slightly below the average height and Jeeves is tall. Also that Jeeves has noticeably manlier (as in terms of looking mature) build than Bertie with broader shoulders but nothing muscle heavy or bulky and a bit of body hair in all the right places. Bertie is slender but not skinny and still has a more teenage boyish build and about the same dose of body hair as Jeeves. He will naturally get a more mature build with the years passing by but will always be a rather slim guy and narrower shouldered than Jeeves. I imagine them speaking more like how Martin Jarvis reads them on the audio books. I love how he reads Jeeves. To me his version comes closer to canon Jeeves than Stephen Fry's Jeeves if one chooses to rely on Bertie as a narrator when it comes to the description of Jeeves' emontionlessness. (I love Stephen Fry's Jeeves but his version requires accepting that Jeeves is able to express quite a lot of emotion with his micro expressions, his rather expressive eyes and his eyebrows move more than that famous fraction. ;) Martin Jarvis' Bertie may require a bit of getting used to but he makes him sound so much younger than Jeeves, which I think is great and he is good at expressing Bertie's cheerfulness and carefreeness. One can clearly hear the smile in his voice when he speaks.
I headcanon the stories taking place over the course of many years because it can be nice witnessing the age progression of someone you like and being able to look back on many years spent together.

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

I have this headcanon about Spode that he's romantic and gentle as a lover. I also like to imagine him as secretly gay and a total sub. 😋

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

Ooh, write that!

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

I have this headcanon about Bill Belfry being the only one who knows about Bertie's romantic interested in Jeeves. Bill is secretly bisexual himself but decided to only ever follow the safe path. He once had a crush on Bertie and is still very fond of him. Bill never tried to become one of Bertie's closer friends, is content with admiring him from afar but he cares about Bertie like none of Bertie's other friends and pays close attention to him. That's why things are obvious to Bill whenever he hears Bertie talking about Jeeves. After getting to know Jeeves, Bill hopes for Jeeves to notice and return Bertie's feelings.

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

Who is Bill Belfry? An OC?

Re: J&W headcanons

[worth_a_wound]

William Belfry, Ninth Earl of Rowcester is the main character in the novel "Ring for Jeeves". Jeeves works for him as temporary butler while Bertie is away.

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

William Egerton Bamfylde Ossingham Belfry 😋

- amiable and beloved by all who knew him
- far from being a mental giant
- his heart unquestionably in the right place
- extremely good-looking
- member of the Drones Club since leaving school

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

I'm convinced that Bertie sometimes only pretends to be ignorant just to amuse Jeeves.

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

I can see that! Or maybe he deliberately puts himself in certain situations so he can watch Jeeves disentangle him. Like asking outright, "I say, Madeline, will you marry me?" And then telling Jeeves it was an accident (heh)

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

I like the thought of Jeeves having a praise kink.

Re: J&W headcanons

[cuddyclothes]

Me too!

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

headcanon: they both enjoy role-playing

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

"All right, Jeeves, I'll be Little Mary and you'll be my wee lost lamb."
"Baaaa, sir."

Re: J&W headcanons

[(Anonymous)]

"Let's say a year has passed, Jeeves. It's a hot day in summer. Let me take off my shirt quickly. I'll be the handsome shearer and shall free you from your wool."