#Benedict absolutely NEEDS a Black woman | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

malsmemes · 2 years ago

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☁️ 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 ☁️

from the band ghost !!

❛ Tonight we're summoned for a divine cause ❜

❛ Smells of dead human sacrifices ❜

❛ Our father who art in hell, unhallowed be thy name ❜

❛ Now celebrate the end ❜

❛ She was an evil woman with an evil old soul, her piercing eyes emotionless a heart so black and cold ❜

❛ 'Tis the night of the witch tonight ❜

❛ Evoke the king of hell ❜

❛ Strike the death knell ❜

❛ Say, can you hear the chimes? ❜

❛ Hear our desperate call ❜

❛ I offer everything they seek ❜

❛ This grave hill stinks of death ❜

❛ We Focus On Your Death ❜

❛ I'm waiting for the night to fall I know that it will save us all ❜

❛ I'm waiting for the night to fall when everything is bearable ❜

❛ In the night I am real ❜

❛ You have the power ❜

❛ You wear the crown ❜

❛ You are cast out from the heavens to the ground, blackened feathers falling down ❜

❛ You will wear your independence like a crown ❜

❛ Two star-crossed lovers reaching out to the beast with many names ❜

❛ He is the shining and the light without whom I cannot see ❜

❛ You're the possessée of avarice ❜

❛ This oasis is a poison well ❜

❛ This oasis is a poison well of rotting carcasses that clog the deep ❜

❛ Ever since you were born you've been dying ❜

❛ All those things that you desire you will find here in the fire ❜

❛ Put your hands up and reach for the sky, cry for absolution ❜

❛ Cry for absolution ❜

❛ The world is on fire. And you are here to stay and burn with me, our funeral pyre ❜

❛ You're so God damn frail ❜

❛ Devoured by shadows we cling to the light ❜

❛ ‘neath heavens torn asunder, you call on me ❜

❛ Are you on the square? ❜

❛ Are you on the level? ❜

❛ Are you ready to swear right here right now ❜

❛ Are you ready to swear right here right now before the devil ❜

❛ Now all your loved ones, and all your kin, will suffer punishments beneath the wrath of God ❜

❛ They're still coming after you and there's nothing you can do ❜

❛ Every day that you feed me with hate I grow stronger ❜

❛ If I could turn back the time I'd make all right ❜

❛ How can it end like this? ❜

❛ There's a sting in the way you kiss me ❜

❛ I don't wanna end like this ❜

❛ Don't you forget about your friend death ❜

❛ Don't you forget that you will die ❜

❛ Someone's flesh is rotting tonight ❜

❛ What you've done you cannot undo ❜

❛ Still, your soul will suffer this plight like your father in hell ❜

❛ Can you see me longing for you forever? ❜

❛ Within your heart, a story to be told ❜

❛ This is the moment of just letting go ❜

❛ Through benediction you tried to rid your mind of malediction ❜

❛ I know you need it now to make you feel alive ❜

❛ It ain't over now, and I ain't talking about forgiveness ❜

❛ It's the cruel beast that you feed ❜

❛ It's your burning yearning need to bleed ❜

❛ You keep a casket buried deep within ❜

❛ You try to mask it but fall back in sin ❜

❛ You wanna shake it off but you're stuck inside ❜

❛ Call out in the middle of the night, for when else would I hear you? ❜

❛ Fall out in the cold starlight, I can save you if you do ❜

❛ You will never walk alone. You can always reach me ❜

❛ Call me when you feel all alone ❜

❛ It's been a long time coming ❜

❛ Though my memories are faded they come back to haunt me once again ❜

❛ Now it's time for me to strike again ❜

❛ I'm dying to see you, my friend ❜

❛ I'm with you always ❜

❛ Remember always that love is all you need ❜

❛ Tell me who you wanna be and I will set you free ❜

❛ There's a darkness at the heart of my love that runs cold, runs deep ❜

❛ Will you spill the wine to summon the divine? ❜

❛ Suffering for the lord is not an easy thing ❜

❛ You shine like the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky ❜

❛ The past is spun like a yarn and mangled with flesh and blood and bones ❜

❛ You've been playing around with magic that is black, but all the powerful magical mysteries never gave a single thing back ❜

❛ It ain't always what it seems when you cling onto a dream, it ain't always there to please you ❜

❛ That glitter wasn't gold as opposed to what they told you ❜

❛ But he's the guy you wanna do and you know that it takes two. Luckily he wants to do you too ❜

❛ Through all the sorrow we've been riding high ❜

❛ Not just another bloody Mary ❜

❛ It was just for fools ❜

❛ You go down just like Holy Mary ❜

❛ Your beauty never, ever scared me ❜

#ask meme #Ask memes #roleplay meme #sentence prompt #roleplay memes #sentence prompts #rp sentence prompts #rp memes #rp sentence starters #lyric memes #sentence starters #ghost #no one cares bc no one reads the tags to these posts but my fave ghost song is mary on a cross :)

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cherrycheridarling · 4 years ago

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tic-tac-toe | mcu

marvel cast x actress!reader

warnings: one swear, fluff, no plot

summary: you play aphrodite in the MCU and it's time for the press conference for infinity war. based off of this press conference

wc: 2.7k

"Tom Hiddleston!" Jeff Goldblum introduced the man who was sitting on your right.

Everyone applauded before Jeff moved onto you, "Y/N Y/L/N!" more applause rang through the room.

"Sebastian Stan!" you looked to your left where Sebastian waved to the crowd as you clapped with everyone else.

"Anthony Mackie!"

After Jeff finished with the introductions, he explained how the panel would work. He would pull a ping pong ball out of a container and it would either have a name or category. The audience would be able to ask a question to that person or a person in that category after Jeff called on them.

As he pulled RDJ's name out of the container, Tom leaned over towards you.

"Does your water taste funny, too?" he whispered making you stifle a laugh.

You nodded, "Kind of like lemon, right?"

He shook his head, "Mine tastes like mint. Can I taste yours?" he held his hand out as you passed him your water bottle. He took a sip and spent a moment analyzing the taste, "Yours does taste like lemon! Why does mine taste different? Here." he passed you his water.

You took a sip and were hit with a strong mint flavour, "Woah. I think they're trying to drug you." you joked making him laugh.

"As I am answering this question, Tom Hiddleston and Y/N Y/L/N are discussing the flavours of the water behind me." Robert exposed you and Tom to the audience making the room burst out into laughter.

"They have fancy water. Mint and lemon." Tom spoke into a mic drawing more laughs. "Sorry. Carry on!"

As Jeff pulled the next name, you adjusted your dress. A white, long sleeve, blazer dress with gold buttons down the middle, the dress ended mid-thigh. The v-neck cut showcased your subtle gold necklace. Black stiletto heels covered your feet.

You unconsciously began bouncing your leg up and down in a fast motion. Sebastian placed a hand on your thigh, stopping your movements, "You're gonna drill a hole through the floor, Y/L/N." he chuckled.

"Sorry." you laughed quietly.

Sebastian pulled out a notepad and pen, "You need a distraction. Tic-tac-toe?" he offered.

You smiled with a nod before making your move.

"You absolutely suck at this." you chuckled as you won the third game in a row.

Sebastian scoffed, "You can't suck at tic-tac-toe."

"And yet, you do." you smirked.

He rolled his eyes playfully before you continued playing.

After two more rounds, your attention was back on Jeff as he pulled a new ping pong ball. "Ooh! You can ask a God or Goddess." Jeff announced, "So, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth or Y/N Y/L/N." he reminded the crowd, "Okay, yes, you!" he picked a woman in the front row.

"Hi, I'm Alexis with Forbes. My question is for Y/N." the room applauded as Jeff tossed the ping pong ball at you and you caught it with one hand.

"See, Robert! It's not that hard!" Jeff exclaimed making everyone laugh.

"Screw off, Goldblum! You chucked that shit at my head." Robert joked back. "Sorry, Alexis, go ahead."

"Um, I wanted to ask about Aphrodite's powers. We all know that she is the Goddess of Love and can seduce anyone with her beauty. We see in the trailer a small clip of her seducing men. How many people did you seduce in the film and were there any funny moments filming those scenes that you can share?"

Her question drew a mix of reactions from the cast. Some laughed, some furrowed their eyebrows and others were just confused. You took in the question before opening your mouth to reply, until you remembered that you weren't wearing a body mic. The cast laughed again before Sebastian passed you a mic.

"Sorry. Um, how many people did I seduce in the film? None." you stated drawing more laughs, "How many people did Aphrodite seduce? All of them." you chuckled, "I'm kidding. Although, I'm not sure what I can share because I don't know what's in the trailer." you confessed, "Kevin, Joe, Anthony, what's in the trailer?" you asked them making everyone laugh again.

Kevin picked up a mic, "I believe it's you seducing Spider-Man, Starlord, Drax and Iron Man."

You nodded, "I do have a funny moment that I'm sure Mister Holland will kill me for sharing, but it's too good to not tell." you smiled thinking of the memory.

Tom immediately grabbed a mic, "You wouldn't!" he exclaimed making the audience and cast laugh.

"I would," you retorted, "We were shooting that scene and, as you know, they have to act like they are falling in love with me. Like I'm putting them in a trance. Well, Tom took that a bit too seriously." you paused at the laughter that your sentence caused, "They're all on their knees in front of me, looking at me as if I'm their queen, because I am." you joked, "And then Anthony calls 'cut' and Dave, Chris and RDJ all get up and start chatting, but as I'm turning away, Tom doesn't move. Still on his knees, looking at me as if I hold the world in my hands." the room filled with amused laughs and chuckles as Tom covered his face with his hands.

"No, it was so bad because I just looked like a creep that couldn't stop staring at her!" Tom laughed at himself.

Robert grabbed a mic, "Very true. I was watching and it honestly had me convinced that Y/N had real powers."

"I have to say, I understand the kid's reaction. Y/N's costume for Aphrodite and the way they transform her only enhances how gorgeous she already is." Anthony Mackie spoke up causing the crowd to gush and clap, "I'm pretty sure we all had the same reaction when we first saw her while filming Civil War." he looked around as the cast nodded.

Scarlett picked up a mic, "Yeah. I remember her walking on set in this stunning white dress which made me extremely jealous," she confessed, "Because, one, it's so gorgeous and she looks absolutely amazing in it," the crowd and cast applauded again, "And two, it's made of the softest silk while my suit is leather and spandex!" everyone laughed at her comment.

Benedict picked up his mic, "Although, it wasn't Tom's first time seeing Y/N as Aphrodite. He was in Civil War and still could not contain himself." he teased making the audience and cast laugh again.

Robert spoke again, "Yeah, he did that during the filming of Civil War, too." the room hollered with laughs.

Tom's face was bright red, "I'm just a very committed actor. I really give all of myself to my work." his comment drew more laughs.

"That's why Sebastian despises Tom. It all started when Tom couldn't take his eyes off of Y/N." Chris Hemsworth added making everyone double over in laughter.

"I feel so loved," you held a hand to your heart as the room chuckled, "These are genuinely the best people in the world and I guess you could say I seduced one person during filming." you joked as the crowd continued to laugh, "Sorry, Tom. I'll buy you some juice, don't be mad." Anthony and Benedict laughed loudly. "Thank you for your question!" you thanked the lady as the cast clapped before Jeff picked out the next ping pong ball.

Next was Scarlett. You sat back and silently judged the man who asked about fashion. Scoffing with Sebastian at his question and laughing at Scarlett's sarcastic and witty responses.

Sebastian leaned over again, "I have to piss."

You stifled a laugh at his abrupt confession, "Go to the washroom, then." you nodded your head towards the exit.

"We're not allowed to leave." he frowned.

You chuckled and reached over, patting his thigh with your hand, "Don't piss yourself."

He rolled his eyes playfully before Jeff called out the next name.

"Anthony Mackie!"

"Hi, I'm Tiffany with Times Magazine. With such a star studded cast, do you find it difficult or any obstacles in developing your character with all theses amazing stories being told and struggling for screen time? Like, are there any obstacles or special difficulties or is it all just amazing?"

Before Anthony could answer, Joe Russo picked up his mic, "Are you asking Anthony Mackie if he has a hard time getting attention?" his comment caused the whole room to erupt in laughs.

Anthony nodded slowly as the laughter died down, "Touché, touché. Uh, well, Tiffany, a wise man once said that some men need an hour to make their presence felt and some need thirty seconds." there was an uproar of laughter and hollering at his comment as he dramatically dropped the mic on the table.

"Who are we asking next?" Jeff squinted at the ping pong ball, "Ooh! Back to the Goddess of Love herself, Y/N Y/L/N!" the room applauded for you as Jeff threw the ball to you.

Sebastian intercepted the toss and caught the ball himself with a smug smirk. You rolled your eyes, but smiled as Jeff picked a lady out of the dozens who had raised their hand.

"Hi, I'm Amy with Esquire and I wanted to ask about the relationship between Bucky and Aphrodite. We see in the previous films their awkward tension from their past history. They have a very special romance and their love story is a fan favourite in the Marvel fandom. What was it like building that bond and relationship on screen? And what do you think of the choice to match the two characters together, how did you react when you found out? Did the pairing of the two help build your bond off screen?"

Jeff spoke again, "I said 'one question', that was at least twenty." he teased the lady drawing laughs from the room.

You chuckled and nodded slowly as the laughter died down, "Excellent questions. Umm, I honestly really like the pairing of the two. I think it gives a great dynamic to both characters and reveals sides of them that we never would've seen without their relationship. It's a very 'good girl falling for the bad guy' trope. And if I'm being honest, I've always wanted that." you confessed causing the room to chuckle, "Their relationship is, without a doubt, one of the most complicated ones in the MCU, but I think that's what makes it so loved by the fans since there's not a dull moment between the two. It's nice to see Bucky have a sentimental side, in his own awkward way of course. And you get to see Aphrodite fall for someone who's not a God or a Titan." you turned to Sebastian, "What do you think?"

You offered him the mic, but he didn't take it, letting you hold it up for him, "Yeah, I agree. I never thought Bucky would have a love interest, if I'm being honest. But I'm glad he does because Aphrodite brings out the soft side in him and he brings out the fighter in her. They really balance each other out and Y/N portrays the character in such a unique way, it really brings a whole new fresh persona to Aphrodite and it's amazing having her as a partner on screen." the audience applauded at his words, "When I first found out about Bucky having her as his love interest—"

"—He called me screaming about how hyped he was." Anthony Mackie cut him off making the room laugh. "Anthony! Anthony! Bucky is gonna be with Aphrodite! That's gonna be sick!" Anthony mocked his voice as you were hunched over with laughter.

Sebastian nodded with a smile, "I did. Won't lie, I did. It's a really refreshing relationship and I'm glad that the fans love it as much as I love playing it. Back to you, you haven't talked about the development and our bond." he gave you a lopsided grin.

You chuckled, "I feel like I'm rambling, but yeah. Their development is definitely," you paused, trying to find the right words, "A development?" you settled on drawing more laughter. "Well, as I said, it's very complicated, but awkwardly adorable at times. Since Seb complimented me, I feel obligated to say something nice about him," you joked making them laugh again, "Kidding. He really does play Bucky with such passion and commitment, it's truly inspiring. And working with someone who loves what they do as much as Seb, it definitely motivates you tremendously and yeah. Um, I won't lie, I honestly was dreading working with Seb," you confessed drawing laughs and a gasp from Sebastian.

"Why?!" he exclaimed making you laugh.

You sighed, "Not because I think you're a bad person or anything, but you come off as very intimidating to people who don't know you very well. And I knew nothing about you before filming other than the films you'd already done, so you scared me." your confession caused everyone to laugh loudly.

Sebastian smirked jokingly, "I am extremely frightening. I understand." he shrugged.

You scoffed with a laugh, "I caught you sleeping with a stuffed turtle and whale noises playing." the room roared with laughter again, "That's when I knew you were a big softy."

Sebastian rolled his eyes playfully, "She's joking. I am the toughest man alive." he deepened his voice.

You shook your head with a chuckle, "Sure. Thank you for your questions." the room clapped for you as you set the mic down and relaxed back into your seat.

"Nailed it." Sebastian held a hand out for a high five and you chuckled before hitting your hand against his.

For the rest of the press conference, you sat back and listened to your friends answer questions. Laughed at jokes made and clapped when appropriate. Small tic-tac-toe games went on between you and Sebastian. Your attention was fully on your nails when Tom Hiddleston got called on.

"Hi, I'm Samantha with Daily Mail and I was wondering, since Loki is a very closed off and mysterious character, we never explore the aspect of him having a love interest. So, if you could choose anyone from the MCU for Loki to end up with, who would it be and why?"

You turned to look at Tom as he pondered on the question, crossing his arms and rubbing his chin, "Very good question. Umm, who would I choose for Loki? Let's see," he paused again and looked around the room until his eyes landed on you, "Ah, I'd steal Aphrodite from Bucky." he answered making the room laugh and Sebastian chuckled with a nod.

"Why Aphrodite?" Jeff asked.

Tom chuckled again, "Well, it's Aphrodite." he simply answered drawing more laughs, "They are so different yet similar in so many ways. Loki is never fully evil nor fully good, but I think Aphrodite has the best chance of turning him good. And who wouldn't want to end up with the Goddess of Love?"

The cast nodded understandingly before Chris Pratt grabbed a mic, "If you were to ask any person on this stage that same question, I guarantee the answer would be Aphrodite." the whole cast nodded.

"They're all trying to steal Sebastian's woman." Jeff teased.

Sebastian scoffed jokingly, "They're all jealous." he wrapped an arm around your shoulder.

You chuckled with a shake of your head before Robert spoke up, "Adding onto the conversation. Miss Y/L/N, who would you want Aphrodite to end up with?" his question drew excited reactions from the crowd.

You let out a bark of laughter before looking from Tom to Sebastian, "Hmm, excellent question, Mister Downey." you rubbed your chin, "Stop doing that, Holland." you chuckled as you saw Tom point at himself in the corner of your eye.

He raised his hands in surrender before Anthony Mackie spoke up, "Spidey is five years old, kid." everyone laughed at that.

"I'd have to stick with Bucky. He is her true love." you shrugged as the crowd cheered.

Sebastian smirked from beside you as the men of the cast faked disappointment.

As the panel came to a close, you looked around at the family you were surrounded by. Friends you love more than anything. Hundreds of memories with the most amazing people you'd ever met. Your home.

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newtonsheffield · 3 years ago

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Spicy Sunday 🌶🌶 Molly cheap thrills was such a surprise - loved it! The flirting 😍 Now we need to fill in the blanks of what happened when Kate brought him home

Absolutely LOVED Cheap Thrills!!!!! Your writing is constantly amazing, I get so excited every time you post! Would it be too much to request more from this universe, maybe some spice🌶? Wishing you a great upcoming week, love from Canada🇨🇦

so…. cheap thrills spicy sunday?

also klepto drunk molly is very unexpected yet welcome

So I hadn't planned to write this AU really. But I told @readandbemerry but my drunk antics and Cheap Thrills was born! A pair of glasses isn't even my weirdest trophy. I once came back from the bathroom wearing a crown that to this day neither my friends or myself can explain. I have no memory of it. It looks like the kind of thing Julius Caesar would wear.

Okay! Let's do some Spice in this Universe, but I also feel like... you already know how it goes. It was in Kate's drink order 😏😏😏😏😏

Anthony really wasn't sure how he ended up in the back of a taxi with Kate Sharma's lips nipping at his neck, her hand settled on his thigh. He hadn't been able to help himself last night, Someone had stumbled, on their way into the bar, and instinctively his hands had reached out to steady them and suddenly he'd been staring down at most probably the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders, her eyes wide with surprise, her smile apologetic as she mumbled Sorry.

"No worries, Hey-" But she was gone. And Anthony spent the next few hours staring at her laughing across the bar. He'd taken his glasses off to clean them, turned around and suddenly there was a much smaller woman staring up at him.

"Are you a good guy?"

Anthony had been startled but stuttered to answer "Yes. Yeah. Umm I think so. Maybe. No, Yes, I am."

She nodded. "And you're how old?"

"Twen-Twenty-nine?"

"And have you ever killed anybody?"

Benedict beside him had laughed bemusedly, "No!"

"And you have a stable job? You're not like... I don't know making t-shirts from the boot of your car or working on your garage band?"

"I'm a barrister?" He really had no idea what was happening but something was compelling him to answer.

"And your name is?"

"Anthony?"

The woman stared at him scrutinisingly for a moment before saying. "Give me your arm." His arm shot out of its own accord, "Well, Anthony," She was writing something on his arm in felt tip, "You should call Kate. Because you've been eye fucking her all night and she stole your glasses 5 minutes ago."

And then she was gone as well, and Anthony had just stared like a stunned mullet as she followed Kate from the bar, his hand already fumbling for his phone.

"You have to call that Girl." Benedict had said a little incredulously but Anthony was already dialling, his heart racing, it just seemed too good to be- Hi this is Kate Sharma, I can't come to the phone right now but leave a message and I'll get back to you. Maybe not too good to be true.

And then He'd seen her at the bar again, her black dress hugging her body, his glasses perched on top of her head like a trophy, even more beautiful than he'd remembered and it had taken everything in him not to march up to her and claim her lips right there. He wasn't really sure what to expect from a woman who engaged in petty theft when drunk and honestly, she seemed mortally embarrassed by it. But other than that, she was razor sharp. Her witty remarks as sharp as her cheekbones, standing toe to toe with him, drawing him closer with each new fact about herself, and before the bartender had even taken his money, Anthony had known he was going to ask her to dinner, and probably out again after that.

He really hadn't expected her to invite him home, hadn't been looking for it, but that wasn't going to stop him from standing and fumbling over himself as they left the restaurant. As he fumbled around on his phone ordering a taxi he could feel her eyes on him, staring curiously. He turned to face her as he hung up, nerves building in his stomach. Their eyes locked together, and jesus she was beautiful, maybe too beautiful in the bright city lights, tension building between them.

"Can I kiss you?" It swept from his chest a little unbidden.

She'd stepped closer to him, her hand on his chest, burning there. And then he dipped his head and their lips met, and it had never felt like this before. Her lips were moving against his, meeting them just like her banter had, perfectly in sync after just seconds, his hands moving to grip her waist, tugging her tight against him, her hands threading through his hair as the kiss deepened, his leg slipping between hers and-

"Oi!" A car horn sounded startling them apart. "If you get in mate, you might avoid getting arrested." The taxi driver was rolling his eyes, Kate ducking her head a little embarrassedly as Anthony pulled her inside, murmuring her address before her teeth started nipping at his neck, heat building between them.

By the time they reached her flat it had reached a slightly desperate stage, hands fumbling down the corridor, his chest pressing against her back as she fumbled with her keys, a low whine escaping her as he ducked his lips to her collarbone, sucking lightly against it, his teeth following, falling through the door as it swung open. Kate's hands were dragging him down a small corridor, her eyes locked on his.

"I don't um... do this that often, I'm sorry if this is... weird?" She started a little awkwardly, breaking the bubble forming around them, Anthony ducked his head cutting her off with another kiss.

"I have to say, this is definitely the weirdest way anyone's ever flirted with me, and I fucking loved it." Her eyes widened, staring back at him, tension thick in the air. And then she moved, her hands releasing his forearms, sliding to her own back, a zipper drawn down and Anthony felt his mouth drop open. staring. Frozen.

"Are you going to-?" Her fingers playing with the hem of his sweater, her voice soft pulling him from his reverie.

"Oh my god, Yes. Sorry, You're just really pretty and I got a little distracted." Anthony couldn't keep the grin off his face as he tugged his sweater over his head, obscuring her eye roll, tugging his jeans off seconds later.

She was staring at him now, her eyes glazing a little.

"So maybe your mum and I do share the same opinion." her hands were tight on his bicep tugging him back to her.

"I knew it."

And then his lips were on hers again, her exposed skin, setting his on fire as their teeth clashed, tongues tangling, her hips moving against his leg between hers.

"What do you want, Kate?"

She looked a little wild as she stared back at him, her voice rough, her lips tugging upwards in a catlike smile, "Mine's a slow screw against the wall."

A whine escaped his chest, his hands tugging on her legs, lifting them to wrap around her turning them, until she's pressed firmly against the wall, trapped against him. Her smile nearly too bright. His eyes questioning, her legs tightening around him. A gasp given together as their hips started moving together, push and pull, his forehead falling against hers, his spine shivering with the little noises she made as he moved against her, her hands tight in his hair. His glasses still perched on her head, forcing a slightly possessive growl from his chest. Heat building in his stomach slowly, simmering, a steady pace, the noice echoing through the room like his heartbeat Oh My god, Anthony, Anthony, Fuck Fuck, Anthony. Her eyes blown even wider as she shuddered against him, falling apart all around him But Anthony held her together, his arms tight around her as he pulled her from the wall, stumbling a little in the few steps, her breathing ragged in his ear as he laid back against the mattress, forcing him to straddle her.

Kate stared down at him, clearly a little surprised, his own voice rough,

"I like to see a woman on top." a small shrug escaping him.

A slightly breathless laugh bursting from her, as she started to rock against him. "We thank you for your feminist efforts."

Whatever witty response he was going to make died on his lips as she started moving in earnest, her fingernails digging into his chest, his hands tightening on her hips encouraging her against him, pushing him closer and closer to the edge, choked words falling from his lips. Holy Fuck, So beautiful, you're so incredible, Needy, greedy gasps, Again, Kate. Kate Kate Kate, Again Please. A soft cry breaking free from her chest, and he fell over the edge as well.

Kate collapsed again him, reaching up and plucking his glasses from the top of her head, her shoulders still heaving as she fought for breath, sliding his glasses back on his face. Her smile a little brilliant.

"I knew you'd look better with them on."

A breathless laugh from his own lips. "Next time you fuck me, I'll wear them for you, Catwoman."

This got way too long, I'm sorry

#anthony bridgerton: *sees kate* *immediately simps*#cheap thrills #spicy sunday🌶#kathony #anthony x kate #anthony bridgerton #kate sheffield #kate sharma #molly's asks and answers

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bridgertonbabe · 3 years ago

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Is it Sophie a weak character like some people say? Because I really try to find where those come from and honestly can't find it, how is she weak? Please ramble all you want 😅

I don't know if you're referring to Sophie being weak as a written character or if her character is weak because of the abuse she suffered but either way;

Absolutely not!

Sophie is one of the better written Bridgerton spouses and by no means is she a weak written character! There's a handful of other characters who are waaaaaay more undeveloped and come across as weakly written in stark contrast to complex and layered characters like Sophie, Kate, and Penelope.

And in terms of actual strength, Sophie is by far the strongest of all the Bridgerton spouses (and I would say I mean this purely on a mental basis but on a physical note she did send Benedict flying to the ground with a single punch - she might be petite but my god is she mighty).

More than any other character in the series, Sophie has suffered the most and unlike some of the others who succumb to their emotional demons as a result of their own trauma and abuse (e.g. Simon, Phillip, Gareth), she remains resilient and rises above it all. She could have become so bitter, resentful, and downtrodden of the way life has treated her and yet she still treats everyone around her with kindness and retains her innate sweet disposition.

I think those who call her weak are treading the risky line when it comes to the victims of abuse. Sophie suffered because of Araminta and some people might view the situation and simply think; why not just leave? Does she not love herself enough to walk away from a situation where she has to endure such cruelty? Surely she must see that there are other alternatives than living under the roof of her abuser?

But Sophie's situation isn't as black and white as some might view it, which is the case in a lot of situations of abuse. Sophie's father died when she was still in her formative adolescent years and while there was no love between them, he did take her in and protect her at the very least. Araminta needs Sophie to stay for her own intentions and while Sophie doesn't know the reasons behind this, who is she to argue with her authority figure? A life in servitude might not have been what she was raised to do prior to her father's death, but at least she keeps a roof over her head. She could have taken a chance and run away but in what world would a teenage girl like Sophie be safe and not at risk from the dangers of men? Araminta abuses her power of Sophie, but at least Sophie knows what to expect from her. Sometimes its safer to stick with what you know than take your chances on what could end up to be an even more perilous situation. Sophie, like anyone in her situation, possesses the survival instinct and after weighing up her options, slaving away under Araminta's tyrannical cruelty is the best she can stomach for the time being.

When Sophie eventually does flee Araminta, she is a grown woman and has enough smarts to steal the shoe clips to buy her ticket out of town. She has to rely on her own wits to get by and eventually winds up at the Cavenders, where apart from Philip Cavender's harassment of her, she would have felt comfortable enough to stay. When she senses danger from Philip and his cronies, she doesn't stick around and hope they leave her be; her survival instinct kicks in once more and she takes off.

For everything she has suffered and how cruelly her life has played out, Sophie still possesses a strong will to survive and even after years of emotional abuse from Araminta, she is by no means a shell of a woman. She is feisty when she needs to be but all around she is sweet-natured and is able to recognise the kindness of others, even after years of experiencing the very opposite of that.

#asks #my ramblings #sophie beckett #bridgerton

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possiblyimbiassed · 4 years ago

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The lying liars who lie

Years and years late to the party, I’ve finally gotten my hands on all the DVDs of BBC Sherlock, and I thought it would be fun to watch the extra material carefully, one piece after another, and also listen to at least some of the show makers’ commentary of the episodes. But at this point, after S4 where DVDs seemed to be a constant lying device in general, I tend to look at them with a bit more suspicious eyes...

I still love the show of course, but now that I’ve taken this deep dive into all the special features, I find them a truly hard thing to try to wrap my head around. Even this long after the fact, I’m amazed by the amount of shameless, self-congratulatory BS in the DVDs, where the people involved can’t have enough of complimenting each other and their show, while they skillfully avoid to discuss anything actually meaningful about the plot line. ;) For example, Moffat claims in the S2 DVD that “In fact, you’ll never see a more obsessively authentic version of Sherlock Holmes than this one”. But if we follow their light-hearted commentary, which basically takes the show at face value, I’d call that not just hyperbole, but an outright lie. If you want to see the ‘authentic’ stories from ACD’s work in this show, you’ll definitely need to go much deeper into the subtext and meta levels - neither of which are mentioned on these DVDs of course. Here’s my own (rather subjective) ‘review’ of the whole thing, trying to pinpoint why I view most of the commentary of the show from its own makers as an advanced art of deception.

(My musings under the cut)

Series 1 - a wealth of extra material

First of all - as many of you probably knew already - the whole of the Unaired Pilot is added to the DVD of S1. In the extra material about the making of the series, they (Sue Vertue, Mofftiss and others) talk about what things they changed between the Pilot and ASiP, claiming that many changes were necessary improvements once they knew that they had a whole series and a lot more time at their disposal.

Which I can perfectly understand and agree with in general. But I think what’s missing in their discussions is more interesting than what’s actually there (”Mind the gap” ;) ). Things that I would expect from the show makers when they go to the trouble of comparing the pilot version with the aired product. There’s not a word, for example, about the fact that they added both Mycroft and Moriarty to the story in ASiP - two characters who later turn out to play major roles and appear in almost every other episode until the end of TFP. Or about the choice that one of the screenwriters would play Mycroft.

Neither do they discuss why they chose to relocate the place where Sherlock was challenged by the cabbie from 221B to Roland Kerr’s School of Further Education. Instead they focus on the details, like for example the new design of the interior of 221B.

Not to mention the fact that almost every scene in the Pilot is mirrored in ASiP (as pointed out long ago by @kateis-cakeis X), but at Angelo’s in the Pilot Sherlock follows the events with the cabbie while looking in an actual mirror. I even noticed that in the Pilot the cabbie is offering Sherlock dark-coloured bottles with the pills in them, while in ASiP those bottles are transparent, as if the cabbie is offering Sherlock to play Black or White in the chess game that he is simulating. What’s with all these mirrors, though? Not a word on the DVD... ;)

Now, even though these rather remarkable choices are neglected together with a great bunch of minor ones, I still think that the most interesting fact about all this is that they actually included the whole pilot version within this DVD, which is sold by the franchise. Why even do this, when it raises far more questions than it answers? The only logical reason I can come up with is that they’re laying out a track of little hints that anyone with a deep enough interest in the show to actually buy the DVDs can try to follow. And it seems to me that lying by omission is one of the first steps in the long line of cryptic and misleading author comments on this show. But at the same time, they clearly want the fans to have access to it all, even the abandoned version.

Moving on to Series 2, time for bigger lies

In the extra material of this DVD Benedict himself describes how his character "faces one of his deadliest enemies in the shape of Love, and it comes in the form of Irene Adler, who is this extraordinary dominatrix [insert here a bunch of superlatives regarding Adler]...”. And then we see how Adler whips Sherlock with a riding crop (without any kind of consent, I have to add) while he’s lying on the floor, and we have Lara Pulver telling us how it was to have a go at Benedict on set. So Holmes whips dead bodies and Adler whips living; seems like a match made in hell! :))

Gatiss claims, grinning with his whole face, that “they’re clearly, absolutely made for each other”. OK, so I think we can see Sherlock being intellectually impressed by Adler, and even trying to protect her from Mycroft, and we can see John acting jealously. We can also see her being dressed and styled as a perfect, female mirror of Sherlock. But I’m still at a loss what all this has to do with love on Sherlock’s part? Especially since he’s not even responding in any fashion to her various attempts at seducing him.

And there’s more: Paul McGuigan, the director of ASiB, claims that the scene where Sherlock has a conversation with Adler inside his Mind Palace about the crime case with the car that backfires "is a part of a kind of love story, if you like...” No, I don’t. Maybe it’s just me, but if their aim really was to convey to their audience a love story between Sherlock and The Woman, I think they failed miserably. All I see is a guy ’mansplaining’ to a clever woman how to use her brain, while she’s trying to flirt with him by expressing her admiration (to no avail, though) and make deductions at the same time. Nothing new under the sun, really. John did the same thing repeatedly in ASiP (without making own deductions) and got far more attention from Sherlock, but I’ve never heard any of the show makers call that ”a love story”. But by ’lie-splaining’ the scene with Irene to the audience, they try to manipulate us all to see it as such...

In all the direct commentary of this episode, where Steven, Mark, Sue, Benedict and Lara are present, I get the impression that every time they even touch on the relationship between Sherlock and John, they hurry to add the term “friendship” or “man love” or similar words in case they forgot them at first, avoiding even the tiniest possibility that there could be anything more going on between them. They even explain that when Irene calls them “a couple” she does not mean anything romantic. This whole approach feels almost paranoic in the midst of all the laid-back jokes and light-hearted talk about the filming. It’s as if a sort of restrictive, heteronormative filter or blanket is being constantly applied, to teach the audience the ‘no homo’ lesson of it all. And the more I listen to this, the more tiresome it becomes.

In the commentary Moffat does reveal an interesting detail, though: that the ‘Flight of the Dead’ in ASiB was inspired by a cut out scene in the Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. To me this is just one more reason to question the ‘authentic’ quality of this scene, as opposed to possibly taking place in Sherlock’s Mind Palace. But I digress...

Listening to the commentary in general, it’s like it’s aimed to distract the attention from what’s going on at the screen rather than highlight it and try to explain their intentions. They do mention that Irene didn’t actually ‘beat’ Sherlock in the end of ASiB, but there’s no explanation of this obvious deviation from canon, where Adler does indeed fool Holmes, taking advantage of his prejudices.

The rest of the extra material of S2 is mostly about technical stuff, special effects and such, and also about filming techniques and Benedict’s delivery of fast deductions. But the part I really do love is the one where Andrew Scott talks about how much he enjoyed playing the scene where Moriarty dances before breaking into the Crown Jewels. That’s one of my favorite scenes of he whole show. :) Also, the takeaway message from this DVD is Moffat’s words at the end:

“These are still the formative years of Sherlock Holmes, and the most important thing about this series is not that it’s updated; it’s the fact that those two men are still young and they’re still at the beginning of what they don’t yet know is gonna be a lifelong partnership”.

And then comes Series 3...

...and its extra material, with the most blatant attempts at deception so far, I believe. At this point Sherlock is called a “psychopath” by both the show’s characters, John’s blog, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as if it were true, which is a big deviation from ACD canon. That simply doesn’t happen there; while Holmes is sometimes described as eccentric, no one in the books is ever claiming that Sherlock Holmes has some kind of mental illness leaning towards cruelty and egotism - not even his enemies say this about him. In the show, however, they begin in ASiP with making him torture a dying man for information (something that is not included in the Pilot). And in S3, where they avoid discussing the reason why they turned Mary Morstan into a ruthless assassin, this major shift is glossed over by the fact that in the same episode (HLV) they also turn Sherlock into a murderer, who cold-bloodedly blows the brains out of a blackmailer for threatening to make said assassin’s crimes public.

But without ever getting into the “why” of it all, the cast and crew seem overly happy and smiling describing these rather morbid choices as something positive; “fantastic”, "fresh and new” and "amazing” are their choice of words. Benedict claims that Mary, who has literally shot and almost killed Sherlock in HLV, is now "a new best friend of Sherlock’s”. Amanda claims that Mary “is protecting John” when she shoots Sherlock in the chest. Now they’re both psychopaths, and poor little John is forced to stomach them both because he’s addicted to danger. In Amanda’s words, Mary also “kind of gets in between the two of them, but she wants them to be together as well”. Which is a load of BS considering that Mary tries to kill the protagonist of the story.

Lars Mikkelsen thinks it’s “such a good script” because “you’re mislead as an audience”. But he never gets the chance to expand on what the misleading actually contains, because then Mofftiss cut in to express how much they love playing with “what ifs”. As if this whole mega-budget project of a show were just a big experimental playground without any actual story to tell.

Benedict repeats his line from HLV that Magnussen “preys on people who are different” and Moffat also says he “exploits people who are different”. Which is really confusing, considering what we can see Magnussen actually do in the show. Lady Smallwood and John Garvie are two well-established, powerful governmental politicians whom Magnussen blackmails by finding their respective pressure points. In Garvie’s case his pressure point seems to be alcohol problems in his past, but according to media he’s later arrested on charges of corruption. Lady Smallwood is blackmailed on the basis of her husband having sent compromising letters to a minor many years ago, in spite of later claiming that he thought she was older and stopped when he found out the truth. And then Magnussen is blackmailing an assassin who recently threatened to execute him but shot Sherlock Holmes instead, in order to try to get at Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, another powerful governmental figure.

But what does media seeking out dirt on certain people in power and their families have to do with “people who are different”? Despicable as the method may be, isn’t this unfortunately how political power play usually works in our society? Or are TPTB somehow a repressed minority group now? Unless this whole “people who are different” accusation is actually about something entirely different, something that none of the show makers even cares to mention... ;)

In these DVDs, none of the involved persons is ever discussing the change of roles with regards to canon, though, or the (lack of) logics in this turn of events, or even a hint about the narrative motivation behind them. It’s all about the great Drama, the extraordinary visual effects and the aim to endlessly “surprise the audience”. Which is fine by me to a certain extent, but when this is all that’s being said, it feels extremely superficial, as if the audience is merely seen as a bunch of consumers that have to be triggered more and more by horror, special effects and cliff hangers to be able to appreciate the show. (“Warm paste” indeed, like Gatiss has later criticized some viewers of wanting...) While the "why”; the idea behind this surrealistic adaptation, made by self-proclaimed fanboys of ACD, is not even touched upon. Around this, the silence is total and therefore totally confusing.

Maybe I shouldn’t even go into Series 4...

...but why not, since I’ve already started? :)

First of all, there’s a lot of extra material on this DVD and I particularly love the parts about the music and composing and Arwel Wyn Jones’ work with the design and build-up of John’s and Mary’s flat and the interior of 221B. Those bits are truly enjoyable. What I could live without, though, is the leading commentary that kind of instructs us, the audience, how we should interpret the show.

Benedict is on it again on this DVD, telling us that in TST they picked up where they left off in S3 and “It’s a very happy unit of three people that then become four.” Why does he feel the need to make this statement, considering how S3 ended? Actually, if there’s anything I totally fail to see in S4, it’s happiness. The banter between the three of them may seem entertaining for a while, but who could have a relaxed, warm relationship with someone who tried and almost succeeded to kill you less than a year ago? Without any sign of remorse? Now there’s a dark tone of discomfort and mean jokes that feels forced and not even a bit happy to me.

But Martin tells us how excited John and Mary are about starting a family and Amanda mentions how much they’re looking forward to the baby. Again and again it’s repeated, as though trying to rub it in: “they’re in a good place, they’re a loving, married couple”. Yeah, right - a child that (judging by TSoT) wasn’t at all planned and now with an assassin for a mother... Twice we see the new parents complain that their daughter has the mark of Satan on her forehead and debate which horror movie she’s from. The clichéd hypocrisy of it all is sickening, and I’m willing to bet that it’s really meant to be. ;)

But Gatiss chimes in, deciding for us all that the christening of Rosie is “a funny scene” and “they’re enjoying each other, enjoying being on adventures as a three”.

An interesting detail is that Gatiss also tells us that the working name of this episode was “The Adventure of the Melting power Ranger”. So this little blue guy was that important? :) And - even more interesting - is when he says: “Cake is now the code for violent death”. So how should we interpret Sherlock, John and Molly going out to have cake in TLD then, on Sherlock’s (supposed) birthday?

These might be jokes, though, but when they tell us that Sue cries every time she sees Mary’s death I strongly believe they must be joking. How could anyone feel truly moved by this overly sentimental long monologue where far more efforts are put into reacting to Mary’s speech than saving her life? And John’s mooing like a cow, is that also moving? :)

One thing Martin says about TLD that actually disgusts me is regarding the morgue scene where John assaults Sherlock and Sherlock lets it happen: “From there, really, their relationship can only sort of rebuild, that’s the absolute worst it can get”. As if outright physical abuse would be something that makes you want to rebuild a relationship? Wow - just wow... How far can they go with this crap?

Anyway, when we finally arrive at the absurdity of TFP and Sherlock’s ‘secret sister’, everything is of course discussed as if she actually does exist on the given premises, and everything she does is ‘real’, no matter how impossible it would be in real life. The abandonment of any attempt to have the story line make logical sense is skillfully covered up by more distraction with fascinating technicalities of the film making process. This is where Gatiss makes his now almost classic statement that after Sherlock and John jump out of the window at 221B when a grenade explodes there, it’s just “Boop! And they’re fine.”

Of course there’s no serious attempt at explaining this logically. Except perhaps Gatiss claiming that they both landed on Speedy’s awning - whatever good that would do to them, since the awning is leaning downwards, but never mind... But we never even saw that happen, did we? A great deal of time is then dedicated to show all the precautions to have Martin and Ben jumping safely at low level onto a madras supported by empty cardboard boxes.

Sian Brooke did say something interesting about Sherrinford, however, that got me thinking. She said that Eurus “wants revenge for the years and years that she has been held captive” there, isolated, and that in TFP the Holmes children are now “lab rats” and “it’s an experiment”. On a meta level, I think we can indeed see this episode - and maybe the whole show - as a kind of experiment, but maybe we, the audience, are also lab rats? Since Sherrinford is slightly shaped like a film camera (not commented in the extra material, of course), it leads my thought to all the adaptations through the years and years where Holmes and Watson have not been allowed to be together. A whole century when Sherlock Holmes has been held captive, restricted by the very same sort of heteronormative filter that all this extra material imposes; it’s like Sherrinford, isn’t it? Which gives all the more meaning to Moriarty’s arrival to the island, accompanied by Freddy Mercury’s “I want to break free”...

I think I’ll let the final words in this little exposé come from Mark Gatiss in The Writers’ Chat (my bolding):

“Moriarty is a fascinating thing in that in our sea of ongoing lies, one thing we’ve genuinely been completely consistent about is telling people he’s dead. But no-one believes it! And it’s a rather brilliant thing.” Again - self-congratulatory statements. But instead of providing some actual evidence of the death of this character, who has kept popping up in almost every episode since his supposed demise, they think that the more a confirmed liar repeats something, the truer it gets? And the more we’re supposed to believe them? Well, all we can do is wait and see. :)

Tagging some people who might be interested:

@raggedyblue @ebaeschnbliah @sarahthecoat @gosherlocked @lukessense @sagestreet @thepersianslipper

My earlier meta on a similar topic (X)

#bbc sherlock dvds #Deception in BBC Sherlock

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thekatebridgerton · 4 years ago

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The Devil wears Danbury: a fashion story told in eight parts

Famously outspoken Agatha Danbury has a reputation as the best of the fashion industry, editor in chief for the best selling magazine 'The Ton' Her success is only matched by her revolving door of assistants. All who seem to mysteriously find love and quit before the year is over. But Danbury is nothing if not persistent. Every girl that passes her office must be the best if not then they are free to quit. Of course out of all her former assistants, Agatha Danbury had a special place in her cold heart for Violet's girls.

First there was Daphne, influencer turned aspiring designer who nobody believed in, yes, she took everything Danbury sent her way with a social media smile and boosted the Danbury brand with her PR magic, too bad dear Simon had to swoop in with his false dating scheme to boost his ratings and out was Daphne, inlove and quitting, off to design her first collection.

Then came Kate, a unorthodox recommendation from her sister, who happened to one of Danbury's smartest models, sure Kate was an out of options accountant on a mission to protect her sister Edwina from the dangerous modeling industry, but her help was invaluable when Anthony Bridgerton decided to be an overgrown manchild and put in a request for Danbury's retirement, saying that the formidable Agatha was too old for her job and needed to step down her throne. Well, Kate took care of that, sadly one too many months of sexually charged yelling later and out was Kate, off to marry Anthony and manage Bridgerton Industries. Danbury didn't regret swindling Anthony out of a couple of millions in her contract renewal just as much as he didn't regret stealing Kate out of her grasp.

Poaching Sophie out of Araminta's claws in a business deal was a bargain, Sophie was willing to sell her soul to the devil to get out of her stepmother's thumb and Danbury needed to put Araminta in her place, Sophie was charismatic and quite elegant, had Benedict Bridgerton not swept her off her feet, Sophie could have made a name for herself as a model. Sadly Benedict genius-Artist Bridgerton, made a nuisance of himself in Danbury's office untill "his Muse" said yes to a date and eventually Sophie accepted that she'd rather pose for her beloved painter than any famous photographer and then once again, Danbury was handed another resignation letter.

Then came Penelope, begging for the job after her best friend's brother got too close to discovering the real identity The Ton's salacious columnist, Reporter Whistledown and even then Danbury knew she'd lose Penelope soon. A suspicious Colin Bridgerton was always hard to shake off, so in an effort to help and out of pure mischief Danbury organized the Whistle Revelation contest hoping that millions of suspects would throw Colin of Penelope's scent and hopefully make him realize his blatantly obvious feelings for Penelope sooner. Of course when Colin found out the truth it cost Danbury her best gossip columnist and firing her was only logical now that Reporter Whistledown was exposed. It had nothing to do with 'The Ton' sister publication 'Traveling Coach' offering Penelope a spot as an editor, or it being Colin Bridgerton's site of employment. Danbury might like Penelope, but she wasn't that sentimental.

Francesca lasted exactly two weeks before Michael Stirling came storming into Danbury's office to take her back to Scotland. And to be honest, Danbury didn't even know why she hired Francesca, as the former CFO of Kilmartin games, Fran Bridgerton really had no business hiding out in 'The Ton' and using Danbury's reputation as a shield to escape whatever was happening between her and Stirling. Let alone take a job that was extremely under her paygrade and in a fashion magazine of all places. Agatha's temporary insanity aside, Francesca was the height of efficiency, Danbury almost fought Stirling for her. Yet once again, Agatha was forced to fire a perfectly competent (if overqualified) assistant because of a man inlove. But at least now Kilmartin games owed 'The Ton' a fashion app and a Xbox game.

Hiring Eloise as an assistant after her feminist articles got her fired from one too many newspapers was a favor to Violet. Sending her assistant to track down the reclusive celebrity landscaper and pressure him for an exclusive while Danbury treated herself to a needed vacation in Romney England felt like an easy solution. What trouble could Eloise Bridgerton ever find in the country?. Plenty apparently. One week after reaching their destination, Eloise had already gotten into a paintball war with Phillip's children, given the impression she'd been kidnapped by said man to her brothers and ended the weekend with her and Agatha covered in flour, plus a black eye. If Phillip Crane hadn't said he was some sort of pen pal of hers, Danbury would have called Violet, but as it was Eloise was much adored by the Cranes. Even if the family had a strange way of showing it, with paintball, nerf guns and flowers (too many flowers!). Either way Eloise was too energetic for the fashion industry. Her resignation was no surprise (Her wedding invitation was). And while Eloise credited Agatha for the inspiration behind her choice to start Women Voices Publishing. Danbury would rather just have a competent assistant

Lucy the only one with actual PA experience, was with Danbury the longest, almost a whole year of absolute bliss until some idiot decided hiring Gregory Bridgerton and Hermione (dimwit) Watson in the same multimillion dollar Ad campaign was a good idea. Danbury was ready to cut heads anytime Gregory botched a shoot because he couldn't stop staring at Hermione, who in turn used Lucy's connection to Danbury as a shield whenever she ruined the shoot. Not to mention that Danbury knew fully well that Gregory was using Watson as an excuse to escape his attraction to Lucy. Then of course Gregory had to pull a Bridgerton and get his head out of his arse only when Lucy was about to marry, So yes, Danbury called in a favor with Benedict and gave Lucy's fiancee a tiny push out of the closet. But she resented Gregory, she resented him so much. If he hasn't retired from modeling and gone off to work for Anthony. She would have ruined his career for making her lose Lucy.

And finally there was Hyacinth, Danbury's current assistant, Hyacinth had been with Agatha since graduating college with aspirations of one day becoming editor in chief too, the older woman could see her as a successor in 'The Ton' if only Hyacinth wasn't set on leaving Danbury after getting enough experience to make a splash in the business world then everything would be perfect. Of course, if only her grandson could use that legendary charm to make Hyacinth stay in Danbury's magazine. But while Garret has been attracted to Hyacinth since forever and is an excellent CEO for the magazine, he only has eyes for the family finances his idiot father keeps trying to bankrupt... Unless Danbury gives them both a push too.... She wants to keep Hyacinth after all.

#lady danbury #bridgerton #anthony bridgerton #kate sheffield #kate x anthony #benedict Bridgerton #sophie Beckett #benedict x Sophie #colin Bridgerton #penelope Featherington #penelope x colin #polin #Francesca Bridgerton #michael Stirling #Francesca x michael #Eloise Bridgerton #phillip crane #eloise x phillip #philoise

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alrightsnaps · 3 years ago

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Okay some things about Bridgerton s3 as someone who hasn't read the books:

1) I rlly want Benedict x Sophie to be the next couple focused on, but apparently it will be Polin? Hmmm

2) I was thinking "Sophie better be black" but I saw your fancast of Jessie Mei Li (is it a fancast or confirmed?) and...I think that's an AWESOME idea 🤩

3) Nothing else, stay cool!

We're still in need of a confirmation by Shondaland unfortunately so I have no idea which couple s03 will be about, though personally I'm kind of pessimistic rn 😭😭

Aaaw Jessie as Sophie simply owns my heart, she’d be absolutely perfect! At this point I’m just praying they don’t go and mess it up by casting a white Sophie because there are basically only 2 female leads left after Kate that haven’t been cast as white so the reasonable thing would be to cast WoC actresses for both parts….And it’s a loooong way until Gregory’s love interest, if we get to see his story at all, so Sophie would be the only WoC leading lady for quite a bit.

The representation Kate offered for South Asian women has been groundbreaking, so I’m hoping we get that for different ethnic/racial groups with the remaining female leads. It's only fair after they went ahead and cast both the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons (and Eloise’s love interest) as white.

A Black leading lady in period drama is definitely overdue though, especially after Still Star Crossed got cancelled lmao (no, I'm still not over it, thankfully Lashana’s career blew up afterwards so that’s some consolation haha). It would be beautiful to see a Black woman play a beloved female character and be embraced and celebrated by fans the way Kate and Simone have! Especially since there’s hardly any Black representation in the show right now with Simon gone and Marina… well, practically serving as a plot device for Penelope and Eloise to get together with their white bois.

#bridgerton asks #sophie beckett #yesI know there would be issues with a black!sophie because of her arc #I just don't want to sound preachy or anything bc there are obviously many different opinions on that matter by woc fans #so i'd rather share their opinions (pro and against) tbh

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the-last-kenobi · 3 years ago

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How about “Disowned by Family” for bad things happen bingo?

Hello! 🤍 Thanks for the request for @badthingshappenbingo

Ooh, the angst potential is through the roof. Tried to choose the focus based off of what I remember you writing and reading on ao3 (or maybe I just went hmmmm evil)

“Good job, Obi-Wan!” a woman cried, her voice warm with joy. “Very well done!”

Obi-Wan found himself grinning even as he launched himself from one difficult landing into another gravity-defying leap, sweat dripping from his skin.

“Don’t coddle him,” laughed a male’s voice, but he sounded fond. “Keep at it, Padawan, retain your focus.”

Obi-Wan did not waste breath on a reply, whirling through the air, springing from one part of the training room to the other, swinging from posts and tumbling under moving obstacles, listening to the cues the Force gave him when he concentrated.

At last he landed on the mat in the center of the room, and the droids and obstacles ceased their moving, and the fifteen-year-old Jedi dropped to his knees, gasping for breath but triumphant.

“That was beautifully done, Obi-Wan!” Tahl cried, ignoring Qui-Gon’s protests. She rushed toward the boy and clasped his shoulders in congratulations. “I haven’t seen a junior Padawan that skilled in Ataru since your Master.”

“You’re too kind to both of us,” Qui-Gon shook his head as he joined them, standing tall above his kneeling friend and apprentice. Then he smiled. “But she’s not wrong — that was beautifully done, my Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan laughed and bowed his head, happy to be humble before them.

A strange gift, for a Jedi — to have two people so very like parents.

Obi-Wan kept his head low, terrified to look upwards, terrified of what he would see, what he would feel.

There was a heavily wrapped split over one leg, stained with grime and blood. More red liquid was slowly seeping from beneath its edges, gleaming wetly. Shadows lapped at his feet like predators playing with their food before the eating. The Darkness was closing in. But he knew this was mere fanciful thought, and not an actual omen, that his fears were outpacing his reality.

Which was already cast in shadow.

The flickering lights were caused by the flames burning in front of him, and the flames were burning Tahl. Who was dead.

Because of him. The cast around his leg, barely holding up after a day of running, days in hyperspace, and then three days in the Temple, hiding in his room and speaking to nobody, which concealed beneath it an injury that had delayed him and his Master.

And Tahl had died, and now she burned.

Obi-Wan kept his eyes low. He did not deserve to say goodbye, he could not bear to see.

Slowly the flames died, and the shadows consumed. The other Jedi watching departed in silence, murmuring only soft benedictions and farewells.

Obi-Wan kept his eyes on his feet.

Something shifted in the shadows, and from the other side of the empty pyre emerged a familiar figure. Qui-Gon walked quietly around the place where his love had burned and crossed to his Padawan.

A large hand settled on Obi-Wan’s shoulder.

“Listen to me,” Qui-Gon said in a low voice. “By my word and by the expectation of the Council, I am obligated to see you to Knighthood.”

Obi-Wan watched as tears blurred the boot tips he had been staring at for so long. Blackness swam in front of his eyes.

“But I no longer care,” Qui-Gon said. There was no wrath in his voice, no hissing, no venom. He simply spoke. “I will seek the Council out at dawn and you will be formally repudiated for negligence that cost the life of another Jedi.”

Obi-Wan’s tears escaped his eyes. They trembled for a moment against his lashes before they fell, striking the stones with a soft noise.

Qui-Gon sighed. “I told you that you were not capable of living the life of a Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Your persistence cost the life of a better.”

And then he walked away.

And Obi-Wan was alone.

“Good job, Anakin!” Obi-Wan cried, clapping his hands sharply. At his signal, the young Padawan stopped his kata demonstration and turned to grin at him, bowing with bravado.

Even after two years of training, Anakin managed to surprise him daily.

The first surprise had been when Anakin, all of nine, had announced to the Council that Qui-Gon Jinn had requested before his death that Obi-Wan Kenobi, trained to Knighthood by Mace Windu, would step in if Anakin should ever need a teacher. While Obi-Wan was still reeling, blindsided and drowning in memories of disgrace and ashes, Anakin had also presented another surprise: he had attached himself to Obi-Wan’s leg and refused to let go. Almost literally, mostly metaphorically.

They bonded immediately.

“Come here, Padawan,” he called.

Anakin came running, his braid flapping against his cheek, still beaming. “I told you I could do it! I told you so, Master!”

“So you did,” Obi-Wan agreed, and he reached out as the boy slid to a stop before him and tugged gently on the blonde braid. Anakin growled in mock rage and leaned away. “But, my very young Padawan, I also told you not to attempt it. I’m grateful for your skill because it proves that you’re strong and capable, but also because it saved you from injury. If you had truly not been ready, you could have been seriously hurt.”

Anakin barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “But I knew I could do it, and I just proved it!”

Obi-Wan sighed, his hand moving from the braid to Anakin’s shoulder, squeezing slightly as he tried to make his impudent, mischievous student focus on him for a moment. “And you disobeyed me to do so. So now you have a victory slightly tainted by that. And what if the next time I command you not to do something, you do it anyways and it goes badly wrong? You overreach, or circumstances intervene, and you’re hurt? In the field that could very often be the case, which is why I need to know that you’re accustomed to obeying. I can’t trust you on the field if I can’t trust you at home.”

Anakin’s face sank into lines of bitterness and shame, his head ducked low. Anger heated his cheeks.

Obi-Wan stopped himself, taking a slow breath.

“I’m sorry, Anakin,” he said quietly, and he squeezed Anakin’s shoulder a little tighter, rubbing the edge of his thumb up and down as if to soothe the boy. “Forgive your Master, he likes to hear himself talk.”

“Hey, that’s true,” Anakin chuckled, but he still didn’t raise his head.

Obi-Wan laughed quietly. “Yes. And while I made some very good points, things I want you to think about as we approach our first mission— there’s one more thing I want you to remember from this.”

Anakin’s shoulders slumped. “…Yes, Master?”

“You did extremely well today,” Obi-Wan reminded him. “And I am proud of you for working so hard and believing in your capabilities.”

Anakin’s head jerked up, and a beam spread slowly across his young face again. “Thanks,” he said a little shyly. “I’m grateful for your teachings, Obi-Wan. There’s no one I trust more than you.”

Dooku was a traitor and had escaped capture, war had been declared, over a hundred Jedi were dead, Obi-Wan’s leg was so injured that he was stuck in a cast and splint for two weeks, and Anakin… Anakin had lost most of his arm.

Obi-Wan could think of few moments in his life that had frightened him more than lying helpless on the floor while his student payed for his reckless behavior with a limb.

Now he sat here by Anakin’s bed, waiting for him to wake up to his new mech arm and hand.

Obi-Wan had no idea how to guide the boy through this.

He stared at his hands in his lap for awhile, and then at the bandaged leg, the stupid bandaged leg. This wound, it had stopped him from getting to Anakin in time.

He would never forgive himself—

“Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes flew to the bed, where Anakin was blinking at him in a daze, his hair in disarray and an expression of pinched pain on his still youthful face.

“Anakin,” he gasped, and sat upright, his leg throbbing as he moved. He grabbed his Padawan’s remaining flesh hand with his. Hoping to transfer some of his warmth. To ease the terrible chill.

“You… you’re here.”

“Yes.”

“Did you bother,” Anakin said, his voice a dry rasp, “to ask yourself if I wanted you here?”

Obi-Wan went very still. “I… I’m sorry. I thought you might want company. I can go.”

“Company, yeah,” Anakin replied. “But not you.”

Obi-Wan stopped halfway through standing up. He clung to the arm of the fragile chair, his bad leg trembling beneath his weight. “Is there… if there’s something we need to discuss…”

“You’re a liar,” Anakin said flatly.

Obi-Wan reeled.

“You’re a fake,” Anakin continued. “You pretend to care about me, pretend to be my friend, pretend to be the perfect Jedi. But someone who was a good teacher and a good friend would never have ignored my visions.”

“Anakin, what—” Obi-Wan asked, and could not tell if the strain of tears was caused by the pain in his leg or the explosion of anguish in his chest.

“I told you I dreamed of my mother!” Anakin shouted. “You let her die!”

“I don’t — you said dreams, you never said — Anakin, I’m sorry, I would never have—”

“And then you couldn’t even hold off Dooku,” Anakin spat, “and you made us abandon Padmé in the sand! She could have been killed, but you only cared about the chase. Nothing ever matters to you but the mission!”

“Anakin, no,” Obi-Wan said, and it was a sob this time. He felt disoriented, blindsided.

Last time, he had been expecting it, but now—

“I want you out of this room,” Anakin said, still helplessly slumped against his pillow but so full of betrayal and rage that he seemed about to spring from the bed and throttle his Master. “And when I recover enough to get out of this bed, I’m going to the Council to petition for Knighthood or for another Master to finish my training.”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan whispered. “I’m sorry. Please.”

But Anakin was shaking his head. “You’re broken. You shouldn’t have been a Padawan, and never a Knight, and absolutely not a Master. Do you understand me?” The apprentice was breathing heavily, his eyes still glazed with drugs and grief. “You leave here and figure out some other place to be. You don’t belong here.”

Anakin glared at him until Obi-Wan had backed out of the room, leaning hard on the chair he was dragging.

As soon as the door slid shut, Obi-Wan collapsed against a wall, his forehead pressed against the cold metal, his hand still clenched around the chair.

And Obi-Wan was alone.

fin.

#so this is a parallel universe where apparently both qui-gon and anakin are just complete assholes #yeah #my poor boys #mostly obi wan in this case #obi wan kenobi #qui gon jinn #anakin skywalker #my writing #bad things happen bingo #found family #but gone very wrong

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mermaidsirennikita · 3 years ago

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the most annoying thing is how every so often you see posts about how worried people are about them gender bending any of the ships and how they better not even after the actor mentioned Sophie. like i say this as someone who would actually like to see them show a queer relationship but it’s so so obvious they won’t. pple need to stop acting as if someone saying their opinion on tumblr will ruin their ships.

honestly as an Indians woman I feel like representation means really little to the Bridgerton except in the most shallow sort of way (obviously doesn’t apply to everyone). i figured it out when RJP left and so many well intentioned people were saying that about how even tho the show lost one POC character it’s ok cause there will be a WOC next season. as if we are some kind of quota or list to tick off. seriously what a weird arguement to use about people.

That's the big thing I think people need to realize--someone discussing and critiquing their concept of a ship does not mean it will happen? We can talk about a queer headlining ship on the show all they want, and it probably won't happen. The degree to which people are threatened is really odd to me. I figure that some of it comes from the fact that Shondaland is historically known for being at least somewhat groundbreaking~. I've seen people discuss their "fears" that because Grey's Anatomy had one of the earlier major mainstream TV ships in Calzona, Benedict or Eloise might!!! Be queer!!!! The horror!!!!!

Regarding rep--first off, I agree completely with you. I feel like the fandom sees rep as a shiny thing that makes the show better, and people should all watch the show because rep, and we can grow the show because rep and.... that's not what rep is supposed to be about. That's why the constant insistence that Sophie will be a woman of color (largely from white fans from what I've seen) is a bit disturbing to me. Sophie being a woman of color wouldn't just be a trophy. It would come with implications that need to be considered--for one thing, the fact that it would be the third season of the show, and a person of color coming to LIGHT UP THE WHITE BRIDGERTONS' LIVES would absolutely be a pattern at that point.

I noticed that convo around RJP, and I found it... a bit revolting. People of color are not boxes to check. They are people. And the thing is that this was used because, as I saw a lot of white fans state, there was a concern that black fans of the show would stop watching after RJP left. Which was assuming that black fans are a monolith who will only watch if there is a black actor in the main cast--and assuming that people of color in general are a monolith and that one can be replaced with another.

Idk, it's just troubling altogether.

#bridgerton

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blametheeditor · 3 years ago

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Inktober Day 28: Crispy

Warnings: Cursing. Treating people as pets. Mentions of treating people as lesser than. Someone being a Karen (not respecting workers).

Crispy: bacon

It was either a sequel to ‘sour’, or ‘splat’, and ‘splat’ won because it just makes sense

___________________

David nearly turns right back around as his human points enthusiastically at a run-down, cheap dinner. This is what he traded for a steak au poivre.

“You have to order a burger, fry, and shake. Dipping the fries into the shake is heaven, but their ‘secret sauce’ is amazing. I haven’t even been able to successfully recreate it!”

Fritz looks up to see if the offered destination equates to the wonderful meal David stupidly chose to negate just to stop the pest from bitching. It causes his human to immediately fall silent, allowing the giant to question his life choices in peace.

Being honest with himself, he wants to walk straight back to his favorite restaurant, leave Fritz outside to wait for him there, and personally apologize to the chef he was a dumbass listening to a human.

Looking at a place that will guarantee give everyone who eats there food poisoning, his human should be thanking him he gets to sit in such a high-end place. Should be begging to be taken there and adore having the giant care so much about him to have a harness to keep him safe.

No. He has a complete and utter dumbass.

“You can have whatever you want,” David growls. “I’ll be watching you regret everything before promising you’ll never complain about how you’re treated again.”

He can see the miniscule mouth opening for some kind of retort, making sure any sound is unable to be heard by opening the rusted door, scowling at the bell announcing his arrival.

“Welcome! How many are we seating?”

David forces himself to grin widely at the woman acting like she’s been electrocuted. “One.”

He expects her to immediately lead him to a table. You know. Do her job. Instead, she stands there, staring down at his-

Oh. Right.

“Hi sweetheart,” she waves, and of course Fritz happily waves back.

“Hey Melony!”

…wait what?

“You know him?” David demands, refusing to look down at his charge. He knows his human doesn’t know who the right people to socialize with are, but it’s clear a woman enjoying her shitty job at a dump like this doesn’t deserve the time of day.

Melony smiles widely. “He comes in every Monday morning!”

“For the ‘Eggs Benedict’ special,” Fritz murmurs.

David stares. “You willingly hang out with Eggs.”

“The kid’s a riot,” Melony laughs. “Those two coming in makes sure the rest of the week is worth while.”

The business man doesn’t respond and /finally/ he’s led to a table. Fritz is spilled onto the table, needing a /lecture/ about how he’s never going to even look at Eggs ever-!

“You like your coffee black, hun?”

“Yes- coffee?”

David’s torn away from putting his human in its place, unable to help himself staring at Melony pours a steaming mug of fresh brewed coffee. There’s genuine affection in the ‘thank you’ he sends to her back after saying she’ll let them look over the menu.

Hazel eyes glance out the window, confirming it’s pitch black outside.

“Diners always have coffee ready,” Fritz pipes up. The tiny thing shifts nervously at the look for him to continue. “It’s also why I wanted to suggest it. If anything, at least there’s coffee.”

The giant nods slowly, taking a tentative drink, expecting the beverage to taste absolutely disgusting. And while it’s certainly not French press, it’s not the dollar store brand either.

His human watches him hopefully, David scowling to say coffee doesn’t make it worth missing out on perfectly cultivated dinning in a five-star restaurant...but he’ll take it. As long as the human sized table and chairs are able to be moved away so he doesn’t need to hear the annoying ‘yum!’ once food is ordered.

Good news, he’s easily able to hide the damned thing behind the napkin dispenser.

Fritz watches him with what seems to be despair, not making a move to sit down after the last chair has been moved to join the rest of the setup. “I really do appreciate you taking me here.”

“Don’t get used to it,” is all that’s said over his mug.

David’s left in blissful silent for a full minute. Up until their wonderful waitress appears. “So, the usual sweetheart?”

There’s no response, the giant finally giving his attention to realize his human is looking up at him. Not only that, but Melony is glaring. At the business man.

“The usual.”

David stares as she disappears, turning toward Fritz. “Care to explain.”

“I don’t have any money, and Eggs always paid for both of us. I wanted to make sure you were okay with my ordering all of that.”

“What about the death glare?”

Fritz winces. “Well, as you can see, this is a giant and human diner.”

“Spit it out.”

“She doesn’t like you treating me as a pet.”

That’s a first. Every giant David’s ever spoken to agrees with his stance on humans actually being beneath pets. Pests. He’s not including the guards, either, not with how he’s forced to interact with the brainwashed giants thinking humans should be treated equal.

This is why he never gets close to the border. The deep into the giant district, the better.

Fritz doesn’t say anything about the business man’s lack of a reply. His human knows his place even with such a generous treat. His only treat.

David’s content typing away on his phone as the tiny thing finally banishes himself to the hidden table like he should’ve done at the beginning, wanting this night to be-

“Where’s that cute little face!”

Before he can react, Fritz’s chair is moved back into the open, a giant grin plastered on his human’s face from the sudden ride. The table then follows, and human sized portions of a burger, fries, and a shake are placed onto the small platform.

And to top it all off, David gets a giant’s portion of an eggs benedict, complete with a side of hashbrowns and bacon. “Enjoy!”

“I didn’t-”

The business man growls when he’s ignored save for his coffee getting refilled.

“What the fuck was that!”

“You said the usual,” Fritz responds as if this wasn’t all his fault. “Eggs and I’s usual are these.”

“I didn’t mean me.”

His human is quick to duck toward his food, pretending he hadn’t been unbanished by the person who had no right to do so. Before David can make sure Melony can’t pull a stunt like that again, he finds it priority to find out how to blame the extra food on the airhead of a waitress. Speaking to his human like he’s equal. Giving him food when it should be clear he wanted no part in this.

There’s a full minute of watching the stream rise until he decides making a giant problem out of it just to get Fritz and Eggs banned for life is too much work and includes the insane blond to demand David get him back inside. Meaning he needs to find a way to get rid of the food without making it seem like he’s throwing a fit. Which he deserves to do.

“Want to try a bite?”

Fritz keeps a microscopic fry held out even at the glare being aimed down at him. “No.”

“You seem like a bacon and fry guy to me.”

David sees the little dumbasses plan. Get him to try some of the food he never even wanted in the first place. And just because he’s tossing a crispy bacon into his mouth doesn’t mean it worked.

It certainly did not lead him to eating the entire thing.

“We’re never coming back here again.”

There wasn’t a generous tip left on the table.

#Inktober 2021 #Day 28: Crispy #g/t #giant #tiny #FNAF Bois #11:59 #come on!#you GOTTA take your coffee loving giant to a dinner!#NOT cause I couldn't think of anything clever for 'crispy'#not at aaaaaaaaaall #two days left my guys #I'm going to make it!!!!!#my first ever complete inktober babyyyyyyyy #writing #BTE writing

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invisibleinorange · 4 years ago

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Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Bridgerton Rating: T Warnings: Presumed Character Death Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington(besties), Bridgerton Family Dynamics, Simon Hastings/Daphne Bridgerton Characters: Colin Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton, Anthony Featherington, Benedict Bridgerton, Daphne Featherington, Simon Hastings, Portia Featherington Additional Tags: Bridgerton, Polin Summary: Unexpected bad news arrives for the Bridgerton Family (and friends) regarding Colin's travels. This will be a series that is set after "The Duke and I" or season one of the show. It is a companion piece to "Goodbyes". (#I’mHereToKillYouAllWithFeels)

While Anthony was absorbed in ensuring the women in their family were saw after, he’d asked Benedict to see to it that Penelope Featherington was returned safely home.

Penelope could scarcely speak much less utter how absolutely wrecked she was about the loss of their brother when she was left at her door step. If they had allowed her, she probably wouldn’t have left. She was far better off useless there than alone with her own thoughts.

Her mother was waiting like the viper she was. Penelope wasn’t certain she had the strength to fight her off either.

“Since when do you get escorted home by Bridgertons?” her mother asked. There was something implied there like it would have been perfectly acceptable had it been one of her sisters. “You could at least attempt to look happy about it.”

“Their brother just died,” Penelope found herself snapping.

“Not Anthony! He would have been perfect for your sister,” Portia dared to say, which only served to magnify the hurt and anger building up in Penelope. Penelope was used to bottling things up, taking everything on the chin but tonight wasn’t the night.

“No,” she argued, biting her lip enough to where it was close to drawing blood. She didn’t want to be insolent but this was hardly a time to care about the next social season or making matches in the time between.

“Oh thank Heavens,” Portia said clearly not picking up on the fact that Penelope was actually quite distressed.

“It was Colin,” she said, voice shaking with force at the words. She was one mere seconds from collapsing in on herself.

“Oh the one you have that silly little crush on. The fool who almost married Miss Thompson,” Portia said as if the first part was public information. Penelope was in such shock that her mother had even noticed such a thing that mouth hung open slightly. She wasn’t prepared for the hurtful words that would come next. “You need not worry, Penelope darling. He would have never married you anyways. Those books really have rotted your mind.”

It was an absolute slap in the face. Her veins filled with ice and the slight from her own family. She was painfully aware that she wasn’t as pretty as the other eligible women of the Ton. It was one thing to know and another to have it spelled out in front of her quite so ineloquently. The fact that her mother could see her heart breaking and not even try to offer some sympathy was unacceptable. She was almost grateful for the fact she’d never marry or have children, just so she didn’t have to worry about being as unfeeling as her own mother.

“You need not worry,” she uttered, storming away.

There was one thing that Benedict and Anthony agreed upon: the letter could never see the light of day. They couldn’t bring themselves to destroy it though so it was hide it away in a desk with other important paperwork.

The only real question that kept them up in the night was what they were to do about the problem reading it presented.

Colin was young and perhaps not as direct with his wishes as he might have been had he been a few years older but they could read between the lines. The very wishes Colin expressed toward Penelope would never come to pass unless they saw it fit to carry them out.

They could not agree upon who would be the one to take it upon themselves to ensure she was protected, loved. Neither fully desired to marry and certainly not a Featherington. Neither particularly saw the things that their brother did in the girl but there was no denying she had a good heart. As often as she had been at their home through the years, she might as well have been their sister.

When Daphne and Simon forced their way into the drawing room, the brothers were still arguing amongst themselves over who must do it when the proper mourning period was over.

“What exactly are you not going to allow him to do?” she couldn’t help but ask as she approached, her pregnant belly scarcely hidden by her dress. She looked well even if it was clear that she hadn’t slept in order to hasten the journey home. From the look on the Duke’s face, he hadn’t been on board but had been forced.

“Nothing,” the two brothers said almost in unison, greeting their sister with hugs.

“I don’t buy that.”

“You shouldn’t be out of bed,” Anthony said, protective act in full force as he gazed over her before looking at the Duke as if to accuse him of not having a better grip on his own wife.

“Don’t look at me. You know Daphne is of her own mind,” he said with a shrug.

“I only obey when the order makes sense and I’m pregnant not an invalid. I insisted we come as soon as we received word.”

She seemed to have it together far better than anyone else in the family which was almost remarkable, considering she and Colin were close in age and had always been the best of friends.

Perhaps it was all an act though because the Duke had threatened to lock her up should even the slightest hint of distress appear after a lengthy meltdown demanding he order up the carriages ended in his compliance.

“We’re grateful to have you closer to home,” Anthony finally said. “I’m not sure that mother will be able to properly handle planning his rites. I contacted Francesca and she should be home soon as well. ”

There was not body to properly put on display but a coffin would be order and filled to brim with flowers. It would sit in the drawing room where they might welcome mourners. Someone must be with it day and night though and that was a job fit for a woman.

With their mother crushed and Daphne’s delicate condition, it was likely Eloise and Francesca would be left with most of the watch. She knew there would be no stopping Daphne from taking up the watch some of the time though or helping to ensure Colin had a fitting wake. Then there was the small matter of tokens for funeral goers. All would have be completed.

There would be an actual funeral but it wouldn’t be acceptable for any of the women to attend. That would fall on Anthony, Benedict and Gregory. They would get through it though somehow.

“I’ll make a list,” Daphne uttered, throwing herself head first into the work of it. This was how she was going to survive this moment. She moved toward the desk, going into find unused parchment. Without sleep Anthony wasn’t thinking properly enough to know that was where they’d hidden the ghastly letter.

It was only once she was in there and Benedict elbowed him hard that he saw fit to remember and he knew it was too late.

“What’s this?” she asked as she spotted the handwriting under the blank paper pulling it up. Her brown eyes narrowed as she began to read it. She gazed up from the words, feeling she’d violated her deceased brother’s privacy for having even read them. She wanted to ask if the others had seen it but one look told her that she had two brothers who knew full well about this.

The last time she’d spoken one on one with her brother, he’d been so besotted by Marina Thompson that she wasn’t sure that he would ever get over her betrayal. Clearly, she had not known her brother as well as she thought that she had. The words on the paper broke her heart. Her brother had died not fully knowing just how deserving of love he was.

“What did they do?” the Duke couldn’t help but ask, reaching to grab the paper from his wife and glancing it over. He could pick up on the distress on his wife’s face and he was fully prepared to give Anthony a black eye over it. This was already an unacceptable situation but if they’d done anything to add to the situation, he was going to be furious. At the moment, he wasn’t quite connecting the dots though.

“How could you?” their sister berated. It was clear the distress they’d hoped to avoid had arrived. “I sincerely hope that I am wrong about the fact you have hidden this letter from its intended recipient.”

“It would crush her,” Benedict argued.

“It’s not your place,” Daphne argued right back.

“It is our place. Her well-being is our problem now and we won’t have this on our conscious. What good would it do her?” Anthony argued right on back, knowing full-well Daphne would win this argument. She always did.

“She deserves to know,” she told them, fury clearly written on her face.

The Duke was pretty clear from looking at her that he wouldn’t have to be the one throwing the punches. Daphne would be the one doing it, if he didn’t stop her. He moved a little closer just in case he had needed to hold her back.

“Tell who, what?” a voice asked from the door.

All eyes turned to the tired, somber face of Eloise who had heard the arguing and decided to see what exactly was going on.

Anthony and Benedict gave pleading looks to Daphne to not tell their younger sister. They might be able to bury this letter with her knowing but not Eloise.

Daphne clearly didn’t heed the warning. She narrowed their eyes at them before grabbing the letter back from her husband, crossing the room and extending it to her younger sister.

“I’ll leave the massacre of our idiotic brothers to you,” Daphne uttered before moving out of the room just as quickly as she’d arrived. The Duke offered a sympathetic look to Anthony and Benedict before following after his wife.

#bridgerton #⚜ writings — polin #polin #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington

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annebrontesrequiem · 4 years ago

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Femininity and Bridgerton

So 27 days ago a lovely anon said that they’d be glad to hear my thoughts on femininity and Bridgerton, and since I’m now finally free from school I decided to stop playing Genshin Impact and binging Disney movies and actually do something.

This is going to probably be very long (spoilers it’s 1,800 words long), so more under the cut.

So, a few things. Firstly I am specifically talking about Bridgerton, as the way that femininity is portrayed in media is a very complex and arduous topic. Secondly this is obviously just my opinion and you can absolutely disagree, even tell me if you do I love listening to different perspectives. Thirdly I’m talking about a show that is very heteronormative (the painter and Benedict aside as I’m focusing mostly on Daphne in this post), and presents a very specific part of straight, cis, upper class femininity. So keep that in mind as well. Also as I’m going to be talking about patriarchy, femininity, and masculinity I know that there might be a few TERFs that crawl out of the woodwork and just… don’t. This isn’t for you and while I’m at it please go read some actual feminist texts. Also I know that this is a period piece but I will be addressing that don’t worry.

Also I am going to be talking about that one scene so trigger warning I’m going to be talking about sexual assault.

Also full Bridgerton season one spoilers.

----

So, all that set up out of the way, let’s talk about femininity in the Bridgerton series.

A good deal of Bridgerton focuses on the ways in which women are often confined by their role as women in society, as well as how they subvert that role for their own gains. This is used well in some cases, such as when the Viscountess uses the network that is forged between servants and women of the upper class to subvert Daphne’s marriage to Nigel Berbrooke. Being a period piece with a (mostly) diverse cast it also allows for women of color, specifically black women, to be portrayed in a very feminine light, where in society at large they are usually not allowed to inhabit such a space. However in attempting to subvert the status that women often occupied in Regency England the show accidentally reinforces views of femininity and its value.

Let’s talk about Eloise and Daphne. Eloise is very outspoken about the difficulties that comes with being a woman in society, wishing to break out of the confines of femininity. Daphne, on the other hand, wishes to stay within the traditional woman’s sphere, get married, have children, run a household. And while in text these two women often debate the meaning of their position as women, each making very valid points about their status and how they’re confined by it, the framing makes it seem that Eloise’s position is ultimately the “better” one.

Full disclosure, Eloise is my favorite Bridgerton character. I love her outspokenness, her determination to make something out of her life, the fact that she attempts to make the oppression of the society around her explicit. However I think the way she is framed as this, for lack of a better term, “girlboss” in the making is often reductive. The show seems to have this idea that Daphne is in some ways inferior in goal to Eloise. That is, Eloise’s value isn’t that she is an ambitious person whose status as a woman hampers said ambition, but rather that she is in some ways morally and intellectually superior to Daphne by rejecting her femininity and repressing qualities that are considered less masculine and thus lesser.s It presents this idea of women’s empowerment wherein one is only empowered if they deliberately step out of traditional femininity, either in appearance or in life path, rather than confronting a society that sees femininity as inferior. Daphne’s wish to continue in the traditional sphere of womanhood is somehow lesser, and she only becomes truly empowered later in the series when she becomes more aggressive (we’ll talk about that later).

That Eloise has her own book where she presumably falls in love and gets married makes this all the more confusing. Does she then lose her intellect and her status as an empowering woman? The messages feel very mixed. In portraying Eloise as enlightened for actively resisting the woman’s sphere and Daphne as needing to learn to be more “assertive” to gain said enlightenment, the show accidentally presents femininity as inherently passive, inferior to the assertion that is more traditionally masculine. This is something that modern period dramas often fall into. Empowered women are only empowered by attempting to transcend their femininity, to become more masculine. The bottom line isn’t to present women and femininity as equal in all ways to men and masculinity, but femininity is something reductive that must be shed to truly become equal.

Since we’re talking about Daphne I want to examine her character arc within this lens as well. Daphne is adamant that she wants a love-match. She is also very aware of the importance of presentation, as well as the importance of reputation. This is a very solid foundation, as is a way where Bridgerton taps into the complexity of the role of women in regency society in a good way. However as the show goes on this complexity seems to fade in favor of making Daphne, again I’m sorry, a “girlboss”. This is made explicit in the scene in which Daphne violates Simon’s consent, as well as the way in which this act is framed.

Now you can tell immediately from the framing of the scene in which Daphne violates Simon’s consent what this is supposed to be interpretated as. From the music to the triumphant looks on Daphne’s face, this is supposed to be a moment in which Daphne has finally gained control of her life. And yet in doing this, and in presenting this whole scene as a result of Simon’s “betrayal” – and thus something his has to take the blame for – the show is making a value judgement. Daphne can only become strong by becoming “assertive” (ie aggressive) to the point of violating someone’s consent.

The topic of rape culture is a very long and arduous one which I will not be diving into, but I do wish to point to the fact that men are supposed to be aggressive, both sexually and otherwise. Men are the ones who always “want it”, who are uncontrollable, and who are willing to be aggressive to get what they want. This toxic idea of sex and masculinity is what I felt Daphne dipped into during this scene, and instead of presenting it as horrifying or a betrayal on Daphne part, it is presented as the climax of her character arc. I believe a showrunner once said that it was imperative to the “education” of Daphne Bridgerton. Thus is Daphne’s strength no longer her determination to be happy within the sphere she has been placed in by patriarchy, but her willingness to take back her life, no matter the cost. And yes this could’ve been a message about how men are also assaulted, but that is not at all what the showrunners wanted you to get out of this scene.

Lastly I want to touch on the men in the Bridgerton universe, because the devaluation of femininity also affects men no less than it does women. All the men in the Bridgerton universe are either bad people or rakes. Name me one (1) man in the Bridgerton universe who is presented as feminine, either in appearance or personality. And no femininity is not the same as being gay, the painter is not feminine. To be a man worthy of screen time or romance in the Bridgerton universe one must be as traditionally masculine as possible, and ready to make that your defining character trait.

Now I know that this is a large romance novel issue, as someone who has read three of the Outlander books I am unfortunately aware of how romance novels fall into this derivative state. But just because something is common that doesn’t mean it is any less worthy of criticism. The argument that it’s simply being “period accurate” is also something I don’t accept. Yes the regency era was incredibly patriarchal, but that does not mean that the women within it were helpless and could only break out of that helplessness by rejecting their own femininity. Jane Austen is a classic example, but I will also point to women such as Elizabeth Gaskell, the Bronte Sisters, and George Eliot in terms of English women who were highly intelligent and worthy of acclaim despite still associating themselves with their status as women in society. For a broader historical view I’d also like to present Catherine the Great and Empress Josephine who, despite being viewed in an often very derivative manner by the men around them, rose to great prominence and power.

In the end this is a larger societal issue and not one that my post will magically fix. But I will say this: we need to stop telling women and girls that the only way to get rid of patriarchy is to reject femininity. In doing so we say that masculinity is indeed the better trait, that by repressing one’s emotions and one’s femininity one can attain equality. We also need to stop telling men that the only way to ensure their own value to be aggressive, to tap into that toxic masculinity which we spoon feed them from birth. This hurts everyone, men, women, non-binary people. It makes the world a worse place and only when we stop trying to wiggle our way out of femininity and actually acknowledge its status as equal to masculinity will we achieve this.

I believe Bridgerton wanted to do that, wanted to present the complexities and anxieties of women living in a patriarchal world and the way in which they can subvert that world to their advantage. However it falls into the same trap it seems to be attempting to get out of, and at the end of the day one is left with a sense of vapidness. Though I may like Bridgerton (so much so that I binge watched the series twice and am even considering reading the books) I think that we need to acknowledge its flaws, because only then will we be able to move forward and make media that is more enjoyable, more nuanced, and ultimately better in terms of expectations and norms.

Like I said this is a very complicated topic, but I hope I got my point across well. Thank you if you read all the way through this and I hope you have a lovely day!

#bridgerton #wow this is fucking long #I hope I explained the eloise part well it's hard to verbalize #but yeah we need to talk about pop culture's view on feminism and women's empowerment #mine

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