#and it's gonna be great

[spaceorphan18]

The Lady Whistledown Papers : 2x02 Off To The Races (Part 1)

Welcome back, Gentle Readers, to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

Colin is back! Which means we have a lot to talk about :D

A Return Home

Before I get into the crux of this scene, I want to make a quick note about the opening Lady Whistledown narration -- which is mostly there to provide context and reiterate what happened in the first episode. But what I find most amusing is the commentary in relation to Penelope. Despite the fact she has some rather choice words to say about both Anthony and Kate, the amusing part is that she mostly doesn't seem to care all that much about it, and is just hanging out on the side of the wall with her bowl of popcorn ready to watch some drama that she has zero part in. Most likely unintentionally, it's also a nod to the fact that Penelope is even more removed from the main story than she was in Season 1.

Anyway, on to the scene at hand! We get Penelope coming to hang out with Eloise. And the first thing I want to note is that Violet is there -- and incredibly at ease with her. I believe, even though we have seen Penelope in the drawing room before, at dinner, and crossing paths with the entire Bridgerton family, this is the first time we've seen her exchange dialogue with Violet? But it's nice to see the comfort in which Violet has with Penelope. Not only does she seem like she's used to Penelope's presence, she even thinks Penelope would do some good in getting Eloise to think about things like marriage. It's a shame we don't get to see more of Penelope engaging with other Bridgertons, but at least there's some precedence to be had here.

When Penelope gets in, the first thing she does is note that Eloise is reading LW, and she's almost smugly amused by it -- especially when Eloise had claimed she was done with it. Violet then jumps in, encouraged that Eloise might be interested in finding a husband -- and I LOVE Eloise's line about how there's no other clever way to say 'no'. Claudia Jessie's delivery cracks me up every time.

So, they get into discussion about LW's slight change in writing - Eloise reiterating that she appreciates that LW stands up for women, and is somewhat less shallow than previous entries. Eloise is sure she can get LW to do more if she only had her ear, and Penelope, interestingly, states that maybe LW is content in how she writes.

Which kind of leads us to a big difference between the two. It's a continuation from the conversation they had in the previous episode. Eloise is is passionate about women's rights and independence, and her drive and desire to do more than settle down and get married. While Penelope, who does agree with Eloise that women she be allowed to do and be more, doesn't mind as much the whole getting married and (melo)drama of society.

Eloise is independent because she wants to be. Penelope is independent because she has to be. It's a subtle difference, but speaks volumes about the two women, and not only how they look at the world, but how the world has treated them, too.

I love the look on Violet's face when she jumps back into the conversation -- claiming that what Eloise really needs is happiness and that she could find that with another person - preferably a male person with whom she could marry. I love that she thinks that Penelope is going to be the one to help her convince Eloise to try.

Penelope says she could find happiness, not with LW but with someone like... Colin. Colin?! (Eloise's face when she says -- my brother -- mortified. I love it so much.)

Colin is back! Whoooo!

And of course, pointing out the obvious but not only is Penelope first to notice him walk into the room, but the first thing he does (even before that someone ridiculous push in with the camera) is notice her sitting there. It's not even a cursory glance, either, he full on stops and turns his body towards her (granted she is saying his name at that moment but still interesting to note).

(Eloise is smiling as she gets up to hug him - might be the one time she's actually happy to see him, lol. He is, after all, about to get in her way a lot more.)

So. Here's the fascinating thing about Penelope. In the previous episode - we've seen her at the top of her game, confident as LW and loving every second of it. And at the top of this episode, she's relaxed, assured, having fun coming between Violet and Eloise. And the second Colin walks into the room -- she is flustered and tongue tied and really unsure what to do with herself. This poor girl. Excited, thrilled that he's returned, especially after the correspondence they had while he was away. There's an intimacy they've shared already, that is just between the two of them, and of course, her deep feelings that have always been there. But now she's out of her element, and this is family time, and on top of the awkwardness, there's this sense that she's impeding the family space.

It makes me sad that we never really got to see what the dynamic was like when Penelope was over visiting the Bridgertons during season 1. Sure, we had the one family scene near the end of the season where she's there to spend time with Eloise. But it does make me wonder what Penelope and Colin's dynamic was like while she was at Bridgerton house -- because even here, their dynamic has shifted from what it was in Season 1. Ah well (I suppose that's what fanfic is for.)

But let's back up and talk about Colin's entrance for a moment. Because there's a lot to unpack in about a five second span.

Colin strolls in that room with a sense of confidence and positive energy. While we won't get a ton of details from the Greece/Mediterranean trip, but he's in good spirits, so we can only assume it went rather well. But Colin's first comment, noticeably, is that things haven't changed. This is somewhat directed at Penelope and Eloise still chatting away, but also that Violet is still sitting there doing her needlework, Benedict is just lounging around -- even though we are in a bright, new season, with the exception that Daphne is not there anymore, family dynamics really haven't shifted all that much -- and he has changed more than everyone else.

He's excited about his travels, and everyone is pretty much right where he left them. And there's some comfort in that -- returning home (and he has missed home) and finding that relief and comfort in everything being the same.

(It'll be an interesting contrast to when next season he returns, and everything is different.)

Also, let's talk about Colin's look for a moment. It's funny that people talk about the Season 3 changes, as if there weren't changes here, too. (I'd almost argue that Season 1 and Season 3's looks actually have more in common, and Season 2 Colin seems like an interesting detour.) The thing is Colin comes in looking much different than he had the previous year -- the hair is shorter, there's hair on his face, and doesn't look as boy-ish as he did in the first season.

(Btw - I did google Greek Fashion of the 1810s, just to see if his travels had any influence on his clothes, and my five second search didn't turn up any interesting results, so I can't talk to Colin's exact fashion here.)

The thing that interests me is the fact that (kind of like Penelope) this is that young adult stage -- that awkward (said affectionately) time between being young and looking it to looking like an actual adult. Part of it's make up, part of it's clothing, part of it is acting style (I mean, Nicola is a pro at being able to make herself appear nearly any age she wishes) - In Colin's case, in addition to all of that, we're watching Luke go from his mid-20s towards his 30s, and it kind of adds to the visual of Colin growing up.

Colin jokes that they should put aside the latest family squabble and embrace him. And it's nice to see that Colin has retained his lighthearted nature. In fact - after the amount of drama that happened to him in Season 1, it is nice to see such a beaming Colin return.

After Eloise, Violet hugs him next - and says she's surprised to see him back so soon. Which is interesting - what is the timeline here? How long was he gone? Why did they expect him gone longer? What is the norm for any of this? i have no idea. He does say that he misses them, and I have no doubt that he does. Family is a huge component in all of the Bridgertons' lives, and as much as I'm sure they all like to leave time and again, their familial bond is a strong one.

(And on a tangent, I kind of love that they keep picking up strays along the way.)

Anyway - Benedict is up next, happy to see his brother return - but it's Benedict gives him a curious look -- noting the physical changes, but we'll get to that comment in a second.

Time to talk about this infamous moment...

Penelope first... the moment he looks back to her, she gets excited - she's so giddy like -- here is her chance to possibly, maybe sneak in some physical contact. Which does make me wonder, they have danced together, held hands, he has brushed her arm. Has he hugged her before? She isn't his sister, but as we'll get into later in the episode, he doesn't think of her on the same lines as all the other women of the ton, either.

And then, oh, the awkwardness of her outstretching her hands just a little bit as if to receive a hug, only for the little Bridgertons to come racing around the corner. And she backs off immediately, not wanting to draw attention to herself, nor wanting to put her desires on display.

I also want to mention, cause I'll be digging into it more with Colin, that this is the first time they're seeing each other since writing to each other (for however long that was). And it's implied it wasn't a small or short correspondence either. I mentioned intimacy earlier, and yes that, but that means they now share something with each other that the rest of the world hasn't gotten to see. And that's special. And whether it be romantic or not, the fact that they've opened up and shared a part of themselves that they haven't with others is really important to their story. Penelope feels that connection - she always has, in a sense, or has always wanted that connection, but she now knows there is a reality to it.

Meanwhile. Colin. Dude. This is in an intense way to look at someone. He definitely did not look at any of his siblings or his mother this way. It's almost as if - when he sees Penelope, really looks at her, he sees her in a different light (and I'll define that more in a second).

There's no doubt, based on what we saw in the first season, there was care and affection from Colin to Penelope. But there was distance there as well. Not only was he too wrapped up in Marina, she was also Eloise's bff, another girl around, one whom he enjoyed and found amusing to be around sure, but he didn't really notice her.

So they've had this written correspondence and she's is now divorced from all the other connotations she has -- childhood friend, Eloise's bff, girl next door... She is Penelope - he sees her as a person in a way that he hasn't before. And -- we all know Penelope is better in written word than in person, so I'm sure those letters were delightful (and abundant), a way to keep him connected to home more than his own family, and as he's finding, she's someone he truly does like being in contact with. She's smart and witty and clever and manages to get him (as we'll see) when a lot of other people don't.

And all of that comes into play during this one moment. Where he looks at her and it's this kind of -- yes, good, Penelope, I need to spend more time with her.

Which brings me to a conversation that may be best to kick off here. I've often seen discourse about how and when Colin actually fell in love with Penelope. And -- I think trying to pinpoint an exact moment is something we can’t do with Colin. Because it wasn't one moment that made him fall in love with her.

And, I mean, before I get more into that I need to say this -- love isn't a definitive thing. It can be on a spectrum. It can take different shapes and forms. It can be romantic and it can be platonic and it can be familial. It can be casual, it can be intense, it can be easy, it can be difficult. There isn't one type of love. And I think me hammering this point in is just that this is one reason I really love the Polin story so much. Because it isn't about bam! in romantic/sexual love. It's about growing together and changing together and discovering love that's always been there.

Colin, in this moment, loves her. I don't think he necessarily recognizes it as that. And I don't necessarily think it's a romantic love, either. What he does know - and what this look signifies, is that he's coming back from his travels knowing that this person has changed his life, and he wants her in it more. She had bared herself in those letters, but so did he. And she saw him, too - which will be important as we go on. She is special to him. So even if it isn't romantic or sexual, it doesn't matter. They're connected in a way that they aren't to anyone else in their lives, and that's the important thing.

And... we're back to reality. Hyacinth and Gregory push back to jump on him as little siblings do. Benedict and Francesca tease him about his looks. It's also very much on brand for families (and I love it!).

Penelope, of course, gets that little sneaky line of stating that he looks distinguished -- not only defending him, but taking a rare moment to comment her admiration out in the open. Not that anyone notices her (and I think she's alright with that), but again, it's funny at how much she's backed off from the confidence she was showing in the first episode.

We don't get to see Colin make any kind of acknowledgement of what she said. The little Bridgertons are too busy arguing about their height (which, again, is such a sibling thing).

And, of course, we wrap the scene with the return of the 'intrepid viscount'. Eager and ready to take us to the next portion of the plot -- which happens to be a family outing to the races. And Colin is such an after thought, it's almost funny. Yo, Colin's back, great, I have to go best a girl, everyone to the races!

Colin doesn't get a moment to breathe (or unpack) -- family outing! Now!

Changes at the Featherington House

Penelope returns home from the Bridgertons to find that they've got some new decor at home. Jack has put up his musket rack, and the women of the Featherington house seem a bit (hilariously) perplexed by it.

Penelope calls him 'cousin Jack' and Portia is off-put by that. It's too familiar for her liking. Penelope calls her on it, wondering if Jack is bothering her, but Portia claims that it's fine. (It's not.)

Penelope almost doesn't know what to do with any of it. There are a lot of guns and a lot of deer heads and, you know, nice to have a little of that Americana pop up in this hoity British story (said with love). Jack comes in - claiming that there's a lot more decorating to do. Portia wishes he'd leave it to his own room, but Jack's like - nah.

Penelope goes from somewhat disgusted to intrigued very quickly. Her asking about whether or not he's shot them all feels -- a little crude and blunt, but also kind of hilarious for the moment. Jack tells her there are a lot of adventurous stories to tell -- and we all know Penelope loves a great adventurous story. She is still all in on Jack, despite Portia being pissed about all of it.

Jack tells them to all get ready, because they, too, are off to the races! (I love that this scene is there to somewhat tell Jack's backstory, but to also give them a reason to be at the races so they can continue with plot.)

And here we stop for now, first toe dipped into an episode that I really enjoy. :)

[olrinarts]

me waiting for people to yell at me about the new fic

[lunar-wandering]

since i haven't posted a full fic in a while here's a wip

[kurlyfrasier]

Hallucinations

Pairing: None. Well, Din Djarin & The Darksaber.

Synopsis: The darksaber really wants attention, but its new owner is ignoring him. OR: Din thinks he’s hallucinating.

Word Count: 1187

A/N: So this came out of nowhere. Kinda funny. I enjoyed writing it, anyway lol so I hope you enjoy reading it!

Warnings: Threats of death. Haunted!Din. Name calling. Hallucinations, to my knowledge, are not a symptom of concussions or traumatic brain injuries, just fyi. Let’s just say Din isn’t thinking straight, which is a symptom of concussions and TBI’s.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Star Wars/Mandalorian anything.

All Mando’a translations I get from mandoa.org.

“Kill him!” I roared, ghostly hands clenched into fists, hating that I could not kill the hut’uun myself. How good that would feel. To slice the shabuir’s head off, feel the flesh burn around my blade. To feel his life force disintegrate. But Din Djarin could not hear me. Not yet. If only I could move my hilt into Djarin’s hand, where I rightfully belonged.

What was taking him so long anyway? Any other person wouldn’t have wasted a second to claim me and the glory I give. I looked down, fists relaxing at my new form, proud to be wearing beskar’gam again after years of that ridiculous plastoid and cape. 

“Bah?” My vision tunneled to the source of the sound. A familiar small, green, big-eared creature stood just inside the hall holding up his tired little arms for someone to take off his cuffs. So innocent. So scared. And so very strong with the force. Unbearable guilt bore down heavy in the surrounding Force. I had never been used for something so despicable as to hold a baby hostage - old as he may be. I hoped, in that moment, to be destroyed. Not even the worst of Mand’alors had been so cruel as to hurt an ad.

Djarin hissed at Gideon to cuff himself and strode to the kid with more determination than physical strength to carry him there. The cuffs were quickly snapped apart by his hands. Immediately, the child’s Force presence grew to immeasurable heights, all encompassing. The sense of safety and home enveloped me like a blanket the moment Grogu was in the crook of his buir’s arm. The sight lifted my guilt enough to become bearable. My blade may have once been close enough to singe the baby’s robe, but at least I was not forced to give the final blow.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Gideon quirked a brow, acting as though someone could truly forget about me. Ha! What a joke. 

“Come, Djarin,” I demanded, voice venomously low. “Let me do the honors of ending the life of this pathetic Imp.”

“The darksa-”

“What,” I growled over Gideon reminding him of my presence. “How do you not remember winning me in combat?” My gloved finger pointed at Djarin accusingly as he made his way over. “You flung me over here when you disarmed him.” 

I scowled behind the helmet, watching as Djarin picked me up from the ground, tugging me closer to scrutinize and looking as though he had no idea the power he held. Grogu’s tired gaze flicked between it and my ghostly self before finally cooing a quiet hello. 

“Move,” Djarin stated firmly, moving back toward the Imp, pulling my ghostly form with him. Out of habit, I moved as though I had legs of my own. When Gideon didn’t respond, I sang my darkest tune, morphing from a ghostly presence to a piping hot silhouette of a blade.

Gideon understood the threat for what it was. A promise of death I would gladly handle. Now moving, I reached out to Din.

***

Din Djarin was hallucinating. A concussion, maybe? It was the only explanation, considering the hammering he received by a dark trooper minutes earlier. One moment the laser sword-thing was on, and the next it morphed into a ghostly looking version of himself, standing between him and Bo-Katan.

“Not once,” it said, flabbergasted as Moff Gideon explained what the laser sword was. “Not twice. But three times!” Its arms raised in exasperation. “Three times you tried to give me away. To her,” it looked over its shoulder. “She, who was not worthy the first time I was given to her.”

Pointedly ignoring it and Gideon, still not understanding why Kryze wouldn’t just take the stupid thing, Djarin gently set Grogu down on the floor for safe-keeping.

Still, Din swore it muttered something along the lines of Mand’alor the Di’kut, even as alarms blared and the dark troopers boarded the ship. He ignored it. It would go away. Eventually. After a good, long sleep. For now, he had to figure out a way to get Grogu to safety. He’s all that mattered. The only thing that mattered.

“Use me,” it stated like a soldier volunteering for war. “Di’kut,” it spat at him after not immediately responding, and not for the first time. “I can slice through those droids like butter,” its arm flung out, gloved hand pointing to the door the droids were quickly pounding open.

But Din had never fought with a sword, let alone a laser sword. To go at those things with a weapon that felt heavy enough to be a bag of wet sand just carrying it around sounded like a bad idea. So, Din pretended he didn’t hear it. Pretended he didn’t see it standing there in his face, smacking him in the helmet with its vambrace. The clang of beskar against beskar was deafening to his already pounding head.

“Jetti,” he heard the apparition say, sounding put-out for missing out on the action currently playing on the small security screen. Of a cloaked figure with a laser sword of his own, easily destroying darktroopers left and right. The apparition looked straight at him and he could feel the accusation as it muttered an ‘I told you so’ under its breath. 

Still, Djarin thought, he had nowhere near the skill with the sword like the Jedi clearly had. His shoulders sagged, disheartened he would have to give Grogu, his son, away to a stranger - a stranger who could clearly keep the kid safer than he ever could - just after reuniting with him. 

The pounding at the door stopped. He slammed the button with more force than necessary, opening the doors when nobody else would.

Everything after that was a blur. He remembers telling the kid to go, that he would see him again, of showing Grogu his face, of a non-existent being incessantly badgering him with the same accusations over and over and over. Like a backwards echo, getting louder and louder.

“He is your son.”

“You are his buir.”

“An aruetii, really?” It huffed. “And a Jetti, at that.”

“Mand’alor the Dar’buir.”

That’s when he snapped, unable to take anymore of its abuse, not caring if everyone on Fett’s ship would hear and think him crazy, even with the door closed to the bunk room.

“HE WILL BE SAFE. WITH HIM,” he roared, throwing the helmet he had yet to put back on at it only for it to fly straight through and hit the wall with a loud BANG. “Can’t you see? Life with me- It’s dangerous- Not safe,” he pleaded through gritted teeth before deflating, his second wind done and gone. Long before the Jedi flew off with his son. “Grogu needs training and not the kind I can give him,” the words tasted bitter on his tongue, no matter how true they were.

“So, now I exist,” it sounded triumphant.

“No,” Din shuffled over to a bunk and fell on it, not caring that his armor pinched and dug into his scratched up, body bloody and broken. “Leave me alone.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

Wanna read more by me? Click here!

Taglist: @readingfan [(hopefully it worked this time lol) Also, hopefully you don't mind there not being a Reader insert 🥴]

[coconut530]

why is Good Intentions by Coyote Kid like one of my only Shiloh songs ever????? Like... 1:30 - 2:02??????

[flame-shadow]

hey did you know??? that if you stop stretching and maintaining mobility in your body then it goes away?? things get tight and you can't move the way that you used to??? and when you decide to try getting a stretch routine going that the first week fucking sucks because you keep going 'damn i used to be able to do this no problem' and then you have to switch gears and be kind to yourself and just focus on getting better from here instead of berating yourself for dropping the good habits in the first place??? and your body never stops aging so you gotta keep taking care of it and sometimes you gotta take care of it extra in certain areas because of things that happened when you were younger and it's boring and sometimes hurts but it's so necessary???

i am yelling this at myself right now i am going through An Experience (trying to get into a routine of body maintenance again for my physical and mental health)

[elodieunderglass]

hi. what do you mean

[roach-works]

pokemon theory i just thought of: new pokemon appear in the pokemon universe when they're designed in this one. they're created ex nilho but they have retroactive realness; they weren't here yesterday, but today they've always existed.

pokemon researchers have had to suss this out on their own over decades, and it's a really unpopular theory, made worse by the fact that no one can come up with a better one. from their perspective pokemon generate spontaneously but in both chronological directions, and the similarities of many pokemon seem to be detived from a conscious and creative understanding of the world--their world, though? what other world could there be?. there are ice cream pokemon and pokeball pokemon and sword pokemon and trash bag pokemon.

there are so many pokemon with both wings and a beak. is this like swords? is there an ur-flying type that this class evokes? there are so many canine pokemon. but what is a canine? is there such a thing? there's only one set of sword pokemon, right. one tea-set line. is *feline* a coherent category? would the ur-feline have two legs or four? why do so many pokemon have humanlike bodyplans-- but then again, why so few?

pichu has always been the prior form of pikachu. why didn't it get counted in order? why do we call it that instead of saying pikachu is the middle evolution of the pichu line? why can so many trainers remember finding this out well into their journeys? why didn't ash start with one?

this is why pokemon researchers do a lot of labwork, drink heavily, and use ten year olds for field research. you can't have an existential crisis if you don't even know what time is yet.

[kikimaymay]

This is my hot mess of a garden plan. I particularly like the pots. Also, striving more towards a good pollinator garden, because we fucked up years ago and got a butterfly bush.

[spookedbees]

everyone make way for the prince and princess of spooky season!!!

[nosnexus]

NEVER STOP BLOWING UP!

[eggsdrawings]

the kaminari and mina friendship is underutilized and i think we need to change that

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

"You and me, Ethan. Together we go save Rose, and then we can grind Miranda into paste!"

[hunnam]

Max Deeds via IG/Tiktok July 31st, 2024

[golyadkin]

it's because i wouldn't let you kill the bounty hunter isn't it

[centaur-dreaming]

You know that the diss is fire when it trends on tumblr of all places

UPDATE: AY YO THERES A FOURTH ONE