#firstbcrn

[stormlit]

❝ brother. i saw you make a swift exit when the bickering started. ❞ goodness knows what gregory and hyacinth are fighting about now, but there is always something — especially when benedict seems so eager to egg them on — and francesca cannot fault anthony for escaping to the garden. how can she, given how swiftly she's joined him? at least it is a pleasant day, though she would rather be poring over her sheet music. ❝ i do not remember eloise and i being so bad. ❞

@firstbcrn liked for a regency starter

[maimedaffair]

@firstbcrn ▐ anthony &* siena ↳  you can pretend i'm him. i don't care. i just want you.

he's so easy to get lost in. all that anthony is invites that sort of reaction , though. she is not the first girl to become enamored by the lord &* siena is sure she will not be the last. anthony , no matter how far he distances himself from his life in high society , embodies all things decadent &* enthralling. he's utterly unpaintable in beauty &* completely untouchable in status. &* YET HERE HE IS , hands &* mouth &* every hardened inch of him pressing her into the wall. because he wants her.

it's easy to get lost in that feeling -- being his choice. but she was not his only choice in life. every moment he spent here with her was another moment away from the rest of his life ; a life she'd never fit in to. a life she could never rely on. so she'd made the choice for him -- cut herself free from him ; sought out a new patron on a lower shelf. philip was kind &* wealthy enough to keep her afloat. he was respectable , but wasn't ruined by associating with her. didn't have to hide her away in shame.

she should think of philip. knows he doesn't deserve her letting another man touch her this way. but anthony's lips are at her ear , purring such velvety words , &* her mind can't grapple any footing. because he's not just some random man ; he's anthony. title be damned , he's her anthony.

while she should think of every reason to push him away &* return to philip's side , siena instead finds her nails scratching at his scalp as if she can claw him closer to her. finds she doesn't care to hold back the mewl of desperation as his hand reacquaints itself with the shape of her breast. her eyes open , only to turn skyward as if god himself will give her the willpower to break away. prayers unanswered , she can only bite out -- ❛   if you'd like to keep your hand there , put your mouth to better use than mentioning him. ❜

[woodcries]

@firstbcrn sent: ❛  have i ever told you how beautiful you look in the glow of the moonlight?  ❜ ( for kate !! )

' perhaps, but i wouldn't mind hearing it again. ' from the veranda, she could still hear the music from the ball downstairs, but this was as private as they could get with so many people around. she tipped her head towards her husband, looking him over.

[lcfthaunted]

@firstbcrn sent • that wasn't an answer. received • cinderella verse

“Isn’t it?” She’s so used to giving half-answers, nonanswers, whatever people wanted to hear from her to keep them from looking too closely. So she’s surprised at being called out. “No, I suppose it’s not.” She sighs, toys lightly with the pendant of her necklace. “The truth, Lord Bridgerton, is that I have no dowry. And even if I had, I would have long since sacrificed it for my sisters, in hopes that they may secure good matches.” Her hand drops from her necklace, fingers tangling together in front of her. “My continued attendance at these events is out of fear my absence would be remarked upon, and that that might reach my sisters’ mother.” She offers him a distant smile. “My apologies for misleading you. Do not feel you must waste any more time on me.”

[oathfcrged]

@firstbcrn liked for a starter.

He'd left for a few years, that was true, but he'd not been gone for so long that he had forgotten who the Bridgertons were. How could anyone forget them? His parents had known the late Edmund Bridgerton and while Aksel at the time had kept his head down not wanting to draw attention - he could recognise one of them even now, after all this time. Going as far as considering them friends may have been a reach, he'd been too shy to develop much of a bond but that timid personality he'd once had had left the day he had fled.

Now he found himself moving into a townhouse not far from them, he knew eventually he'd run into one of them. Though he hadn't expected it to be the oldest of the siblings. It had been his fault, he'd been in a rush - late for yet another one of his appointments to settle the remains of his parents will, something he should have done years ago. He'd been walking at such a speed that he'd knocked into the others shoulder and jolted them both. Thankfully he recovered quickly and turned to look to Anthony with wide eyes, hands raised. " Sorry, I am sorry. I was rushing and I did not see you. My apologies. I am a fool. "

[infamousrake]

❛⠀ should i ask daphne to prepare the invitations?⠀ ❜⠀ simon was at this ball for one reason, and one reason only: to make his beloved wife happy. and because she threatened to reopen the duchesses' rooms if he didn't comply. which... really, is the same thing. she was concerned about her brother. his mood, which no one has ever described as temperate, seemed even more tempestuous during her last visit to bridgerton house. ⠀ ❛⠀ your dance partner seems barely out of leading strings.⠀ ❜⠀

@firstbcrn ⸺ sc

[stlispenard]

🎲 ( for kate xo )

     whether it is all the wine she’s been sipping or how she’s dutifully danced with all of anthony’s brothers - and anthony himself - all evening that has caused her feet to swell, she does not know. when she settles in the carriage all she wants to do is to take off her shoes and toss them through the door. she avoids the latter. anthony is talking beside her and she tries to concentrate, but it only makes her more aware of her growing discomfort. certainly it’s a memorable way to end your wedding day. it feels rather graceless to burst out laughing while your new husband is recounting something, but she barely makes it a minute. 

     “anthony—” she says, biting back her laughter, “you must promise you won’t laugh at me, but i really must get out of these shoes before i lose my mind. i would much rather enjoy this conversation than be perfectly well-mannered.” 

     she will not wait for his permission nor will she have him assume that she’s asking for it. kate gives him a sharp look when he looks like he is about to say something and then lifts her one foot onto his thigh. her laughter quiets down as she realizes the sensual nature of the gesture when anthony’s hands are on her ankles and he undoes the shoe’s laces just enough to pull it off easily. they repeat it in silence and impossibly she feels warmer than before.

     her feet remain in his lap and his hands continuously caress the lower part of her legs, her ankles, her shins. suddenly the drive is very long and her previous pain is replaced by another distraction. she just watches him in silence and laughs only when he undoes the ribbons adorning her stockings endearingly. he looks a little drunk and tired as well, but happy, too, she hopes.   

     when the carriage stops, she is ready to exit without her shoes. she has never minded getting dirty. anthony however guides her arms around his neck and she lets him carry her out as though it is the most conventional thing on earth, “the staff will think we have gone mad,” she suggests, leaning in close by his ear, “but i am sure that is what you want, viscount bridgerton, is it not?” kate lets herself be carried up the stairs and through the entrance and only once they are alone she moves to turn his face to hers: “thank you, husband…” she whispers with her lips practically on his already, “my love.” 

random kiss: 38, kiss while one party is carried / @firstbcrn

[hcllishsins]

closed starter > ft. @firstbcrn

" ah , brother . i see you finally made the decision to venture out of your bed chamber . i suppose married life is keeping you rather , busy , shall we say ? " there ' s a slight smirk that crosses colin ' s features .

[maimedaffair]

@firstbcrn ▐ anthony &* siena ↳ "I never lied to you, you know that. I may not have told you everything, but what I told you was true."

the look she gives him is damn near incredulous. hands find her hips , nails digging in to the fabric there as her brows narrow into a pinch. ❛ DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL , ANTHONY ? be honest.   a simpleton who should take a man at his word &* not bat a pretty eyelash at him ? especially not at a lord. ❜ there's bite in her tone ; venom on her tongue. it's hard not to feel beneath him now. not to notice the distance. ❛ not telling the whole truth is a lie of omission , my lord. it means something. small &* white , but it surmounts if left to rot.   ❜ day after day , night after night ------- sweet words of adoration &* lust that amounted to nothing in the grand scheme of things. she would always be the harlot men only lied to ; only told the truth when it was convenient.

❛ AM I A JOKE TO YOU ? a plaything you can tell half truths to &* hope to smooth it over with sex ? i may not be a lady , anthony , but i am still a person. a person deserving of respect regardless of my lack of station. respect me enough to tell me everything. bare all , or nothing. i can't stand for halves.   ❜

[bnd1ctsmoved]

@firstbcrn liked for a starter.

His trip to the country had done him so good and already he missed the fresh air and the sound of birds singing by his window in the early hours of the morning. But Benedict wasn't unhappy to be back home, he'd missed his family - though they tested his patience on occasion. As he stepped out of the carriage and back into the Bridgerton house he greeted the doors men and then several of the maids before he made his way up the stairs.

His luggage still in hand he spotted the back of his brothers head, only able to tell them apart by height. " If it isn't my second favourite brother, " He teased as he approached and clapped a hand down onto Anthony's shoulder. " I did not expect to see you home. "

[dolcesuono]

@firstbcrn / @himbovillains said: don’t you recognize me ?

she stiffened. it had been bad enough to see him. to hear his voice was even worse. how many years had passed since the cold, angry goodbye? two? three? ... no. there was little point in pretending she'd lost count. the date was seared into her mind along with the way the room had looked, the waistcoat he'd been wearing, the way the room smelled of a too-smokey fire... the time apart had done little to dull the memory or to lessen the sting. but how could it have? when the consequences of their little entanglement slept soundly back in her apartment across town?

when she turned to him at last, there was a frozen smile on her lips - so far from the warm, genuine one he had once been able to coax from her. " recognize you? of course, my lord! you are not an easy man to forget... " she said it lightly, as if the truth beneath those words was not as agonizing as the look in his dark eyes. they were eyes she still saw daily, after all. " i thought you had vanished from society altogether... " the comment was not totally fair. indeed, it was she who had suddenly found herself... induced to accept a season contract in milan in the immediate aftermath of their affair. she would have accepted anything that took her so far from london. when she returned, though, she had been surprised - and secretly pained - not to cross his path. even it it had been for the best.

" you must tell me everything you've been up to... " there was no warmth in her eyes. but she was determined that he would not see any deeper into her heart. never again.

[woodcries]

@firstbcrn sent: are you hiding something? ( for kate )

' where did you get that impression? ' she had taken great care to make sure her behavior had never changed -- she still made time to talk to the same people and enjoy the same pastimes -- so there was no reason he had to suspect she was up to anything. it didn't matter that she was, in fact, up to something.

finding a gift for him was difficult and it required a lot more effort than most to keep it a secret from him until it was the right time.

[secondbcrn]

" you cannot be serious. " it was not disbelief in his voice - it was, quite plainly, the seeds of panic. logically, he supposed he ought to have anticipated this. it would not be the first time anthony had called upon him as the second son. and indeed, it would be a lie to say he'd never felt a single pang of guilt at the fact that his brother shouldered every responsibility while he shouldered none... but he had never made any effort to correct the imbalance, had he? and looking at the stack of papers and ledgers anthony had just set before him, he was once again reminded why. " you cannot possibly mean to entrust me with - all of this? "

and for six long months at that - while his brother and his soon-to-be viscountess gallivanted through europe. in the meantime, he was meant to keep an eye on matters of the estate. he gingerly opened the first account book and squinted down at the figures in anthony's neat, confident hand... but as he eyed the rent projections and crop yields, something else squeezed uncomfortably in his chest: his fantasies of being an artist had all come to naught... surely he could not fail this as well...

when he looked back up at his brother, there was a look of resigned acceptance in his eyes and, after a moment, perhaps a touch of mischief as well. " are you certain you wish to go abroad? really, what could be worth seeing in europe? would not kate much prefer to honeymoon at aubrey hall? "

𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑪𝑨𝑳𝑳 -> @firstbcrn

[knewjoy111]

a starter for ━ @firstbcrn

truthfully, sophie understands francesca's sentiments about often feeling lost in the raucousness that is the rest of her family. the more she is around the bridgerton family, the more that she truly begins to realize just how differently her life has been compared to theirs. ( oh, she is no idiot. of course she has not had a life such as this, but for a short while her life was what most would consider as normal. though she be the bastard child of an earl, at least she was raised as a proper child should for a small part of her time at penwood. ) they have been exceptionally kind and welcoming to her, but she is often taken aback by their boisterous games and competitiveness with one another.

emerald green eyes blink quickly at her surroundings, watching as hyacinth argues with colin over a shot she very clearly made in their game of pall mall. sophie shifts a bit towards anthony beside her, a hint of confusion and worry in her voice as she folds her hands hesitantly over her own mallet, ❝ do they always bicker over such things like this? ❞

[nurturesmind]

“ i wouldn’t dream of forcing you to endure my company for one moment longer. ”

"you say that and yet you are still here, brother." the condescension drips in her tone but she makes a point of letting it be known. the only bridgerton who could rival anthony's quick temper was eloise, and that was because hers was no better — even worse, some would say, but excusable for the time being since she was younger. or so she liked to think. "you are very free to leave the drawing room... but you're still hoping he'll get up from this spot and walk over to you, aren't you?"

newton shifts slightly as if he knows he's being talked about, but makes no effort to get up. still laying there, belly up and enjoying the attention she's been giving, him lazy and carefree as ever. eloise has no intention to stop rubbing his exposed belly either. "i think it's time to accept that he simply does not like you, anthony."

to sir phillip, with love. / accepting !

[hcllishsins]

closed starter > ft. @firstbcrn

with sparkling wine in hand , the crystal glass held between two , gloved , fingers , cressida cowper made her way into the ball room . of course , she expected to be flocked by potential suitors . but , alas , they were all too focused on the diamond of the season , daphne bridgerton . lips pucker and eyes roll . " in truth i do not know what the queen saw in her .. " the snide comment is aimed toward one of her fellow debutantes , unaware that the viscount was only a mere few paces away .