#but kate anthony and daphne all still seem to want to do the show!

[beepmeepmeepbeep]

bridgerton not beating life ends with marriage allegations

[newtonsheffield]

But, Molly, the way he kisses her in the middle of the damn ballroom like a whore and is so fucking pleased with himself afterwards.

Violet really can't take them anywhere.

Ugh, there’s so much of their new dynamic to unpack here.

First the fact that Francesca says she wants a second to herself and Anthony’s like-

“You do you Boo, have fun kids.”

He never would have done that when Daphne was making her debut. Never.

Then there’s the fact that he catches Kate’s eye across the room and the second their eyes meet she smiles at him as though she can’t help herself.

The little tilt of his head as he walks towards her like “Tell me not to come over if you’re busy 1-2-3 too late. I’m on my way!”

The fact that he’s talking to his MOTHER and he’s still like “Mum, Kate’s really pretty! She’s beautiful! She’s my wife! Did I mention that she was my wife? I want to dance! Come on let’s dance!”

(Kate and Violet are obviously talking about something and I love that they don’t seem to have a contentious relationship at all)

Then there’s the dancing. They’re not even wearing GLOVES. It mirrors the movements of their final dance in season 2 but they don’t have to stare longingly at one another anymore. They’re in love and the entire ton knows it. So Anthony takes the opportunity and sluts it up.

Her playful little gasp?

His little smirk?

The fact that the flashes of colour on his waistcoat match her dress perfectly???

The fact that last season they used her hair loosening to show the moments she was most herself and they were mostly when she and Anthony were alone and here she is with half her hair down at a society function because she feels more comfortable in herself with Anthony???

I need to call out sick from work today to recover

[thekatebridgerton]

For the reverse tropes ask: reverse fake dating for Philoise

Okay so I made it a Reverse fake dating S3 Philoise au

Anthony sighed looking over at his family as he reviewed the guests for their next dinner " Baron Honeywell, Lady Astley, Madame Olsen, oh and for tonight's dinner the man who Eloise paid off to pretend to court her, will also be showing up so I want you all to be perfectly polite"

" I've said it before he's actually courting me !" Eloise snapped

"Of course he is" Daphne patted her shoulder

" We're just wondering how much you paid him to promenade with you" Hyacinth added " Sir Phillip doesn't look like he's strapped for money "

"I didn't pay him off! He asked me to promenade, it was his idea to dance with me at the Cowper ball" Eloise huffed

" We believe you sister, he also brought you flowers voluntarily" Benedict hummed "And whatever blackmail you have over him will never leave this room "

" Fine, Eloise didn't pay him off, I make a correction " Anthony rolled his eyes, but before his sister could thank him for defending her he continued "the man Eloise blackmailed into faking a courtship" The rest of the family made various humms of understanding

Eloise eye twitched, looking dangerously like she was about to punch someone " is it really so hard to believe that we actually like each other?"

Her siblings looked at each other and shrugged "Yes"

" You have to admit El, Sir Phillip is so normal and you are so.... You" Colin said gesturing to all of her being

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?!!"

"We don't mean to offend sister, it's just that you do tend swear off marriage in front of every man you meet" Francesca tried to explain gently " And Sir Phillip has two young children, that's not exactly a spring bachelor"

" He also likes gardening, medicinal tea brewing and estate management" Kate piped up ticking off her fingers " And you... The last time you picked up a flower arrangement pamphlet you used it as a cover to attend a political rally "

" He's a good boxer, and a good marksman but dislikes practicing both" Simon pointed out, seemingly being the only one who had actually spent time with Sir Phillip "You on the other hand almost got yourself shot chasing leads of lady Whistledown"

" You're fresh off a scandal, he's fresh off a failed marriage, admit it Eloise, there's no way you're actually courting" Colin pointed out cynically

" But we are! And I see that we don't have a lot in common but I do like him, I like him a whole lot, and I like his children" Eloise protested " why won't you believe me? he's been trying really hard to win you all over because he also likes me"

"Of course he does and just in time to make people forget about the political rally business" Violet Bridgerton announced entering the drawing room giving Eloise a wink " Sir Phillip has been the picture of the perfectly devoted suitor, whatever threat you have him under, it's certainly working" she said giving Eloise a proud pat in her shoulder

Eloise sighed, how could she convince her family that her relationship with Sir Phillip was real without revealing that they've been bonding over the loss of their loved ones and a secret love of banned books, in fact most of the things Eloise talked with Sir Phillip would either land her in scandal sheets again or in jail. But he was an avid listener and answered all her questions, no matter how impertinent or illegal. She was teaching Sir Phillip the finer points of social interaction because he seemed to be worse off than her when it came to facing crowds, while he taught her about the things he'd learned in University, Eloise didn't think they were that badly suited and welcome his courtship openly.

The problem lay in the fact that nobody believed they were actually courting! By this rate Phillip would propose and everyone would still think it was a ruse. God help her

An: I had so much fun writing this one

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

Why I will never ever take Bridgerton fandom or mainly any tv/film fandoms seriously especially the Bridgerton one because they genuinely like trash toxic disgusting characters like Eloise Anthony Kate Daphne but hate Marina Edwina Colin and Penelope and the only reason they like Kate is because she’s their self insert girl to be with the hot nasty white boy they fancy Anthony and the only reason they dislike Colin who’s perfect and the best man brother wnd Bridgerton in that whole show is because he’s Penelope friend and love interest it’s clear as day they whole fandom hatred for them is based on racism misogynior and fatphobia because you can’t tell me you genuinely like Daphne who’s a se*ual assaulte* (which btw people hate Alison in UA for as they should but they deem her as the devil worst most evil human ever that was kissing too but daphne does a whole SA rap*e but she don’t get the same energy Daphne don’t even get any energy about in fact she gets nothing is because what she did was towards a poc character so it don’t matter right and things only matter when poc/woc characters does anything or just breathes in the wrong direction or towards a yt character right they are

deemed satan sporn crucified fandom love to put woc/poc character on high standards then white characters who can just live life and do all mistakes without facing consequences or remotely anything even if it’s literally sexu*ul assaul* or crimes like plz be fr and don’t get me started on them like having understanding sympathing and making all the excuses in the world for daphne even tho she’s sexua* assaulte* but they hate Marina for doing what was best for her children and herself there’s absolutely no understanding no sympathy or empathy for her and the life she’s lived which was so sad and cruel in fact she’s lived the worst life but they have no understanding for her but can easily do for other characters who’s lived a spoiled happy privileged life like the Bridgertons but nothing for the poor sad heartbroken girl in that society being not just any girl but a woc and not a rich woc that is protected by love or money like say queen Charlotte duke was in that era

being great mother doing whatever for their kids which is another thing fandoms love Portia as they should bc she was doing what was best for her kids as a mother does and should always do (my queen except when she’s cruel to pen and her sister) when she said she was mother and her team was the 3 girls the fandom call her bad bitch best mom who loves her kids as they should bc it’s true and Georgia in G&G calling her girl boss bad bitch best mother and queen thingz for doing everything for her kids and herself but Marina doing the same in time in a society where people like her poor black woman with no high status or family meant nothing who’s opinion and life and gender was seen as less, for her it’s she’s the devil trapping Colin like he still didn’t want her afterwards saying it didn’t matter to him that she was pregnant with another man baby that he loved and would’ve helped her if he knew😂 she’s manipulative trapping him all the bla bla no she was doing what was right and best for her at that time and we shouldn’t applauded her for her mistakes for doing what was wrong to towards Colin or lying to him but understand her time and life and see she was very desperate have some sympathy for god sake she made a mistake she did something wrong we see it her it but so did everyone else there and y’all have understanding sympathy for them but can’t do the same for her why?

(at least she came clean and apologized and got her consequences more then I can say for any bridgerton character that’s not Colin because they all somehow never seem to get any consequences for their actions or the things they do and the people they hurt just disappear or are the ones getting hated on or they get their happy ending with a person they hurt) but when another white woman character does that same exact thing but it’s way worse it’s girl boss) and that’s why I can’t take any fandom but especially the Bridgerton fandom seriously and don’t even get me started on the unnecessary hate Penelope Colin and Edwina get all the time sure Penelope at least did something bad once or twice or thrice and I’m not excusing her but it’s not remotely close to anything those other characters or even Eloise did and Kate Anthony get nothing even tho they are literally the most evil characters in that show along with daphne, Eloise is horrible awful cruel human but she’s not a devil just mean whiny privileged spoiled narcissistic hypocritical bitc*h and anyone that likes these characters but hate on Penelope who tried everything to save herself and her friend can stfu and anyone who hates Edwina and Colin literally the best characters in the whole universe who’s never ever done anything wrong in their lives can fcvk off good too for all I care same can Penelope Polin and Marina haters!

you are not fooling anyone with your clear and obvious racism misogynior and fatphobia at all because if you genuinely was gonna hate on characters for being cruel or doing something manipulative nasty or just pure evil you would never eveeer hate or even think off hating on Colin and Edwina and you would be so understanding empathetic and feel for Penelope and Marina doing whatever they can in world where they are poor woman who aren’t rich spoiled privileged supported by their family nor Bridgerton girls and who the world don’t just open up for them with opportunity respect an kindness

And this is more then half the fandom all of them being the same one shade of nasty liking daphn kathony but hating Colin Edwina marina and Penelope be so fr real!

[abovethemists]

The Purpose of the Mondrich storyline.

I have seen a lot of complaints about the Mondriches and how their storyline seems out of place and unconnected to the rest of the show. Well, I have some thoughts about how they might tie in to the larger plot of the season, and seasons going forward.

1. We’re losing the Featherington’s.

From season 1, the main members of the ton have been the Bridgertons, their love interests for the season, Lady Danbury, and the Featherington’s. We’re also bleeding characters as we go on. Daphne and Simon are gone, Anthony and Kate have reduced roles, and after this season I assume the Featherington’s will be gone as well. Penelope will be a Bridgerton and doesn’t seem the type to spend all her time in her mother’s drawing room like her sisters do. Portia will have married off all her daughters and most likely have the succession issue wrapped up. There’s nothing more for her to do (other than engage in maid wars) and even less for Prudence and Philippa. We have two new sets this season in the Cowper house and the Mondrich house and I wonder if the increased attention to those families is so we have other families in the ton with POVs outside the Bridgertons.

2. It shows a transition from commoner to member of the ton.

This one beggars belief but it does set things up for someone to be able to make the transition from working man to fashionable member of the aristocracy. This is important precedent for Benedict! We’ve already seen him be the one to welcome and explain the rules of society to the Mondriches. His love interest, Sophie, goes from illegitimate daughter of an Earl to maid to Bridgerton. In the books she and Ben move to the country and don’t really engage with the ton but they might want the option of keeping them around the main London storyline and setting it up that a boxer is accepted in society makes it more likely a former maid can too (if the Bridgertons, Lady D, the Queen all say she’s the Earl’s ward don’t think about it too much).

Even if my greatest fear comes true and Benedict gets skipped again, this could still help set up his future story.

[thoughtfulpaperback]

You know, I've been scrolling through the tags, and I've seen some posts arguing either that Colin never loved Marina or that he did love her and anyone who thinks other ways is being being misogynistic or racist.

And I will say that I agree that we can't overlook the mysogynoir I also think that many people are missing the big picture here: that Colin hasn't been in love at all based on the shows definition of love.

Okay like here me out before everyone jumps down my throat.

I will concede that love is complex. It comes in many forms. While I have never experiences puppy love I don't want to devalue the experience of others who have.

What I am trying to say is that based on how the show defines love in each of its stories. He just hasn't been mature enough to be in love.

Violet tells Daphne that the best match/choice is your best friend. Though each story takes on a different troupe (fake relationship and enemies to lovers) the heart of it is the same. Love is wanting someone who is your friend. Someone who you know well and can share parts of yourself that you don't share with anyone else. Someone who challenges you to grow and you you are willing to be open minded for. Someone you want to stick with even when life is tough. Passion and all that is part of yeah but essentially that is the gist from the main show and Queen Charlotte.

While I personally do think Colin has affection for both Marina and Pen and he knows and liked the idea of love, but He just isn't mature enough to love anyone in that way yet.

He could never have been Marina's best friend not because of the lies but because he hadnt really tried to be. He never seem to actually get to know her. He liked dancing with her and spending time with her but, and forgive me if I'm wrong since it has been a while since I watched it last but Colin didn't seem to ask her her much past the superficial or the rescue attempts.

He had the whole willingness to stick it out with her. And he definitely had the feelings. I don't think its fair to downplay that Colin felt genuine care and infatuation. Maybe it was based on a fantasy more than the reality, but those are still valid feelings.

I do think Colin definitely could have grown to love Marina because if they had gotten married they would have eventually grown to be each other's friends since he cared for her and would be more than eilling to make it work, but that also would depend on whether Marina ever let down her guard and stopped playing the part of wanting to be with him for security reasons (Which I don't think is a crime worth all the hate it gets her).

By the same token, he isn't in love with pen. Again there is genuine care. And Pen for sure loves him. He is one of her best friends, she would do anything for him. She wants to protect him and she sees him in a way no one else does.

Obviously while Colin also matches some of that, he isn't there yet. He cares for Pen, he sees a part of her that no one else does, and he's her friend. But he doesn't actually see all of her yet. And I'm not just taking about the LW thing. But everything that goes with it. She isn't a damsel that needs rescuing or a puppy to coddle. She is capable witty and talented.

He definitely sees some of it, but not enough.

Now again if we are going to talk about the complexities of love and validation of experiences.

Then yes Colin loved Marina and he loves Penelope. Just like Anthony loved Sienna and loves Kate.

Love isn't just one thing or another, and it isn't always equally reciprocated.

But I feel that in the context of the shows idea and presentation of love, Colin has not loved anyone truly and probably won't love Pen right away either because he just hasn't matured enough yet to get it.

I don't think this is a particularly new or insightful thought but hadn't seen yet while i was scrolling.

Also yall who are out here waiting for Marina to die....what the heck. I am someone who likes Phillip x Eloise's story, though I think a lot of that would have to be revamped for the show Eloise if they were going to do it.

I honestly would think that they will move on to Benedict before Eloise. That aside I'm not like out here counting down the moments and anticipating the death of a character...

Jeez. Yall out here posting crap that makes me like not want to admit I liked eloise's book.

But

Liking Phillipe x Eloise is not equal to wanting Marina dead ASAP.

I feel like I shouldn't have to say that but apparently it needs to be said.

That's pretty disgusting, y'all, especially knowing how poorly Ruby Barker has been treated.

Now I know you can feel away about a character and not an actor, but I don't think giving the trolls validation is a good thing.

[shewhotellsstories]

https://www.tumblr.com/faiseuse-d-histoires/753349292887080960/literally-any-bridgerton-viewer-has-a-perfectly?source=share

ohh sweet girls, let me explain this to you, do you knw the concepto of INTERNALIZE fatphobia???? you dont like Penelope`s actions because they are really bad, but the truth is they werent realky bad, in fact many other characters did bad things, daphne gaf about consent with her husband, kate and anth cheat on edwina and make fun of her, they ruined her life and gaf about it . But yes, Pen actions were bad. So apprentely there are ANY serious reason, you made all up in yoru heads becasue what you really dont like is seeing someone who is not a model being love, you dont like seeing a man who is not toxic being love. Ypu want us, wallflowers in the shadows and the fat girlies hide alone where they belong

It wasn't that bad, but if it was that bad other characters are bad too? That's the best you've got anon? Holy narcissist's prayer, batman. Nicola Coughlan is beautiful, unfortunately, the character she's playing is awful. Penelope being plus-sized isn't enough to make me okay with her calling Kate a beast. It's not enough to make her burn book seem like a feminist pursuit even though she ruined her cousin out of jealousy over a man. Some might say that she's not malicious, but every time she has a choice she chooses to spill secrets in a way that will guarantee maximum public humiliation. She cries, but it's not due to real guilt but out of a desire to avoid earned consequences. She's a jealous, petty, gossip writer not a feminist icon.

Seeing characters harm others and being told that it wasn't that bad and I can't be mad at them because they've had it rough Is one of my biggest pet peeves. If I only dislike Penelope because she's plus-sized, then why did I spend most of my time watching OUAT criticizing Regina Mills, a thin character with a penchant for abusing others and never having to answer for it?

I think there is a very real need for plus-sized characters who are whole, fully realized characters who are seen as worthy of love and desirable. I still remember my disappointment when Glee nuked Mercedes' relationship with Sam for no reason after treating her like an afterthought season after season. Moving on, I think Penelope could've been a character I loved, unfortunately after showing her behave badly for three seasons instead of trying to redeem Penelope the writers forced every character with a right to be angry to accept Penelope's behavior because she's a wallflower.

P.S. I made several posts saying I understood Kate and Anthony's motivations, but they caused Edwina pain. She forgave them, but let's not pretend she didn't get to confront them for it and tell them exactly how it made her feel. It hurt, but her life wasn't ruined.

[dusty-daydreams]

Hi! Fic Anon again! I was wondering what the consequences might have been had Eloise and Theo gotten married? (Post s3) What would have been the reactions of the Bridgertons and the Ton? Because that seems like a big, BIG scandal, maybe the biggest scandal.

(On a brighter note how cute it would be if Eloise and Theo opened their own bookshop/printing press together and they spend a peaceful life away from the aristocratic society)

Have a nice day!

Interestingly enough if the show was doing things realistically in relation to the actual social politics of the time it probably would have been just slightly less scandalous than the scandal that Penelope outs Eloise as having

Cavorting unchaperoned with working class radicals? Deeply scandalous, implies that Eloise is impure

Answering that with Eloise marrying a working class printers apprentice - still deeply deeply scandalous but maybe she just fell in love with someone below her station and made the feelings honest and honourable with marriage.

She wouldn’t be welcome in high society and it would have realistically impacted the overall reputation of the Bridgertons probably made them on the reputational level of the featheringtons when Eloise’s scandalous marriage is weighed against their connection to the Duke

Though I don’t think Eloise would care about loosing her place in society and unlike Kate’s step mother I don’t think that the Bridgertons would cut her off, so she would still be able to visit her family and rely on them for help

In fact it is my personal headcannon that if Eloise were to marry Theo, Anthony in his role as protector and provider (which in this scenario Anthony would probably not see as ending - like if Eloise marries Theo Anthony probably continues to feel responsible for her, in a way that he doesn’t for Daphne)

So Anthony as the provider and protector that is core to his identity probably “invests” in a print shop for Theo to “own” and run so that the marriage is slightly more respectable - like the daughter of a viscount marrying a printer’s apprentice - extremely scandalous, but marrying a business owner - still extremely scandalous but less so

As for Bridgerton reactions I think it depends on the Bridgerton, I think Violet, Anthony, Daphne and maybe Colin would be horrified because they are all invested in living up to the social contract and standards of the Ton.

I think Benedict and Francesca would be worried for her but ultimately pleased that she was doing what made her happy.

I think Hyacinth would think it was Romantic and as she grew up probably a bit unwise (Hyancinth loves romance stories but her hero’s are usually men of higher rank than even her family)

I think Gregory would be uncertain and torn between Anthony and Benedict’s reactions as to which he should mirror, but as he grew up I could see him settling into a concerned but happy for her state

Especially as time goes by because I can see Anthony mellowing out into “concerned but happy for her” the longer things don’t go wrong

Daphne and Violet would always be in a state of horror about it but would still want to see her

[sirenascelestiales]

Honestly, considering the show/writers never acknowledged Daphne’s marital rape of her husband, and they only had a slight acknowledgment of Edwina’s feelings on Kate x Anthony, like I don’t think there will be a satisfactory resolution to Pen’s betrayal of the Bridgertons (Marina/Colin and Eloise/Theo) or of Eloise’s “friendship” with Cressida (and anything else she might do as “revenge”).

I think they’ll blow over the latter “I said I’d rather die than be her friend and I still mean it” and hugs all around or some other scene like that (which I know is simple and that’s my point). And Pen will apologize and confess that cause she’s so in love with Colin and she wanted to be noticed and she’ll be forgiven without much else from Colin. And maybe a little more for Eloise, if that.

(Spoiler’s for the books in case people care about that).

They forgive her for Whistledown in the books, Colin is worried more about her being revealed as Whistledown than her writing shit about him (tho nothing she writes is like Marina/Colin is not in the books. Daphne basically forgives her for anything she wrote about that but tbh she doesn’t seem to mind anyway). And, they like sorta acknowledge it as “wtf” thing, but it’s blown over quickly imo. “Oh well that’s nice dear” sorta reaction. And Eloise does have even more of a backbone than in the books but idk I just don’t see why and what people seem to want out of Bridgerton.

Eloise is going to somehow befriend and fall in love with Crane! You’re telling me the girl running around with Theo and “radicals” will suddenly fall for the guy boring the fuck out of Marina?

Like, I’m sorry but Bridgerton is pretty people hooking up with a regency background. They will not “do right” by most people’s standards of how the characters should act and how to apologize (Daphne and Simon make up after professing deep love in the rain! Anthony is shocked into confessing for real cause Kate fell of a horse! It’s for DRAMA, and then it’s resolved kinda easily?)

I’ve seen some more of nuanced takes against Pen, at least these people aren’t reducing her to a fat villain (cause when they did that I could not take them seriously 😒). And honestly a lot of it is fair, that’s good! The writers don’t care.

But now I keep seeing people hating Eloise to the point that they want a comeuppance that is not proportional to her “revenge”…and like… it won’t be as serious as y’all are making it to be. This “revenge”. Like please, the writers aren’t going to suddenly take this world seriously. See above and those are just 1 example for each season!

If they wanted to acknowledge all the hurt Pen put people through and make her work to become a better person, they could! I just don’t think they will because it’s 8 episodes per season and in this season they’re trying to find a way to get Colin and Pen together and Eloise and Pen as friends again by end of season. I don’t think they’ll extend a conflict into Ben’s season (I actually hope they don’t, I like Ben and Sophie’s story for the most part and while I love Anthony and Kate they shouldn’t be the focus either).

Idk what people expect I guess. if you’re watching it for Pen to be taken down a notch… might not be the season for you. If you’re hate watching I guess tag it with “anti” whatever and not the regular tags?

I’m sorry if you think she does not deserve an happy ending, I don’t necessarily disagree that she’s undeserving of some crow eating for what she’s done. However, I don’t think the writers care to make her go through that. And I don’t watch Bridgerton for brilliant character development that I think some of y’all want.

That being said I’m curious about how they’ll manage LW post Colin x Penelope marriage. In the books it basically disappears, and maybe they can use that to have a build up to Pen! However that means to me making their relationship last longer than as season and I do not want that for any of the couples.

[be-curious-and-not-judgemental]

Another installment of the reluctant male re-watch.

We completed episode 4 and 5. There was more scoffing, a few chuckles and less questions. He seems to be fully engaged. Which is a good thing as the Reluctant Male is leaving on Friday for work in another country for 6 weeks. So we've only got a few days to get through the next few episodes. Fingers crossed we can get the last three episodes in.

Observations in no particular order:

1) "I'm not a huge fan of this couple, she keeps talking him into marrying her sister when he has admitted he wants no such thing. It feels repetitive. " I sort of understand where he's coming from. They have great chemistry but it does tend to drag out. Daphne and Simon were married by episode 5 and struggled after whereas Kanthony are in will they/won't they purgatory. But man, good chemistry!

2) "I don't really get the problem with Eloise. Is she planning to marry this guy and if that happens, what will happen to her?" I explain that she marries someone else and I DO spoil it and point out Phillip Crane which confused him majorly as Marina is still married to him. "How are they gonna pull that one off? So this Theo guy and her don't do anything? And why is Penelope watching?"

3) "this guy has to be bi cuz they give him moments of him talking and looking at guys but then he's all out having sex with every woman he meets. He seems pretty free, he's like the anti-Anthony." Which is a great observation about Benedict (I'm kind of blown away at his views sometimes, he's usually pretty clueless in life...)

4)"I like the olive joke. That's the first time he seems to be relaxed and making jokes." I then reminded him of the farm joke and taking his stick out which he replied that he wished Colin was always like that, which I totally agree. He seems more like book-Colin in those moments.

5) "ouch, that was harsh! Poor Colin. Guy seems out of touch... and sort of not part of the show or something. And you say his storyline is season 3? I don't know... how do you turn his character from this guy to like in love with Penelope cuz right now he seems stuck on the other girl." And with this statement, I tried warming him up to Colin and Penelope's upcoming season but so far, he doesn't see it. I shudder to think what he'll say after Colin's final remark about Penelope in the last episode. Breaking my Polin heart he doesn't see the potential... yet.

6) "I like Daphne more this season. Way more."

7) "the Featheringtons are a mess! I like their funny moments but what a disaster family!"

I point blank asked him for his favourite characters. Right off the bat, Portia is mentioned. As well as Lady Bridgerton (which consider me shocked cuz he never really mentions her while we watch). He claims he likes the artist brother the best. He is apparently not a fan of Anthony or Lady Danbury (who he did like in the beginning). He thinks the actress who plays Kate is hot, 🙄such a guy thing to say but also, he's not wrong.

[bumblesimagines]

I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL ANYTHING SO DID YOU WATCH THE LATEST BRIDGERTON??? I'M SHAKING

Yes I have!!! I'll write my thoughts below!

The B in LGBTQ+ stands for Benedict Bridgerton and I MANIFESTED IT BITCHESSS

Ahem.

The Main Stars:

Honestly... I didn't really care for Polin. I felt like their relationship and Colin's feelings for her were rushed. I don't really care for Colin in general. I was looking forward to a best friends to lovers with feelings slowly being realized but it seems like they rushed through it so that part 1 could end with a big shock of Colin proposing. My problem was that A) it felt rushed. Like.. Jiara type of rushed and B) a lot of Polin problems (and other issues) got resolved so quickly.

As for Colin, I find him kinda boring and I didn't understand why Pen said he 'returned different' when... he literally acted the exact same. Maybe it's because he was more of an afterthought in the previous seasons. Like he was always traveling and we didn't even know he was a writer until this season and even then we??? didn't even get to see a lot of it??? And while understandably he was upset about Whistledown, I hate how he kept bringing down Pen and the writing and then it was all resolved super quickly.

Nicola/Pen was amazing and I'm glad she advocated for being nude as a fuck you to those who didn't want her as a love interest due to her body type. She was amazing, stunning, gorgeous and I love herrr. She is also. So short.

(My) Main Stars:

Kate, Anthony, Francesca, and Benedict stole the show for me. I was more invested in them than in Polin.

Kathony scenes were so cute and lovely and they're having a baby!! I believe they have a few in the books so looking forward to proper dad Anthony and more of grandma Violet since we haven't gotten much of that with Daphne. They were so fun and Anthony was so head over heels. So sad we never got to see their wedding and such but alas, we might get dad!Anthony and mom!Kate.

Francesca!! I'm not sure if they're setting up for her being bisexual or lesbian but I'm going to assume lesbian. Fucking finally. And honestly? Slay. Her potential love interest was drop dead gorgeous and I'm looking forward to more of their story. She was such an interesting character. At first I assumed that she was like a different side of the same coin with Daphne where Daphne was looking forward to marriage cause of love Francesca was looking forward to marriage to get it over with. Her and Kilmartin are great. Their friendship is so cute and... I assume I'm going to be devastated in following seasons.

We all knew Benedict was bi y'all. We been knew. And!! High chance the next season will be setting up for his season (it'll possibly be Eloise's season?) or it'll be his season!! Benedict is such a puppy and I really really hope they make drastic changes from his book. I'm curious to see if they'll also change his love interests gender? Either way, I'm looking forward to how things will roll out for him.

Other things:

I was very meh about Violet, Danbury, and Anderson. I live for Violet and Danburys friendship and I'm always happy to see em but I did not care for a surprise family member lmao. But hey, at least Violet is getting her garden watered.

People were acting like the Mondrichs were taking up half of the season and it was like?? They've been appearing in scenes throughout the show since S1 like no shit they're going to continue appearing?? The way people talk and act about them has such undertones... Check yourself.

I was hoping for a Cressida redemption arc tbh... And also for Eloise x Cressida to happen ngl lmao. I really thought Eloise would end up being wlw (which could still happen! She could easily still be queer). As much as I like Eloise I do hope she will change how she views other ladies. A lot of time she's giving 'not like other girls' and this season she was doing better than that but still... Some of her comments were not it.

Season Ranking:

1st: Season 2.

2nd: Season 3.

3rd: Season 1.

I think we all know why these seasons got their rankings 😭. Anyways my little bi heart was very pleased with these outcomes.

[lollytea]

thoughts on the main bridgerton couples we’ve seen so far?

Ooooooh you've given me an opportunity to yap. Thank you kindly!!

Oh when I started season 1, I was sooooo excited for Daphne and Simon's fake dating plot. I wasn't expecting anything deeply profound. Just gimmicky trashy fun. And I really did enjoy them!! I liked watching them interact with each other. They were very sweet and charming.

Except uuuuggghhh!!! Their sexual dynamic made me so uncomfortable. Like I had so much fun watching the numerous scenes where they fucked like happy happy little rabbits and wished that was as far as the show took it. BUT the power imbalance was awful.

I understand historical accuracy of regency era women being less sexually educated the men and are sometimes completely clueless but GODDDD that doesnt mean I have to enjoy watching it. Bridgerton is supposed to be some stupid swoony sexy romance. But personally I don't find the virgin and slut trope to be all that sexy or swoony or romantic at all.

I don't like Daphne having to be taught how to masturbate by her love interest like she's a child

I don't like how her naivete is exploited by her husband

And I do NOT like how Daphne sexually assaults her husband out of SPITE. Its absolutely depraved. Its disgusting. Sick to my stomach.

Devastated by how fun Daphne and Simon initially were and then it all veered into creepy squirmy terrible territory. I wanted to enjoy them so bad.

The next is Kate and Anthony and. Hm.

I think Kate has the most compelling character set up out of everyone in the cast. I like that she's so much older than the typical female protag in these kinds of stories. She's still very young (26) but according to the era she lives in, she's ANCIENT for a woman. I quite like stories like that. About older women who think they've lost their chance of finding love years ago but receive a happy surprise. She's brainy and loud and stubborn and opinionated and gets on people's nerves but she's also so pleasant and funny and so full of love for her family and she's fucking GORGEOUS.

I don't have any strong opinions about Anthony except he's a bit of a cunt but the actor plays him so melodramatically that I do find him entertaining.

I was excited for the enemies to lovers thing. They both have such strong flammable personalities. I wanted mess. I wanted fire. I wanted her to tear his throat out.

But the romance itself was kinda....underwhelming. I dunno, I felt like they didn't have enough interactions to really loathe each other to the extent that they did. And then, again, they didn't have enough interaction for that loathing to morph into love. Like the fact that it states that they're "in love" when they've only had a few scenes together feels very unsatisfying. It didn't seem earned. At least with Simon and Daphne, they were hanging out with each other every day for weeks. Kate and Anthony were only having sporadic meetings every once and again.

ALSO the two of them crumbled into hopeless love way too fast for my liking. It felt like a jumble of fanfic scenes but with none of the substance of the Canon material to make the fanfic meaningful. I dunno man, Kate has been completely unreceptive to romance for her whole life and Anthony is stubborn and arrogant and completely against the idea of love. The evolution of their relationship seemed quite rushed. I think the burn should have been much slower, yknow? Taking down each others barriers one brick at a time.

ALSO. They should have just as many unapologetic sex scenes as Simon and Daphne. It anything, they should have had more. At least Anthony and Kate felt like they were on equal ground. I would much rather see a 26 year old woman getting railed than a 19 year old girl.

Are there any other main bridgerton couples? Hm...there's Eloise and that guy I've forgotten the name of. Hate it. Hate it a lot. I find Eloise to be quite an insufferable character and I do not even remember the guy's face. I'm mad that Eloise has a love interest in the first place. I'm mad that a love interest had to be tied in to a subplot about Eloise becoming involved in women's rights in order to make it interesting. I'm mad I'm mad I'm mad.

Uhhhh Colin and Penelope. Hm.

They're both going to be very sexy in the new season. I know they will be sexy. They are both sexy.

I love to see a fat girl get a kind decent man who's obsessed with her.

But MAN. Man....I so badly wish they didn't have Penelope wrong Marina in season 1. It was so vile. So cruel. So despicable. At least in my opinion. Penelops and Colin's relationship is probably never gonna sit right with me after that. There is NO WAY a decent man is going to forgive a woman for doing that to his previous girlfriend?? Right??

Well we know that he WILL forgive her. And he will fall in love with her. So Colin kinda sucks too.

Anyway those are my thoughts. I love bridgerton because I love mess and drama but there is nothing good going on here

[newtonsheffield]

I know you're super knowledgable about Bridgerton so I wanted to get your thoughts and opinions on this. As someone who hasn't read the books (but Idc about spoilers), I wonder how the show is gonna have Eloise end up with Mr. Crane. From what I know of the books from the wiki fan page and Tumblr the books really seem like a suggestion at this point lol and I just cant conceptualize her ending up with him but I'd love your input or theories.

I hope Eloise is one of the very last seasons. I hate so many of her decisions but I empathize w her and I'm so fucking invested in her growthI and thats gonna take time and I dont want them to rush that for the sake of order

I Don’t know about super knowledgeable 😂

I think… they’re going to have to pull some pretty major changes to that story to get it to work within the context of the show at this point. That’s why for a split second I thought Eloise and Michaela Stirling were getting paired up. And truthfully I think one of the major problems the show has to face is the Marina of it all.

I have said many times and I will stand by it still that Julia Quinn is not the world’s greatest author. But something she is good at is giving you only the information you need to invest in the relationship that she wants you to invest in. In the books we have no idea who Marina is (A distant Bridgerton cousin in the books) until Phillip starts talking about her at the beginning of the book. That means, we find it a little tragic that she suffered from these mental health issues but were distanced from it. That’s very different from the darkness of a character that we know suffering the same fate. It also I feel… won’t really play that well given she was the one who gave Colin a speech about the fact that she was content enough with her life and didn’t need saving. That’s a switch up.

I think… there’s a lot of work to do to get Eloise and Phillip to a place where they’re right for each other.

I have been critical of the line they’ve taken with Eloise because I feel like she fails to recognize the privilege she has that she doesn’t need to marry. Violet might nudge her a bit over enthusiastically in that direction but she really seems to have given up on that after last season. And Anthony, after the disaster of making a match for Daphne and after finding that his life is SO much improved being married to Kate ho he loves very much is NOT going to arrange her a match and force her to go through with it. Few women were afforded this. And Eloise does not recognise that at all. They got SO FUCKING CLOSE to her acknowledging this through her friendship with Cressida this season. And then they threw it back in my fucking face! True feminism is about having the CHOICE.

I feel like Tyra Banks.

Eloise has a lot to learn and one of my criticisms of season three is that I felt Penelope and Colin weren’t ready for each other and needed to grow more so I hope they take their time with Eloise.

This is just one person’s opinion of course. Has no bearing on anything.

[thekatebridgerton]

here me out-

season 1 au…Kate is in England and gets to see Anthony in his sideburns

Ohh we need to talk about this. Ironically enough I do think that if Kate and Anthony had met during his fukboi era they would have actually been sort of reluctant friends.

Picture Kate training Edwina for her debut next year, sees this absolute mess of a man trying to marry off Daphne. And both despises him for doing that to his sister but also feels sorry for him because the man is obviously floundering. She basically marches up to him and tells him to get his act together. Then goes back to shepherd Edwina around. Because Edwina is not out in society yet and is making friends with Francesca and Eloise. But their big brother is a walking red flag.

So every once in a while Kate shows up at Anthony's house with her sister and her dog, and while Edwina is playing with Francesca, Eloise and Penelope. Kate indulges in her favorite pastime of roasting Anthony. Which means Daphne likes her a lot too. And invites Kate over even more often just to hear Kate call Anthony a clown.

I imagine there would be a love triangle at one point with Sienna, but more in the sense that Anthony would end up blurting out his relationship troubles to Kate in a moment of weakness and Kate would be like ' Wow, just wow, all this time I've been making fun of you, but turns out you're capable of getting hurt, man, I owe you an apology ' and Kate ends up listening to Anthony's whole story with Sienna and offering whatever comfort and advice she can give. Because she may not like him, and he's a misogynistic jerk, but darn, his mistress does seem to have him tied up in knots.

And Anthony gains a grudging respect for Kate, which people mention to Sienna who in turn gets jealous and tells Anthony he should be marrying someone like Miss Sharma, who comes from the gentry and is accepted in society, especially by his family.

Meanwhile Kate still suffers from an inferiority complex and refuses to admit she likes Anthony, especially after meeting Sienna in a ball, because Sienna is so beautiful and already Anthony's mistress and Kate refuses to like a man who keeps a mistress. Cue Anthony feeling like he's being torn between two women

The thing is that Kate actually does become his friend by the time Anthony finds Simon kissing Daphne and demands a duel. And it's Kate who's trying to talk him out of it and it's also Kate the person he goes to confide in when Simon agrees to marry Daphne. Because at least she already thinks the worst of him anyway and won't ask him to be something he's not... she can make fun of him, he'll even welcome it. And she does, Kate calls him an idiot and an ass anytime she gets a chance, especially for almost ruining Daphne's life. It's almost comforting how she doesn't care about his feelings.

Not even his mother would dare do that. And then at one point after Daphne is safely married and Anthony realizes that things with Sienna were not meant to work out. He keeps going back to visit the Sharmas, keeps promenading with Kate + the gaggle of little sisters she's managed to aquire, trying to extract a measure of respect from her. Which he never can manage

And at the end of s1 it just clicks that he doesn't want Kate to leave for the countryside and return next season. He wants her to stay... with him. So when Simon and Daphne tease Anthony about finding himself a wife and doing the family duty Anthony immediately thinks of his arch nemesis turned friend. And realizes that's the solution, he needs to marry Kate!

Time for a makeover and a personality clean up.

Enter Season 2 Anthony, reformed with his sideburns shaved ready to give chase to the sister of the diamond of the season. And Kate being both elated but also baffled by his romantic attention and super scared he's going to change his mind.

Meanwhile people think he's trying to court Edwina. And we come full circle.

[fitrahgolden]

There's A World You Need To Know: 7 - You've been patiently awaiting

Time had slowed to an absolute crawl. It had been three months since he left Kate's doorstep. He asked if he could call her, text her. "I can't stop you. And I won't be able to ignore you if you do. But I'm asking you not to, Anthony. I know this seems extreme, but I think it's what I need to do."

So, unable to deny her anything she asked him for, he left her alone and waited. For three fucking months.

He fell back into a pattern that felt disturbingly like the years immediately following his father's death, save having babies to take care of and the countless one night stands.

He worked, he drank, he barely slept. He still showed up for his siblings, and he tried to stay engaged, tried to stay connected, but it wasn't the same. He knew it and so did everyone else. Worst of all, Gregory and Hyacinth, who sometimes to Anthony felt like the only ones in his family who really saw him, pitied him.

—

One day, he was at his mum's to work in his study and visit whichever of his siblings were there to give him shit for whatever he was doing wrong, which, at the moment, was likely everything.

On his way through the house, he saw Eloise in the main sitting room. “Hey, El.”

“Hello, dear brother of mine.” She didn’t look up from the magazine she was reading and the cover of it made Anthony do a double take.

Kate.

He approached Eloise, whose legs were swung over a large armchair.

“What is that?”

“You went to uni. Please tell me you’ve at least heard of Bookseller. And yes, that is the amazing Kate Sharma gracing the cover. Remember when she deigned to put up with us twice a week? I should be commended for the self restraint I displayed, cornering her with my questions no more than three times during her entire stint with us.”

“What’s the article about?”

“Her next book. Maybe you’ll actually read this one?”

“Of course, I’ll read it. I read her other one. Several times.”

Eloise looked up, taken aback by his defensiveness. “Oh. OK. My apologies.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Anthony ran his hands through his hair. “I’ll, uh… I’ll see everyone at dinner.”

“The whole lot will be here tonight. Ben, Col, Daphne will all be joining us. Won’t that be just grand?”

Anthony turned to leave. “Yeah, I can’t wait.”

After a moment, Eloise called out to him. “Oh, wait! Ant.”

“Yeah?”

“A messenger was just here with a package for you. I schlepped it all the way to your study. You’re welcome.”

“Hmm. Thanks.”

On the desk in his study layed a wide flat package. He racked his brain, trying to guess what it could be. He wasn’t expecting anything. It was too big to be something from the office.

All that was written on the outside was, “For Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton.”

Wait. That handwriting…

Anthony suddenly ripped the paper open like a child with a birthday present. He audibly gasped when he saw what was inside. He’d completely forgotten about this picture. At one of the murals he and Kate had visited all those months ago, a passerby asked if the two of them wanted a picture in front of it. Anthony hesitated but Kate immediately handed over her phone with a, “Sure, thanks!” Anthony had never seen the photo. He supposed it made sense that Kate never sent it to him, considering how the night ended and everything after that.

The photo was printed on canvas and Kate had added something to the side in acrylic paint. It was a parrot. Underneath it she wrote the word, "when." He ran his fingers over her addition to the print. The parrot, he understood, of course. But what does "when" mean? Then, it hit him.

"As soon as you say when, I'll come running." That's what he'd told Kate the last time he saw her.

And she had just said when.

Anthony took the time to carefully prop the canvas up against his desk before all but running out of the house.

—

Anthony had barely put his car in park before he jumped out. This time, he actually was running. Just like last time he was here, his knock was loud and insistent. He heard nothing inside, so he knocked again.

"Kate?"

"Hey."

Anthony whipped around to see Kate coming up her walkway, with Newton on a lead, wearing a paint splattered t-shirt that was way too big for her and what he suspected were the same shorts she wore in the Cork picture. After three of the longest months of his life, he could easily be convinced she was a mirage. To see if she was real, he responded.

"Hi."

Kate walked the rest of the way up to him. "You got here so quickly. I thought I would have time to walk Newton."

Unable to wait any longer, Anthony's hands shot out and he tugged Kate towards him. She’s real. "I told you that I would come running, didn't I?"

With her free hand, Kate carded through his hair before pulling him down by the back of his neck so she could kiss him. He pulled away and chuckled at her little disappointed whimper.

"Didn't I, Kate?"

“Mmhmm.” It was barely articulated as she looked from his lips to his eyes.

He leaned back down as if to kiss her, but stopped just short, and his lips brushed hers as he asked, "Do I finally get to come in this time?"

Kate moved so her mouth was right by his ear. “Would you please come inside, Anthony?” She was practically purring.

Anthony curbed the shiver he felt working its way down his spine by gripping Kate’s hips tighter. “Fuck, yes.”

Kate slowly turned to open the door. Anthony never let her go. He allowed for very little space between them as they shuffled inside, Newton’s lead complicating things. Once they managed to close the door, Anthony initiated an assault on her ear. "Is this OK?" His voice was ragged.

"Yes,” she panted. “You're slowing me down, though."

She turned around in his arms and put her hands up to his face. "Can you give me two minutes to get him sorted?"

“I’ve waited three months to see you again. I can suffer for another two minutes. I think.”

She kicked off her shoes and Anthony silently followed suit. As Kate put out food and water for Newton and opened her back door that led to a small fenced in yard, Anthony looked around. Kate’s small house was open and airy while still being cozy and warm, owing to the bright colors that covered the walls and the many framed photographs that were hung everywhere. The shared kitchen and living room space was separated by a table, which had the bouquet he made her as a centerpiece and was surrounded by mismatched chairs. Anthony surmised that the area opposite a couch that was currently covered by a well-used drop cloth must be where Kate worked on music. There were headphones, a keyboard, a guitar on a stand, and a microphone.

He turned his attention to the photographs closest to him. A man kissing a pregnant belly, apparently taken by the pregnant woman herself. Kate’s parents. The couple holding what must have been a one day old Kate in front of the mural that ended the tour Kate took Anthony on, at his bold request. Further down, there was a picture of Kate’s father with another woman, Mary, Kate had said her name is, and Kate, maybe five or six, standing in between them, beaming, missing a few teeth. Kate’s father painting. Her stepmother holding a baby. The family of four in what looks like it could be Mumbai. A teenage Kate hugging her father in hos–

“Oh!”

Kate was leaning against the wall, smiling warmly at him. “Hi. It’s been more than two minutes. Now you're the one keeping me waiting.”

“My apologies.”

She stepped forward and snaked her arms around his neck. "I don't accept your apology. I'd like you to work for it."

As they kissed, Anthony slid his hands up Kate's back, under her shirt. No bra, fuck. "Where's your bedroom?" he asked into her mouth. In answer, she started walking them backwards.

"The door at the end of the ha–"

Anthony scooped her up and all Kate could do was hold on tight and laugh as Anthony almost lost his balance on the way to her bedroom door. Once inside, instead of going for the bed, Anthony headed to the first flat surface he saw, a small workbench in front of a window. He perched Kate on it, checked behind her to see that the view was her own yard, and yanked the offending t-shirt off in one pull.

"Christ." Anthony took a step back to marvel at Kate, from the halo of light that the afternoon sun cast behind her, to her neck, her collarbones, her breasts, her belly button–

"Please come back." Kate reached out to grab the waistband of Anthony's trousers and pull him between her legs. Their mouths found each other again as she unbuttoned his shirt and Anthony heard a frustrated growl from Kate as she finally got his shirt off only to find the undershirt he had also been wearing.

Anthony started to raise his arms before he realized Kate had other plans. He was startled when he heard a sharp tear as Kate pulled the shirt apart and pushed the tattered fabric down his shoulders.

“Goddamn, you’re amazing.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her roughly before asking, “And you’re mine?”

“Uh-huh, forever.” She had already moved on to his belt buckle. He wondered if she even realized she’d said “forever,” but he fucking loved the sound of it either way.

“Take your pants off, please.”

Kate pulled his face down to hers as he dutifully followed her directions. She boldly put her hand into his boxer briefs and he hissed into her mouth. “Kate.”

“These, too,” she snapped the waistband of his underwear.

“You first.” He breathed against her neck before snapping open the button of her shorts. She helpfully planted her hands on the workbench–knocking a cup of palette knives to the floor in the process–and raised her hips so Anthony could remove her shorts and knickers. Before he could return to the cradle of her hips, she put a foot to his abs to stop him from coming closer. He narrowed his eyes at her, confused–extremely turned on. She looked pointedly at his underwear and then back up at him. “Why are those still on?”

He nearly fell over getting rid of the last piece of clothing between the two of them. Before she could release the giggle she couldn’t help from building in the back of her throat, Anthony’s mouth was on her breasts, alternating between the two, tongue swirling.

“Anthony.”

He trailed a hand down her stomach until he reached her core. “Shit, you feel ready. Are we doing this here?”

“No. No, let’s go to my bed.”

Again, Anthony didn’t need to be told twice and picked her up immediately. Once they had fallen onto her plush comforter, Kate confused Anthony once again by scrambling right back off the bed. She grabbed his ripped shirt off the floor and tore it again so it was in two pieces. Anthony’s eyes widened as she approached him with a devilish grin. She pushed him until his back hit the bed before straddling him. She dangled a strip of fabric over his mouth until he bit it. She giggled and tugged it back out. She spared a glance to each of his wrists. “Can I?”

Anthony nodded enthusiastically. Kate reached over to position one of his wrists, but Anthony grabbed hers first. “Under one condition.” He brought her wrist to his mouth and bit down, just a little bit hard, before licking the same spot. “The first thing you do afterwards is sit on my face, Ms. Sharma.”

“Gladly.” 

Kate placed Anthony’s wrists where she wanted them before securing them to her headboard. She bent down and kissed him before working her mouth down to his chest, abs, dipping her tongue in his belly button before–

“Nuh-uh-uh.”

Kate sat up immediately and looked at him with those damned doe eyes.

“This isn’t what we agreed to, is it, Ms. Sharma? Get up here.”

Kate shuffled up Anthony’s body until she was hovering over him, her hands gripping the headboard.

“Come on, now.”

Kate lowered herself down. Anthony licked her briefly before instructing, “All the way, dearest.” Once satisfied with her position, he went at her relentlessly. His eyes rolled back. Nothing he had dreamed about, stroked himself to, hoped for, lived up to the real thing. He recognized this watershed moment for what it was. His life was now divided again. Life with his father, life without his father, and now, life with Kate.

"Shit, shit, shit, Anthony. I'm so close."

Seeing her hands above him, gripping the headboard so tight it looked painfully made him strain against the repurposed remnants of his shirt in kind. "Mmhmm," was all he vocalized from between her thighs. Finally, he felt the tremors go through her and heard her cries and whimpers.

After she felt stable, Kate moved down his body and shared a filthy kiss with him before attempting again to explore southward with her mouth.

"No, not like that. Untie me."

Kate sighed and did as she was told, kissing each rope burned wrist tenderly as she released him.

He sat up and leaned back against the headboard. He pulled Kate until she was straddling his lap, facing him.

"How do you want me to make you feel good, then?" Her face was dewy with sweat.

Anthony looked down at where they were almost aligned, grabbed the sides of Kate's throat,  and pulled her face to his. "You're already basically there. I have condoms in my wallet, which I assume is somewhere on the floor. But I really hope you have some in a spot we don't have to move much to reach."

Wordlessly, never taking her eyes off of him, Kate reached over into a side table drawer and pulled out a foil packet. She held it up to Anthony and he bit the edge while she tore it open.

"Put it on, please, Dearest."

She did, and once he nodded at her, she sunk down onto him.

"Sssshhhhit. You feel incredible, baby. How do you want it?" He pushed the hair that was sticking to her face behind her ears. He moved his hips up and she gasped with a smile. Fucking beautiful.

She buried her head in his neck. "Slow," she whispered down his back, bearing down to meet his upward thrust. "I just want to hold you."

—

When Kate woke up, it was dark out. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. Half past seven. She looked down at Anthony, at his bruised wrists and the scarlet hickey on the side of his neck, accentuated by her teeth marks. As soon as she saw him on her doorstep earlier that day, she felt a feral need to mark him as hers, to finally know she had him after all these months.

After letting herself indulge in this wonder of a man who chose her, she made herself get out of bed, though every single muscle in her body protested, aching in the best way possible.

She shrugged on her robe and allowed herself one last look at Anthony before gently closing the door.

She padded down the hallway and smiled as Newton perked up from where he was lying on his bed in the corner.

"Hey, Buddy. I'm sorry I'm late with dinner." She filled his bowls and gave his head a pat before going into the kitchen to make some chai. As she was letting the stream rise into her face, indulging in the fragrance, she felt hands, now very familiar, slide from her back to her waist. One found its way into her robe and cupped her breast.

"You smell good." Anthony buried his nose in her hair and shamelessly inhaled.

"I probably smell like you, you narcissist."

"A bit, yes, but you've always smelled good."

"I have?"

"Mmhmm. It's maddening, quite frankly."

They stood in silence for a few blissful minutes. She poured some chai into a mug and alternated between sipping it herself and turning to hold it up to Anthony's lips for him.

"Um, can you… Will you stay here tonight?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Not if you feel like you're doing me a favor or–"

He turned her around so he could look into her eyes.  "Kate. I want to."

"It's just, um, you didn't bring anything with you."

"I didn't think to stop by my place before coming here. It was basically an emergency."

They laughed quietly. She looked over at her dog. 

"Newton's gonna have to sleep in there with us."

"We can share one side of the bed. I like to cuddle."

She put the mug down and gave him a chaste kiss before taking a few steps past him and holding out her hand.

"Come shower with me and then we'll make dinner."

"Yes, Ms. Sharma."

[anders-hawke]

I love your responses so much lol, I'm really enjoying this opinions exchange tbh.

as for me i have several thoughts actually.

i think that when it comes to pen & el people have this sadly common weird black & white mentality, the virgin and the whore typa thing, and that completely ruins the purpose of the show.

yes, el was selfish when it came to dismissing other womens conceptions of marriage because she can afford being a spinster, and she was selfish in running away to be close with a man without a chaperone knowing her family was in a scandal and she was being threatened by the queen.

yes, pen was inconsiderate when it came to publicly announcing marinas pregnancy, writing that way about el and even not telling her about whitesledown.

but they're still very young and they clearly are very fond of each other, they were literally staring at each other longingly all season 3. & it's the fact that characters like anthony (who i love btw) are afforded grace and understanding but with female characters it's always the opposite.

as for cressida, i still kinda dislike her character especially because of the bully redemption trope the fandom is pulling even saying she's better than pen. i feel sympathy for her but I don't want her to end up with a bridgerton, whether it's ben or eloise (not that I think it's going to happen but still). I'm so glad she isn't sophie and so glad she's apparently not one of the stepsisters either, but it looks like she is returning so.. (https://www.thewrap.com/bridgerton-season-4-cast-couple-release/)

AS FOR S4

I would really like for them to lean into korean sophie (even tho idk how they would justify it but we'll see). like many people, I would love for her silver dress to be an hanbok or at least mixed with korean elements, flashbacks of her mom and grandma (which were one of the biggest losses of the book) and perhaps a line or two about her knowing korean.

this is very interesting because according to the casting call she is fully east asian, so both her parents are and it looks like araminta and the sisters will be too. I wonder if they'll be korean too or maybe japanese/chinese since they're not related to sophie so they could be whatever.

I desperately want to see posy and sophie being friends (and possibly for someone chubby to play posy) because we really need more female friendships in bridgerton. I think s4 is the perfect opposite since they've introduced sophie and michaela.

what i hope for is a kate/sophie friendship where kate sort of mentors her and helps her with her feelings for benedict. maybe with anthony doing the same with benedict himself. I wouldn't be opposed to polin helping too since the show seems to have set a precedent of leads passing the torch and helping the next ( see; daphne with anthony in S2, and kanthony with colin in S3).

other female friendships i feel like are NECESSARY are the ones eloise should form with sophie and michaela. being friends with a low class woman and a lesbian would really help the process she already started of seeing marriage in another light, since marriage is something both sophie and michaela want but can't have, and that would be a perfect setup for her season.

then, I want them to really tone down the mistress thing, which tbf looks like they're already doing if that line about ben offering his heart to her is a hint. I think they could have him offer her to be his lover (as in him not marrying and staying a bachelor and secretly seeing her). it would make it better and still keep the element of sophie not accepting because she wants to live her love story without shame and her children to be recognized.

and that may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't want them to have sex until the very end (think kanthony) because i feel it would parallel all the previous seasons where ben just threw himself into sex and had everyone at his feet. and a scene a la kanthony (again lol) of him having that death stare as he watches another man flirt with sophie would be perfect. something poetic about the rakest Brothers desperately crying at the idea of their girls potentially choosing another man.

as for the NEXT SEASONS.

there's so much i wanna talk about.

I'm actually kinda sad that sophie is the last casting announcement for a good while and we'll have to wait years for gareth and lucy.

i know they'll not disappoint with gareth, even if the hopes of sapphic hyareth seem lost now since they already did a controversial sapphic genderbent and the other queer character is not having a queer endgame so.

as for lucy I suppose that's a bit hypocritical of me but i want her to stay a woman, i sort of imagined grucy (horrible ship name btw you're right) like a mini kanthony because of the way kanthony is impactful to their story (and now with the show we would get a wedding scene parallel lol) and so i imagined lucy as a south asian woman (rebecca ablack is my specific imagine of her rn) even tho I'm not sure I'll be likely because they already casted two main asian characters. i just think a lot of subtle details in her story would be lost if she was a man, that's it.

for s5 I'm imagining they'd have to recreate a max/franny dynamic (search for clips of "the nanny" trust me) like someone already suggested. and i love your idea of eloise running away by herself, it's much better, but they will have to change a lot of things to make the story suitable to the show. I actually think this is going to be the hardest season to adapt. don't have much requests/ thoughts rn.

for s6 my biggest wish is for michaela to be a singer because it would make franchaelas dynamic sparkle. imagine a parallel of franchaela (maybe during the years in India) of fran playing the piano while michaela sings (both yearning but can't see each other)

I want them to show how michaela really helps francesca get out of her comfort zone. in that link I sent you in this ask Jess mentioned francesca reflecting on passion next season amd that will of course be a central theme of the season.

ALSO I feel like with two female leads the opportunities with gowns and subtle hints in the dresses are HUGE. and i need michaela in red, especially burgundy since she's supposed to represent passion.

and i feel like them setting violet up (with lady D's brother of all people) is intentional for s6/7. like I definitely see s6 violet encouraging francesca to love again and using marcus as an example.

if, like you said, hyacinth debuts in s6 I'd love for them to sneak in hermione and lucy too, just subtle hints like them being introduced to the queen at the palace scene, mentioned in penelopes papers and being seen with other debutantes.

for S7 I need them to add a little drama because the book is a little too annoying and I'd like for hyacinth to be fluent in Italian because I never liked her somewhat speaking half in the book (if they do that plot)

people talked about nicky mondrich possibly becoming her love interest but not endgame, and I would not be opposed to him being her theo. they need to show us lady d and hy being close, they've already robbed us the penelope/ lady d dynamic.

also if they do introduce lucy and hermione in s6 they could even have them (especially lucy) in a few scenes with hyacinth in S7 so they can set up S8.

and once again more female friendships would be nice since they erased felicity from the show and hyacinth looks like she'd love being friends with other debutantes, especially since greg will have his own friends too by then and all of her sisters will be married.

that way they could have people (especially hy kate & anthony) favor lucy so that when greg shows interest in hermione the family reacts like when colin got engaged to marina and maybe we would have a parallel of hyacinth welcoming lucy like she did with penelope in S3.

and finally S8, if they do give me my south asian lucy I'll be soo happy. i think they should cut the plot of hermione being in love w the secretary because it's useless and focusing on her loving lucys brother the whole times, which leaves lucy sorry for gregory while he suddenly does not gaf because he wants lucy. perhaps hy could even try to help instead of being hostile towards her.

and, they'd need to tone down his story too, but the rest is okay.

also i need you to know that franchaela/hyareth & kanthony/grucy are very real the thethered to me and I can elaborate (maybe in the next ask because this is huge)

can't wait to hear your thoughts and thank you for the safe space to rant again!

You’re absolutely right about Eloise, Pen, and Marina being young. That’s at the core of Eloise and Colin’s stories in the show: they’re young and so while they’re fully realized characters, they need to grow up in order to be able to accurately identify what exactly they want out of life and do the necessary inner work to achieve that. Edwina has a similar story in season two: in the end she’s able to come into her own knowing that she can make her own choices for her life; she doesn’t need Kate to be her advisor and Kate doesn’t need to be Edwina’s advisor. Kate, Anthony, and Marina are also similar because they were thrust into roles with large responsibilities at young ages before they could properly learn how to approach situations with true maturity and dignity. It’s all about the contrasts! But they all start off immature in some way.

I adore Cressida as a character because she’s just so compelling to me. I was going to say that her being somewhat nicer this season is a sign of her growing maturity but that’s not true and is also giving her too much credit. It’s only because she’s desperate for Eloise’s companionship that she changes her behavior towards Pen, but even then, she still acts petty many times over. I think it’s what Jessica Madsen said: She can’t really defend herself from her father’s abuse so she bullies her peers to give herself some power to wield. Her mother does the same thing by writing horribly about the Bridgertons in Cressida’s issue of Whistledown. I’m very interested in seeing where the writers decide to take her story!

Sophie doesn’t have much in the way of a character arc in An Offer from a Gentleman, at least not one that’s substantial enough for the show. I’d love (well, I’d probably cry, but you know what I mean) for her status as a bastard to mean that she lost out on the ability to learn about/be immersed in her family’s culture and so part of Benedict insisting that she deserves more is that his confidence in her inspires her to take control of her life and learn about the culture she lost out on. Although, if they were going to do that, the casting call couldn’t be for just any East Asian woman. But I also can’t imagine them not revamping Sophie’s arc considering that they decided to do that for Kate, Eloise, and Penelope.

I also want to see all the women of the show being friends, really. I really hope that we get some more of Lady Danbury’s married ladies game nights. I especially want to see Penelope and Kate being friends and then jointly advise Sophie. I also want Violet giving Sophie advice because she works for the Bridgertons and spent a lot of time with them in the book, so I think it would be cool to see her advise the love interest, too. Eloise seems to be very close with Michaela (they’re holding hands in the first epilogue!) by the time they’re leaving for Kilmartin, so I very much hope that we get to see their friendship, especially since it could be used as a bit of a contrast for Francesca and Michaela’s relationship—even if that contrast only really appears later in season six once Frannie starts really falling for Michaela.

I want the mistress offer to be toned down, too, and that has been the set up in these first three seasons. In the book, Benedict is still very much required to marry eventually by society’s rules for upper class men, but in the show he’s contrasted against Anthony in that. Where Anthony is like “if I’m the head of this family, I need to act like it and take a wife for the future of the viscountcy” but Benedict really doesn’t feel that pressure from society at large. Benedict is very much of age to marry, but all the ladies flock to Colin in season three, who is still very young, and has also conveyed that he’s not truly up for grabs. I think Benedict can ask Sophie to be his lover and say that they might not be able to be married because of their differences in class, but they could have a comfortable life together where she would be his wife in everything but name. And then Sophie tells him to GTFOH with his nonsense because of her strict opposition to bearing bastards.

And you know, for a jealous Bridgerton leading man moment, Footman John is a fan favorite. Maybe he and Sophie become friends and Benedict is like, Now who the hell is THIS GUY???? Meanwhile they’re literally besties because Footman John has dealt with Eloise’s chaos and Sophie’s dealt with Hyacinth’s. (I hope she’s Hyacinth’s lady’s maid since we already know that Eloise has a specific lady’s maid.) I also don’t want Benedict and Sophie to have sex until the end because I really didn’t like that she was very adamant about not having bastards and then is just like, “Oh, well,” afterwards. Like, girl????????? They could always do other sex acts and have steamy makeout sessions and then the actual PIV sex is left for once they’ve agreed to get married/are off on honeymoon at My Cottage.

I’m also sad we won’t be getting lead casting announcements, but it’ll still be exciting to get ones for the secondary characters!

Now that I’ve finished On the Way to the Wedding, I finally feel like I can approach my thoughts on Greg & Lucy’s story fully and big changes for s4 onwards without restraining myself. I do appreciate the nuances and the details that would be lost if Lucy were a man, but I also come at the situation from the perspective of answering this essential screenwriting question: What makes for the most meaningful story? The most meaningful is the most interesting story, too. Changing Lucy to Lucas would preserve the main beats of the story: Richard and Hermione still marry, Lucas is still required to marry Haselby (the genders are just swapped). Lucas could still very much be a rule-follower and care about not ruining Richard and Hermione’s new life together. Besides, the whole thing of Gregory more or less kidnapping Lucy isn’t going to be in the show regardless.

Overall, I feel that telling a story about two queer men falling in love is more important than telling another straight story in Bridgerton, you know? I feel like it would be weird to have this opportunity and not take it. The biggest change would obviously be Gregory’s infatuation with Hermione, but I think with his season likely going last, it would be fun to take the opportunity to draw parallels and differences between him and ABC. Gregory’s waiting for that spark, but it’s not happening. So, like Anthony, he decides to step into the light and see what happens, setting his cap at Hermione because she seems like a good candidate. He’s charming like Colin so then, like Benedict, he’s able to be casual about his pursuit of Hermione.

I also think the show benefits from what friendships we do see and would benefit from more of them, especially friendships between men and women, considering that the only one we have is Colin and Pen—and they’re one of the main romances of the series. So then we would get Gregory and Hermione’s friendship, which Gregory mistakes for a sign that they’re extremely compatible because Violet’s always saying to marry your bestie and that obviously worked out for Colin, so it should work out for him, too. And then we would also have Lucas and Hermione’s friendship.

We already saw Pen be completely ignored by suitors in favor of Eloise, so I don’t think we need to preserve that dynamic with Lucy and Hermione. I also think Richard should still be the eldest and therefore the earl, so then being younger, untitled brothers is something that Lucas and Gregory have in common. At this point, I have so many wonderful things to say about genderbent Lucy and I don’t want to go back, lol.

I think s5 will also be the hardest to do but they started laying the foundation for it in s1, so I believe that it will be executed very well, just like every other season. I also think that a lot of groundwork will be laid in s4, especially with Marina’s death. I think she’ll die in s4 and since it’s Benophie season, it’s not necessary to make it a huge thing for the whole season. So then if they want to do flashbacks to that day to establish how that affects Phillip in s5, they can take a lot of artistic license with it to get around the fact that Ruby Barker is done with the show. Plus, it would be way more interesting to have Marina’s death be more about Pen in s4 before Phillip in s5 because obviously Pen will feel extremely guilty. And then Colin will take what Marina said to him in s2 to comfort Pen because, ultimately, the situation was going to turn out horribly no matter what and letting Colin marry her likely wouldn’t have prevented her death.

I love your idea of Michaela being a singer! Especially because it seems that they’re setting Eloise up to be Michaela’s friend and confidante instead of Colin due to the genderswap. But them having singing in common would be a great way for Colin and Michaela to bond. Now I want them to sing a song together!

I also think it would be really funny if Eloise acts as a sort of buffer between Frannie and Michaela and then she’s like, “Oh, man, again? Why do all my friends fall in love with my siblings!?” I’m also really excited to see Michaela and John’s dynamic! In what little we did see, they’re so different but John is so comfortable around her. I’d love to see Frannie have a similar dynamic with Michaela, where she sort of pushes them both to be more bold and outgoing, at least in terms of expressing themselves. I can’t remember where I’ve expressed this before but I really want Violet to marry Marcus. Like, she’s been holding onto the Bridgerton name for so long, I think it would be interesting to see her grapple with feeling like she’d be losing something fundamental by giving up Bridgerton as her surname.

I’d love to see Hermione and Lucy ahead of Gregory’s season because it was just awkward for them not to be out in society. Like it was gross enough for Edwina to only be seventeen, I think having Hermione and Lucy not be fresh debutantes would be fantastic. (Also, and this doesn’t fit here, but since Hermione can’t dance, that makes s8 a really great opportunity to show off most of the previous couples dancing since if they do genderbend Lucy, then Gregory and Lucas can’t really dance, either.)

I think Hyacinth can just be fluent, too, since the distinction between her being fluent and not being fluent is meaningless as it matters to the plot. Besides, being pretty fluent in Italian doesn’t mean it wouldn’t take her a good amount of time to read through the journals. I also think that part of what made Hyacinth’s book a bit of a bore is the lack of other Bridgertons, which I feel is true of a lot of the books. As they get married, we see them together less and less, and that not happening in the show is something I very much hope is achieved. Also, going back to Gregory’s book, I like your suggestion of Hermione and Lucy sharing some scenes with Hyacinth. I’m still attached to the idea of Hyacinth becoming friends with Daisy Mondrich, especially if she comes out in season eight instead of Hermione (and Lucy) coming out then.

I wouldn’t mind Nicky Mondrich being a non-endgame love interest for Hyacinth. She’s someone he’s friends with, she’s a lady out in society with a good reputation (when this would occur), and she would make a good baroness in his eyes. But I also would love it if it happens in Hyacinth’s season as a tangible example of someone that Gareth could lose Hyacinth to, as Gareth’s father/uncle (lol) constantly taunts him with. And then Lady Danbury is torn between the matches because she wants to support them both.

Also, I think it’s a bit much to say that we’ve been robbed of Penelope and Lady Danbury’s friendship when it seems pretty clear to me that it’s simply been saved for future seasons of the show. Going forward, as Lady D mentored Alice Mondrich in s3, she’ll mentor Pen in s4 as she finds her balance between writing the column, her marriage with Colin, spending time with their family, and being a mother.

I am really interested to see how everyone will react to Francesca and Michaela because that would set up how they’d react to Gregory getting with Lucas. But if they don’t genderbend Lucy, I’d love to have that comedic element where it’s similar to Daphne’s assumption that Kate was Edwina by Anthony’s reaction. Gregory never gets engaged to Hermione so I don’t think it’s as similar to Colin’s situation with Marina.

I agree that Hermione being in love with the secretary shouldn’t be included in the show because building up her relationship with Richard in the background is a much better way to spend that time. And then they’re a contrast to Colin and Penelope where Richard and Lucy have been in love with each other for a long time and are aware of each other’s feelings, but Richard’s simply a little shy and not very forward with his affection.

I know I took forever to answer this but my classes are ramping up as my Bridgerton fixation is beginning to wane (as the URL change is evidence of). And as much as I’d love to keep chatting about meta for this show because it’s so fun, I can’t guarantee that I’ll have the time to answer long ones anymore. But I’ve had such a great time!