Okay so I finally decided to give fanfic writing another shot after a four-year break (the last fic that I wrote was a Derry Girls one that remains unfinished). This idea has been inside my head for the longest time, and I think it's too good an idea to file away somewhere in my brain lol so here's a little preview of what's to come.
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Araminta Gun doesn't understand why her bastard stepdaughter Sophie Baek-Gun and wannabe-Viscount Anthony Bridgerton are still hellbent on coming after her.
In her mind, she hasn't done anything wrong at all - they were the ones who kept meddling with her businesses and other affairs for no goddamn reason.
(Okay well... she did shoot Maria Baek-Gun in the head in a fit of jealous rage, dispatched Edmond Bridgerton when he got way too close in uncovering the truth, and had no choice but to end Richard Gun's life - her one true love - upon realizing that he can never bring himself to love her more than his late wife. She firmly believes she had every right to do what she did, though - they were annoying and were IN. HER. WAY!!!)
So what the hell was their problem?
Unfortunately for her, they actually have every reason in the world to want to beat the living daylights out of her.
Anthony wants to stomp his feet onto her neck for killing his father right in front of him when he was just 18, an event that sent the entire Bridgerton clan into a spiral of grief and despair.
Sophie wants to get her lick back for making her a slave in her own home for six years, which for her felt like her entire lifetime.
(And IF she ever finds out that Araminta was the one who killed her parents, no doubt she would personally decapitate her she-devil of a stepmother with an ax and put her head on a stake.)
But now that Araminta has kidnapped Benedict Bridgerton - the bright light in everybody else's darkness, the rose among thorns - in retaliation, Sophie and Anthony are raging with even more fury than ever before, and now have all the more reasons to finally end that evil witch's reign of terror for good.
There’s something so profound about the line “The reality of you has become more tantalizing than any fantasy ever could be” that will always, always make me emotional when the quote is essentially Benedict telling Sophie that to know you is to love you more, and more, and more…
It resonates even deeper when you reflect back on Benedict’s character arc in s3 and how he initially believed he wanted something more serious with Lady Tilley—that is, until the novelty of the arrangement wore off, the mystery/intrigue behind meeting a new, interesting person was gone, and he realized how much else there was out there that he wanted to discover on his own. Simply put, knowing her more didn’t make Benedict want her more; quite the contrary, we saw this inverse relationship occur where she became more attached over time as she got to know him, while he became even more independent and averse to commitment. When the glimmer and allure of fantasy dissipated (when she suddenly became “attainable” after confessing her feelings for him and asking him to commit to her), it left Benedict with this restless need to keep exploring and blindly seeking out the next thrill, opening up a world of possibility and a thirst for something outside of her. Her eventual vulnerability and candidness with him pushed him to distance himself rather than grow closer to her, which is in stark contrast to him feeling so drawn to Sophie the more he learned about her in s4, even as she instinctively pushed him away out of self-preservation (“What has happened ever since I met you has made me realize how good it feels to be free” vs "The thought of spending a single day without you torments my soul.”) While meeting Tilley only reminded Benedict how much he valued personal freedom/independence, being with Sophie shined a light on his own loneliness/disconnect from others, feeling tortured and in agony at the mere prospect of being separated from her.
There’s such a drastic shift in perspective in s4 when he self-deprecatingly refers to himself as a “free spirit,” underscoring how Benedict no longer wants to be as “free” as he once believed he wanted to be. Instead, he wants to be with Sophie and only Sophie—the person who, quite fittingly, makes him feel the most empowered he’s ever been, no longer forced to navigate this world on his own anymore. Commitment to her, he discovers, provides him with the greatest sense of belonging and liberation rather than serving as a cage to tie him down.
This sentiment is reflected in his adamant denial that Sophie is like “that kite in [his] study,” someone he is passionate and intrigued about one day but will forget about the next. She is not a passing fancy, not a fleeting distraction, not something he wants to “fix” momentarily and then discard/tuck away/forget about once it has lost its initial appeal.
The more he knows Sophie, the more he dreams about her, and the more he falls in love with her…the reality of her only feeds into his fantasies instead of dispelling the illusions altogether: “I cannot think of a maid every waking hour, longing for a life with her, and yet you have taken possession of me. Shot me back to life. Turned me from someone who could not sit still for a moment to one who wishes to be in one single place: beside you, for as long as I might live.” We concluded s3 with Benedict expressing to Eloise that “the next thing [he] might learn may change [him] entirely”…and then in s4 we are shown just how much meeting Sophie has changed him entirely, shaking him to his core and uprooting his entire belief system/way of life.
We see how the narrative progresses from the Lady in Silver being “the most intriguing person” Benedict has ever met in 4x01, to him turning away from this idealized, enchanting fantasy woman and choosing the reality of Sophie with all her flaws, scars, and vulnerabilities in 4x04—vulnerabilities that make him desire her even more instead of giving him ample reason to flee from her. Her vulnerability allows him the strength and courage to open up and expose his own scars, revealing to her just how deeply isolated he feels in spite of the carefree facade he puts on. (“And now I have found someone I love more than I could even have thought possible. Someone captivating and maddening and real.”) Whereas in s3 he felt compelled to hide his identity as an artist in front of others, Sophie is the one person who instantly recognizes the essence of who Benedict is at a core, fundamental level without him needing to say a word, giving him the inspiration/conviction he needs to reignite his passions and, in turn, feel the most like himself he’s felt for so long.
Through her, he learns that there is immense fulfillment to be found in seeking out hidden depths vs choosing not to see or be seen beyond an attractive veneer. He discovers the beauty in the vulnerability, rawness, and messiness that comes with embracing one’s flawed, authentic, unguarded self—to be wholly seen and loved all the more for it. This is such a distinct departure for someone who was once constantly enamored with fantasy and sanitized, surface-level perceptions of people, often swept up in pretty, lofty dreams not grounded in harsher realities.
His compulsive need to run away from the unvarnished truth of a person (not wanting to delve deeper and commit to knowing someone in their entirety + to being known in return) completely shifts in s4, when the narrative revolves around Benedict chasing that truth and FIGHTING for it rather than passively allowing others’ actions to dictate his own response. So unlike the free-spirited reveler of past seasons, he repeatedly begs Sophie to let him stay and be there for her (“No! I’m not going anywhere. Not this time. I’m here for you.”), desperately wanting to be granted the privilege of knowing her and being trusted with that truth, trusted to cherish ALL aspects of her, especially the parts that she tries to hide from him. No longer is he the type of man to flee from commitment and responsibility to another person because he doesn’t trust them enough to want to reciprocate that vulnerability/trust that he is capable of remaining steadfast and devoted to a single person.
The more he discovers about Sophie, the more captivated he is, and the more he feels encouraged to expose his own insecurities for the sake of growing closer to her. The novelty never wears off for him—if anything, she becomes more intriguing, more exciting, more desirable, more lovable over time […something about Luke Thompson reading that John Keats quote “I love you ever and ever, without reserve…You are always new.”]
Benedict fervently conveying to Sophie “Of course he [loved you]. How could anyone not?” after she reads her father’s will shows that he genuinely finds it mind-boggling how anyone could know Sophie and not love her. Through his actions and words, he expresses his unwavering admiration and devotion to her again and again: Knowing you is loving you, and loving you is both a freedom and a privilege, a thrill and a refuge, a choice and an inevitability.
“This painting encapsulates the delicate power dynamics between men and women within the Victorian era’s marriage market…Leighton portrays a young woman, caught on a staircase, being approached by a suitor…Leighton’s skillful rendering captures the emotional tension and the weighty expectations that defined women’s lives. In a society that idealized romantic love while simultaneously restricting women’s choices, ‘Yes or No’ serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities and constraints of Victorian courtship.”
“Do you truly understand what you’re asking me with that question? You are asking me to relinquish my virtue, my dignity, my self-respect, all to be reduced to a glorified courtesan who will never be able to marry. I may not be as high as a lady, but I refuse to be that low. As a maid, I am respectable. I am necessary. And now here you stand attempting to rob me of that too, and for what? Tell me, please, for what?”
I cannot stress enough how much I hope Benophie have baby Violet as their first born in the show (I honestly love the idea of them having all girls, I get that might be too big of a change but wouldnt it be so cute?). Benedict was born to be a girl dad, and Sophie deserves to see her daughter being adored and protected by the entire family like she should have been.
I also have so many ideas about Sophie and Kate being pregnant with Violet and Charlotte at the same time with their due dates very close to each other. They spend a lot of time together over the nine months bonding and becoming like sisters, meanwhile Anthony is trying to find a way to turn it into a competition of who gives birth first and Kate has to lovingly smack him upside the head sometimes.
Violet is born first by just a few days or weeks so Benophie have the first girl grandkid, and Benedict gets to tease Anthony about beating him. Violet and Charlotte grow up together and are best friends, they debute together and are as chaotic as their fathers. Resulting in Anthony and Benedict 2.0 being unleashed onto the Ton, but with their mother's smarts so their much better at getting away with their mischief 🤭
I am thoroughly enjoying @wonderlandleighleigh's Modern Wedding AU that I took the liberty (shamelessly) of putting all the parts here for everyone's enjoyment!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16
an examination of sophie's character through trans lens, in relation to her understanding of femininity:
the queer (more specifically, the trans) undertones in sophie's story is quite apparent when you think about benedict's and araminta's main takeaways on how society functions - and them playing a part in upholding the same.
when we first meet sophie, she's grappling with where she fits in to society. she's illegitimate, born of her mother's world but claimed by her father but she fits into neither brackets neatly. she's searching for love in all the wrong places, and she's still a kid, but hardened by her upbringing. araminta rewrites her identity, locks it tight shut and tells her the only way she can lead a life is if she leads it in secret. if she becomes a maid - indiscernible from the furniture in the room, invisible.
araminta tells her to be no one.
sophie cannot claim her father as such, she wears her mother's regret like a noose around her neck. who she is, truly is heavily concealed behind layers and layers of who she is expected to be. sophie's self hatred is informed by her stepmother's cruelty and over time, she subscribes to the opinion that "she shouldn't expect her father to love her", that she was a burden to all of them, that she is "better off in the streets" and surprised that araminta didn't have her ousted already.
it all boils down to what sophie is claiming to be - "the daughter of a nobleman".
araminta doesn't take offense to the "nobleman" part. she's aware of richard's dalliances, heck she honours his request to take care of sophie
(in exchange for money for her trouble, but honours it nonetheless). she is more offended by sophie's claiming of herself as a daughter of the household - a daughter of penwood house. on equal footing with her own daughters, meant to be treated in that way.
araminta's children are not of richard's blood, which adds in its own layer of insecurity. she forces them to perform their femininity - trot around in balls, have their worth tied down to a gentleman for the promise of financial security, compelling them into unfavourable marriages to gentlemen twice their age. araminta is a victim of social ostracisation. she's twice widowed, left alone by her husbands to care for children, but she does not make an effort to realise the evils in the system that has antagonised her. to her, it is simply a case of conforming to society's rigorous standards for women that her children undoubtedly are forced to inherit.
sophie's story is in tandem with cinderella's but the similarities do not extend beyond the realm of fantasy, as the ultimate social message is different. in cinderella's case (the disney version which is adapted from the fairy tale), cinderella and the evil stepmother represent the madonna and the whore. cinderella is the madonna, who stays true to herself, who adopts chastity and virtue and other becoming traits for a woman of that time. the stepmother is twice widowed, indicating her state of impurity. cinderella is good and kind of heart, a virgin at that. the stepmother is vindictive because her cruelty is innate, jealous of cinderella's natural beauty and wants the prince for her own daughters. the stepmother lives vicariously through her daughters, clinging to the innocence of her youth and obsessing over cinderella. the kind of message fairy tales like cinderella give out is apparent - it equates beauty to being moral goodness and ugliness to evil. the stepmother is, much like in other fairy tales, is an aging woman who envies this 'natural beauty' and is vengeful as a result. the fairytale doesn't attempt to dissect her convictions - or society's, but might as well be a giant "don't have sex before marriage or you'll die" advert.
araminta is all of that, but her vindictiveness is not a result of sophie's inner beauty - rather what sophie represents. this is where s4 makes the cinderella story its own, much like other modern day adaptions.
araminta doesn't like the name sophie gives herself - i.e "a daughter of her husband". she knows she's illegitimate. she knows she's also the only piece of her husband he had left behind on earth. she knows all of these as objective facts, but she doesn't want sophie to realise them. she doesn't like sophie finding comfort in her identity because it goes against all she's known about femininity - as an unblemished, picture-perfect identity. as a performance. as her trump card to play to avoid closer introspection into her own grief and role as a mother. it is her excuse of projecting her perfectionism- herself - onto her daughters and never having to pay the price for it.
sophie's comfort in her existence in her earlier years is a provocation in of itself. the sort of strict definitions araminta gives her own womanhood goes unchallenged by society, as it is a product of the ton she lives in. it is reminiscent of terf ideology - the idea that gender is innate, the idea that womanhood is biological alone, similar to araminta's belief that sophie can never be a daughter of penwood house because of her skewed identity. that sophie must be forced into a life of indentured servanthood, in step with her mother, because she can "never" be a daughter of a nobleman. that she cannot escape her class, the circumstances of her birth. it is what lady danbury tells violet. sophie's upward mobility will not go unnoticed because "... not if the mother was a maid".
class and gender are completely different issues, but the marginalisation hangs on the belief that one's class and one's gender is dictated at birth. it takes away blame from the systems that feed into it, and turns to blaming the individual for their so-called innate failures, and of course, dictated by religious doctrines. class and gender converges into one in sophie's story. she is forced into servanthood by araminta as to make her never forget who she is supposed to be. being a servant fulfills araminta's wishes for her to be invisible, like throwing a carpet over a spillage. it also ties her forever to penwood house, thus further limiting sophie's exposure to the world and hindering her chances of finding community.
sophie's performance of femininity is different from how araminta forces her girls into. and this is evident in sophie's masquerade outfit. firstly, it is a borrowed dress coupled with a mask that is too big for her. it is inundated with bows. it is otherwise simple. it doesn't tell her a story, the way the other masquerade outfits do. it tells the truth of sophie - pays homage to her identity which has stayed a secret. sophie doesn't neatly fit into society's conventions, as dictated by her dress. but the dress doesn't wear her - she wears it. she makes it her own. benedict doesn't know her as the "lady with the borrowed dress", no she's the "lady in silver". she makes femininity her own.
unlike the other people at the masquerade who exist in reference to something (alice and will as cleopatra and antony?) colin and penelope as pirates, eloise as joan of arc, fran and john as swans, it is unclear what sophie is, but sophie is everything she says she is. she takes in old dresses, old shoes and old gloves and turns it into hers for a night. it is worth noting in the original cinderella, the fairy godmother magicks her a dress to wear. in sophie's case, she makes do with what she has - a direct contradiction to araminta and the girls who have had their dresses prepared specifically for this occasion months in advance.
this direct defiance of araminta's concrete definitions of what being a noble lady is like is what pisses her off the most, because it subtly reflects her own dissatisfaction with life and tells her she's destroyed it to an audience of no one. sophie's comfort in her identity is a failure on society's part to keep the strong lines of division prominent and therefore grows cracks on the thrones of those that uphold it in their service. araminta knows the harm society has done to widows like her, but she plays the part of the oppressor in turn - wanting their power instead of recognising the deep-rooted evils in the perpetrating system. she isn't interested in dwelling in her own skewed identity as a twice widowed woman, and in her helplessness wishes to dedicate her life to diminishing those who wish to live their truths - fearing introspection herself and seeking comfort in her own ignorance.
araminta's theft of sophie's dowry is the final nail in this coffin. by doing so, she rejects the idea of sophie ever coming to terms with her self- the idea of her father, a faceless spirit in their lives affirming his daughter's identity. by stealing her dowry, araminta poses the age-old question of "what is it, to truly be a woman?" and deems sophie unworthy to have something she is owed. she's stolen sophie's very life from her in order to prove her losing case, to sow more seeds of division between them because if there is none, it challenges araminta's humanity - her very existence as a person, as a maternal figure. it renders her hate obsolete, her struggles partially self-inflicted and the fracturing psyches of her daughters her fault.
in a way, araminta and benedict both have similar views on people with non-conforming identities. benedict however, has spent time with people like him to know society is not privy to people who are different or love differently. where araminta weaponises seclusion, benedict finds solace in it. he has his community that sophie lacks. benedict has the empathy to put up a fight against the ignorance from being a privileged gentleman. however, seclusion is a short term solution for a long-term problem. benedict's mistress offer is a recognition of sophie's gender and her class. a life in secrecy is the best he can give her, when she's spent so long trying to cultivate an identity for herself. sophie's love for parties and balls is yet another attempt at wanting to affirm her identity when no one can do that for her.
sophie likens the mistress offer to being a "glorified courtesan" which is such an interesting choice of words. against the backdrop of a society that actively hypersexualises its poorest and the marginalised, its women objectified - seen as an erotic fantasy than a human being, sophie searches for a life of dignity. she seeks autonomy and movement, and she's been trapped in penwood house only for a man to ask her to move into another house with him. it is reflective of the unique sexual objectification of trans women, their bodies not their own, defined by pleasure and prejudice of others, in exchange for fickle, financial security. it is the very thing sophie and araminta (and benedict in between) fundamentally disagree on - the idea of dignity and romance entitled to a select few, and the rest others fending for scraps, as such is society. people like araminta uphold the system that restricts dignity, and sophie's very amphibian existence as neither nobility nor of the working classes invites a discussion into who is "allowed" what, and how one's birth affects it.
benedict's role in sophie's story is affirming her affirmation and faith in herself. he's part of her community and uses the power at his disposal to make her a secret no more. the final shot of them in the queen's ball - in front of society at large - not hiding anymore is an integral part in sophie's arc. this is all she's yearned for. a life of respect, a life of dignity, a life where she's on par with the other ladies. it is not one of assimilation, it is a story of participation and recognition. sophie is a woman, a daughter of penwood house and is beloved by all. she is free to live her life for herself, in whatever ways she wishes to. ultimately she carves her own meaning to her gender, her purpose in life and she returns to places where she is affirmed for who she is, as a person - the gazebo, the kite, the dance, pretty dresses and the wedding where instead of walking into our cottage, she walks from it.
obviously yes, i know sophie is not trans but an examination of her story from such a viewpoint challenges the way we think about the intersection of gender and class. if you've made it here, thank you so much for reading!
I am thoroughly enjoying @wonderlandleighleigh's Modern Wedding AU that I took the liberty (shamelessly) of putting all the parts here for everyone's enjoyment!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16
WILLIAM ARMFIELD HOBDAY — “Captain and Mrs. Edmund Burnham Pateshall” (1810)
“Edmund Burnham Pateshall (1778-1848) was an English naval officer and member of the prominent Pateshall family of Allensmore, Herefordshire. Edmund married Milborough (Ingram) Burnham on March 12, 1804…He was part of a large family with several siblings. His correspondence reveals close family ties, with letters exchanged between him and his brothers, sisters, and extended relatives.”
“How does it feel to be officially recognized as a Penwood?” “Strange, but good.” “Would you mind if I cut it short then? Because I would very much like to make you a Bridgerton…Will you marry me?” “Yes. Yes, I will!”
“I have some advice for you.” “More advice? Even on my wedding day you must be the wizened, first-born brother?” “In fact, the wisest thing I can impart is ‘never listen to me again.’ Father would be so proud of you. I know I am.”
WILLIAM ARMFIELD HOBDAY — “Captain and Mrs. Edmund Burnham Pateshall” (1810)
“Edmund Burnham Pateshall (1778-1848) was an English naval officer and member of the prominent Pateshall family of Allensmore, Herefordshire. Edmund married Milborough (Ingram) Burnham on March 12, 1804…He was part of a large family with several siblings. His correspondence reveals close family ties, with letters exchanged between him and his brothers, sisters, and extended relatives.”
“How does it feel to be officially recognized as a Penwood?” “Strange, but good.” “Would you mind if I cut it short then? Because I would very much like to make you a Bridgerton…Will you marry me?” “Yes. Yes, I will!”
“I have some advice for you.” “More advice? Even on my wedding day you must be the wizened, first-born brother?” “In fact, the wisest thing I can impart is ‘never listen to me again.’ Father would be so proud of you. I know I am.”
✨ In the world of dreams I'm a frequent flyer ✨ @bexandbenophie - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
