Day 4: Runaway Pen (Bride/Groom)
Ok, so I am unreasonably excited about this list! I am again being very loose with the Runaway Bride/Groom prompt, as I adore Runaway Pen and it's my current obsession. As always, ALL fics listed here have Polin HEA - I read nothing else.
And Tumblr only allows 10 links per post, which is very mean, so I’ll try to add some extra links in the comments.
Runaway, by somethingfunnybubbly
Summary: Penelope has run away
(What can I even say about this story? It’s my very favourite. I re-read it often, incessantly imagine what happened afterwards, and lovingly pester the author for a sequel. This one lives in my head, rent-free.)
scottish bookstore au series, by missparker
Summary: After Penelope falls out with Eloise over her popular gossip blog, all the Bridgertons cut contact with her. It's the worst thing that has ever happened to her, but after a few months of wallowing, Penelope moves to Scotland and buys a book shop and gets on with her life. It turns out she can live without the Bridgertons and she's happy enough with the new life she's cobbled together. No one knows anything about her here and that's how she likes it: complete and total separation from her life back in London and her old online persona.
(Two devastating and stunningly beautiful stories about Pen rebuilding her life away from the Bridgertons after LW comes between her and Eloise. This story haunted me so much that inspired me to write To The Bone, as it brought up so many things from my past… It’s cathartic angst!! With Polin HEA, of course, as I read nothing else!)
The Art of Being Seen, by emwrites7
Summary: Penelope Featherington, 32, is successful and living what most would call a good life. Yet her world still seems to orbit around her longtime neighbors—the Bridgertons—and her dearest friends, Eloise and Colin. After a revealing family dinner, Penelope begins to question the life she’s built. Has she spent too long defining herself by the people around her? Maybe it’s time to step out of their shadow and finally become her own person. This is a story of growth, self-discovery, redemption—and, of course, finding love along the way.
(Here she does not run away, but she does cut contact with the Bridgertons and it is SO angsty, and heartbreakingly beautiful. It will get you to pieces and back together again.)
i know just the place, by itsokayitsfine
Summary: When the going gets tough, she gets going. And when she’s lost to the world, his world stops.
Or, two former best friends who have been mostly estranged for a decade find themselves in the world's smallest cottage in the English countryside with no choice but to hash out ten years of miscommunications, misunderstandings, and big, complicated feelings.
(Pen goes off to an isolated cottage every year. This year, when she goes quiet for a bit too long, Colin finds her. Oh, the yearning!!!!)
It's Gold, It's Blue, It's in the Skies, by MercyBraavos
Summary: After Colin discovers she is Lady Whistledown, Penelope cuts all ties and runs.
This is the Chase, by HorseSad
Summary: It was the morning after what should have been the happiest day of their lives, but Colin and Penelope are broken, exhausted, and not getting a chance to breathe.
(Pen surrenders to the Queen the day after their wedding. Colin panics, chaos Bridgertons assemble. Fantastic!!!)
Foolish One, by LeighAnne_Balsdon
Summary: Colin announces his engagement to Marina and Penelope doesn't take it very well.
She makes a hasty decision to run away from Mayfair, to save her broken heart.
When Colin and Eloise find out that Penelope is missing they decide to look for her themselves.
What they find, however, is something no one was expecting.
(Runaway Pen set in S1, with HEA for Marina and George, and a delicious Philoise cameo too)
Summary: Colin has known for some time now—ever since he overheard a whispered conversation not meant for his ears—that Penelope Featherington is Lady Whistledown. And truthfully? He’s rather proud. His best friend, the girl he’s long adored in secret, is the sharpest pen in London. But when he stumbles upon news that she’s planning to run away… and possibly not alone? Well. That’s when Colin Bridgerton finally loses his perfectly composed mind.
(One shot with runaway Pen x chaos Colin)
By Tomorrow’s Light (You Will Not See My Face), by lindsey_grissom
Summary: Eloise issues her ultimatum and Penelope knows what she must do. Neither of them planned for Colin “my wife” Bridgerton
Poems for the Sea, by aliterarydiscourse
Ooh, I’ve read this one until late at night and kept going early in the morning. Colin does go ahead with the annulment during the LW disagreement and after coming out as Whistledown to the Ton, Penelope leaves for the Americas to stay with Lady D’s son and grandson. When she returns, she learns nothing was as it seemed back then. A plot full of intrigue, and I would love to read more in that universe!
A late entry as I've only read it this week:
Welcome to Keaton Grove, by Mimimoon2007
Summary: When Colin returned from his grand tour of Europe, he expected things to be as they were when he left. Yet after just one ball, it, however, becomes clear that the only person who could fill the void in his life had vanished from London. Fearing the repercussions of Jack Featherington's departure, Portia decided on a whim to leave London one autumn evening. Stuck in Gloucestershire as the new season begins, Penelope tries to find a way to continue publishing Lady Whistledown far from the city without arousing her mother's suspicions. Things get complicated when a ghost from her past comes knocking at her door.
In this category, to those inclined to read WIPs (if you can deal with the tension!!), I am currently being haunted by not one, not two, but by FIVE runaway Pens, and they are all FANTASTIC!!!! For someone who normally does not read WIPs (due to anxiety), I have absolutely zero regrets about falling for these beauties. Links in the comments:
The Albatross, by somethingfunnybubbly,
Daylight, by ellieclover,
Illumination, also by ellieclover,
at the edge of the world, by abvj,
The Pedestal, by aliterarydiscourse.
A day when one of these is updated is a great day!!
And shameless self-promo time, but I am only including this one because my beta and dear friend @summerpearlpen made me! Here Pen is planning to run away, but a stopover at Aubrey Hall for Christmas might change her life for good:
Love You Better, by BigDramaQuill
Summary: Colin kissed his best friend Penelope only days before finding out she is the infamous Lady Whistledown. He is now confused and furious, but her eventful arrival at Aubrey Hall to join the Bridgertons for Christmastide helps him understand her reasons to start her column.
He and his family become determined to give Penelope a good Christmas, and show her how loved she is.
As always, if I left your favourite out, please feel free to leave your own recommendations in the comments or reblogs. And self-promo is heavily encouraged — the more, the merrier!
