but most vices –

– may be committed very genteely.

[gcnteelvice]

– GCNTEELVICE ; a mumu blog affiliated with @seasonsfm / penned by vic.

❝ ...but most vices may be committed very genteelly... ❞ – james boswell, 1775

I. lady avantika 'tiffany' bae, viscountess of greywell – about. / threads. / muse. / portrait. II. mister étienne seymour, soon-to-be heir of hawkesbury – about. / threads. / muse. / portrait.

[aestheticssirens]

[opvlinc]

" you might begin by paying attention to something beyond the most negligible spectacle, " he starts, offering etienne a glass. " there is talk that prince george's illegitimate daughter has returned to london. she is said to be seeking matches for her children. one of them is near your age, i believe. "

[gcnteelvice]

ah. the sort of thing his mother had told him to pay attention to before he left. it had meant little to him in the moment. "it does not bother the ton mamas that she is illegitimate? i suppose mine might be able to look past it. " faintly amused, he accepts the glass. immediately brings it to his lips. swallows and cannot remember how to smile for a moment. "another close to yours, i believe? do you seek a brother in arms....angling towards marriage or against?" he certainly does not care either way.

[gcnteelvice]

location ; white's gentleman's club / open!

"so...what i missed is – two ladies jumping in a pond? that is all? surely something of greater import occurred in my absence."

[gcnteelvice]

location ; st. james park / open!

walking to be seen - she understands it in principle of course. it is the responsibility of members of the ton to lead society. to engage with peers and promote civic duty. so the viscountess of greywell is here, pausing to carefully peruse each vendors' goods. she inquires about the origin of the lace in the fans at one stall. at another cart, she convinces the seller to tell her exactly what avantika was smelling underneath the sandalwood in the bar of soap. if she has garned curious looks, the occasional double take if someone recognized her all these years later...hm. well, she couldn't pretend to be surprised. best to focus on what was in front of her. "pardon me - may i look at that pamphlet?"

[prcsperous]

open to all; st. james park

the morning had seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. the park was quieter before the promenade hour and his leg wanted movement more than rest, which the surgeons had said and which he had chosen to believe because the alternative was another afternoon at a window. he walked at a pace that was not quite his own, cane taking more weight than usual, and if his left eye was somewhat less open than his right he had decided not to raise the subject with anyone who had not raised it first. he had not, however, accounted for the bench being occupied. he stopped a few feet short of it, assessed the situation, and concluded that standing was becoming a less attractive option by the minute. "i don't suppose," he said, to whoever was sitting there, "you would object to sharing."

[gcnteelvice]

he hasn't slept through the night in some time. it's simple to slip out through the servants exits. he'd strolled around the park in the night, thinking. peering at the moon. wondering if laurent's face was paler. he doesn't remember when he sat down, nor when the cigar had ended up in his mouth - had he kept in his pocket before leaving the alderidge house? he can't remember. he blinks blearily at the gentleman with the cane, shaking his head and gesturing at the other end with an extended arm. "all yours." he debates a moment, then sighs. "don't have another one, unfortunately, else i'd offer. hear the prince doesn't like these anyway."

[eleanorapenwood]

oρεn sta૨tε૨ great exhibition room, royal academy, london

Eleanora did not at first realize that she was holding her breath. She did not realize that her group had largely walked on, and she had remained; she did not realize that new onlookers had arrived. She was too lost in the moment, in the play of color and light in the painting before her, the way one could imagine themselves entirely transported, as if the walls of the royal academy had sloughed away and the painting had turned to a portal.

"Oh, goodness," she breathed. "I can scarcely even see the brushstrokes! I cannot imagine what skill and effort it must take to transform humble canvas into a world entire -- what an amazing gift such skill must be! I confess, I should imagine myself quite the enchantress had I produced such astonishing work as this. Can you imagine how wonderful such a thing must feel? To transcribe what one sees so precisely..." she laughed, looking to her companion as she suddenly realized how run away she was with her own thoughts and feelings.

"But there I go assuming -- perhaps you already know precisely how it feels?" she laughed. "In which case, know that I must envy you, entirely. And you must tell me all about it! And, if not," she added with a laugh. "I think we shall be obliged to speculate wildly, instead."

[gcnteelvice]

nari - lily – is glad she has been studying her miniatures, otherwise she would have only been able to recognize the blonde's face. now, she knows she is smilingly winningly at lady penwood. a viscountess. was a viscountess, though now lily can't remember if she is supposed to purport herself differently with someone who was once equally ranked. "ah! yes." she agrees before she looks at the artwork and regrets it. whatever it is lady penwood sees, lily does not. it looks.....much like every other painting. luckily, the conversation veers somewhere she can handle. "i could not claim to have the soul of an artist. i'm afraid even my imagination fails me, i find myself lacking the vocabulary to describe what i see. though you've done so quite beautifully. is the spoken word your medium of choice then? i should quite like to hear the painting you'll paint with your speculation."

[gcnteelvice]

SEASONS.INTRO ; mister étienne seymour of hawkesbury

━━  ⊰  [  jacob elordi  ,  26  ,  cis man  ,  he + him  ]  the  ton  is  buzzing  !  have  you  heard  ?  mister etienne seymour of hawkesbury has  arrived  in  mayfair  !  i  have  been  told  that  he is educated  &  perceptive  but  also  withdrawn  &  aimless  but  we  shall  know  more  about  them  as  the  season  progresses.  there have been whispers around the ton stating  that his elder brother and heir has just been diagnosed with a fatal illness, meaning étienne will become the heir to a lordship within a year  .  among the ton , they are known to be a warm smile beneath vacant eyes lost in hidden thoughts, a whiff of fresh grass as if he as somehow always just appeared fresh from the countryside, the clean slice of moonlight between velvet curtains cutting into a dark, quiet room ! how they truly are behind closed doors ? we cannot be too sure .  *guest of the alderidges of elingwood

BIOGRAPHY;

tw: chronic, fatal illness

étienne was always a little bit broody - on the rare sunny day he could find the singular cloud and fret about the rain. his mother used to say he got it from his father, that the english weather was simply to dour for anyone to enjoy. distantly related to the french house durand, his mother played up how french she was, affecting an accent when she'd spent only summers in france. but it worked, because she was charming and charismatic, a trait that was passed on to his older brother, laurent. but for their differences, the brothers got on well enough. they fought as often as they didn't, but neither would tolerate a word against the other from strangers and étienne never minded being known as 'laurent's younger brother' while everyone identified his brother by name.

as a second son, étienne was never especially concerned with his future. he was quite content studying areas of interest in university, traveling across europe quite lackadaiscally - though he would complain of little inconveniences in his letters back home - knowing that eventually he would come home and help his brother when needed. one day he might marry, but....all that seemed far away. he has his books, he has his friends, no day seems especially different from the next, and that is perfectly fine.

his father was less bothered by étienne's aimlessness than his mother. but then his father was often distracted, a bit aloof. she was the one who wrote to her cousin, lady alderidge wondering if the marchioness might have room for étienne. perhaps partaking among higher echelons of society would open his eyes to a world more material than the imaginative ones of his books. the alderidges' house was much finer than his bachelor's lodgings in bristol, and he has not met his cousins in some time, so étienne decides to join the ton for the season. it will be good for the seymours to have someone in london, while they the eldest son remained where the air was fresher. he'd had a worsening cough over the past few months. perhaps they would take him even closer to the seaside.

étienne was not supposed to know about the diagnosis. in fact, sending him to london had been a ploy from his parents, to have him rub elbows with those who would soon be his peers. but after a particularly rough night when it seemed laurent might not make it, étienne's old valet went rogue and sent a letter, worried the younger brother might not have a chance to say goodbye. étienne missed the garden party and immediately went home, fought with his parents, fought with his brother, fought with the doctor........but it does not matter. there is nothing to be done. and instead of staying home and watching him deteriorate, laurent wishes for him to go return to london.

to learn. to live. to become.

after all, the title of lord seymour will now fall to étienne.

EXTRA;

tldr; étienne is a sad boi who is figuring out the kind of man he wants to be.

char inspo: henry tilney (northanger abbey), colin bridgerton (bridgerton), raleigh becket (pacific rim), faramir (lord of the rings), jon snow (game of thrones), stefan (vampire diaries)

[gcnteelvice]

SEASONS.INTRO ; lady avantika "tiffany" bae (née varma), viscountess of greywell

━━  ⊰  [  malavika mohanan  ,  32  ,  cis woman  ,  she + her  ]  the  ton  is  buzzing  !  have  you  heard  ?  lady avantika “tiffany” bae (née varma) of greywell  has  arrived  in  mayfair  !  i  have  been  told  that  she is  eloquent  &  bold  but  also  improper  &  unrepentant but  we  shall  know  more  about  them  as  the  season  progresses.  there have been whispers around the ton stating  that  the reason she was suddenly whisked away to an aunt in the countryside due to poor health at the end of her debut season was due to a miscarriage at a ball  .  among the ton , they are known to be fingertips brushed in the same rouge as her lips, fans kept vigilantly covering her bosom, the glint of teeth as sparkling laughter peels out shamelessly  ! how they truly are behind closed doors ? we cannot be too sure .

BIOGRAPHY;

tw: miscarriage

the second and youngest child of a lord so low on the peerage, his lands might be likened to a farm - and he would not mind the comparison, having a healthy respect for the ground that fed his family - miss avantika varma had always been a lively creature, the darling of her family. predisposed to be happy. her older brother, kartik, was indulgent of her whims; it was easy to be when she acted just as delighted as the first time around. it was a feeling many would come to bask in. see, avantika found people endlessly interesting. she liked listening to them share their opinions. their histories. sometimes their dreams, and that was most precious of all.

but the way she was indulged at home was not the way of society. in her debutante season, she had been seen speaking and and dancing and laughing openly with (occasionally at) many suitors. too many suitors. and then someone realized that she had left one of the last balls of the season a bit early. and then she missed the next couple events due to poor health. a rumor passed that lord and lady varma had sent their daughter away to the lord's elder sister in cumbria. they were distantly related to the earl of carlisle. the reasons for this departure were speculated upon endlessly - was there a child out of wedlock? a contagious illness the ton had been exposed to? had she run off with someone lower class? as the years passed, the settled upon history was simply that she had been caught consorting with someone she shouldn't have and to preserve the dignities of all involved, was removed from polite society. perhaps she had been sent to a convent?

the truth, of course, was woven somewhere in between. avantika had allowed someone certain liberties, having discovered another side of london that existed among the more open-minded people. but she hadn't fully understood the consequences. she'd left the ball early because she thought her courses had come at an extremely inconvenient time. her mother had paled as avantika's condition worsened that night, recognizing the symptoms. there had been conversations avantika was not a part of, but it was decided that for the sake of her health and to avoid scrutiny, it was best for avantika to retreat from society.

the convent rumor was close - there had been one nearby her aunt's manor, and avantika made friends with quite a few of the girls there. her family would visit, especially once kartik and his wife had their first child. then a second, and a third! and her aunt was a sharp woman. open minded also. and blunt, telling avantika the family history her mother had been too reserved to share and the difficulties avantika might expect to face in building her own family. and so, despite the many complicated feelings she had over the matter - did she want to be a mother? it didn't feel like a loss now, but would it later? a part of her had thought children were practically guaranteed, she feels unprepared to consider children as an intentional choice - the one she never felt was guilt. society may have viewed it as exile, but avantika saw it more like a safe haven not beholden to standards she'd forget to meet.

though she did have the occasional twinge when her sister-in-law worried about introducing avantika's nieces in society. the whispers had never fully vanished. so when the opportunity to amend her reputation came, miss avantika varma took it gratefully and gracefully. she married lord bae. (whatever understanding came to be between them was exactly that: between them ;)) she follows the way of the bae family, anglicizing her name with perhaps a naive hope that she might have the chance to start with the ton freshly anew. she takes shepherding her husband's siblings - her good siblings - seriously, for them, and also for when time comes for her nieces and nephew. lady tiffany bae can be demure.

.....but she's still the vivacious, pleasant-tempered, sociable woman she was. she still can't control her laughter, and she does like to laugh, especially when people are ridiculous.

oh, this was going to be harder than she thought.

EXTRA;

tldr; lady tiffany bae would just like to let the past stay in the past. it's been years, no one is the same as they were - how about we give each other another chance?

char inspo: elizabeth bennet (pride & prejudice), violet bridgerton (bridgerton), kenna de poitiers (reign), maria (sound of music), fran fine (the nanny), vivian ward (pretty woman)

[ptheviking]

Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff Wuthering Heights (2026) | Dir. Emerald Fennell

[burbatch]

SALTBURN (2023) Dir. Emerald Fennell