#a discovery of witches season two

[butternuggets-blog]

FOR WANT OF A NAIL

@baldwin-montclair @adowobsessed @sylverdeclermont @nicki-mac-me @thereadersmuse @kynthiamoon @wheresthesunshinesblog @adowbaldwin @beautifulsoulsublime @lady-lazarus-declermont @adarafaelbarba @dogblessyoutascha

Part Thirty-Five

Summary:  Baldwin Montclair had a string of ex girlfriends, a single child, and a  lifetime longer than most people could dream of to make all kinds of  mistakes. His family knew one which kept coming out of the woodwork to  irritate him every other century.

Also on AO3

Jerusalem had always had a bandit problem. The hills surrounding the city were full of hidden spaces, and pilgrims travelling along the winding roads were often dragged into them by gangs of thieves and murderers.

The rest of Outremer didn’t fare much better. An upswing in pilgrimages since the capture of Jerusalem had seen hundreds of devotees of the Christian faith slaughtered as they travelled across the desert to visit different holy sites.

Hugh looked down at the reports of death in front of him and sighed. This had to stop.

‘Paixão, it is almost midnight. Come to bed.’ Fernando wrapped his arms around Hugh’s chest from behind and kissed him on the cheek. ‘You need to get some rest at least.’

Hugh leaned around and kissed him. ‘I will soon. I need to finish these reports for Baldwin.’

Fernando sighed and rifled through the papers. ‘More deaths. You can solve this puzzle for your brother in the morning, coração, when you have a clear head.’

Hugh smiled and leant into him.

‘What would I do without you?’

________________________________________________________________ 

It had taken Hugh most of the day to fully pin down his plan. But he was happy with the vague scope of it, so he sent a messenger out into the city to summon his brother.

‘You have a solution to Baldwin’s concerns?’ Godfrey said, as he slid down from his horse.

'I believe so' Hugh nodded. He gave Godfrey the broad strokes of his plan and by the time they reached the study his brother's eyes were gleaming.

'A company of knights-'

'Poor, chaste knights'

'Poor, chaste knights, who serve the pilgrims and any who wish to purchase their services, and who answer to no one but the Church.' Godfrey beamed. 'Self sustaining, because every new member gifts the order their personal effects and property, thus expanding our income and land ownership. Brilliant!'

Hugh had long since given up pretending that his family operated anything for purely altruistic reasons.

'We will also implement a credit system' Hugh plucked a chart from the papers scattered around his desk. 'Pilgrims will store funds with us to protect against theft on the road. They will receive a receipt which they can use to withdraw their money at our establishments along their journey.'

'Baldwin will be very pleased with this' Godfrey clapped his brother on the back. 'I am very proud of you.'

'Thank you' Hugh smiled.

________________________________________________________________ 

Baldwin had agreed to hear Hugh's proposal at the Council of Nablus in January. He had arranged the royal court meeting to establish the first written laws of the kingdom; sixteen people were expected to attend, including Baldwin, to fiddle and fuss over twenty-five sets of ecclesiastical ordinances and regulations.

Godfrey listened in on the negotiations while he and Hugh waited as guests in the anteroom. Hugh kept himself awake by counting the wall tiles.

There was canons against adultery, and ones against bigamy. Hugh screamed quietly inside while laws prohibiting sodomy were handed down. After the final few canons were established - ecclesiastic self defence, false accusations, and theft respectively- it was time for the council to hear proposals from waiting guests.

'Jerusalem is in the grip of a crisis. The attacks on pilgrims journeying here to pay penance to God are increasing. We must find a way to cure the violence.'

Hugh paused for breath.

'I propose the creation of a company of knights, sworn to the protection of pilgrims and the poor; men who are, like the angels, warriors of Christ.'

'A sound proposal' Baldwin nodded. 'Is there any man here who will second it?'

'I second it.'

Warmond of Picquigny, Patriach of Jerusalem, leant forward in his chair, fingers steepled in front of him.

'How will this brotherhood sustain itself?'

'If donations from the church are not forthcoming-' chuckles echoed softly through the chamber, '-The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ will rely upon its members. Each man, upon becoming a sworn brother, will forfeit his earthly goods to prove his devotion to the cause and to support it.'

Warmond sat back, looking impressed.

'We have taken the liberty of designing a grand seal,' Hugh waved Godfrey forward and he passed along the table, holding out a detailed sketch for everyone to see.

'Two riders upon a horse. The reverse will be a depiction of the order's headquarters.'

'Where will that be?' Warmond asked.

'If this holy order is for the protection of Jerusalem, and under papal control, I am sure we can accommodate them at the Dome of the Rock' Baldwin piped up. 'How many potential recruits have you?'

'Other than ourselves, we are six.' Hugh pulled out a list from a pouch on his belt. 'Hugues I, Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de St. Amand, André de Montbard, Geoffrey Bison, and Rossal, and Gondamer.'

'Impressive gentlemen' Warmond nodded, as murmurs of approval rippled along the table. Most of the men Hugh had picked came from high nobility; Payen de Montdidier was related to the Counts of Flanders, and André de Montbard was from the extremely well-connected Montbard family of Hochadel of Burgundy.

Baldwin knocked the table with his fist.

'A show of hands. All those in favour of making The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ an official military order?'

A forest of hands shot up.

________________________________________________________________ 

Hugh,

Your enquiry in your previous letter has caused me considerable amusement. The answer is before you.

André de Montbard has a nephew in the Cistercian order, Bernard, who is abbot of Clairvaux Abbey, southeast of Bar-sur-Aube, in the Val d'Absinthe glen.

His work within the order is unlike any other. I feel you and he will see eye to eye on a great many things.

Go seek him out and petition him for your order's Rule.

Martin

________________________________________________________________ 

Bernard of Clairvaux was ecstatic to be chosen to provide The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Jerusalem with a set of rules for their organisation, and set up a papal meeting immediately.

The council was over thirty people strong; a healthy combination of French clerics, Cistercian abbots, and a papal legate who had been sent to represent Callixtus II as he was too busy to make it himself.

Hugh and Bernard had spent a gruelling three days prior hammering out the finer details of the rules, so all that was really left for the council to do was hear them, amend anything that particularly bothered them, and approve the list.

From shortly after Prime until just before Vespers, the council queried, quarrelled, questioned and critised until finally Bernard stood up, smiling, a parchment scroll held gently in one hand.

'So it is decided on this day, in this house of God, before all the saints and angels in Heaven, that the good men who have beseeched our aid in the matter placed in our hands are to be welcomed into the loving embrace of his Holiness, the Pope, and of the Church.'

'Once more, before the Grandmaster affirms this work with the order's official seal, I will read aloud the list so that we may assured of its contents a final time.'

Bernard cleared his throat.

'Here begin the chapters for the Rule of the Knights of Christ. How they may hear divine office. How many Lord's Prayes they should say if they are unable to hear the divine office.'

Bernard worked his way slowly and methodically through the list, enunciating clearly as he went.

'On shunning whispering. They may not gaze at the face of a woman. And finally, that one may no longer become a godfather.'

Bernard signed the bottom of the scroll, affixing his seal next to the papal legate's. Each council member pressed theirs onto the parchment as well; finally Hugh, beaming proudly, signed and sealed it too.

Author’s Notes

Paixão - passion

Coração - heart

The design on the Knights Templar seal changed between different grand masters. The two knight seal was used by Grand Master Bertrand de Blanchefort, circa 1158. It possibly depicts Templar founders Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the wealthiest and most popular military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded circa 1119, headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages. (Wikipedia)

The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and the Dome of the Rock was given to the Augustinians, who turned it into a church, while the nearby Al-Aqsa main prayer hall or Qibli Mosque first became a royal palace for a while, and then for much of the 12th century the headquarters of the Knights Templar. (Wikipedia)

Prime - morning prayers at 6am

Vespers - evening prayers

Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. (Latin: Bernardus Claraevallensis; 1090 – 20 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.

He was sent to found Clairvaux Abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. In the year 1128, Bernard attended the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, which soon became an ideal of Christian nobility. (Wikipedia)

I found the Original Rule of the Knights Templar here

The Council of Noyes, where the Rule of the Knights Templar was finalised, was actually several years after its founding. I decided to speed things up a little.

[justarandomgirly]

Nothing sexier than a vampire in period clothing...

[c-k-mack]

Matthew: You’re not leaving the house…

Me: Ah, here we go, the possessive macho comes out

Matthew: Not dressed in that fashion disaster

🤣

[kiwinatorwaffles]

hermit species headcanons: volume… 2!

i made this post two years ago when i was fresh to the series and was just getting to know the hermits. a lot has changed since then, but a lot has also stayed the same! my headcanons are getting refined every single time i talk about them, so chances are, this list won't even be accurate to my thoughts a year later.

with that being said, let's get started! click the cut to read them all

bdubs: glare! small, hates the dark, is a feral creature, will never let go of the moss. he and pungance were born from the same tree in the same patch of moss so they are brothers LMAO

beef: vampire! but not a full one. he was bitten by a bat and gained two vampiric traits exactly: fangs and sensitive skin. beef thinks his tendency to get sunburnt easily is just something in his code or a genetic condition. he never got it checked.

cub: alien shapeshifter! his original form is this shapeless void blob, and he can only copy how other beings look like. his forms were taken from two astronauts he saw in space, an old man and a young man. his void form can be seen slightly on his inner arm, where there is just a sliver of night sky hanging out

cleo: zombie (duh) cleo was permakilled by a witch's curse but when faced with the pearly gates they were like. nah. i'd rather be down there. and just straight up left and came back as a zombie. that's how she met joe. because he was sitting on top of her tombstone eating a sandwich

doc: originally a fae, but now he's super fucked up? what can i even say. he was a fae who got super interested in the sciences and started experimenting on himself just for the hell of it. there was that whole dinnerbone cyborg arm thing but he also managed to make himself a centaur form that he uses for extra storage and height. nobody knows where the creeper came from. was it from his dad's side? did he give it to himself? not even stress, his cousin, can tell you how he came to be. what the hermits DO know however is that he can steal pronouns by asking for them

etho: redstone deity! etho was an ancient builder who was executed for witchcraft upon his discovery of redstone. he was resurrected by the universe as a second chance and to spread his knowledge to the world. you can read more from my fic here ehehehehe

false: human! yes she is 100% human. i just thought it would be funny if such an awesome and skilled fighter was just some normal ass human with a bit of social anxiety

gem: forest spirit! she has nature powers and can change parts of her body to reflect parts of nature. she's a deer? an elf? nope! only sometimes. she can mix and match whatever traits she wants on any given day. but be careful of those deer legs and horns. they Hurt

grian: red macaw avian! he has bird feathers covering his ears, parrot wings, and bird talons! he is also able to mimic voices perfectly (which he uses to play pranks and swear in other hermits’ voices) and is a Hollow Boned Menace. he carries a lot of bird tendencies, like being a piece of shit or preening his friends’ hair when it’s too messy (which is always). in start of seasons, he has x lock away usage of his wings to keep himself from an unfair advantage. he also has stolen powers from the watchers, which he can use to change his wing colors or view the entire map from afar.

npg: ????????????? he’s supposed to be a robot, but he has wings and flies sideways?????? he’s somehow even more fucked up than robot grian. not even grian is sure of what he created tbh. he just knows he did NOT give npg those conure wings to begin with.

ariana griande: galah avian! she is grian's cousin who is a pop star. she has never actually been on hermitcraft before -- that was grian cosplaying as her.

hypno: human warlock! he accidentally made a pact when he replaced his tooth with a piece of cursed gold. jokes on his patron though, his faulty human memory can't even remember how he got his powers! he has lots of inscriptions as tattoos written in galactic just all over his body that he completely forgot how to read at this point and is immortal. maybe that's a bit bad for his sense of self-preservation

impulse: demon/imp! he used to be a gargoyle that dispensed candy, but a wizard passing by granted him life and well. now he's here! demons are actually underworld spirits that punish permadead players who have been genuinely horrible to the players around them, but impulse wanted to build houses and play with redstone instead of stirring the torture soup. so when he met skizz he decided hanging out with the players was the best thing to do. he also used to have larger horns and wings but his time on the surface has made his wings very tiny and unusable without the help of an elytra. skizz always teases him for this.

iskall: cyborg! the hermits don't know if he was fully human before the cyborgification. me, personally? i think it would be funny if she was actually built to protect a village but had too much of a personality so the villages just let him go have fun with the players. not sure if i want to adhere to that though

jevin: slime! certain slimes have evolved to be more like players. jevin is from the blue variety (that's his gender)

joe hills: ???????? void-born universe being??? joe is actually the oldest living being in the universe. he was just popped out of void (even predating the void gods) and spent all this time just doing whatever fuckall was around to do. he looks like a normal human being but just Slightly to the left, like his a bit-too-many teeth or slight lean when he stands. other than that, he acts like any other human!

joel: human mage! he actually only has powers of illusion that changes only how he looks. he Really wanted to be an orc but the spell couldnt last forever (as his fae wife lizzie found out after marriage). every day he wishes he had as much swag as shrek did. more on the headcanon here

keralis: weird fucking eldritch cryptid being? except he looks exactly like a human. nothing weird about him, nope. just don't look too closely at his eyes. he promises that he blinks like a normal person and not with his pupils.

mumbo: robot! with a core heart and stretchy limbs, he runs mainly on the consumption of redstone and occasionally typical foodstuffs. he had a creator before the days of hermitcraft (who originally built him as a war machine but something went deeply sideways during construction) that taught him all there is to know about redstone and the outside world. he also inherited the british accent and mustache from his creator. his creator did want him to be free and wiped mumbo's memory of his creation before setting him off into the overworld and letting him roam free. now he's just a silly guy!

grumbot: robot! he was first built to give suggestions on what to do with the mayoral elections but then he developed actual attachments to his horribly neglectant dads </3 but it's alright! he now chills with renbob and goatman up in the hermitheus

pearl: moon spirit! she was the moon from a player's hardcore world. the player used to talk to the moon for fun, but suddenly disappeared from the world one day. now feeling lonely, pearl took a humanoid form and descended to find where her player went, but she ended up discovering the joys of being a player herself. contrary to popular belief, she had no influence on the season 8 moon.

ren: weredog! can shapeshift into a dog form, which he usually uses to either run fast or play fetch. he’s also more prone to change when the moon is larger…. except he just becomes a hyperactive dog who chases his tail all night and is deeply embarrassed by it. he also probably has rabies, but everyone whom he has bitten probably already had something deeply wrong with them to begin with anyway

renbob: human...? he's related to ren from the human side, or at least that what he tells people. but he might as well be 50% weed by now

scar: human(?) wizard! he can fly, subtly change his physical appearance, cast spells, and do all sorts of magical shenanigans! he also can read galactic fluently, which is how he learned that hypno enchanted himself with loyalty at some point. jellie is his beloved familiar. also he's a capitalist. nobody knows where that came from

skizz: angel! why are there angels in minecraft, you might ask? some people are satisfied with their lives and let themselves permadie. skizz, after being born randomly from an angel statue (i wonder if it’s related to the other statue guy) was supposed to be one of the angels who helped escort players to the pearly gates, but he met impulse while his demon clan was taking a field trip to heaven. the two immediately became besties and skizz begged the universe to let him join the players. the universe begrudgingly agreed and now he's here! he hides his many other halos as ring tattoos on his arms as well

stress: fae! she's got fairy powers, magical swag, an affinity for flowers, and will beat you up if you assume she's the resident server cleric.

tango: ex-blazeborn! he saw some yummy packed ice and ate it, which extinguished his internal flame. his blazeborn tribe felt bad for him but knew it would be dangerous if he stayed, so tango just left for the overworld instead. he tries to convince people that he is 100% a human and not suspicious at all because he's embarrassed of having to explain that he lost most of his powers due to eating some yummy ice cream. a more detailed post about my headcanon can be found here

tfc: human! the only non-human aspect of him is a prosthetic leg. contrary to popular belief, he did not lose that leg while mining. it was after fighting a horde of skeletons. (he won)

wels: human. he's just a human. nobody believes him when he tells them because they've seen him accidentally level a building while sparring before. but nope. he's just a human. and a very fucked up one at that

hels: ???? techncially has the traits of wels, beef, and etho????? is there a species for evil clones created by copying machines or

xb: guardian! he was a guardian made to guard the magical treasures of ancient builders, but he got bored of staying in the same spot for centuries and his creators never returning. hypno casted a spell of bipedelity on xb, so now he can walk on land! i wrote a fic about it here too

xisuma: voidwalker! created by the young void gods, he was made from a fucking mspaint file where the void gods dicked around with the program and made a deeply fucked up being (him) on accident. he has no mouth, his hands are as black as the void, and his voice is terrifying without a modulator, which is why he wears a helmet. more about it in my fic here

evil x: also a voidwalker, but this time the void gods pressed random on a picrew and sent him out into an alternate dimension. he grew up in super england until x fished him out of the void. this little rascal has red scleras, ram horns, and a devil tail. he doesn't need to sleep, so he gets all his energy from eating, which is convenient because his sharp teeth can crunch anything and he can digest everything. his hair acts like an enderchest with a portal to the void, where he keeps snacks and various trinkets.

zedaph: human, but he’s not sane. i mean look at this guy. look at what he’s doing. nobody knows how he became so deeply fucked up but he's truly just Like That. he gave himself sheep features once on accident though

worm man: surprisingly, human. he's lucky to have stayed human for this long with his brother's insane experiments. accurate to popular belief, he has no superpowers.

[moirindeclermont]

Daily thread about BridgertonS3: let's talk about the female gaze, shall we? Because I feel it's this sort of elusive entity that no one seems to be able to explain. In particular, in the context of sex scene, because while this season give us plenty to observe 👀 it's not the only example.

So, what's the female gaze? When you tell a story, regardless of its medium, your way of approaching the story it's your own perspective. We could call it personal gaze. The female gaze is a way of telling stories that focus on specific aspects, that I usually found in people who have an approach to story different from the one of a straight man.

In particular, when it comes to love scenes, the female gaze is evident in ways of telling the story. Whe it comes to tv or films, these ways might be angles to shot, subject of the shot, acts... And on top of all of this, the agency of the people involved, with particular focus on the women. This is because, traditionally, the male gaze depicts the women as a more passive subject.

But this is very interesting, yet someone sounds still not grounded in reality. What does it even mean? I've found the best way to explain it is to give example. So, I thought about some: this is not a complete list by any means, so feel free to add your own favorite.

Dirty dancing (1987) is a spectacular film and all the love scenes are a perfect example of female gaze. In more recent years, Outlander was praised for this as well. And, before Bridgerton, there was also A Discovery of Witches. Now, of course, we have Bridgerton and I feel like this season in particular is an example of female gaze.

But why is it important?? Just like the queer gaze, the female gaze brings another perspective to the table. It's important because it brings agency to women in all aspect, but even more in their sexuality. It's important because more often than not, the female gaze have a way to incorporate consent and agency that is so important in today's conversation.

BridgertonS3, with both the carriage scene and the mirror scene, had empower Pen and her agency. She was an active participate, established her consent multiple times, gained self confidence and self esteem... And she was never treated like an object (neither did Colin, for that matter). And while some nudity was present in the mirror scene, it never felt like on objectification. Instead, it felt like two people having an intimate experience. It felt real.

I admit that some people might feel uncomfortable with that, but I'll prefer 20 times a scene that is so real and intimate, to a full nude scene that wants to be scandalous but, in reality, does absolutely nothing for me. I hope this can be a wake up call to many directors and producer. We don't want more intimate scene. We want more scene that feel intimate.

[pers-books]

New Whoniverse Spin-Off 'The War Between The Land And The Sea' announced at San Diego Comic-Con

July 26, 2024

Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw lead the cast of new Doctor Who spin-off series for the BBC and Disney+, alongside Doctor Who alumni Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient

Today (Friday 26th July) the BBC and Disney Branded Television jointly announce their first brand new Doctor Who spin-off titled THE WAR BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE SEA, during San Diego Comic-Con.  

The series is created by Doctor Who Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies, who has written the series with Pete McTighe (A Discovery of Witches, The Pact, Doctor Who).

When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war. 

Russell T Davies, Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer said:

“I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.” 

Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama, BBC said:

“THE WAR BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE SEA is another utterly unique and gripping drama from Russell T Davies and we’re delighted to welcome the show to the Whoniverse! Featuring a stellar cast, with Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw taking on leading roles, this brand new epic mini series will leave audiences on the edge of their seats as they watch UNIT take on one of their biggest battles to save humanity.”

Filming begins next month and will be directed by Dylan Holmes-Williams, director of two Season 1 episodes – 73 YARDS and DOT AND BUBBLE.

[pmpmyread]

Ergo Sum // A Destiny 2 fanfic

My contribution to #Destinytober24 for the Ergo Sum prompt!

Summary: In which Eris Morn thinks, therefore she is. Pairing: The Drifter x Eris Morn Content Tags: SFW, Slow Romance, Hurt/Comfort. Eris reflects on Hive godhood, Drifter cooks, Ikora Rey is mentioned. Takes place shortly after the events of Season of the Witch. WC: 3.5k [Also on AO3]

As she strode along the path that paralleled the abandoned human outpost now known as the Anchor of Light, Eris Morn tightened the collar of her cloak, shielding herself from the brisk gusts of crisp lunar night air. For the second time within the hour, she contemplated retracing her steps back to her quarters; for the second time, she submitted to the small voice within her that urged her to keep going.

Today marked two weeks since she’d self-secluded herself to her old stomping grounds, three since her final transformation back from the Hive form she’d borrowed.

“Tea and silence,” she had told the Guardian, expressing her simplest yet most sincere desires following her daunting undertaking.

Ikora Rey had prescribed some much-needed time off the field for her dear friend, and for the first time since she could remember, Eris had actually heeded her advice, taking what must have been her first true break from any Vanguard, or Hive-related activities since she emerged from the Hellmouth all those years ago.

And so, much to the Warlock Vanguard’s relief, Eris found herself facing the opportunity to indulge in copious amounts of tea, accompanied by a few days of serene silence, the likes of which she had not experienced in decades.

This made Ikora’s guilt even more apparent when she had to call Eris into the Tower for help on yet another crisis, a mere few days later.

“I would not dare interrupt your much-deserved rest,” Ikora had said, her dismay audibly apparent to Eris. “However, I’m afraid this recent development requires your expertise, and it unfortunately cannot wait.”

The whirlwind of events that followed involved the discovery of an Ahamkara egg by the Guardian, the subsequent unveiling of a fifteenth and final wish, and a multiple hours-long planning session with Ikora and Mara Sov.

As much as she’d wished it to be unlikely, the realization of Savathûn having at least one card left in her sleeve did not surprise Eris. Over her last years of comprehensive research supplemented by her short yet consequential stint as a Hive god, she had grown intimate with their logics, their rules, and their decrees. She was cognizant of the weight her strikes against both Savathûn and Xivu Arath carried, of the grievous offence that her gambit constituted. But where Xivu’s moves could be more predictable, it was Savathûn’s next ploy that truly kept Eris agitated, particularly considering this new twist, which veered off anything she could have anticipated.

Throughout the day, she had served as the voice of reason, and attempted to counterbalance her more reckless colleagues; the Warlock Vanguard and the Awoken Queen had both become so engrossed with crossing the portal into the Pale Heart that Eris felt like they were no longer hearing her. She feared they were moving perhaps too quickly, without carefully evaluating all angles of the situation before them.

Ikora had briefly acknowledged her reservations while also citing the contingency they had in Immaru’s captivity. While Eris agreed with this, a smaller, shrill voice sounded an alarm, as she could not help but wonder, deep down: what if they were playing right into a larger subterfuge by the Hive god of cunning?

Following a long day of deliberation, the three of them settled on a sensible, albeit not ideal course of action, one that relegated Eris to off-site support, assigned Osiris as the Vanguard liaison, and involved Mara striking a bargain with Riven.

As calm and measured as she had managed to remain throughout the day’s events, extinguishing some of the fires Mara and Ikora risked starting with their more radically imperative approach, Eris had left the meeting in shrouded disquiet.

It was in this frame of mind that she’d made her way towards the Derelict parked by the Tower’s annex, a scheduled stop to attend what had unofficially become a weekly dinner with the Drifter, an inadvertent routine that had settled between them.

The rogue Lightbearer would have all the ingredients out in his kitchen area; Eris would meticulously prep the ingredients, and the Drifter would dexterously transform them into delectable dishes over which the pair would lend a supportive ear to one another. Their growing relationship was ever the odd contradiction, and yet, over time, they had grown familiar and even comfortable within this complementary dance.

That evening, it was over a warm bowl of pineapple fried rice that he had granted her the space she needed, as she unloaded weeks of pent-up worries and doubts. She verbalized her warring thoughts, describing the mental crash she’d felt after reaching the inimitable high of achieving an apotheosis-fuelled level of vengeance, only to be thrown out of the ashes of one conflict, straight into another. She confided her unease with the constant increase in stakes of the escalation in risks as they barrelled towards an inevitability, one she needed not to spell out to the Drifter, who had listened intently before chiming in.

As she relived the tenderness by which he’d crossed the implicit physical barrier between them for the first time, pulling her into a comforting hug, her breath hitched ever so slightly.

“I remember what you said. I think about it more than I should these days.”

“What did I say?”

“That we’ll live in the night if we have to. We do it for what comes after.”

As she replayed this part of his exchange with the Drifter in her mind, which had opened with his considerate and appropriate usage of her own past advice into the current context to assuage her, her brisk walk along Archer’s Line slowed to a trudge.    

“So this is where you wish to be,” she said cautiously. “At the end of all things?”

“Nowhere else.”    

“No more schemes to leave Sol?”

Weeks removed from the moment, Eris could still vividly remember her futile attempts to mask the nervousness beneath her composed facade as she clung to him, the tremors in her voice and her fingers as she heard herself ask a sincere question that she tried - and failed- to disguise as a playful quip, the bated breath she was holding as if everything inside her balanced on the edge of some invisible cliff waiting for his answer.

“Nah,” he said, and looked into her eyes. “I’d miss the moonlight.”

She would have replied if she could have trusted herself to speak. Instead, she’d stood in stunned silence, heat creeping up to her face in response to his quiet confession, just as it was now, quickly counteracting any cooling effect from the cool lunar night air.

When had the Drifter managed to disarm her so efficiently?

She’d found herself, in the two weeks that followed, pondering on this question as she clutched what was more often than not a warm cup of Sencha green tea. Once upon a time, when they both still only circled each other warily, Eris would have dismissed his usual flighty comments with ease.

The familiarity that had since settled between them, symptomatic of their budding bond which had only strengthened since their Stasis training on Europa and during which they’d both served as each other’s support system, had strengthened far beyond simply dispelling the formalities that kept them at a distance.

As much as Eris hated to admit it, and despite her best attempts at resistance, the Drifter had carefully chiseled his way through the guarded exterior she’d carefully built over the years in an overabundance of caution. She’d indulged herself in allowing herself to grow closer to him, under the self-imposed condition that she’d only allow him to see what she wanted him to see.

If the uncharacteristic boldness with which she’d reciprocated the Drifter’s overtures on that evening revealed anything, it was that she was more than willing to let him see a very vulnerable side of her.

On this, she surprised even herself.  

Eris could not pinpoint whether it was her final transformation back to herself, marking the closing of the proverbial chapter or the rare, extended time off alone with the disjointed thoughts tearing through her brain. But the first time since she emerged from the Hellmouth all those years ago, she now envisioned a real possibility of a tangible future for herself, which came with an equally genuine fear of losing it.

And this juxtaposition terrified her, more than any confrontation she may have with the forces of both Xivu Arath and Savathûn, combined.

As such, in the two weeks that followed, she found herself avoiding the Tower altogether, opting instead to stick to her lunar quarters in solitude, only venturing within the vicinity of her abode as needed. Doubt overwhelmed her mind, as thoughts crowded in, a long succession of them jostling each other, only pausing punctually to make way for the pangs of guilt she felt about breaking the streak for what would have marked a full month of weekly dinners with the Drifter; she’d resorted to withdrawing, citing sudden busyness, which constituted, even if technically through omission, a clouded lie.

A dry, humorless chuckle escaped her lips as the realization crossed her mind. Here she was; a woman who was once akin to a god, yet seemingly unable to face the matters of her own heart.

Part of her missed her stint as a Hive god. It was not the heady feeling of pure, unadulterated power, nor the mental patrolling of the fault line between control and madness nor even the inimitable satisfaction and sated vengeance derived from besting not one but two Hive gods in a single movement that she longed for. It was the momentary feeling of mental clarity and fearlessness that overtook her and which contrasted with the state of doubt she currently felt.

What she’d initially planned to be a short, brisk walk to and back from the landing zone that neighboured her quarters to clear her mind had turned into an impromptu self-imposed patrol on the Moon. The familiar outline of the craterous structure that formed out on the horizon brought her out of her reverie as she realized that her mindless walking had led her to the Hellmouth.

By force of habit, Eris took the exact path she’d taken on her very first patrol in the area, one she had committed to memory and had taken on countless occasions since. This instance, however, differed vastly from that initial mission.

Where Hive once hovered around the underground fortress in large groups, their numbers had since dwindled to a fraction of what they once were.

Where there would habitually be Hive acolytes hovering over Eris, adding to the cacophony of the Nightmares that stalked her relentlessly, there was instead a notable retreat within the combatant forces.

Instead of shrinking back into herself, Eris now stood taller, exuding a newfound sense of confidence evident in her posture and confident strides.

Her recent victory against the Osmium dynasty marked a stoppage of a long continuous, it delineated an era shrouded by an ordeal that preceded her emergence from the Hellmouth all those years ago from am. She truly was changed. Perhaps it was time to accept this.

She spotted the familiar rock shelter up ahead, quickening her pace as she entered the secluded area undetected. As she did, she brushed her fingers alongside the right-hand wall, taking the time to feel the ridges she had committed to memory long ago.

To the unknowing eye, it appeared to be a cavern, formed by what must have been aeolian erosion centuries ago. To Eris, it represented much more, having served as her first refuge on the Moon’s surface upon her emergence from the Hellmouth all those years ago.

She settled herself down, sitting on a slightly elevated rocky structure that had once served as a makeshift cot during her initial patrols on the Moon. She subconsciously fished out her Ahamkara bone from the pouch she’d stored it in, losing herself in the mesmerizing glow that emanated from it.

Cold.

Injured.

Lost.

Armed with nothing but the Ahamkara bone in her left hand and Brya’s now Lightless shell in her right, Eris leans her back against the closest wall in an attempt to situate herself. She can physically feel her body running out of the pure adrenaline that has kept her going so far, replacing any hope that had long since evaporated.

There is no way out.

She slinks down to the ground as she begins to accept this. She knows she is close to the end because, for the first time, her mind ventures not to rehash the past but to imagine a far future, of a faraway dream, an inkling of an idea, an unattainable alternate reality. In what she is sure to be her final moments, she dares to wish something greater for herself of a world where she would not only survive this ordeal, but get a chance at a life worth living. This thought spurs her to instinctively give the bone a light squeeze, eliciting an immediate reaction from it.

“Well, well. Eris Morn,” the bone whispers back to her, calling her by name, beckoning her. Eris stares back at it, drawn by its illuminating glow. When she does not respond, it calls out again.

“Eris…?” This time, more hesitantly, as though it is posing a question.

“Eris!” This time, the distorted voice betrays an undertone of urgency and worry.

A gentle squeeze of her shoulder sent a jolt through her body. Her eyes flew open and her chest rose and fell as she attempted to reorient herself. Eris blinked bewilderedly for a few seconds, scanning the area as her brain registered that she was back in the alcove and realizing that she’d dozed off, that the juxtaposition of her rock and the location must have had transported her mind back to those difficult moments in the corridors underneath the Hellmouth.

It was not until the hand released the grip on her shoulder that Eris turned her attention to her unexpected guest, who she now realized was sitting a bit too close for comfort, in typical Drifter fashion. With a slight tilt of his head, an air of amusement quickly replaced the slightest hint of worry that had settled on the rogue Lightbearer’s expression, but not before Eris noticed it.

How long had she been out? How long had he been here? How did he even find her? The questions crowded her clouded mind, jostling each other to reach the head of the line before she settled on one.

“What are you doing here?” Eris asked.

“Well hello to you too, Moondust!” He replied.

“It appears I was lost in… thought,” she said, more to herself than for him to hear, still visibly shaken by the vividness of her memory.

“You sure look out of it, you know, even more than usual!”

“Hmm. And what is that supposed to mean? ”

“Oh, nothing at all!” He stood up in what seemed to be an effort to change the topic, sauntering about the small alcove, brushing his fingers across the wall as he closed the small distance between himself and leaning his back against the opposite wall.

“It’s a nice little nook you’ve got yourself here! A shame I didn’t get to bring a housewarming gift.”

Eris narrowed her eyes at him, trying but failing to come up with a clever retort, a common occurrence as of late.

Both Guardians stared out at the Hellmouth’s entrance in the distance as a stillness settled between them, with nothing but the lunar night breeze serving as background sound. The Drifter shifted his feet, pulling Eris�� attention back to him. His eyes were unfocused, seemingly lost in his own thoughts in a rare and uncharacteristic moment of silence.

Eris retraced the events of the day that led her in this predicament, which had resulted in her sharing, in a moment of mutual contemplation, what had grown to become her little secluded and sacred area with the man she’d been too scared to face for the better part of two weeks.

And yet, oddly enough, in this moment of peace, none of it felt out of place.

She’d taken some distance from it, and god knows she needed it. But in relishing in the comfort that settled within her, a testament to their unspoken connection, Eris also realized how much she’d missed this.

“Tell me, Germaine, how did you find me?” She asked, mustering up the courage to break the comfortable silence.

When he turned to her, it was with an unreadable expression. She wanted to avert her gaze, but found herself incapable of looking away.  

“Three times I went back to that desolate world. Even trekked up within sight of that damn structure, where everything went haywire.”

He didn’t need to elaborate for Eris to understand that he was referring to the incidents surrounding the demise of the crew of humans-turned-guardians he’d traveled with hundreds of years ago, in his early days as a Guardian, a narrative she’d managed to place together through the bits and pieces he’d slowly but surely shared with her as they became more open with each other.

He continued, “Point being, in times of crisis, it’s common to gravitate to something more familiar, however disturbing it may be. You’ve been through a lot lately. I thought to myself, what better place than the Hellmouth for the for the former hive god of vengeance to reflect on her reign?”

His monologue left her speechless. Had she been that easy to read? That train of thought was interrupted when the Drifter came into view, leaning towards her.

“Actually, I tried about seven other locations before getting here. I was just on the point of giving up!” He added.

Eris searched his eyes for a hint of a vestige of the candor he’d just displayed, but the moment appeared to have just escaped her. She nonetheless held onto Drifter’s train of thought, and, as she often did these days when talking with him, felt compelled to elaborate on it.

“I’ve spent so much of my years focusing on survival. I’m just now having to re-learn how to live. Sitting back from this mission with Riven, it’s… forced me to rest and exist in this vacuum of space between wars. I’ve been putting much thought into everything, in this time of low distraction. I’ve contended with darkness for so long that it feels almost familiar, and comfortable. Only now am I getting the chance to wonder what sits on the other side of victory?”  

“Look Moondust, I don’t know what sits on the other side, but I’m sure hopeful. We’ve had such a solid run lately. I’m thinking there’s a universe where we run off most of our threats and that hope turns into reality.”

"And what happens when the threats to this hope are no longer external, when this threat now lives within you?"

“In that case, you neutralize that threat, too. And if you can help it,” he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, “You don’t go at it alone.” And this, so far, was his only allusion to Eris’ recent avoidance of him. Not a reproach, but an invitation.

Even through his thick gloves, the warmth that emanates from his hand sends a comforting warmth through Eris’ body, a sensation that she could only describe as feeling as home.

She was just basking in the moment when he suddenly stood to his feet and picked up two bags she hadn’t noticed were at his feet.

“So, uh, we’re behind one dinner night. Figured we could have it at yours instead of mine.” He said in a cheerful tone that contrasted the serious one he held a few seconds ago, in yet another instance that had Eris wondering if she’d ever get used to his unmatched ability to transition between moods.

“Are you asking or are you inviting yourself?” She asked.

“I’ve seen your attempts at cooking. You and I both know you haven’t had a decent grub in days secluded out here in your quarters. And that you could use both the meal and the leftovers.”

“You are insufferable.” Was the only thing Eris could find to say, as she quickly rose and ducked out of the cave, in an attempt to mask how truly touched she was by Drifter’s gesture.

“I think the words you’re looking for are: Thanks, Drifter!” He called out to Eris, as he took long strides to catch up to her.

“Do not let this get to your head.” She replied, pulling her cloak up to hide the faint smile that was tugging at the corner of her lips.

As soon as they reached Eris’ quarters, the Drifter got to work. He expertly maneuvered around her small space, making an effective cooking station out of her otherwise cramped kitchenette.

As Eris observed the Guardian whose reputation starkly clashed with the man beneath the mask, her thoughts flitted once again, this time to this fire-forged partnership put to the test of a near domestic normalcy.

To what was once such a distant dream echoed while she had her back against the wall, ideas desperately held on to as she resolutely clutched her Ahamkara bone. This time, it was all configured under a different light.

Warm.

Healing.

Seen.

A/N: Massive thanks to @d2artevents for picking up the mantle and hosting #Destinytober24 this year!

[shizukateal]

Grimm Variations - Episode Three Review: Hansel and Gretel

(Buckle up, everyone, this is the call-back episode.)

Hansel and Gretel live a pretty routine, gray life at their orphanage/boarding school, with their fellow classmates and their mama and papa- wait a fucking second, that's Sakura's great-grandfather from Card Captor Sakura!

Jesus Christ, CLAMP, I know designing old men isn't your wheelhouse, but that's no excuse to be lazy! Anyways, their life is pretty boring and restricted, so Gretel usually acts out and Hansel gets swept up until they're both grounded. Finally, one time after too many antics, their "parents" decide to spice up the punishment by leaving them to sleep outside in the forest. They're warned that they can sleep near the fence if they want to, but of course that's too boring for Gretel, so they go on a walk until they find a small wooden cottage, although it does have two ca- Yuuko.

...

I never really finished XxxHolic. I only watched the two seasons of the anime, so I didn't really experience Yuuko's death, I just spoiled myself. Still, it gets me unexpectedly emotional. To see a version of her blessed with the ability to age.

So the Dimensional Witch and the kids get to talking around some cocoa, and Yuuko incites the kids to find out about The End of the World. Her words, not mine. That's silly! reply Hansel and Gretel, the world doesn't have an end, it's spherical! They would know, they've been taught a lot of suspiciously advanced scientific stuff in school. So Yuuko proposes them to do a little empirical research to settle the debate. Next time someone loses a ball during a game they should go pick it up themselves, instead of letting their "parents" get to it first. Hansel does that at the first opportunity he gets and indeed, he finds a forcefield, proving Yuuko correct.

This discovery sparks a fire in Hansel, so he gets himself deliberately sent out to the forest again and Gretel does the same to accompany him. He reaches a bargain with Yuuko: she'll help him discover what's real and in return he will help her grant her own unspoken wish. She tells him to look for unusual things in his school and gifts him a tube filled with what could be candies or gems, saying that they'll help guide the way, but to not eat them or they'll run out of it.

Hansel and Gretel start paying attention to their surroundings and finally the weirdness of their situation starts to stand out to them, like how their classmates keep disappearing out of nowhere and nobody bats an eye, especially when there's photographic evidence about their numbers dwindling in the school group pictu- Syaoran.

And 2/3 of the Clamp School Detectives!

I find it hilarious that Nokoru and Akira are here, but Suoh had to be deleted from existence because his blue hair would've stood out too much. RIP, lmao.

Anyways, Hansel decides to try to see if he can find a way out through the forest and obviously his sister goes along with him. Before they can properly set out, however, one of the candies acts up and opens up a portal. The siblings go through it and they find themselves in a mysterious space station of all things, with data of all of their classmates. Soon enough their "mother" finds them sneaking around and they run away from her, using up the candies to open doors. But when Hansel almost gets squished by a closing door, Mother sacrifices herself to save him, confirming to everyone that she is, in fact, a robot.

Naturally, this leaves Hansel with more questions than answers, so after coming back to the school he and his sister straight to Yuuko, who gives him the Matrix choice of taking a pill to forget everything or learning the truth. Hansel chooses the latter and Yuuko takes them back to the space station, explaining that the earth has long since become inhabitable and that the school is teaching the children how to restore it until they deem them fit to go there. Her previously mentioned "wish" is to send them all safely there. Hansel is apparently fit to travel already, but he starts dithering about the choice, especially because the space shuttle only has one seat, so where is Gretel to fit?

That's when the curtain is lifted: Gretel doesn't exist. She's a mental projection for cowardly, dithering Hansel to act out decisively on his own impulses while mentally excusing himself for following along, but now that he has come this far on his own accord he doesn't need her anymore. Hansel, with Gretel's encouragement, chooses to leave, but he still cries tears of bitter regret at loosing his "sister" to the truth instead of taking Yuuko's offer to forget.

Alas, however, he arrives at earth, where his lost classmates have grown up and welcome him with open arms. Yuuko eulogizes the mom-bot, congratulating her for raising the kids and then welcomes Syaoran to her hut...

Oh boy, ok, this one's a doozy, let's see where to start.

Ok, I'm gonna start with the blatant Revolutionary Girl Utena references and work up from there, because if I don't it's gonna drive me insane. Here's the thing people, it's not a sin to reference RGU; in fact I'd encourage it, but if you're gonna pull iconography from there of all places, then you'd better be really fucking conscientious about The Themes™️ and what you say with them.

So this episode presents us with a school in which time is apparently bubbled, constricted by The End of The World it represents, supervised by two figures emulating the heteronormative family structure, contrasted by a witch who at first seems like an outcast but is actually essentially powering the whole thing (maybe), and where students disappear without anyone properly remembering them because if they dare to figure out what lies behind the curtain of the system, just like Ohtori Academy. So far so good... kind of.

The implication is that the school is deliberately set up as this secret test of character thing so, like Hansel, the students learn to be independent. There's even some clever hints that disobedience and figuring out the mystery gives them the passing mark before we watch our protagonist. But then like... why do the students forget whenever one of them leaves? In Utena that's implied to be the magic of whatever time bubble Ohtori is in keeping everyone ignorant to perpetuate itself without objections, but more important that the explanation itself is the metaphor it's in service of. Ohtori students forget because the system wants to present a narrative about itself without any blemishes, so tragedies get trivialized into gossip, victims swept under the rug. Even if you assume that this schools timeloop or whatever is also passively mindfucking with the children, why is there so much focus on the dadbot and especially the mombot keeping things like the forcefield hidden? What is the purpose of that? What commentary is it making? What does breaking the cycle of apathy and blind obedience mean in this setting?

It might sound like I'm doing a pointless nitpick here, but trust me when I say that the viewing experience is already too confusing because of the tone and its use of the imagery. The school really is portrayed like if Othori met the orphanage from The Promised Neverland met an oscarbait period flick about world war II. Like, you genuinely expect that the twist is that the school is farming the children for their brains or something. It took me until I was writing this review to actually put the pieces together as to what the robo-parents motivations are, because their secrecy and strictness is completely antithetical to them wanting the children to grow independent!!!

The truth of the matter is just too soft for the themes its exploring and the imagery is presenting. Hansel created Gretel because he's afraid of taking responsibility for his actions, the same way a character in Utena projected a Rose Bride to not acknowledge the fact that he killed like a 100 people in a fire on purpose. So one would assume, based on how fucking creepy the school and the parents are, that he has some real good fucking reason to reach that extreme of cognitive dissonance, but no!!!!! Even the parents sending them out to sleep in the forest lands like mere chiding!!!!

But going back to Gretel, the usual initial portion of the episode is about how Charlotte doesn't seem to like her character in the original fairytale. How she thinks Gretel should be punished for getting Hansel into trouble which... istg I have NO idea how this show is trying to engage with its source material at all, because that is NOT a conclusion anyone would reach after reading the fucking fairytale, but whatever. It's fine. Or rather it WOULD be fine if there was a smidge of actual feminist commentary in this script which goes OUT OF ITS WAY TO REFERENCE ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FEMINIST PIECES IN ANIME, but noooooooooooo it's all so bittersweet. On the one hand I'm glad he chose to grow up, and since I don't believe in punitive justice I don't think he needs to be punished to get there, but I'm still upset the character of Gretel gets reduced to this when she was an active heroine in her own story. Guess Charlotte succeeded in her purpose then, although it is curious that she casts herself as the twins.

Like, am I evil for expecting Hansel to straight up die in that oven-shuttle? In her original universe, Yuuko was an agent of karma. If she was scary it wasn't because she was evil, but because she would give you exactly what you want and not shield you from the consequences. It would feel weird to me if she were to endanger children the way she does some of her customers, but it would not have been completely out of place in this "grimm variation" that is about our protagonist literally deluding himself to avoid taking responsibility for his choices to end up with those consequences catching up to him in a terrible fashion.

Guess I shouldn't have expected all that much better. Although I am surprised that they didn't just straight up turn Subaru and Hokuto from Tokyo Babylon into Hansel and Gretel. Alas, to be a CLAMP fan is to suffer, and it seems that these past 20 years have not taught them much about theming. This is why I'm still terrified of reading Clear Card Arc, even though I should.

[pleasereadmeok]

"Stop regretting your life and start living it. "

-Philippe tells Matthew. But grab a tissue coz there’s more - "Whatever happens, between the two of us, in the future. I forgive you." 

Matthew swallows hard coz this is exactly what he needed to hear.  You can tell that his emotions are very close to the surface as he responds quietly - 

"Thank you father."  

Matthew Goode and James Purefoy in 'A Discovery of Witches' season 2 #RealTimeWatch episode 6

📷 ADOW S2:06 my edits

[howdoyousleep3]

ok you inspired me to watch a discovery of witches and i am SCREAMING . THE “what spell have you put on me” LINE IS SO BUCKY CODED LIKE. I NEED IT 💥💳💥💳💥 begging you

OH GOD I KNOOWWWWW 😭 His immediate and unwavering dedication to her and protective instincts for her is just!! 😫 It’s so Bucky! They’re risking death for one another!! 😭 It’s so Stucky to meeeeeee. I JUST started season two tonight, almost done with the first episode, and it’s just so so good. 😫 I’m tickled you decided to watch it too!! 🥹❤️

[justarandomgirly]

Vampire in period clothing...

[starseneyes]

Chenford - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 11

"The Naked and the Dead" AKA "Chenford is SOOOO married"

SPOILER WARNING: I will spoil the entire episode, likely the entire show, and I am addicted to details. Please proceed with caution.

Everybody primed and ready to go? Let's dive in!

"Hey, let me do it."

Timelines are tricky on this show, so I really don't think this was after the "second" date, but later. We saw in the cold open that Nolan and Celina were on a case during the day, so I think Tim and Lucy have been sneaking in dates and we're MAYBE a few days or a week past the end of the last episode.

So, that cute little glance Lucy gives Tim before uttering "let me do it" made me squee. Yes, I squee like a little girl kicking in a too-tall chair. Let me flail. I'm good at it!

Tim steps back and lets his wife girlfriend get to work on the coffee machine.

We know he's into black coffee (and clearly she knows his order after all the years on the job together), and I bet if he has a machine at home, it's either a grind-and-brew to give him whole bean goodness in a more instant form, or it's that "one cup" model I gave my husband to keep at work. Insert coffee. Insert water. Brew.

"So, what'd you guys get up to last night." "Nothing!"

Tim. Oh, Tim. Remember last week when I said you should stop lying? Yeah... maybe time to take my advice because your "nothing" is louder than a lot of "somethings".

To be fair, Nolan did say, "You Guys", which might trigger Tim's Fight-or-Flight response. Fleeing the scene might have appeared less suspicious.

Lucy slips in with her well-practiced UC skills on full display. See, she's had time to prepare, this time, and she's not going to get caught in the early stages of her secret romance.

She rattles off her love of the new Chagall exhibit while Tim suddenly gets lost in the aroma of his coffee so he can't open his big mouth, again. He seriously can't even look at either of them.

Tim finds a spec of dust on the floor to admire, sips his coffee, and hopes nobody notices.

Also, can we talk about Lucy handing Tim his coffee!? I know she could have done it at any other time in their relationship. I mean, she was his Boot and then his Gofer. She's handed him MANY a cup of coffee over the years.

But there is something so bloody domestic about Lucy Chen handing her boyfriend a cup of coffee.

"Nothing? You had all morning to come up with a cover story and that's what you went with?"

First off, I love the tone change from Lucy sending Nolan off to confronting Tim.

Second, I love how Tim immediately has to right the wrong of him being perpendicular to her and set himself directly in front of her, feet pointing towards what he desires. (Any New Girl fans out there?)

"Woah, woah. He bought it, didn't he?" "Uhhh."

I love this teasing. Both Eric Winter and Melissa O'Neil excel at something I adore in actors... the Art of the HUM. It can be "uh" or "hm" or "mm".

I don't care which of the "H" "U" "M" s you use and in what combination, a great actor can use them to add layers to a scene and make it feel completely natural rather than written-in.

Chenford fans are blessed with both actors masterfully pulling it off. Think Matthew Goode in A Discovery of Witches. If there's a King of the HUM, it's him.

But these two are pretty high up there in terms of mastery.

"What if he had asked you a follow-up question about the exhibit?"

There's that competitive spirit coming out with these two. Tim wants to prove that his excuse is more fool-proof than hers.

And, Tim, while you may be the Master of Tests, Lucy is the Master of Cover Stories. Remember Dim and Juicy's meet-cute Lucy created that made you think naughty thoughts you tried to cover up with veiled barely-there compliments? Lucy's gonna school you, former TO.

"Let him. I read the catalogue to the exhibit cover to cover."

First off, how the hell does Melissa O'Neil make that line sound hot? The world may never know.

Secondly... BOOM, Tim Bradford! You've been schooled by the master! Lucy is the queen of preparation. For goodness sake, she read psych journals trying to prepare to break up with her ex-"Work In Progress".

Lucy has a pattern, and it's a good one when your SO becomes your SO and you don't want anyone to know... o.

"Mmhmm"

See? Master of the HUM.

"I hear you have Citizens Academy today." "I do. Do you have any tips?"

She trusts him completely, and I love that he immediately rattles off information to help her. At this point, he knows exactly what she needs to hear, and what will be useful to her.

Also, Tim's disdain for screenwriters is strong. Or someone in the writer's room is really tired of unsolicited screenplays in their inbox.

"So... um, what are you doing tonight." "Nothing... I hope."

Ooooh, Velvet Voiced Tim is back! Eric Winter puts this velvety quality into Tim's voice when he's in boyfriend-mode, and it's so bloody delicious.

I did VO for over 20 years, so I get SUPER excited about these little shifts in performance. Immediately, we know what he means. Yowza.

"Nothing sounds perfect."

Okay, I have to be upfront and honest, here. My original prediction was that they would not have sex for the first time off-screen and that they would not have sex this episode.

But when this scene dropped as a promo (and I love that they did widescreen with wings when it was too awkward for the crop), I second-guessed myself. Did they... do it off-screen!?

No. Now, I firmly believe, no. But this scene had me going for a minute!

Narratively, it makes more sense to drag it out. Yes, I know that in real life some people sleep with one another the moment they meet. But I believe for these characters in this moment... it makes sense to take their time.

But when I first heard they were doing "nothing" and they'd also done "nothing" the night before with only the morning to make up a cover story... I questioned my choices hard.

And now my mind's in the gutter.

Okay, readjusting. Let's get back to Tim's beautiful smirk as he watches his woman depart. "I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave", anyone? Our kitten is smitten.

Lucy On A Mission

Lucy works at the computer, lost in thought and using that big brain and compassionate heart of hers.

Aaron slides up, completely unaware of what's on her computer. He's ready to spill the tea, and the tea is standing right beside him.

"You'll never guess who's coaching Little League." "Nolan?" "No. Sergeant Friendly."

I love the glare Tim gives Aaron. Because it's his damn fault. But I also love Aaron poking fun at Tim. Their dynamic's been a lot of fun to watch this season.

"Whu- How did that happen? Can I watch?"

Ma'am. This is a PRECINCT. Please pick your panties up off the floor and resume normal operating function.

I mean, wow, Lucy! There was some heat in that question and Aaron is right there!

Lucy Materializes Out of Thin Air

I had to watch it twice to pinpoint where the hell she came from at the ball park. So, my initial surprise was akin to Tim's.

"Hey." Hi."

How. Is. This. HOT!? They're just saying "hi" and it's so charged with electricity the baseball field lights are about to turn themselves on. There is absolutely zero chill with these two since they started dating, let's be real.

"Um... who are you?" "What?" "I... the... a lot of heart? They're kind of a mess." "They're kids. It's supposed to be fun." "Yeah..."

I hear that edge in his voice on that line.

It's the same edge that gets into his voice anytime he discusses anything remotely connected to his father or childhood. So many of his choices are informed by the scars he still bears—physical and emotional.

Tim walks away, a little frustrated, because he can see Lucy doesn't get it. To be fair, he isn't explaining it. He's not communicating with her at all here.

But, also to be fair, he's never sought counseling or therapy for what he survived. There's a lot bottled up and it can be hard to pour it out in digestible bits if you've never learned how.

Genny fills in the gaps. That's all Lucy needs to process where Tim is and what he's going through.

I grew up with a lot of yelling, name-calling, and verbal and emotional abuse. Manipulation. Control.

One of my greatest joys is breaking those cycles with my own children—giving them a better childhood.

Tim watched the anger and the volatile nature of the last coaching situation here. He remembers his own father. He wants different for these kids, even if they aren't his own.

"He's trying not to be like him." "Yeah."

Lucy deflates a little, here. It was only silly puffery meant to tease, but now she gets it. Now she sees where this comes from, and she feels a little guilty. Of course, she didn't know, but now she does.

*Tim thumbs ups a kid dropping a ball* "Well, I mean, there is such a thing as over-correcting."

Here's where Lucy knowing Tim so well comes in. She doesn't try to talk to him about it. She doesn't try to tell him what to do.

Instead, she gets in there to help course-correct so Tim can keep being supportive, and she'll provide the structure so he doesn't have to have the anxiety of in any way resembling his father.

This is such a demonstration of love, to me. She knows he's not ready to deal with all of this. There will be a day—perhaps when his father dies—that he'll start to process through everything that happened. But, in the meantime, she'll help him through.

This is where Tim and Lucy live, now. It's a "we". It's an "us". It's something neither of them has ever had to this degree, before, even though Tim was married once-upon-a-time.

Lucy and Tim are a team, now, and this episode highlights why—they complement each other. They balance each other. They sharpen each other.

And in this way, Tim's very fortunate to be falling in love with someone with a pysch degree who can understand what's needed. She's the ideal partner to help with this because she knows him enough, now, not to push. But she also knows enough to provide a safe space for when he is ready to discuss.

"What are you doing?"

You never know what your girl is gonna do, do you, Tim?

To note, the last time he asked her this was when he was in the hospital recovering from spinal surgery. She was supporting him, then, too. She has a knack for it. (and I think the time before that was when he caught her putting boots in his locker... she also has a knack for pranks, of course)

"My name is Lucy. I am Coach Bradford's... friend."

Look. At. Tim's. FACE. Look at that bemused smile when she asserts she is his "friend". There was a time when he wouldn't even have accepted that moniker.

It wasn't until they were discussing her love life in the shop during the last 30 days of her training that she said, "we're friends" and instead of refuting it, he simply made a face.

And I love that she remains his friend even as they're transitioning into everything else. I often tell my children that my husband is my best friend—and I mean it. Nobody supports me like Matthew, lifts me up like Matthew, understands my trauma like Matthew, and makes me laugh like Matthew.

I love every layer of that man. And he loves every layer of me. And friendship goes a long way to getting to that point, I think.

Lucy rattles off instructions for how to throw a ball while Tim side-eye-fucks her and thinks of other things she can do with her hands as she's acting out the motions.

Come on, I'm not wrong here, people! Look at his face and tell me there aren't a few things happening in his mind that are not baseball-related but might involve running some bases.

Lucy disperses the kids, and Tim fires off a "You heard her" which is the Chenford Coaching Team equivalent of "Listen to your mother!"

He looks her up and down and smiles deliciously at Lucy, activating her praise kink in a delightful motion of her head.

Yes, Lucy Chen absolutely has a praise kink. And there's nothing wrong with that! But I love how Melissa O'Neil has been consistent with that little head swish Lucy does.

We've seen her do it throughout the years ("Maybe one day she'll be as good as you" comes to mind), and it never stopped. It only morphed.

Look at it at Lopez's wedding when he compliments her (in his way) and then asks her for a dance. Praise Kink Activated.

She does it at the end of 5x08 as we wait to fade to black, and there's a softer version of it when she's basking in Tim's adoration at the end of their first scene of 5x09 in the Watch Commander's office. Girl's got it bad for Tim Bradford.

He offers her the ball... but no he didn't. And I'm giggling like Lucy last episode because he's such a teenager around her, sometimes.

I've heard the expression all my life, "Love makes you young". I often think of Patrick Stewart wearing the Elf Song Hat while his wife recorded him (Google it... you'll die laughing).

With Tim, I feel like it resets him to before all the hurt and heartache in his love-life with Isabelle. He can be... free. Flirty. Fun.

But, seriously, Tim's the one who is going to get them found out for sure. Because, you know who had a front row seat to that eye-fuckery? Genny, that's who.

Y'ain't fooling anyone, Timothy.

"I think you two should co-coach. You were great together." "Oh, no, no. I'm ready to hand over the reins, entirely." "Not a chance."

I've thought about the layers in this little interaction quite a bit. Genny sees something here—whether it's the romance, the layered friendship, or the true partnership they've developed over the years.

But I feel like Tim's dealing with some self-doubt, here, and Lucy catches onto that.

I have a husband who deals with self-doubt. He's an incredible human, but I can tell when he's leaning into that and when I need to pull him back out and remind him how awesome he is.

I get that feeling here with Tim and Lucy. Maybe I'm projecting. But, I feel like he's saying, "She's better than me" and she's saying "No way, no how". Because he's not bad at this. Yes, he over-corrected a bit, but kids do need the support he offered. And Lucy brought the structure. They're better together.

I mean, just look at the way they're cleaning up together. Lucy's handing the bats to Tim and Tim's putting them away. They're doing it instinctively because helping one another and working together is completely natural, by now.

It's not something they have to discuss or consider—it's instinctual.

I've seen this in nature, before. A client of mine (yes, same client from last Meta) flew me out to Los Angeles a few times for work. I stayed with him and his wife, and I got to watch them work in the kitchen together.

After decades and decades of it being the two of them together, with no kids or anyone else in the way... it was like watching a dance.

That's Tim and Lucy. They move together rhythmically and naturally. May it be so in all aspects of their life—but I'm skipping to another episode that hasn't aired, yet, now!

"No, but seriously! I saw today why you work so well together."

And, Tim, poor, sweet Tim, opens his mouth. Tim can't get words out, and one look from his wife, and he knows to shut that mouth.

"We spend so much time together on, out on the job. It's so great that Tyler has been making friends so quickly after moving here."

Anyone else thinking Lucy's UC school was solely so she could cover up for her and her not-so-secretive secret boyfriend? Because, hello, it keeps coming in handy!

This is classic redirection. I use it with my children all the time. Just this morning my 5-year-old daughter was having an unusually hard time saying goodbye to go to school. Usually, she walks in without a glance back. Today, it was CLING city.

So, I went through the room until we finally finally found something to get her mind off of me so I could slip away.

Lucy's doing the same thing. She's pointing at something else in Genny's life to let that thought of "Tim and Lucy" slip away. It gives Genny something more personal to her to focus on, and shifts the conversation gently.

"We'll make sure he gets the best seat in the house."

Just thirty seconds ago, Tim was trying to get out of co-coaching, and they were both deflecting why they're great together, but now we're back to "we". Heck, we never left "we" for Tim and Lucy. They're a unit, now.

"What's wrong?" "There's something going on with my Domestic." "You want me to come? "No, it's okay. I got it."

Oh, how far we've come. In the past, if Tim said, "What's wrong?" to Lucy, it was surprising that he was taking interest. But, this is his girlfriend, and he knows her well. He looks to her phone for a clue as she approaches.

Then, he offers his help. This isn't TO Tim who wants to make sure his Boot doesn't mess things up. This isn't Sergeant Tim who is going to be backup for Officer Chen. This is Boyfriend Tim willing to be there for his woman, but asking what she wants because he knows she's more than capable of handling herself.

That's what hits me the hardest about this—he knows she's got it, but he's there if she wants him.

And I think that's why her "No" and the head-tilt comes off as intimately as it does... Lucy knows what Tim's offering and why. It's love he's demonstrating and she's sending a "message received" with that look.

And Tim's little "okay" downturn of his lip at the end of the clip even shows how he's not worried a bit. But he was going to offer. And I bloody love that.

Tim and Lucy and Wesley

I love this scene. It's so small and seemingly insignificant plot-wise, but it's the heart of the story, here. Okay, I'm tearing up a little.

PAUSE: TW Abuse CW Abuse

I don't want to give details, but I have people in my life who have been where these women are in the story. So, to me, I don't see the characters. I see my cousin. I see my friend. I see the girl when I was in college who was murdered by her boyfriend in the dorm.

In the case of the plot, this scene isn't necessary. But in terms of the context, it adds so bloody much. It's the message. It's the truth of what happens all too often. Gabby Petito is a recent case that made national headlines, but this happens all over, every day.

And what can we do? What options are there? How can we help? There is some heavy stuff in this episode. But, it's important for us to listen and learn.

END TW Abuse CW Abuse

I love that Tim has Lucy's back, here. She could have done this alone, but I bet she asked him along for his experience and for the weight of his strips in the discussion.

And I ADORE Shawn Ashmore (the sharp-eyed twin, as I've always thought of him), and there's something so irreverent about him sitting in that suit atop the desk that made me giggle a little the first time I saw it.

"Him and Bailey are just way too nice to be landlords." "Totally." *aggressive head-nodding Tim*

And like the Fool who took the stage immediately after the gruesome murder in the Royal Shakespeare Production of MacBeth (the Scottish play for my theatre siblings), there's the levity we need to help transition to what's next.

It's the rhythm of the scene and script where somehow this writer's room is tasked with heartache and hilarity in the same space. It takes skill to do well, and this scene does it well.

"Okay, hold on, you are a complete badass out on the streets-" *Tim question's wife's opinion aggressively* "Off hours, you're a little...." "Easy target."

Nolan's indignation combined with Celina's face make that moment. But it's all the rhythm of Tim and Lucy that gets us there. Tim and Lucy are still Tim and Lucy.

Lucy wants to try to find the compassionate angle, and Tim's going to tell it like it is.

Chenford Coach a Game

Tim and Lucy have me smiling ear-to-ear for so many reasons in this scene. Look at how sweet he is with the kids, making sure they have a good experience. Look how competitive she is. Miss "I like trophies" is coming out, and it's amazing.

"God, every time!" "Be encouraging." "Good. Good job. Good try." "We're gonna work on that."

Married. So married. Beyond married. This whole interaction is gold. And the matching hats and shirts!? Normally, I wouldn't think Prison Orange would be a good look on a cop, but these two pull it off!

Tim is coaching Lucy as much as he's coaching the kids. I see a little "teacher Tim" in that "Be encouraging", though far gentler than TO Tim. And his face right before he tells her, "We're gonna work on that" has me rolling. That little down-turned mouth cracks me up.

We're getting a sneak peek into their future with this one. And, as usual, Tim and Lucy are balancing one another out.

That's one of the things I really love about them. They're not the same person, like Lucy says his ex was. They're very different people who are on a parallel path and are willing to put in the work to make this work because they're worth it.

"I'm excited." "I know."

AHHHHHHH. I know it's a TINY, tiny thing, but the way that he so effortlessly leans into her, the way he cocks his head as he says, "I know." It's so married.

And I have to call out the camera work, here, and the directing. If we're paying attention, we see Nyla and Angela showing up as Blake goes to bat. From the other angle you might note Blake's father shooting to his feet as Blake's bat connects with the ball.

The director is allowing us to discover the story-line without dumping us in at that shot of Nyla and Angela surrounding Blake's father. And I bloody love it.

James Patterson (pre-ghost writers) took the same approach with his mystery books. If you were really paying attention, you always had the opportunity to discover the answer along with the detective. That was something the ghost writers just always missed.

It's fun to have the chance to be detectives yourself—and this director allowed us that chance.

And, I just looked it up. Robert Bella, again! That explains the composition of Tim and Lucy with the fence during the night scene at the ball-field—having Eric Winter take the two steps up so he'd be framed behind the fence instead of in the gap as Melissa O'Neil steps away for Lucy's call.

Anyway.... back to Blake's Criminal Dad...

I had hoped this was the way the story-line would go (with Blake's father being arrested at the end of the game), but I didn't call Nyla and Angela being involved.

So, that gives two more people front row seats to "Why the Hell are Tim and Lucy Coaching Together if They're Just Friends And Holy Crap Were They About to Kiss on the Sidelines?"

Also love the Genny is up there, and that she's positioned behind Blake's father. I don't know if she did it on purpose to help make him easier to find for Nyla and Angela, but that's my head-canon.

And LOOK at Tim and Lucy cheer Blake on! Married. So married.

Plus, that hi-five. I know we're all talking about what Tim has in his hand. Is it cash? We've seen him bet on things before (including that his Rookie would smoke everyone at firearm re-certification), but did Tim and Lucy bet on the game?

She definitely grabs on after the high five, and we see his fingers wiggling. Is he trying to get out of giving her the money? We might need Eric Winter and Melissa O'Neil to chime in on this one...

I have to say, I am loving domestic Chenford, and watching them find new layers to their relationship. I know a lot of people want snogging every week, but I am a huge fan of dolling it out in smaller dollops, much as the romantic aspects of this relationship have been leading up to "Do you want to go on a date?".

Yes, in real life, some people sleep together the moment they meet. Then, you have me and Matthew, who waited four years and until we were married. Lucy and Tim are somewhere between that, and I think they're doing what's right for these characters in this moment.

And I have to separate Chenford back into Tim and Lucy, for a moment, to acknowledge what might not be seen as "Chenford" to most, but totally is to me... Tim and Lucy had separate story-lines this episode.

Yes, Lucy came together on the baseball story-line. Yes, they converged at parts on the Domestic story-line. But, we got to also see them handle themselves without the other as backup. And I think that's so important for us to see as an audience—Tim and Lucy are still Tim and Lucy. They don't have to be together every second.

Tim was highly organized and communicative as a Sergeant in the shoot-out. We got to see his military-level calm and control on display.

For Lucy, we got to see her compassion, bad-assery, and conflict de-escalation without anyone having to back her up. She's a confident and competent cop.

Together, we love them. But I'm someone who also lovesTim and Lucy as Tim and Lucy—separate from Chenford.

I think it's important for the show to remind us who they are on their own so that we can appreciate them both, and not let "Chenford" become the only story-line for either. Both characters are rich and complex, and deserve the opportunity to shine separate from one another, not only when they share a scene.

PAUSE: CW Abuse TW Abuse

This story-line really broke my heart because I know those women. I've been the one in Lucy's position trying to help before one was nearly strangled to death by her husband. And she stayed... it was rough.

If you are in an unsafe situation, please reach out and get help. Here is the number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233

I like to keep these Metas light and frothy, but I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge this plot line that isn't a story for two many people in this country and in this world.

Yes, we watch television often for entertainment, but there can be some truth in the messages we receive.

END CW Abuse TW Abuse

As always, thank you for reading and joining me on this ride. I can't wait to see what's next for Tim, Lucy, and Chenford.st

[vintage1981]

New Whoniverse Spin-Off 'The War Between The Land And The Sea' announced at San Diego Comic-Con

Friday 26th July, the BBC and Disney Branded Television jointly announce their first brand new Doctor Who spin-off titled The War Between The Land And The Sea, during San Diego Comic-Con.  

Leading the five-part series is Russell Tovey (Feud, American Horror Story: NYC) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Surface, Loki). The series will also see the return of UNIT alumni Jemma Redgrave (Doctor Who, Grantchester) who will reprise her role as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Alexander Devrient (Doctor Who, Ted Lasso) as Colonel Ibrahim.

When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT steps into action as the land and sea wage war. Created by Doctor Who showrunner and executive producer Russell T Davies, who wrote the spinoff with Pete McTighe (A Discovery of Witches, The Pact, Doctor Who), the series features the triumphant return of the Sea Devils, classic Doctor Who villains first seen in 1972.

Davies said: I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.

Filming begins next month and will be directed by Dylan Holmes-Williams, director of two Doctor Who season one episodes: 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble. The series will air exclusively on Disney+ where available and BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the U.K.

The War Between The Land And The Sea is produced by Bad Wolf, with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television and BBC. In addition to Davies, executive producers include Phil Collinson, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter.

[thescentofrainonstone]

On Loki, Joss Whedon, Spike, and The Princess and the Frog (really, there's a connection)

Season 2 of Loki is out in 16 days and the video essay on the romanticisation of abuse I've been working on for two years and planned to time with its release doesn't even have a full script.

But also evolved to understand that all heroines that are supposed to be self-inserts, from indeed Loki fanfic to actually published ones (from twilight to a discovery of witches) tend to be thought up by white people, because non white people know that you can't have something "innate" you're appreciated about, because all we have innately the system uses against us so we have to *work* at having good things to offer to the world.

And that's why of all princesses, Tiana from the princess and the frog is the only one talking about work. It's not a metaphor, it's that we know.

And I just wish I had the energy to make a beautiful enlightening 80 minutes essay to ride the coattails of the Loki character that just happened to become the panties twister he did because of the great abuser that is Joss Whedon (you mewling quim) because that's what he's always done: create characters he hopes people hate (Spike) given to accidentally good actors that fuck his expectations over... and then you have stuff like the Hall H speech of 2013 and they make their own life...

So yeah, would be interesting wouldn't it?

[leoascendente]

Pluto through zodiac signs in history ☄️

Hi my loves!💕 Today I bring something a litte bit different than usual, myfrustrated career was historian like my mum but end up being the witch of the family, so let's combine and explore today two of my favorite things: astrology and history. Pluto is now entering the sign of Aquarius after more than 200 years and we can see it's effects starting in society. Pluto takes between 12 to 32 years to transit a sign so it creates a generational and collective energy to deal with.

Pluto is the planet of transformation and renewal, it brings destruction to the old and useless and he does it in an explossive and dramatic way, so if you take a look through history with the "astrologer glasses" you can see how pluto works in every sign and his impact in every generation.

If you want to know more about Pluto archetype I'll leave a link to my post about it here

Pluto in Pisces- From 1798 to 1823

The old empires were falling down opening the road for the Napoleonic empire, a complete opposite form of goverment than what there was before. People were open to accept other people outside of prejudices, well... it was still 19th century, at least they weren't cutting heads anymore so let's give them a chance 🤷‍♀️. Socialism was implanted in Europe through these decades and started the Romantic artistc movement too, there were also huge progress in medicine and the study of nature. Edgar Allan Poe was born with this placement.

Pluto in Aries - From 1821 to 1852

Well... If you know a little about astrology you might expect this. This Pluto transit is the generation of pioneers and revolucionaries, through these years is easy to see a lot of independence movements, mostly in America like the independence of Mexico from Spain the 24th of february of 1824. In this season, regions under the control of unfair leaders started fighting for their rights and their recognition, they were looking for freedom from their opressive politics, on Europe started the spring of nations giving way to a series of riots and revolutions . There was a massive industrial developmentn and as a random fact there were also brutal vocanic explossions.

Pluto in Taurus - From 1853 to 1884

This was a time for a process of unify and stabilize, the people from this transit started to explode the resources that the earth had to provide us, the famous "gold fever" was very strong through these decades. The new politic movements that started with Pluto in Aries begins to solidify and get a more stable structure, there was an amazing economical growth and many agrarial and industrial reforms. There were also a lot of earthquakes that left terrible consequences like the one that happened in Japan on November 11th. These times also promoted materialism and the personal enjoyment, self benefit over the common good.

Pluto in Gemini - From 1882 to 1914

This was a generation for the intellect, new ways of communication and travel began to see the light. In terms of knowledge people wanted to look deeper in the meaning of things, the was a lot of new discoveries and progress about science and psychology. We also had the beginings of the sufragist movement looking for the right of women for education. There was a rise on realism artistic movement over the previous romantisism. In 1888 we had the unfamous Jack the ripper on England and his creepy cards to the police, I see this like the worst face of Pluto in Gemini, that terrible man rejoicing himself in his destructive behaviors (Plutonian) through cards making fun of the police (I always associate writting to Gemini or air signs in general). In general, through this Pluto's transit peopple gave more importance to intellect and rational fact over emotions.

Pluto in Cancer - From 1914 to 1939

The right of women to vote in Luxemburg or the vote for the universal sufragge in Belgium in 1919 are good examples for me of this placement. Cncer is Divine Femenine energy and through these decades the role of women in society is forced to be recognized, not just by the feminist movement but because they are needed for working after the loss of many men that were in World War I. There were also a lot of pacific movements like Ghandi and his hunger strike in India ( I don't like this man but at least he did something important avoiding armed conflicts). This was a time where family roots and homeland had a lot of importance in society and this gives also importance to nationalist political movements. Have in mind that people from this transit had very difficult circumstances, WW1 started on 1914 and WW2 started on 1939, many dictatorships started to form through these years.

Pluto in Leo - From 1937 to 1958

Obviously this Pluto's transit brought up a lot of megalomaniac dictators, charismatic leaders that looked like the answer to the problems of the population and ended up being extremly dangerous, starving for power and dominance over the weak and minorities. I'm not going to talk about the man we all know from WW2, I'm going to talk about the Spanish one that was terrible too. In Spain was imposed franco regime, this man orchestrated a coup d`état (<-sorry that was what google translator told me) that led to a civil war where he told to kill a lot of people that were againts him through that war and when he was ruling the country (search about Federico Garcia Lorca, he was an incredible writer with an awesome future, he was killed by Franco´s order). He was the dictator of Spain for a lot of years, he heelped Mossolini and Hitler on some ocasions, as a random fact, some says that when Hitler met Franco he said he would do anything to never spend again a minute with Franco. To end up this transit right lets say that we also had a lot of iconic stars like Marilyn or Elvis, they are literal icons even today.

Pluto in Virgo - From 1956 to 1972

Like Virgo always does, Pluto in this sign tried to clean out the disasters of it's previous transit and put a little order to the chaos. On this transit appeared a lot of reforms and remodeling to clear up the situation and see what really works for population, after years of fear and chaos people were yearning for some social order and peace. The bad part about this... segregation and the start of cold war. Goverments tried to recollect information to use it againts other goverments, the race for the space and all the mechanichal improvements, but also there was a change in the population`s habits giving more importance to health and diet, recognizing that tools and resources that everybody used had toxic or harmful components, for many people with this placement bad aspected I've seen they have a weird but effective way of taking care of their body. Also there was a rise for careers related to health or mechanics through these years.

Pluto in Libra - From 1971 to 1984

This was a time for recognizing human rights and fight againts unjustice, society was involved in too many conflicts and this generation tried to redirect the focus to peace and diplomacy. New agreements related to marriage and divorce, in some countries divorce was illegal, so this also helped to break some toxic traits related to the expectations about marriage, in general there were new ways to understand realtionships. There was also a revalorization of art and recognition to some artist that were left aside. People started to unify as a collective to fight against the unfair and began to give more importance to equal rights, also to the beauty of nature like in Sempember of 1978, that year Quito, the capital of Ecuador became the first place to be into the World heritage.

Pluto in Scorpio - From 1983 to 1995

Our millennial generation! We have a lot to thank to this generation tbh. This Pluto transit appeared to break with many society taboos, making people emphathize with the ones who didn't had a voice before. In this transit people started to loose fear about death and sex, mostly for women who had been repressed the years before. Of course, there were sexual transmitions diseases but in this time people started to give it the proper importance to these kind of issues. Pluto is related to nuclear energy and in 1986 the world had to see Chernobyl and it's disastrous consequences, but remember too that many countries on those decades were making nuclear tests that also left terrible ressults for humanity. (if you like to there's a documentary on Netflix called 'dark tourist', in one of the episodes they go to a lake made out of an atomic explosion). As a random fact, through this transit appeared a lot of serial killers with sexual overtones.

Pluto in Sagittarius - From 1995 to 2008

How are you my fellows Sag Plutos? This transit came with massive existencial crisis where people stopped believing what others said it was good or bad, even more if that good or bad was written thousands of years ago. This generation learned to live life by their own philosophy instead of following religious beliefs, experience as a way of understanding. People from this generation are more open and prone to look for answers in different places because of the dissapointment with the previous beliefs systems. Through these years we can also see a decline in the main religions, people are not willing anymore to accept other's imposed truths without looking for the logic, but we have to say that it also brought religious radicalism. People from this generation are more open to new ways of experience spirituality and give human existence a meaning, this generation is open to things like meditation, astrology, chakras... The worst aspect of this transit would be that everyone wants to be heard but just a little are willing to listen.

Pluto in Capricorn - From 2008 to 2023

Well, this transit started hard with the global economical crisis of 2008, scandals about corruption in politics and banks, our sight of authority figures is not the same as before because all these scandals and the ones in the past, basicaly we don't fully trust our authority figures. People through this transit got a little obsessed about power, money and their social position but it also brought a lot of new jobs and ways of earning money and fame never seen before. Have you noticed how extremes has politics become lately? Also, public cancellations could have something to do with this transit? Like cancelling, somehow destroying (pluto) someone publicly ( Cap also rules our public image) Idk, let me know what you think about this because Capricorn is complex 🤔. Something curious about this placement is that people are trying to be their own bosses and work for themselves instead of working for others.

Pluto in Aquarius - From 1778 to 1798 (2023 to 2044 aprox)

Pluto is now on Aquarius, the last time it was there we had the French revolution, this year we have riots in France again. French revolution started because of unjustice and inequality, while the royalty were surrounded by luxury normal people were struggling to supply their basic needs, maybe a little like now?. Pluto also entered Aquarius in 2020 and we had a global crisis too. The good thing about this transit was that the century of the lights started with it, Pluto in Aquarius helped to develop critical sense and thinking, the circumstances made them focus on their unfair reality and how they could improve it for the common good. On 1791 Olympe de Gouges published the declaration of the rights of women as a response to the declaration of the right of men on 1789, defying the male supremacy of that time (she was a Taurus sun btw). We know what happened then, we'll see what it has for us now.

Please, feel free to add any other historic event and their pluto's transit, I would love to know what you think.

Let me know if you would like to know more about long transit planets and its impact in society through history.

Thank you

~ Lala 💖

Do not copy or repost

© Leo ascendente

[ineffable-endearments]

Early Season 1 events involved Crowley and Aziraphale having a sudden burden dropped on them in the form of the Antichrist and they worked together in an effort to manipulate the Antichrist into choosing not to destroy Earth. Upon realizing they messed up, Aziraphale lied to Heaven and took a long drive together with Crowley to figure out where the Antichrist really was, during which Crowley hit Anathema, a human, in his car. This led to Aziraphale stumbling on the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Aziraphale chose to figure out the Antichrist's location alone. Then, he couldn't decide who to turn to for help: Crowley or Heaven? That lead to the bandstand, where they argued and broke up over whether to stay on Earth (with Aziraphale hinting that he wants to appeal to Heaven to save Earth) or flee together.

Season 2 events involved Crowley and Aziraphale having a sudden burden dropped on them in the form of Gabriel/Jim and they work together in an effort to hide him. Upon realizing they messed up, Aziraphale lied to Heaven and took a long drive alone to try to figure out what was going on with Gabriel. During Aziraphale's drive, Crowley supervised Gabriel and tried to get Nina and Maggie, two humans, together to support Aziraphale's lie. This didn't work, which led to to Aziraphale setting up the cotillion ball. Aziraphale and Crowley were both, separately, unable to figure out exactly what was going on with Gabriel. All night at the cotillion ball, Crowley and Aziraphale intended to cooperate, but often worked at cross purposes because they weren't on the same page. Afterwards, the Metatron told Aziraphale he wanted him to be the new Supreme Archangel, after which Crowley and Aziraphale broke up over whether they should accept the position in Heaven or go off together on Earth.

Season 2 parallels the first half of Season 1, culminating in almost the exact same argument Crowley and Aziraphale had at the bandstand. There are very marked differences and some of the events are more complicated, but the same themes repeat. The differences come from the changes in Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship to each other and to Earth.

All in all, I'm going to keep an eye on Season 3 and see if it parallels events in Season 1, episodes 4, 5, and 6. It seems like possibly Seasons 2 and 3 may be a revisiting of themes from Season 1, giving our immortal beings a chance to make the same discoveries and gain the same sense of free will that Adam Young did.