#and benedict is helping her improve her painting

[apinchofm]

just something random I'd like to share because I'm writing for Sharma week: I really dislike or am baffled at how some fans really think Edwina has nothing in common with Bridgertons and would have never got along with them. Like first of all it was proven in the show that Edwina can get along with literally anyone: Penelope, the king and queen, Lady Danbury, Daphne, even Anthony is impressed by her...she finds something in an individual that they need, whether it is comfort or validation or an expectation, and meets that requirement if she can. She is good at comforting others and assuring that they need not feel embarrassed or ashamed of who they are, and she likes telling stories. Second of all, what exactly are they basing this opinion on other than the pall-mall game? So she doesn't like pall-mall, so that's it then? Daphne and Edwina share so much in common by being diamonds who were required to be the perfect wife, thrust into something they were not as prepared as they thought they were, that it is a shame they did not interact more. Eloise loves talking to anyone who is willing to listen, which Edwina is, so they could easily chat about their love of books all day, and Edwina could give her some pointers on things she hadn't considered. Fran and her could play the pianoforte and be perfectly happy just sitting quietly together, Colin the gentleman who loves playing the saviour I could see would be very protective of her, considering his concern for Edwina's "delicate constitution" at the wedding. And seeing as Edwina canonically adores children, why would she not get along with Greg and Hyacinth? I just think people who say that are just kind of projecting certain other opinions :/ Just because Edwina wasn't suited as Anthony's wife that doesn't mean she isn't capable of being friends with the Bridgertons lol

Edwina getting along with her in-laws is my favourite thing because she is shown to be someone who just wishes to know people and get along with them. Even with Anthony, she tried her best. The lack of chemistry was more on his part, given he was more into Kate who was more like him.

I think a lot of people don't understand how interest and friendships work - you don't have to be exactly like people you get on with.

[marymary-diva17]

The duchess (2)

The society among the ton had changed after meeting with the Queen, and her picking her diamonds of the seasons as well. Overnight one young lady life had changed, after the truth had come to light about her. Now her life among the ton was never going to be the same, is might be something good for the young lady in the end.

Y/n “ …….” Today has become a start in your new life as a young duchess, and lady of your know home and land. As you are riding in a carriage with Benedict and Eloise you came to see your new home. Along with Benedict to make sure no unwanted suitors came calling, and to help you handle any work that was needed along with approved workers by the Queen and lady Danbury.

Eloise “ sister today marks the day you become a duchess"

y/n " yes a being a duchess comes with many responsibilities"

Benedict " sister you will fit well with the duty as duchess, and you will have many hands there to help as well even myself intend"

y/n " thank you brother"

Elosie " oh yes Benedict it comes along to make sure no one has, come calling upon you without a proper male relative or guardian near by"

y/n " well I do love our brother love and support"

Benedict " don't worry about any of the rest of the family at the moment sister, if they have a problem then they will need to take it up with the Queen herself and lady Danbury"

Eloise " two powers they shall not make mad" the carriage went on for a bit longer, until it soon stopped. The carriage door soon open Benedict had soon got out, and he had helped you and elosie out of carriage.

Head Butler " welcome duchess y/n I'm the head of your staff along side, the head maid as well"

Head house keeper " Good morning duchess the whole staff it happy, to have you here we have been keep up with the estate"

y/n " thank you all the estate look beautiful"

head house keeper " thank you"

Y/n " these are my siblings Benedict and Eloise"

Benedict " I have come here to make sure my sister settle in well, and look over anything under her majesty orders"

Elosie " I have come here to be with my sister and to have some time away from home"

Head butler " we shall make sure you two have a good time here as our lady family and guest" The head house keeper had shown you and your siblings around the estate, along with showing you where you room will be along with the guest rooms as well.

Eloise " sister this home is grand even more then our country side home"

y/n " yes I think I will love it here and you and our siblings are free, to stay here during the off seasons"

Eloise " then I shall come verse be in the same home with Anthony and Colin ... may I invite Penelope as well"

y/n " yes she can come as well"

Benedict " well sister your finances are good and there no need to worry, as your grandmother has the best financial advisor for you"

y/n " thank you brother" you were walking with Eloise and Benedict when you stopped walking, as two painting had caught you attention.

head house keeper " duchess these are the portraits of your parents, we had been keep good care of them for the day of your return"

Eloise " sister it true you are just like your mother"

y/n " thank you Eloise"

Benedict " well sister this is all yours and no husband or man will be able to take it away from you"

y/n " thank you brother I love have a house and land that belongs to me"

Eloise " so sister as a duchess what shall you be doing"

y/n " doing my best to help improve society a bit more and as my grandmother granddaughter I might be able to do that"

head butler " excuse me my lady there has been some gifts that have arrived for you"

y/n " gifts"

Benedict " it seems like families of the ton wish to pay their respect to their new duchess and Diamond of the season"

Eloise " this is going to be stupid"

y/n " well we shell see these gifts" the tiro had been lead to the entree and saw some flowers, in baskets and vases gaining everyone attention.

y/n " do we have a green house or a room where some of these may stay"

head maid " yes my lady we can make sure they brighten up the rooms"

y/n " thank you"

Benedict " most of these have come from families that have sons, who are heirs to their families or young lords .... it seems like they re trying to win your heart my sister"

y/n " it will take more the flowers and sweet cards to win me over"

Eloise " along with these families being the ones who were speaking poorly about you"

y/n " that as well I rather marry someone else then someone who think, they can use me for their own gain"

Benedict " I don't think the queen and lady danbury will be approving of any of these suitors ... you can do better with a duke or a prince from another country" the house staff had started putting away all the flowers, as you sat down with your siblings in your home drawing room.

y/n " thank you brother"

Eloise " a prince will be good for you sister" you laugh at your sister words, as today you start your new life as a duchess.

Palace

Queen Charolette " what will be good suitors for my granddaughter"

Lady Danbury " there are many dukes and princes that will be good for her"

Queen Charolette " you are right lady danbury but I shall not allow, any of these families to get her hand that easily"

lady Danbury " then I suggest this young man we know his grandmother, every well and he in line for a throne and near her age and perfect I think he attended school with her brothers as well"

Queen Charolette " oh yes prince Tristan brimsley"

Brimsley " yes my lady"

Queen Charolette " send word to my friend Margaret and tell her of my granddaughter return to society, and the possibility of her grandson Tristan being a perfect match for her"

brimsley “ wonderful choice my lady” plans were being made right away, as the new duchess began her new life.Now the ton shall watch as the newly made duchess comes into, a society that tried to push her out. Would they all be seen as her friends and allies or just those she knows by names and face. Will this duchess find a husband who will stand by her side, only time will tell in the end.

[multi-fandom-imagine]

I JUST REQUESTED ONE LAST NIGHT BUT I GOT BRAINROT SO BENEDICT BRIDGERTON PRAISING READER MAYBE JUST IN GENERAL MAYBE WHILE DRAWINF OR MAYBE DURING PALLMALL I JUST LOVE HIM SK MUCH

A/n: yesss! We all need a supportive Benedict in our lives. Also I apologize if this sucks, I was writing this on no sleep.

“Ah marvelous love! Your brush strokes are just beautiful!”

Turing to Benedict you couldn’t help but feel warmth creep up your neck from his compliment. “Are you sure? I mean that does look like a tree right?” You wrinkled your nose titling your head to the side. Ever since you started to see the second eldest brother you’ve been taking up painting. You were grateful for Benedict’s teaching.

“It’s beautiful.” Standing behind you, you felt the man run his fingers down her neck. “You have improved so much.” He whispered grasping her hand. “And how you dance…Well I know that all the men were jealous that they could not dance with you.”Benedict let you lean back into his chest, he knew he should let you work but the man couldn’t help himself. You were just to tempting not to watch, he’d be a fool not to take advantage of this situation.

A laugh escaped your lips as you did your best to move away from him. “Benedict! I’m trying to paint!”

“Yes yes! That is all good but I am trying to reward you for how much you improved.”

Rolling your eyes you placed the brush down as Benedict tugged you away from the your painting. “I feel like I can never win with you.” You teased as you felt him move you hand to your back returning the kiss.

“I am a very lucky man. I am with someone who can dance. Is a talent at painting, I can not wait to see your other talents.” He smiled bringing your fingers to his lips.

[dreamwritesimagines]

Bro imagine Anthony coming into the drawing room or even Benedict’s studio and seeing Cherie stood there for Benedict to paint and he just can’t help but stare 🥹 I can also see Benedict teasing him saying he’ll sell him the painting at a cost when he’s done 😂

"Benedict teasing him saying he'll sell him the painting at a cost when he's done"

Omg I can totally see this happening! 😂 Anthony would so make up an excuse to stay in the room to spend more time with her and Benedict would see right through him😂 He'd even attempt to talk to her and Benedict would go like

"Anthony, she's supposed to stay still."

"She is staying still."

"I am not, you distracted me and made me talk. I apologize, Benedict."

"It's not your fault, it's Anthony's."

"It'll help you improve better, Benedict."

"Weren't you going outside?"

".....Uh, no."

"I could swear you said-"

"I said I was going to stay at home today, I don't know what you think you heard."

[silverhallow]

Your headcanons for Benophie's married life? (don't have to all, just the ones you want to share) ☺️

I’ll just do the married ones, not pregnancy, or with their babies as otherwise i would literally be here for weeks and you all would get bored of reading haha. I’m just gonna do regency as I’ve got millions for all my AUs so… ha

(Please note they’re not in order)

Benophie Married Life Headcanons.

Below the cut because I got carried away 😂

Benedict gave up a week after their return to My Cottage trying to stop Sophie helping the Crabtrees around the house. He did manage to reign her in a bit, and whilst she still helps the cook he hired to help Mrs Crabtree, she stopped cleaning.

It took Sophie three weeks to convince Benedict to let her do the household accounts, it was only after she worked out that one of the tenants was overpaying another landlord by a large amount of money, something he totally missed, he gave up and let her do it. The farmer named his Daughter Sophia as a thank you as she saved them nearly £50 a year.

Said landlord turned out to be none other than Phillip Cavender… he turned up at My Cottage to shout at the landowners, not realising who it was… they didn’t have their Butler at this point so Mrs C answered the door as Sophie was coming out of her study, Benedict just down the stairs to see who was calling on them. Phillip turned around and legged it off the Bridgerton property never to be seen again!

Sophie hates being called Mrs Bridgerton around the house. The staff call her Sophie, or Mrs B, it is only when out in public that she is called Mrs Bridgerton, as it is proprietary. Sophie calls Mrs Crabtree Mrs C, at all times. Sophie calls all the staff by their name, she improved the servants' lodgings so they were more comfortable and she tries to treat them like family rather than servants. Her staff love her and their family and once they join the Bridgerton’s they work for them until they are no longer able to work.

Benedict regularly forgets to eat when he is painting and lost in his studio, which was a birthday present from Sophie, she had arranged for it to be converted and opened up so he had more light in the room and a view of the garden. He cried when he saw it.

They spend every anniversary recreating their first dance in their garden, as the children grow up, they let their parents have a dance before coming and joining them.

Sophie cannot garden. She tries and tries but every plant she touches just seems to die. She complains about this all the time to Phillip when he marries Eloise, he checks out the garden and cannot find anything wrong with it or offer an explanation as to why its not growing. Sophie cried and swore off gardening after this and annoyingly the garden flourished.

Sophie is forever telling her husband off for swinging on his chair, not sitting straight and putting his feet up on the tables. He does it less after the children are born, or at least doesn’t do it when he’s holding them, as the rage she flew into when he was doing it holding baby Charlie, scared him shitless. A second rocking chair was purchased for Benedict’s studio after her rage.

Benedict chases Sophie around the house at every chance they get, any house they’re in. he doesn’t even need an excuse, Sophie just sees a glint in her husband’s eye and takes off at a run, even when they are in their 80s and neither can run, he still tries to chase her.

Benedict brings Sophie breakfast in bed on her birthday, it is the only time he is ever up before her.

Benedict sleeps like the dead. Sophie has reorganised their bedroom whilst he sleeps just to confuse him (and prove a point), dragging furniture around the room and he didn’t wake.

Benedict had to build a library in My Cottage in the end, Sophie read through all his books within a month of them moving into My Cottage and he kept having new books sent from London, she read them faster than he could get them, so had a full library installed. Sophie cried when she saw this.

Every single member of staff at My Cottage has seen and heard their masters naked and their activities. Benedict had to start giving them the night off at least once a week before the children came along because he was making Sophie scream too loudly.

If both Mr or Mrs Bridgerton cannot be found in the house and the weather is nice, the staff do not go down to the lake… it's just… no. It’s safer to stay at home. Mrs C had Benedict buy a loud bell she uses about an hour before dinner and can be heard at the lake for such instances.

Benedict teaches Sophie to ride, or reminds her how to ride at least, within a month of their marriage and would often spend their Sundays either down by the lake, or out on the horses, taking in the fields and the picturesque views around their home.

Benedict and Sophie spend many nights sharing a bath. They will regularly bathe the other when the other appears to be stressed and tired.

Sophie was the one who organised Benedict’s shot for the national gallery, she arranged for Somerset House to exhibit some of his work, they chose a landscape of their home as his first piece for the National Gallery, it was his first ever piece he painted.

The first time Sophie took ill after their wedding, before her pregnancy, Benedict was beside himself. He tried to take care of her, managed to keep Mrs C from giving her tonics and didn’t sleep for three days when Sophie was poorly and gripped with a fever, pleading and begging to make sure she was okay.

For her birthday, Benedict always makes her something homemade, as well as a bought gift. Sophie does the same for Benedict and she always bakes a cake.

When she is really annoyed, Sophie grumbles to herself in either Latin or French. Benedict starts trying to learn what she’s saying so he can work out what he’s done wrong (or the children)

Sophie doesn’t curse, or blaspheme (well other than when she enjoying her husbands attentions) so when she does, and does so in English, the entire family is in shock, and the staff know that Mrs B is in a rather torrid mood, it isn’t often but her anger is rather a sight to behold.

Sophie made one of their old tenants cry in her fury when she realised he was under paying his workers, abusing the animals and not giving his staff the time off. Benedict had never been so turned on in his life. She took the land off him, ensure he never worked in the area again, and gave it to the Crabtrees daughter's husband and family to live on and work on instead.

Everyone in the village of Rosemede loves Mrs Bridgerton, she always has a smile on her face, she stops to talk to everyone, she gives the beggars and the poor money whenever she is walking past, and always has some of her cooks famous biscuits for the children when she walks through town. She will tell Benedict she is popping to town for an hour, and would usually be there most of the day, talking to the mother’s, the shopkeepers, anyone who wants to talk. It makes Benedict love her more.

And one last one… cause I can’t help but make you guys hurt just a little…

When their time comes, Benedict in his 90’s, Sophie in her late 80’s… they slip away together during the night, their arms tight around each other, together where they belong.

[shiningsagittarius]

WOOOOAH, WE’RE HALFWAY THERE

(Spoilers incoming!) (These are my thoughts and opinions etc)

1 x 04

Rhonda 👀 (I guessed it was her from the trailers)

Number Two with a slingshot? Haha

“Situational awareness, please!” FINALLY someone says it, thank you Kate

God Constance’s morbid little comments will never get old

Interesting how they made Kate okay with cheating and accepting it faster than she did in the book

Behind the Curtain, Assault Alpha hdkdgsksgsksg

I love how Rhonda makes whole backstories for her undercover work 🥺 it’s such a nice addition to her character

Hey speaking of situational awareness, Milligan has none!

Ah, it seems like Number Two feels like she’s the only person that’s concerned / trying to be the voice of reason. I like how her ideals and the ideals of the rest of the adults shift over this episode

THE JOURNALING SCENE IS SO PERFECT AAAAAAAAA

Reynie asking about the SALAD to STALL jdlsgkwgwksgq

Dr. Curtain’s unamused face when he sees the bookmarks ahahaha

Constance desperately trying to signal to Kate lol

Did Kate… tape a bunch of leaves to herself?????

Reynie and Dr. Curtain talking about journaling:

Dr. Curtain shading Reynie for knowing so much about journaling hahaha

But really this scene was so tense in just the right way, with lots of humor too

“You do not know a guy!”

Number Two and Rhonda in this episode:

Ah, so Rhonda is the person paining the sign from the trailer!

“So we agree!” “About this? No.”

Rhonda is right, one small act does lead to another, and people often have to feel like they’re making a difference to stay sane. God, what an important message.

Oh yeah, Sticky is helping Kate in this version, and Reynie is helping Constance. Interesting.

“However, if things do get out of hand, I will distract Ms. De La Torre with a flash bomb. Non lethal, of course!” KATE

Uh oh, seems like the dangerous fish is not the issue here, huh Number Two?

“You will be captured! Bound! Then encaged, fed saltines!” Ma’am, are you… speaking from experience here???

UH OH, STICKY GOT CAUGHT 😰

Milligan getting little hints about his memory by knowing things that he’s not sure why he knows aaaaaaaaaaaa

Ooh, the Waiting Room is totally different 👀

It seems like the room is designed to invoke sensory hell, and I can imagine that nerves make things even worse (as demonstrated with Sticky). I like what they’ve done, though I can imagine kids might be surprised to read the book and find out what the original Waiting Room is 😅

“The aura?” “The vibe.” NOT THE VIBES AGAIN HAHA

Wait hold on, they’re both talking about work, as if this is just a workplace conflict. Please let Mr. Benedict still have adopted them!! Please let them be sisters still!!!

Constance aced the test!

23 rescue scenarios……

“Sticky only loses an arm in two of them…” “Someone loses an arm in two different scenarios?!” “Not someone, Sticky!” HGLSJDJGSKSGS

Trip to the… salt flats??

THERE’S NO-ONE AT THE WHEEL

Oh no, they’re painting over Rhonda’s sign ☹️

Young Number Two!! And she was a pool champion??

A stenographer 👀

You get sent to the Waiting Room for “disruptive fidgeting”??? Or is Dr. Curtain lying???

HE KNEW IT WAS MORSE CODE!

Nooo don’t send him to the Waiting Room again!!!!!!!!

Hydroelectric Turbines…

Ah, the Improvement is on the horizon

Aww, Number Two and Rhonda made up 🥺

REYNIE IS SO HAPPY TO SEE STICKY!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭

The friendship moments…… I’m tearing up……

MR. BENEDICT READING OUT LOUD IN HIS LIL CAMPING OUTFIT!!!

“There’s a puzzle inside me… I can’t help feeling I’m missing a piece.”

(Book spoilers) AND KATE IS THAT PIECE AAAAAAAAAAAA

“A puzzle missing a piece? That’s like…” a twin missing the other twin, maybe?

He’s reading to Number Two and Rhonda on the radio, my hEART-

“All of your sounds annoy me” um, sensory mood-

THE CIPER FROM THE CREDITS-

Rote ROT,,,,,, and Constance figured it out!!

AGRO PALEO DEAR GOD

The Improvement got namedropped (dun dun dunnnn)

“Her parents must have hated her” ok Constance Contraire

RHONDA KAZEMBE

NUMBER TWO

NICHOLAS BENEDICT

How did I know Milligan would pop out of that tent XD

Milligan taking notes hdkdgsksgsksg “Posture…….”

THE SECRET ENTRANCE THAT YOU HAVE TO KICK OPEN HDKSGSKQJG

Uh-oh, Kate is in the red…

“Well, next time I see you, if I don’t know you… I knew you.”

THE KIDS TAKING THAT OTHER KID OFF THE TEAM LIKE THE GODDAMN OOMPA LOOMPAS SLSGKSFSLSGSLHA

Martina inviting Kate to play?

Oh damn I though that was The Ramones not The Cars whoops

Reynie hugging Kate!!

Wait, Martina was so impressed by Kate’s tetherball skills that she asked Dr. Curtain if Kate can stay?? Alright!

EMPRESS SUPREME MAGISTRAL OF THE FLAMING BACKHAND 👑

Wait, Sticky and Kate don’t believe Constance is hearing voices? When did this development happen? And why??? Shouldn’t they be all over that???

Oh Constance looks ready to cry 🥺

YEA THEY’RE MESSENGERS! 🎉 (…or should I be celebrating? 🤔)

The Sticky cheating plot was kinda dropped tho, at least there was some resolution in the book

I love Number Two and Rhonda’s outfits in this episode 👀

The suspense!!

TLDR:

What a great episode! We got some character development, some buildup, suspense, AND payoff, some foreshadowing, and some humor and wit mixed with drama! Definitely at least an 8.5, if not 9/10 episode! I think I’ll have to rewatch episode 3 within the context of this episode to at least try to give it a more favorable review (I’ll certainly rewatch all of the episodes marathon-style at some point). It was definitely sewing the seeds of today’s episode, not without some stumbling blocks. I’m quite excited!

WOOOOOOOAAAAHH,

(Chicken on a chair!)

[ziracona]

Hi! I just realised I havn't popped in in awhile. Do you have any headcanons u feel like sharing about the newer survivors?? (I love them all, they're so cool but I think imma have to say cheryl is my bby gurl. she's tired. let her rest.) also. i am. going insane. from a toothache :) - Sleepy

Hey! Hope your tooth pain clears up! I’m so sorry—that’s one of the worst. : /

Hmmm, I do, but I’m trying to think of ones I haven’t said in asks before. 😬 Unfortunately my memory of fictional characters is great, and my memory of what I said in asks is shitty. :’-]

I don’t know the newer survivors—except Nancy and Steve—as well as I do the older ones, because I’ve never written them, and I haven’t played Silent Hill. I like Zarina, Yui, and Cheryl a lot though. Poor fkn Cheryl can join Quentin in the “Please God, just one good day?” Existence. Rip to them both. 😭

Poor kid gets out of hell once, and ya throw her back in. :’-]

Let’s see—headcanon I am fairly sure I haven’t already shared. I think Yui and Min would get along really well, and Jane and Zarina would too.

Yui hates the serial killers especially, from her own personal experience, and goes to bat hard against them every time.

Ash flirts with everyone to a point it’s even more than Ace does, and for a while it becomes a competition between them to see who can flirt more and better than the other (not in a shitty way—everybody knows they have the competition going on and it’s more a ‘I can act better than you’ than a ‘I can win more hearts’ one.) Ace is declared the winner in class, Ash the winner in sheer quantity he’s able to churn out, and they agree to call it a semi-draw. It’s actually a really fun week for everyone, because they’re all constantly being complemented and flirted with in a way they know is performative and seeks 0 real actions from them in return, so essentially they are just showererd with ‘drunk girl in a bar bathroom’ levels of praise for seven days.

Felix and Nancy are the only two with significant others waiting back home, and they bond over talking about their wife/boyfriend and sharing stories and having someone around who understands that specific brand of pain and can encourage them that they’ll make it back home.

Tapp is a dad, so he gives Felix a lot of advice on stuff since he was an expecting father. Not so much “do this” advice, since his relationship with his family didn’t go so well, and he feels like he’s in absolutely no position to teach—more like “It’s okay. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years. She’s gonna make it just fine even if you’re not home yet, and you’ll get back to them. And I’m gonna teach you some of the tricks so you’ll be ready when you do. You can even surprise her by already knowing how to change a diaper and warm a formula bottle. I’ll show you how to do it,” and talking him through some of the stuff he would have been able to learn from infant care books. It’s sweet, but Tapp almost dies when Jane says its “Very heartwarming” and teases him, so they cut him some slack. Felix is really appreciative. Laurie has taken care of a ton of kids, and gives him some advice too, and so does Nancy, who had two younger siblings.

Steve is a disaster who suffers from “I like you and you are a girl, so *pigeon meme* Is this falling in love?” syndrome. Gets shot down hard by Laurie, who is ridiculously pissed at him for bringing it up during a trial when their lives are on the line, but after he gets over being super awkward around her, and she reaches out to be like, ‘Look, dumbass, why did you even like me?’ And he’s like ‘...because you’re, uh, really cool? A-and pretty? And...’ and eventually she’s like ‘Buddy, you don’t even really know me. You’re just lonely. You’re not in love with me, you just want to be, because you want to be in love with somebody, and that’s not gonna cut it, for me, or anyone. Be in love with a person—not with the concept of being in love. And for that to happen, you have to know them first.” And since Steve is good af self-improvement, he realizes she’s got a real point, and tries to find his worth outside of needing a girlfriend, and becomes both a lot happier, and one of Laurie’s closer friends. (Side note—this extends probably only to my initial Steve ideas. I had the idea batted around that in that universe, Stranger Things /is/ an existing show, but it’s based on a mix of urban legend and history from the 80s, and Nancy and Steve are the version from the actual 80s, and I think in that pitch Steve is dating Barb, who is still alive, and already worked through this specific issue, because many things happened differently for wild comedic ‘But in the show’ effect, becuase both them repeatedly going “WELL REALITY WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT” when like, monster hunting shit from the show won’t work on the Demogorgan, and *Spit take* “THEY HAD ME HIT ON ROBIN?” “Ewwww” “YEAH ewww! She’s basically my lesbian little sister! We’ve been best friends since grade school! What the fuck :’-]” make for amazing joke potential. )

Cheryl starts having nightmares where she sees things from the Entity’s eyes she was never meant to see, and finding out dangerous amounts of information this way. The Entity decides at some point this is too big a threat, but because it’s proud, it doesn’t want to just kill her, as that would be admitting a human is a threat, so it starts having killers gun for her mercilessly to try to get her to give up, and the poor girl is in agony.

Zarina documents stuff form the realm constantly, and has a careful scrapbook collection of all notes and paraphernalia from past survivors. She also keeps conspiracy pages tacked together trying to figure out who they were becuase they deserve at least the justice of people somehow knowing how they died and what they went through. Laurie is a big help with this, and so is Claudette, who has been keeping stuff for a long time.

Yui is very no-nonsense, and protective. She gives off strong big sister vibes. She especially also loves board games/puzzles/other games like Shogi or Go and such, and Dwight and Adam create game pieces for her to play Go with when she mentions how much she used to like that kind of thing, and Yui is incredibly touched, and makes several other ones for people to play with too, and it becomes a very enjoyed pastime between trials. It’s engaging and competitive, but much more relaxed and low energy than sports or training or going for a run, so it’s a great alternative. Meg gets super into making puzzles, and all the artists do too, and take turns painting pictures on boards, cutting them into puzzle pieces with extreme painstakingly slow care, and then doing puzzles together. Jake is invaluable in the actual cutting pieces out area, but actually enjoys to do it.

Felix knows a lot more than anyone else about the Entity when he’s taken, so he spends a bunch of time with the research team trying to recall whatever he can from his childhood and sharing any information he has, then just stays on it because he wants to. He’s desperate to meet Benedict Baker someday himself, becuase that man seems to get around, and he really wants to know what happend to his father.

Everyone becomes protective as fuck of Cheryl when the Entity starts targeting her, and someone—I think Kate and or Meg—probably both together—as a one-off joke call themselves her knights at some point, becuase they’re running such dedicated protection detail, but it becomes a whole thing, and several more start to do it. They’ll like ‘fist clasped arm across chest at attention, quick bow’ when they see her, and it’s goofy as fuck, but it helps a lot making Cheryl’s reality more bearable. Plus, it’s really sweet. Nea gets in on this and comes back one day with a little daisy chain she made cause she was bored, sees Cheryl, it clicks, runs over and offers it as a ‘favor’. Zarina sees and comes back later that day from a trial and kneels and presents Cheryl with a rescued toolbox with a brand new part. This becomes increasingly common and extravagant, and Cheryl /cannot/ deal, but it’s like, genius, becuase it takes exactly this level of surreal goofy friend bullshit to distract from the hell she is living. She ends up just regularly having someone come back from a trial or trip to the woods, salute with an arm across their chest, bow, and present her with anything from a pinecone or pretty rock, to flowers or a medkit, to a salt statue or key, to a painting or hand made bracelet, to a makeshift weapon or a pillow. Everyone always tries to outdo each other, so the gifts tend to be extravagant. Zarina considers herself Cheryl’s righthand woman/personal knight by chocie, because she wanted a cause to fight for and has found one she truly loves, and she makes Cheryl her favorite gift so far, coming up to her at the end of a long day, after a very bad trial where Cheryl was mercilessly and slowly killed by the Pig, kneeling, and offering a thick shard of stained glass from the chapel, made sturdy and held in place with a few chunks of soldered and wrapped iron along the blade and down the grip, forming a razor sharp and reinforced stained glass knife.

[lukeskywaker4ever]

27th King of Portugal (7th of the Bragança Dynasty): King João VI of Portugal, “The Clement”

Reign: 20 March 1816 – 10 March 1826 Predecessor: Maria I

João VI (13 May 1767 in Lisbon – 10 March 1826 in Lisbon), nicknamed "the Clement", was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825. Although the United Kingdom over which he ruled ceased to exist de facto beginning in 1822, he remained its monarch de jure between 1822 and 1825. After the recognition of the independence of Brazil under the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro of 1825, he continued as King of Portugal until his death in 1826. Under the same treaty, he also became titular Emperor of Brazil for life, while his son, Pedro I of Brazil, was both de facto and de jure the monarch of the newly-independent country.

Born in Lisbon in 1767, the son of Maria I and Pedro III of Portugal, he was originally an infante (prince, but not heir to the throne) of Portugal. He only became heir to the throne when his older brother José, Prince of Brazil, died of smallpox in 1788 at the age of 27.

Before his accession to the Portuguese throne, João VI bore the titles Duke of Bragança and Duke of Beja, as well as Prince of Brazil. From 1799, he served as prince regent of Portugal (and later, from 1815, as prince regent of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves), due to the mental illness of his mother, Queen Maria I. In 1816, he succeeded his mother as monarch of the Portuguese Empire, with no real change in his authority, since he already possessed absolute powers as regent.

One of the last representatives of absolute monarchy in Europe, he lived during a turbulent period; his reign never saw a lasting peace. Throughout his period of rule, major powers, such as Spain, France and Great Britain, continually intervened in Portuguese affairs. Forced to flee to South America across the Atlantic Ocean into Brazil when troops of the Emperor Napoleon I invaded Portugal, he found himself faced there with liberal revolts; he was compelled to return to Europe amid new conflicts. His marriage was no less conflictual, as his wife, Carlota Joaquina of Spain, repeatedly conspired against her husband in favor of personal interests or those of her native Spain. He lost Brazil when his son Pedro declared independence, and his other son Miguel  led a rebellion that sought to depose him. According to recent scholarly research, his death may well have been caused by arsenic poisoning.

Notwithstanding these tribulations he left a lasting mark, especially in Brazil, where he helped to create numerous institutions and services that laid a foundation for national autonomy, and he is considered by many historians to be a true mastermind of the modern Brazilian state. Still, he has been widely (if unjustly) viewed as a cartoonish figure in Portuguese-Brazilian history, accused of laziness, lack of political acumen and constant indecision, and is often portrayed as physically grotesque.

João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael was born 13 May 1767, during the reign of his maternal grandfather and paternal uncle José I of Portugal. He was the second son, paternal cousin, and nephew by marriage of the future Queen Maria I, José's daughter (also his sister in law), and her husband (also her paternal uncle), the future King Pedro III. At the time of João's birth they were, respectively, Princess of Brazil and Infante of Portugal.

He was ten years old when his grandfather died and his mother ascended to the throne. His childhood and youth were lived quietly, as he was a mere infante in the shadow of his elder brother José, Prince of Brazil and 14th Duke of Bragança, the heir-apparent to the throne. Folklore has João as a rather uncultured youth, but according to Jorge Pedreira e Costa, he received as rigorous an education as José did. Still, a French ambassador of the time painted him in unfavorable colors, seeing him as hesitant and dim. The record of this period of his life is too vague for historians to form any definitive picture. Little is known of the substance of his education. He surely received instruction in religion, law, French, and etiquette, and would presumably have learned history through reading the works of Duarte Nunes de Leão and João de Barros.

In 1785, Henrique de Meneses, 3rd Marquis of Louriçal, 

arranged a marriage between João and the Infanta Carlota Joaquina of Spain, daughter of King Charles IV of Spain and Queen Maria Luisa of Parma. Like her betrothed, Carlota was a junior member of a royal family. Fearing a new Iberian Union, some in the Portuguese court viewed the marriage to a Spanish infanta unfavorably. She endured four days of testing by the Portuguese ambassadors before the marriage pact was confirmed. Because João and Carlota were related, and because of the bride's youth (she was only 10 years old at the time), the marriage required a papal dispensation. After being confirmed, the marriage capitulation was signed in the throne room of the Spanish court with great pomp and with the participation of both kingdoms. It was followed immediately by a proxy marriage. The marriage was consummated five years later.

The infanta was received at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa at the beginning of May 1785, and on 9 June, the couple received a nuptial benediction at the palace chapel. At the same time, João's sister, the Infanta Mariana Victoria, was married to the Infante Gabriel, also of the Spanish royal family. An assiduous correspondence between João and Mariana at that time reveals that the absence of his sister weighed upon him and, comparing her to his young wife, he wrote, "She is very smart and has a lot of judgment, whereas you have rather little, and I like her a lot, but for all that I cannot love her equally." João's young bride was little given to docility, requiring at times the correction of Queen Maria herself. Furthermore, the difference in their ages (João being 17 years old) made him uncomfortable and anxious. Because Carlota was so young, the marriage had not been consummated, and João wrote, "Here's to the arrival of the time when I shall play a lot with the Infanta. The way these things go, I think six years from now. Better that she be a bit more grown up than when she came." The consummation waited until 1790. In 1793, Carlota gave birth to the first of nine children: Teresa, Princess of Beira.

By that time, João's hitherto relatively quiet life had been turned upside down by the death of his older brother Dom José on 11 September 1788, which left João as the heir apparent to the throne, with the titles of Prince of Brazil and 15th Duke of Bragança. Great things had been hoped for from Dom José, who associated himself with the progressive ideas of the Enlightenment. Criticized by the clergy, he appeared to have been inclined toward the anti-clerical policies of the Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal.

João, in contrast, was well known for his religiosity and his attachment to absolutism. The crisis of succession was aggravated with the death soon after of Ignacio de São Caetano, Archbishop of Thessalonica, the queen's confessor and a powerful political figure, who had influenced a controversial choice of Maria's ministers that favored João, but not without encountering strong opposition from important fidalgos who had ambitions for those posts. Furthermore, the year after these deaths, João became so ill that his own survival was uncertain. He recovered, but in 1791, he again fell ill "bleeding from the mouth and intestines", according to notes left by the chaplain of the Marquis of Marialva, who added that his spirit was always depressed. This created a tense climate and uncertainty about his future reign.

Meanwhile, the queen showed increasing signs of mental instability. On 10 February 1792, seventeen doctors signed a document declaring her unable to manage the kingdom, with no prospect for her condition to improve. João was reluctant to take the reins of power, rejecting the idea of a formal regency. This opened the way for elements of the nobility to form a de facto government via a Council. Rumors circulated that João exhibited symptoms of the same insanity, and that he might be prevented from ruling. According to longstanding laws that guided the institution of regency, were the regent to die or become incapable for any reason, and having children of less than fourteen years (which was João's situation at the time), government would be exercised by the guardians of those children or, if guardians had not been formally named, by the wife of the regent. In João's case, that would have been a Spanish infanta. Fear, suspicion and intrigue engulfed the entire institutional framework of the nation.

At the same time, the French Revolution perplexed and horrified the reigning houses of Europe. The execution of the French former king Louis XVI 

on 21 January 1793 by the revolutionaries precipitated an international response. On 15 July, Portugal signed a treaty with Spain, and on 26 September allied itself with Great Britain. Both treaties pledged mutual aid against revolutionary France and brought six thousand Portuguese soldiers into the War of the Pyrenees (1793–1795), a campaign that began with an advance to Roussillon in France and ended in defeat with the French conquest of northeastern Spain. This created a delicate diplomatic problem, as Portugal could not make peace with France without damaging an alliance with England that involved several overseas interests. The Portuguese thus sought a neutrality that proved fragile and tense.

After the defeat, Spain abandoned its alliance with Portugal and allied with France under the Peace of Basel. With Britain too powerful for France to attack directly, France set its sights on Portugal. In 1799, João officially assumed the reins of government as prince regent in the name of his widowed mother; that same year, Napoleon Bonaparte staged his coup d'état of 18 Brumaire in France and coerced Spain into issuing an ultimatum to force the Portuguese to break with Great Britain and submit the country to the interests of Napoleon. With João's refusal, neutrality became enviable. Spain and France invaded in 1801, setting off the War of the Oranges; a defeated Portugal signed the Treaty of Badajoz and the subsequent Treaty of Madrid, under which it ceded territory to Spain, in particular Olivença, and made concessions to the French over certain colonial territories. With conflicting interests among all the countries involved, the war was marked by ambiguous movements and secret agreements. Portugal, as the weakest player, could not avoid continued struggle. At the same time, João had to face an enemy at home. His wife, Carlota Joaquina, loyal to Spanish interests, initiated an intrigue with the objective of deposing her husband and taking power herself, an attempt that failed in 1805. This resulted in the Princess's exile from court; she resided at Queluz Palace, while the regent took up residency at Mafra Palace.

The prince regent played a desperate game with France for time. For as long as he could, he pretended an apparent submission to France, to the point of suggesting to King George III of the United Kingdom the declaration of a fictitious state of war between their countries, but he did not obey the dictates of Napoleon's Continental System (a blockade against Great Britain). A new secret treaty with the British guaranteed him help in case of an eventual flight of the royal family. The accord greatly favored the British and preserved their influence over the country, as the United Kingdom continued to make vast profits in trade with the Portuguese intercontinental empire. It fell to Portugal only to choose between obedience to France or to England, and the hesitancy to decide firmly placed Portugal at risk of war with not merely one of these powers, but with both. In October 1807, news arrived that a French army was approaching, and on 16 November, a British squadron arrived in the port of Lisbon with a force of seven thousand men with orders either to escort the royal family to Brazil or, if the government surrendered to France, to attack and conquer the Portuguese capital. The court was divided between Francophiles and Anglophiles, and after anguished consideration under pressure from both sides, João decided to accept British protection and leave for Brazil.

The invading army led by Jean-Andoche Junot advanced with some difficulty, arriving at the gates of Lisbon only on 30 November 1807. By this time, the prince regent, accompanied by the entire royal family and a large following of nobles, state functionaries and servants, had already embarked, leaving the government under a regency with the recommendation that the army not engage in hostilities with the invader. The hasty departure during a rainstorm caused havoc in Lisbon as an astonished population could not believe that their prince had abandoned them. According to the account of José Acúrsio das Neves, the departure brought forth deep emotion on the part of the prince regent:

“He wanted to speak and could not; he wanted to move and, convulsed, did not succeed in taking a step; he walked over an abyss, and envisioned a future dark and as uncertain as the ocean to which he was about to deliver himself. Country, capital, kingdom, vassals, he was about to leave all of these suddenly, with little hope of setting eyes on them again, and all were thorns that pierced his heart.”

To explain himself to the people, João ordered that posters be put up along the streets stating that his departure was unavoidable despite all efforts made to assure the integrity and peace of the kingdom. The posters recommended that everyone remain calm, orderly and not resist the invaders, so that blood not be shed in vain. Because of the rush to depart, the Prince Regent João, Queen Maria, Prince Pedro, Prince of Beira (later Pedro I of Brazil and Pedro IV of Portugal), and the Infante Miguel were all in a single ship. This was an imprudent decision given the dangers of a transatlantic voyage in that era, since it placed at risk the succession of the crown in case of shipwreck. Carlota Joaquina and the infantas were on two other ships. The number of people who embarked with João remains a matter of controversy; in the 19th century there was talk of up to 30 thousand emigrants; more recent estimates vary between five hundred and fifteen thousand, the latter being close to the maximum capacity of the squadron of fifteen ships, including their crews. Still, the ships were overcrowded. According to Pedreira e Costa, taking into account all of the variables, the most likely numbers fall between four and seven thousand passengers plus the crews. Many families were separated, and even high officials failed to secure a place on the ships and were left behind. The voyage was not a tranquil one. Several ships were in precarious condition, and overcrowding created humiliating conditions for the nobility, the majority of whom had to sleep huddled in the open in the poops. Hygienic conditions were bad, including an epidemic of head lice. Many had failed to bring changes of clothing. Several people fell ill. Supplies were scarce, causing rationing. Furthermore, the flotilla spent ten days nearly becalmed in the equatorial zone under a scorching heat that caused moods to turn quite sour. The flotilla also faced two storms and was eventually dispersed near Madeira. In the middle of the voyage, Prince João changed his plans and decided to head for Salvador, Bahia, probably for political reasons. He wanted to please the inhabitants of the colony's first capital, which had given many signs of discontent with the loss of its old status. The ships carrying his wife and the infantas held to the original destination of Rio de Janeiro.

On 22 January 1808, the ship of the prince regent and two others arrived in Baía de Todos os Santos, Brazil. 

The streets of Salvador were deserted, because the governor, the Count of Ponte, preferred to await the prince's orders before permitting the people to receive him. Finding this attitude odd, João ordered that all could come as they wished. However, to allow the nobility to compose themselves after such an arduous journey, the landing was postponed until the next day, when they were received joyfully amidst a procession, the ringing of bells and a celebration of a Te Deum at the Cathedral of Salvador. 

In the following days, the prince received all who wished to give homage, granting the ceremony of the beija-mão (the kissing of the monarch's hand) and conceding various mercies. 

Among the latter, he decreed the creation of a public lecture series on economics and a school of surgery, but his most decisive action at this moment was the Decree of Opening the Ports to Friendly Nations (Decreto de Abertura dos Portos às Nações Amigas), 

a measure of vast political and economic importance and the first of many that went to improve conditions in the colony. Britain, however, whose economy depended in great part on maritime commerce, and for whom the Portuguese and Brazilian monarchy was now something of a protectorate, was the most direct beneficiary.

Salvador spent a month in commemorations of the presence of the court and tried to seduce the court into making it the new seat of the kingdom. The residents offered to construct a luxurious palace as a home for the royal family, but João declined and continued his voyage, having already announced to various nations his intention to make his capital at Rio de Janeiro. His ship entered Guanabara Bay on 7 March, where he met the infantas and other members of his entourage whose ships had arrived earlier. On the 8th, the whole court finally disembarked to encounter a city adorned to receive them with nine days of uninterrupted celebrations. A well-known chronicler of the era, Father Perereca, eyewitness to the arrival, while lamenting the news of the invasion of metropolitan Portugal, also intuited the significance of the arrival of the court on Brazilian soil:

If so great were the motives of sorrow and distress, no less were the causes of comfort and pleasure: a new order of things was going to begin this part of the southern hemisphere. The design of the Empire of Brazil could already be considered in place, and eagerly wished the powerful hand of our lord the Prince Regent to cast the first stone of future greatness, prosperity and power of the new empire.

With a court, the essential apparatus of a sovereign state became inevitable: the senior civil, religious, and military officials, aristocrats and liberal professionals, skilled artisans, and public servants. For many scholars, the transfer of the court to Rio began the establishment of the modern Brazilian state and constituted Brazil's first step toward true independence. While Brazil at this time remained formally and juridically a Portuguese colony, in the words of Caio Prado, Jr.

"Establishing in Brazil the seat of a monarchy, the regent ipso facto abolished the colonial regime under which the country had lived until then. All the characteristics of that [colonial] regime disappeared, the only remaining part of the colonial situation was to be under a foreign government. One after another, the old workings of colonial administration were abolished and replaced by those of a sovereign nation. Economic restrictions fell and thoughts of the country's interests moved to the front of government policy."

But first it was necessary to provide accommodations for the newcomers, a difficult problem to resolve given the cramped proportions of the city of Rio at that time. In particular, there were few homes suitable for the nobility, especially in the case of the royal family, who were installed in the viceregal palace, known today as the Paço Imperial (Imperial Palace). 

Though large, it was comfortless and nothing like Portuguese palaces. As large as it was, it was not enough to accommodate everyone, so neighboring buildings were also requisitioned, such as the Carmelite Convent, the town hall, and even the jail. To meet the needs of other nobles, and to install new government offices, innumerable small residences were hastily expropriated, their proprietors arbitrarily ejected, at times violently in the face of resistance. Despite the efforts of Viceroy Marcos de Noronha e Brito and of Joaquim José de Azevedo, the regent was still poorly accommodated. Merchant Elias Antônio Lopes offered his country house, the Quinta da Boa Vista, 

a sumptuous villa in excellent location that immediately met with the prince's satisfaction. Renovations and expansion transformed this into the Paço de São Cristóvão ("Palace of Saint Christopher"). Carlota Joaquina, for her part, preferred to settle on a farm near the beach of Botafogo, continuing her habit of living apart from her husband.

The city, which at that time had about 70,000 inhabitants, saw itself transformed overnight. The additional populace, full of new requirements, imposed a new organization in the supply of food and other consumer goods, including luxury items. It took years for the Portuguese to settle in, causing years of chaos in the daily life of Rio; rents doubled, taxes rose, and food was in short supply, requisitioned by the imported nobility. This soon dispelled popular enthusiasm over the prince regent's arrival. The very shape of the city began to change, with the construction of innumerable new residences, villas and other buildings, and various improvements to services and infrastructure. Likewise, the presence of the court introduced new standards of etiquette, new fashions and new customs, including a new social stratification.

Among the customs, João continued in Brazil the ancient Portuguese ceremony of the beija-mão, which he esteemed greatly and which fascinated the Brazilians and became part of their folklore. He received his subjects daily, except for Sundays and holidays. The long lines waiting to pay their respects and receive favors were a mix of nobles and commoners. 

According to painter Henry L’Evêque, "the Prince, accompanied by a Secretary of State, a Chamberlain and some household officials, received all the petitions that were presented to him; listened attentively to all the complaints, all the requests of the applicants; consoled one, encouraged others.... The vulgarity of the manners, the familiarity of speech, the insistence of some, the prolixity of others, none of this bored him. He seemed to forget that he was their master, and remember only that he was their father." Oliveira Lim wrote that he "never confused the faces or the pleas, and the applicants marveled at how well he know their lives, their families, even small incidents that had occurred in the past and which they could not believe had risen to the notice of the king."

Throughout his stay in Brazil, João formalized the creation of a huge number of institutions and public services and boosted the economy, culture and other areas of national life. All these measures were taken principally because of the practical needs of administering a large empire in a territory previously lacking of these resources, because the predominant idea continued to be that Brazil would remain a colony, given that it was expected that the court would return to its old metropolis once the European political situation returned to normal. However, these advances became the basis for Brazil's future autonomy. This is not to say that all was amenities and progress. A series of political crises began shortly after his arrival with the invasion of Cayenne in French Guiana in 1809 in retaliation for the French invasion of Portugal, serious economic problems, and a painful trade agreement imposed in 1810 by the British, which in practice flooded the small internal market with useless trinkets and disadvantaged exports and the creation of new national industries. The national debt multiplied by twenty and corruption was rife at large institutions, including the first Bank of Brazil, which ended up bankrupt. Also, the court was extravagant and wasteful, accumulated privileges on privileges and maintained a legion of sycophants and adventurers. British consul James Henderson observed that few European courts were as large as that of Portugal. Laurentino Gomes writes that John granted more hereditary titles in his first eight years in Brazil than had been granted in the previous three hundred years of the Portuguese monarchy, not even counting more than five thousand insignia and commendations of the honorific orders of Portugal.

When Napoleon was defeated in 1815, the European powers held the Congress of Vienna to reorganize the political map of the continent. Portugal participated in these negotiations, but given British machinations contrary to the interests of the House of Braganza, Portugal's ambassador to the Congress, the Count of Palmela, counseled the regent to remain in Brazil, as did the powerful Prince Talleyrand, 

in order to strengthen the ties between metropolis and colony, including the suggestion to elevate Brazil to the condition of a kingdom united to Portugal. The representative of the United Kingdom also ended up supporting the idea, which resulted in the effective foundation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves on 16 December 1815, a juridical institution rapidly recognized by other nations.

João's mother Queen Maria died 20 March 1816, opening the road for the regent to assume the throne. Though he began to govern as king on that date, he was not immediately consecrated as king; he was acclaimed only on 6 February 1818, with grand festivities. 

Meanwhile, several political matters came to the fore. The ambitious Queen Carlota Joaquina had begun to conspire against Portuguese interests while still in Europe, and shortly after her arrival in Brazil, she established understandings with both Spaniards and with nationalists of the Río de la Plata region (now Argentina and Uruguay) to try to secure a monarchy of her own, perhaps as a regent of Spain, perhaps as queen of a new monarchy created from Spanish colonies in South America, perhaps by deposing her husband. This made any meaningful marriage to João impossible, despite his show of patience, and only the force of convention had them appear together in public. While Dona Carlota gained many sympathizers, her plots uniformly failed. Despite that, she managed to influence her husband to involve himself more directly in Spanish colonial politics. These efforts led to the capture of Montevideo in 1817 and the annexation of Cisplatina Province in 1821.

During the same period, problems arose in finding a wife for João's heir apparent, the future Pedro I of Brazil. Europe at the time considered Brazil distant, backward and unsafe, so it was not a simple task to find suitable candidates. After a year of seeking, the ambassador Pedro José Joaquim Vito de Meneses Coutinho, 6th Marquis of Marialva, finally secured an alliance with one of Europe's most powerful royal houses, the Habsburgs, emperors of Austria, after seducing the Austrian court with numerous lies, a display of pomp, and the distribution of gold bars and diamonds among the nobility. Dom Pedro married archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria, daughter of emperor Francis I, in 1817.The emperor and his minister Metternich considered the alliance "an advantageous pact between Europe and the New World," strengthening the monarchical regime in both hemispheres and granting Austria a new sphere of influence.

Meanwhile, the situation in Portugal was by no means tranquil. Absent its monarch and devastated by the Peninsular War and the consequent mass hunger and enormous exodus of emigrants, the country in practice had become a British protectorate upon the final expulsion of the French. It was administered by Marshall William Carr Beresford, 

who governed with an iron fist. From the time João ascended the throne, the Portuguese pressed for his return, initiated liberal rebellions, and formed secret societies with the objective of bringing into session the Portuguese Cortes, which had not met since 1698. Similar liberal agitation occurred in Brazil. In 1817, the Pernambucan Revolt broke out in Recife, a republican movement that established a provisional government in Pernambuco and spread into other Brazilian states; it was put down severely. Back in Portugal, the Liberal Revolution of 1820 broke out in Porto on 24 August 1820. A governing junta was set up, with repercussions in Lisbon. It met as the General Extraordinary and Constituent Cortes (Cortes Gerais Extraordinárias e Constituintes), formed a government and convened elections for deputies without bothering to consult King João. The movement gained support from the Island of Madeira, the Azores and reached the captaincy of Grão-Pará and Bahia in Brazil. It led even to an uprising by the military garrison of Rio de Janeiro itself.

On 30 January 1821, the Cortes met in Lisbon and decreed the formation of a Council of Regency to exercise power in the name of King João. It freed many political prisoners and demanded the king's immediate return. On 20 April, King João convoked a meeting in Rio to choose deputies to the Constituent Cortes, but the following day, protests in the plaza were put down violently. In Brazil, the general opinion was that the king's return to Portugal could mean loss of the autonomy Brazil had gained and a return to its prior colonial status. Under pressure, João tried to find a middle way by sending his son Prince Pedro to Lisbon to grant a constitution and establish the basis of a new government. The prince, however, already leaning toward liberal ideas, refused. The crisis had gone too far and there was no turning back. João named Pedro regent for Brazil in his name and left for Lisbon on 25 April 1821 after a stay of thirteen years in Brazil, a country he would always miss.

The ships bringing João and his court arrived in Lisbon on 3 July. 

His return was orchestrated in such a manner as not to imply that the king had been coerced, but in fact a new political environment had already been established. A constitution had been drafted, and the king was required to swear loyalty to it on 1 October 1822. It called for him to surrender various prerogatives. Dona Carlota refused to follow her husband in agreeing to this, and thus was dispossessed of her political rights and deposed of her title as queen. Meanwhile, the king lost out in Brazil as well. His son Pedro, opting to stay in that country, led a revolt that proclaimed Brazilian independence on 1822-09-07; as part of this action, he assumed the title of emperor of Brazil. Tradition says that before journeying to Portugal, João had anticipated future events and had said to his son: "Pedro, Brazil will soon be separated from Portugal: if so, put the crown on your head before some adventurer grabs it." According to the memoirs of the Count of Palmela, Brazilian independence had come about through common accord between the king and the prince. In any event, later correspondence between the two shows the prince's concern not to disturb his father. However, Portugal did not officially recognize Brazilian independence at this time.

The liberal constitution to which the king had sworn loyalty was in effect only for a few months. Not everyone in Portugal supported liberalism, and an absolutist movement arose. On 23 February 1823, in Trás-os-Montes, Francisco Silveira, Count of Amarante, proclaimed an absolute monarchy; this did not immediately have an effect, and new agitations followed. On 27 May, the infante Dom Miguel, instigated by his mother Dona Carlota, led another revolt known as the Vilafrancada, with the intent of restoring absolutism. João changed the game by supporting his son to avoid his own deposition (which was desired by the party of the queen) and appeared in public on his birthday alongside his son, who wore a uniform of the National Guard, a military corps that had been disbanded by the liberals, receiving the applause of the militia. The king personally went to Vila Franca to better administer the uprising, ultimately returning to Lisbon in triumph. The political climate was undecided, and even the staunchest defenders of liberalism feared to take a strong stand on its behalf. Before its dissolution, the Cortes protested against any change in the recently approved constitution, but the absolute regime was restored, the queen's rights re-established, and the king acclaimed for a second time on 5 June. João repressed demonstrations against this restoration, deported some of the liberals and arrested others, ordered the restoration of judiciary and institutions more in line with the new political orientation and created a commission to draft a basis for a new charter to replace the constitution. 

The alliance with the infante Miguel did not bear fruit. Influenced as always by his mother, Miguel led the April Revolt or Abrilada by the Lisbon military garrison on 29 April 1824. The revolt started on the pretext of crushing the Freemasons and defending the king from threats of death that the Masons has supposedly made against him, but João was taken into custody at the Bemposta Palace, while several of Miguel's political enemies of Miguel's were also imprisoned elsewhere. The infante's intent was to force his father to abdicate. Alerted to the situation, the diplomatic corps managed to enter Bemposta Palace. Those who held the king could not resist such authorities and restored a measure of freedom to the king. On 9 May, on the advice of friendly ambassadors, João pretended to travel to Caxias but, in fact, sought refuge with a British fleet anchored in the port. From aboard the ship HMS Windsor Castle, he reprimanded his son, deposed him from command of the army, and ordered him to release his political prisoners. Miguel was exiled. With the defeat of the rebellion, both liberals and absolutists came out into the streets to celebrate the survival of the legitimate government. On 14 May, the king returned to Bemposta, reconstituted the council of ministers and showed generosity to the others who had rebelled. Still, this did not dissuade the queen from further conspiracies. The police discovered another rebellion planned for 26 October, on the basis of which João placed his wife under house arrest in Queluz Palace.

At the end of his reign, King João ordered the creation of a free port in Lisbon, but the measure was not implemented. He ordered further inquiry into the death of his former friend the Marquis of Loulé, but final judgment was never rendered. On 5 June he granted amnesty to those involved in the Porto uprising, except for nine officers who were exiled. On the same day, the old constitution of the kingdom came back into force, and the Cortes reconvened to prepare a new text. The change of constitution faced several obstacles, mainly from Spain and from supporters of the queen.

Portugal's biggest problems at this time, however, related to the independence of Brazil, which had been the country's largest source of wealth. The loss of Brazil had a great negative impact on the Portuguese economy. An expedition to reconquer the former colony was even considered, but the idea was soon abandoned. Difficult negotiations and consultations undertaken in Europe in Rio de Janeiro with British mediation and pressure resulted in the final recognition of the independence on 29 August 1825. At the same time, the king freed all the Brazilians who were prisoners and authorized trade between both nations. It was agreed that Pedro govern Brazil as a sovereign with the title of Emperor, while João kept for himself the honor of Titular Emperor of Brazil; from this time, he signed official documents as "His Majesty the Emperor and King John VI" ("Sua Majestade o Imperador e Rei Dom João VI"). Brazil was required to pay certain funds that it had borrowed from Portugal. Nothing in the treaty spoke of the succession of the two crowns, but Pedro, still acting as the Prince Royal of Portugal and Algarve, implicitly remained heir to the Portuguese throne.

On 4 March 1826, João returned from the Hieronymites Monastery 

where he had lunched and retired to Bemposta Palace feeling poorly. He was racked for several days by symptoms including vomiting and convulsions. He appeared to be getting better, but by way of prudence designated his daughter, the infanta Isabel Maria, as regent. On the night of 9 March, he took a turn for the worse and died at approximately 5 a.m. on 10 March. The infanta immediately assumed the internal government of Portugal, and Pedro was recognized as the legitimate heir as Dom Pedro IV of Portugal. Doctors could not definitively determine a cause of death, but it was suspected that he had been poisoned. His body was embalmed and buried in the mausoleum of the kings of Portugal, the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza, in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. 

In the 1990′s, a team of investigators exhumed the Chinese ceramic pot that contained his bowels. Fragments of his heart were rehydrated and submitted to an analysis that detected enough arsenic to kill two people, confirming longstanding suspicions of assassination by poison.

As a youth, João was a retiring figure, heavily influenced by the clergy, and lived surrounded by priests and attending daily Mass in the church. Nonetheless, Oliveira Lima affirms that rather than being an expression of personal piety, this merely reflected Portuguese culture at that time, and that the king...

"...understood that the Church, with its body of traditions and its moral discipline, could only be useful for a good government in his manner, paternal and exclusive, of populations whose dominion was inherited with the scepter. Because of this, he was repeatedly the guest of monks and patron to composers of sacred music, but none of these Epicurean or artistic demonstrations compromised his free thought or denatured his skeptical tolerance. ... He made more use of the refectory of the monastery than of its chapel, because [the latter] was about observance and in [the former] one thought of gastronomy, and in terms of observance the pragmatic one was enough for him. In the Royal Chapel he more took pleasure with the senses than he prayed with the spirit: andantes took the place of meditations."

He had a great appreciation of sacred music and was a great reader of works about art, but he detested physical activity. He appeared to have suffered periodic crises of depression. An aversion to changes in his routine extended to his clothing: he wore the same coat until it tore, forcing his chamberlains to sew it on his body while he slept in it. He suffered from panic attacks when he heard thunder, staying in his rooms with the windows shut and receiving no one.

João's marriage was never a happy one. Rumors circulated that at the age of 25 he fell in love with Eugênia José de Menezes, his wife's chaperone. She became pregnant, and João was suspected of being the father. The case was hushed up, and the young woman was sent to Spain to bear the child. She gave birth to a daughter, whose name is unknown. The mother lived the rest of her life in nunneries and João supported her economically.

In the precarious and spare environment of Rio, the king's personal habits were simple. In contrast to his relative isolation in Portugal, he became more personally dynamic and interested in nature. He moved frequently between the Paço de São Cristóvão and the viceregal palace in the city, staying also at times at Paquetá Island, Governador Island, at Praia Grande (the beach at Niterói), and at the House of Santa Cruz. He went hunting and happily slept in a tent or under a tree. He liked the countryside, despite the swarms of mosquitoes and other pests and the scorching heat of the tropics that were detested by the majority of the Portuguese and other foreigners.

In the course of his few years living in Brazil, João ordered the creation of a series of institutions, projects and services that brought the country immense economic, administrative, juridical, scientific, cultural, artistic and other benefits, although not all went successfully, and some were downright dysfunctional or unnecessary, as Hipólito José da Costa mordantly observed. Among these, he was responsible for establishing the Imprensa Régia (the country's first publishing house), the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden the Arsenal de Marinha, the Fábrica de Pólvora (gunpowder factory), Rio's fire department, Brazil's merchant marine, and the charity hospital known as the Casa dos Expostos. He also established various educational programs in Rio, Pernambuco, Bahia and other places, teaching such subjects as dogmatic and moral theology, integral calculus, mechanics, hydrodynamics, chemistry, arithmetic, geometry, French, English, botany and agriculture, among others. He instigated the foundation of various societies and academies for scientific, literary and artistic studies, such as the Junta Vacínica (administering the smallpox vaccine), the Royal Bahiense Society of Men of Letters, the Academic Institute of Sciences and Fine Arts, the Fluminense Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Escola Anatômica, Cirúrgica e Médica do Rio de Janeiro,the Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Design, the Academia dos Guardas-Marinhas, the Academia Militar, the National Library of Brazil, 

the Royal Museum (now National Museum of Brazil), the Teatro Real de São João (now Teatro João Caetano), as well as recruiting internationally famous soloists and patronizing other musicians of the Royal Chapel, including Father José Maurício, 

the leading Brazilian composer of his time, supporting also the coming of the Missão Artística Francesa, which resulted in the establishment of the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios, predecessor of the present-day Escola Nacional de Belas Artes of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, of fundamental importance the renewal of teaching and art production in Brazil.

João's policies led to far-reaching economic changes, beginning with the opening of the ports and the abolition of the Portuguese commercial monopolies, with the United Kingdom being the great beneficiary. On the one hand, traders based in Brazil had to face strong foreign competition; on the other, it encouraged the creation of new manufacturing and other economic activities that were previously banned, poor or nonexistent in Brazil. At the same time, he created such high-level administrative bodies as the War Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the Ministry of Marine and Overseas; the Councils of State and of Finance, the Supreme Military Council, the Military Archive, the Bureaus of Justice and of Conscience and Orders, the Casa de Suplicação (Supreme Court), the Intendency General of Police, the first Bank of Brazil the Royal Board of Commerce, Agriculture, Factories and Navigation, and the General Postal Administration, as well as bringing Brazilians into administrative and staff positions, which helped diminish tensions between the natives and the Portuguese. He also encouraged agricultural production, especially cotton, rice and sugar cane, opened roads and encouraged the development of inland waterways, stimulating the movement of people, goods and products between regions.

According to Pedreira and Costa, few Portuguese monarchs have as large a place in the popular imagination as Dom João VI. That image is very varied, "but rarely for good reason. ... It is not strange that the tribulations of his marriage and family life and the references to his personality and personal customs, inviting easy caricature and circulation of an unflattering, if not comic, tradition." The king is popularly shown as indolent, silly and clumsy, subjugated by a shrewish wife, a disgusting glutton who always had baked chicken in his coat pockets to eat them at any time with greasy hands, a version typified by the Brazilian film Carlota Joaquina – Princesa do Brasil (1995), a parody mixed with sharp social criticism. That work had enormous repercussions, but, according to the critical commentary of Ronaldo Vainfas, "it is a story full of errors of all types, misrepresentations, imprecisions, inventions"; for historian Luiz Carlos Villalta, "it constitutes a broad attack on historical knowledge", in contrast to director Carla Camurati's stated intent "to produce a cinematic narrative that would constitute a type of historical novel with pedagogic function and, at the same time, would offer the viewer knowledge of the past and would help, as a people, to think about the present. It does not offer new historical knowledge to the viewer, even if one were to treat history as a novel: it reinforces, in truth, the ideas that the viewers bring, being zero in terms of increased knowledge... In this way, it leads the viewer more to debauchery than to critical reflection on the history of Brazil".

Diverse visual representations of John range from an overweight, oversized, sloppy appearance to a dignified and elegant character. As for historians' portrayals, researcher Ismênia de Lima Martins writes, "If there is agreement among all authors who relied on the testimony of those who knew him closely for his kindness and affability, all the rest is controversy. While some pointed to his countenance of a statesman, others considered him a coward and completely unprepared to govern. In any event, Dom João VI left his indelible mark on Portuguese-Brazilian history, a fact that resonates to the present, through a historiography that insists on judging the king, despite the transformations that discipline experienced over the course of the twentieth century".

In governing, João always depended on strong auxiliaries. Prominent among these were Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, 1st Count of Linhares, 

António de Araújo e Azevedo, 1st Count of Barca, 

and Tomás Antônio de Vila Nova Portugal, who may be considered the mentors of many of John's most important undertakings, but according to João Luccock: "The prince regent has been various times accused of apathy; to me, he seemed to have greater sensitivity and strength of character than was generally attributed to him by both friends and opponents. He was placed in new circumstances by which he was tested, bowing before them with patience; if incited, he acted with vigor and promptness". He also praised the character of the king, reaffirming his kindness and attention. Oliveira Lima, with his classic Dom João VI no Brasil (1908), was one of the major figures responsible for the beginning of João's large-scale rehabilitation. He researched innumerable documents of the era without finding unfavorable descriptions of the king by Brazilians or by ambassadors and other diplomats accredited to the court. On the contrary, he found many accounts that painted him in favorable colors, such as the testimonies left by the British consul Henderson and the U.S. minister Sumter, who "greatly preferred to address himself directly to the monarch, always willing to do justice, than to confer with his ministers.... deeming him in this matter much more advanced than his courtiers". Diplomatic documents also confirm the breadth of his political vision, aiming to give Brazil an importance in the Americas comparable to the United States, adopting a discourse similar the U.S. doctrine of Manifest Destiny. He asserted his authority without violence, more in a persuasive and affable manner; his conduct of international affairs, although sometimes unsuccessful and somewhat given to imperialist ambitions, in many other ways was far-seeing and harmonious,as indicated by the many actions described above that improved the living conditions of the Brazilian colony.

Nonetheless, the French general Jean-Andoche Junot described him as "a weak man, suspicious of everyone and everything, jealous of his authority but incapable of making it respected. He is dominated by the fathers [that is, priests] and can act only under the duress of fear", and several Brazilian historians such as João Pandiá Calógeras, Tobias Monteiro and Luiz Norton draw him in comparably dark colors. Among the Portuguese, such as Oliveira Martins and Raul Brandão, he was invariably portrayed as a burlesque figure until the conservative resurgence of 1926, when he began to find defenders, such as Fortunato de Almeida, Alfredo Pimenta and Valentim Alexandre. It is also certain that many were disaffected with him, that he raised taxes and aggravated the debt, multiplied titles and hereditary privilege, that he could not allay the vast array of internal dissensions or eliminate entrenched administrative corruption, and that he left Brazil on the brink of bankruptcy when he emptied the treasury to return to Portugal.

Whatever the king's character may have been, the importance of his reign for a remarkable spurt of development for Brazil and, indeed, for the very unity of that nation is incontestable. Gilberto Freyre affirms that "Dom João VI was one of the personalities who had the greatest influence over the formation of the nation.... he was an ideal mediator.... between tradition – which he incarnated – and innovation – which he welcomed and promoted – during that decisive period for the Brazilian future". As Laurentino Gomes puts it, "no other period of Brazilian history testifies to such profound decisive and rapid changes as the thirteen years in which the Portuguese court lived in Rio de Janeiro". Scholars such as Oliveira Lima, Maria Odila da Silva Dias, Roderick Barman and the aforementioned Laurentino believe that had João not come to the Americas and installed a strong central government, probably the large territory of Brazil, with important regional differences, would have fragmented into several distinct nations, as occurred with the vast neighboring Spanish colony. This opinion was shared by the British admiral Sir Sidney Smith, commander of the squadron that escorted the Portuguese ships as the fled to Brazil.

Recent biographies try to separate fact from legend and counter the folklore of ridicule that had formed around King João and which lacks documentary basis. Lúcia Bastos warns that even today we need to be careful to place certain matters in their historical context, such as the question of corruption, noting that although there were enormous costs and clear abuses, at that time there was no clear separation between the public treasury and the monarch's private accounts, and in the logic of the Old Regime "the king is the owner of the state... of which the distribution of spoils forms part: the king is the dispenser of justice and spoils". In the words of Leandro Loyola, "from the new research a ruler emerges who had his limitations, but who encountered a totally adverse situation and survived it, despite governing a small, poor, decadent country such as Portugal at the beginning of the 19th century." Before dying on Saint Helena, his most powerful enemy, Napoleon, said of him: "He was the only one who deceived me." José Joaquim Carneiro de Campos, Marquis of Caravelas, praised him in the Brazilian Senate on the occasion of João's death, saying, "All of us who are here have many reasons to praise the memory of King João VI, we all ought to be grateful, for the benefits he gave us: he raised Brazil to a kingdom, provided well for all of us, treated us always with great affection, and all Brazilians are obligated to him."

João married Carlota Joaquina of Spain (25 April 1775 – 7 December 1830) in 1785 and had several children:

Maria Teresa, Princess of Beira (29 April 1793 - 17 January 1874) Married first her cousin Pedro Carlos de Borbón y Bragança, Infante of Spain and Portugal and second to Carlos, Infante of Spain, widower of her sister Maria Francisca.

Francisco António, Prince of Beira (21 March 1795 - 11 June 1801) Died at the age of 6, making his younger brother, Pedro, the heir-apparent to the throne of Portugal.

Infanta Maria Isabel (19 May 1797 - 26 December 1818) Married Fernando VII, King of Spain.

Pedro IV of Portugal & I of Brazil (12 October 1798 - 24 September 1834) Stayed in Brazil after the Peninsular War in Portugal. Proclaimed the Independence of Brazil in 1822 and became its first monarch as Emperor Pedro I. He was also King of Portugal as Pedro IV in 1826.

Infanta Maria Francisca (22 April 1800 - 4 September 1834) Married Carlos, Infante of Spain (his first marriage).

Infanta Isabel Maria (4 July 1801 - 22 April 1876) Served as regent of Portugal from 1826 to 1828; died unmarried

Miguel  of Portugal (26 October 1802 - 14 November 1866) Known by the Liberals as the Usurper.

Infanta Maria da Assunção (25 June 1805 - 7 January 1834) Died unmarried

Infanta Ana de Jesus Maria (23 October 1806 - 22 June 1857) Married Nuno José Severo de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto, Marquis of Loulé and Count of Vale de Reis. After her death, his uncle King Luis I of Portugal elevated him as first Duke of Loulé. He served as Prime Minister of Portugal. They had issue.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Worship from Home: July 9, 2017

This series aims to provide folks who can’t make it to church for any variety of reasons with prayers, songs, and sermons. My hope is that these posts will help you worship from home, knowing that others are using the same content and thus, though we may be miles and miles apart, we worship together. See this post for more information.

If you prefer to worship with different material, see this masterpost of sermons and full services online that should all be LGBT+ friendly.

Connecting the various scriptures for this week may appear difficult at first, but the central theme tying them all together is that of grace -- received rather than earned. Being the beloved of God is another theme. Moreover, as this webpage notes, “There is also a distinctly female note in the texts, and it might offer opportunities to explore a dimension of the Bible which is often overlooked.”

[Image description: a painting of Rebekah giving water to Abraham’s servant, who is acting as a go-between for Isaac the suitor. A camel can be seen behind Rebekah, whom she also watered. Rebekah will soon decide -- she is given her own choice! -- to go with the servant to take Isaac as her husband. She will leave the land and culture she knows to do so -- when are we like Rebekah, choosing to go where we do not know in order to follow the will of God?] 

Let us worship God, together.

(The worship material is under the readmore – let me know if you are unable to access it!)

Gathering 

Let the sound of this South African song, “Come Bring Your Burdens to God,” wash over you. 

If you cannot listen, the English part of the lyrics goes like this:

“Come bring your burdens to God, / Come bring your burdens to God, / Come bring your burdens to God / for Jesus will never say no.”

Reflect: What burdens do you have right now in your life? Do you believe Jesus will take them -- will help you to carry them? Who else can help you carry them? Whose burden can you help carry? 

Call to Worship

Blessed be God who creates all out of nothing; Blessed be Jesus who gives all for nothing; Blessed be the Spirit for whom nothing is impossible; Blessed be God forever!

Creator Spirit, wellspring of our lives, As your faithfulness is deeper than the deepest ocean carry us safely on the tide of your love.

As the refreshing rain falls on the just and unjust alike Refresh us with your mercy, who know our own injustice.

As a river flows steadily on, defying all the odds of stone and water Flow over every boundary and border that separates us from each other.

As we were once held in the waters of our parent’s womb, Hold us in the peace and power of your abiding presence.

As the waters of our baptism washed us and welcomed us Renew us now in fullness of life and unity of love. Amen, thanks be to God!

[source]

Confession

God who startles and upturns our expectations,

You do not reveal your Wisdom to the ones the world calls wise. Rather, Wisdom dazzles the minds of infants; She dances with those we call fools and whispers Her secrets to those we shove to the margins.

Have mercy on us when we do not recognize Her among the downtrodden.  Have mercy on us when we do not recognize Her amongst ourselves in our own struggles with illness, with poverty, with oppression. 

Have mercy on us when we fail to use your grace to fight for justice and peace for all your Creation.

Have mercy on us when we doubt your promise to lift our burdens from our shoulders to take us in your arms as your Beloved.

Assurance of Pardon

God of Grace,

You make the fool wise and you call the unwanted your Beloved.  We give thanks and praise for your unending grace,  for the love and compassion you extend to us when we are distracted by burdens or weighed down by doubts. 

Assured of your mercy, we can move forward  striving ever onward to the full life you secured for us and lifting others up along the way. 

Amen. 

Hymn: “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light”

Scripture

Genesis 24:34-67

Commentary on this passage (which is my personal favorite scriptural account of courtship): “The Old Testament readings...all celebrate the gift of love and marriage, though in quite different ways. Genesis introduces us to Rebekah, one of the great matriarchs of the Bible... Rebekah has an arranged marriage, perhaps the ultimate arranged marriage, since God plays a decisive part in it. ..." [source]

Song of Songs 8:2-13

Commentary on this passage: “The passage from the Song of Songs is unmediated and personal, and its unnamed woman singer is overflowing with anticipation and joy. It catches the sweet constraint of anticipation, the discipline of waiting for something eagerly hoped-for. It is perhaps one of the most difficult and yet most deepening aspects of our humanity: it is the last weeks of pregnancy, the last days of the school year before the holidays, the last long miles of the weary traveller’s journey home. ...Now is the time for singing! And who could disagree that, in truth, the singing is not more joyous, the source not more deeply carved into our being, because of the anticipation.” [source]

Hymn: a contemporary piece called “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones fits the themes of the Song of Songs passage well. 

Romans 7:15-25a

Commentary on this passage: “A whole sermon could easily explore the ways in which we don’t do the good we want to; rather do the evil we don’t want to. Are we driven by the need to justify ourselves -- either by our worldly achievements or by our spiritual perfectionism? What does it mean to let go of our striving? When are we most open to grace?” [source]

Matthew 11:16-30

Commentary on this passage: It "connects us again with Sophia, Wisdom, in both her strengths and her limitations, and again it’s worth reading the whole chapter, for in it we follow Jesus through the frustration with the crowds, so lacking in wisdom and unable to hear him... It is to the poor and vulnerable, the small and powerless that his word will speak; they are the ones who will receive the true wisdom of kindness, humility and gentleness. These are not what worldly wisdom thinks of as characteristic masculine qualities -- do we need to challenge our definitions, or even our church practices? Who do we admire, consider suitable for high office? Who lets the light in, if not the people whose need and vulnerability makes them transparent?” [source]

Hymn: “ ‘We played the flute,’ the children said”; text here, melody here

“Forgive us, Lord, what we expect! We want a faith that we control — Yet faith is not what we direct, For it's your grace that makes us whole.”

Sermon

Option 1: a reflection entitled “The Right Yoke,” text only, pretty short

“In Matthew 11:16-19 Jesus addresses the crowd and describes the differences between himself and John. One is a bug-eating ascetic, the other enjoys celebrations and making wine at weddings. One lives in wild, isolating places, while the other surrounds himself with crowds of people and travels to the heart of cities. John and Jesus are dramatically different people; one rough and uncouth, the other accepting hospitality. Each implores their followers to repent and turn back to God. Yet for John and Jesus, their lifestyles were used as an excuse to reject the message. It might not matter if you’re an ascetic like John or outgoing like Jesus: if the crowd doesn’t like what you’re saying then they’ll come up with a reason not to listen.”

(Reminds me of how the messages and good fruits of LGBT+ folks are rejected or ignored in favor of denouncing our “lifestyles”)

Option 2: an audio sermon with transcript available; 12 minutes

This sermon focuses on the Romans 7 passage, so make sure to go back up and read that if you didn’t 

“The calling that we have that I hope really ignites this parish is a calling to be yoked with God and God’s ministry of love and salvation for the whole world.”

Option 3: a video sermon on Song of Songs 8, no subtitles; 17 minutes

What is God calling us, the Beloved, to “come away” to? What makes us hesitate?

On fuller life and hope

Reflection

God our Beloved, you hold out your hands, which bear the wounds of your love, to accept us into your arms as one spouse takes another.

We will cling to you without fear, for you will never reject us, and you will never swallow up our selfhood in yours  but rather will delight in what we are, the true selves you free us to be.

May we mold our lives to yours, while learning to love ourselves as we are.

May we be yours forever, freed from the burdens of fear and doubt and thus empowered to be your love to the world.

Amen.

Hymn: “I Am Your Bride,” contemporary piece by Danielle Rose; with lyrics

Prayers of the People

Compassionate God, you promise us your yoke is easy and your burden light.  You promise rest for those of us who are weighed down under burdens too great for us to bear. 

We lift up the prayers of our hearts to you -- the burdens and pains, the sorrows as well as the joys. 

Take a moment to pray for yourself, for those in your life, for others in the world, for Creation as a whole -- for whomever the Spirit moves you to lift up.

Amen. 

Hymn: “Come to the Water,” with lyrics

Benediction

In your life, Jesus, you showed us that joy in banquets and good company can be a sacred thing. We are ready to go out to expand the banquet of your love.

In the woman of the Song of Songs, we learn that passion and pleasure can unite us and lead us to God.  We are ready to go out to learn to delight in our own bodies, and to grow closer to one another, your people.

O Sophia, Holy Wisdom, beholding your choosing to share your truth with the cast-offs of society, with the naive and the ignored, We are ready to go out to share the Wisdom the world calls foolish.

Let us go out with hearts transformed, with minds striving to improve while not fearing imperfection, with bodies ready to have their share of work and of rest, all for the glory of God our Beloved. 

Thanks be to God! 

Hymn: “Lead Me, Guide Me”, with lyrics

[ Image Description: a detail from He Qi’s piece “Song of Solomon.” An abstract type style is used; a gazelle and green mountains/hills take up the background; and the image centers on two figures, both with black hair and full lips. The one is facing the viewer, the other is turned in profile and her face is in front of half of the other figure’s face. Their faces seem to unify into one, with each contributing one eye, and half the lips; one contributing the ear, the other the nose. ]

[anglenews]

Why tax-suffocated New Yorkers need reform ASAP

November 18, 2017 | 10:49pm From Roy Moore to Al Franken and Bill Clinton, stories about alleged sexual assaults are impossible to resist, especially when they come with photographic proof. But — stop the presses — they were not the most important political news of the week. That honor goes to passage of the tax bill by the House of Representatives. America is now halfway home to both a functioning Congress and a giant economic stimulus. If we’re lucky, there will be a third benefit, too — a tax revolution in deep blue states like New York, New Jersey and California. The pressure federal tax cuts would put on Gov. Cuomo and other big spenders would be worth the price of admission. President Trump hailed the House action and the passage of a related version by the Senate finance committee. And why not? His presidency might be at stake. Beyond their economic importance, reforming the tax code and cutting rates are political imperatives for the president and his entire party. Having failed to repeal and replace ObamaCare, congressional Republicans could be slaughtered next year if they face voters empty-handed. And a Democratic Congress in 2019 would have one goal — impeach Trump. Even if it failed, there would be no time or appetite for anything else. So for Republicans, passing tax legislation is a test of whether they can govern and the only way many can save their jobs. That’s as it should be: if they can’t get their act together to cut taxes, what good are they? Failure also would mean losing the chance to contrast a booming economy with the slow-growth era under Barack Obama. That contrast would demonstrate to a new generation of Americans that economic growth creates more opportunity for more people than liberal redistribution schemes — and is thus more compassionate. Hurdles still remain, with full Senate approval uncertain. If more than two Republicans defect, the only hope would be Democratic votes, and that’s a slim one. Not a single Dem voted yes in the House and possible yes votes in the Senate, such as West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, would probably say “aye” only if the GOP had 50 votes without them. Of the 13 Republicans who voted no in the House, five are from New York, including two of my favorites, Pete King and John Faso, and four from New Jersey. Their main objection is that the House bill allows filers to deduct only up to $10,000 of local property taxes against their federal income and eliminates deductions of state and local income and sales taxes. The pols fear they will get blamed if those SALT eliminations mean some upper income families in their districts see tax hikes. While changes are likely in a final version, there already are so many other key improvements, such as rate cuts and doubling the standard deduction, that the results still would be overwhelmingly positive. Most New York families would get a tax cut, while cuts in the corporate and pass-through business rates would help others and stimulate jobs. Depending on how mortgage interest is treated, the housing market might become more affordable. Naturally, all this alarms Gov. Cuomo, who is resorting to false claims and dangerous language. He called the four state Republicans who supported the measure “traitors” and “Benedict Arnolds” and said it would “devastate the families of New York.” He’s wrong on the facts and his name-calling is a smokescreen for his real fear — that curbing state and local tax deductions would put pressure on him to reduce spending and taxes, or see a further migration of the high earners who benefit most from those deductions. According to the Manhattan Institute’s Brian Riedl, families earning over $500,000 claim 50 percent of the SALT savings in New York. Yet, as the feds reasonably ask, why should national taxpayers rescue New York and other blue states from excessive spending and exorbitant taxes? There’s also another hole in Cuomo’s argument — his complaint that New York sends $48 billion more to Washington each year in taxes than it gets back in federal spending. But cutting federal levies would reduce that deficit, so, on that basis, Cuomo should be supporting the measure. The irony of his complaints is that he campaigned in 2010 against high taxes, declaring, “New York has no future as the tax capital of the nation.” Seven years later, changes have been modest at best, and one result are the economic dead zones upstate. His answer — huge economic development boondoggles — has spawned more corruption than growth. Cuomo is up for re-election next year and wants to run for president in 2020. His loud opposition to tax cuts is aimed at winning over liberal Democrats who are suspicious of him, both in New York and nationally. But any hope he has on the national stage will disappear if Albany’s financial house of cards collapses and creates a new stampede for the exits. Of course, there is another option — Cuomo could threaten to build a wall around New York to keep people here. That would fit his temperament like a glove. Clintons redux Memo to the Clintons: It’s over. After New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said that, in hindsight, Bill Clinton should have resigned over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the political mafia put a hit on her. Clinton henchman Philippe Reines tweeted that “Ken Starr spent $70 million on a consensual b—job. Senate voted to keep POTUS WJC. But not enough for you @SenGillibrand?” Reines called her a “hypocrite” for taking the Clintons’ money and endorsements, ending with, “Interesting strategy for 2020 primaries. Best of luck.” Perhaps Reines’ panic blinded him to the tea leaves. Donna Brazile’s book signaled that the Clintons’ time has past and Gillibrand’s views are simply more proof of the new normal. The Clintons better get used to being backbenchers. Voter’s remorse Now they tell us. In the first week after Mayor Putz was re-elected, there was a flood of revealing news held back until after the election. Lackey Comptroller Scott Stringer released a study on Rikers Island, showing de Blasio’s “reforms” sent costs soaring even as the inmate population declined. It now costs $271,000 to hold one inmate for a year — up 49 percent since 2014. Similarly, the Department of Investigation found that the Housing Authority falsified reports that claimed thousands of apartments had been inspected for lead-paint contamination when no inspections had been done. So much for taking care of poor children. Still, there’s no cause for complaint. Voters wanted four more years of de Blasio in the worst way, and it’s already clear they’re going to get it. A grave mistake A friend sends along this gem: O’Malley is walking with a friend past a cemetery when they come upon a gravestone that says, “Here lies a politician and an honest man.” “B’Jesus,” says O’Malley. “How did they got both of them into that one casket?” Share this: Source http://www.anglenews.com/why-tax-suffocated-new-yorkers-need-reform-asap-2/

[briangroth27]

Doctor Strange Review

I enjoyed Doctor Strange, but also felt it was average, ranking somewhere in the middle of Marvel Studios’ pack. I know next to nothing about Dr. Strange, having only seen him in guest appearances in various Marvel cartoons and an animated film a while back, so I went in with no expectations. I walked out thinking the movie was a fun adventure, but wanting more from Strange’s character development, less formula in the plot, and more weirdness in general. Light spoilers... There's a lot of familiarity to Dr. Stephen Strange, brilliant and arrogant jerk who's humbled (a little) into becoming a hero, so his origin and character arc felt routine and played out even with magic as a new window dressing. Strange’s dogged determination to know how everything works in this new field was one of his redeeming qualities, though, and one that set him a bit apart from the very similar Tony Stark. Strange was definitely a lot colder than I thought he'd be, however that point was brushed over in the movie and clashed with his later refusal to kill (see below for more). Benedict Cumberbatch was good with a variation on his "I'm smarter than everyone else and I know it" sensibility from Sherlock mixed with something of a toned-down Stark, but even considering he does have a learning curve, I still came away with the impression that everything came too easily for him. Even after setting up a long, arduous training process/montage by referring to how long it took him to become a brilliant surgeon and including a few moments where his skills fail him, it seems in a few months he's mastered sorcery others haven't in lifetimes. For example, he's able to operate a time device perfectly after one attempt and no further practice. He makes some mistakes and gets injured (and almost dies at one point), but outside of the kaleidoscope-city sequence, his mistakes don't have big consequences (and even that one didn't make an impact on me). To the movie’s credit, he also gets out of things through sheer luck sometimes. It might be the fact that this is part of a huge franchise, but I never felt like he might actually be in danger or that his powers could screw up the world in any irreparable way thanks to his inexperience. In hindsight, he's less perfect than my initial impression, but he's still hailed as something of a prodigy and it would've been better if he had to work harder or at least rely on others more. Chiwetel Ejiofor was well-cast as Mordo and I liked his arc; it’s possibly the best one in the movie. Tilda Swinton was good as the Ancient One, but ultimately I didn't feel a connection to her character (and wish they’d kept the character’s original Asian ethnicity from the comics). Rachel McAdams’ Christine Palmer was written as a generic love interest without much of her own drive, so McAdams was wasted here. I enjoyed Benjamin Bratt’s small role as Jonathan Pangborn and the mundane magic he employed; it brought a nice variety to the magic usage in the world. Mads Mikkelsen was fine as Kaecilius, but barely felt like a presence (the same fate that’s befallen other minor Marvel villains). He and his cronies aren't all that three-dimensional either, but at least their attempt to grant everyone eternal life is an original motive. The biggest bad, on the other hand, was underwhelming both in terms of his plan—your typical “invade and take the Earth”—and his power output. 

However, the visuals are outstanding! The chase/fight you've seen in the trailers with the twisty city and the one in the climax are both very cool and inventive, and definitely worth seeing on the big screen if you can still find it in theaters. I also loved that the climax is resolved without the usual superhero business. The imagery in Strange's first trip through the multiverse was very cool, but the rest of the movie only really touched on one other dimension and a Danger Room-esque pocket world, so the promise of impossibilities and infinite potential felt a little squandered here. Likewise, the mystical boot camp Strange goes to felt routine, like it was using pop culture shorthand for everything so that we’d accept it more easily instead of developing their own rules and really defying expectations. Luke Cage, for example, took the time to fully immerse the audience in the world of Cage’s Harlem, and even though Strange has a much shorter runtime, having Strange (and us) really feel out of his element would’ve been an improvement. I would’ve much preferred that the magical aspects of the film, the dimensions he visits, and the enemies he faces be far stranger—why should beings from other dimensions want anything similar to what plain old human enemies do, after all?

Michael Giacchino’s score is whimsically great and a welcome departure from the usual Marvel Studios scores, which tend to sound kinda similar. Some of the humor lands, like things his cape does and Stephen’s reactions to mysticism, while other bits don't at all, like what finally makes Wong (Benedict Wong) laugh. I think they had more hits than misses, though. 

I realize this review sounds fairly negative, but I didn’t dislike the movie. Even with the MCU origin story formula showing (and wearing thin) more and more, I enjoyed myself. There’s no denying that this is a fun and inventive film; I’m more tired of origin story tropes than I am of Marvel films or superheroes in general. I’d be up for a sequel that more fully explores the multiverse and goes way weirder than this one dared to! Dive into magic and other realms with the same abandon that Guardians of the Galaxy had for space adventures! Major Spoilers The scene just before Strange’s car accident made him so much colder than any Marvel hero thus far, completely eliminating my sympathy for him, even if the writers didn't intend to paint him that darkly. I just don't see how to reconcile Strange refusing to take an “impossible” medical case because it could "screw up his perfect record" with his later argument that being a doctor means he won't kill. He also refused to take a case because it was beneath him/boring, which IMO goes beyond any semantics of killing vs. not trying (like Batman Begins tried to pull) and establishes a pattern of his self-aggrandizement that’s never resolved over the course of the movie, even if he does accept sacrificing himself to stop Dormammu. 

I absolutely respect, love, and was surprised that the climax is solved with Strange's cunning rather than punching. Similarly, the reverse-time fight was awesome! That might be the most inventive superhero fight in a movie in a long time. That Dormammu is played by Cumberbatch—he’s a dark reflection of whomever he is speaking to at the moment, according to the director—is a nice touch.

One of the few things I knew about Strange from Spider-man cartoons was that Mordo was a villain, so I wasn't surprised by his turn, but I do think he had the best arc of the film and I'd be interested to see his anti-sorcerer quest continue. 

I'm thoroughly confused by the post-credits scene with Thor. Why is Loki helping him look for Odin?? Loki was posing as Odin at the end of The Dark World...

I hope exploring the nine realms in Thor Ragnarok will help bring out the weirdness in Strange’s world!