At Sept-Tours, Henry settles into the steady rhythm of work, finding clarity in the simple, physical routines of the stables.
Far to the north, life continues in its familiar patterns, shaped by duty and routine. A woman moves just as steadily through her own tasks, grounded in habit and responsibility - yet more aware than she would like to be of a shift she cannot fully name.
Meanwhile, at the de Clermonts’ country house, some 1,050 kilometres north-east, the warmth of the previous evening lingers in soft smiles, shared glances, and the gentle ease of family and friends gathered together. The celebration, filled with laughter and a rare sense of lightness, has left its mark, not in noise, but in a quieter, deeper connection.
Unseen yet present, a subtle triangle of places and destinies quietly begins to take shape, its threads stretching toward the years ahead when these lives will converge.
Chapters: 13/?
Fandom: A Discovery of Witches (TV), All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness, Downton Abbey
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Diana Bishop/Matthew Clairmont, Diana Bishop & Matthew
Clairmont, Mary Crawley/Henry Talbot
Characters: Lady Mary Josephine Talbot, Henry Talbot, Matthew Claimront, Diana Bishop, Nathaniel Wilson, Sophie Wilson, Agatha Wilson, Margaret Wilson (All Souls Trilogy), Marthe (All Souls Trilogy), Marcus Whitmore, Phoebe Taylor, Audrey Hall
Summary:
For weeks, Matthew Clairmont and his friend Nathaniel Wilson have been looking forward to a relaxing evening at their favourite pub. But amid the beer, laughter and cosy hustle and bustle, Matthew suddenly recognises a man who turns out to be a former fellow student. An unexpected encounter that changes the course of the evening in a surprising way ...
Just want to ask what is your opion about POC representation in ADOW? Cause I watched shows with good and bad representation and I (as a white woman) would like to know POC's opinion. Thank you.
------------
Also could you write about Phoebe and Marcus having fight with fluff in the end? This week was really difficult for me and maybe it would make me feel better.
Firstly, really sad that you had a bad week and am writing, so hopefully it improves
Representation in ADOW
Overall representation is decent, in my opinion. All the characters of colour have their own unique personalities, and identities, which I love. This is in both the book
But, let's get down to the nitty and gritty. Note: this is longer than I thought it would be lol but I hope you appreciate my thoughts.
Miriam's arc as being Matthew's protector has always irked me. I know that Bertrand asked her to, but I don't know why it's her responsibility to stop Matthew, a whole grown man, from making bad decisions. He got her husband killed because of his bad decisions. Also, in the books, Diana is straight-up disrespectful, as I explain in this post. As if Miriam isn't risking her life helping her. It's almost that trope of a brown female character being presented negatively in order to lift her white counterpart.
Emily Mather deserved to live. She was a badass witch, which I love, but something unsettling about her being sacrificed for the Bishops. But also, I want a whole book on her and Sarah. I want to know about her family's history because black witches in the USA and also, their descendant is a black gay woman who lives with her gay wife and rude cat, chilling.
Fernando. Sweet, Sweet Fernando makes very little sense to me. I get he has a kind and good nature, but he spends way too much time with the de Clermonts, helping clean up their mess. Let's not forget Philippe racistly didn't like him. I like to think that it's because he loves Gallowglass, his son, which he obviously does. But yeah.
Phoebe is such a cool character, as the first human, we see her interact with the de Clermonts. Not scared of any of those weirdos. I think I have said this before, but I don't like in the book, that her mother Padma, is given little to no identity but the agreeable wife. Like, I would have loved to see that scene where Padma and Phoebe talk about her marrying Marcus because her mother is an immigrant who moved to marry Edward. Also, I would have loved to know more about her heritage in the books, especially as Miriam makes a point to give her a non-western middle name because this girl is mixed race. The show does this slightly better, but I would have liked to see more development.
Nate and Agatha - a lovely mother and son duo and the show did they so much better than the book. Nate is such a good diversion from the many stereotypes of young black men in British TV - he is actively shown to be an emotional person, cares about everyone, very involved as a husband and father. Also, the way he supports Sophie, they were adorable in their little moments. Agatha is also brilliant, I love seeing her.
Chris is such a cool character because he straight up reminds Matthew that he has lived as a white man for the past 1500 years, so he has very little idea of the cruelty humans are capable of. Matthew was chilling with slave owners back in the day and has the audacity to yell at a brother from Alabama?? Lights him up in a few sentences. No notes and we love to see it.
Juliette deserved better than being manipulated and abused by a gross white man for another white man who just leaves her after using her to help him kill a group of black and brown people in NO (which always irked me because Matthew knows what it is to be manipulated by his father) then gets murdered brutally by his white girlfriend. Free my girl. In my mind, she ran away, living peacefully
Hamish Osborne arrives in Madison with the final object that is needed for Diana’s and Matthew’s timewalk. They’ve used the past week getting ready for it by giving Diana all the vaccinations she might need as well as having her practice timewalking. It hasn’t been easy with so many creatures in one place. “The real problem was that we were in the midst of an acute outbreak of testosterone poisoning. Nathaniel and Matthew couldn’t be in the same room without sparks flying, and in the increasingly crowded house it was hard for them to avoid each other.” and Hamish arrival doesn’t change that but it makes the conventicle complete with three witches, three daemons, and three vampires.
They all gather in the “war room” and Matthew tells the group about everything that has happened until now. After some heated discussions, Hamish makes the women leave the room, except Sarah, and negotiations begin. Miriam is able to hear them talk and tells the women they are planning war. When they are done, Hamish has a very short talk with Diana about Matthew and warns her that Matthew will not be the same where they are going. Unlike Diana, Hamish has a very good idea of when and where that is.
"’Bout That (produced by The Ghetto Professionals (Mighty V.I.C. & Mike Heron))" by Kool G. Rap feat. Ma Barker
“We’re about our dough, fuckin’ with blow, didn’t cha know, we about our chips, hundreds and bricks, runnin’ the strip, we’re about our cream, know what I mean, come up with the team, we’re about our cake, hoppin’ that weight, runnin’ from jake”
