#I was Lady Catherine btw

[thatmadscientistbitch]

I have a confession to make.

I have never finished Pride and Prejudice.

I was IN a production of the play and I still somehow have no idea how it goes.

[bitterrobin]

you, batman/batfamily fan, can you be normal about parents and their flaws without making them exaggerated abusers?

can you absorb the fact that Jack and Janet Drake were not perfect parents, but they still loved Tim? and that Tim loved them enough that he tried to tear a razor sharp boomerang out of his father's corpse with his bare hands? that the Drakes were not millionaires who forced high society values onto their son for the sake of a public image? (that they weren't even rich for that long of a time?)

can you be normal about how the deep recesses of poverty affect a family unit while allowing a parent nuance? can you write Willis Todd without making him a classist caricature of an abuser? can you write Catherine Todd and Crystal Brown without portraying their drug addictions as fodder for their children's whump? (I added in Crystal bc she canonically suffered from drug addiction, but I haven't seen much of her in fics tbh)

can you accept that as much an abuser David Cain was, he still loved Cassandra enough that he utterly fell apart when she left him? That he was genuinely astonished/proud of her when she spoke to him for the first time even as she threatened him? he still sucks majorly, but you can't deny that he loved her. that's what makes their relationship so painful.

can you be normal about Talia al Ghul? can you write her without making her an ooc rapist or child abuser or cold dragon lady? can you acknowledge that every ounce of her characterization surrounding Damian is vastly different from her original pre-Morrison personality to the extent that og Talia would never even have a child in the League?

can you pick apart when a parents portrayal is out of character, that a writer made them hit or neglect their child because above all else they exist for drama and action? that you can find DC characters who actually had traumatic childhoods instead of grafting them onto a Bat-character? (> this last sentence is mostly about Tim btw)

Exploring a character's parents and how they affected them is always interesting, but I've seen fics that genuinely steer towards character assassination rather than an exploration of events written in the comics. They exaggerate a parent's portrayal not to write about a complicated parent-child dynamic but so they can have Bruce or Jason rushing in to comfort them (yes, this is about the Tim Drake shrimp fic). Idk, I think most of my ire just stems from the fact that content about Mia Dearden or Todd Rice or Grant Emerson aren't widespread, Mia specifically always gets explored in Bat-circles as someone that just adds to Jason's character rather than analyzing her on her own, in addition to the constant hell that Talia goes through in both canon and fanon.

[deathxproof-archive]

Hi someone randomly liked my post on my personal about my OC Molly Archer and reminded me of it so like. If you’re ever interested in a really fucky Doctor companion (or her future adult daughter/child). This is the quickest general rundown I didn’t even know I had. She’s a mess. You’re welcome.

she’s insane she’s a wet cat of a human being she’s got daddy and mommy issues up to here she’s pathetic she’s everything she’s a breakthrough case she’s in hiding she’s forever mourning she’s a mom she’s got trauma she doesn’t even know how to find a therapist for she loves her friends and she secretly loves attention and if one things for certain she’s never stepping foot inside of the TARDIS ever again (a lie)

[afrotunada]

incomplete list of fun and interesting things I've learned about Jason Todd through my scattered readings and late night googling

One time, he was sooo desperate for affection and validation, he was willing to risk it all after an accidental, spur of the moment kiss with Barbara Gordon in Three Jokers Issue #2. Alas, he was thwarted by a janitor, the poor bastard...(much to everyone's relief I'm sure) (Batman: Three Jokers)

Batman: Three Jokers Issue #3

In addition to statuesque amazons (Artemis), blonde bombshells (Isabel Ardila), white-haired beauties (Essence and Rose Wilson), and Dick's ex-girlfriends, Jason also likes smart, curvy ladies ;) selfshippers rejoice! (although I myself am not so curvy, his love of normal girls is a positive in my book<3) (Red Hood: The Hill)

Jason hooking up with Dana's friend and employee Carmen Ortega while Dana herself (as Strike) gets her shit rocked by her other (former) friend and employee Omar (as Slayer) on the other side of town - as one does. Red Hood: The Hill Issue #2

One of Jason's first overtures at rejoining the Batfam was made in the New 52 relaunch of the 2011 comic Batman Incorporated, where he takes on the persona of Wingman at the behest of Bruce. He even teams up with Damian Wayne (going by Redbird at the time), forming their own very brief Batman & Robin-esque pair! Also, they both looked kind of ridiculous... [apparently, takes place sometime during Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1 (2011-2015), around issues 17 and 18 and Death of A Family, but before Damian's death and his own Joker-induced gas coma. weird ass timeline!] (Batman Incorporated (2012))

Yes, that is, in fact, Jason in that getup. It's giving Cybercop Owlman. Peak fashion, actually. Batman Incorporated (2012) Issue #4

(as an additional aside, post New 52 and into the Rebirth era, Jay and Bruce start patching things up (kinda) and enter a truce of sorts starting in the Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth one-shot from 2016. Yay!)

In the Elseworld of Batman: White Knight (also known as the Murphyverse for it's creator - Sean Murphy), Jason Todd is the eldest son instead of Dick Grayson, meaning that he was actually both the first Robin, and Bruce's first adopted son! He was still captured and tortured by the Joker tho....he escaped alive, but was presumed dead and given a burial and tombstone - as in the main universe - and Dick was taken on as Robin in his "absence." Poor guy! He can't catch a break even in AUs! BUT!! He does gets his own Robin sidekick in this universe - Gan! (also known as Robin IV, a young woman of Mongolian descent who took up the mantel herself with a homemade costume (similar to Stephanie Brown)). In fact, she's the one who encourages him to become Red Hood in the first place! (Batman: White Knight)

Harley Quinn is a primary protagonist of this universe, btw, and pretty much saves Jason from being killed Batman: White Knight Issue #2

Gan is my adorable daughter and Jason (the messy bitch as she calls him) deserves his own chaos gremlin apprentice<3 Panel 1 - Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood Issue #1 Panels 2 & 3 - Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood Issue #2

Speaking of AUs and elseworlds, in 2002's World Without Young Justice, Jason Todd was a circus acrobat, as per his original pre-crisis origin (minus the red hair). In this AU, he's dating fellow circus member Anita Fite (normally Empress, but here known as Voodoo Princess), but she ends up assassinating him at the behest of his step-mom, Catherine Todd, because he discovered his parents dirty business dealings with Killer Croc. What the hell Catherine? (Young Justice Vol. 1 - World Without Young Justice, Part 1: The World What Once We Knew)

Young Justice (1998) Issue #44 - World Without Young Justice, Part 1: The world What Once We Knew

Anyway! This isn't comprehensive or anything, just a post made in fun to put together some things about Jason that I think were funny/interesting that the fandom doesn't know/talk about much. Might add more later if I come across other stuff during my readings (maybe not for a while tho; I am currently consumed by World's Finest and following the Absolute Power event).

But yeah! Feel free to add on if you like! :)

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Pride and Prejudice AU Anger Management (dp x dc)

Guess who just finished reading+watching Pride and Prejudice? And guess who’s now obsessed with making an Anger Management AU based on it? It’s me babyyyy (btw it's sorta more of a fusion than a proper AU I think?)

Casting: Jason as Elizabeth, his siblings as the bennet sisters. Alfred is mr bennet, Bruce is mrs. Bennet except they’re not silly they’re instead paranoid and emotionnaly stunted.

Jazz as Darcy, Danny as Georgiana. 

Kon as Bingley (with Tim being Jane looool)

Vlad is lady catherine and dani is cousin anne.

Wickham is both the Al Ghul (Talia and Ra's) they pretended to be nice to the Fenton before trying to enslave/exorcice Danny.

Plot (which is basically just P&P but like slightly modified so it works):

Jazz & Danny got spit out the pits. The Al Ghuls pretended to be kind and honorable and stuff, and Jazz was just so happy the dimension they ended up in had some nice (though weird and formal) people. Then, she ends up finding Danny tied up and Ra’s talking about what an interesting specimen he is, and how he’ll help them figure out how to be immortal and all that. Jazz goes full-on Beserk mode and destroys the base + burying pits.

Vlad and Dani end up there too a little later, but she doesn’t tell them the specifics just not to interact with the League of Assassins. Danny is hurt and Jazz is still a bit feral. They end up in Kansas where the Kents offer them a place to stay for a while. So they do stay, and Superman+family end up being really nice people. She doesn’t tell them about the Ra’s, just that the trip between dimension was rough. She also says nothing about Danny’s power and keeps that secret because he’s still hurt and she doesn’t want anyone trying to take advantage of him.

Magic users recognize her as Queen Regent of the Infinite Realms and like everyone who’s met her agrees she’s a fair and kind ruler, so they respect her a lot. So Captain Marvel, Zatanna and Wonder Woman (after they mention Pandora) all vouch for the Fentons and they’re generally just considered really powerful and benevolent.

Anyways danny is severely injured (plus his powers are really reduced) and Jazz is so stressed about it not to mention the queen regent thing (she has paperwork and correspondence with Frostbite, Pandora and Clockwork for all kind of stuff to do, including making sure there is no war after the future King was kidnapped by humans wanting to experiment on him again!!!) plus making a good impression on the league. So she comes off as a little bit stand-offish especially to the heroes she doesn’t know super well. She’s been burnt by the Al Ghul and is just so busy and stressed she has little energy for socialization. She accidentally snubs Dick which everyone in the batfam takes as an insult plus a lot of the younger generation heroes do too. General consensus is that she’s a bit stuck-up and only makes an effort for the big names (Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel). 

Jazz makes a comment about Jason after Kon teases her about him (like “I know his type, pretty bad boy with a list of issues a mile long, not to mention how shit at emotions the bats apparently are”) and he overhears and is like not like I would want to end up with such an arrogant snob no matter how handsome she looks.

So anyways, they end up going on a few missions together and Jazz gets to see that Jason is actually a really good person who does his best and wants to help everyone so bad. Also, he’s so good with kids and Jazz is 100% sure Danny would love him despite him hating most of her previous boyfriends.

Meanwhile, Jason sees how she keeps taking down the villains faster than him and even takes on some of his that he was handling thank you very much, and assumes she’s being condescending instead of trying to be helpful. 

She also talks about school that she’s started and how much she enjoys it because she heard he likes to read but he takes it at a dig at how he never completed his formal education which is a sore spot. She also sometimes completely disregard his suggestion when they go after supernaturals which fair but like super rude?! But it’s just Jazz being used to being in charge and having to wrangle a bunch of go in first, think of a plan later type of people.

(Talia has come by and fed the batfam an edited story of what happened with the pits, which makes Jazz look really shady.)

Danny sees Jazz is completely crushing on this dude and after hearing her talk about him for so long, he’s on board with Jason and also curious to get to know him. Danny tells her to go for it and ask him out. Meanwhile, they each agree to tell Vlad nothing, because he might not be as crazy as he used to be, but he’s still a complete ass.

So at some point, after a mission, she takes Jason aside and asks him out, while insulting his family accidentally (like makes a joke about reserving an extra table for his brothers to spy on them). She means it as a gentle tease, but Jason takes it as a giant insult, since it’s also super true so instead of just saying no, he goes for the snark.

“Thanks and all but I dont date future villains.”

Jazz is fucking insulted. “Ok wow. From what I heard everyone in your family has at least one alternate version of themselves whos a villain, so keep talking shit?!”

“Not even trying to hide your contempt for us now are you?”

“I don’t have contempt for you guys.”

“No? You told Kon he shouldn’t date Tim!”

“That is NOT true! I said to take it slowly while he deals with his identity issues as a clone first to make sure he doesn’t jump into something new while he’s not ready!”

“Yeah, sure. I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with how 'shit at emotions' my family is.”

“Well, it doesn’t help that you’re all emotionally stunted, no!”

“That’s your excuse for Tim, sure. But what about that nice little tale Talia told us?”

“Talia Al Ghul?”

“Yeah. Now why would a hero like yourself cause the complete collapse of a secret organization they should have no knowledge of considering they had arrived in the dimension less than a week ago? I mean, I know they’re assassins and all, but I thought you guys had landed in Smallville, Kansas. That’s a long way to go if you really didn’t have designs on the fucking pits. Did you or did you not burry the pits where no-one except someone who can go invisible and doesn’t need to breathe could access it?”

“I did.”

“And you want to tell me you’re not a villain? You may have everyone else fooled, but I know what you are.”

“Fine,” she says. “If that’s what you want to think. Sorry you had to endure my presence for so long.”

She leaves him a note still, because she knows at least some of the batfam have had contact with the pits. She knows he’s a good person and actually really trustworthy plus how much he cares about children, so she trusts him with Danny’s secret. She explains how Talia and Ra’s have plans with the pits and liminals, and to look out for himself. She tells him to verify with Zantanna if he wants because she’s the one who helped put up the wards to hide Danny’s presence while he recuperates.

Jason is like, ok so maybe she’s not a future villain. So he feels a little bad about his outburst plus dumb about trusting Talia about anything, she’s a liar that is well-known. But he still stands by turning Jazz down coz she is genuinely sort of a snob a lot of times.

After that they go on a few missions together and Jazz acts much better, she actually listens to his feedback even if most of the time she doesn’t need to when it’s supernatural beings. She also seems way less wound-up and doesn’t say a word about how emotionally constipated the bats are, which she used to do way more often. She’s being polite, kind and open to suggestion and Jason is like so maybe I judged a bit fast. He also starts to see how many responsibilities she actually shoulders (Queen Regent, her brother, Justice League stuff) and he’s a little humbled by how well she does it. At some point he meets a Realm Ghost who talks about what a great Queen she is and all that she’s done for them and Jason starts feeling some feelings.

They meet up again for a low-level mission with a supes, it’s like undercover/surveillance about white collar crimes or something, and the vibe between Jazz and Jason is super good until he gets a call. 

Damian/Cass end up captured on a mission by the Al Ghuls to experiment on. All the batfam is losing their minds and Jazz is like this is my fault they know about ectoplasm at all, because she trusted them and talked to much while Jason is like no I’m the one who should’ve told them. 

Jazz goes and rescue the batkid. In exchange she offers one vial of pure ectoplasm (ecto dejecto) which she was saving for emergency in case she gets injured. She tells the Al Ghuls this is worth all the test subjects “from which you’ll try and extract it and it probably won’t work. So do your crazy experiment on that and leave liminals alone.”

So yeah the designated batkid is rescued (tho they don’t realize by who cause they’re unconscious) and Jazz asks Superman to take the credit for it. Jason learns it was Jazz and feels so guilty and grateful. He bakes/cooks something and goes to thank her. He meets Danny who is super excited to meet him and doesn’t know about the messy rejection coz Jazz didn’t tell him because she thought she might have deserved it a little bit. 

So Jason sees how sweet Jazz is with Danny and how much more relaxed she is at home and he’s like ok, so maybe, maybeee I have a feeling about this. Meanwhile, Jazz is still completely gone on him (the man can cook!) and Danny approves. Jazz doesn’t really have the heart to tell him it’s not happening.

All the while, because of Jazz’s connection to the pits the batfam are super suspicious of her and keep making digs at her. Jason feels terrible about it (since she literally saved the batkid) but Jazz just takes it and answers back politely, cause she likes Jason still and doesn’t want to antagonize his family.

Meanwhile, Kon and Tim started dating and the whole batfam are like ‘finally!’ Kon defends Jazz anytime one of the batfam says something about her and they think he’s a little naive but they like him so they stop when he’s there.

Vlad ambushes Jason at some point and tells him he’s not allowed to date Jazz. And Jason is just like “fuck you I do what I want”. He eventually admits to Vlad he isn’t dating her, but when Vlad asks him promise he never will, Jason says “I’m not promising that, she and I can do what we want.” 

At some point Jason and Jazz meet together by coincidence, and it’s a little awkward. Jazz has not been able to forget about him, she just likes him a lot so she goes, “I heard Vlad came by.”

“Yeah, what a weirdo.”

“Yeah, Sorry about him.”

“Hey you have to deal with my crazy family, it’s only fair.”

They laugh

“Sorry if this makes you unfomfortable, say the word and I’ll never mention it again, but I can’t help but ask. I still like you a lot and I wanted to know, could you maybe might have changed your mind about a date?”

“Yes. Uh, I mean for the date, yes I’d like to go on one.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I, actually, Um. I like you a lot too?”

So they end up dating and they actually like each other a whole lot. Danny is over the moon, as is Dani. Vlad still thinks Jason isn’t good enough for Jazz. The whole batfam is like wtf, I thought you hated her. Dick is the first to be like gotta make an effort for Little Wing’s girlfriend and ends up thinking she’s actually pretty cool. The rest are slower to follow, and Bruce is snail-pace. Alfred just likes that Jason is happy so he’s all for it.

[ffrederiks]

In 1X04, after Lamb takes his flight fund and books the different flights to confuse the dogs and Taverner says ‘I know where he’s going’, and it’s to Catherine’s… is this supposed to imply that if he ever does need to run, he would take her with him? Or is it just Taverner thinking that because of her threatening to tell Catherine about Partner, Lamb wants to keep her close. I never thought about the first option until I was rewatching earlier and now I’m fascinated to hear your thoughts 👀👀

Oh, I think Lady Di DEFINITELY knows that Catherine is Jackson's soft spot. She uses Catherine as a way to manipulate Jackson on multiple occasions, and she can't help but notice how easily Jackson is manipulated when it comes to Catherine. To me, it seems like Taverner knows that Catherine is VERY important to Jackson and that he would do anything to protect her, and that it's not just because of Partner's death, she drops plenty of hints about that. And yeah, I personally like to think that if Jackson had to run, Catherine would be the one of the first things he would think of, and I think he would definitely ask her to come with him, or at least offer to, especially if she was in danger. It's really telling to me that when they're in danger in this episode, he goes to get Catherine himself, like, he doesn't trust her with anyone but himself and she's the first thing he thinks of when something bad happens 😭This is also supported by his actions when Catherine is kidnapped in s3 and Jackson does everything to save her and he is literally FURIOUS that someone would dare to harm her.

Sure, you could interpret Jackson's actions in 1×04 as him being afraid of Catherine finding out the truth about Charles' death (maybe he even tries to justify to himself why he's so worried about Catherine LMAO), but to me, it's pretty obvious that there's more than that!

Thank you for your question btw, I enjoy discussing this topic!!

[bethanydelleman]

Hello, I just read The Watsons. I didn’t had any expectations but it was so fascinating and felt so sad when it ended, even knowing already that it was incomplete. Those few pages really left a big impression on me. Have you find any completions worth reading and with a resemblance of Jane Austen’s style?

I love your blog btw. I’m always interested in what you have to say in all your posts about Jane Austen and the first thing I did when I finished The Watsons was to look up your take on it.

I've only read The Younger Sister by Catherine Hubback which really went off the rails so I wouldn't suggest it. I only finished because I was reading it with a group.

The Watsons is interesting because I feel like Austen never finished it because she used pieces for other stories instead. Tom Musgrave is a lot like either Willoughby or Henry Crawford, Lord Osborne almost seems like a proto-Darcy (more awkward and less proud, younger too), and Mr. Howard kind of reminds me of Mr. Knightley. Emma is like a mix of Fanny Price & Jane Fairfax. The brother reminds me of John Dashwood. But I don't read it too much because it also makes me sad that it wasn't finished.

Edward Austen-Leigh's Memoir provides a hint of how it was to continue:

When the author's sister, Cassandra, showed the manuscript of this work to some of her nieces, she also told them something of the intended story; for with this dear sister – though, I believe, with no one else – Jane seems to have talked freely of any work that she might have in hand. Mr Watson was soon to die; and Emma to become dependent for a home on her narrow-minded sister-in-law and brother. She was to decline an offer of marriage from Lord Osborne, and much of the interest of the tale was to arise from [the dowager] Lady Osborne's love for Mr Howard, and his counter affection for Emma, whom he was finally to marry.

One other thought: in her orphaned state, it seems a bit unrealistic that Emma wouldn't marry Lord Osborne, so maybe Austen figured she'd set the heroine too low and the foil too high. This is the only love-interest-possible in Austen who is part of the nobility.

And thank you!!! Also, if anyone has read other The Watson's completions, I'd be happy to hear about them.

[isabelleneville]

Are there any period dramas you’re looking forward to in 2024?

Hiya,

I will split this into two lists.

Returning Shows:

Being a Penelope girl I am looking forward to Bridgerton Season Three for what I call my soft period drama fix.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Marie Antoinette for what it was so looking forward to the show returning for a second season and how that goes.

Vikings Valhalla season two felt very stale for me apart from Godwin and Emma (oh and Cnut but he needs to be a leading man IMHO), I am waiting with trepidation if it delivers in its final season which I think is a waste because I wanted to see it go to 1066.

The Serpent Queen do I need to say anything more, that show was a f**king hoot and produced by The Hunger Games sequels and prequels director (who also directed Britney's Slave 4 U video btw) it met my expectations.

Being a Tudor girlie I have to obligatory say Wolf Hall but in my honest opinion only for new portrayals of Anne of Cleves and Kathryn Howard (I am not a Thomas Cromwell girlie).

New Projects:

Firebrand being the #1 Catherine Parr girlie I cannot wait to see a new production of her and how they handle her story. I am also looking forward to a younger Catherine than what has previously been portrayed.

King and Conqueror, it is a new show with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William the Conqueror and James Norton as Harold, Earl Of Wessex during 1066 (so answering my Vikings: Valhalla wishes) produced by CBS and BBC (CBS owns Showtime). No official release date yet but I am into it. X

My Lady Jane, now Queen Jane Grey has become a fast favourite of mine so anything with her in it I am there.

Dick Turpin with Noel Fielding as Dick, now the Horrible Histories fan in me is squealing (why no Matt Baynton though?).

Mary and George, I feel the Tumblr girlies are going to go miles with this and I just want to see what it is about y'know be part of the fun.

Thanks for the ask!.

[boyfridged]

quick notes on friday night (1430):

you are of course open to interpret the background in any way you wish, but in my mind in this au sheila has always had the primary custody. of course, jay also was (and still is, as much as possible) very close to willis, who similarly as in the canon timeline ends up in prison due to his alternative employment that he picks up mainly for jay, but also because of catherine's illness. unlike in canon, willis does not die. cathy, whom jay has come to view as a parental figure (which he has however never said out loud) does however lose her life to cancer, addiction and poverty.

perhaps not entirely clear from jason's perspective, but sheila's motivation behind wanting him out of gotham is not getting rid of him; she genuinely believes that he can have a better life elsewhere. this is important to her since in this au she never got out of gotham herself; she wants him to have what she has never managed to achieve.

how i see what happens after: sheila does go to hand in the missing papers. the nice lady at the front desk of the wayne foundation informs her it's past the deadline. unfortunately for her, sheila is insufferable, and she spends an hour there, leaving only to go to the WE building itself. being herself (despite the attitude problem, she is pretty charismatic) she does in fact manage to get a meeting with bruce wayne, who in truth knows very little about the proceedings and the scholarship, but listens to her complaining about how inadequate it is compared with the one offered by queen industries, which btw even gets their students new computers and tablets (that's a lie.) bruce's decision comes easily enough; he cannot be worse than ollie, and he also makes up his mind the moment she says that "she'd rather her son got a better life elsewhere, but unfortunately the kid cried all evening because he won't accept anywhere but gotham" which obviously makes him project on that boy even though he's never seen him in his life. sheila comes back home to inform jay about his instant acceptance- and with a brand new laptop. "i did tell you i'd speak to wayne himself if there were any issues." jay doesn't really believe her but he won't ask further questions.

[mad-maximoff]

I LOVE your celeb crushes! I just saw that recent post, so I wanna ask what’s your favourite pic of each of your celeb crushes? Btw love you fanfics too❤️

Omg thank you much! And thank you for giving me a reason to show my ladies off😏

I couldn’t pic between these two pics of Pamela but idky why I luv these so much

THESE PICS OF MONICA!! Like the first one gives me femme/masc couple vibes. The second is just so delicious like OMFL Monica🤤

I love Catherine Zeta in the red dress in Venice and I miss Catherine’s regular selfies🥺

Btw I have celebs crushes too but just not 4 thousand photos in my camera roll😅

[realcatalina]

You say Catherine and Henry VIII marriage already broke down in 1514. Can you give more insight to it? I still see a lot “sources” that claim they had a happy marriage for 20 years.

Btw, thanks for your great researches, I learn a lot of things through your Blog❤️

Well the claims that marriage was happy for nearly 20 years before Anne Boleyn came along are completely false.

(It's plucked out of thin air! Just as Henry's bodycount of 72,000!)

They got married in 1509. But some cracks appeared as early as 1510.

They unfortunately lost baby in January 1510, then for while thought she was carrying twins(and one lived, one died)-which turned out to be untrue...so they hurried to get pregnant again, and by May Catherine already was.

But from May? 1510 we also have incident when allegedly Henry had taken a mistress Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon while Catherine was in her 'laying in' during spring time.

Now, I know this is untrue for two reasons. Firstly Catherine and Henry were sleeping together during her "laying in"-her own words confirm it, and timing of New Prince's birth, also confirms it.

(I've recently reblogged my old post about her 1st pregnancy and its aftermath, with some new insight about the dates...so maybe check that out.)

And 2ndly, Henry was probably completely innocent in this. You see, Anne Stafford was found alone in her chamber with Henry's friend Sir William Compton, her brother duke of Buckingham found them..and Compton years later put Anne Stafford in his will, gave her some lands...clearly dude was in love with her all his life.

Anne and Compton swore nothing happened between them and she had good relationship with her husband even years later. But at the moment Buckingham was livid, his sister was sent to convent(at least temporarily) and he demanded Compton to be punished and sent away from court. Henry refused to do it, and instead send from court Anne's sister Elizabeth, countess of Sussex whow as the one who snitched upon Anne and Compton. Elizabeth was one of Queen Catherine's ladies and they went along very well. So Catherine was enraged!

Maybe frustration of past few months and loss of baby, and loss of non-existent baby(which can feel to person just as bad as loosing real baby), got better of them. But Catherine and Henry had massive argument, about which even spanish ambassador was writing about. Now we don't know exactly what was said...

But some believe that not only Catherine was unhappy with Henry not punishing those who in her eyes deserved it...but that she believed Henry was not punishing Compton and punishing Elizabeth, because Compton was seeing Anne on Henry's behalf.

In other words...that Catherine accused Henry of cheating...but evidence would suggest...he didn't do it. ...And with his personality, if she indeed did so...then he'd never forget it. ...And also, who is so insecure that in less than one year of marriage accuses the other party of cheating? ...If she indeed did so, then it was nothing Henry did...at the time he was completely in love with her...but rather she projecting her own insecurities and...possibly her parents' marriage upon her own...

Now, we don't know what happened for sure...but does it sound as happy marriage to you? Even if she didn't accuse him of cheating, then they had massive argument over who stays at court, who gets punished...happy couple would talk...maybe disagree but talk about it...not shout so much that ambassador writes about it to foreign court.

Well, then for several years things went fine apart from heartbreaking loss of new years prince...

Then in 1513 Catherine lost baby not long after Flodden, and literally day after she send Henry a letter informing him that she was pregnant(and of the victory), she must have not been very far along for him to not know before that...but before that letter even got to him, their precious child was gone...and she had to keep on pretence to deal with aftermath of Flodden...and he didn't know at least for another month or two...

(I also made post about this....about Catherine's regency and this pregnancy.) And I think Henry took it badly that he wasn't informed...it's possible he returned home in late 1513 and still didn't know... But year 1514 was total wreck. They basically started arguing in January...and stopped only in November or December? after they lost another baby...and it wasn't Catherine who called truce...it was Henry.

What they argued about?

You might have heard that Catherine and Henry accepted King Ferdinand's excuses as to why he didn't attack France while he was supposed to, and instead took Navarrre...but in reality Henry accepted those excuses in 1512, but not in 1513, he hoped Ferdinand would make up for 1512 in 1513 and felt deeply betrayed when it didn't happen. Basically his ally stood him up, and he was rightfully livid about it. ...And Catherine took the brunt, it seems.

Catherine kept believing her father, stubbornly stayed loyal to her family, even when some of her friends told her not to(literally the oposite of what Spanish Princess went with), kept advocating on behalf of her father...and Henry never forgiven it. Ever.

Before, majority of political decisions Henry made he first discussed with her...and afterwards, he completely cut her off ...and Wolsey became King's main advisor.

Hence love and trust was gone from the marriage by end of 1514, and it was basically broken, on freezing point and in year 1515 many were convinced he'd set her asside. *(actually some in year 1514 already, despit eher pregnancy!)*

And tbh I think he was so mad at her...for siding with Ferdinand, that if Catherine didn't become pregnant again and didn't have a living child-Mary in 1516...I think he would have.

We'd have Great Matter ten years prior. And despite me being Catherine's fan...Yes, she was stuck in between, with her loyalty torn..., stuck in impossible situation and I sympathize with her for it...

But I don't get what she was trying to achieve by arguing with Henry in 1514 so many times, and expecting different result. It didn't help at all, on contrary it might have fanned flames of his rage. I think it suggest that she didn't know how to comunicate with Henry...when he not in that loving stage...but when he was angry.

Maybe...she never knew him like this...maybe they after that 1510 incident with Anne and Compton have never argued again...but still...I think it is essential skill in any marriage to know how to calm your spouse, how to deescalate the tention etc.

...Parr could do it, even when Henry was most paranoid and even thought of executing her, she knew what to say to him to save herself...but Queen Catherine of Aragon...aparently didn't know how...or maybe she didn't want to...maybe she felt like Henry was supposed to apologise and try come to her...

Which he did...but about same time Bessie Blount caught his eye...so maybe he yield because he felt guilty for cheating...

Of course Henry...never expected anything but full support from his spouse and had unrealistic expactations regarding Catherine's loyalty...(He had mindset "you're with me or against me", no middle ground.) Hence I think he was also a big part of problem...and he was not good orator in general, so I expect he never explained to Catherine how he felt truly and why he didn't believe Ferdinand. Maybe he did, but not in calm manner...and shouting doesn't count...

It's very unlikely he knew how to comunicate with Catherine either...and tell her...'stay out of this' in way which would work...and he deliberately broke bethrohal of his sister to Catherine's nephew and instead married her to old French King...and Catherine viewed that as betrayal...So he was definitely fanning flames too!

I know some historians like to say Catherine took Henry's side in this. That she showed him support and give cold shoulder to spanish ambassador etc. But they seem to rely on spanish sources for this...mainly Caroz. But although Caroz is usually good source on early Tudor era, Caroz found himself facing Henry's ire too(as Ferdinand's ambassador)and I think Catherine didn't give him helping hand in this(after all she received almost no help as ambassador to her father herself and was forced to swim in water filled with sharks and she argued with Henry enough as it was.)

Imo, it sound like Caroz is trying to blame Maria Salinas and Fray Diego...for his failure in convincing Henry to buy the excuse. It's likely that blaming of Salinas and Fray Diego happened just as after Ferdinand asked what his daughter was doing regarding the subject...so Caroz replied that these people were trying to make Queen's loyalty to change...(Hence-it's not my fault, it's them! Rather common behaviour in Spanish ambassadors in England imo.)

...Catherine and Henry had great potential in the beginning, but also trust issues, comunication issues, different expectations, different loyalties/views upon internationalpolitics and even in things they at beginning agreed upon, they sometimes grew apart over the years(religion)...traumas from loosing their children also would play big part in marriage deteroriating.

They needed marriage councelling...prior to Mary being born.

Basically the pink glassses went off by late 1513/early 1514, and it never went back to being loving marriage. There I said it, it was max 4 years of fairly happy marriage! Not 20! Afterwards...it was for appearence sake in my opinion and those problems they had didn't disappear just resurfaced few years later.

And make no mistake...it takes two to tango...they were both to blame for state of their marriage. It wasn't just Henry nor just Catherine, it was both of them.

Perhaps if they had more kids they'd eventually find way back together...but like this the resentment only grew...and you know the rest.

[xxx-theartofsuicide-xxx]

Yeah but Keaton and Burton refused to see it. what was stopping her from doing the same thing?

Systemic misogyny. Catherine O'Hara and Geena Davis went too. Ladies are expected to be civil and magnanimous no matter what or else the articles start emerging about what difficult bitches they are.

Btw fuck off? P sure I told you I don't want to do your homework. It's not my fault you're stupid and have bad tastes.

[madebypointlesswords]

just for funsies: books im currently reading

I cannot, for the life of me, read just one book at the time. I've tried multiple times and I just can't. It's most likely my untreated ADHD but oh welllll, have fun with my silly little books and go right ahead and judge my taste in the tags <3

The Iliad, Homer

Honestly such a fun book. I'm reading it very slowly though, because I want to savour each sentence. It's a thrifted version that someone else annotated and I got it for like, 7 euros? The annotations are very cute and fun to read while reading the actual book and it made me consider doing the same (annotating a book and then donating it to thrift so some random stranger can delight in my silly thoughts). Achilles is a bit of a dick but I like him that way. Diomedes is my absolute favourite (together with Patroclus).

This is the edition I have

1984, George Orwell

This book was an impulse buy from my favourite bookstore. I'm enjoying it thorougly, and I mainly bought it because I was going to see a play inspired by it that week and planned to read it first. I got through 50 pages. Orwell's style is a delight though, I have no notes. I'm currently like, one quarter into the book.

My edition (I'm looking for Animal Farm in the same style. I know it exists I just keep finding other ones and it irks me.)

Good Omens, Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

Tumblr (and my best friend @mairrion) convinced me this year to watch Good Omens right when season 2 came out. I curse you all for the brainrot you have given me. Literally why did you have to do this to me. I bought the book very recently (this monday) and I'm 1/5 into the book. The writing is honestly so fun and I've laughed several times out loud on the bus while reading. Definitely recommend this to new (or old) fans of the series.

I got the edition with Crowley on the cover (they didn't have Aziraphales version but I still would have gotten Crowley's anyway). Mine's a tad different: the letters are golden, Terry is mentioned before Neil is, and Crowley's wine isn't red. Oh and there's a sticker advertising the series.

Little Thieves, Margaret Owen

Oh my god this book is fun. Delicious characterisation. Wonderful dialogue. Stunning worldbuilding. Honestly I am so angry at myself for not being able to read this cover to cover. Why am I LIKE this. The cover is also so extremely pretty what the fuck.

Just look at this

Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky

This book is a banger. It annoys me that I can't read it in one sitting. Because I genuinely LOVE it but I just fucking can't. I love it when Dostoevsky takes a break from the plot to remind us as readers that Raskolnikov is, in fact, very much a pretty boy. Peak comedy right there.

I got the Wordsworth classics edition because it was only 4 euros at my favourite bookstore again (i apologise this is the best picture I have)

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry, C.M. Waggoner

I got this book today from one of my best friends and I've read only one chapter but holy hell I am hooked. This is amazing. This is fun. This is exactly what I want. Chaotic, sapphic and unhinged slightly evil women are my drug of choice and this is a heroin shot. Live laugh love Dellaria Wells.

also look at the pretty cover mmmm

The Darkening Age (The Christian Destruction of the Classical World), Catherine Nixey

My first non fiction book I think. Nixey's writing is exquisite and I am loving this book with all my heart. It's educative, interesting and just overall, a wonderful experience to read. I do encourage everyone to take it with a grain of salt, but the author has many, many cited works, so I'm not saying that you have to be overly critical of every sentence, just that the author is (just like any other human being) a bit biased.

btw the cover is pretty too :) but I just can't find a picture of it.

[dulcewrites]

Btw I wanted to ask you what you thought of the show as a whole. I love the aesthetics but overall I thought it was very underwhelming plot and characterwise. The first season was fine I guess ( the friendship Catherine had with her maids was definitely the saving grace of the season) but the second season was just painful to watch, I hate what they did to Catherine. She was so ambitious and politically minded in the first season and I love that she wasn’t head over heels for Henry, and was using him for her ambitions, and in the second season she seems completely devastated and beyond heartbroken about his betrayal to an extend that borders on pathetic. 

Ask con: Rosa was my favorite character she was such a cutie

Rosa, Lina, and Margaret Tudor were my fav girlies.

It was extremely underwhelming and honestly just weird at parts. I was even more put off after seeing comments made by the creators themselves.

“Anne was very little in court. She was one of the ladies-in-waiting, and she was simply another pretty girl that could catch his eye. We didn't want to give her any more credence than that”

“Frost and Graham are exceedingly protective of their Spanish princess. "From a personal point of view, we've lived with Catherine so long I don't want that witch coming in," quips Graham. "I don't want her anywhere near my Catherine."

And I’m not disputing that women in power, especially during that time were probably ruthless or mean or whatever word people want to use. But there is something so annoying to me as a reader/watcher when people conflate ambition or knowing your worth with being a bitch. It is possible to be both or one or the other. But they are not the same. I think the creators did that a lot with Catherine. Now I’m not gonna pretend I’m some history buff, but I’m sure like most historical shows, they took liberties. Just not ones that helped. If this show was supposed to be a love letter to Catherine, they failed imo. I can handle unlikeable characters or figures. But going out of your way to make them bad then expecting us to root for them is crazy to me as a writer (lower case w lol)

Also idk if this is an unpopular opinion but I was not a fan of Charlotte hope’s acting choices

In short, the show is the definition of ~beautiful gowns~

[thegeminisage]

TNG UPDATE TIME! last night we did "devil's due" and "clues."

ok so for context we had been using letswatchstartrek DOT COM to try and tell ahead of time whether or not the episode would be fucking garbage. this was a flawed approach because almost every one of their opinions were wrong, like, some bad eps were rated more highly than they should have been, but for the most part you could trust if they labaled an episode a dud it was a dud. i remember a string of like 3-4 duds in late s4 but i can't go back and look because the site SHUT DOWN and it's not on the wayback machine. anyway all this to say i think we hit the duds

devil's due: i don't understand why they keep putting the devil is star trek. we did that once in the animated series and now we can't do it anymore. i actually can't remember when the second time was but it's driving me bonkers

that said i wish the devil could always be a super hot lady in all media appearances

THAT SAID it is truly incredible how quickly they can put a super hot lady on tng and have you hate her within the span of five business minutes

also, furthermore, as catherine said many times: kirk simply would have fucked her. kirk would have fucked her, and it would have either been fun or it would have been another close encounter of the space babes which would have been fun in an entirely different manner, but kirk would have fucked her and it would have been way more interesting than a fucking COURTROOM DRAMA

i also dont know why we keep putting courtroom dramas in star trek. i can only recall two instances where they were good (tos court martial and tng measure of a man).

clues: this got off to a bad start (holodeck 💀) but i was quite invested by the end. we love a good amnesia plot and it was JUST creepy enough to keep me hooked

(SUPER RUDE btw to give us guinan but ONLY for the holodeck scene...what the fucj)

anyway i knew data knew a full day had gone by cuz i had read the summary but i thought like something had GOT him i didnt know he was LYING ON PURPOSE so i spent the entire episode fretting about data doing nefarious deeds because he would NEVER do that but if he did do that he would deserve to

deanna screaming at her own face in the mirror was extremely fun as well. also whatever was going on with her and worf there for a second. he is so tall and she is so tiny and i think they and riker should f[i am sniped immediately]

also i'm so glad she got possessed and not pregnant. every time she was on screen catherine and i just repeatedly went "please don't get pregnant please don't get pregnant please please please" so i thjink that counts as tng giving us ptsd

i don't think i would enjoy rewatching this one since i already got the answer but it was entertaining enough to keep me from being bored the first time around. hopefully only 1-2 more duds left to go this season...

TONIGHT: "first contact" and "galaxy's child" which are promising titles. fingers crossed!!!

[dwalendinhetniets]

Voting:

Hanmah making a heart in the camera <3

Veggies and pussy guy!

Netherlands 12 points for sweden 👎

Sweden getting so many points from the juries sucks, i knew it is going to happen because i am watching back, but it still sucks

The unicorn gesture looks so stupid

(Yes this list will mostly be me complaining)

Oeh the french lady giving points has a very cool dress

Hahaha hoed gedaan

Belgium giving austria 12 points yeesss

Hannah's dancing haha

The german dude giving points offering hannah a biscuit from a pink box like ted lasso!!!

Even cornald maas and jan smit getting annoyed by all the 12 point going to sweden, woah

Lmao the australians being confused by the 12 points

Amazing outfit and mini performance from the guy giving points from iceland

Who will cyprus give 12 points??? Greece is not in the final 😱 (sweden, hmmm)

Subwoolfer revealed???

FINLAND GETTING 12 POINTS THANK YOU NORWAY

Czechia getting 12 points from switzerland? Woah did not expect that

Oeh the dress of the australian lady giving points! Also belgium getting 12 points :)

Hannah and Graham are having so much fun together, its so cute

Love how the public just won't stop chanting cha cha cha cha

Joker out going to sit behind italy when the lady from slovenia was announcing their 12 points to italy <3

Greece not giving cyprus 12 points????

Why was the greek guy speaking french tho?

Hannah waving at everyone giving point is one of my favourite things

Catherine Tate??? Omg (allonsy 😏)

And now for the Real votes!

Germany getting 15 points :|

Croatia not getting much

Poland getting 81, huh a bit too many

Uk getting 9 votes so back to normal

Slovenia only getting 45 points????

Portugal only 16??

What is going on??

216 for norway woah

France only 50 points :(

Spain only getting 5 whuuttt...

Austria only getting 16 points????? Whut??

Belgium and Australia getting under the 200 points total?? What the hell?

(Btw why am i getting so upset, i know all this already. Anyways...)

Oohhh Finland.... 376 points? Omfg yaaaaaasssssssss

Audience you are so great keep chanting cha cha cha cha

Sweden winning :/

Im so sorry finland you were amazing!!

Alright, this was it y'all. Good night! Xx