#so i cant banish this dynamic entirely but still

[c1trvswurld]

whoever infiltrated gency and pharmercy and convinced the fandom that Genji and Pharah would/ have a rocky relationship needs to be stoned

[grievedifferent]

❤️

❓

so josh and loni right? its complicated. i already know shed like him probably and for sure up until that night. after i think shed be... wary of him? hurt because she didnt think hed do that to her. key word: her. given her mom having been her abuser as a kid its been hard to trust people so it would hit her hard. not saying he was like her mom, but just that feeling of not being sure she could trust? ANYWAYS complicated and her wanting to be near him but not understanding how to be close to him when shes got these strange feelings for him still but also wants to see him get better and succeed in life even if she cant be by his side???

simple shipping meme. accepting !! // * @bedlamology

❤️ - ROMANTIC BOND

❓ - FOR A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC (EXPLAIN)

with josh's mental health being at a crisis point after the prologue/into the game, it's definitely clear he's not thinking rationally or really about anyone else's feelings other than his own. if we go the route of that meme where he banishes her from the lodge/tells her to leave, then that would open up a lot of possibilities for her to kind of route herself through the game, interact with others, etc. before finally coming "back to him" so to speak?? if he manages to escape, which is my main verse or au for him that i follow to give him more ... well ... life ... rip ... then there's a lot of potential to follow after that, especially with how much josh goes into isolation after the events of until dawn.

it's interesting to remember that, at least after the prologue / that year between, josh is putting on an act for everyone save for really his parents, who i assume he is also trying to deceive, but he is also in and out of the hospital throughout that time and is struggling excessively with his mental health as it's rapidly deteriorating. he was a noted suicide risk in march of 2014, just shortly after hannah and beth go missing / die.

it's not even clear if he tells his parents he actually dropped out, which i play with both ideas that he's lying that he's still in school (as many people are able to do this, at least for a while) or that they know he dropped out with the promise that he would return. i even play with the idea that he uses a lot of excuses that, should his parents even notice the money is missing for his prank, that he's doing it all under the guise of a "comeback film" to get back into the game / back into school. that could be an avenue we work on, idk??

as for bringing loni into it, given that they meet kind of in that grey area of that year between prologue and game, it's a wonder how much of his authentic self he showed her versus what he felt was "natural and normal" to show her for someone in his situation. it's not like it was a secret his sisters went missing and were eventually declared like dead, at least within the family, and likely assumed in the public (in the beginning of ud, it mentions them as still missing in the media reports, though josh refers to them as dead, so it;s likely that most people assume them as dead despite the media saying otherwise, so).

if we're to assume he's playing her the way he is everyone else, then it's hard to say how deep and authentic his feelings are at first. as he gets to know her, that could change, but seeing as she somehow does become involved in the primary plot / the revenge prank, it seems that he's at least uncaring enough to let her get involved but caring enough to tell her to leave / that it was a mistake to let her come along.

post!verse opens an entire new can of worms. both of their individual traumas combined with josh's new extreme mental health regime + his isolation + his new work + his need to reach out to everyone he wrong (as i follow the everyone lives ending), that would likely include reaching out to her? which is where it would all pick up? since he goes into isolation, it can be taken either way. either she would be more involved with him immediately after or not. that's obviously up to her, of course.

overall, i see their interactions leading to a lot of different dynamics - very butterfly effect!

[perennialtide]

I'm fucking loving this

So Ranboo gets yeeted from the end to learn life and be on good behaviour, Phil and Sneeg are trying to pull him into doing crime with them and he's being coy as hell with an attitude of "no guys my mom is going to kill me cmon"

And like he both cares for people, and knits, and is such a mama's boy but at the same time he threatens people on the regular, is a thief and a stoner, and launders his riches to seem poor and harmless

Like that's so fucking funny the entire bit sent me

Idk if he's either banished, sent on a "forced vacation" to learn good behavior, or is on a legit vacation his moms sent him on and is trying to keep up appearances to not get in trouble

Imagine it does end up being a trio but the dynamics are just Phil and Sneeg like peer pressuring the guy but he's just like "guys I cant my mom's gonna find out" or something, so he's just dragging along cause he still likes their company despite it

Whatever it is I am losing my shit this is great lmao

[cutemeat]

random vent/rant post about d*ed*nnis & inc*st shipper’s trivializations of the subject in general below the cut..

yknow the thing abt the shipping Incest Issue is not that I think ppl who ship the shit ‘condone’ that irl or want to fuck their siblings or whatever shit argument. i don’t even think that ‘no one should be allowed to talk or write about incest in general, ever’!!!! the actual problem i have is that often ppl are making something that is a source of trauma/emotional pain/a very complicated subject in general for people into a ‘ooooh look at my sweet, dirty perverted thing.. i love my Trash hehehe!!’ thing n that just is always so fucking weird to me.

people who do this often think they are uber-mature and everyone else is just too immature to understand that incest is a thing that happens and exists and the people who criticize them are just silly children who don’t have media literacy skills. and that also fucking infuriates me, it is so misleading. cuz most of the time, people who treat the incestuous pairings they fetishize as just some plaything that has no gravity or influence on the people who see this shit, are themselves the ones who are often so immature in their arguments and handling of their “trash”.

like if people could handle the subject with a certain degree of care and displayed a genuine interest in wanting to explore this subject and kind of dynamic with nuance and mindfulness, that’s one thing… but they DON’T! not in these fucking fandom spaces they don’t!!!! this is not an artistic integrity argument or a censorship argument. it is a why are you turning this issue into a fetishized thing argument! THAT is what’s so fucking off-putting and upsetting. you are not being ‘’silenced’’. cuz obviously you’ll keep posting if u want to. esp in smaller fandoms like. yeah no one’s gonna be able to ‘stop’ you, honestly at this point i don’t care enough to exert energy into ‘stopping’ anyone and think it’s a waste of time. cuz that never works, ppl only ever double down and it just ends up making it worse for anyone affected emotionally by this shit having it continually turned into ‘discourse’. i rlly do just generally try to block the tags and blogs and move on. i do try. like sometimes it feels like no one on either side really cares about anything other than proving themselves as the superior party n it gets exhausting. still, the ppl who are continually choosing to approach this subject in such a frivolous way and acting like poor, banished victims who just cant like anything in peace anymore when people get upset by subject matter (which is, again, being handled so carelessly) that can trigger trauma and high emotions or just in general gross people out-- it never ceases to confuse me. like how can you be that unaware of how you are coming off that you act so shocked when people express they are upset by what you are doing and *promoting? (*not promoting incest itself, obviously i fucking know that, but continuing to treat 'shipping’ that shit like it exists in fandom spaces as something now somehow detached from reality entirely-- on the same level of ‘harmless fun’ as most pairings-- and should be treated as such is what i mean)

like no, at a certain point you do not care about ‘protecting art’ or defending certain interpretations or whatever bullshit you want to bastardize in an attempt to create justifications for what you’ve decided to ship and make content for. you are no different than people who just want to say fucked up shit for “shock value” and don’t give two shits who gets hurt or ‘triggered’ and may even, god forbid, feel compelled to speak up about their discomfort or disgust.

like please just take a step back from the fandom bubble and realize that no, this is not always just about people trying to assert moral superiority over somebody. i mean i’m not stupid of course i know a lot of the time online it is about that. and it’s usually pretty obvious when that’s all that is happening most of the time, at least. however, sometimes it is a reaction because some deep emotional pain has been triggered for some one/people in what is supposed to be a ‘just for fun space’ (which as many other groups trivialized and oppressed even in ‘just for fun’ fandom spaces know already, is a fucking lie anyway lol.. like let’s not even kid around with that bullshit notion anymore)... just take a HUGE step back and fucking think a little bit more deeply about what is going on here, again, minus all the stupid fandom language that coats these arguments. because, if you want to engage with and create art, it is that deep! because newsflash, assholes, that’s how art works. like no one can gatekeep the consumption or creation of art, obviously, but if you actually want to engage with and create shit-- you have got to be able to think and analyze and acknowledge that things are that deep if you wanna make something or talk about it. if you don’t want to get deep, then you can’t use any of those ‘well it’s just art’ or ‘you can’t censor art just because you don’t like it!’ arguments that come along with it.

now, onto my more Sunny specific rant.. cuz this thing gets annoying to me, especially with Dee and Dennis because, yes, there are certainly jokes written into the show about the way their behavior comes off as odd or ‘incestuous’ to other people… and their lack of awareness or this hypocrisy that tends to come from dee and dennis’ judgements being presented to the audience is funny! but they’re jokes. and those jokes are not Supposed to actually be setting Dee and Dennis up as viable love interests.

They have an undeniably dysfunctional and codependent relationship due to trauma and growing up with chaotic, unpredictable, manipulative, and self-centered parents. However, one of the reasons Dee and Dennis struggle not only to have a healthy relationship with each other but with others as well-- is because that relationship they had early on was sexualized by their own father. The twins already gained such a warped perception of how relationships (especially ones between men and women) are meant to function growing up the way that they did and, again because of their parents, often had that view of themselves and how their relationships moving forward might be viewed-- over-sexualized.

Yes, they are fucked up! But they’re not in love or have any canonical desire to fuck each other. Like.. if u wanna ship incest, the McPoyles are right there and Canonically express that they are in love and care about each other in that way. So if you are so fascinated by that dynamic, why don’t you just ship them? (I have what I’d consider to be a pretty decent first guess as to what the answer is lol) The McPoyles and Reynolds are decidedly different in the fact that Dee and Dennis do not have those feelings for each other. The McPoyles projected that possibility onto Dennis in Who Got Dee Pregnant? and he got so sick he literally threw up.

At its core, it makes me sad because I can see how badly Dennis wanted to have a relationship with his sister that was close but not sexualized or romanticized by other people. Dee certainly wanted that too, once upon a time. But people in the canon just kept projecting their weird shit, and this extended into the fandom too. It makes me sad for these characters, despite how shitty and self-righteous they may be lol.

Like yeah it’s funny to watch Dee and Dennis get taken down a peg in their perceived superiority, but the show has done that from the start and continues to in ways that doesn’t involve incest?? Because that’s, again, not the nature of their relationship. It’s not the fucking point. Often the joke is that Dee and Dennis always asserted themselves as being more classy and more aspirational than Mac and Charlie, when in reality they’re just as (if not more) trashy and depraved (again.. in ways that don’t have to involve incest to get that point across lmao). And I can tell you that is objectively much better writing that proves they’re able to stretch themselves creatively into territories stronger than just shock value or gross out humor.

This is not purely about comfort as a viewer, this is also about respecting their abilities as writers to not get stuck in the same old corner of jokes as many shows like this do.

So, despite this being vent/somewhat of a rant, this is about as unemotional an approach as I can have for the subject. But really, overall, I just don’t fucking get it. I don’t get the persistence from people that it’s not that deep and that fandom in general shouldn’t be that deep. like do you actually want to be taken seriously (as many of the same people claim they do) or do you just want to be taken seriously except for when it gets you in trouble?

like trust me, i know there are plenty of Dee&Dennis shippers still out there. there’s nothing i can do about it. i’m not gonna try and handpick and decipher who is who. anyone who i know is and posts about it regularly enough to make me uncomfortable i’ve already just blocked. i do the shit they always say to do, okay? i do! but it is one of the reasons i get particularly anxious about posting about the twins because i don’t want it to ever be interpreted the way shippers will! because it doesn’t matter that i don’t think that is written into the show and can cite my reasons for why i believe it isn’t and never was, cuz people will still twist it that way if that’s what they want to see. so i just don’t fucking say the deeper shit i have to say about the twins most of the time because the possibility of people labelling it as a romantic/sexual thing with them triggers me and makes me fucking uncomfortable!! and yes, part of that is my own problem i do not blame anyone for that, ok? no matter how weirded out i am. but it just frustrates me when people act like it’s just nothing and if you just block a couple people it just leaves you alone. cuz it doesn’t! it won’t! and i know that it won’t!

cuz it’s always more fucking worth it to people to have their taboo trash and double down on it. or for people to be like ‘ew gross!’ and make themselves feel like they’re in the right n just make things worse by making the discourse more intense n causing said people with the taboo trash to double down n become more hostile n then those ‘ew gross’ people just fucking ditch the convo for the next best thing... and i know. i fucking know that.

gonna end this whole mess (since it’s gotten so disorganized by this point.. but yknow.. never said it was supposed to be a proper essay anywhere LOL) with one last Sunny gripe... i just hate hate haaate when people do the ‘well you ship macdennis, etc’ so you have no room to criticize me! like uhhh yes the fuck i can!

i do not feel superior to you, but there are very distinct differences between choosing to ship a toxic/dysfunctional relationship and choosing to ship incest (again, esp in the case of Dee n Dennis as it as a complicated aspect of their trauma as adults and the overall tragedy of their broken sibling relationship that has often just been played off as a joke by the in-universe characters, some of the actors/writers, and the fans alike) like... no it is not the same, actually! you are just being dimwitted and intentionally trying to pull a stupid semantic trick when you argue that, and i hope you are smart enough to at least admit that to yourself if nobody else.

ok.. fin.

[captainshyguy]

inquiring sams need to know: 2, 11, and 16 for hollow knight? c:

well i cant let those inquiring sams down now can i? >:3

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?*

hmmmm......honestly none that come to mind in a conventional sense, like, so little people in hk get to interact with each other in game beyond ghost, so a lot of the popular ships atm are pre hallownest fall. either i like the ship, or i dont even really care for the characters as a dynamic (usually bc i dislike the ship in general or the characters dont interact, or both) in both pre/post hallownest, out of existing ships that is. i could say i think elderbug and iselda are friends, but no one is shipping that to begin with

oh no, wait i have one! isma and ogrim. im happy people enjoy that in a romance sense, but im happy with them just being buds 

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

all the damn vessels in the abyss i’d say with hk that the unpopular characters arent usually...disliked per se??? there’s some the fandom are split on (god bastards) but i fall into the ‘oh i hate these’ for them X] 

the closest might be someone like salubra. people either forget her or dislike her because of the blessing, but i think she’s fun. just a jolly friend 

16. If you could change anything in the game, what would you change?

hmm, three things off the top of my head 

-erase the story portion of godmaster entirely, this is story free fun arcade mode now

-hug quirrel option (gimme....) im happy with how it ends off with him (you know my interpretation for that after all) so i have nothing to add there. it feels so bittersweet and i love it 

-i want a third option in the grimm troupe story that actually, idk, is satisfying narratively X] no feeding the nightmare heart. no banishing the troupe to another land where it’ll just happen to grimmchild anyway, kill the nightmare heart, you should get that option, stop the cycle entirely. 

i want to say let ghost and hollow live. i want that badly. and yet,,,it makes sense narratively. it hurts a lot (and yknow, i wrote a story where that part gets fixed anyway) but still...i dont know, would the ending, the contained game hit as hard if that ddnt happen? if we didnt have that to fix? maybe, but we’ll never know. im content with it being fanon i think. or like, just as the credits roll, hornet is dashing them both to the hot spring X]

[chrkrose]

What signs would you be able to provide that Caryl is romantic/going canon?

*soft voice* "we cut the son of a bitch open. Made sure"*carol cries* *daryl gets up in the middle of the night to search for sophia*"A flower?" "It's a Cherokee rose" *tells a beautiful story to give her hope* *comments on how Sophia will like the trailer all clean **searches for Sophia until he almost dies. Then continues search because he took the responsibility for himself to find Carol's daughter*"You did more for my little girl than her own dad did his whole life" *literally puts Daryl in the position of a father on Sophia's life."You're every bit as good as them""I can't lose you too" *daryl fights with Carol, later brings her to the Cherokee Roses bushes, to apologize and stare at her the whole time * "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened this morning" *all of this while not giving 2 shits about apologizing to the rest of TF or treat anyone nicely*"You're afraid. You're afraid cause you're all alone. You have no husband, no daughter. You ain't my problem. Sophia wasn't mine" *deals with his pain by lashing out, not understanding why he puts himself in the position of protecting carol like Rick did with Lori and responsible for Sophia like a father is responsible for their kid**goes back the next day, listening to Carol's advice and staying around the group cause she wasn't going to let him pull away**Carol is definitely his "problem", since he rescues her at the farm and always keep an eye on her, as we'll see in the future**Massages Carol shoulder/suddenly the air shifts when he notices he is touching her and looks at her while doing it* pretty romantic. Screw around? *stops to make sure carol is really serious* "I'll go down first" "even better"*Grieves at Carol being possible dead, can't stand see a drawing with Sophia's name, almost can't stand the possibility of having to put her down if she is dead* "What do you want us to tell Carol?" *even Glenn knew* "She'll understand""Daryl's gone? He left?" *cue to Carol trying to hold herself together at the realization Daryl left* "Daryl has his code, the world needs men like him " *she understood* "I'm glad you came back" *ten minutes of whispered conversation while eye fucking each other, and giggling at the end*"Just so you know, I liked you first" "sorry pookie" *domestic Caryl cause why not**Michonne teased him, Daryl didn't even bat an eye to that. Carol does, goes 10 shades of red in 2.5 seconds**rick banished her and ran away from seeing Daryl the best he could cause he knew he was fucked**Daryl finds out carol was banished, and wants to go find her, also almost hits Rick, also doesn't care anymore about her being the killer, he knows her, knows she had a reason, wants to deal with ty, takes responsibility for what happened and for the kids too* *almost cries**is dead inside while stuck with Beth**cant even believe when he finally has her back, hugs her in front of everyone, didn't want to stop until Rick cockblocks him**carol was dead inside since she was banished/lost the girls, but Daryl makes her smile again**cant pretend that everything is ok next to him**carol almost leaves, he stops her**keep an eye on her the entire time**their bottle episode is dedicated to show how much they know each other and how he wants to start over with her, and how she just can't bear to lose him, and how she's scared of losing people specially him**his search for Beth goes to the background, his focus is carol**beth dies, Carol stops him for killing everyone**Carol swallows her pain to help daryl, because he is her priority**carols tell him to try even though she can't**carol does everything to keep the group safe, specially Daryl as we'll see in the future**carol avoids Daryl cause she knows she can't fake nothing around him and he knows her better than anyone around**cant pretend she is ok when he asks her and hugs her**their life is completely messed up without the other's presence**Daryl thinks about her when he is about to die* *Carol admitis she is running away from love**Daryl is devastated when he hears she left**Daryl wants nothing more than revenge and praises Carol to everyone at how she would fucking end this shit if she was there**almost kills Richard for her and threatens even the weather if carol as much as has her hair wet because of the rain, in case she is upset by it**still, in front of her, can't hide how hurt he is by her decision of leave HIM**carol opens up to him even though she pushed everyone else away**cant contain herself in front of him**confesses to him she couldn't lose him and that he was the main reason she left**Daryl, who wants nothing more than just win this war, knowing full well Carol is not only necessary, but maybe the person who could help them win this shit for real, lies to her to protect her and keep her safe, because between losing everyone and dying, or having Carol losing herself or hurting herself, there isn't even a debate**almost can't leave her, goes back to hug her and NUZZLES HER SHOULDER**carol nuzzles him as well I mean the fuck, they smelled each other**carol almost goes after him**its stated in canon by Morgan that the same way his philosophy is what keeps him grounded and who he is in this world, Carol is the reason why Daryl keeps holding on*All of this with two characters that don't behave like that with anyone else besides each other. What I see between them that it's romantic? Let me ask you something back: how can you see them as anything but romantic?There is some serious inverse dynamic here in this fandom. Carylers don't have to prove a thing. Haters, on the other hand... 🤔🤔🤔

[eternaleve]

Hello, costume fiends! Sorry for missing a week – just been pottering about and the Henrican Reformation managed to slip through my mind completely. But not to fear, we’re back to the dense mess of 1530s politics.

Tears of Blood

As the Catholic Church struggles in vain to control Henry VIII’s demands for an annulment, the King appoints himself head of the Church of England; initial protests are stifled when Archbishop of Canterbury William Warham officially submits the Clergy to Henry. When Anne Boleyn insists Henry break all contacts with Catherine, the Queen is banished from court. The Reformation has begun; depressed by his failure to prevent it, Sir Thomas More resigns as Henry’s Chancellor. Charles Brandon’s growing hatred for the Boleyns- and his mistrust of Cromwell- causes him to abandon his alliance with them, losing him the King’s favor again. Anne is created Marquess of Pembroke before she and Henry visit France to present Anne as the future Queen of England and Henry’s future wife. After talks between both Henry and Anne with the French King to secure his support, in their chamber, Anne finally submits sexually to Henry, asking him to help her conceive the son and heir they both want, narrowly avoiding another encounter with the Imperial-hired assassin.

Time gets weird in this episode. It all takes place in 1532, yet we pass through a Christmas and a Twelfth Night festive season and then right through a summer and an autumn, then back round to winter. We pass through twelve months in the course of an episode, and yet it is still 1532.

Come on, show. That’s not good. I don’t know how you can shove around sixteen months into the space of one year. It’s an important year, but that doesn’t mean you can make it ridiculously long!

Henry + Anne 4eva

Things are moving along for Henry and Anne; after all, time is ticking on for the chances of conceiving a child and Henry needs sex really badly. Because there’s very little to their relationship other than sexual tension. No meeting of minds, no shared interests, no desires in their lives other than a need to pork each other.

Also, there’s an assassin on the loose.

And he’s doing symbolic things with playing cards, because how else could we think that he’s a serious threat. Do hitmen actually waste their time on doing dramatic nonsense for the purpose of nothing but empty symbolism?

Anyway, he’s not striking yet because it’s Christmas time! Even though this would be the best time to kill Anne because this is when court is busiest. Around two thousand people will be in attendance at court for this time, with the most connected and prestigious families will be attending to Henry, arriving with all their retinues and servants and guards. If I was going to kill Anne Boleyn, I’d do it when there’s a lot of unknown people at the palace and no one would question my presence.

Well, I guess he does one thing. He leaves a ‘book of prophecy’ in Anne’s chambers about how he’s totally going to kill her. A prophecy drawing of Anne with her head cut off was actually left in her chambers around this time, but it wasn’t some nonsense about playing cards and dramatic clues left by assassins.

Pushing on, Henry and Anne are working to secure support and an alliance with the French, a surefire way to stop the Holy Roman Emperor from launching an attack on England. This will be secured with a meeting between Henry and Francis in the English owned lands in France, and in order to make Anne suitable to greet a man like the King of France in any manner as an equal, she is made Marquis of Pembroke. In her own right, entirely, making her the second woman in history to be a peer and a lord by herself. It’s a highly symbolic gesture, as the Tudors come from Wales themselves.

The title also apparently comes with an income of ‘£100,000’ per annum, but I can’t help but think that’s nonsense. In the sixteenth century, that’s the budget for the entirety of government. And yes, I do mean ALL of the government. Privy councillors, clerks, staff, expenditure – that’s how much it all costs (going by the accounts for Elizabeth I, later on). So where in the blithering heck is Henry going to get that money to give to Anne? That’s some modern ideas for money going on there.

Henry also gifts Anne the incredibly ugly jewels of England and then is all ‘Don’t you have something to say to Daddy for this nice gift?’ because the romantic dynamic between the two is a bit ick for my tastes. Sorry, doesn’t do it for me.

It swings around to December again, and the English court travels to Calais to meet the French court. Anne arrives in some style to surprise Francis as I don’t think she could officially be presented to the King – after all, she’s the other woman currently.

And, lest you forget, she’s also a SLLLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTT.

The masque did really take place with Henry and Frances met. What did not happen –

Was that an assassin who looked conspicuously like an assassin was around her at this time. I mean, come on!

He finally makes an attempt, after waiting an entire year. But he can’t do it. Why? THE POWER OF BONING.

So confident in their own power and in the surety of their upcoming marriage, Henry and Anne finally have sex. In terms of historical opinion, 99.9% of Tudor historians believe that Henry and Anne finally had sex on their trip to France and that Elizabeth I was conceived there. Her birth date in September would back that up; however, you will find me unusually dissenting here.

To me, it makes little to no sense for Henry and Anne to have sex at this point. They will be married in a few short weeks, in early January. Their whole position has been defined by the fact that they are going to be married, and officially married as a wholesome and righteous couple. It is true that many couples in this period had premarital sex (with one third of marriages taking place with the bride visibly pregnant), but that is impossible for Henry and Anne. There is so much suggestion about them that to court and leave themselves open to such a scandal would fundamentally weaken their position.

It is also possible for a baby conceived in early January to be born healthily and successfully in September. Remember that children are born at full term now because of the advances in health and medicine; in fact, children tend to be born later now because of our understanding of prenatal health. Healthier babies tend to stay in longer. In times when women suffer from a lot of menstrual anaemia (as in, their bodies are not in a position to menstruate every month) and the diet and condition are not entirely conducive to the health of unborn children, nine months is not necessarily the point at which a baby will come to term. ‘Confinement’, the time when a woman goes away to await a birth, is a period of around three months. Not only does that speak to an certain level of uncertainty about conception and working out due dates, but of an expectation that a child may arrive early.

That is purely my opinion and idea, however, based on a little of my studies into women’s health of that era. It’s something that is overlooked by many historians and ultimately doesn’t really mean anything – we will never know when Henry and Anne first had sex, and it doesn’t matter, considering what will happen.

The Reformation Continues

1532 marks a key turning point in the Henrican Reformation. For 1532 comes the submission of the clergy, which the episode clearly deals with. In classic style with this show.

The battle is really a very old battle in English politics – that of who the church and the clergy owe their allegiance to. Technically, the church and the clergy works as a separate power within the country. The church answers to the power and authority of the Pope, rather than the King. They have their own legal system that works independently of the monarch and the crown courts, and their own system of finances. And that’s a big deal! The position of a monarch relies on obedience of their subjects. That obedience is expected and unquestioned, a demand and privilege of a monarch. And here is a body that does not stand automatically obedient to the King. They are obedient to a foreign power and they are standing in the way of a King governing the country in the manner to which he sees fit. He has a duty to his subjects on a spiritual and secular level, and the way which Henry thinks he can serve his people is not able to be done.

And so we see the rise of another law-making power in England. For the power of the church to be taken down, there must be another body to counter it. And here is where parliament comes in. For the first time, parliament is used as a deciding body in British politics. Parliament has existed since Henry III, but the use of parliament to enforce and create law has reached a point where it is almost modern. Henry requires the consent and power of the people – i.e. parliament – to enforce his laws. This is why divine right never takes hold in England, and what will ultimately lead to the English Civil War. In practical terms, Henry VIII is one of the most powerful monarchs in English history. But his power is allowed through the permission of parliament. And for every monarch after him, parliament has power over a monarch and the ability to influence and change policy. In many ways, medieval governance is over. The King, although he doesn’t know it yet, is no longer singularly in charge of the realm. He could be governed over by the men and lords of parliament.

This comes with the Supplication of the Ordinances. Henry has made an entirely new system. The Church will no longer have their own legal system and they cannot make canon law without consultation to the King. They recognise that Henry is the sole protector and supreme head of the English Church, that abuses of power took place, and they will no longer have independent legislative power.

Here, Cromwell talks of the need to create the ‘commonwealth’. Now, this term is loaded with other meanings – the countries that were formally controlled by the British Empire, or the government of Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War. Here it talks of the political theory of the communal good and well-being of the peoples of England. This is not an individualistic society; here, actions are undertaking with the understanding that they provide a benefit for society as a whole. The rights of the individual do not exist in Tudor society. Instead, what is good for whole of the people is at priority. There is a social contract from the King to govern well and rule for his people, provide them with good government and the means to live well, and they, in turn, consent to his rule and obey him.

This is also tied in with ideas of absolute sovereignty and the body politic. If a country’s peoples are literally a body, with the monarch as the head, then actions must be taken to keep the body healthy and functioning. Actions which cause sickness and problems must be dealt with and prevented; we must all work together, as a whole, to provide good for all subjects.

It may seem strange, this means of thinking, when contrasted with how selfish Henry’s desire to push for change. But it is routed in the ideas of common weal and the consent of the governed. There’s a load of complexity here, and I’d suggest looking up Thomas Hobbes’s ‘Leviathan’ for further explanation of these ideas.

Who does the clergy serve – the people of England or the Bishop of Rome? When faced with the presence of their very close and entirely angry King, they chose to surrender and submit to the demands of their King.

Not that the clergy is necessarily happy about it, as this monk proves. He screams at Henry in a scene that makes no sense to me. For a start, why is he giving a sermon at court? That is the role of Henry’s chaplain, Thomas Cranmer. A monk is one who has chosen a private, contemplative religious life, so he shouldn’t be giving a sermon anyway. Why didn’t they check him before they let him start screaming that Anne Boleyn is a Jezebel? Where is the rood screen in this chapel? All very important questions.

Keeping Up With The Court

Not only is this episode full of boning and fierce legislative action, but everyone at court is furiously scheming away.

Charles Brandon, or as I like to call him, MC Turncoat. For as you see, his role is now to just be opposed and betray people. He’s now against Anne and the Boleyns because… it’s bad? He doesn’t really give a reason other than ‘they have to give Henry Cavil something to do’. He’s found out that Anne and Wyatt used to be lovers, and he’s warning Henry about it. Who, obvs, doesn’t want to hear it.

Cranmer, ever rising in Henry’s favour, is sent to the German states to appeal to the Emperor. Only he meets up with some Lutherans and gets married. Whoops.

Brandon is banished from court and is insulted by the presence of Cromwell. He’s a disgusting self-made man! Like Brandon is! But Cromwell’s the wrong kind of self-made man!

Meanwhile, Thomas More resigns as chancellor. He cannot support Henry’s actions, although he will never speak out against the king and aims to stay neutral. His opinion will be his own, and not to be spoken publicly.

Thomas Wyatt is sexing up one of Katherine of Aragon’s maids because… sex? I don’t really care about Thomas Wyatt.

In private, Thomas More asks his daughter to allow him to die. It’s his only comfort in life to die as a martyr, even though he is the wage earner of the family, and as a traitor and martyr all my worldly possessions would be forfeit to the crown and my entire family would be cast onto the streets, penniless, with nothing to their names. Death is a great joy to me, not you or any part of my dumb family.

This is why I’m no particular fan of Thomas More. He left his family destitute to prove a point to himself.

Mary Boleyn is back! She’s back to talk about sex, sex, sex, and oh yes, sex. And for Mark Smeaton to talk about wanting to have sex with men, openly, because I’m sure that in this society he would totally do that.

And now Charles openly declares himself to be against the Boleyns. Because reasons, I suppose.

I’m A Model, And I Do My Little Turn on the Catwalk

I like Anne’s little snow outfit as it’s very cute. Henry’s outfit is too slim fit, still. It’s a feminised, Elizabethan style of outfit. Henry’s clothes screamed about how masculine he was – this is too Tudor androgynous, and not right for him.

This dress is gorgeous and so out of left field. It is exactly right for the period and for Anne’s status. It has no ridiculous medieval style frills, and the sleeves are perfect. I love the rich brown, and this is easily the best outfit that Anne has worn over the two series. I don’t think we’re going to get another dress this accurate, for shame.

Henry VIII: Pirate King.

What the hell is that dress.

Hideous frumpy faux medieval dress, and weird headdress. There’s a coif at the back for her hair to go in. What’s the point of having it and then having her hair tumbling down? It’s horrible.

Nice lampshade there, Lady Brandon.

And that’s it for this week! Come back next time for more Tudor politics and horrible headdresses.

Unpicking The Tudors; S2 E2 Hello, costume fiends! Sorry for missing a week - just been pottering about and the Henrican Reformation managed to slip through my mind completely.

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1x04- Murphy’s Law

Alrighty, on to Episode 2 for this week. It feels like we got so much information in these first 4 episodes that I almost forget we are still only 4 episodes into the first season. Obligatory: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 1-4!

-Reminder: Charlotte is officially Madi #1 to me. -Why doesn’t Clarke still tell these stories about Wells?! Like I would have loved them! -but CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS: Clarke talking to FINN about her mother killing her Father. Like i know this was not intentional foreshadowing but WOW WITH THE FORESHADOWING. -Jackson worrying about Abby is like peak Jackson. He's just an angel really. -Murphy peeing on that guy is still like the grossest thing ever. -Octavia and Jasper:-) -Kane is so spicious of Abby. He’s not SUspicious, just spicious. -When am I allowed to start liking Kane. Can we skip to when he’s a good guy?! -Raven’s description of “bad dead” is hilarious. -The fact that Bell and Clarke are not even officially the leaders yet but they are already totally the leaders is basically this entire show. Octavia and Jasper brought the knife to THEM. together. Not just Bellamy, not just Clarke. both of them. -Also the whole “do we keep it quiet or do we tell everybody” is their entire lives. -Can we talk about how Bell is always honest with her too? She says “this is the best for you!” and he immidiately says “yea.” no excuse, no lies. -Ok, Bellarke tangent over, I swear. -Also obsessed with Bellamy’s “come again?” When Murphy says he doesn’t have to answer to anyone. -“The rules are there are no rules, except like, obvs we cant kill each other thats not cool guys. Also I shouldn’t have to tell you that” was probably the original “whatever the hell we want.” -The BETRAYAL when we learn it was Madi #1 and not Murphy. Even though we KNOW that it was. -Also Nigel (Nygel?) is basically terrible. -This is when Bellamy is in his first months of fatherhood, its totes ok he made some mistakes…Also he probably didn't think he had to tell Charlotte not to actually kill people. -Dude, Kane still sucks right now. -“you can’t just kill someone to make yourself feel better!” She's not wrong though… -Vera Kane was a gem. I mean she was a looney tune, but a gem! -What is with everybody’s obsession with chess on this show? -I love that Kane is still defending Abby even though he's currently evil!Kane. -Its funny to think what would have happened if Abby had gone down with Raven. -Bellamy didn't think this one through- probably because he was thinking with his heart and not his head…I’m just saying -Literally when Bell says “So help me god if you say the people have a right to decide…” its the exact same tone as “If this is another one of those moments where you tell me to use my head…” and both times he’s wrong about what she’s going to say. -I feel like there were about 5 times in the first season where i was SURE it was the last we’d see of Murphy. but nah, he’s still kicking, and thank god! -poor Monty, he tried his best! -Octavia and Jasper were so adorable. I miss them. -also Monty’s stealthy thumbs up after Octavia kisses Jasper is MY FAVORITE THING. Monty is the greatest. he just is. -Reason number 75 Finn sucks: his melodramatic break down, he is being ridiculous. He is essentially freaking out because he thinks Raven is going to die so his solution  is to sleep with somebody else, because that makes all the sense. Finn, why are you so terrible?!

WHEW, that episode was a doozy. We have now introduced the Bellarke leadership/mom&dad dynamic. Raven is currently heading towards earth (and heading towards the most CW of dramatic situations). Abby has been arrested (again), Monty has fried all the wrist bands and Murphy has gone full Roan (get it? because he’s banished, just like Roan. Whatever, I thought it was funny). So much happened, what will come of all of this?!! Who knows?! (um, spoiler alert: WE know, because its 2017 not 2013. BUT lets just for the sake of this pretend we DON’T know).

TOTALS: number of times I yelled at Charlotte aka Madi #1 on the screen: at least 25. Girl cant just kill everybody whenever she wants. number of times I rolled my eyes at Finn: 2383792 and counting. number of people that are as smart as Raven and Monty: Zero. They are just geniuses guys. I don’t make the rules. FINAL VERDICT: 4.5 colored pencils out of 5 colored pencils. until next time, may we meet again, -JRWT