#civil war in Scotland
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Montrose Betrayed: ‘We require and authorise you therefore to proceed vigorously and effectively in your undertaking;’
Charles Throws in his Lot with the Covenanters
Charles II of England c1653. Source: Wikipedia
THE MARQUIS of Montrose, probably one of Charles I’s most steadfast supporters had, after his extraordinary campaigns in Scotland in 1644-45, fled to the continent following his ultimate defeat at Philiphaugh. There he toured the courts of Europe, feted as a defender of monarchy and the ultimate cavalier general. The execution of the King hit the fervently Royalist Montrose particularly hard and the Marquis, vowing hot vengeance on the Commonwealth who had carried out the vile deed, immediately offered his unconditional support to the new King Charles II at his court in Breda in the Dutch Republic. Charles accepted the offer and made Montrose Lieutenant-Governor of the Royalist forces in Scotland in February 1649.
There were of course no Royalist troops as such in Scotland, but the country remained contested. Hamilton’s Engagers had been ousted, but the Covenanter government that had resumed control under Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, ultimately began to assume a similar stance towards the English Commonwealth and the new King, as had its predecessor. Despite the religious dispute that had led the Scots to take up arms against Charles I on at least three occasions, there was no support for republicanism in any part of Scotland. The Commonwealth, dominated as it was by the New Model Army, was viewed by the Covenanters as sectarian, radical and revolutionary and despite the wartime alliance with the English Parliament, as less trustworthy a partner than the new King. Therefore commissioners were duly despatched to Charles’ court in Breda to see if the young monarch could be persuaded, as had theoretically been his father, to adopt the Solemn League and Covenant across the Kingdoms in return for Scottish military help to overthrow the Rump Parliament.
As the Irish Rebellion began to falter, Charles did indeed begin to place more faith in a Scottish alliance as the means by which he could reclaim his father’s throne. Although this effectively meant leaving Ormrond to his own devices in Ireland, the spontaneous eruption of some small scale Royalist rebellions in the north of Scotland, quickly put down, made Charles realise he did not have to put all his eggs into one basket. Montrose was summoned and asked to gather a force of mercenaries to attack northern Scotland and seek to establish a Royalist presence there that could threaten Covenanter and Commonwealth alike.
In March 1650, Montrose landed in Orkney with a small force of 200 German and Danish mercenaries. He found a measure of Royalist support here but little in the way of meaningful military manpower or supplies. Montrose’s planned tactics were again to be the formation of a tough guerrilla force that could undermine Covenanter resolve and inspire a more general rallying to the Royalist cause. However, Montrose remained a figure of fear and hatred to Scottish Presbyterians due to the ferocity of his campaigning during the First Civil War and with negotiations with Charles proceeding, the Covenanters saw no reason to seek compromise with the cavalier Marquis. Unfortunately for Montrose, Charles would use his presence in Scotland as a bargaining chip in his negotiations with the commissioners and no more, and that that was the main value of the Marquis’ quixotic adventure to the King.
In the meantime the commissioners drove a hard bargain. Like the Engagers before them, they insisted that Charles sign the Solemn League and Covenant and in so doing, agree to the introduction of Presbyterianism throughout England. They also required Charles to renounce episcopacy, personally convert to Presbyterianism and ensure his children were raised in the Calvinist Protestant religion. Finally, the King should disavow the campaigns being fought in his name by the Irish Confederates and by Montrose’s small band of fighters in Scotland. Then and only then, would the Covenanter army be prepared to embark on a war to defeat Cromwell and the New Model Army, overthrow the Commonwealth and restore the monarchy in England. Charles hated these terms but he had to face reality: Cromwell had reduced the Irish Rebellion to no more than a series of sieges whereas Montrose’s campaign, although his forces had grown to over 1200 men, was never going to secure significant victory in Scotland. The Puritan Covenanters, anathema though they be to the Anglicanism of his father, offered the surest hope of military and political success in England. On 19th April, 1650, Charles signed the Treaty of Breda with the Scottish commissioners. From that moment, Montrose was on his own.
Whether he appreciated his isolation or not, Montrose continued to carry out his King’s wishes as he understood them. He landed his small force in the Highlands and raised the Royal standard. Montrose then traversed the Highlands trying once again to secure a rallying of clans to the Royal cause, but he was met in the main with indifference. The Marquis took his force further south, pausing near Carbisdale to await what he hoped would be reinforcements. However, a small Covenanter cavalry force, led by Colonel Archibald Strachan, a capable officer with experience of the Scottish civil conflict with the Engagers, attacked Montrose’s men. Although outnumbered, Strachan’s cavalry took Montrose’s inexperienced infantry force by surprise and routed them in a single charge. Montrose escaped from the battlefield and sought refuge with Neil MacLeod of Ardvreck, a former Royalist supporter who promptly handed him over to the Covenanters. Charles, on signing the Treaty of Breda, did send a letter to Montrose, instructing him to disarm, but it never reached him. Even if it had however, it was now too late.
Montrose was taken to Edinburgh in chains on 18th May and was put on trial the following day. The result was a foregone conclusion. Although Montrose defended himself by pleading loyalty to his rightful King, the vengeful Presbyterians were not interested and the Marquis accepted the inevitable sentence of death with a degree of equanimity. But it was an horrendous death: Montrose was hung, drawn and quartered, the fate of traitors and Papists, with his head displayed at Edinburgh and his limbs despatched to Stirling, Perth, Glasgow and Aberdeen, so all Scotland could see the fate of the man who had so infuriated and terrified his enemies. Montrose was an impetuous romantic, guilty of much brutality in the war he waged against the Covenanters in the 1640s, but his loyalty to his monarchs could not be doubted and he deserved better than to be deserted so casually by the King he had served so unstintingly. It was a poor end for the ultimate Cavalier.
As for Charles, his die was cast. In June he set sail for Scotland in fulfilment of his Faustian pact, and with this, his attempt to regain his father’s throne and therefore the commencement of a third civil war, were put in train.
#english civil war#Charles II#Earl of Montrose#civil war in Scotland#solemn league and covenant#Covenanters
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The Battle of Langside
Fought on May 13th, 1568, the battle of Langside was fought just south of Glasgow, Scotland, between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disaster when, after her capture at Carberry Hill, she was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI. Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, while her Protestant half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was appointed Regent on behalf of his nephew. In early May 1568 Mary escaped, heading west to the country of the Hamiltons, high among her remaining supporters, and the safety of Dumbarton Castle with the determination to restore her rights as queen.
It was Mary's intention to avoid battle if possible, retiring instead to Dumbarton Castle, still held for her by John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming. Here she would be in a virtually impregnable position, well placed to receive the expected reinforcements from the north, and then recover her hold over the country by degrees. With the intention of by-passing Moray she marched to Rutherglen Castle meeting loyal supporters and then on a wide circuit past Glasgow, intending to move by way of Langside, Crookston, and Paisley back towards the River Clyde, and then on to Dumbarton on the north side of the Clyde estuary.
Moray drew up his army on the moor close to the village of Langside, then several miles south of Glasgow but now well within the city. Kirkcaldy, observed that Mary's force was keeping to the south of the River Cart, the Regent's army being on the opposite bank. He ordered hackbutters (musketeers), mounted behind each of his horsemen, to cross the river. They took up positions among the cottages, hedges, and gardens of the village, on each side of a narrow lane, through which Mary's army must defile. Meanwhile Moray continued to deploy the rest of the army, the vanguard under the command of the Earl of Morton leading the march across a nearby bridge. The whole army then deployed the right around the village. No sooner was this complete than the Queen's vanguard, commanded by Lord Hamilton, began its advance through the village. The battle was now under way.
Mary's army was commanded by Argyll, who was to show little in the way of real military skill, seemingly hoping simply to push Moray aside by sheer force of numbers. George Buchanan wrote that Argyll fainted at one point, though this is almost certainly a rumour spread by his enemies. With her army now engaged, the Queen stood half a mile distance to the rear, close to Cathcart Castle on a mound since named as the Court Knowe. As Hamilton attempted to force a passage through Langside he was met by close fire from Grange's hackbutters. Many in the front ranks were killed, throwing the remainder back on those following, and adding to the general confusion. Hamilton pushed on, finally reaching the top of a hill, only to find the main enemy army drawn up in good order. Morton with the border pikemen advanced to intercept Mary's vanguard. Both sides now met in 'push of pike'. According to James Melville of Halhill the forest of inter-locked spears was now so thick that staves and discharged pistols thrown at the enemy simply rested on the shafts rather than falling to the ground.
Grange, whom Moray had allowed considerable leeway, continued to act with courage and distinction. According to James Melville, "the Regent committed unto the laird of Grange, the special care, as an experienced captain, to oversee every danger, to ride to every wing and encourage and make help where the greatest height was". The battle was now at its height and the outcome still doubtful, until Grange saw that the right wing of the Regent's army – consisting of the barons of Renfrewshire – was beginning to lose ground. He immediately galloped to the main battalion and brought reinforcements. This was done so effectively, and the counter-attack pressed with such force, that it broke the enemy ranks. Moray, who hitherto had stood on the defensive, repulsing Mary's cavalry, now charged at the main enemy battalion, the fight now joined all along the line. The Queen's men crumbled, the fugitives being closely pursued by a party of Highlanders. The Battle of Langside, which had lasted for some forty-five minutes, was over.
Langside was a colossal defeat for Mary. Only one of Moray's men was killed, whereas over 100 of Mary's men were lost, a figure that almost certainly would have been much higher but for Moray's decision to avoid further bloodshed by ordering a halt to the pursuit. Over 300 of Mary's men were taken prisoner, including Lord Seton and Sir James Hamilton and many of his followers. Mary and her escort rode off, first trying to reach Dumbarton Castle, but then turning south, eventually arriving at Dundrennan Abbey. From here she left for England, never to see Scotland again.
Mary crossed the Solway Firth to Workington on 16 May 1568 at night with twenty companions. This unexpected event provoked a dispute amongst the English border officials. She stayed her first night at the house of Heny Curwen.[ On the next day she moved to Cockermouth and was greeted by Richard Lowther, the deputy of Lord Scrope at Carlisle Castle. Lowther escorted Mary to Carlisle on 18 May. Meanwhile, the Earl of Northumberland who was at Topcliffe heard the news from Workington, which was in his jurisdiction. The Earl obtained a letter of authority from the Council of the North at York to be the Scottish Queen's host and to "let none of them escape." When the Earl arrived at Carlisle on 22 May, Richard Lowther defied him, and the Vice-Chamberlain of England, Francis Knollys, upheld Lowther's actions.
Over the next five years Mary's supporters in Scotland continued a civil war with the Regents of Scotland.
#history#military history#scotland#scottish#scottish history#queen mary#mary queen of scots#16th century#marian civil war
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On May 29th 1679 Covenanters under Sir Robert Hamilton take Rutherglen before evading government troops.
In May 1679 the goverment issued a proclamation calling the Covenanter’s Conventicles (field meetings) “rendezvous of rebellion” and said that attending them was treason. This act led to the Covenanters publishing the Rutherglen Declaration.
On this day in 1679, around 80 armed Covenanters led by Robert Hamilton of Preston rode into Rutherglen, extinguished the bonfires which had been ordered to be lit to celebrate the restoration of Charles II as king, and read out their declaration. In it they spoke out against all the Acts of the government since the restoration, publicly burnt the Acts directed against the Reformation, and affixed their declaration to the town cross. Afterwards they rode off into the moors where 3 days later they would meet Claverhouse and his troops in battle at a place called Drumclog.
Below is a transcript of their declaration;
“As the Lord hath been pleased to keep & preserve His Interest in this land, by the Testimonies of some faithful witnesses from the beginning: So in our day, some have not been wanting, who through greatest hazards have added their testimonies to these who have gone before them, by suffering death, banishment, torturings, forfeitures, Imprisonments, & what not, from a perfidious & cruel adversarie to the Church & Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in the land. Therefore, we owning the same Interest of Christ, according to the word of the Lord, & the National & solemn League & Covenant, Desire to add our Testimony to the Testimonies of the worthies that have gone before us (though we be unworthy, yet hoping as true members of the Church of Christ in Scotland) And that against all things done prejudicial to this Interest, from the beginning of the work of Reformation, Especially from the year 1648 to 1660. And more Particularly from the said year 1660. & downwards, against the Acts following: As, Against the Act of Supremacy; The Declaration, whereby our Covenants were condemned; The Act for eversion of the established Government of the Church, & for establishing of Abjured Prelacy; The Act Rescissory of all Acts of Parliaments & Assemblies, for establishing the Government of the Church according to the word; The Act of Glasgow, putting the same in execution, whereby at one time were violently cast out above three hundred Ministers, without any Legal Procedure; Likewise The Act for appointing an holy Anniversary day, to be kept every 29th of May, for giving thanks for the setting up an usurped power, destroying the Interest of Christ in the Land: whereby the Creature is set up to be worshipped in the room of our great Redeemer, And a power is assumed which is proper to the Lord only; For the appointing of ordinances in his Church, as particularly the Government thereof & the keeping of holy days, belongs to no Prince, Prelate, nor person on earth, but only to our Lord Redeemer. And further, we give our Testimony against all sinful & unlawful Acts, emitted & executed, published & prosecuted by them, against our Covenanted Reformation. And for Confirmation of this our Testimony, We do here this day, being the 29 of May 1679. publicly & most justly burn the foresaid Acts, at this Cross of Rutherglen, being the Chief Burgh of the Nether ward of Clydesdale; As they perfidiously & blasphemously have burnt our holy Covenants, through several Cities of these Covenanted Kingdoms. We hope none will take exceptions at our not subscribing this our Testimony, being so solemnly given: for we are ready to do it if necessary, And to enlarge it with all our faithful suffering brethren in the Land.”
The pics are of a memorial plaque at Rutherglen Mercat Cross, and the cross itself.
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does anybody remember when I accurately predicted how game of thrones tv show would end bc I had a basic understanding of how the Tudor dynasty ended. lol.
#like genuinely the parallels in the book aren’t even slick#<-although again let’s hope the book series doesn’t end same as the show LOL#Robert = Henry viii#Joffrey and tommen as Edward vi (boy prince who dies young)#dare I say stannis = Mary I bc religious extremism#Cersei as lady Jane grey probably#or if you want the whole ‘named someone their successor in their will and got killed very quickly’ you could say that she’s Ned#although then succession order would be wrong#that does leave us without an Elizabeth though. renly is my Elizabeth I though 😞#and THEN you get James I coming down from#Scotland to sort out everyone’s mess 🥴#<- and that’s why I guessed a stark. and an unimportant one at that who hadn’t been involved in the fighting I argued. it’s funny that I was#except he was gay and everyone hated him and he set in motion what led to the civil war so 🤷♀️#anyway as a girlie with a history degree nothing in those books is insanely#shocking to ME personally. although it’s interesting to see how my opinions have shifted in the last 4 years#early modern U.K. isn’t even rly my era and I still know this sndjdkfkf#also I know#in theory everyone says the books are based on war of the roses but imho robs rebellion works better in that sense than anything else#so then I use the Tudors as my framing for what goes on during the timeline#but again it’s all circular bc you have the war of the roses and not too much later you get the English civil war so#anyway dynasties I actually studied at uni are like. the Carolingians and Capetians and Hohenstaufen’s / Holy Roman Empire#and then tang song and Sui . which all give me a lot of perspective on how these processes work#election based succession no look at Holy Roman Empire#‘best amongst brothers’ succession yes look at dynastic China#my conclusion here is that renly was correct rip ��#<- although I would be remiss to not highlight that several Chinese dynasties did practise primogeniture. but many of the most successful#ones didn’t#like I still can’t believe so many fans still think renly was insane like blood tanistry literally was such a thing historically that it#even has a silly sounding name. it was widely practised#him wanting to call an older brother is also what dany did and no one shits on her for that 🥴
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Scotland, despite having a quarter of the population of England, had three times the number of Witch Trials and four times the average within Europe in the 17th century is like. Ah. My dudes. Mayhaps chill?
Like Arthur getting over the worst hump of it following the end of the Commonwealth and a near military theocracratic regime only to turn one way and his brother immediately files 600 cases to Scottish Courts like oh geez but then he to turns around another way to find Alfred has gone off his rocker in Connecticut and Massachusetts and it's like just stop ✋️ for five seconds please.
#its because of torture as a means of evidence vs confession laws#scotland had no problem keeping people awake for three days and stabbing them repeatedly until they confessed#english courts were like pardon thats fucked up#it wasnt to say england didnt persecute and kill innocent women but wooft scotland was just on another level#what's really weird is that english rates went up during the civil war and Commonwealth#but scottish cases went down during the same time because they were forced to use english court systems#like that was how overblown scottish cases were#that the increased hysteria of puritan england was *still* less than scotland on a normal day#....anyways#hetalia#hws england#hws scotland#hws america#headcanon#historical hetalia#op
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King Charles I badge
King Charles I
by CreativeHistory
#King Charles#Charles I#martyred king#English Civil War#executed king#English king#Scottish king#King of England#King of Scotland#Stuarts#Stuart dynasty#badge#button#Zazzle#history gift
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Paranormal Passion: 10 Historical Romance Prompts
Paranormal passion takes romance to the next level! Ready to write your own story? Here are ten prompts to get you started. Giving it a historical twist adds a whole new layer of intrigue and excitement.
1. In the bustling streets of 18th century London, a young woman with a secret gift of precognition stumbles upon an ancient artifact that binds her to a brooding vampire seeking redemption.
2. During the height of the French Revolution, a courageous seamstress with the ability to speak to spirits becomes entangled in a dangerous love affair with a mysterious nobleman-turned-werewolf, who is hunted by his own kind.
3. In the midst of the American Civil War, a wounded Union soldier with an extraordinary talent for healing meets a Confederate ghost with unfinished business and an undying love for his widowed wife.
4. On the eve of World War II, a resourceful British codebreaker discovers an enchanted book that transports her to the dangerous world of a cursed 1920s Chicago gangster, who vows to take revenge on the family who betrayed him.
5. Amid the lavish court of Imperial Russia, a young aristocrat cursed with the ability to see death omens crosses paths with a reclusive sorcerer who offers her a chance to break the curse at a deadly price.
6. In the opulent palaces of ancient Egypt, a slave gifted with the power to control fire catches the eye of a high priestess who harbors a dark secret involving forbidden magic and a vengeful pharaoh.
7. As the Aztec Empire crumbles under Spanish conquest, a brave warrior haunted by visions of his fallen kingdom forms an unlikely alliance with a fierce jaguar shifter tasked with protecting an ancient relic that could change the course of history.
8. In medieval Scotland, a bard blessed with the ability to communicate with faeries is drawn into a perilous romance with a cursed knight doomed to transform into a raven with each setting sun.
9. Along the silk road in ancient China, a trader cursed with immortality and the power to control shadows encounters a mysterious woman with the ability to charm even the most dangerous of spirits. Together, they must navigate treacherous lands and rival factions while uncovering the truth behind their intertwined destinies.
10. In the Viking age, a shield maiden blessed by the gods with the power to foresee her enemies’ movements finds herself entangled in a forbidden romance with a fierce berserker cursed with uncontrollable rage. As they fight side by side against invading forces, they must confront their own inner demons and discover if love can truly conquer all.
And if writing historical paranormal passion isn’t for you, then take a look at these ten prompts for writing urban fantasy.
#writing#writers on tumblr#amwriting#writeblr#creative writing#writers#writerscommunity#romance#paranormal#historical fiction#1800s#french revolution#silk road#american civil war#ancient egypt#vikings#medieval scotland#aztec empire#paranormal romance#historical romance
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James Graham, Earl of Montrose, spoke out against factional control. Argyll swatted aside any such naïve outrage and set about devastating those clans neighbouring his own Campbell estates. The Ogilvy’s castle burned before the eyes of their lady and her children, fanning Montrose’s vocal opposition, which eventually had him imprisoned. Argyll was unassailable.
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i love this map btw. #rhymeswithgonenation in the most literal sense. the pronunciation of scone is divisive TO YOU. WE'RE living in a state of utopian harmony, holding hands around a campfire singing auld lang syne. west of ireland DN fucking I
#sorry northern isles btw. not my doing.#don't actually have strong feelings on this it's a little cake it's Whatever#but i do find it funny how united scotland is on this issue while everywhere else is descending into civil war#we just said no <3
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Montrose in Scotland: ‘I Aim Only at Your Majesty’s Honour and Interest’
The End of the Royalist Dream
The Marquess of Montrose, portrait by Anthony van Dyck (1636). Source: Wikipedia
NASEBY MAY have permanently damaged the King’s cause in England, but the situation in Scotland was very different, where James Graham, Marquess of Montrose and his raggle taggle band of Irish Confederates, Highland rebels and Scottish Royalists, had defeated everything the Covenanters could throw at them. The Marquess’ unexpected victories had suddenly made Scotland an unlikely depository for Royalist hopes and Charles now looked to Montrose for salvation of his entire cause. Graham may have entered Charles’ northern kingdom as a folorn hope, but the exploits of this epitome of the Cavalier general were the sole bright light in the gathering darkness engulfing the King’s hopes in his war with Parliament.
In November 1644, Montrose and his Irish Confederate lieutenant, Alisdair MacColla, planned their next move. Following the sack of Aberdeen, the Royalist force had withdrawn into the Highlands to replenish its ranks through a recruitment campaign that deliberately played on clan animosities. To the Stewarts and Robertsons were added traditional enemies of the Campbells (the dominant clan in Scotland) the MacDonalds and Camerons, and MacColla’s proposed strategy took on a distinctly tribal orientation. He proposed to the Lieutenant Governor that the army launch a winter campaign deep into Campbell lands, ravaging the holdings of Archibald Campbell, the Marquis of Argyll and head of clan Campbell. Montrose was persuaded of the plan, despite its obvious logistic difficulties, because Argyll was also the leading politician in the Covenanter government, the Scottish Estates, and a successful attack on Argyll would be a victory for the King as much as it would be for clan vengeance against the Campbells. In December Montrose’s army began its march, traversing arduous peaks and inclement weather to eventually emerge in the heart of Argyll’s lands in Inverary. Argyll was caught unprepared and quite incapable of mounting a defence of his ancestral lands as the Royalist army plundered far and wide indiscriminately killing any of those they felt were guilty of rebellion, were prominent supporters of the Estates, or could be identified as Campbell notables. At Kilcumin, Montrose received word that Argyll’s army was moving north to attack the Royalists, with the intention of trapping them between his force and that of Mackenzie of Seaforth. Montrose decided to force the issue and led his 1,500 strong army on an extraordinary forced march day and night, over snow covered mountains and outflanked Argyll’s force, falling on the Covenanters at Inverlochy on 1st February 1645, taking the Campbell force entirely by surprise. Although outnumbered by two to one, the clansmen charged into the body of their opponents and put them to flight. Over half the Covenanter army was killed in the battle or its aftermath, and its commander Sir Duncan Campbell, doomed by his surname, was executed in cold blood by MacColla after the battle. Argyll himself escaped the slaughter, having previously dislocated his shoulder and had therefore boarded a ship anchored off the coast to recover: he advisedly fled by sea. The stunning victory at Inverlochy put Montrose, and by extension, the Royalist cause, in charge of the whole of the west Highlands.
The scale and nature of the defeat at Inverlochy shocked the Covenanter leadership, leading some to characterise Montrose’s success as being down to divine providence. Meanwhile Montrose marched to the north east, wishing to rouse the powerful Gordon clan to the King’s banner, with the intention of then launching an invasion of Lowland Scotland - heartland of Covenanter support - and onwards into England to join Charles. By this stage, William Baillie, one of the victors of Marston Moor, been summoned back north of the border by the Scottish Estates. Wary of the fighting skill of the Highlanders, the experienced Baillie did not initially seek battle, instead he manoeuvred his forces to block Montrose’s march either north east or south. As summer 1645 approached many of the Royalist army’s clansmen, bored with the lack of fighting and plunder, began to desert, once again depleting Montrose’s and MacColla’s numbers. Covenanter commmander, Sir John Hurry, had meanwhile moved into Gordon lands to pre-empt Montrose’s advance there. Undaunted, Montrose moved his small force at pace to support the Gordons and met Hurry’s force outside the village of Auldearn on 8th May. The resultant battle was a confused affair, fought on boggy ground with Montrose successfully fooling Hurry into thinking his army was bigger than it was. The battle was closely fought, but ultimately, ill discipline on the part of Hurry’s infantry led to a dissolution of the Covenanter line and flanking attacks from Montrose’s cavalry led to its collapse. The Covenanter army was destroyed, with 2,000 killed. Auldearn may have been a somewhat fortunate victory for the Royalists but it was no less devestating for the Covenanters than had been Inverlochy.
One of the main benefits of this victory was an immediate influx of new supporters into the Lieutenant Governor’s army, attracted to what seemed to be the new dominant force in Scotland. The Scottish Estates, now decidedly worried, insisted that Baillie engage Montrose and destroy this Irish Catholic insurgency once and for all before it turned into a full scale Highlands Royalist conquest. Baillie remained wary, particularly as the Royalist army was now reinforced with its new recruits, but he eventually drew his army up for battle at Alford on the banks of the River Don on 2nd July 1645. Montrose had drawn up his own forces in disguised positions and a feinted retreat proved too tempting for Baillie who sent his cavalry in pursuit across the bridge that forded the river. The Gordon foot and horse rose to meet them and in the ensuing melee, the Covenanter cavalry and infantry were routed. Again no quarter was given by vengeful Gordon clansmen whose laird, Lord Gordon, had been killed in the fighting. Over a thousand Covenanter soldiers were killed, the survivors retreated in disarray and Baillie offered his resignation to the Estates. This was refused and Baillie led a further force of 6,000 men to engage Montrose again, anxious to defeat him before MacColla returned with more Highlands reinforcements. The two sides met at Kilsyth on 14th August and once more Graham was triumphant, inflicting on Baillie an arguably bigger defeat than he had suffered at Alford. There was now no Covenanter army of any size to oppose the Royalists in Scotland. Montrose, having entered the country with just two followers less than two years ago, was now effectively its conqueror.
Montrose moved south, occupying Glasgow on 16th August. Edinburgh surrendered soon after and MacColla moved into Ayrshire to subdue Covenanter and Campbell forces there. Against all odds, Montrose appeared to have won Scotland for the King and he summoned a Scottish Parliament to take place on 20th October. However, Montrose’s triumph was illusory. He was incapable of securing the support of the implacable Presbyterian Church or their Lowland congregations. Equally, his army of Highlanders and Irish were getting restless, wishing to head to home to enjoy their plunder and rejoin their families. The notion that Montrose could impose loyalty to Charles on Lowland Scotland with an occupying force of outlanders and Catholics, was always far fetched. Realising this, Montrose decided to join up with Charles and headed with his depleted army to the English border. This too was a folorn plan: not only did Covenanter forces hold the north of England for the Committee of Two Kingdoms, but David Leslie was leading a strong force of 8,000 men to head the Lieutenant Governor off. On 12th September, unaware of the proximity of Leslie’s army, Montrose made camp at Philiphaugh. With lax lookouts and incomplete defences, the Royalists were ill prepared for Leslie’s surprise assault at dawn. Although his men fought bravely, they were surprised and outnumbered. Within an hour, Montrose’s last army was finally defeated. The vengeful Presbyterians ensured there would be no Royalist resurgence. The captured clan leaders were summarily executed and all Irish prisoners were massacred in an episode of religious inspired atrocity. Montrose escaped the disaster and sought refuge in the Highlands, hoping he could raise another army and repeat his extraordinary run of victories; he still had hopes of uniting with the King, but it was not to be. Just as Naseby had dashed Royalist hopes in England, so Philiphaugh ended the dreams of Royalist recovery in Scotland.
The irony of the ultimate failure of Montrose’s romantic adventure is that a desperate Charles would now look to the Scots to support his hopes, the very Covenanters who had fought him since the 1630s and finally destroyed Scottish Royalism on the field of Philiphaugh.
#english civil war#charles i of england#british history#marquess of montrose#battle of philiphaugh#civil war in scotland
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22 Dec 1643: A heated debate in the House of Commons about whether to place British forces in Ireland under an English or Scottish commander.
#history#17th century#scottish history#english history#irish history#civil war#civil wars#british civil wars#wars of the three kingdoms#england#scotland#ireland#english#scottish#irish
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19th January 1644 saw a Scottish Covenanter army of 20,000 men under the command of Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven move south into England and their civil war supporting Oliver Crowmell.
Sit doon and get comfy, this will be a lengthy post, for the start of this post has it's roots in The English Civil War it takes us right up to the Jacobite Uprisings and the split in loyalties between King and country.
The 17th-century civil war may seem a very English affair, but that is misleading – it was started and ended by Scots.
We all know a bit about the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army; the Battles of Worcester and Naseby and Marston Moor that ended with the execution of King Charles I, to me it marked the beginning of the end of the Stuarts, and it all seems a rather English affair, recently, however, historians have preferred to call it ‘The War of Three Kingdoms’, since both Scotland and Ireland were inevitably drawn into the dispute. It is easy to see why the older version prevailed for so long.
To me the internet has helped people, like myself understand history better, we can seek out so many sources so easily, at school, if you were lucky you got a text book with the one version being "gospel" but even on here I have been called out for getting things wrong, well in the eyes of the person calling me out I certainly will concede certain ground, but history as well is how you perceive it, what to put in my posts and what to leave out. I rely on some people to keep me right in some respects, and I can't hold a torch to some peoples knowledge of certain aspects of our history, I take my hat off to the likes of my friends, Marti Morrison, or Roland Obrien whose Jacobite knowledge can put me to shame, these guys live and breath the history, wear the outfits, walk the battlefields and have done for years, mere mortals like me scour the archives piecing together from many sources, like todays post, giving an understanding of events that has been lacking in the classrooms when the super info-highway was still drifting out in space.
Anyway back to the post in hand.
The English story is clear – the extravagant and naïve Charles pitted against the unglamorous and hard-headed Cromwell over a clear point of principle. The Scottish story, however, is much more ambiguous.
Indeed, if the ‘English Civil War’ might broadly be dated from 1640, when Charles I dissolved the ‘Short Parliament’, to 1660, when General Monck restored Charles II to the throne, the ‘Scottish Civil War’ could be said to have run from 1637 to 1744, and the final defeat of the Jacobite cause.
Lets start with simple question: to whom did Charles I surrender in 1646? Not to Fairfax, Essex, Ireton or Cromwell, the leading lights in the English Civil War, but to the Scottish regiment encamped at Newark, led by Alexander Leslie.
Charles, who had of course been born in Scotland, and always had a problem with the Scottish Kirk, who maintained that while the King had authority in matters temporal, they had authority in matters spiritual; and often where one ended and the other began was a point of serious contention. Time and time again I go back to pointing out the Stewart/Stuart, mantra of Devine right of Kings.
James VI as the first King to "rule" over the two Kingdoms of Scotland and England got away with having two forms of worship by not getting too involved with them, Charles however was much more headstrong, his first, and some say biggest mistake was the introduction of his own prayer books on the Scottish Kirk in 1637. It caused a riot, with one woman, Jenny Geddes, purportedly throwing her stool at the minister and shouting ‘daur ye say Mass in my lug?’ They saw it as being to close to the "Popery" of the Catholic church, it led to the drawing up a ‘National Covenant' which was a solemn agreement inaugurated to reject the prayer book and any meddling by the King in their religion. Don't underestimate this agreement a staggering six hundred thousand Scots signed the document, in any age, it stated that as long as the king protected the Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church would protect the king. There was the rub.
Charles, forgetting that the word ‘thrawn’ could have been invented to describe the Scottish Church, sorted refused to sign, leading to the so-called First and Second Bishops’ Wars, the latter ending with Montrose and the veteran of the European wars Alexander Leslie in control of Northumbria and County Durham. Charles had to recall the English Parliament for financial support – the ‘Long Parliament’ – and precipitated his war with them.
Parliament now opened negotiations with the Church. Although there were many mutual areas of agreement, the Church of Scotland held both the Independents and the Puritans at arm’s length.
Nevertheless, Westminster and Edinburgh both signed a successor document to the Covenant, the Solemn League and Covenant, which brought the Scots into the fray on the side of Parliament. Even before this, Montrose had already switched sides, concerned that the Kirk was attempting to usurp the power of the Crown.
While Charles was fighting Cromwell he still held out hope that the Scots could wield and come to his rescue, perhaps this is why he surrendered himself to Leslies army and not the Roundheads. What did for him was English gold. The Scots had been promised much and were financially insecure, so in exchange for their prisoner, the English Parliament paid Scottish debts, Leslie's army had not been paid as promised for allying themselves with Cromwell, with this settled Charles was handed over, eventually to be tried and executed.
The execution of Charles was a turning point. The English had killed the legitimate King of Scots without so much as a by-your-leave. Charles II was proclaimed King of Scots in Edinburgh, and the head of the ‘Engagers’, the Duke of Hamilton, beheaded in London.
Under the Treaty of Breda, Charles II signed the Covenant; an act he did so in supreme bad faith. He needed allies not disputations on theology. Cromwell addressed the General Assembly over the Scots defection, saying: ‘I beseech you, in the bowels in Christ, think it possible ye may be mistaken.’
When the Assembly decided they were not, Cromwell launched a punitive strike against Dunbar, capturing it from Sir David Leslie, ( his brother, Alexander by now aged and retired) beside whom he fought at Marston Moor. Three thousand Scots were killed and 10,000 captured. By the Battle of Inverkeithing, Cromwell had effective control of everywhere south of the Firth of Forth.
But the Scots were intransigent. In the last battle of the ‘English Civil War’, the Battle of Worcester, the majority of the 16,000 strong Royalist force was Scottish. Around 8000 Scottish prisoners were sent as indentured labourers to the West Indies and Canada, starting a relationship with those regions that would have significant influence in later centuries. Leslie was sent to the Tower, and released a decade later on the successful Restoration of Charles II and the death of Cromwell.
The Scots had instigated the war on their insistence that they were religiously and politically different from England. One unforeseen consequence was that Cromwell’s Commonwealth was the first time Scotland and England had the same governance, he is acknowledged as the only an to invade and control all of Scotland, a feat Longshanks, Edward I never quite accomplished.
Charles II did not heed the lessons of what had happened to his father, and his attempts to create ecclesiastical uniformity led to the ‘Killing Time’ between 1680 and 1688. Even more bizarrely, after the English Parliament invited William III to take the crown, in favour of the Catholic King James VI and II, some Covenanters fought for the Stuarts against the new regime. The misery of war and religious schism makes for strange bedfellows indeed.
At the root, perhaps, of the problem was the difference between the Scottish and English experiences of Stuart monarchy. The Stuarts had ruled Scotland since 1371 and England since 1603. They may have been weak, injudicious, opinionated, divisive and profligate kings – but they had been our kings for a much longer time.
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soul bounds disentwined
Wanda Maximoff x Fem Reader
Word count: 5,546
Warnings: A little angsty, I guess? And ofc Reader having a crush on Billy's mom not knowing if it's reciprocated.
A/N: This is inspired in Halsey's music video "Colors", if you have watched it, you can see where this is gonna go...
A/N: For plot purposes, let’s suppose Infinity War and subsequent events never happened, and instead, after the Civil War, Wanda decided to quit her life as a superhero. Part II coming soon!
Wanda Maximoff hired you -a photographer who urgently needed a fresh start- to capture the dishes that would be featured in her second cookbook. Her son, Billy Maximoff, interfered with what you two could have developed. He had feelings for you, and well, you had feelings for his mother.
According to Forbes (2023), Wanda Maximoff secured the third position among the wealthiest chefs worldwide. She is a living proof that we are all capable of rewriting our own story, even after a lifetime shaped by external influences.
Simone Carlisle (Culinary Arts Teacher): Ah, Wanda Maximoff… (pauses) let me tell you, no one prepares you for that feeling, where you find out that you contributed your seed to the plants of successes that one of your students planted in the garden of her life.
Wanda Maximoff (Chef, restaurant chain owner, and television presenter): For as long as I can remember, my decisions were a cycle of revenge and redemption... don't get me wrong, I don't regret beating the shit out of some idiots (laughs), but, with the busy life I led, the only moment I could pause my life was while I was hiding in Scotland with my ex-boyfriend Vision. I had no one expecting anything from me, no one telling me what to do, where to go, it was like a puppy without an owner.
Vision (Avenger, Wanda Maximoff’s ex-partner): Dear, was it a journey. First, I remember that she watched YouTube videos to learn guitar. As soon as she woke up, she grabbed the instrument, and she wasn't satisfied until her fingers got numb. In a very short time, she caught the hang of it, and played for the first time in a small bar. No one knew who she was, and if they did, they probably didn't care. She was just a talented player keeping them entertained. Afterwards, band members fought over who would give her their contact first to join them. I thought that would be the beginning of a very successful music career, because from what I've read, international artists started that way.
Wanda Maximoff: I said, “Vision, I’m never doing this again”.
Vision: She kept practicing, playing in the solitude of her room, of course. It was a hobby-kind-of-passion, not the type of passion she would like to dedicate most of her life to. She went through many of those to realize that her main passion was under her nose all along.
Wanda Maximoff: The courage to join in culinary classes arose from desperation (chuckles), I used to prepare recipes at home, and I needed someone else's approval… it couldn't come from someone who didn't even eat in the first place! And so the beginning of my trayectory was paved by this amazing teacher, Simone Carlisle.
Simone Carlisle: The shy girl who during the intensive course kept her head down, sitting on the back corner, nervously playing with her rings while ignoring whispers and glances from other students, is now in a big framed picture, placed in the most visible spot so that everyone who enters my academy knows that I taught this legend. She made my small business a huge deal now (laughs).
Wanda Maximoff: I never imagined that I would have my own cookbook, television program, or chain of restaurants, let alone all three at the same time! At first, I was content with cooking in a restaurant and earning a decent living, but later, I thought about the possibility of creating a YouTube channel, which subsequently permitted me to finance the publication of my book. Building on the success of my book, the opportunity of my show emerged, which in turn allowed me to open my first restaurant, and ultimately expand it into a chain of restaurants. What I want to convey is that you must trust that the love for what you do is a powerful tool. Success is subjective, so pursue your own concept of it.
Amy Lee (Evanescence’s lead singer and songwriter): It was a hard day of work. I didn’t feel like cooking but I was looking for the homiest, most comforting food possible, and Wanda Maximoff made it a reality with her restaurant located just a few blocks near me. I told my bandmate, Emma, about this amazing food restaurant, she replied, "Oh, the owner has a YouTube channel and a show, you should watch it so that you don't overcook the spaghetti" (laughs). It has been a great help to me ever since, for those are creative but accessible recipes. Plus, it’s a nice touch that she uses her magic to manipulate ingredients and utensils, while making you laugh with her witty jokes. The best way to put it is; she makes you feel like it's a close and sweet friend who is teaching you. Her human and warm approach felt and still feels like a pat on the back.
Wanda Maximoff: My favorite singer since adolescence, Amy Lee, has said something about me that fills me with happiness every time I remember it. She helped me cope, I helped her cook. We're even now.
Vision: You see, Wanda's powers went from being a source of fear in the world to being the main reason why said fear stopped as well. An impressive understanding in her abilities, still doesn't make her an expert, as she can't prevent unexpected situations.
Wanda Maximoff: I was six months pregnant. In the blink of an eye… literally.
The latest legacy of the Maximoff family, twins Billy and Tommy, were effortlessly admitted to Princeton University. The dean was left speechless, for their admission exam grades exceeded expectations.
Tony Stark (Avenger, Stark Industries): With Wanda, our initial connection was through business, the Avengers, you know? It wasn't until she asked me if I could offer her kids an internship at Stark Industries that we developed a closer bond, and man, were those kids geniuses!
Wanda Maximoff: Those kids... one day, they'll outgrow me (laughs). They were so eager to rush through life stages, and I thought, "You don't realize I would give everything to relive those joyful years," but I know better than to project my own frustrations on my sons.
Virginia "Pepper" Potts (Stark Industries): One day, I said goodbye to two fourteen-year-old boys. The next day, Happy informed me that some tall adults with raspy voices, claiming to be Billy and Tommy, wanted to come in. I immediately phoned Wanda, and she casually responded, "Oh, yeah, they can do that," as if maturing into college students overnight was a typical Tuesday occurrence for any teenager.
Thomas Maximoff, (Student at Princeton, son of Wanda Maximoff): What can I say? (chuckles) school didn't present any intellectual challenges for us, and, yes, they do admit child prodigies for... PhDs even! But, we wanted to blend in, to share the same age as our classmates.
Wanda Maximoff: I always considered it a priority to spend time with my boys, so I put a lot of my work on hold, including my second cookbook project. Now that they're focusing on college and their internship, I've had too much time, and by that I mean too much time to finish that unfinished work.
Wanda Maximoff had completed her second cookbook, in response to numerous requests from her loyal fans. Another book that promised to aid all those who seeked a different, quick, and above all, delicious meal at any time of the day. There was no doubt that it would become a global bestseller, just like her previous one.
All that was left were the illustrative photographs for the book, and the studio where you worked at was in charge of this task.
You meticulously made the first dish she cooked appear as exquisite as in real life. You employed several tools like lighting, background elements, and cutlery placement, but you never altered the food in any way, it didn't even cross your mind to do so. This didn't sit well with your boss, but it certainly pleased the redhead.
(Y/N) (Y/L/N) (Photographer): I remember my boss suggested that I add components to the food to make it look more appealing. I responded that that was the equivalent of encouraging unattainable stereotypes of beauty... in food (chuckles).
Wanda Maximoff: By offering unrealistic references, people would be discouraged to notice that their result was not the same as mine, not knowing that those references have hours of strategy to make it look 'aesthetic'. I prefer to show it as it is (pauses) I think that's why I liked this girl, I didn't have to say a word and she understood everything.
Your boss was the typical man who didn't let newcomers like you progress. Although you had been working in the studio for about six months, he never allowed you to touch a camera, which was contradictory because that was the job you applied for.
You did the work he didn't want to do, like transporting, positioning and removing the equipment, and setting up the scenery. That idiot just did the angles and clicked the top right button, and then took all the credit and praise. It annoyed you, yes, but unlike him, you didn't need praise from anyone to fill your ego, you just wanted to be acknowledged for your own efforts and not to be another person’s side kick.
In the meantime, it was enough satisfaction to know that none of the praise he gets would be possible without you, and he knew it…
… and Wanda knew it.
"What do you think, Miss Maximoff?" Your boss showed Wanda the array of photographs he took of the latest dish. He proudly displayed them, awaiting for a compliment from the redhead.
"Wow, (Y/N), placing the sautéed potatoes in a separate bowl instead of alongside the food within the same dish... you were right, it gives them their own protagonism and importance as a side dish," was the first thing she said, eliciting a small blush from you. "Great work!"
"Thank you, Miss Maximoff," after hearing her words, you experimented a feeling that was somewhat unfamiliar to you. It made you feel visible, truly seen and acknowledged in a workplace that often overlooked such things. And the fact that it came from her, made it all even more so profound.
"It's just Wanda," she corrected you, as if her previous actions weren't enough, she gave you the green light to address her in a more intimate manner. Along with that, your boss was already frustrated enough at not being the center of attention for two and a half hours. It was all a dream!
"(Y/N), we're done here, remove the equipment and take it to my car. I'll be waiting for you for just five minutes," your boss ordered you. Not even a ‘please’, nothing. In his gaze was evident that desperate attempt to look intimidating, which only made him look like a tantruming child. However, when his gaze turned to the older woman, he held an incredible admiration and appreciation, almost as if they were two different people in the same body. "Miss Maximoff, it was a pleasure working with you, truly an honor. We could continue next week...”
"Do you have equipment of your own, (Y/N)?" She interrupted him in mid-sentence, and you hesitated briefly.
"Uh... yes, of course, Miss... I mean, Wanda," you replied.
You worked as a freelance photographer in your spare time, capturing people or events here and there. It was something relatively stable, but it could not be your main income, so you felt the need to work on a studio.
"Perfect... I'll be contacting only you so we can work on the rest of the illustrations for the book," she stated.
(Y/N) (Y/L/N): I couldn't believe what I heard! The first thing I did was begging to whatever force there is that this wasn't a dream. It was overwhelming, the feeling of fear and ecstasy… Wanda wanted ME to work with her.
She recognized something in you within three and a half hours that others failed to see in six months. This was it. This was the big break you had been waiting for, the opportunity to show your skills and make your mark.
That being said, you never saw your boss, or stepped foot in that studio after that.
In the days that followed, you poured your heart and soul into preparing for the upcoming shoots.
You studied Wanda's previous cookbooks, familiarizing yourself with her style, her preferences. You even watched her program and her interviews, initially with the excuse of seeing those mesmerizing eyes and delighting yourself with her beauty, but you actually learned a lot of cooking techniques that you were excited to cook when it was such an annoying task for you to do.
When the day of the shoot finally arrived, you were ready. You set up your equipment with a confidence you had never felt before. You positioned the reflectors so that the natural light would bounce where you needed it, and set the scene to make the food appealing and motivating. Wanda watched you work, her eyes filled with admiration and respect.
You smiled at her as you turned on your camera, “So, what do you do with all this food after I photograph it?” You questioned curiously.
"I pack it, multiply it with my powers, and give it to the homeless," she explained. "It's something I often do, in fact, but I prefer to keep good deeds a secret, and not brag about it," she added. “I would appreciate it if you don’t say anything.”
"I figured that about you," you smiled sympathetically.
"You figured?"
“You have always used your skills to help," you elaborated, and noticed she slightly scrunched her nose, as a way of disagreeing. "Yes, even when you were working for Hydra, Tony Stark was destroying territories left and right, and you were seeking justice, doing what you felt was right," you added, noticing how her face showed an expression of realization. "And now, you focus on helping people who struggle with thinking of a simple but good meal in the midst of a hectic routine, and not so much on showing off how good you are at cooking exotic dishes. So yes, I assumed you would also help those who can't even afford a meal, too.”
Wanda's gaze was lost in the white marble of her kitchen floor, and you knew you gave her a new perspective on the wrongs she had done in her past. She meant well all along, and ultimately, that's what mattered. She was a great person in the present, and that's what mattered.
"So, you're the photographer in question," a tall, curly-haired guy stepped into the kitchen doorway, interrupting the train of thought of the woman in front of you.
You laughed at the expression on her face as reality hit her again.
"Oh, yes. Sweetheart, this is (Y/N)," she introduced you to who you already knew was her son. "And (Y/N), this is my son Billy."
"Nice to meet you, Billy," you replied, approaching him to offer your hand to shake.
"The pleasure is all mine," he emphasized the last words, as he accepted your hand. "My mom didn't mention that you were so beautiful."
Wanda cleared her throat, and proceeded to look at him with surprise in her eyes. In a I-can’t-believe-you-said-that way.
You couldn't help but laugh again at how expressive she was without noticing it.
But in their perspective, from how you looked the other direction and chuckled softly, you seemed to snicker at Billy's flattery, which couldn't be further from the truth. He was corny and predictable, but most importantly, he was not Wanda Maximoff.
"Oh, forgive him, he still doesn't know how to control those sky-high hormones," Wanda said, grabbing Billy's shoulders from behind to guide him out of the kitchen.
You noticed that she was already shorter than her son by a few centimetres. This was nostalgic for any mother, but how must Wanda have felt watching it happen overnight? You were curious.
"No problem," you replied, and headed for the counter to begin photographing.
Billy entered the kitchen again, standing next to you, but not close enough to invade your space, which you thanked internally.
"Do you mind if I watch you work, (Y/N)?" Billy requested, and you smiled politely.
"Billy! Don't you have an internship to go to?" Wanda interfered before you could answer.
"Pepper and Tony organized a party at the tower," he replied victoriously.
"College homework?"
"Piece of cake. I finished it an hour ago."
“How about you enjoy your free time and go bowling with your brother?”
“He’s busy playing Fortnite online,” he shrugged.
Wanda rolled her eyes, "Behave yourself. That's the only condition."
"It's okay, Wanda," you reassured her. Each stage in a child's life is gradual, and parents usually have many years to learn about what each stage entails. It was understandable that Wanda didn't know what to do now that her children were suddenly old enough to drink and get into adult trouble.
"So, (Y/N), how long ago did you start this whole photography gig?" The taller guy spoke up, once you took your first picture.
"I've been doing it since I was thirteen," you replied, still capturing the image in before you at different angles. "Dedicating myself to this? As soon as I turned eighteen. I had a decent portfolio."
"I don't doubt it," he agreed.
You gave him a slight thankful smile, and walked over to Wanda, who was setting up the second dish to be photographed.
"What do you think?"You asked her, and it wasn't until she turned to look at the camera that you noticed that this is the closest you've ever been to her. You could smell her fragrance and hear her breathing. Your mind was screaming at you to move away, for you had no right to display such trust yet, on the contrary, your body needed to be as close as possible... to feel her.
You had never touched her, not even when she greeted you this afternoon. She simply opened her door and let you enter.
"Excellent. The blueberries next to the gluten-free blueberry pancakes are wet,” she commented. “Did you do it to provide a sense of freshness?" She inquired, looking into your eyes this time, and... the charm of her green eyes was incomparable.
Throughout life, you've seen different shades of green, but hers were unique. They seemed to have a whole story to tell, as if she gave them that power. Her eyes glowed with an emerald hue that mesmerized anyone who met her gaze, and you were no exception.
“Exactly, that’s what I did,” you confirmed, and you felt your cheeks burning, which you immediately hid by looking down and walking back to the counter.
The only interactions you had with Wanda were to get her to approve your photographs, since her son didn’t allow you both a second to talk. He didn’t cease to ask you all sorts of questions, and to keep the conversation going, you responded with brief 'and you?'s so that he still felt heard and had the space to reveal details about himself.
It was all natural for you. Your work was also based on creating a liveliness in the environment where you performed, plus you got more genuine reactions from people if you made them laugh and feel comfortable. However, you always ended up talking with whoever was willing to, even if you were not there to capture them.
In fact, you were enjoying the conversation with such a charismatic guy. At first, it felt overwhelming, but just by letting the topics flow, you ended up laughing and feeling more at ease with him. In any case, you would be meeting him more than once in the eight weeks that remained before the project was completed.
Once you had finished photographing the ten dishes for the week, you turned off your camera and put it back in its case.
You were too happy with the results. This was all done by you alone, and you would be recognized for it. Never again would your boss's name appear under the pictures that were all your doing. The moment Wanda sends your photographs to the publisher, your name would appear in the book credits, and so a new story would begin.
And Wanda... oh, Wanda made it so clear that she loved your work, and paid so much attention to detail. Not only did she praise you, but she made it a point to let you know that she had indeed noticed the details that to the average eye would go unnoticed. You didn't know if you were really developing a crush, or if it was just the fact that she was an older woman that satisfied that need for attention that you rarely got... or it could be both.
When you were working on your own, you didn't feel exhausted and drained despite the long working hours, unlike when you were in the studio. You were very grateful that Wanda had given you another opportunity like that, and you were confident that it could become a regular thing.
"Wow, seeing all these dishes without having eaten lunch has really made me hungry," you laughed, proceeding to remove the reflectors from the kitchen’s window. The sky was still clear. You started at a perfect timing to take advantage of natural light.
"You haven't eaten? Look at the time! I thought you had eaten before you came!" She exclaimed. The redhead actually looked concerned. "Do you have any idea of the damage you're doing to your body? You need energy for this kind of work."
"Hey, I wanted to make a joke and you ruined it with your lecture," you protested.
Wanda sighed, and shook her head disapprovingly, which made your heart crumble a little.
“I… I’ll get some food on the way home,” you corrected yourself.
"How about you stay for dinner? I was going to make it, Tommy won't be long before he comes back to the real world and notices he's hungry," she offered kindly.
"Oh! Or I can take you out for dinner somewhere nice!" Billy proposed, smiling at you with anticipation.
To be brutally honest, you wanted to throw yourself at him and choke him so no other words would come out of his mouth. You knew Billy was just a guy with a silly crush, excited to show you how interested he was in you. He wasn't trying to do any harm. But, hell, wasn't it enough for him to be the center of your attention all afternoon?
"I'm really looking forward to trying something made by your mom," you declined in the politest way possible. "Many people would kill for that honor!"
Wanda let out a laugh, and her expression also seemed to change as she heard your decision to stay.
But, oh, Billy, Billy, Billy... as persevering as his mother.
"Awww! Next week she'll cook you something, right mom?" he insisted, and even though the redhead tried hard to keep her smile, her eyes changed.
"Sure, I'll cook whatever you want," Wanda sighed. "Go with Billy, and continue your conversation... alone," the way she said that last word was as if she had felt like the third wheel all afternoon, as if she was a hindrance to whatever was starting between you and Billy.
"You owe me," you said to Wanda, letting her know implicitly that you were looking forward to your meeting next week, not this dinner with Billy.
Billy led you to the garage of his house, and opened the passenger door of a black car. You thanked him politely and got in, allowing him to close the door for you. The car was completely spotless, and had a new car smell, but not because it was new, maybe because that was the fragrance he asked for at the car wash. For yours, you always opted for lavender… which made you wonder, what fragance did Wanda like for her car?
"Any preferences?" Billy asked once he hoped in the driver’s seat, pointing towards the car radio. It was noticeable he was doing his best to make this comfortable for you.
"A little bit of everything, how about rock like... Evanescence?" you proposed.
"Ah, my mom loves them," he commented, and your eyes lit up at that statement.
"You're kidding..."
"Yeah, since her teenage years," he confirmed. "Evanescence, In This Moment, Epica, Lacuna Coil..." he listed, trying to remember them all.
You made a mental note to put on that music on your next meeting with Wanda. It wouldn't be hard, as you loved all the bands he mentioned, which was wonderful.
You couldn't wait to show her the latest bands, ask her her favorite songs, and have a topic of conversation that would allow you to bound...
"So, ready?" he spoke, noticing that you were lost in thought.
"Yeah, sure," you nodded, putting on your seatbelt.
The dinner was... better than you expected. In fact, it was amazing.
You didn't really have anything in common with Billy, but the way you both listened to each other, and always found a middle ground despite going your separate ways, made the experience with him extremely pleasant.
The only difference was that, as you each went home, he thought about seeing you again, and you thought about seeing his mother again.
And so, after a week, you found yourself in front of the door of Wanda's house, with your camera hanging from your neck, your equipment already waiting on the pavement next to your parked car, and as a bonus, a speaker you brought along to play music while you worked.
Alone, at last...
When the door opened, you found the redhead wearing a casual outfit consisting of dark blue jeans and a black half-tucked in blouse. Oh, and her face, how you missed that face.
"Hey..." You greeted her, with palpable enthusiasm.
"Hi," she replied, and noticed the speaker in your hand, arching her eyebrow. "I found out last week that you and I have a lot of bands in common."
Wanda let out a gasp of surprise, "Oh, please do come in!"
You laughed briefly, and as you were about to enter your equipment to take it towards the kitchen, Wanda snapped her fingers, and it disappeared.
"Wanda, what the hell?" You exclaimed, looking at her with your widened eyes, had she just disappeared all your belongings?
"Relax, they're in the kitchen."
"That skill of yours would’ve come in handy last week too," you commented, walking into her house.
"It was fun watching you run in and out," she shrugged. "But today you earned it, because of the music."
"I see, I have to earn it?!" You exclaimed, feigning indignation. Really, she could have pulverized your expensive equipment in front of you, and you'd still thank her.
Once both of you entered the kitchen, your reflectors were already in the same position as always. And on the other side, the ten dishes were already hot and ready to be photographed.
"And what would I possibly have to do next week to earn that help from you?" you asked, resuming the topic you had discussed earlier.
"Mmmm..." she muttered, in a way that almost made you weak in the knees. She watched you from head to toe making you feel exposed to her as if she had ripped your clothes to shreds and left you standing there, naked and at her mercy. But you were still completely covered. "... I think you've earned it,” your reaction alone was enough reward to her.
“Thanks, I guess,” you cleared your throat.
You picked up the speaker, and turned it on, placing it in a place in the kitchen where it would not interfere. Your hands were shaking, and you could have sworn that Wanda was watching you with amusement, while you avoided her gaze at all costs.
You grabbed your phone, and played the playlist you had prepared for this moment. "A Star-Crossed Wasteland" by In This Moment was the first to come on.
"Oh, I love that song like you have no idea," Wanda exclaimed, closing her eyes and frowning as she passionately listened to that intro. "That album, in general..."
"It's in my top three," you commented.
"Hell yeah! Now we're talking!" She exclaimed, raising her hand offering you a high-five.
"I'm not that old school," you shook your head, chuckling.
Wanda rolled her eyes, and took your wrist, giving herself a high five with your hand.
"Good girl," she praised you, and you swallowed dryly. At the words, and at the fact that this was the first time you'd ever touched her. "What's your top three?" she asked, acting so nonchalantly after flustering the hell out of you.
“Tell me yours first,” you proposed. You couldn’t even think of your favorite three albums of one of your favorite bands.
"Black Widow, GODMODE, and A Star-Crossed Wasteland, she answered, almost without thinking. It amused you to imagine she'd spent her whole life for someone to ask her that question. "And yours?"
"Black Widow is my favorite, too," you agreed. "Blood, and A Star-Crossed Wasteland."
"Oh, two in common and in the same position," she pointed out, smiling. "If the new album hadn't been so good, it would agree with Blood, too…”
For the rest of the evening, the focus was on your favorite bands, as they played in the background.
You finished faster than last week, as Wanda was willing to use her powers for you to just arrange the background and take the pictures, instead of searching in every corner of the kitchen - you only had to ask, and it appeared.
“Alright, we're done...” she concluded, excited. “Now, let me pack this food and put it in the fridge,” and with a snap of her fingers, it was already packed and subsequently perfectly placed inside the fridge.
“Impressive,” you exclaimed, not ceasing to show your admiration, just like every time she used her powers. If you didn't look so cute, Wanda would have grown irritated at you a long time ago.
“Now, I owe you a dinner,” she said. She never told you, but she was so eager to finish quickly because that way, when her sons returned from the internship, you and her would have spent a significant time together.
The food Wanda made for you was... you didn’t even believe that the accurate word to describe it even existed.
The sensations you experimented had you mindlessly closing your eyes, trying to memorize this magnificent meal, absorbing it all in. You had tried a lot of different restaurants and foods, but none like this, oh they wished they were even close to what you tasted.
This was more than just eating. It was a demonstration of peak exquisite cuisine. This was about more than just sating hunger. It was about the delight of tasting food prepared with passion.
And... just as Wanda was leading you out of the door, you noticed that it opened, and you met who you knew was Tommy.
"Oh, finally I have the pleasure to meet the famous (Y/N)," was the first thing he said. So Wanda... "Billy hasn't shut up about you."
You forced a smile, "That's... nice," you hesitated. "I have a feeling he's going to be a great friend, and I hope you are too."
Tommy noted the intent of your response but decided to reply, "Of course," with a small chuckle. "In fact, you should come play tennis with us next Saturday."
"Oh, I don't know how to..."
"I'll teach you," Wanda quickly interjected, and that hope in her eyes made your decision easier in an instant.
"Well... will you send me the address?" I asked.
"Rest assured."
When you said goodbye to Wanda and Tommy, Billy was climbing the steps to the doorway, and he smiled broadly at you.
"Hi, (Y/N)!" He exclaimed happily. "Have you eaten yet? If not, we can go eat something and catch up."
Oh, how kind he was...
"Thank you, your mom and I already had dinner."
It was Saturday, and you were walking around the room in your apartment. Your best friend, Kate, was already starting to get dizzy.
"Kate! It's a country club!" You exclaimed, for probably the twentieth time. "People there probably eat pizza with silverware, and know the use of all ten thousand kinds of forks. I won't fit in..."
"It's just a tennis game! I'd understand if it was golf, but tennis?! You'll be fine!" She groaned.
"I look ridiculous..." you shook your head, looking at yourself in the mirror. "I mean, what is this cap? And why all white? Am I getting baptized or something?"
"Hey! Do you want to fit in? This is the outfit," she countered. "You look hot, surely Wanda will drool over you when she sees those legs," she cheered you up
"Surely it will be Billy," you sighed, disappointed.
"Wanda too, from what you've told me..."
"No, this is one of the situations where I'm misinterpreting a hint of validation from an older, beautiful woman," you quickly denied. "And as always, my best friend is encouraging my delusions."
"Really? Name one situation."
"That Italian woman who I photographed with her family for several Christmas sessions?"
"Ha! She looked at you funny."
"Yeah, that's why she turned down my invitation to dinner when I finally found the courage, saying I knew she had a husband and kids."
"Uhm... she refused just because she had a husband and kids, not because she didn't like you!" She quickly justified, and you couldn't help but laugh, forgetting for a moment the nerves that were eating at you.
#wanda maximoff#wanda maximoff x reader#wanda maximoff x you#wanda maximoff x y/n#wandavision#marvel
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Charles II tote bag
King Charles II
by CreativeHistory
#King Charles#Charles II#King of England#King of Scotland#Merry Monarch#civil war#English history#Scottish history#tote bag#Restoration#illustration#digital art#zazzle
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Mary & George
So we finally have the show we have been asking for since 2016 (I went back and checked my old posts to make sure and it was indeed 2016 where the "British King Can't Stop Promoting His Boyfriend" post did the rounds).
How did it fair in reality? Well, its hardly Tumblr friendly fanfiction - though it was certainly raunchy - at least at the start. This show was scandalous, sexy, rather filthy at times (in a good way), and absolutely stunning in terms of its production and costume design for sure. It falls very much in line with the expectations of modern period dramas in a post Game of Thrones world where we have shows like The Great, and movies like The Favourite gracing our screens far more regularly than endless fucking retellings of Henry the Eighth which are so fucking common I have even been in one of them myself (sorry - my bitter hatred for stories about Henry VIII and his bloody wives is difficult to restrain).
So FINALLY getting a show set during the reign of James I and VI of England and Scotland and his love affair with the Duke of Buckingham is definitely a breath of fresh air.
But its definitely not the beautiful queer love story tumblr might have hoped for when we all first saw that post.
Nope. If you're looking for a happy tale of queer love overcoming adversity, stick with Red, White, and Royal Blue. Mary & George is not a love story. Its a story of scheming manipulative people who will do anything to get money and power. It's a story that uses sex as a weapon and a tool for personal gain. There is no fluffy romance to be found here, no sweet queer love story and no happy ever after.
I mean, this IS the British monarchy we're talking about, during an extremely dark and horrific period of our history only a short time before the country was plunged into Civil War and a King lost his head. But you've been warned anyway. All you'll find here is brutality, betrayal and eventual death.
Regardless of that, this show was fucking brilliant. The first three episodes in particular are quick witted and hilarious and refuse to shy away from treating queer sex scenes any differently to straight ones. The full frontal male nudity that crops up was also a pleasant surprise - I'm happy that cinema has generally accepted a more balanced approach to nudity nowadays - also a surprise was the lesbian romance which was probably the only genuine romance in the entire show. It leaves you wondering throughout but by the final few episodes its clear that if any love is "true" in this show, its the love between Mary and Sandie.
I absolutely adored Julianne Moore in this as Mary Villiers, who ruthlessly claws her way into power and money through schemes, seductions, betrayals, murders, and anything else you can think of. But even with all of this, I can't help but root for her. Who doesn't want to root for a scheming lesbian and her lover as they manipulate everyone around them and ensure they always get the better of the horrible men that make up King James' court? In this house we support Womens Wrongs.
As far as George goes, Nicholas Galitzine is brilliant as a beautiful but dim mummy's boy in the first few episodes, throwing tantrums and pouting with perfection. He shines in the later episodes as the arrogant and powerful Duke who believes he is practically untouchable due to his hold over the King, whilst still showing through the vulnerability underneath where that relationship remains precarious. The underlying joke of the show is that everyone wants George, and George wants everyone. He's a slutty slutty man.
You know how tumblr has a tendency to split queer stories into one of two camps - either pure sweet romantic love stories or very bad evil messy queer stories? (a gross simplification but you get what I mean) Well Mary and George falls firmly in the second camp. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I was a bit dissapointed that the general approach and belief of the storytellers here is that George used the King for personal gain, that the King was nothing more than a hedonistic fool who let his favourites manipulate him, and that any actual love between them was shallow and fleeting. Its all extremely cynical.
Especially since we know its not true. the surviving letters we have between King James and George paint a much more romantic picture, one where love was definitely a significant factor in their affair. Yes, historians love to play down queer history as best they can, but I don't believe that George Villiers was quite the manipulative little slut this show makes him out to be.
And yeah, sure, we can laugh and dismiss any true history involved. Its just a story after all? It was a bloody good story and one I enjoyed, but was it a fair portrayal of the actual men involved? Probably not - then again, the actual men involved weren't very nice anyway, and the show glossed over a lot of King James' more infamous sins. His obsession with witches and demons leading to the horrifying witch trials throughout the country were completely left out. There was also no mention of the famous King James Bible - the one that heavily emphasised any passages alluding to homosexuality being a sin which is used so frequently even today by religious zealots to persecute gay men. The Sodomy laws during King James' reign were enforced with such brutality that they brought us the slur "f*gg*t" (which I'm not explaining here). Yet the show displays acts of sodomy as such a normal part of court life that you'd almost think it wasn't totally punishable by death.
I shouldn't complain. Especially not about the lack of homophobia. Its a great show. You should watch it. But take it with a pinch of salt. The true story of James and George was probably one with a lot more secrecy involved, a lot more sneaking about in the night (after all, why build a secret passage between their bedrooms if they weren't trying to hide it?) and therefore a lot more hypocrisy on the part of the King.
There are some very touching scenes between King James and George, and I feel the show attempted to portray the relationship between them as complex and multilayered, but I'm not sure it succeeds as well as I would have hoped. But perhaps I am just a silly tumblr romantic who likes her queer love stories to actually include genuine love within them, and I always hoped that any story about King James and George would focus on how that love grew over time. Because whilst George obviously went along with things initially for personal gain, I think the evidence we have at least gives an indication that he did love the King, and the King clearly loved George, and I am interested in a story about how they navigated that love at a period of time where it did need to be kept secret, even if it was a fairly open secret, where things such as the King James Bible and the Witch Trials would have affected them, and where George's rise to power would have caused so much conflict and anger within the court.
But regardless of all that, I still loved the show. Its still worth the watch. The gays deserve more messy sexy dramas where they get to be ruthless and powerful and slutty and murderous. Its excellent viewing for all.
Ultimately though, I may have came for the gay duke and his love affair with the King, but I stayed for the lesbians. The lesbians were awesome.
#JusticeForSandie
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youtube
By: Douglas Murray
Published: Feb 24, 2024
Like a number of ‘anti-colonialists’, William Dalrymple lives in colonial splendour on the outskirts of Delhi. The writer often opens the doors of his estate to slavering architectural magazines. A few years ago, one described his pool, pool house, vast family rooms, animals, cockatoo ‘and the usual entourage of servants that attends any successful man in India’s capital city’.
I only mention Dalrymple because he is one of a large number of people who have lost their senses by going rampaging online about the alleged genocide in Gaza. He recently tweeted at a young Jewish woman who said she was afraid to travel into London during the Palestinian protests: ‘Forget 30,000 dead in Gaza, tens of thousands more in prison without charge, five MILLION in stateless serfdom, forget 75 years of torture, rape, dispossession, humiliation and occupation, IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU.’ It is one thing when a street rabble loses their minds. But when people who had minds start to lose them, that is another thing altogether.
I find it curious. By every measure, what is happening in Gaza is not genocide. More than that – it’s not even regionally remarkable.
Hamas’s own figures – not to be relied upon – suggest that around 28,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October. Most of the international media likes to claim these people are all innocent civilians. In fact, many of the dead will have been killed by the quarter or so Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets that fall short and land inside Gaza.
Then there are the more than 9,000 Hamas terrorists who have been killed by the Israel Defence Forces. As Lord Roberts of Belgravia recently pointed out, that means there is fewer than a two to one ratio of civilians to terrorists killed: ‘An astonishingly low ratio for modern urban warfare where the terrorists routinely use civilians as human shields.’ Most western armies would dream of such a low civilian casualty count. But because Israel is involved (‘Jews are news’) the libellous hyperbole is everywhere.
For almost 20 years since Israel withdrew from Gaza, we have heard the same allegations. Israel has been accused of committing genocide in Gaza during exchanges with Hamas in 2009, 2012 and 2014. As a claim it is demonstrably, obviously false. When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the population of the Strip was around 1.3 million. Today it is more than two million, with a male life expectancy higher than in parts of Scotland. During the same period, the Palestinian population in the West Bank grew by a million. Either the Israelis weren’t committing genocide, or they tried to commit genocide but are uniquely bad at it. Which is it? Well, when it comes to Israel it seems people don’t have to choose. Everything and anything can be true at once.
Here is a figure I’ve never seen anyone raise. It’s an ugly little bit of maths, but stay with me. If you wish, you might add together all the people killed in every conflict involving Israel since its foundation.
In 1948, after the UN announced the state, all of Israel’s Arab neighbours invaded to try to wipe it out. They failed. But the upper estimate of the casualties on all sides came to some 20,000 people. The upper estimates of the wars of 1967 and 1973, when Israel’s neighbours once again attempted to annihilate it, are very similar (some 20,000 and 15,000 respectively). Subsequent wars in Lebanon and Gaza add several thousands more to that figure. It means that up to the present war, some 60,000 people had died on every side in all wars involving Israel.
Over the past decade of civil war in Syria, Bashar al-Assad has managed to kill more than ten times that number. Although precise figures are hard to come by, Assad is reckoned to have murdered some 600,000 Arab Muslims in his country. Meaning that every six to 12 months he manages to kill the same number as died in every war involving Israel ever.
There are lots of reasons you might give to explain this: that people don’t care when Muslims kill Muslims; that people don’t care when Arabs kill Arabs; that they only care if Israel is involved. Allow me to give another example that is suggestive.
No one knows how many people have been killed in the war in Yemen in recent years. From 2015-2021 the UN estimated perhaps 377,000 – ten times the highest estimate of the recent death toll in Gaza. The only time I’ve heard people scream on British streets about Yemen has been after the Houthis started attacking British and American ships in the Red Sea and the deadbeat idiots on the streets of London started chanting: ‘Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around.’ Because like all leftists and Islamists there is no terrorist group these people can’t get a pash on, so long as that terrorist group is against us.
I often wonder why this obsession arises when the war involves Israel. Why don’t people trawl along our streets and scream by their thousands about Syria, Yemen, China’s Uighurs or a hundred other terrible things? There are only two possible conclusions.
The first is a journalistic one. Ever since Marie Colvin was killed it became plain that western journalists were a target in Syria. Not eager to be the target, most journalists hotfooted it out of the country. Some who didn’t fell into the hands of Isis. Israel-Gaza wars by contrast do not have the same dynamic and on a technical level the media can applaud itself for reporting from a warzone where they are not the target.
But I suspect it is a moral explanation which explains the situation so many people find themselves in. They simply enjoy being able to accuse the world’s only Jewish state of ‘genocide’ and ‘Nazi-like behaviour’. They enjoy the opportunity to wound Jews as deeply as possible. Many find it satisfies the intense fury they feel when Israel is winning.
Like being fanned on your veranda while lambasting the evils of Empire, it is a paradox, to be sure. But it is also a perversity. And it doesn’t come from nowhere.
==
"From the water to the water, Palestine is Arab."
This is the actual genocide.
#Douglas Murray#Israel#hamas terrorism#hamas terrorists#palestine#palestinians#genocide#ethnic cleansing#israel genocide#gaza genocide#palestinian genocide#genocide myth#antisemitism#genocide lie#religion is a mental illness
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