Somewhere deep in the darkened forest, a greyface grunts and struggles as they try to free themselves. Currently hanging upside down from a tall leafless tree, they were tied by their ankles a good twenty feet or so off the ground. On a branch just above them, a pair of icy green eyes lazily glared down at them. Their owner half casted in shadow as the eyes gleamed in the light of the half moon.

"It's awfully rude ta speak ill of other folks lineage, ya know" the felinoid replied in an almost nonchalant manner. She stood on the same branch that the anon was swaying from. Back resting against the trunk.

"Especially considerin' your genetically, defective lot" she continued. A bit more harshness seeping into her tone. She then slowly crouches down above the trapped cretin. Her crooked cane would hook around the thin, twine bindings as she tugged and pulled slightly at them.

"I believe I've made my threats quite a few times already, have I not? ... About what would happen if I ever caught ya havin' a go at any of my comrades? ... About what would happen if ya torment the king again?" Kitt began to pull the bound anon towards herself. Her teeth partially bared, her eyes relaxed .. But her pupils were clearly slitted.

"By right, I should just beat the livin' hell lights outta ya like a cheap pinata ... But .. I think I've found a better way that won't cause me ta dirty my new gloves"

Just as she says this, the forest would suddenly seem to come to life with the sounds of some of it's nocturnal wildlife. Howls and grunts that did not sound like anything the greyface had ever heard before. Xandora was truly filled with such unique fauna. The felinoid would then release the anon and let them dangle freely above the leaf litter strewn ground. Dark shapes with glowing eyes began to slowly prowl their way out of the underbrush towards where the anon hung several feet above. The darkened creatures then began to circle like hungry land sharks.

Kitt straightened back up before easily getting out of the tree and back on the ground. The creatures seemed far more interested in the anon and never so much as looked over at the cat woman. She would then turn her head back over to the trapped grey before giving a small, smug smile in their direction.

"Do get fucked grey one!" she casually comments before disappearing into the forest.

Watching this drama unfold: I’m more disturbed by the fact that these grown ass white women are talking shit and attacking a TEENAGE BLACK girl. I’ve seen some of them attack her because of her age, idc what anyone thinks it’s racist asf. And I’m happy this “fandom” is finally confronting the racism that has been here for a long ass time.

You’re referring to this tweet, right? While I think the girl is question is old enough to be responsible for her own actions, wanting to “police” her isn’t a good look for a 28yo white American woman. Ironically, she recently reblogged this article about “listening to the grievances of people of colour” in medieval studies. The other 20-something woman is Jewish, but that doesn’t excuse the vile, irresponsible allegations she’s spread about other minorities here.

I promised not to post about this anymore but my DMs are exploding lmao. Everyone knows about dumb and dumber, but are you ready for DUMBEST?

... Says the person dragging up month-old discourse. How ‘woke’ for a white woman to imply that an Ashkenazi Jewish person (and black women) have “internalised antisemitism” for speaking out against her and Haley’s disgusting and manipulative behaviour. I guess all her faux outrage about “unapologetic antisemitism” and bigotry was just IMAX projection. Unsurprising though, considering her history of casual xenophobia, like insisting that Polish bloggers are ‘Spanish’ just so she can weaponise their identity against them. Hey Taylor, as an actual Filipina from the Philippines, I don’t appreciate you exploiting OUR struggles under Spanish imperialism just so you — a white American woman — can bully random people and gas up Anne Boleyn. BTW, your country literally committed genocide against us, so can I casually accuse you of being a genocide apologist simply for your identity? Take several thousand seats.

As usual, she fled to her Twitter echo chamber to avoid accountability here, where they’re currently bitching about ‘groupchat stalking’ instead of the infinitely more serious issues I raised (because I guess there’s nothing else left for her and Haley to latch onto to retroactively spin their victimhood narrative). Hardly a reach though, considering her first tag in my OP specifically alleged that we “ran off a Jewish woman [Haley] and probably laugh about it in group chats”, which is complete and utter bullshit. FYI Taylor, you weren’t called out for “laughing at a dumb joke” (which you took seriously at first until *we* pointed out it was a joke). You were called out by multiple POC and other white people for your completely unprovoked and suspiciously parallel behaviour to other racists and xenophobes who have bullied Nathen Amin in the past purely for his interest in Henry VII. Ask yourself why our interest in this specific 500 year old dead guy hair-triggers your pettiness and underlying racism, especially since you’re clearly fine with xenophobia discourse when it applies to your fave, Anne Boleyn.

Sorry lady, but making your Twitter private and changing your Twitter handle isn’t getting you out of this one. I’m a lawyer in my real actual life so exposing your half-assed lies and contortions is easy. Think of this as pro bono work on behalf of the dozens of people you and Haley have harassed for years to the point of literal anxiety. BTW, calling your gaslighting for what it is doesn’t mean you’ve “won”. No one has “won”. We have all lost for ever having engaged with you two professional shitstarters. Slap the fucking L plate on your clown car already and leave everyone the fuck in peace.

Hans likes to lick the stair railings at the Chancellery

The young man made a face. “That’s disgusting. And I don’t think even my ex would come up with a lie that strange and disturbing. Would you like some mineral water? Perhaps a place to sit down? Something to eat?”

People should be careful not to flaunt anything too fancy around that cat. Before they know it, she'll have snagged whatever caught her eye with her claws even if they think she's her friend.

Make a assumption about my muse and see how they react! Anything goes!

The felinoid had been peacefully enjoying the late summer afternoon with a jumbo shrimp cocktail. It was a very much welcome distraction from the stresses that she had been feeling as of late. However, the very familiar voice of a greyface would put a damper on her moment of contentment.

Hearing their bold assumption of her, her initial annoyed expression changes to an almost gentle one. Complete with a small smile.

"Oh! Well how lovely ta see you grey lot again .. Truly a pleasure" Kitt responds in an obviously sarcastic manner.

"Also, I would really appreciate it if you'd stop referring to me as 'the cat' .... It's quite rude, ya know! .. I have a name! .. An' if you claim to know me this well, I would assume that you already know it, yes?" she continued as she decided to casually walk over to where the anon was. Her demeanor seemed relaxed as she sauntered over with the her shrimp cocktail still in her gloved hand.

Daintily removing one of the shrimp from the rim of the glass by it's tail, she dips a small bit of it into the red sauce held within it.

"Believe it or not, a thief I may be ... But not to those I consider friends an' comrades ... Plus, I'm rather picky when it comes to things of my liking ... I have certain tastes when it comes ta jewels an' baubles an' such .... An' I assure you, I've no interest in that shlocky an' garish tripe that you lot wear" the cat woman affronts unapologetically. Grinning a tad toothily, she takes a bite of the shrimp .. Savoring the taste happily before turning her attention back to the anon.

"An' if you're awfully curious of what my claws can do, then please .. make more assumption about me .. Or perhaps, those I care about .. Then .. I can show you what I can really do with 'em .. Personally!" Kitt states through narrowed eyes. She then takes the last bit of her shrimp and chomps down on it .. tail and all ... right in front of the offending anon.

I’m sorry for all recent drama in the fandom. I’ve always enjoyed your posts and found you to be very knowledgeable and kind. I remember the people in question had an interesting discussion about descriptions of AB’s skin having racist connotations in Tudor historiography and they complained about people misinterpreting that (they weren’t claiming AB was a woc or suffered racism) and when you guys had a discussion about h7’s Welshness and xenophobia in wotr history that was just as relevant they did the exact same thing and made vague posts plus threw a tantrum over some dumb joke on twitter. On top of that they try to use performative wokeness and identity politics and whine when people call them out on their bs when they’re the ones who started this and literally nobody knew who tf the friend you supposedlyly “ran off” was, much less that she was Jewish. You either own up to your behavior or look like a fool. The sad thing is I think everyone here would agree on a lot of important topics but with childish behavior like that it’s impossible.

Thank you Anon! I’m glad you enjoy my content! And you don’t need to apologise. This insanity is solely the fault of two specific shitstarters and their enablers. How anyone can still defend those two after all the receipts and all the pain they’ve caused is baffling, but it seems like some people might finally be developing a conscience about bullying a black teenager. Then again, they’re also proud of gaslighting people. Classy.

Those two clearly suffer from Henry VII Derangement Syndrome because they’re always triggered whenever someone, somewhere discusses him in any way that isn’t totally negative. I don’t care for their faves Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, but you don’t see me making petty vagueposts about them or hatescrolling through historians’ Twitters and blogs (honestly, someone explain how on earth they got those takes from this discussion). They didn’t even know Nathen’s tweet was a joke about the UK government until one of us pointed it out, so they tried to save face by first spinning it as ‘inappropriate for Brexit or COVID’ (notice she’s now changed her tune), then as “insensitive” and ANTISEMITIC (ffs). All to retroactively justify their nastiness.

Their persecution complex is so large it has its own centre of gravity. They think the only reason why anyone would criticise Gareth Russell is not because of his bad takes, but because they like Anne Boleyn. It is entirely their right to discuss SJ issues regarding their faves, but please, let others do so too without fear of pettiness and harassment. Their entropy causes them to project their behaviour onto others: apparently, they’re now dragging up Taylor’s month-old baseless claims about ‘us’ calling her “anti-Welsh” for defending Nathen Amin. Repeating lies doesn’t make them any more true lol. Try evidence next time.

Anyway, thank you for your kind words and your thoughts Anon! Glad that people are finally speaking out about their experiences with these clowns.

honestly, i do think that taylor and haley deserved to be called out for their behavior but you need to learn to bury the hatchet. so what, beau-brummell is bitter about what happened. of course, they were involved in a fight. but there's a difference between making shitty little posts and writing a huge, angry essay basically rehashing the whole drama and starting more shit. who does that help? what does that do to combat antiblackness in history spaces?

Hi Anon. I appreciate you respectfully voicing your opinion. However, you should hear why people feel so strongly about Olivia’s behaviour. She’s not the only one entitled to anger, and she’s certainly not the only one entitled to express it. Don’t take this personally, but why are people so quick to defend the ‘bitterness’ of white and white-passing women, but refuse to extend the same understanding to black and brown women? For example, why did you confront me and not her?

The last time I posted about this was on 18 February. It is Olivia who has dragged this out. I have not responded until today, despite her accusing me and others of all sorts of nonsense all month, just because I posted screenshots of her bitching about me on Twitter back in February. I didn’t even know about her tweets until 8 February. I never acknowledged her until then. It is beyond hypocritical for her to think that she and her friends can bitch about others in public, then act like it’s “stalking”, “harassment”, and “attacking” when the people they’re bitching about hold them to account.

I think you are downplaying the severity of Olivia’s actions by dismissing them as “shitty little posts”. She spread false accusations against a black teenager, repeatedly mocked her for her age, doubled down on her behaviour, repeatedly incited her followers to “expose” us for calling her out on it, then lied about us being “white bigots” to add credence to that narrative. She mocked us for taking issue with Taylor and Haley’s racism in a previous incident she knew nothing about. Just recently, she searched ‘romani’ on all our blogs in an effort to dig up non-existent dirt. All she found was some irrelevant Elizabeth Olsen discourse, but that was enough for her to start ranting about us “white bigots” again. Again, no one has responded since mid-February. If anyone is refusing to “bury the hatchet”, it’s her. I am only sorry that her ‘friends’ used her to carry out their petty vendetta against a black teenager, but she is a full-grown adult who needs to take responsibility for her actions. She clearly has not.

I strongly disagree that making vague, baseless accusations for weeks on end is somehow better than organising your thoughts into a few long posts. Unlike some people, I do not live for drama. I do not ‘vague’ people. If someone ‘vagues’ me, I will confront them directly. I will post screenshots so others can see those words for themselves. Maybe it’s not tactical, since the Twitter crowd’s critical thinking skills are non-existent. But it should be a HUGE red flag that neither Olivia nor her friends have provided any evidence for their wild accusations, instead relying on spamming vagueposts, claiming to be “viciously attacked” by “bigoted whites”, and telling their followers to LOOK AWAY! from the criticism. Does that strike you as the behaviour of someone who understands accountability?

The way to combat anti-blackness is to LISTEN to black and brown people. Olivia is neither. It’s no coincidence that most of the people criticising her and her friends are. When a black teenager brought up Gareth Russell’s apologism for the Congolese genocide, Olivia derailed the issue to homophobia and centred the issue around herself. When I called Taylor and Haley out for their racist bullshit, Olivia inserted herself into the issue then tried to centre it around herself. When a black person recently complained about Lucy Worsley using the n-word, Olivia and her white friends derailed the issue by saying that the black person needed to “respect women’s credentials”. When they were called out for it yesterday, Olivia dragged up the old drama, once again centring the issue around herself. There is a pattern here, and I will call it as I see it:  white women defending the racism of white historians by attacking the black and brown people who point it out, and white women acting like victims when black and brown people call them out.

You will disappointed to read this, but I will NOT “bury the hatchet” while there are still racists in our community. White and white-passing women like Taylor, Haley, and Olivia need to stop being so damn defensive whenever racism is discussed. They need to LISTEN to what we are saying, rather than running their mouths and trying to find the one or two white-passing minorities who’ll agree with them. Because when we talk about racism and anti-blackness in history, we are talking about them.

Sharon Kay Penman passed away some 3 days ago. Have you read her books? Being as you are an enthusiast of the Middle Ages, have you read the celebrated "Sunne in Splendour" or any of her books? I heard Sunne is too Ricardian, but at least is very well written. I read her Eleanor of Aquitaine & Henry II trilogy and was fascinated, especially by the 1st one "When Christ and His Saints Slept" about Empress Maude. Penman was a wonderful writer imho. What are your thoughts on her?

Hi Anon!

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I’ve read The Sunne in Splendour! I don’t know if this might be in poor taste to say given the author’s death, but to be completely honest, I didn’t like the book. I gave my thoughts on it a while back and my opinion hasn’t changed much. TBH, it took me forever to read it because I kept putting it down out of boredom. My main issue with Sunne wasn’t even that it was “too Ricardian”; for me, it was purely the writing style. @lady-plantagenet wrote a very detailed review of the book here, and I can’t say I disagree with most of her criticisms.

I haven’t read the author’s other Plantagenet books so I’ll just have to take your word on their quality, but I did read her Welsh Princes trilogy (her second series after Sunne, apparently). Unfortunately, I had the exact same problems with her writing style in Sunne as I did with that series too. I also felt like the narrative was “forcing” me to like characters that I absolutely just could not stand (esp. Llewelyn the Great and his wife in the first book). All her heroines feel the same, all her heroes feel the same (ie. Gary Stus whose only flaws are that they are honourable and righteous “to a fault”, except Llewelyn who was a FUCKING CUNT to put it mildly) - the only interesting characters in her books to me seem to be the villains lmao. If you want my thoughts on that trilogy: the first book in the series was straight up Mills & Boon romance, just with more historical exposition and infodumps than the average romance novel; the second was so boring and poorly paced that I didn’t even finish it; the third one is the only one worth reading, IMHO, given that some of the stylistic choices I took issue with in Sunne and the other books were removed.

All in all, I’m glad that a lot of people like SKP because good historical fiction is hard to come across and at least you have an historical fiction author that you love. But I’ve tried four books by her and I can’t say that I’m interested in reading any more.

The lack of empathy towards black and brown people coming from famous history bloggers on tumblr is astounding. The history fandom is truly anti-black, that’s the only minority they can’t sympathize with.

There is something truly fucked up about how people on this site are as quick to defend racism as they are to attack the brown and black people calling it out. Rather than trying to understand why we’d call it out, we’re automatically dismissed and told to “calm down”, “bury the hatchet”, “stop overreacting” as if we don’t know what racism is when we see it and aren’t entitled to be angry about it. Yet, they’ll reblog posts about ‘listening to POC in medieval studies!’ just so they can gain some woke points.

I honestly think people want to ignore it because they find it hard to accept that racism is a spectrum. Racism isn’t just when you say the n-word, commit hate crimes, or burn crosses in your backyard. And the behaviour we’ve seen from a certain group of the history ‘fandom’? Bullying and ostracising black teenagers, trying to dictate to black people what white historian’s racist comments they’re allowed to be offended by, acting like victims of some cRaZy blacks and browns when they’re called out on it — if they even admit that we exist at all? That’s racism, baby!

🤢 That crowd has no self awareness whatsoever 🤢 they ask for people to pay attention to their minority status while ignoring and downright **lying about other people's identities** then they say other people are digging up month old drama when *in fact* they have been the ones rehashing this drama for more than a month now 🤦‍♀️ also creating new drama (??) unwillingness to engagge with criticism is not a good look!!

black people: lucy worsley said the n-word them: um actually sweaty ? i think you’ll find she’s a historian ? you just hate to see a girlboss winning :)

Funny how these white and white-passing women have now made that the issue.

And yeah, I suspect most of their followers just assume that because they’ve been going on and on about this shit from February, ‘we’ must have been going on about it too. Last I ever said anything about it was over a month ago, but a “respected history blogger” wouldn’t lie, would she?

Who is that sexy bitch in your userpic?

THAT, Comrade Greyface, is none other than Lev Kamenev: one of the OG Bolsheviks and Leon Trotsky’s brother-in-law. He was later executed by Stalin after the Moscow Show Trials of the 1930′s, probably because his beard was nicer than Stalin’s (but possibly because Stalin saw him as a direct threat to his leadership).

While it’s been many years since I last posted about Soviet history, I like to keep his picture as a throwback to my roots and to put the fear of God into any stray royalists who wander onto my blog.

Hi love your blog. Im curious and you seem knowlable about early Tudors so thought I'll ask what place did David Owen had in the Tudor family prior and after bosworth? I seem to find very litlle about him.

Thanks Anon! I’m so glad other people also find the early Tudors interesting too. I’m not an expert on them by any definition, but they definitely don’t get the kind of spotlight that their famous descendants get, and that’s a lot of the reason why I love studying them.

For my followers who don’t know, David Owen was Owen Tudor’s youngest and illegitimate son, born sometime in 1459 in Pembroke. Unfortunately, there’s not an awful lot of information on David, but we could glean some things about his status in the Tudor family (other than being an illegitimate member) based on what we do know and some reasonable speculation.

In terms of his status before Bosworth, one thing to note is that David was, rather weirdly, two years younger than his legitimate half-nephew, Henry. For that reason, and because he and Henry both lived in Pembroke before 1461, we could reasonably speculate that they might have been raised together during that period (Leanda de Lisle suggests that they might have been playmates). Of course, this could have only been possible with the approval of Jasper Tudor, the lord of Pembroke Castle and Henry’s guardian, but it seems rather unlikely that Jasper would have denied that to his half-brother (and by extension, his father), especially since David was not the product of adultery. Also, nobles forming close relationships with their illegitimate relatives was certainly not unheard of at the time, and David’s birth also came at a time when the Tudor family was still suffering from Edmund’s death in November 1456.It’s also really interesting to note that when Owen was executed in 1461, he apparently left most of his wealth to the then two-year-old David, and not to Jasper or Henry. Supposedly, these possessions included Owen’s “campaign bed in black velvet and russet satin embroidered with swallows and wolves, as well as the letters ‘O, N’ in gold”, and “a magnificent tapestry that must have belonged to Catherine of Valois, which depicted Henry V along with his brothers and son”, which David kept even up to Bosworth (quoting Leanda de Lisle). The most probable reason behind Owen’s decision was that unlike for Jasper or Henry, who Owen could safely presume would be able to support themselves financially, he could not presume the same for David; David, as his illegitimate son, would not have been entitled to inherit any of his possessions, and so had to be explicitly provided for in a will. This detail obviously tells us quite a lot about Owen himself, but more to the point: that David, despite his illegitimacy, seems to have been considered a family member deserving of that right. Furthermore, not only did David later name two of his children after Jasper and Henry, but in his own will, he requested prayers for the departed souls of not only his mother and father, but also for Jasper, Henry, and Edmund (who died before David was even born). I think those would have been improbable acts unless he (and they) considered himself sufficiently part of the Tudor family.

After 1461, David obviously drops off the radar, but he reappears in the years preceding Bosworth between 1483-85 (in hindsight, Owen willing David his wealth clearly proved to be the best thing Owen could have done for him, as there was no way he could have ever foreseen Jasper and Henry’s exile, and that David would suddenly find himself without his high-ranking family). David was actually one of the first people who pledged his loyalty to Henry after Henry and his army landed at Mill Bay. Henry, in turn, knighted David on the spot, and because Henry would later win at Bosworth and become King of England, David’s status also shot up dramatically: not only was he a close relative of the new king, but he was also a loyal one. Whatever people might think about him, Henry VII was extremely loyal to those who were loyal to him. He appointed David as his chief carver at his coronation, and was later made commissioner of the peace in Sussex. David was also granted not only the manors of Oxhill in Warwickshire, and Little Creaton and Old in Northamptonshire, but also marriage to a wealthy heiress, Mary de Bohun. In the following years, he would also be present at many important family occasions: in 1487, he was one of the twelve knights who held the canopy at the coronation of Henry’s wife, Elizabeth of York; in 1501, he was present at the wedding of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon (consequently, he was later made to give testimony to Henry VIII about the ‘consummation’ of that marriage); and in 1503, he served as Princess Margaret’s carver at her wedding feast to James IV of Scotland. David even went on to serve as Henry VIII’s chief carver at the Feast of Saint George in 1517. Clearly, he was considered a valued and trusted member of Henry VII’s family, to be allowed such close proximity to them in both private and public.

He eventually died in 1535, aged 76, a very wealthy and well-respected member of the English gentry. Not bad for the illegitimate son of a Welsh squire.

Hello! I love your knowledge on Henry VII and the early Tudors, only you and a few others are truly interested in them. I was wondering if it's true that Henry VII may have witnessed his guardian Lord Herbert's execution as it's been speculated a few times.

Thanks for the compliment, Anon! And sorry for the late reply. I’ve just been so busy with university that I’ve barely had time to post content.

Judging from the available evidence, I think it’s more or less certain that Henry accompanied William Herbert to the Battle of Edgecote Moor. Unfortunately for the both of them, Herbert would be disastrously defeated by the Earl of Warwick’s forces on 26 July 1469, and summarily executed at Northampton two days later.

It’s highly improbable that Henry actually participated in the battle itself (being 12 years old), and he would have most likely been left behind at the encampment on the west hill at Upper Wardington. From that vantage point, I think he might have seen the battle unfold, as he seems to have been near enough to the battlefield to have been in immediate personal risk in the aftermath. However, while that whole experience would have undoubtedly been rather traumatic for him, I don’t think Henry would have been able to personally witness Herbert’s execution. For one, Henry was taken to safety immediately after the rout by Sir Richard Corbet, the nephew-in-law of Herbert’s wife. In fact, Henry later received a petition as king from Corbet, who stated that he “had first served him ‘after the death of the Lord Herbert after the field’, when he had been one of the men who had ‘brought your grace out of the danger of your enemies’” (quoted from Chris Skidmore). Also, as I stated earlier, Herbert was actually executed on 28 July: two days after the actual battle itself, by which time Henry would have been well on his way to join Herbert’s widow and children at Weobly in Herefordshire.

Hi i have a question. Why was owen tudor executed?

Hi Anon!

Owen Tudor was one of the Lancastrian commanders at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross (alongside his son, Jasper, and the Earl of Wiltshire) in 1461, and was executed by (the future) Edward IV following the Lancastrian defeat. I’m not claiming to have any definitive answers, seeing as everyone involved died about 500 years ago, but I do have a few theories.

Edward’s decision to execute him would not have been due to any “treason” on Owen’s part, since Henry VI, not he, was king at the time. Other than the most obvious reason for Owen’s execution (that Owen was simply an enemy commander, unfortunate enough to be captured), Edward may have been motivated by the deaths of his father and brother (Richard, Duke of York, and Edmund, Earl of Rutland) at the hands of a Lancastrian army only shortly before Mortimer’s Cross. Edward was, after all, only 19 years old at the time, and not unlike quite a few players in the Wars of the Roses, may have sought to exact some kind of revenge for his personal losses. Executing Owen, who was Henry’s step-father, would have been the ‘closest’ Edward could have come to avenging his own father and brother’s deaths.

It may have also been partly due to the influence of William Herbert, one of the Yorkist commanders at Mortimer’s Cross (Jasper Tudor explicitly names him as one of the “traitors” responsible for his father’s execution in this letter). The Welsh gentry families (notably the Yorkist Herbert-Vaughan clan, and the Lancastrian family of Griffith ap Nicholas) and the English marcher lords (such as the Duke of Buckingham, and the Earl of Warwick) were notorious during this period for taking advantage of the political upheavals in England to wrest land and power from each other in Wales. At the time of Mortimer’s Cross, Jasper Tudor had apparently collected so many offices in Wales as to be the virtual viceroy of the Principality, and many of the Welsh gentry families were still a part of his affinity. Removing the influence of Lancastrians such as Jasper and his father allowed Yorkists such as William Herbert to later fill that power vacuum (a move which eventually led to his demise at the hands of his erstwhile ally, the Earl of Warwick, less than a decade later).

Hans likes to have his partner vacuum seal him in plastic bags every weekend

Hans laughs. “I’ve never even heard of that until now. That sounds dangerous. Not really my thing, honestly. Besides, how could I serenade sweet Sophie if I’m sealed in a bag? That’s not feasible for singing and playing the guitar.”

Hans has a foot fetish

Lily is about to open her mouth to make a very real threat, but Hans already has a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Genossin. I can answer the strange beings. I’ve always wanted a chance.” He cleared his throat and smiled nicely. “I can assure you that I don’t. Feet are just feet. I’ve never seen them as anything but that. Did my ex tell you that?”

I just logged on - who is Hans?

“Oh, I can introduce myself. I am Genossin Beilschmidt’s personal assistant. I manage her calls and her mail and her appointments, and keep people who don’t belong in her office out of it.”

“He is also a sweet young man,” added Lily, “and I would murder on his behalf without a second thought. So someone needs to stop spreading dumb lies about him.”