Reine Mère (Fanfiction for History_Exchange)

[selenak]

Reveal time: this is the story I wrote for this year's history_exchange. I swear I meant to write a short one this time, but while it's nowhere as long as my previous effort, Catherine de' Medici and her daughters still demanded a tale in three chapters.

Reine Mère (10908 words) by Selena
Chapters: 3/3
Fandom: Historical RPF, 16th Century CE RPF
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Catherine de' Medici & Elisabeth de Valois, Catherine de' Medici & Claude de France, Catherine de' Medici & Marguerite de Valois, Claude de France & Marguerite de Valois, Henri II de France/Catherine de' Medici, Catherine de' Medici & Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de' Medici & Francis I. of France, Henri II de France/Diane de Poitiers
Characters: Catherine de' Medici, Élisabeth de Valois | Elisabetta di Valois, Claude de France (1547-1575), Marguerite de Valois, Mary I of Scotland | Mary Queen of Scots, Diane de Poitiers, Francis I. of France, Felipe II de España | Philip II of Spain, Henri II de France, Gaspard de Coligny, Henri IV de France, Henri III de France, Clarice Strozzi de' Medici
Additional Tags/: Mother-Daughter Relationship, Motherhood, Power Dynamics, Character Study, Female-Centric, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Daughters
Summary:

Catherine de' Medici and her daughters: what forms a woman, a mother, a queen?

_____

In completely unrelated news, last night just before I fell asleep I saw that Jerry Doyle, Mr. Garibaldi from Babylon 5 had died, at only 60 years of age. The B5 ensemble really looks increasingly cursed. Garibaldi was never my favourite character, but he was a firm entry in what I tend to think of my "secondary faves" category, i.e characters who are never my best beloved but whom I always remain fond off, instead of going hot and cold on them. And not just because he played off beautifully to both my favourites, Londo and G'Kar. I found him interesting in his own right, his scenes with Bester were always riveting (and sometimes darkly hilarious), and his was one of the character voices that are very easy to find for fanfiction. For all that Garibaldi was an immensely talkative character, I find that quiet moments are the ones that touched me most, and that was very much due to Jerry Doyle's acting - Garibaldi's face when hearing that Sinclair had been on B5 and left again without seeing him in "War without End", both the big reveal scene in "Face of the Enemy" in s4 - where you see the horror in his eyes - and the confrontation with Bester in s5 when Bester casually says "how stupid do you think I am anyway?" - and his final scene with Londo in the s2 episode where both Garibaldi and the audience know that Londo crossed a moral threshhold and their relationship has irrevocably changed, but Garibaldi has one last drink with his no-more-friend. I did not know Jerry Doyle as a person. But as an actor, he contributed to creating something that means so much to me.

Here is what JMS wrote about him.

2016: get better, please. You've taken so much already, year.

Comments

[wee_warrior]

I was never a real B5 fan, but Garibaldi was always one of my favourite characters, in general. As for Jerry Doyle, he was one of these people who are endlessly controversial in fandom, so it's good to see someone write about him who knew and liked him, but still wasn't blind to his faults. RIP.

It's not going to make the year any better, but have you seen the first trailer for American Gods?

[selenak]

Yes, I have, and have been meaning to post about it. It looks wonderful, and feels just right. And it looks like we'll finally get a decent (read: Magnificent Bastard) Odin!

[wee_warrior]

Thankfully, Ian McShane is a very reliable Magnificent Bastard. *g*

[andraste]

It would be nice if the universe could knock it off and leave the rest of the B5 alumni alone until they're ninety or so :(. They've lost five main cast members now - about a third of the regulars - not to mention Tim Choate. I feel a terrible urge to wrap the rest of them in cotton wool.

My other favourite Garibaldi moments include his rant about Sheridan ("he's not the Pope! He looks nothing like her!") and that glorious hug G'Kar gives him. (When a Narn hugs you, you certainly stay hugged.)

[selenak]

Somehow I can't help suspecting Mr. Morden of being involved in all these early demises. Is Ed Wasser alright?

G'Kar's "Welcome home, Mr. Garibaldi" hug was wonderful - and that's when it hits you that no one else did this, and Garibaldi certainly has reason other than mindwarping by Bester to resent the difference in how he and Sheridan are treated - and it is a great G'Kar moment, too, belying the claim I've seen someone else made that post-epiphany he's a stiff saint. Hah!

[andraste]

According to Wikipedia, Ed Wasser has retired from acting and founded a construction company. Maybe it's a secret front for the Shadows? Alternatively: there's an afterlife, and whoever's in charge of it wants a cast reunion ASAP, with no regard to the rest of us?

I think post-epiphany G'Kar would like to be a stiff saint who's perfectly in control of his emotions at all times, but he's terrible at it. I mean, never mind every single scene where he interacts with Londo, consider also things like his handling of Sheridan's inauguration. ("You want to be President? Fine, done, let's eat.")

[chelseagirl]

My husband was a massive Babylon 5 fan and met Jerry Doyle at several conventions in the UK and the US. (He and I met at one of those cons; a mutual friend ran it in Madison, Wisconsin and he was there for Harlan Ellison and I was there for Neil Gaiman and we became friends then and more later.)

I hadn't actually seen any B5 when I went to that con, but Doyle was a force of nature and a real character. My husband's been completely gutted over his death.