#11th: Hamlet

[moonlarked]

okay but pre-lost cities sophie would’ve projected on hamlet so hard. im right. you’re just gonna have to trust me on this one

[seraphdreams]

my ideal date has to be going to the theatre 🤷🏽‍♀️ i have a thing for musicals and so does my bf which is why we click so well! i’d like to go to the theatre and go out to dinner afterwards and maybe jus chill at our house!

oooo musicals !! do you have a favorite?

[tellmeayarn]

I recently dug a bit into the origin of the phrase "hoisted on his own petard," because I knew what it meant but didn't know what a petard is. It's a small bomb for blowing up doors, like 16th century C4. The word "petard" comes from the French word for fart.

So when Shakespeare put that phrase in he was (as usual) doing a wordplay, both about having the plan turn around on you BUT ALSO about farting hard enough to lift yourself from your seat.

I think he would likely consider the fact that we still use that phrase in common parlance to be his greatest achievement

[weallpartyatybcpatricksfuneral]

spotify should add an annotation section where you can go in and make notes on the lyrics like you're in 11th grade English class but instead of studying themes in Hamlet you're tying each line to your blorbo

[little-diable]

Little-Diable's 15k celebration

15k how fucking insane is this?! It's a number I certainly can't grasp, yet I am so insanely grateful for it. I love y'all so much, thank you for loving my writing, for loving my weird self, and for being so kind.

But enough with the sappy words, let's focus on a proper way to celebrate this milestone, shall we?

As promised this is a celebration for writers and readers (a big thank you to @deathofpeaceofmind for brainstorming with me and for designing the lovely header): here is what we'll do:

Be aware, this challenge/celebration is tied to a prize you can win.

I've chosen five of my all time favourite books, which are: The Song of Achilles, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, Hamlet, Lord of the Rings (all parts in one), The Last Kingdom (first part of the series).

For the writers:

Choose one of the following characters: Tommy Shelby, Dean and/or Sam Winchester, Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid, Negan, Sihtric, Finan, Tom Riddle, Kylo Ren, Jasper Hale, Loki

Send me an ask with the character, the genre (smut, angst, fluff), and a number between 5 and 159

I'll choose one of the books listed above and will select a sentence I can find on the page belonging to the number you've chosen for your ask. You can do with the sentence/quote as you please, but it has to show up in the fic.

You'll have time to write your fic till the 10th of December 2023.

Please only write reader-insert fics, use a keep reading tag, and use appropriate warnings. It can be as dark, as angsty, as smutty, as fluffy as you want, there is no limit for the word count. You can combine this with other challenges if you want. You can also write more than one fic for this celebration.

Post the fic with #little-diable15k, message me if I don't reblog it within two days.

Since this is a challenge where you and a reader can win something, please try to actually post your fic till the 10th of December.

For the readers:

You have to actively read the stories posted for this celebration (of course only the ones you are interested in/comfortable with)

On the 11th of December I’ll post a Google doc where you’ll have time to vote for your favourite fic. The doc will be open for one week.

I'm asking you to reblog and comment the fics you enjoy, since this is tied to the prize you can win. I will also reblog every fic, so you can find them on my Tumblr as well.

Now about the prize for one lucky reader and one lucky writer:

Writers: I will list the fics you wrote in a google doc (the fics will be added on the 11th of December), where readers can vote on their favourite fics. The fic which gets the most votes is the winner of this challenge. I will contact you on Tumblr should you win, if you're comfortable with sharing your address / or a PO box with me, I'll send you a small gift; if you don't want to do this @deathofpeaceofmind will design a header for one of your fics as your prize. If there are more winners (meaning if there's a tie) we will find another prize more of you can have!

Readers: If you add your username to the google doc I can see who voted the most and who actively took part in reading. The one of you who votes the most (I will check if you did comment/reblog the fics on Tumblr), will be contacted through Tumblr, if you're comfortable with sharing your address / or a PO box with me, I'll send you a small gift; if you don't want to do this you can request a fic from me instead. If y'all are super active (which I’m hoping for!) we'll find another prize more of you can have!

I hope this is all clear and somewhat understable! I am so so excited for this, and I hope lots of you will take part in it!

Tagging some mutuals and writers/readers who may enjoy this:

@negans-lucille-tblr @writethelifeyouwant @writingliv @zablife @runnning-outof-time @notyour-valentine @springsteens @cillmequick @band--psycho @smellingofpoetry @sihtricfedaraaahvicius @earlgreydreamreplies @footballffbarbiex @thinkinghardhardlythinking @luveline @firefly-in-darkness @holylulusworld @gemini-mama @honeypiehotchner @bluetreecloud20 @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @carolina-thiell

[goodticklebrain]

Good Tickle Brain's 10th Anniversary!

Today is the 10th anniversary of Good Tickle Brain! I can't believe it's been 10 whole years since I decided to start sharing nerdy Shakespeare comics online in the hope that other people might find them mildly amusing.

Ironically, my 10th year running Good Tickle Brain has also been far and away my roughest. I've posted barely anything this year, due to a particularly challenging combination of injury, chronic pain, increased family care responsibilities, and mental road blocks. But I'm still here, and I'm still committed to making Shakespeare fun and making fun of Shakespeare through the power of stick figures. (Also the chronic pain has mostly cleared up, so that's helped a lot.)

Assuming I can get my brain to cooperate and life doesn't throw me any more curve balls this year, I'm hoping to have my long-awaited comic book compilation of Hamlet out in time for the holiday season. I'm so proud of the work that has gone into it and I can't wait to get it into your hands.

As Good Tickle Brain moves into its 11th year (it goes to 11!) I hope to figure out a sustainable schedule that allows me to post new comics regularly again without short-circuiting my very tenuous work-life balance. Thank you all so much for continuing to read and share my work. I hope to continue to create more of it for you to enjoy over the next 10 years!

Look at where we are...

Look at where we started...

The fact that we're online is a miracle.

[scotianostra]

On February 11th 1895 the joint coldest temperature ever in Scotland was recorded.

It won’t surprise anyone here that nine of the 12 coldest temperatures on record since 1961 were set north of the Border. Braemar, a village around 58 miles west of Aberdeen, is one of the coldest low lying settlements in the country. On two occasions in the last 130 years the mercury has plunged to -27.2, which remains the record.

The same numbing temperature was recorded at Altnaharra, a small hamlet in rural Sutherland, in 1995. The village’s northerly latitude and inland location mean that in winter it often features in the daily weather extremes for Scotland.. But residents can at least enjoy warm summer days, with a high of 28 °C recorded in May 2017.

On 11th February 202 the temperature in Braemar dropped to 22.9 °C. That’s the coldest it’ had been since 1995.

Here are the “top” 10 lowest temperatures…..

1 10 January 1982BraemarEast Scotland-27.2 °C 1 30 December 1995Altnaharra No 2North Scotland-27.2 °C 3 13 December 1981ShawburyMidlands-25.2 °C 4 13 January 1979CarnwathWest Scotland-24.6 °C 5 20 January 1984Grantown-On-SpeyEast Scotland-23.6 °C 6 27 January 1985LagganliaNorth Scotland-23.4 °C 7 13 January 1987Caldecott P StaMidlands-23.3 °C 8 08 January 2010Altnaharra No 2North Scotland-22.3 °C 9 18 February 1960Grantown-On-SpeyEast Scotland-22.2 °C 9 30 December 1961CannichNorth Scotland-22.2 °C 9 18 January 1963BraemarEast Scotland-22.2 °C

[gone2soon-rip]

ANDRE BRAUGHER (1962-Died December 11th 2023,at 61.Lung cancer).

American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the Fox/NBC police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). He won two Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.

Braugher started his acting career as part of The Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park, appearing in Much Ado About Nothing (1988), Coriolanus (1989), Twelfth Night (1996), Hamlet (2008), and As You Like It (2012). He transitioned his career into television, gaining roles in Kojak (1989–1990), The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), and The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), followed by leading roles in the ABC medical series Gideon's Crossing (2000–2001), the CBS crime series Hack (2002–2004), and the TNT comedy series Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011).

Braugher's film roles include Glory (1989), Primal Fear (1996), City of Angels (1998), Frequency (2000), Duets (2000), Poseidon (2006), The Mist (2007), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Salt (2010), The Gambler (2014), and She Said (2022). He also had supporting roles in series such as Thief, The Good Fight, House, New Girl, and BoJack Horseman.Andre Braugher - Wikipedia

[thirdeyeblue]

No One's Gonna Love You (1/3)

Pairing: David Tennant x Billie Piper

Rating: Eventually Explicit

Tags: First Time, Infidelity, Hurt/Comfort, RST, Smut

Read on Ao3

For one whole weekend, David is left to his own devices in his big, empty house — but what's meant to be a gift leaves him at a loss for how to pass the time.

That is, until he gets a phone call from one of his favorite people on Earth... One who could really use a mate.

We're reeling through an endless fall We are the ever-living ghost of what once was But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do No one's gonna love you more than I do

Friday, November 11th, 2023

It’s a cool November night in Chiswick: the leafy village-within-a-city nestled just west of central London. Rain has just begun to fall, starting with a light pattering on the stone walkway out the door — but in a matter of moments, it picks up to a proper deluge. 

Standing alone in the kitchen, David watches the weather rolling in through the darkness, a mug of mulled wine held beneath his lips. When he breathes in, it smells of cloves and cinnamon; of feelings it seems odd to allow himself to experience in this sort of quiet.

Drinking alone isn’t an activity he’s ever been keen on, but with the bottle being a gift from the in-laws — one they’d brewed up and bottled themselves, having insisted he enjoy it on his next ‘night off’ — it’s a request he doesn’t mind being beholden to just this once.

Furthermore, Georgia had placed the bottle right there on the marble worktop before she’d left, positioning it directly beside that ridiculous mug with his Hamlet headshot. 

The message was well-received: It’s time to take the candle you’ve been burning at both ends and extinguish it once and for all.

Well, fine. Bit of a foreign concept for an admitted workaholic, but he’ll make do.

The window overlooking the garden wears fog like a lacy veil, a frame of condensation forming against the heat of his 19th-century Victorian home. It’s the first properly cold evening they’ve had all season, having been experiencing something of a heat wave over the past couple of months — and it’s happened fast, too. Just this morning, he didn't even need a jacket, and now…

‘Hate to be out in that,’ David thinks as he finally takes his first drink, savoring the rich, spicy flavor as it envelops his taste buds. 

At once, a warm and dangerously pleasant sensation settles in his chest, and he thinks he won’t fault himself for heavy-handing the pour just a bit. No part of him intends to make a habit out of this sort of thing, of course, though it’s easy to see how one could — particularly given the wintery set and setting; the comfort such an indulgence brings.

Sheltered in his home, he feels comfortable and protected; shielded from the elements. Sure, autumn is a lovely season — possibly his favorite of the four, really — but rain this time of year is a ghastly thing, especially once the warmth of the sun has slipped over the horizon. 

It’s soothing being on the other side of the glass, guarded within his cozy fortress, thoroughly enjoying one of the more tangible merits of years of hard work.

Except… 

Well, it’s a bit weird, isn’t it? 

Aside from the mounting downpour, he can’t remember the last time it’s been this quiet inside the house. It’s one thing to enjoy the peace and quiet of a trailer or hotel room, but…

The part of his brain driven by instinct sort of half-expects Birdie to pipe up with an evening fright at any moment — she’s been susceptible to those lately, what with the shorter days — or perhaps for Ty to come wandering through the foyer with his face lit by the blue light of his mobile. 

Alas, no such risks exist tonight, and it’s — well. It’s odd, is all.

Another part of him wonders if he should feel guilty for taking solace in the stillness, but for a man whose familial cup usually more than runneth over, he tries (tries) to cut himself a bit of slack. He loves his family to the ends of the Earth, delighting in every opportunity he’s got to be present with his children — but it’s nice, he thinks: having one night to himself. Such a luxury is one he’s not been afforded in such a long time. 

With the Evening Standard Theatre Awards happening next weekend, then the first special of Doctor Who’s sixtieth anniversary airing the following Saturday (not to mention the utter mountain of press he’s about to be contending with over it), he really ought to take reprieve anywhere he can get it.

Normally, the only times he’s properly alone, he’s still on the clock. He’s in a hotel next door to a studio or bunking alongside a dozen other trailers, running lines to the end of the page and back again until he can’t fight the weight of his eyelids any longer.

That, or he’s rushing to get enough sleep in preparation to greet the press. With the way the years have begun to show in the lines of his face, ‘beauty sleep’ is something he’s had to learn to take just as seriously as his ‘skincare regimen’. David has never fancied himself vain, but in the words of his wife and daughters, ‘Nobody wants to go on the One Show looking like they’ve just been hoisted out from their grave, do they?’ 

But this weekend exists outside of those personal regulations. This is just for him: A gift. 

If anything, the guilt he derives should be from nothing but the fact that he hasn’t reached out to Georgia to thank her again yet. He tells himself that it’s because he’s waiting for her, not wanting to overwhelm her while she’s got her hands full. 

It’s got nothing to do with that little voice playing at the edge of his consciousness in these quiet moments; that corner of his brain that occasionally seeks and prods and yearns to be acknowledged. 

He’ll certainly not be acknowledging it now.

It’s the perfect evening for a fuzzy jumper, for which he's grown fond as of late. Tonight’s selection is white and soft, one he’s worn many times both on camera and off. The sleeves are so long that he’s got to hike them up his forearms a bit, but it’s so bloody cozy that he can’t be bothered to fuss about that. It’s like being enveloped in a hand-woven cloud; the perfect selection for a night to oneself.

There’s one problem with that, though — being the lone occupant in the normally bustling Tennant household… He’s had no idea how to fill the time. 

The morning was spent with Sunshine on Leith caressing his eardrums as he enjoyed a nice workout, and to cool down, he took Myrtle on a little jaunt around the block. Even met a lovely young fan when he was rounding the tree-lined apex of Silver Cres; a girl with long red hair and infinite freckles, and one who couldn’t have been more than twelve years old. 

Out of nowhere, she’d come bounding out from one of the endless narrow brick homes wielding a calendar — one he was actually surprised to see had his face on… All these years and he’s still nowhere near being used to that.

The girl — Hannah, she was called — had announced that she couldn’t believe her luck, as she’d heard that ‘her Doctor’ lived in the area but never quite knew where. Furthermore, she’d remarked (with no shortage of dread) about how she thought she might not find him in time to have him autograph her birthday. It’d already come and gone, of course — but she said it was still good enough for her as long as she’d found him by year’s end. 

(Apparently, she wasn’t expecting her 2024 edition until Christmas)

The calendar was already flipped open to the appropriate page when she handed it over, and there he was: right there with the previous month printed right to the left of his wonderfully thick, Entirely Still Youthful hair. Against a backdrop of wood paneling, he stood glancing off in a white Oxford button-down, five o’clock shadow rampant in his 2009 Ellis Parrinder shoot.

David had signed the square for the fifth of October (a Thursday, he’d noted) and graciously accepted a hug, allowing Hannah to pet the older of the two family dogs to her heart’s content before he headed back to the house.

In the hours since, he’s gotten sucked into an Ishiguro novel, checked the mail, booked a roundtrip flight for a wedding next August, gotten pulled back into the same novel, and passed out on the living room sofa for some unbeknown period — long enough for the afternoon to turn to night.

Letting the dog out had been his first priority upon waking, during which time he’d sucked down a full glass of water, scrolled through photos of the kids (and a very happy Bernard; the pup they’d brought along) out on a hayride with their grandfather, belatedly solved the day’s Wordle (‘worry’ to ‘weary’ in two out of six, thank you very much), and begun the process of heating the wine. 

A saucepan filled about halfway with the dark liquid sat over a low flame while he’d raced down the hall to his bedroom, changed into his jumper and lounge pants, and returned to let Myrtle inside.

It’s been about ten minutes since he re-entered the kitchen; about five since he poured the pan’s contents into a tall mug. This one is a deep shade of magenta, bearing no markings — especially of his face. 

The Hamlet mug is good for a laugh with company, but while standing alone in one’s own kitchen?... Bit egomaniacal, really.

As David sips his seasonal beverage, attempting to decide what to do with the remainder of his evening, his mobile begins to buzz where he left it on a little table.

With a nearly silent yawn, he makes his way into the darkness of the adjoining hall, eyes landing on the illuminated screen. He doesn’t have to get very close before he sees his wife’s contact photo smiling up at him, along with the time — 9:37 PM.

He takes another drink and picks up the phone, swallowing as he slides to answer. 

“Two guesses to ‘weary’, is it?” Georgia greets, voice thick with mock indignation. “Should I have nicked the knives and bootlaces before we left?”

After a lighthearted tiff about the merits of Wordle integrity, he enjoys a brief goodnight chat with the family — at least, as many of them as she can pull into the periphery of the speaker phone. 

He’s told of the hayride, then of far-too-early Christmas cookies they’d bribed Sandra into helping them bake. There’s a bit of petty bickering in the background between Olive and Doris — clearly, a row that’d begun during the baking process; old wounds now reopened — and David settles their little squabble as quickly as he can, happy he can still prove useful even from clear across London.

After wishing everyone well, he’s rocked with a deep yawn as he crosses into the foyer: a reminder of the limits of his age. It’s bloody difficult staying up late without the energy of others to feed off of, and he decides right then and there that he’ll just go ahead and call it an early evening — sod it with the wine. 

Not much to do aside from watching a bit of telly anyway. He reckons that sounds rather nice.

As soon as he hits the switch to cast the room into darkness, however, his phone buzzes again.

There’s a smirk on his lips as he reaches into his pocket, retrieving a device that’s still warm from his cheek and palm. Probably Ollie looking to regale him with another victory over her younger siblings, if he were to fancy a wager.

As soon as he glances at the screen, he freezes.

Bills

It’s so unexpected; such a shock that he forcibly blinks to make sure his eyes aren’t deceiving him. His gaze flicks back and forth over the letters a few times before he finally picks his brain off the ground for long enough to answer, bringing the mobile to his ear, a massive grin already lighting up his face.

“If it isn’t Ms. Billie Piper,” he says, his smile shining through his greeting. Propping his shoulder against the wall, he crosses one ankle over the other. “To what do I owe the pleasure on this dreariest of evenings?”

A few seconds pass in silence where he thinks they might’ve gotten disconnected, but right as he’s about to check, a small, shaking voice comes across.

“Dave,” she says, sniffling. “Erm… Hi, I-I...”

And then, as David's still wrapping his head around hearing her voice again, Billie breaks down. 

His heart crumbles as, with a swift kick, his sudden wondrous mood is knocked out from beneath him, toppling to the floor like a glass off a table. There’s nothing but sobbing on the other line, and the helplessness he feels — the powerlessness — is overwhelming.

“Oh, no no no — what’s happened? What’s wrong?” He licks his dried lips, glancing around as though he might find the solution hanging in mid-air; something to comfort his mate through her fits and starts. “Billie. Talk to me — are you hurt?”

“I-I… I’m sorry, I know this is…” She snivels heavily. “Bloody hell, this is so… s-so stupid, I shouldn’t’ve—”

“Shhh, shhh, c’mon, love — you’re alright.” Setting his mug on a table near the front door, he collapses on his father’s worn leather chair beside it, running his hand back through his hair. “Just — deep breaths, I’m right here….”

More sniveling, more sobbing, and David’s face falls further, to the point that he has to prop an elbow on his knee to press his forehead into his hand. “Oh, Bill.”

“I… was just,” Billie tries again after a moment, “I’ve been — at – at a wedding. M-My mate Candyce, sh-she got… married today.”

Each second of her grief makes his heart plummet a bit further. “Did something happen there?” he asks, a little jolt of panic shuddering through him. In today’s world, you never know what sort of loonies you might encounter at large events. “Is everyone alright?”

“No… I-I mean, yes, they’re — nothing’s… Everyone’s sort of, y’know, fine. Just… It’s John. It’s — h-he and I, we… We, erm…” 

She trails off, her breath shuddering against the mouthpiece.

Another tight clenching in his chest, and David squeezes his eyes shut, pinching the bridge between them. He’s not had a chance to meet this particular bloke of hers, but when he and Billie recorded a podcast in 2020, some words were exchanged off-mic and off-the-record — words regarding more than a bit of trouble in paradise. 

That was three years ago, though. He thought they must have worked it out. 

Not that he thinks about it too much, of course. 

Still, he recognizes that tone. He’d heard it one too many times, once upon another life.

“Where are you?” he asks, and without hesitation, she tells him.

That’s how he learns that Billie Piper is not only in West London — she’s at the Pilot: a bar right there in Chiswick. 

She’s a five-minute walk from his house.

“Stay there,” he says, determined; already on his feet as he turns for the coat hooks. “I’m coming to get you.”

[georgefairbrother]

This is the fourth in our occasional series featuring luminaries of stage and screen with a strong personal and/or professional connection with Northeast England, inspired with thanks by @robbielewis. Previous profiles were of Jean Heywood, John Nightingale and Edward Wilson. This time, Sunderland born actor siblings Malcolm and Catherine Terris.

Malcolm Terris was born on January 11th, 1941, boarded at Barnard Castle School in County Durham, then worked as a cadet journalist at the Sunderland Echo before training as an actor.

He was active on British television from 1963, his style perfectly suited to larger than life characters, and is possibly best remembered for his role as Great War veteran and salt-of the-earth union leader, Matt Headley, in 34 episodes of the Tyneside interwar social-realism drama, When the Boat Comes In.

As Matt Headley, with James Bolam (Jack Ford) in When the Boat Comes In.

His more than 120 recorded screen credits include a variety of British television programmes, including Fall of Eagles, Doctor Who (Horns of Nimon, 1979), Reilly: Ace of Spies, three separate roles in Coronation Street, Our Friends in the North, The Bill, and a regular role in Rockliffe’s Babies. His final appearance was in Midsomer Murders in 2011.

His big screen appearances include as ship’s surgeon, with Anthony Hopkins as Bligh and Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian, in The Bounty (1984), with Ricky Tomlinson in Mike Bassett: England Manager, and in Dickie Attenborough’s Chaplin, which starred Robert Downey Jnr in the title role. He has also appeared on stage including in productions of Othello and in a Broadway production of Hamlet.

He passed away at the artistes residential care home, Denville Hall, on June 6th, 2020, aged 79.

Catherine Terris was born in 1948, and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). She has been active in British television since 1972, appearing with her brother in seven episodes of When the Boat Comes In. Her other television work includes Z Cars, two roles in Coronation Street, Anna Karenina, Inspector Morse, Dalziel and Pascoe, Heartbeat, George Gently, and a regular role (15 episodes) in William and Mary with Martin Clunes and Julie Graham. She also appeared in the hugely successful feature film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

According to her page on the Coronation Street fan site, Corriepedia:

"...On stage she has appeared in productions of Faustus, A Rite Kwik Metal Tata, Andy Capp, Tight at the Back, Rose, Tom Jones, Billy Liar, Queuing for Everest and Into the Blue..."

Her most recent television screen credit is In the Club (BBC 2014-16) and latest big screen appearance was in the 2021 feature film, Martyrs Lane.

On stage with Sarah Gordy MBE (The A Word, Ralph and Katie) in the 2016 Arcola Theatre production of Into the Blue, written by Beverley Hancock and directed by Deborah Paige. Image from Sarah Gordy's official site.

[galacticlamps]

Get to know you game! Answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to know better!

Tagged by: @smooth-mccrimmonal

Last song listened to? Better Things by The Kinks!

Currently reading? I'm halfway through the play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, I just started the 11th Dr novel The Silent Stars Go By, and as far as nonfiction goes, I've been working on The Material Culture of the Jacobites for an embarrassing amount of time (it's not even a slow read, it's just physically a bit big for the bag I commute with, so I have fewer overall opportunities for that one)

Currently watching? Star Trek TNG (very slowly) // begging myself to resume my Season 5 Dr Who rewatch that went off the rails even more than usual when the disc drive on my laptop broke (but I think I finally fixed it? fingers crossed!)

Currently obsessed with? uhhh can I say Shakespearian foils without sounding either pretentious or overly-specific? Hamlet & Laertes, Henry V & half the characters in the (good) Henriad... those plays in general have been on my mind a lot lately - I think because I randomly realized the 'How all occasions do inform against me' speech could fit Hal nearly as well as it does Hamlet. I didn't mean anything in particular by that comparison, but it just got me back to thinking about/revisiting those plays more often

Tagging: @uighean @seismologically-silly @terryfphanatics @moonlight19256 @queen-boudicca @rystonlentil @livesonthebside @wheelybard @arbeaone - but no pressure! (really, nobody's worse at acknowledging these things than me lol)

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

As a teacher, what has been your fave shakespere play to teach your students? What interesting themes do the kids these days pick up on or connect with? Has there been any interesting insights your students have brought that have surprised you?

Thanks for the question! So I haven't taught English since before the pandemic, because I finally found a school that doesn't reserve the history classes for the coaches (this kept happening to me when I moved back to the States, I'm dual certified, so I'd get hired for history and they'd move me to English when they hired a coach. This happened like 3 times), which is great for me, I vastly prefer teaching history. But did teach a lot of English previously and I'd say the answer really depends on the group of kids, their reading level, how much they'd been exposed to previously.

There's a reason high schools usually start off with Romeo and Juliet in the 9th grade. The story is not difficult to follow, most teenagers are familiar with the concept of forbidden romance, and the themes are age appropriate. I've taught King Lear, which is one of my personal favorites, to a group of very advanced and very keen 12th graders (so 17-18 years old), and I think even they were too young and lacking the life experience to really get it (it's kind of unfortunate that by the time King Lear hits hardest, which imo is once your own parents start aging, most of us are not reading Shakespeare anymore. Very few people read it outside of a school setting, nerds on tumblr notwithstanding). So it can be objectively more rewarding to teach a relatively basic play like Romeo and Juliet, than to teach a more advanced play like King Lear, even though I like King Lear better, simply because it's more suited to the age group.

But probably my favorite play to teach is Hamlet, which I've taught in both 11th and 12th grade. Hamlet is a broody young man, he's home from university and his life sucks, his asshole uncle has married his mom, he's pretty sure his dad was murdered, his girlfriend literally kills herself, there's a ghost, and no one is listening to him. It strikes a good balance in that it has some great soliloquys, including the famous "to be or not to be," that you can really dig into, but which don't get too far into the weeds and don't require a whole history lesson to understand. There are allusions, but they're mostly mythology based (like Niobe, all tears, Hyperion to a satyr) which makes them easy for the kids to look up. Importantly, it asks age appropriate existential questions about life and death (what's the point in living when you're miserable, is suffering noble, what if death is not better), stuff that teenagers grapple with. Macbeth is also good to teach because it's quite exciting with all of the murder, betrayal, and of course the witches.

It's been four years since I last taught English so it's hard for me to remember any specific insights from the kids at the moment but I will say that in general, one of my favorite lessons to teach each year in the Shakespeare unit was on the use of language. The kids fucking loved learning iambic pentameter. One of my favorite things to do was write a couple of lines on the board (I usually used two lines from Julius Caesar which were the same lines my own English teacher used to teach us when I was in school Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf/But that he sees the Romans are but sheep) and get them to beat out the meter on their desks. They thought it was so cool that iambic meter has the same rhythm as the human heart, and that it is more or less the natural rhythm of our speech. When we'd read the plays, I'd catch them tapping out the meter to themselves to test it out.

In general, I enjoyed teaching Shakespeare, but it was also a struggle. It's very hard to get kids who, for the most part, do not read for pleasure to read a whole play in early modern English. Mostly their reading consists of short passages as part of standardized testing, and they're very resistant to the very idea of Shakespeare, which they write off as old and boring. As a teacher I had to work very hard to make the text engaging enough to push past that wall and while there are always kids who are just not going to get there, every year I taught Shakespeare I was always pleasantly surprised by how many kids would get fully invested. I guess it's just fun when the kids are actually into the story. The themes are great and all, but Shakespeare wrote these plays to be entertaining and it makes me really happy when the kids are entertained by them.

[tekdecksmtg]

From the Archives: Wilds of Eldraine Prerelease

As I recently did the Bloomburrow Prerelease, I thought I’d look back on my first prerelease, which happened to be my first in-person Magic event since getting back into the game!

I was writing some logs at the time on my experiences but didn’t post them anywhere. I still remember how much excitement I had coming out of this event, just it being my first tabletop Magic in person in like 25 years. Let’s see what I thought at the time!

Archive:

First ever prerelease event and first time playing in-person MTG in about 25 years!

I’m given my prerelease kit which contains a promo card Restless Vinestalk and six Wilds of Eldraine draft boosters from which I need to construct a 40 card deck. I open my packs and then sort all my cards by color.

While I had some nice white pulls, I knew that I needed to focus on creatures and interaction. After sifting through all my cards I eventually narrowed down to green and black for my deck.

Match 1: After the construction period, the Magic Companion app tells me where to sit. I’m put at Table 4 against white/green. Can’t believe I’m about to play my first game!

Game 1: Got out some creatures and damage, but he had a flying griffin that was just too strong and ultimately beat me. I had seven mana up for Virtue of Persistence but it was worthless to cast as I needed an answer. Went into desperation mode digging via my Collector’s Vault finding a flier to block one turn but inevitably nothing else.

Game 2: More of the same considering decks are only 40 cards. He was able to pump up creatures with Royal Roles, copying them as well. I was able to take his flier by casting a fight spell targeting it versus my Scream Puff, but his tramplers were a problem. Ultimately ran out of time in our match and he was ahead on life so he was awarded Game 2 (though he was in control anyway) and subsequently the match.

First match lost 0-2-0.

Match 2: As we get ready to move tables, the Companion app tells us what’s next and I’m surprised to see that I have a ‘bye’. As there were uneven players someone had to sit out each match. I would’ve preferred to actually play but fortunately having the bye awards me the win at least.

Second match won 2-0-0.

Match 3: I’m slotted back at Table 4 again for my match against an opponent playing predominantly blue and black.

Game 1: Quite a bit of good back and forth, creatures attacking and damage being dealt. The game turned on him being able to get me to sacrifice a couple of creatures followed by fliers that I couldn’t stop and ultimately beat me down for the loss.

Game 2: Really close and intense game. Lots of back and forth for a while with creatures trading off, but the game changer was my Virtue of Persistence which started bringing back creatures from a graveyard each turn, focusing on his dead fliers and my food creators first for defense then moving to offense. Overwhelmed him and won my first game in person!

Game 3: A little close early but I was able to drop my Sentinel of Lost Lore which got rid of his creature/adventure in exile as well as his graveyard. Then I was able to bargain my Hamlet Glutton on T5, followed by more creatures the next turn. He appeared to get mana flooded and I was able to take down the game pretty easily!

Third match won 2-1-0.

Overall I finished 2-1 (4-3-0) and in 11th place out of 25. The two wins awarded me two Set Boosters and I was also given a Magic 30th anniversary harvester of Souls for participating.

Absolutely incredible event; just such a fun time and made me realize how much I’ve missed playing Magic in person, especially at an event like this where everyone is on equal footing. Can’t wait to go for another; might have to sign up for the Legacy Open next!

Additional Notes:

* Virtue of Persistence was my favorite card from the deck, so powerful to get that early removal and game-changing if you can get the enchantment side out later.

* Collector’s Vault did absolute work, letting me cycle cards to rebalance my hand while also making Treasure tokens that could fix mana and allow me to cast more spells.

* Hamlet Glutton was only seen once but dropping a 6/6 trample on T5 is quite nice with the bonus 3 life gain coming along with it.

* My deck had no way to deal with creatures with evasion; I need to remember that for future events. There needs to be a way to stop fliers especially.

[amphtaminedreams]

June 2021->June 2023: Photo Dump No.23

DATE SAVED, L-R BY ROW:

11th July 2021 [Bella Hadid photographed in Miami, December 2019], 10th November 2021 [Southbank, Lambeth], 26th June 2023, 24th August 2022 [GIANT Art Gallery, Bournemouth Town Centre], 16th September 2022 [Et Ochs RTW S/S23], 30th June 2023, 2nd March 2023, 28th November 2021 [the Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea], 27th June 2023 [Lyme Regis, Dorset]

26th September 2023, 1st June 2023 [Colors Festival @ Camden Lock, Camden], 10th January 2023 [Scorpio Platform Boot, Shelly’s London S/S23], 15th September 2023 [Bermondsey, Southwark], 24th September 2022, 8th December 2022 [Twisted Museum, Oxford Circus], 22nd July 2023 [Yayoi Kusama: You, Me and the Balloons @ the Factory International, Deansgate, Manchester], 6th September 2023, 14th November 2021 [Glass Animals live @ Portsmouth Guildhall, Hampshire]

17th February 2022, 29th September 2022, 17th October 2021 [the Other Art Fair @ the Truman Brewery, Brick Lane], 12th July 2023, 31st May 2023 [source: instagram account @howtobehumanpod], 26th August 2023 [Salou, Tarragona], 9th April 2022 [source: instagram @_brightsouls_], 5th September 2021 [John Galliano RTW S/S92], 27th August 2023 [Salou, Tarragona]

31st March 2023 [He Cong photographed by Leslie Zhang for Marie Claire China, issue 298, April 2023], 28th August 2023, 15th July 2021 [Normani BTS on the set of the “Wild Side" music video, released July 2021], 27th May 2023 [source: instagram account @howtobehumanpod], 30th May 2023 [details @ Coach RTW F/W23], 13th March 2022, 21st July 2023, 23rd August 2023 [Sitges, Catalonia], 27th September 2023 [The Design Museum, Kensington]

27th September 2023 [“Hallgarth” boots, Roker RTW F/W23 @ REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion exhibition, the Design Museum, Kensington], 15th March 2024, 1st December 2022 [Yayoi Kusama: Mirror Infinity Rooms exhibition @ Tate Modern, Bankside], 28th July 2021 [Christchurch, Dorset], 22nd March 2023, 3rd February 2024 [source: instagram account @sadborderlinebitxh], 14th February 2024 [Luar RTW F/W24], 16th March 2024 [CUTE exhibition @ Somerset House, Strand], 11th August 2021 [Beyonce shot by Campbell Addy for Harper's Bazaar, August 2021]

8th January 2024 [Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallée], 7th December 2022 [Liberty London, Soho], 9th December 2023, 13th December 2023, 3rd November 2021 [Ulyana Sergeenko, Haute Couture S/S19], 29th December 2021 [Untitled from the Fractal Scars, Salt Water and Tears collection, Ester Teichmann @ GIANT Art Gallery, Bournemouth), 30th November 2022 [source: instagram account @mantramagazine], 9th January 2024 [Marne-la-Vallée, France], 28th May 2023 [Elle & Dakota Fanning, February 2023, via @ellefanning on instagram]

6th May 2023 [source: instagram account @howtobehumanpod], 1st August 2021 [Dua Lipa wearing archive Jean Paul Gaultier on the set of the “Demeanor” video, released July 2021], 9th August 2023 [the Southbank Centre, Lambeth], 29th December 2021 [It's a Rave Dave exhibition @ GIANT Art Gallery, Bournemouth], 21st July 2023, 28th October 2023 [Nili Lotan RTW F/W23], 31st October 2023 [Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets], 15th October 2023], 1st November 2023 [Disney, 100 Exhibition @ ExCel Centre, Custom House]

5th April 2024 [Museo Picasso, Málaga], 8th February 2024 [Bella Hadid for Italian Vogue, May 2024 issue], 28th July 2021 [Bournemouth Centre, Dorset], 23rd January 2024 [source: instagram account @wrencraftt], 21st March 2023, 28th September 2023 [Philipp Plein Resort 2024], 9th February 2024, 21st August 2023 [source: instagram account @_mysunbeam], 7th April 2024 [Benalmádena, Andalusia]

9th April 2024 [Málaga, Andalusia], 29th August 2021 [source: instagram account @aniko.arts], 4th April 2024, 21st June 2023 [Summer Exhibition @ the Royal Academy, Mayfair], 10th May 2023 [Zendaya photographed by Elizaveta Porodina for Vogue Italia, July 2022 issue], 2nd October 2023 [source: instagram account @eggsdoodz], 14th July 2021 [Lana Del Rey performing live @ L'Olympia, Paris, 27th April 2013], 22nd December 2023 [source: Pinterest account @gobrielle], 30th March 2024 [Hove, East Sussex]

February 2nd 2023 [Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924-Today @ the Design Museum, Kensington], 10th April 2024 [Benalmádena, Andalusia], 3rd April 2024 [Mijas Pueblo, Andalusia], 19th September 2021 [Van Gogh Alive lmmersive Exhibition, Kensington Gardens, London], 7th November 2023 [Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture F/W23], 28th October 2023 [Bermondsey Street, Bermondsey], 2nd April 2024 [Benalmádena, Andalusia], 10th April 2024, 10th April 2024

[sweet-symphony0]

1, 4, 10, and 15 for any of your fics you want to talk about!

1. What is a piece of symbolism in your fic?

Oh, this is a good one! I had to go back and reread all my fics to find something but-

In Dance Me to the End of Love, it’s definitely Joe’s ballet shoes. He keeps them with him even after he quits, he brings them everywhere he goes, because to him, it’s a (physical) symbol of something he lost, but something he’s also loved and desperately clinging onto in the hopes that he can get back to. And while he doesn’t ever throw those shoes out, or ever wear them again, they’re a keepsake of his old life, a reminder of what was, and what could have been.

4. What's something you've researched but haven't incorporated into your fic?

So much for Legacy, I can’t even list it all, though most of it was incorporated. The research I did for that story pales in comparison to anything I’d done prior.

-I researched directors and what films they’d done before, because I wanted to make sure the (real) director I chose in the end would be good for a teacher biopic, even though I ultimately went with Sam Esmail, selfishly.

-I looked at the studios and their execs, to make sure I had the names and job positions right.

-I already knew how to make a budget, so everything in chapter three and four is fairly accurate, but researched what the process would be once the budget was made and how films get made and funded.

-I looked at Hamlet again since the first time in over a decade, to make sure I knew it well enough to explain Rami being able to teach it; I looked at which monologues I wanted and what I felt would be the one to include in the end. For him to teach it, I had to teach it myself, and I looked at curriculum for 10th and 11th grade AP English courses.

-The Belasco theatre is a real theatre in LA, and it’s where the wrap party for Raising Ambition is held. I can’t tell you how many tabs I had open to research venues, how big the capacity was for each place, and if they allowed kids (this story is fictional, I know).

10. What is your favourite au? Have you written anything for it?

It’s the same as the one I listed above: I would say my dance AU, where Joe is a professional ballet dancer to leave it behind to go into acting, really is one of my favorites. I’ll never finish that fic, but damn is it good, and boy am I proud of it. You can find that here.

15. Tell us a fun fact about your fic/wip!

I’ve talked about this before, but in all my twin Tuesday fics, at some point in the story, those twins share a moment where one of them squeezes the other’s wrist, in a silent gesture of affection. It’s an “I got you,” gesture, and I love writing it in and seeing if anyone picks up on it.

Similarly, in all my mazlek fics, the first article of clothing Joe almost always removes from what Rami is wearing, is his bow tie. That one isn’t planned, but I love the image of it every time, it’s very sexy and sensual and intimate.

Lastly- I wrote Home is with You, because I had awful, awful period cramps one time, and decided my way of dealing with it was Joe being miserable with nearly the same agony, and had Rami come to his rescue 😂

———

Sorry this is so long, but this was a treat! Thank you for asking!!

[lcndonboysstuff]

Just saw there's a new article saying that Cannes is eyeing a KOK premiere. It's not yet confirmed though. The article says the final list is going to be released April 11th so we'll know by then. Imagine if Hamlet also ends up premiering in Cannes. Two in one would be a slay. It would give Joe all month of April to lay low while people talk trash and just show up all fresh a month later

Still crossing fingers we see him one last time this week, before he hibernates again 😂😂

would love a Cannes premier for KoK, Hamlet i feel might be Venice as we haven’t heard much about it yet.

it’d be lovely to see him this week because if not it will be a while before we do lol