#Scotland All Players Name

[agatharkn3ss]

AAA is retelling the story of Macbeth

Note: Yes, this is a very long post.

I believe Jac Schaeffer is telling us a version of Macbeth. The ballad lyrics use a quote from the play “Fair is foul and foul is fair”. There is also the painting in Agatha’s living room – “Macbeth and the three witches" by Francesco Zuccarelli. The painting clearly meant something to Agatha’s consciousness and it feels like it was meant to be seen, whether foreshadowing or reflecting emotional state (I wrote more about it here). Yet, Jac herself has not mentioned Macbeth in her interviews even once, which is interesting.

A huge question explored (but not answered) in Macbeth has always been about who is in control of our actions. Do we have free will or is already written for us by someone else? Can only one person be held responsible, and if so – is it the doer or the enabler who is to blame?

A quick play summary: Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare. It starts with Three witches telling the Scottish general Macbeth three prophecies: that he will be the Thane of Cawdor, that he will become a King of Scotland and that children of Banquo (his friend) will become kings. Shortly after, Macbeth really is appointed the Thane. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills the king and becomes the new king. But he descends into paranoia, worried about the third prophecy, so he kills Banquo too. He seeks the witches out again, looking for reassurance. They show him 3 apparitions, which he interprets in his favour, giving him false sense of security. Civil war erupts to overthrow him and Macbeth is eventually killed.

When you compare the play with what we’ve seen in the show, the parallels become more and more obvious, and I think we can even identify who the characters are meant to be. My interpretation is:

Teen = William Shakespeare, the author

Agatha = Macbeth

Rio, Lady Death = Lady Macbeth (or Lady Macdeath?)

Banquo = Jen (but also Wanda)

The three witches = Alice, Evanora and Lilia (Maiden, Mother, Crone)

Detailed analysis:

Teen = William Shakespeare

The first obvious connection is the shared name and the fact that Vision actually said he wanted to name his son after William Shakespeare quoting “All the world’s a stage. All the men and women are merely players.”

This goes well with the implication that Billy has indeed “written” the Witches Road. I don’t think he is deliberately controlling it though – I believe his intentions are just so strong that the Road reflects everything we see in his room. He set the frame but he is not in charge. In fact, it feels more like the influence comes from William Kaplan rather than Billy Maximoff.

It is worth noting that the Macbeth play is set in a morally ambiguous society that judges others in black and white, while allowing shades of grey for themselves – very reminiscent of Billy’s attitude about witches in ep.5 when he said he is not like them at all – immediately followed by him lashing out. Lilia also reminds him in ep.7 of how much in common he has with this idea of a witch that he so vehemently rejects. I think in the end, when he realises that he is both Billy and William, he will also understand that he is not just a “writer”, but also a “player” of the story.

It is also interesting how there is no sun in the painting – similar to the perpetual night we see on the Road. The painting’s interpretations often suggest that the dark sky represents the theme of death lurking around (fitting that Jen calls Rio a “creepy lurker”). So I do believe that just as we have the symbolism of the Moon, there is also meaning to the Sun and the lack of it. This is why during Billy’s tarot reading, his card for “what’s missing?” is the Sun. At his bar mitzvah William Kaplan is in a white shirt. But when Billy returns home from the hospital, he’s wearing a stripy black and white top – but the white stripes are thin – only glimpses of William. Eventually Teen becomes this goth kid – suggesting that darkness has overtaken him. But in a promo we see him wearing a different top – again with black and white stripes but they are more equal and uniform. I think this symbolises that he realises he is both, Billy and William and it’s no longer murky to him. The Sun and the Moon are in balance. (And to that point – in ep.1 in Nicky’s bedroom we see wallpaper prominently showing both Sun and Moon elements. And the child’s drawing has the Sun at its centre)

Three Witches = Alice, Evanora and Lilia

This one is a more loose interpretation, but I think it ties well with the ongoing theme of “Maiden, Mother, Crone”. In Macbeth, it’s the witches that open the play, portraying them as those mysterious but powerful witches, controlling the events. But throughout the play, the audience realises they might not be as powerful – in fact, it is questioned whether they actually have the power to make things happen, or they merely have the ability to see the future. Eventually, they have less and less presence, and are not even there when the prophecies are fulfilled – suggesting that they were merely an illusion of control.

The fact remains that the witches are literal harbingers of doom – with their symbolism of number three (that is also heavily explored in this show, post here). They did share the prophecies, giving Macbeth the information he didn’t ask for. And later, when he comes for reassurance, they show him 3 more apparitions (well, 4, but he doesn’t take the last one in). The significance here was that the message here was so vague and deceptive that it could have one of two completely opposite meanings – and their interpretation proves crucial to the final outcome. The apparitions were telling Macbeth to be afraid, but instead he read what he wanted to see. He left feeling reassured, secure and justified in his actions. Again, the witches could be represented here as being deceptive, driving Macbeth’s demise. It feels like they had this insider knowledge that should’ve shared with Macbeth that would completely change the context of the message. But they didn’t and it’s a question if they ever even could.

Interestingly, in Act 3, Scene 5, the witches behave very differently to how they were before and it is believed that this is because this particular scene was not actually written by Shakespeare but by the actors themselves – if true, this would be an excellent parallel to episode 5 (and Agatha’s wearing a jersey with no.3). I believe Agatha’s trial was hijacked by Vertigo from Salem Seven. There were many inconsistencies with the previous trials, but I think the biggest tell was that the aspect ratio didn’t change – thus Vertigo taking over Billy’s story.

So, with all this in mind, I think that the show’s Three Witches are not active messengers to Macbeth/Agatha. It’s more about her interpretation of what they each represent in terms of her own destiny. I linked this with the Mother, Maiden, Crone - i.e. the Triple Goddess Hecate because in the play she us actually the “boss” of the Three Witches.  

Let’s start with the obvious – the Mother element is Evanora, Agatha’s own mother who has always prophesised her that she will be evil. Then we have the Maiden. I think it makes sense that this is Alice. Not just because she is the youngest, but also because she serves as a fresh reminder to Agatha that she is actually evil, because she is the one who killed her. However, there is duality in here, because it is also an example that Alice protected Agatha BECAUSE Agatha was worthy of saving. That she didn’t actually think of her as evil, especially when recognising Alice’s own complicated history with her mother. Finally, we have the Crone – this Lilia, always complaining at how Agatha is the embodiment of the evil witch stereotype. And yet, in ep.7 Lilia gives Agatha an advice for her future – akin to a prophecy. Whether Agatha follows it or not, we don’t know yet, but it’s important to show that Lilia chose to help Agatha in the end, showing her she accepted her.

Banquo = Jen (also Wanda)

In Macbeth, the character of Banquo is Macbeth’s friend as is meant to serve as his foil – i.e. a person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another. Banquo has a lot of parallels with Macbeth and he is also present for the prophecies. Yet, he reacts differently to them as ultimately he is not interested in power.

So I think in the show, the foil is Jen – she is shown to be just as snarky and selfish as Agatha. She is also an exceptional witch that is at least a century old. But in the past she used her powers for the good before she became bound. She said she tried everything possible to unbind, but it seems she eventually accepted her fate, though she is still very much angry about it. Her business is false and people are harmed as a result, yet she knowingly continues that path.

This is parallel to Agatha, as we can predict that the myth of the witches road is her own fraud business, perpetuating it so she can steal power from the “undeserving” witches, not caring she causes harm. She probably could’ve ended up similarly to Jen or worse, had it not been for Billy pushing them both down the Witches Road.

It is interesting that they both seemingly passed their trials and yet neither of them recovered their powers. They both believe someone else is responsible for this (and to be fair, I think in Agatha’s case she is right – Vertigo stole her trial). There are many more similarities we can notice, but I wonder what this means for the future. I wonder if there will be confrontation between the two of them. I think Jen will be able to resolve her inner conflict and exit the Road, and she will become the literal High Priestess (i.e. head of her own coven) – similar to Banquo’s character, whose children became the kings, not Macbeth.

An honourable mention to another foil couple from the past – Wanda.

Both Agatha and Wanda were powerful witches, misunderstood by the society (“there will always be torches and pitchforks for ladies like us”). Both lost their children, but dealt with them differently. Both are told they were destined to be bad – Evanora calls Agatha evil and Wanda is prophesised as the Scarlet Witch who will destroy the world. It is interesting to debate who’s Macbeth and who’s Banquo in this pairing – while Agatha didn’t seem to be entirely under Darkhold influence, it was Wanda who eventually claimed Agatha’s power and the Darkhold, then become corrupted before her ultimate demise (and redemption).

Lady Macbeth = Lady Death

Lady Macbeth is the figure that often gets the full blame for Macbeth’s crimes – people even going as far as absolving Macbeth from any fault (which I think in itself is a demonstration of internalised misogyny but hey ho). She is also seen practicing witchcraft, which served as another suggestion that she was the baddie in control.

She has this line that could be a nod to Rio’s dagger - “that my keen knife see not the wound it makes”. Perhaps a reflection that Rio doesn’t want to see the pain that her actions as Death bring, that’s why she’s heavily dissociating with her powers, calling them “her job”.

When Macbeth is torn by the prophecies, he eventually decides that he will not kill the king. That very second, Lady Macbeth enters and very quickly manages to change his resolve. Later on, whenever he wavered, she was the one who would take over control. She was the ultimate enabler to his crimes, even getting the servants drunk, unlocking the King’s door, preparing the daggers etc.

She is seen as powerful but also completely loyal to Macbeth. She is devoted to the point that when she pleads with the spirits for his success, she offers them her own femininity (“unsex me”) in return, i.e. the one thing that makes her her. She doesn’t seek the power directly for herself  (though she would have it through his actions), immediately accepted Macbeth’s prophecy, understood that’s what he desired and supported him throughout. I think this probably reflects Agatha and Rio’s relationship really well. In ep.4 it is Rio who is impatient to “do some damage”.

However, despite his early signs of deep affection, as Macbeth descends into his downward spiral, he is less and less bothered by his wife. Eventually, he is the one to continue all the killings, and Lady Macbeth fades into a background. To the point where she eventually commits suicide from all the shame, yet Macbeth barely notices it. Perhaps that disconnection happened for Agatha and Rio too. Agatha was lost to Rio when she hid behind the dark magic and it was painful to her, after all these centuries.

Agatha = Macbeth

Finally, Agatha, just like in the show, represents the titular character. Even when committing murders, Hecate describes Macbeth as “a wayward son, spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do, loves for his own ends, not for you”, which I think really represents what the creators are showing us here. The setting of the play is in a world where your rights don’t matter – but instead it is the strongest that holds the power.  

Macbeth’s demise doesn’t so much come from knowing the prophecies (because Banquo heard the same), but from his fatal flaw of ambition. He read the prophecies and apparitions how he wanted them to read. They were his imaginary permission to do the killings to reach the goal. After initial doubts, he convinced himself it was the right thing to do, he became “wicked” and drove to his self-destruction.

(side note: there is also this ambiguity in the play, where there is mention of Macebth’s child, yet people think him childless, suggesting there is a story of child loss behind it – link with Nicholas Scratch?)

As explained above, the Three Witches serve as Agatha’s ingrained belief about her role. She is surrounded by number three, showing her as the harbinger of doom. She might not think this is who she is, but it is still the role she chose to play, and eventually it became self-fulfilling. Her fatal flaw is her addiction to power and she believes in that “might, not right” world. So she has this wall around her and pursues that quest for power, because what else is there left? She is unapologetic about this, but we also start seeing the layers coming off.

I think the story in the show will ultimately come down to whether Agatha understands that she is the one standing in her own way and that she is not above the rules. That no matter the circumstances and the reputation and people enabling her, she is the one ultimately responsible for her own actions.

I think she will drive herself to self-destruction and will be willing to die to gain back her powers. I think she will be left on the Road so it is “Agatha all Alone”. However, there must be some growth from her Witches Road journey, so I think in her process, she will have some meaningful resolutions with others and actually help them escape the Road. And maybe this time she will even follow the rules.

I think this will make a mark on the others so that they will actually try to bring her back somehow. She might feel alone, but the power of the coven will be the one to save her.

EDIT: Just wanted to add, yes, there is also the character of Macduff. He is meant to be this incorruptible, noble character, serving as a complete opposite to Macbeth. He is always very clear on abiding by what's right and wrong, but after Macbeth kills his family, he swears revenge. To the point that he ultimately sacrifices his own morality to restore order to the country by killing Macbeth, thus committing regicide (an act he despised Macbeth for).

While it does sound like it could point to Billy, I just don't think it fits. While Billy certainly saw himself as this "good" character, we see in the later episodes that he does actually have some darkness in him - to the point where is very happy to be Maleficent. He is more similar to Agatha than he thinks. He doesn't mind breaking the rules when it suits him ("stealing" William's body, breaking into Agatha's house, drowning Jen and Lilia) and his internal struggle seems more around finding his own identity rather than revenging a family he hardly remembers (and it isn't really Agatha's fault that they were gone). And if he truly wanted revenge, all he had to do was leave Agatha in her Agnes spell forever.

I do wonder though, if maybe to some extent we are getting William Kaplan as Shakespeare and Billy Maximoff as Macduff?

In the show there is also this ongoing theme where each of the witches are self-sabotaging and are actually their own enemies when it comes to getting "what's missing".

But if I had to choose anyone for Macduff, I think it would be Vertigo - revenging both the Salem mothers and her Salem Seven coven and seeing Agatha as the threat to the witches world, especially because she experienced it first hand. I have a theory that Salem Seven were originally Agatha's own coven that she formed after she killed their mothers, but through her cowardice, she betrayed them and left them on their own Witches Road. After that, Agatha kept conning other "undeserving" witches pretending she'd take them to the Road, while the Salem Seven became trapped and have gone "feral", thus losing their morality.

[ineffable-monster-romancer]

It's three in the morning and Still Wakes the Deep is haunting my mind.

Maybe it's because seeing anything even vaguely related to Scotland in videogames or in any media for that matter is saturated in harmful and insulting stereotypes or deeply embarrassing accent attempts from non-Scottish actors, but playing a game like SWTD where every character interaction, overheard conversation and even character design just radiated with such authenticity.

These are conversations that I'VE had. That's the way I talk, that's SCOTS that they're speaking!! I knew every beat, every in joke, every insult. It isn't a parody, it isn't a "haha scottish funny/cute/hard to understand" it was unapologetically who I am.

And the HORROR of it all. The deeprooted dread as you the player try everything in your power, rebooting generators, stabilising the rig, xyz of problems cropping up. All while encountering your coworkers and friends, either dead or... something else. Something worse.

Adair has to be my favourite hated character. Any Scottish player who knows their stuff only had to glance in his bunk to know that he was the worst of the worst, it's a beautiful bit of show don't tell on that front.

The Monsters were incredible. Hearing them call out for help, hearing the last vestige of humanity calling from this twisted inhuman form. Gibbo calling out to Caz "tell my mum I'll be home soon", even Adair (bastard) repeating "remember to call the kids, two more weeks and I'm out of here" Rennick screaming "don't leave me here to die, not like this!"

Rennick, man. I've had bosses like him. I've known pricks wi wee man syndrome like him, who's whole world revolves around being in the right and living just for themselves. And the voice acting when ge confronts Caz in the office was exemplary, Clive Russel deserves a fuckin Oscar for that one speech alone.

It really hits those cosmic horror beats. Nothing is explained, you are an ant in the world of something so much larger and scarier than you can comprehend. Looking at it too long causes you to lose touch with reality, what was once recognisably an oil rig has now been deformed and remade into something you can't comprehend, much like your fellow co-workers. They've changed, melted and molded and rotted away, only a few defining features left that tell you "this creature was once human" but it knows your name.

God I want more of it, I want to play it again, I want to breathe in that atmosphere and my language and I want to download the soundtrack and think of the horrors.

[benzedrine-calmstheitch]

Good Omens season 2 referencing Powell & Pressburger films

Crowley's angel hair is modeled after Kim Hunter's hair as June in A Matter of Life and Death (1946).

Maggie's shop is called The Small Back Room in reference to 1949's The Small Back Room.

The red ballet shoes on the door of Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death are a nod to The Red Shoes (1948). (Note : the klaxons sounding in Heaven at the end of episode 1 are said to be a nod to the alarm bells in The Other World in A Matter of Life and Death. Personally, I don't think they sound at all alike; they are only similar in both being alarms. Plus, it's an audio reference, which I don't have the skill or patience to include here. But it's there!)

In The Small Back Room, Maggie has a poster for the film Stairway to Heaven displayed. A Matter of Life and Death was released under this title in the US.

The tartan hills welcoming Aziraphale to Scotland are a reference to the tartan hills welcoming Joan to Scotland in I Know Where I'm Going! (1945). And of course, the third episode is itself titled "I Know Where I'm Going."

Jim drops the book My Best Games of Chess, 1924-1937, by Alexander Alekhine, onto a table in the bookshop repeatedly as he is discovering how gravity works. This book is featured prominently in A Matter of Life and Death.

When Aziraphale enters The Resurrectionist pub in Edinburgh, I Know Where I'm Going! is playing on both televisions (I'm pretty sure I found the right scene to match this screenshot). You can also make out the name 'Pressburger' on one of the posters in this screenshot, but we'll get to that later. . .

The family name on the mausoleum where Aziraphale and Crowley hide out with Elspeth and Wee Morag is Archers. It's never clearly seen in the show, but it can be seen in this BTS photo of the model used for Crowley's embiggening. The Archers was the name of Powell and Pressburger's production company. The interior of the tomb and the urns outside the full-size set also reference the Archers, and Powell & Pressburger individually.

In Mr. Arnold's record shop, one of the posters on the wall is for a UK music tour; either the band or the tour is titled Met By Moonlight. This is referencing Ill Met By Moonlight (1957), the final film Powell & Pressburger made together. (I personally think this one is a reach, as the title of the film is a line from A Midsummer Night's Dream and thus not really clockable to the outside viewer as a direct Archers reference, but apparently the intent was there so we're counting it!)

The Pressburger posters are more clearly visible during the Gabriel and Beelzebub rendezvous scene in The Resurrectionists pub. We can see they advertise 'Pressburger Scottish Lager,' which is of course a nod to Emeric Pressburger himself. (Unclear if Michael Powell has his own label that we just don't get a clear view of. . .)

-- -- -- -- --

I clocked a couple of these myself, but they are all referenced in the X-Ray trivia on the Prime Video player. Would love to know if anyone has clocked anymore that aren't divulged. . .

[newtonsheffield]

I can’t get the image out of my head of Blushing all the way Home Kate sat next to her Grandfather at Anthony’s Harlequins games. Kate wearing a Harlequins scarf in support of Anthony and Poppy Sharma with his arms crossed wearing a Leicester Tigers Jersey and Scarf.

“He’s very talented, your Anthony.” Poppy Sharma huffed as Anthony tackled a Bristol Bears player by himself, the impact nearly audible from their seats. “I’ll give him that.”

Kate chuckled, “Wow, that sounded painful for you, Poppy.”

Her grandfather looked affronted. “I like Anthony. You know I like him. He’s a good man, he’s good for you.”

Kate nodded, clapping for Anthony as the play reset. “He could get you a Harlequins Scarf, you know. It would mean a lot to him.”

“It’s the most painful thing in my life, Katie. Your Anthony playing for this team. I’ve been a Leicester supporter for 56 years, I’m not stopping for him.”

She knew there’d be pictures of them everywhere tomorrow. It had become something of a joke online. Poppy steadfastly wearing his Leicester supporter’s gear, standing to cheer for Anthony’s brother in law when he took Down Anthony himself 2 metres before the try line. Anthony himself played into it, Posting photos of the two of them together after the matches

I’ll win him over one of these days.

“You could convince him to transfer to Leicester you know. Basset could make for him in the locker-room I’m sure. I could cheer for him then.”

“Poppy,” Kate rolled her eyes. “This was Anthony’s Dad’s team. His career started here and it’s going to end here as well.”

Poppy gave nod of begrudging respect. “Well, he’s loyal. I respect that I suppose.”

“He’s got you a Ticket to the England Scotland game next month.”

Kate saw the shift in him, his eyes widening, “Has he?!”

“Of course.”

“In the box, or the side line?” Poppy gasped.

“He knows you prefer sideline.”

Poppy gasped excitedly, “I’ll pay him for them.”

“Don’t be silly, they’re a gift. You’re with the rest of the family.”

“Well, I look forward to it.”

Sure enough, Poppy settled next to Kate a month later, his coat bundled tightly around him just as it had been the entire journey there.

“Why do you still have your coat on?” Kate narrowed her eyes at her Grandfather, suddenly suspicious.

“It’s chilly.”

“You never wear your coat, you unbutton it so everyone can see who you’re supporting.”

Poppy shrugged, an innocent look on his face “Ah well.”

“If you are wearing a Scotland Jersey under there just to spite him I am not bringing you anymore.”

She only grew more suspicious when he started to fidget in his seat as the crowd started to thrum with energy as the teams stood in the tunnel. And panic rose in her chest as Anthony started leading The English team onto the pitch and Poppy stood in his seat.

“Anthony!���

“Poppy what are you doing?!”

“Anthony!” Poppy hollered again and it caught his attention this time, Anthony turning in his direction. And finally Poppy took off his coat to reveal an England Jersey, Anthony’s number emblazoned on it, his name stretched across the back.

Anthony’s face lit up, grinning as he pointed, applauding with the crowd laughing around them.

“Well then.” Poppy huffed settling into his seat and taking the red scarf from the pocket of his coat. “I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy your Anthony being an absolute bloody unit tonight.” He cleared his throat, “Get em Anthony!”

Kate rolled her eyes, kissing her grandfather’s cheek. “He’s going to be so excited.”

And sure enough there’s a series of images on Anthony’s instagram the next day. Poppy standing proudly in the stands, a photo of himself grinning as he pointed and one of the two of them on the pitch at the end.

We’ve got Poppy Sharma boys!

[katyblk]

Who Wants To Live Forever

Have no clue if anyone's noticed this before but me and my partner in crime are losing our mind over this probable reference: All Johnny Silverhand/ SilverV lovers/shippers know the dreaded "Who Wants To Live Forever" mission in Cyberpunk 2077 with the infamously painful "Good Night, Valerie/Vincent. Today was a good day." quote that made us bawl our eyes out. Keep your focus on the quote. Most Cyberpunk 2077 players also know that post-Interlude/Act 2, mission names are assigned by song names Johnny would've loved. Side note: he really has a kick for Queen, it seems. Well, according to the trivia section on the wiki, it's stated this :

Besides the gorgeously fitting lyrics, if we take a look on Wikipedia, we find out the song was written for the 1986 movie Highlander. I'll spare the movie plot details ( and how similar Connor and Johnny are) but in the scene when Who Wants to Live Forever plays, there's two notable characters: Connor, who is an Immortal and Heather, his wife, who is mortal. They lived together for centuries in the highlands of Scotland. Heather is on her death bed due to old age. After an emotional exchange of words with Heather requesting that Connor lights a candle for her every year on her birthday ( Reminds me of the "You deserve a candle too, Johnny" dialogue at the tree in Dogtown, tbf), Heather dies in his arms and Connor says this: "Good night, my bonny Heather." Yeah.. chat.. I may be tripping but... sussy...

[mxrcusflint]

some old flintwood wip

i know where home is flintwood my beloved

Marcus had spent the better part of the past six years making up for the brunt of his father’s sins, and then the added weight of his own. It was a thankless job. It didn’t matter that he’d never cast an Unforgivable, or that he’d kept his head down — people still cut a wide berth around him, and he preferred it that way. If he barely said ten sentences a day, if he retreated back to his flat after every day, ate a dinner hastily cobbled together, and spent the night with his knuckles wrapped, then it was for the best.

He’d cut everything off with Wood a year before the brunt of the war, before the worst of his moral failings. It was hard, at the end of it all, not to look at Wood and detest his goodness, his rising star, the naive innocence of an unburdened bloodline. At twenty-one, Wood had been summoned to first string and the pitch had fallen in love. Scotland had made it a known bet that they’d be knocking on Wood’s window for the regional team once the World Cup came back around. It was on the eve of that dinner meeting that Marcus had called everything off. He’d justified it — they’d been contentious bed mates at most, sparring rivals at best, meeting with no particular cadence to fall into bed together. 

Marcus was smart enough to know that whatever similarities they had, the core shade of their beings was different. 

And so. The war. 

He had nightmares often — of blue-black woods, of snaps and running so hard his chest hurt. There was a small subset of people Marcus had ever held in high esteem, and they’d splintered, one by one. Bole, Higgs, Warrington, Derrick, Urqhart: Snatcher, casualty, marked, killed in action, marked. It had become a horribly easy list to recite. Slytherins of their age didn’t make it out often.

The Flint name had long fallen from grace, that much was clear. His father, his older brother — two marked wizards who’d died in the war. Marcus couldn’t hold space for that. He had a business to run, and that was all he could think about without losing it. 

If it weren’t for Montague, he’d have never come to a Puddlemere game. They were the last two strongholds of their old team, and he’d conceded because he’d seen the empty space over Montague’s shoulder where Cassius should’ve been, and after that he’d been unable to say no.

He hadn’t thought all of it through, to be frank. He couldn’t pay attention to anything else; not the roar of the crowd, nor the referee’s contentious calls — Wood was glowing, brilliant in front of the hoops. Marcus couldn’t tell what was worse: the deep, deep jealousy for the first stringers, or the ache of watching Oliver at his best. 

The quaffle finally flew from a Ballycastle player’s hand to get past Wood’s outstretched fingers. 

“Good contenders for the cup, yeah?”

Marcus merely nodded at Montague’s statement, too occupied with how the familiar stubborn, frustrating tilt to Wood’s mouth made him claustrophobic.

Wood had gotten better since the last time Marcus had seen him play — a scrimmage between Puddlemere and Falmouth that still surfaced in his memory no matter how much he steeled himself against it.

“They’re probably going to get beaten out by Tutshill,” Montague continued, voice filled with longing, “But their chaser line is looking strong.”

Montague could no longer play, not after war injuries and a trip down a Vanishing cabinet, but he was an avid enough watcher that they traded observations and statistics over a meal on occasion. Marcus kept an arms-distance between himself and most people who’d known him, but it was hard to say no to Graham, not when he still struggled with recalling memories, things that Marcus knew he should’ve remembered cold.

(Winning the Quidditch cup, being made Prefect, the odd crushing disappointment that plagued them all when Warrington hadn’t been selected for the Triwizard’s cup.)

Puddlemere won in a landslide, which they needed. They were trailing Tutshill and Ballycastle by 100 points and the season was drawing to a close. Marcus allowed himself a moment to appreciate the sight of Wood in the middle of a dogpile of happy Puddlemere players, before excusing himself from Montague. There was no point in lingering in the stands, and both men knew that they would see each other at some point anyways — pureblood circles ran small nowadays. No point in causing public concern over gatherings when it was easier to lay low.

The impulse to dive into the inner labyrinth of the pitch grounds was one that Marcus didn’t try hard to fight. He rarely got energy like this where he lived. The sheer amount of adrenaline was enough to make anyone dizzy. Post-matches were a gaggle of players, of staff and press junkets, and he was one of many, many bodies weaving in and out. He allowed himself to drink in the bustle, the hum of excitement from Puddlemere supporters, and it was a nice contrast to the quiet of the shop.  

It was, in hindsight, an idiotic idea, because —

“Flint?”

It was a voice that plagued him in his sleep, one he’d held onto during the deepest, darkest winter months during the war. Marcus would know it anywhere. He had never wanted to hear it again. 

Wood had the trained reflexes of a professional Keeper, and so his hand was already on Marcus’ shoulder by the time he’d made up his mind to walk away. There was nothing else to do but turn around and face the man. 

“Good game,” Marcus said, and he shut his mouth before anything else could escape. There was likely nothing coherent he had to say, because this was the closest he’d been to Wood in three years, and he’d never been able to rid himself of this weak spot. 

“Thanks,” Wood said in a carefully neutral tone, “I never expected to see you at a Puddlemere game.” 

It wasn’t a direct attack, but Wood’s eyes were cool, appraising. Even when they weren’t strangers, Marcus made it a point not to attend, albeit for different reasons. 

“Montague wanted to,” Marcus replied. He didn’t elaborate; Wood didn’t need to know that for some odd reason, Warrington had had a soft spot for the middling team. 

“I see,” Wood said, though his tone of voice indicated that he didn’t, not really. “Well. What did you think?”

Marcus shrugged and made a non-commital noise. 

Wood stared at him for a beat, before scoffing. “Man of few words still, huh?”

“I’ll be heading out then,” Marcus said, though it came out more harshly than he’d wanted it to, on account of his words getting stuck in his throat. 

“Sure,” Wood said, and he released his hold on Marcus’ shoulder. Marcus took the opportunity to hightail out of the stadium, and though he managed to apparate back to his flat without splinching himself, he didn’t manage to shake off the phantom touch of Oliver’s hand for the rest of the night.

[sgiandubh]

It's all fake, anyway

Oh, my. The last two or three video snippets in Marina del Rey. The revolt. The pearl-clutching. The hate.

Again, you know nothing, Jon Snow. It's all about the medium being the message, again: carefully calibrated snippets of information, destined to a captive, deeply divided and (how can I put that without sounding offending, I wonder) unexperimented (yes, that's decent enough) audience.

During the last 24 hours, we've got the Marina del Rey gin promo & MPC teambuilding (hardly an orgy, btw) and C's MUA (or is it hairdresser? irrelevant) hinting on Instagram about a photoshoot at a gin distillery in a #beautifullocation, somewhere on Earth, presumably in Scotland - given her last IG follow. No further details, of course. Very probably a (late-) latergram, too, when she finally got the green light to publish it. Implying nothing, but leaving a boulevard bandwidth for people to infer whatever suits their own narrative. Expect FMN news soon? I highly doubt that and stand corrected: the last photoshoot (with McSideburns, in London) was on May 3rd, when she needed to somehow show the world the Two of Them were continents apart. Identical modus operandi. And always, always via tertiary players.

As for the Marina del Rey teambuilding, if you think that is 'S living his life' you are: a) living in a remote mountain/island area or under a rock; b) an impenitent Mordorian with an agenda to boot or c) incredibly incompetent with the way of the world (or at least, that world). Allow me to translate?

It is alcohol promo, duckies, disguised as teambuilding. The intended message is aimed at a younger, non-OL related audience (as I already warned you) and it roughly goes like this:

'we are a fun loving, no nonsense, start-up business in the spirits industry. Because we don't have a huge advertising budget, we're testing the waters with a cheap, reality-TV snippet to better evaluate the number of social media clicks and new followers and help gauge & calibrate the next step'.

Was it poorly executed? Yeah, you could say that, but then what to do, in a very restrictive, highly regulated tobacco & spirits advertising market, hum? Is it my cup of tea? I don't drink, therefore this type of message touches one ball without really moving the other.

Yes. Start-up business: if we take into account the COVID logistic delay, I believe we're still in that three-years frame. And this detail is essential in order to put context around a very forgettable snippet. Selling a brand-new, more democratic product. Selling it clumsily, in an effort to build relevance, because even bad advertising is, ultimately, good advertising. But make no mistake: it's nothing more than that and it is all they can do, in the current context.

This brings to mind another aspect of the charade, namely the fact that after the Remarkable Week-end (and with the exception of some carefully scripted 'slips'), released and available information progressively became (at least) two-tiered.

First tier: information carefully calibrated for immediate release and general consumption, primarily but not exclusively by the fandom. This includes: spirits shilling, innuendos galore, look-here-not-there latergrams. It also entails less direct interaction with the fans on socials and delegating the media management to secondary players (often called to the rescue, too).

Second tier: public information with a limited availability (you have to take the plunge and pay), for sleuths able and willing to go the extra mile. They paint a very different landscape. And draw two copycat timelines of people who are investing, buying and selling property and overall branching out of their primary source of income with a plan.

I am not a photo sleuth. But with a little bit of time on my hands, I am a decent paperwork analyst. Accounting is not my forte, but legal and business is. I saw what I needed to see and it holds.

So before you start screeching (bad idea, right?), remember this (credit given to @dillon7fan, thanks):

Not really: it is doctored make believe. Bless your heart, honest guy.

Next stop, Tehran. Yes, you read that correctly.

This evening or tomorrow, at the latest. Because context is everything and this fandom severely fails at this.

[superconductivebean]

#919: imelda headcanons post

Whilst writing something anything for my wlw OTP's and OT3 has me in a perpetual state of stagnant gaze at the nearly empty sheet, I thought, what if I go full delulu and out of the writing way again.

If you've been following me for a while, you might've noticed this tag, #utlitd brainrot. It is the reservation for my magnum opus fic, its abbreviated name, yadda yadda yadda. I don't post about it often assumed it'll be super tiring to have my ramblings look nice -- even though this work is my MC's entire storyline lmao.

Anyhow, while working on it lots I've become to sit on some ideas and headcanons and -- not sharing them. I'm a criminal for this. I plea guilty. Some headcanons are brainrot-derived and marked as such.

Assuming you've not scrolled past my little hello note, IMELDA REYES HEADCANONS:

Butch lesbian. Accepted herself rather well but she was soon to realise finding someone isn't just a challenge, it's a quest;

Half-Spanish, Half-Scottish. Her grandparents and part of the family left Spain, fleeing the tumultuous change of its regimen;

Was born in Glasgow, Scotland. If the family decided to stay in Spain or to move back, would've attended Beauxbatons instead;

Relatives from the father's side live in Seville, mother's side of the family is stretched across Orkney Islands;

Learnt to ride the broom there btw, she's well-accustomed to the weather and especially, weather changes. If to name one of the reasons she is an amazing Chaser, this would be one of them;

Not as much of a headcanon as it is a tiny essay but! She doesn't like Seekers for a very peculiar reason, if not to downright call it a fundamental difference between a skill-dependent play and a luck-dependent play. She often irates at Seekers: they bask in attention and praised for their skill -- but Chasers rarely have a fraction of that, as if they perform a rotten work! That's her opinion. Bar in the grand scheme of things, Seekers are the different breed of team players. They have to count numbers and be on a constant chase & lookout for the snitch in order to win in numbers. 150 points for the snitch is only 15 times quaffle gets through the rings; you could imagine a scenario when 150 points aren't enough if not for the Chasers' work;

This one is pretty much implied canon: she doesn't like Gryffindors because a Gryffindor caused her father a permanent injury ('took his knees out', gruesome), hence he's disabled and can't walk on his own -- and has been unable to walk since his school years. Imelda is unlikely to had seen him riding a broom ever in her life;

Brainrot: despite the disability, her father is an avid Quidditch aficionado, goes to her every match and makes half the fannish noise because His Wee Little Mija Is Winning. He's not coming to watch her alone, in fact, half the family attends Slytherin matches. It is an important social link for Imelda;

She doesn't have many friends, if at all, which is also an implied canon (an npc slips a mean comment about her, saying she had only a broom for a friend);

Brainrot: support of the family, nonchalant attitude and dead-set goals built Imelda a sense of confidence, she knows what she wants and needs, perhaps, however, she is lacking simple silliness of life and that she isn't anyone's friend but a background celebrity weighs on her;

Brainrot: moreover, her rigid training regimen, partly inspired her childhood on the Orkney Islands, partly enforced by the former Toyoashi Tengu almost-player Madam Kogawa became to feel mundane. As she would put it, there isn't an opponent worthy of her time and skill. As I will say, it isn't as much a need in a rival as it is an ask for a feedback;

Although Imelda notes compliments make people go soft and that no one tells her she did a great job, and that she couldn't care less, she isn't truthful to herself. She needs positive feedback. However, positive feedback isn't praise for her;

After Black cancelled Quidditch for the year, Imelda took it harsh. It meant she was cut off from genuine reaction of the crowd at her play, wouldn't receive family's (dis)approve of performance, and wouldn't even have chances to train on the Pitch;

Brainrot: Imelda feels isolated, to say the least. She is naturally sensitive and quite talkative, insightful and outspoken, however, the mean attitude may have caused people to stray away from her. She does take notice of it but never seek reconciliation, knowing not many people would like to befriend her, besides, a new friend would do game if plays Quidditch or willing to challenge her, too. Time is valuable to her, it's a resource she'd like to spend on a person willing to take on and press on;

MC's timely arrival signified a potential to have someone new to get a hold of after Anne Sallow's untimely departure from the school and effectively, from the Slytherin Quidditch team. Anne was a beater;

Brainrot: to Imelda, Anne was another important social link. They weren't exactly friends but Anne's mischievous nature prompted Imelda to spend more time with her, Sebastian, and Ominis, as both pastime from Quidditch and a way to catch up with studies. Their company introduced her to students she'd normally would've not ever interacted with: Everett Clopton, Ravenclaw Keeper, disastrously ill-disciplined but overall harmless individual, yet too nonchalant to her liking; Garreth Weasley, whom she jokingly berates each time he blows up cauldrons but finds his expertise otherwise valuable whenever she needs help with Potions; Poppy Sweeting, a girl that alerts her to something but she hadn't a clue to what for quite an amount of time, she just knew she wasn't an another meek Hufflepuff; I imagine, @catohphm's Danny, Ravenclaw Seeker, would've been introduced to Imelda, too;

Brainrot: if u thought her and poppy had slowburn mutual pinning 300k words until the first kiss kind of thing going on in my head u are not wrong it is basically canon to me they're so different and unsure about each gesture -- or a suspicion there was an one -- it's as cute as it is silly as it is u just name it im gonna cry

She and @boxdstars' Amara probably are in each other's support group even after they completed the Find Girlfriend quest;

Imelda could use more sleep;

A straight O-student in Herbology and a straight E-student in DADA and Charms;

Has a deep respect for Aesop Sharp: if he finds it in himself to go and teach a bunch of dimwits how to brew potions out of seemingly sheer passion for the subject (he's able to tell the colour of the potion is wrong while nose deep into grading papers), just like her father is always eager to attend her games despite and in spite of his injury, she totally can be as motivated for Quidditch. Whenever someone has anything disparaging to say about Sharp, she would admit, she takes it personally;

What she also takes personally are mean comments and the lack of genuine interaction, and appreciation for who she really is. She's stuck, however: she is mean when there has to be insight, she is brash where it needs to be reflection, she simply shatters when she is wrong or pointed out her reasoning does loops and meandering.

The girl is lonely and insecure, she is naturally abrasive but isn't a massive bitch bomb; stubborn, easily dismayed by a sass response, I would also say, she is very capable of being meek or show at least some weakness when privy because upholding a veneer of someone tough but who isn't really her is a very emotionally tasking endeavour.

and if u'd like more imelda hcs including nsfw ones feel free to send me an ask 👉👈

some tags: @thriftstorebabayaga -- look it is breaching containment again @ladyofsappho @celestial--sapphic @rypnami @endeavour12345

[greyauras]

This is like 600 words.

Everyone headcanons Ghost and Soap's living conditions like Ghost is a frequent visitor of r/malelivingspace and Soap has like a slightly cozy, filled just enough with furniture type of place. I think that's cute and hilarious, but I'm just thinking about the opposite.

That Ghost actually has this REALLY nice place somewhere near the base that Price *legally* finances for him but pays out of pocket for. King sized bed, some cacti, has an elderly neighbor that waters them for him if he's gone for too long and everything. I'm pretty sure Ghost was canonically a butcher (I hc him that way anyway) so he probably can make a good steak, and eventually learned how to cook for himself and it's become a hobby. He grew up without, so now that he has the money and the luxury to have a quiet space of his own, he takes full advantage of it.

I believe he likes stability, and while the base is where he feels the most like himself, the bustle of it all irritates him. Sometimes it's nice to drink your weird ass flavored tea with your pink cacti. Best date you'll ever have if you squint past the red flags Tom Cardy style.

And Soap? Pretty big, concrete, studio loft. Completely empty save necessary appliances and the fullest place being his art space with easels and canvases in front of the large windows, a cot with boxes of his shit next to it. And a bean bag chair begging for life. The only thing he knows how to cook is ramen and MRE tuna packets. He tries family recipes, but fucks it up so badly he hopes his nan doesn't see it beyond the grave. Growing up, he took care of himself while his parents worked constantly and could have been away for days at the time. It's easier to take care of yourself when your only obligations are feeding yourself, doing homework, and going to bed before midnight. Being an adult has similar rules but for some reason it's much worse.

Being in the military, it's an automatic rule to take care of yourself (physically). You stink, you'll get a bath one way or another. He doesn't buy anything because why need a bed if you'll only sleep on it for a month or so? Why a couch and TV when paying for a streaming service would be a waste? (Laptop disc player kind of guy, got a box of classic movies too, “THIS IS SPARTA!”) Really shouldn't even invest in a flat, he doesn't really celebrate holidays with his family anymore since they're the vacation on Christmas type. The only time he's there is when injured, forced or both.

But since Simon moves to Scotland and brings all his stuff with him, the big place gets filled a lot quicker. John gets some shelf racks and finally unpacks his boxes. I would say and maybe vice versa since Soap doesn't have a lot of stuff, but Price is glad to get that freeloader’s lease off his name.

Extra: They're all hanging out in the base’s living area.

Gaz: Does anybody need a couch? My sister's selling one, might even give it away if I ask.

Soap perks up from his spot on the floor: I do! I've been sleeping on the floor for 3 years!

Ghost: Johnny, I thought you said you had a cot?

Soap: I did. The legs broke, now it's just a framed mat.

Gaz: Bruv, what the fuck.

Soap: Does it have a stench?

Gaz: No?

Soap: I'll take it.

[pleasereadmeok]

 “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?”

A very young Matthew Goode - who had recently decided that he might as well try being an actor!

@asgoodeasgold 's post today reminded me about this. From Matthew's biography page on matthew-goode.net. [I wrote this a LOOOOOONG time ago so don't judge 😂]

He does remember ‘performing’ from an early age – “Probably being the youngest and fighting for attention is something to do with it.”  “I’d always been someone who sang in the choir. I was head chorister of my choir at my prep school and we did school plays and bits and bobs.”  [Backstage]

Jenny Goode (Matthew's mum) was also an amateur theatre director –  “She did have a huge passion for the theatre, though, and ran The Campion Players, the local amateur dramatics group. She involved me from a young age. I always thought that actors were an incredibly fun bunch and smart with it.” [Red] Matthew has been on stage since a young age.  He remembers playing a singing rodent in ‘The Wind and the Willows’ when he was about 6. Matthew’s mum says – “From an early age in junior school productions, I saw that he had considerable presence on stage and found learning both the script and the music very easy. At that age of course children show a wide area of abilities, he particularly loved all forms of sport and had a good ear for singing and playing a musical instrument.”  [Devon live]

He says that his mum was an orphan and joked that – “She genuinely at one point thought she was Laurence Olivier’s love child. She had an incredible passion for it.”  [Herald Scotland]

[Matthew with his mum Jenny at the Brideshead Revisited premiere / Richard Young]

Matthew enjoyed being around theatres, amateur actors and being out until late in a “Brilliant adult fantasy word.” [Clocktower Radio].  However he never considered acting as a career and as he got older he got shy about performing because he tended to be a blusher.   He admits that his first kiss was on stage – “Michelle Halford was her name – she was a little minx.” “We had a kiss on stage.  It wasn’t particularly enjoyable but it was my first.”[New York Times Screen Test interview]  Unfortunately he gave up acting in his teens because he went red on stage, [Guardian] and he was more interested in sport, “so it sort of went on the back burner a bit” [Backstage]. Matthew didn’t take up acting again until he was in Sixth Form (about 17). Meanwhile Matthew excelled in sport.  Matthew Rhys asked him “How big a part does sport play in your life?” Goode: “It used to play a phenomenal part in my life, because I used to play a lot of county sport, a lot of sport for my school. I love team sports”.  [Interview Magazine].  He played hockey and cricket representing his County/school but golf became his main sporting passion. Matthew started playing crazy golf with his brother James, then progressed to ‘pitch and putt’ and on to the full size version when he was about 14.  His parents loaned him some money to pay for club fees. “I was the dream child for the holidays.  My parents would drop me off [at the golf club] first thing and pick me up when the light was going.” [Robb Report]  He reached a high level of skill at an early age with a handicap of 4 but that has dropped to a 7 today. [Discussion with Greg Kinnear at Dunhill Links Tournament]. Matthew talks about his relationship with his late father very fondly – sadly he died early in Matthew’s career.  He refers to how his father taught him about wine and Scottish whisky.  Matthew’s father also taught him to fish and he talked about this in an interview with his friend Matthew Rhys. RHYS: When did you first start fishing? GOODE: I will never forget it. I used to go to Wales for canal holidays. When I first started fishing, I was on the Brecon Canal in Wales. We pulled up in our canal boat and Dad got out these two maroon, telescopic fishing rods, and put a reel on. RHYS: Was your father a fisherman? GOODE: Yes, he loved it. In fact we used the tackle he used as a boy. It’s no longer with us. He put a couple of maggots on, cast it out, and handed it over to me. I would’ve been eight or nine. Then, about five second later I saw the thing just drift away and I had got one, and it was a beautiful roach—a perfect little roach, silver, about three-quarters of a pound. RHYS: What is it about fishing? GOODE: It’s quite exciting—it’s like acting, some bits are quite exciting and then there’s moments where you’re not doing anything or nothing is happening.  [Interview Magazine]

Education Matthew’s parents worked hard to pay for himself and James to have a private education.  James boarded at his school while Matthew was a day boy at Exeter School, an independent school in the city of Exeter in Devon.

[DevonLive]

Matthew studied A levels including Geography, Drama/Theatre studies and English.  He was considering a career in Archaeology. “For a time I wanted to do archeology, also because my father was a geologist.”[Style Magazine Italia] but his drama teacher, Stephanie Tratmore, had spotted his talent and encouraged him to take up acting again.

[Matthew’s drama teacher Stephanie Tratmore/Crupeck – Exeter School]

Stephanie was putting on a production of Sean O’Casey’s ‘The Plough and the Stars’ and persuaded Matthew to audition for the part of socialist ‘The Young Covey.’  He was reluctant because he hadn’t been on stage for a few years and he was still a blusher. Stephanie got her way and he enjoyed playing the part.   “it wasn’t until I was 17 that I really caught the acting bug,” [Herald Scotland] During this time Matthew was in many Exeter city productions including ‘Richard III’ (as the ambitious Buckingham) and ‘Waiting For Godot’. [Devon Live]  He recalls being in productions at the Northcott Theatre and Barnfield Theatre in Exeter.

[Northcott Theatre Exeter]

[Barnfield Theatre – Exeter]

Stephanie and Andrzej Chrupek taught Matthew drama at Exeter School.  He got top marks in GCSE drama and A-Level theatre studies but worked hard at his craft. Mrs Chrupek said: “He had amazing concentration when he was on the stage and an intensity. He was also very intuitive and had incredible stage presence.”  Mr Chrupek added: “He had a very charming smile, which is obviously his trademark. He hasn’t changed a lot. He was great, great fun to be around and he had charisma on the stage. Your eye was drawn to him when he acted.”  [Devon Live] His mum proudly says – “Towards the end of senior school, I began to see someone who could sustain and create a character and make it his own and I increasingly began to think that a career as an actor was a real possibility.” [Devon Live]

However Matthew decided to go to University rather than go straight to Drama School. “By the time I got to 18, I had to get a degree to make my parents happy.” [Backstage].  Matthew was also considering a career in sport and briefly considered Archaeology [Style Italia] before he finally decided to study Drama at University because he didn’t think he was good at anything else. There was a lot of competition to do drama as a degree course and so he needed high grades. He remembers that most drama courses required an ‘A’ and 2 ‘B’s at A level.  The University of Birmingham offered him a place if he got 3 B’s so he opted for their course.  He actually got 2 ‘A’s and a ‘C’ at A level so he was accepted to study a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts – graduating in 1998. [Clocktower Radio Interview] Matthew remembered some good times studying at Birmingham in this Birmingham Mail interview:- ‘The 31 year-old star has fond memories of the city where he attended Birmingham University to study drama. And as well as treading the boards in the city’s theatres he managed to hit a few of the dartboards in its pubs, too. “It was bostin’,” he laughs. “I had a great time. I used to live on balti. There were a lot of curry houses that used to open late that I remember fondly. I wasn’t thinking about being an actor but I enjoyed doing drama and it had a very good course.  I really came out of my shell and I met the people who are still closest to me there.  We were like cock of the walk and thought we ran the town, or we thought we did as far as the drama course went. We were members of the summer darts league at The Brook Pub in Selly Oak, which got in the way of a lot of work.” [Birmingham Mail]

[The Brook Pub in Selly Oak – now demolished from Our Brum]

[Screenshot from ‘Silent Night’.]

Towards the end of his degree Matthew still wasn’t totally set on a career in acting but he says that his friend Gary got a place at Drama School and “I knew I was a better actor than him [laughs] so I thought I could do it too!”  “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?” [Backstage]  He says – “If you ask my teachers and my mother they would say ‘We always knew’ – but I didn’t!”  [Clocktower radio interview] Matthew applied for a loan to attend drama school and got a place at London’s Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.  I went up to London to audition and managed to get the postgrad course there.”

By the way - this is Gary - we have a lot to thank him for!

Goode fans owe this guy EVERYTHING!!!!   He is Gary Crystal - Matthew Goode’s mate from way back.  Matthew wasn’t heading for a career in acting until this guy applied for Drama school and got in.  

“I knew I was a better actor than him [laughs] so I thought I could do it too!”  “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?” [Backstage]

Gary is now a director/editor/writer.  And Matthew Goode?  Well whatever happened to him?  

[📷- IMDb]

[yourlovedahlia]

─── ・ ✦ BASIC

☆ birth name: lim dahlia (임 달리아) ☆ nickname (s): star, alien, lia, girly, tahlia, dallie, dadah ☆ birthdate: 8th december, 2001 ☆ place of birth: busan, south korea ☆ zodiac sign (s): sagittarius sun, virgo moon + snake ☆ ethnicity: korean ☆ language (s): korean (fluent), english (fluent) dutch (proficient) japanese (conversational)

─── ・ ✦ CAREER

☆ stage name: girl from nowhere (걸 프롬 노웨어) ☆ occupation: idol / soloist ☆ years active: 2024 ☆ training: three and a quarter years ☆ company: octavia music co.

─── ・ ✦ PHYSICAL

☆ face claim: julie han (julie from KISS OF LIFE) ☆ gender: female ☆ body modification (s): tattoos / side rib (left), pelvic area and forearm (right). piercings / two helix and two lobe (right ear), double lobe (left ear) ☆ distinctive feature (s): scar on forearm, doe eyes, unique nail art, sharp jawline ☆ height: 161 cm (5 feet 2 inches) ☆ blood type: ab positive.

─── ・ ✦ OTHER

☆ father: lim jiyoung (임 지영) ☆ mother: beom sebin (범 세빈) ☆ pet: cinnamon (gecko) ☆ sexuality: bicurious ☆ habits: biting lip when focusing, shaking her head when thinking, putting her weight on one leg, tapping nails on surfaces, grabbing her necklace, using men's cologne. ☆ fears: bulls, climbing tall places, clowns, her old videos resurfacing ☆ hobbies: embroidery, pilates and yoga, painting her nails, keychain making, scrolling on social media ☆ pet peeves: forgetting something, show offs, people giving feedback on unfinished writings, people reading aloud, standing too close to someone, unnecessary complaining

─── ・ ✦ BACKGROUND

lim dahlia was born on the 8th of december in the year 2001, to lim jiyoung and beom sebin. her parents were fairly rich due to being being real estate developers. their lifelong dream had been to travel the world, and they had another addition to their team.

her toddler years were spent in s. korea, since her parents wanted her to make memories in the neighbourhood they had grown up in. dahlia's adventorous nature had resulted in a broken arm from climbing a tall tree in the park near their house.

they shortly moved to japan due to her father getting an offer to develop an estate in a suburb. dahlia had been only four when they had situated themselves in the country for this project. she had made friends with some children from her preschool.

a year or two had passed before they packed up everything and moved once again. the trio made a nest for themselves in the european country of the netherlands. dahlia discovered multiple dutch artist that guided her in learning the language, as well as famous singers from english speaking countries.

the rest of her child years were spent in the netherlands. her dutch had become better the more she spoke it, and her goals became clear to her one day when she saw a bagpipe player in the city. her interest in the musical instrument sky rocketed once her family went to scotland for her school holiday.

for dahlia's 11th birthday. her parents surprised her with news of them moving again. she had been feeling down after the news, since all her current friends were right there in europe. to calm her troubles, jiyoung and sebin took her to her grandmothers farm back in korea. dahlia was exploring the vast area, when she had run into a herd of cattle. the poor girl had been chased away by one of the bulls in the herd, a new fear developing from that incident.

the lim family settled in boulder, colorado. dahlia had made her parents promise that they weren't going to move for a fourth time. her wish had been fullfilled?? once they confirmed that this was the last time they planned to move?.

the teen girl expanded on her interest in music by joining her schools music club. there she had learnt more instruments. in the year 2013, dahlia downloaded the app 'vine', where she started making relatable videos about her life.

she had gained popularity on the app a few months after downloading it. one of her videos had been looped about 5 million times and shared around the same amount of loops it had.

once the app had been shut down in 2017, dahlia tried to get into musical.ly, but didn't like it as much as she liked vine. in the latter year of 2017, dahlia went radio silent on her fans from vine and musical.ly, none of them knowing why.

no news of dahlia were heard, people hadn't even seen her in public after the sudden disappearance on her social media. even her instagram account had no updates, the number of posts staying the same, only the follower numbers increasing by the day.

in 2022, an anonymous video of a girl dancing to havana by camila cabello had been posted on every social media. the girl had a mask over most of her face, concealing her identity from the public.

people made theories on who the mysterious girl could be, but none of the claims were disclosed.

once girl from nowhere had revealed her identity on july 2024, people had mixed reactions. most fans were extatic that dahlia had come back to the music industry after being gone for so long. others were confused as to why she had showed her face now, and not earlier.

the girl went live on her instagram to address any questions. her reason for not showing her identity to the public at first was due to her concept of space and mystery. she explained that as much as people know about space, it is still a mysterious place we don't really know a lot about.

another reason was because she wanted people to focus on her voice and dance skills, ignoring whether she was beautiful or not.

[lfc21]

Godparents

Player: Trent Alexander Arnold

TW: Children, party, Fluff

Prompt list: Children

Summary: The news of being godparents sent a feeling of immense pride over you but what about the idea of parents?

You and Trent had been invited to Rachel and Andy's baby shower. Since you had been with Trent you and Rachel had become inseparable besties. The moment you found out Rachel and Andy were going to be parents you could have exploded with pride and excitement. It was like a movie, you and Rachel both cried, laughed and planned about a million things all in the space of one night. What are friends for?

"Thank you so much for coming," Rachel said as you embraced her in a hug. Trent and Andy were already chatting away about their next match and any inside gossip they had heard from within the team. It was always this way - you started altogether but by the end of any occasion it was you and Rachel and the boys left to fend for themselves.

"You're so welcome! I honestly think you have invited the whole of Liverpool" You joked as you looked around at all the people laughing and talking as the summer sun sat on them all. You had to admit the party looked incredible, food everywhere, lots of balloons and the most amazing display of gifts you had ever seen.

"It was Andy" She admitted with a whisper and a roll of her eyes. "Half of the Scotland squad are here as well" Rachel added as she leaned closer to your ear with a whisper as she didn't want anyone to hear her complaints. You both quickly grabbed a drink before heading towards all of the other WAGs. You loved days like this - nice dresses, lots of drinks and enjoying yourselves.

"Everyone I would like to make a speech" Andy shouted as he tapped a fork onto a glass champagne flute. The conversations stopped and everyone found their way to their partners or designated groups. Trent was soon at your side and wrapped his arm around your waist as he pushed his sunglasses onto his face, you couldn't deny how good he looked. "Rachel could you come here for a second" He added in his famous Scottish accent. "So as you all know in two months' time me and Rachel will be welcoming our first baby into the world" Andy explained with clear pride written all over his face.

"Go on son!" Jordan shouted from behind you with a punch into the air causing heaps of laughter to bellow through the garden. You couldn't help but find amusement in the captain's very immature yet funny actions.

"Thanks for that skipper," Andy said with a nod to his familiar captain standing proudly at the back with a very embarrassed wife on his side. "As the time approaches we wanted to surprise very two friends of ours with some news" He added trying to explain the need for this big speech.

"So" Rachel and Andy both said in unison as if they had rehearsed that very line.

"Trent and y/n would you do the honours of being our Godparents?" Rachel asked with a huge wide smile. You couldn't believe your ears. Trent ran straight for Andy jumping into his embrace as if he had just scored a winning penalty. You quickly made your way straight to Rachel with the biggest smile. She embraced you in the tightest hug before being both crushed by Andy and Trent wanting to join in. You couldn't have asked for a better moment altogether. You heard all the cheers and congratulations from behind you and were filled with such honour and grace to be a part of such an amazing family.

-

You sat on the end of your bed pulling off your heels and tying your hair up. The madness of today shed a feeling of exhaustion on you and all you wanted was your bed and cuddles from Trent.

"Can you believe we're going to be godparents?" Trent asked as he wandered out of the bathroom door and back into your shared room. He had nothing but his boxers on and you were sure you were about to make yourself parents and never mind in the name of God.

"I know it is amazing" You softly replied with a smile as he sat himself down behind you. His arms wrapped around your waist as his head fell into the cruck of your neck. His warm skin was against yours as the comforting feeling of his being fell all over you.

"You're going to be the best god mum" Trent explained with a giggle as he shut his eyes and wondered about you as a mum, not just a god mum but a mum to his children. Your children. You didn't need to say any words you simply turned around and grasped your hands onto his cheeks and locked your lips with his. He was irresistible, he was everything you wanted, and he was yours. Maybe this was the start of your tiny family?

Hey guys 👋🏻 this is my second Trent imagine today 😱 I hope you guys enjoyed this one 😘 please leave feedback and requests as they are greatly appreciated 🥰 have the best day 🤗 masterlist 2022 💌 masterlist 2023 💌

@prettylittletrent @cornertakenquicklyyyy @trentalexanderarnold @robbo38 @robbothegoat @kostasstsimikass @chelseamount @chloereddy @tsimikasfamily @avenirdelight @blueathens @jordanhendersunshine @mrs-henderson @thatonesexycancerian @hendersons1truelover @nyctophilic0vitnir @peekapeaches @tsimikxs @tsimikostas @trentalexarnofan @leddows @moneymasnn @superkittywonderland @virgilvansike @virgilvandickmedown @hopefulromantic1 @robbo-trent-fanfiction26

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actress Georgie Glen.

Georgie was born in Helensburgh on April 20th 1956 and as a child had little interest in appearing in school plays. She studied graphic design at Glasgow School of Art and moved to London in her mid-twenties to design book covers for the Thames and Hudson publishing house.

Looking for other interests she joined Floodlight Council, an organization set up to bring out adult’s artistic skills and then became part of the Questors Theatre Company in Ealing, West London. Here she met the late Alan Rickman - who, like Georgie, had a background in design before treading the boards - and he encouraged her to follow her acting ambitions. As a result she enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic drama school and on graduating had her first job at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.

Even then she felt, somewhat modestly, that she did not have the looks for a leading lady but ever since her television debut in 1988 she has been a reliable supporting player in virtually every type of show from sketch comedy to period drama, notably in a recurring role as doughty Sergeant Jennifer Nokes in Heartbeat and the liberal, kindly teacher head of History, Audrey in'Waterloo Road - filmed in her native Scotland.

Indeed she may be said to be one of the first ladies of character acting and though her film roles have again always been in support of bigger names she has proved herself to be a scene- stealer par excellence, as one of the more enthusiastic in Calendar girls alongside Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

As I said earlier she has been in every type of show, to name a few we have comedy roles in Harry Enfield and Friends, Alas Smith & Jones and Little Britain, drama series and films are two many to mention them all but there are dozens, the pick of them include Taggart, of course, Peak Practice, Doctor Findlay, Mrs Brown, Shakespeare in Love, Silent Witness, and I think a lot of you will maybe “say” oh yes, when I tell you that she was the Judge in The Victim in 2019, an excellent four part series set in Scotland also starring John Hannah and Kelly McDonald, and she was Denise in the brilliant Channel four show Damned!

[dust-tastic-1983]

Lay thyne eyes upon my cringe drawings of me kissing turbo from wreck it ralph of all people.

Mostly just art and reblogs, maybe hc or x reader fanfics. Might occasionally not post too often as I have other half-assed commitments.

SFW only blog, though I might reblog suggestive jokes occasionally.

(Note: design and personality will be subject to change)

Name: Duster

Gender: Transmasc, Androgynous (all pronouns)

Residence: Champion Baseball (1983) arcade cabinet, Litwak's Arcade

Description: Your usual baseball player, one playable character in a team of 8 identical others, one team in a lineup of 12 others. Duster doesn't seem to mind this obscurity, or seem to mind anything, really… its hard to tell with that subdued expression.

Im 17 and from Scotland. You can call me Accismus. I like drawing and writing and imagining myself kissing various characters. This is my side blog. My main is @puerileaccismus

I go by They/He/She.

Life on the Internet with Turbo (Headcannons)

What living with Turbo on the Internet would be like. (Reader insert headcannons, fluff)

Turbo x Duster Ship: #Sportsmanship⚾️🏎 / #Turbo x Duster

Duster: #DusterBaseball / #🧢💙⚾️

X Reader: #Turbo x reader

Thoughts or hc pertaining to WIR: #Thedemonstellme💞 #thoughts

Reblogs: #reblog / #others art / #others writing / #self reblog / #fellow selfshipper spotted

Thanks for reading and remember Disney is full of shit and not your friend and to always pirate Disney movies. 👍

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day 15 - Prompt: Flower @pandalilymicrofics

February Daily Series - 774 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

As they approached the elaborately decorated octagonal bandstand, Pandora was amused by the sharp contrast between the elegant spiral scrolls in black metal that graced the roof’s edge with the DJ booth underneath it. The flower pots placed along the perimeter were strangled by the obscene number of cords strewn around them.

Old world meets new in the cringiest of ways.

Pandora nudged Lily’s arm when she caught up to her, Mary, and Alice. “What kind of music do they play?”

“Usually a mix of genres, but most of it will be new. The only ones who stay are the under 40 crowd, according to my mum.”

“Is that who I think it is?” James asked, pausing to consider the woman in the booth. He elbowed Sirius and pointed. “Surely she wouldn’t come this far?”

Sirius grinned at him, then slapped him on the back. “She would if I personally invited her and your parents paid her way.”

“No way. You…b-but she’s my…”

“Favourite DJ? Childhood best friend? The legendary enabler of all your nonsense before I came along?” he prompted, his smile widening by the second. “Why yes, yes she is. Surprise!”

James gaped at him for a full minute, then swivelled around and charged at the bandstand shouting something she couldn’t understand. It might have been in Spanish, but Pandora couldn’t be sure.

The blonde setting up her laptop looked up and waved excitedly. Within seconds, James had leapt over the railing and tackle-hugged her. She shrieked with laughter and hugged him back.

“Who is that?” Regulus asked, swatting at his brother’s arm. His expression was caught somewhere between anxiety and annoyance.

“Marlene. He’s talked about her, right?”

“The lesbian?”

Sirius barked out a loud laugh and nodded. “Yes, Reggie. She’s a lesbian and our close friend. I promise, she’s not interested in your boyfriend.”

“Alright.” He was visibly calmer already.

Pandora leaned forward and studied the woman as she chatted animatedly with James. “Why does she look so familiar?”

Lily shrugged. “Maybe she was in London? I know that I’ve never seen her before.”

“I have,” Alice said quietly. She held her phone out and snapped a picture of James and the DJ. “She used to play hockey in London, but left the team after a bullying incident.”

Pandora’s gut twisted sideways as she dug her own mobile out of her purse. She asked Alice to send her the photo, then sent it to Dorcas.

🐼: <photo sent>

🐼: Is this your hockey player?

🐼: The one whose picture is plastered all over our room?

🐍: She’s not mine anymore.

🐍: Is her name McKinnon?

🐼: I’ve heard Marlene, but not a last name.

🐍: What is she doing in Wales?

🐼: DJ at a festival here.

🐼: I think Sirius helped her get the gig as a surprise for James. They’re close.

🐍: DJ? That’s new.

🐼: Would you like me to pass a message?

🐍: No.

🐼: Are you sure?

🐍: Yes.

🐍: Wait, no.

🐍: I don’t know.

🐼: So, that’s a definite maybe?

🐍: Let me think about it.

Pandora sighed and shook her head at the screen. It wasn’t like Dorcas to be indecisive. While she didn’t know their history in specific, she did know that they weren’t speaking and that Dorcas was still hung up on the hockey player. In the master suite they shared, she had a dozen or so photos of the two of them together and the blonde in her gear.

Lily rubbed her knuckles on the back of Pandora’s hand and tipped her head to the side. “Alright?”

“I think that’s my flatmate’s ex-girlfriend.”

“Oh. Did it end badly?”

Pandora shrugged, unwilling to overshare Dorcas’s personal life. With her own secrets, she would have gladly spilled at Lily’s feet, but Dorcas was private.

Especially about #14. Pandora could see her jersey clearly in her mind. At least, her London jersey. She could have a different number now that she was back in Scotland.

Although, she may not play anymore. Professional hockey player to disc jockey was certainly an abrupt career change. Pandora couldn’t imagine keeping up with two demanding careers was easy.

Lily leaned closer and tucked the annoying lock of hair that constantly came loose behind her ear. “Will you dance with me?”

“Right now?”

“When the music starts, obviously.”

Pandora pretended to ponder the question with a pensive, furrowed brow. It was a bit silly for Lily to even ask, really. “I suppose I can squeeze you in. My dance card is nearly full, but—”

“Just say ‘yes’ like a normal person,” Regulus chided, rolling his eyes.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

[sgiandubh]

Good morning! I don't remember exactly when, but a short time ago Marple had an anon 'good friend of Valbonesi' come over - I believe someone on our side of the fence commented on the unlikelihood.

Well then… I found myself thinking about the subject after I saw Valbos participating more actively in the weekend's events. A few days ago he announced that coaches and members of his gym would participate in Hyrox and, during the event, he gave us that naughty confirmation about the backpack with a video with details about it.

Do you know if he's ever been involved like this before? https://www.instagram.com/p/C35yV6NMyeF/?igsh=MWlvajZmdmdxYjdtag== https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4B4QxtsqiE/?igsh=MWNjcm5ocm1jNTNqNw==

Dear Valbo Anon,

This guy has been onboard the MPC project probably since Day 1 and now everybody is scratching their head and looking for conspiracy, when it's just about normal (even expected!) promo?

It is absolutely logical to see Coach Valbo showing off one of the main (and rather expensive!) MPC merchandise pieces currently on offer, in order to boost sales. We should not be paranoid and look for anything else. This is all that is, nothing more.

I have to confess I have no idea about the reason why you might even ask 'if he's been involved like this before', other than trying to link this to Scottish Xena, the newest side player on the block.

Connecting the two backpacks looks completely unnecessary to me. Prior to launching her online business (probably currently not based in the UK, her two UK registered companies, based in Falkirk, are dissolved since March 7, 2023 and their 1 £ capital each are automatically deemed as bona vacantia of the Crown - 😎), she has worked as a Personal Trainer for about seven years in gyms and fitness clubs all around Scotland (according to her own statements). I bet she knows all of the girls and guys in that world and that includes Valbo, Alex Viada, you name it.

Also (and sorry for the long answer), expect luxurious fanfic about her, too. There are several podcasts she's done over the last five or six years, where she abundantly hints at her life, her son, her struggles. And let me tell you something, Anon: this woman is a good mother, who proudly wears her son's initial as a necklace. She is a single mom who tries her best and there is absolutely nothing hinting to her looking for romance, let alone a hidden one, Notting Hill style. I am sure real shippers will never harass her (as they never harassed anybody, FFS!) and if I can do something about it, I will. I was raised by a single/divorced mom, too and I know one when I see one. She doesn't need to be Virginia Woolf, or something, to have my respect - and the best way to respect her is to leave her be and stop this shitty connection game immediately.

I am sure you understand. With this, that topic is closed. If you need more minute detail, you know where to look for it (Marple, who?).