#but my family was in scotland for thousands of years

[yorktaylor]

i’ve always felt weirdly connected to britain despite having never been there. it’s like there’s something in my soul that still recognizes it as home

[sgiandubh]

idk if you’ve watched it yet but in the 10th celebration video, the part where Sam says “we dnt even know when we’ll be released” and Caitríona’s reaction to it had me👀….like the rest of us it seems they too can’t wait for it all to end so they can finally “released” and free from St*rz clutches. But i thought that was interesting thing to take notice of

Dear Reaction Anon,

Of course I watched it. Friday, even. But I have a dinner to plan for Wednesday, my car to sell (plot thickens...), dinners in town and various people to see.... So, sorry for the delayed answer and so incredibly sorry for being also late to the Shipper Feast.

Almost everything has been dissected to death, as it always happens, but I might still throw in my two cents, after all. So, I'll simply relisten to that video as I answer you and hit stop every time something interesting that has not been mentioned in here yet, made me go hmmm, ok?

At the 01:35 mark, S: 'yeah, it was such a whirlwind, you know, I mean, going straight into screentests and then looking for THE Claire, and it took quite a while, and then this one landed in Scotland, you know, weeks before we just started'

Here is her reaction - definitely fed up with this peasant, right?

Also, as a side note, did you notice how emotional S gets every single time babies and domestic scenes are mentioned? For a man who supposedly has no family of his own, that is surely strange.

And then you are so, so right, Anon, this is how she reacted to his 'being in a bubble for ten years and we don't even know when we'll be released what the world looks like' comment:

Did I notice an impish smile? Well, I surely did, Anon - and so did you.

It was a smart move to watch them watch OL. I found it very interesting, lots of clues about their joint dynamic:

She, as always, is leading the pack. He is more reserved and usually takes his cues from her, constantly seeks her approval. Gradually relaxes as she seems to imply the context is 'safe enough' to loosen up a bit. And yes, this is all instinctive, by now. If I knew absolutely nothing about These Two and saw them act and react like this IRL, I would definitely have questions.

And yes, I think he could listen to her talking about WWII medical pamphlets and bandages for days and still never get bored. This guy still lives to make her laugh:

Psst, Anon - see how they hate each other, here? Which really makes me think the 'just promo/fan service' argument is borderline schizophrenic, really - and why is S wooden and clumsy when promoting anything else with ANY OTHER WOMAN in our galaxy, by the way? Also, S and McTavish pretending they were still friends at that MIK event in London was 'just fan service' - this? This is not really that.

And then, oh dear me darling, that photo. I can almost hear two different kinds of 'shiiiiit' reactions, here:

He knows he mustn't slip - as he usually does, she is more like 'shiiiiit, hehehe, see what we've done here'. Logically, then, he brings about that sorry modicum of an excuse 'I've been so jetlagged' (jetlag was actually the least problematic thing, in that pic, ROFL; also, there are two people in that pic, bless your 💖🤣). Followed by the only diversion he could think of: bringing in the 'thousands of people, that was incredible, blah blah' - and then she dutifully chimes in: ' I think we did Hall H...? the big one...?' (strange comments for a pic where one can see two very cozy and scantily dressed people, LOL). Dilute, dilute, dilute. But it's Horowitz reply that interested me the most: ' it's too bad you guys aren't photogenic, even after a long flight, like what a mess you guys look like, there':

He threw a bait, C took it: 'weeelllll...' and then Josh ended it with a simple, smiling 'please' that, in my mind, is on par with KDS' 'believe what you want'.

I also found very telling one of the last remarks by Horowitz, too: ' it's ok, they can't fire you now, it's too late, it's way too late'. Granted, it was about the trivia and allegedly in jest, but really?

And there you have it, Anon. Perhaps it's not much, but as always, I tried to take the road less traveled by. Thanks for giving me the opportunity.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Thinking again about the darknesses that lurk underneath the surface of Sense and Sensibility (I have talked before about how Edward despite being the eldest is subjected to what we can argue is emotional and financial abuse by his family for years, and how the Dashwood women are disinherited on a whim of their great uncle), and this time specifically about the Brandons.

We get so little about them, and what we do get about them is all bad:

This lady was one of my nearest relations, an orphan from her infancy, and under the guardianship of my father... At seventeen she was lost to me for ever. She was married—married against her inclination to my brother. Her fortune was large, and our family estate much encumbered. And this, I fear, is all that can be said for the conduct of one, who was at once her uncle and guardian. My brother did not deserve her; he did not even love her... I have never told you how this was brought on. We were within a few hours of eloping together for Scotland. The treachery, or the folly, of my cousin’s maid betrayed us. I was banished to the house of a relation far distant, and she was allowed no liberty, no society, no amusement, till my father’s point was gained... My brother had no regard for her; his pleasures were not what they ought to have been, and from the first he treated her unkindly.

Mr Brandon Sr is shown to us as being a greedy man, a bad administrator of his estate, and a cruel father. His first son seems cut of the same cloth, and his pleasures were not what they ought to have been is one of the most, if not the most sinister line between all the Austen novels. But there's more about him!:

Her legal allowance was not adequate to her fortune, nor sufficient for her comfortable maintenance, and I learnt from my brother that the power of receiving it had been made over some months before to another person. He imagined, and calmly could he imagine it, that her extravagance, and consequent distress, had obliged her to dispose of it for some immediate relief.

The Brandons were married for two years; the colonel returns to England and starts looking for her 3 years later. Young Eliza was then a 3 year old toddler. We are obliquely told that Brandon cut all ties with his brother:

It was a valued, a precious trust to me; and gladly would I have discharged it in the strictest sense, by watching over her education myself, had the nature of our situations allowed it; but I had no family, no home; and my little Eliza was therefore placed at school. I saw her there whenever I could, and after the death of my brother, (which happened about five years ago, and which left to me the possession of the family property,) she visited me at Delaford.

Eliza is now 17, so the eldest brother died when she was 14, which is 16 years after his marriage with the older Eliza. In that period of time, he managed to squander the whole of her fortune, and put the estate in debt again, as we are told earlier on by Mrs Jennings:

Poor man! I am afraid his circumstances may be bad. The estate at Delaford was never reckoned more than two thousand a year, and his brother left everything sadly involved. I do think he must have been sent for about money matters, for what else can it be? I wonder whether it is so. I would give anything to know the truth of it. Perhaps it is about Miss Williams and, by the bye, I dare say it is, because he looked so conscious when I mentioned her. May be she is ill in town; nothing in the world more likely, for I have a notion she is always rather sickly. I would lay any wager it is about Miss Williams. It is not so very likely he should be distressed in his circumstances now, for he is a very prudent man, and to be sure must have cleared the estate by this time. I wonder what it can be! May be his sister is worse at Avignon, and has sent for him over. His setting off in such a hurry seems very like it. Well, I wish him out of all his trouble with all my heart, and a good wife into the bargain.”

We know the Bennets, with five daughters, and without a saving mindset, still manage to live very comfortably with 2000 a year, and if they had had any mind to save money, they could have provided all five of them with decent dowries/money enough to keep them out of poverty when their father died if they were single. It is clearly not that the money isn't enough, or that Delaford is an unproductive estate; in fact, it is described to us as almost paradisiac:

Delaford is a nice place, I can tell you; exactly what I call a nice old fashioned place, full of comforts and conveniences; quite shut in with great garden walls that are covered with the best fruit-trees in the country; and such a mulberry tree in one corner! Lord! how Charlotte and I did stuff the only time we were there! Then, there is a dove-cote, some delightful stew-ponds, and a very pretty canal; and every thing, in short, that one could wish for; and, moreover, it is close to the church, and only a quarter of a mile from the turnpike-road, so ’tis never dull, for if you only go and sit up in an old yew arbour behind the house, you may see all the carriages that pass along. Oh! ’tis a nice place! A butcher hard by in the village, and the parsonage-house within a stone’s throw. To my fancy, a thousand times prettier than Barton Park, where they are forced to send three miles for their meat, and have not a neighbour nearer than your mother.

One interesting character, though forgotten because only mentioned in passing, is the Brandon sister. On one of the quotes above we get that she's in Avignon for her health, and we know her husband is wealthy (and probably abroad with her) because it is his estate that the planned picnic is for:

A party was formed this evening for going on the following day to see a very fine place about twelve miles from Barton, belonging to a brother-in-law of Colonel Brandon, without whose interest it could not be seen, as the proprietor, who was then abroad, had left strict orders on that head. The grounds were declared to be highly beautiful, and Sir John, who was particularly warm in their praise, might be allowed to be a tolerable judge, for he had formed parties to visit them, at least, twice every summer for the last ten years. They contained a noble piece of water; a sail on which was to form a great part of the morning’s amusement; cold provisions were to be taken, open carriages only to be employed, and every thing conducted in the usual style of a complete party of pleasure.

It is implied that Brandon and his BIL are in very good terms (and we know he's not afraid of cutting ties with bad relatives), and one can safely guess that at the very least he cares enough about his wife as to have her travel for her health. Another guess can be made about her getting married about 10 years before the events of the book. Whether she lived at home before that, or was at school or somewhere else, it isn't said.

But this way you can feel there's a parallel in a way, between the Brandons and the Tilneys: a greedy, cruel father, a son that follows on his steps, and a younger brother and sister managing the toxicity as best they can. Talking about this with @bad-at-names-and-faces, she brought up the idea that in that scheme, Cathy would be Eliza (if it wasn't her not being an orphan, or a rich heiress, and how that connects with Austen's line about Cathy not being born to be a heroine at the beginning of Northanger Abbey). Certainly part of it is the romantic gothicness of the Brandon backstory, united with NA's commentary on Gothic tropes, but to me it drove home with even greater force how such a situation would break a man; losing Cathy that way would have definitely broken Tilney, and if we had met him 14 years down the line, would he have appeared to the unacquainted much different than Brandon appeared to the Dashwood sisters?

[therealvinelle]

I love the Agatha Christie question!

Who are your HP/Twilight faves in the Christie universe? (Who’s the opportunist who knows too much and dies for it? Who’s the conman killer who courts the girl to avoid suspicion? Who’s just trying to take a holiday and gets caught-up in a murder? Who are the dynamic mystery-solving duo who realize they are in love by the end of the novel? etc.).

I mean, that is kind of what The Man Who Would Be King (and secret fic) (both cowritten with @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin) have already become. We have our murder victim, Alphard, a very rich man with a colorful family, and possibly his sister, we have our unlikely detectives in Voldemort, Lily Potter, and Alphard himself. It may not be the center of the story but it's a large part of it.

In other words my answer for Harry Potter would somehow spoil all my present and future fics so I won't.

As for the Twilight version...

I vote we do it wealthy dysfunctional family style, it's most natural.

A patriarch is poisoned

Carlisle Cullen, a very wealthy man with powerful enemies, nonetheless dear to those around him and blessed with more friends than most, is found dead in his office one morning. Cause of death? Murder.

The police, caught on the detail that Dr. Cullen was a vampire and vampires are real, what the fuck is this on the doctor's autopsy table and is he going to wake up again and drink all our blood?, are little use in the investigation. Scotland Yard is soon brought in, and using Chief Swan's connections with the family they get a better picture of Dr. Cullen's life.

His family wasn't looking to inherit him anytime soon, as he was immortal. None of them were having money troubles however, all were independently wealthy.

He had made enemies of a thousand-year-old clan of powerful vampires, who on hearing that his murder is being investigated like this get very upset. Supposedly the victim lived with them in his youth (and inspector Craddock cries when he learns the timeline for this murder goes back to the 1600s. Are they going to have to bring historians in on this murder??), he might have known something

Oh what's that? The victim had a whole network of friends across the globe, who are all killers, and he knew everyone's secrets? ... do we have the budget to investigate this?

The victim was also living next to a tribe of magical shapeshifting wolves evolved specifically to kill his kind. They liked him best and had a line in their treaty that "he dies last". Not sure what to do with this information

Rosalie Hale missing person case from 1933 solved: Carlisle Cullen adopted her. Was she recognised, did someone piece it together, and was Carlisle killed in retribution?

The victim lived a fake life of fake papers. Could be important, except it's the most normal thing about this case.

The police wonder how this man didn't get murdered sooner, and are stretched so thin the investigation is going slowly.

So, Renesmee gets to be our plucky detective du jour, as she decides to see if she can help. Surely there is no harm in her poking around, and she's well liked around the vampire world so there might be answers she can get that human police can't, partly because policemen keep getting eaten.

She slowly narrows it down to the horrible realization that it was someone in the family, and she learns terrible things.

Jasper Hale wasn't Jasper Hale at all! He was a friend of Jasper's in the newborn army who wanted a new life, and who in the wake of Jasper's suden and unexpected death assumed his identity. He had Peter bite his entire face so he'd be scarred like Jasper had been, and vouch for this blond vampire most definitely being Jasper Hale. Peter later had to die because he Knew Too Much, and so did Charlotte, regrettably. Fake Jasper did however not kill Carlisle.

Edward seems a prime suspect, he is an angry and resentful young man who acts out. Everyone thinks he did it, and that Bella should certainly marry Jacob, the safer option. Much upheaval is had, however, once Renesmee is able to clear Edward's name and he meaningfully links arms with Bella. They sail off into the sunset with their inheritance.

Rosalie is a beautiful, cold, intimidating woman, the femme fatale sort who's surely conniving. It's a bit of a mystery why she married that poor fool Emmett, but it's clear to all she doesn't love him. No clear motive from her, other than the money she would inherit, but she's just so suspicious. Her alibi is ambiguous, she claims she was with Esme and Emmett but what if Esme and Emmett are lying to protect their daughter and wife? Superintendent Battle wonders about that.

Renesmee is at a loss.

And then she realizes that it's not Rosalie who acts like she doesn't love Emmett, it's Emmett who acts like he doesn't love her! And Esme's grieving widow act is just that, it's an act!

Renesmee realizes that Emmett and Esme are lovers, and killed Carlisle together. Esme committed it while Emmett tricked Rosalie into giving her an alibi. Renesmee realizes this once she has a "But Rosalie couldn't have seen Esme from that angle!" moment.

The plan was too pin Rosalie for the murder, see her hanged, and then in due time the mourning widowers would marry, happily entitled to all the money they couldn't have touched if they'd divorced. Also Rosalie was Catholic so she wouldn't have agreed to a divorce.

The two lovers are confronted, and Esme pulls out a tiny pearl-studded gun from her shoe, says "We tried, my love. I regret nothing" before shooting first Emmett, then herself.

[mshalfemptygirl]

The Prince Agent (S.R)

Plot: Reader is called to help Spencer with a case and things get too cute.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Dr!Fem!Reader

Contents: Really quicky mention to kidnapping and lots of fuffy

A/N: guys it’s my first fic, so let me know if you guys liked it, if you need a part 2. There are some translations at the end for you to understand the fic. Just give support and love. Thank you very much. Enjoy! 

I never knew exactly where linguistics was going to take me, but this is too much. I was at the police station, dressed an updated version of what it was meant to be Mary Stuart all because I helped my teacher with an Scotch Language Class this afternoon. You know, I'm in the postdoctoral program and sometimes we need to help our teacher and that's mean look ridiculous when they ask you to do a "favor" to them. So, I'm here, next to the door, feeling lost and angry for not have time to change my outfit. They said that just need to find an Agent called Dr. Spencer Reid to translate a little girl who was saved by the team. It gonna be easy, but no.

I notice that there is a man looking at me, he’s next to bullpens with some paper in his right hand. He is tall and very handsome by the way. In fact, he's wearing a tie that makes him look really HOT but I can't think about those things at such a delicate moment like this, I need to focus. I walked towards him, looking at the floor because in addition to the long dress, I was wearing high heels and I didn't want to embarrass myself in the middle of the police station. When I stopped in front of him, he put the papers on the table and gave me a small smile.

“Excuse me, where can I find Dr. Spencer Reid?” I returned the smile, wishing it was him.

“Well, right here. I’m Dr Spencer Reid, nice to meet you. You should be Dr. Y/N L/N. Or maybe Princess Y/N L/N?” he give me a big smile. “Can you follow me?” I felt my face burn, he was making fun of me and it made me a thousand times more nervous. I start follow him to the hallway with many rooms, the walls were white and light blue, there is a clock on the wall.

“Sorry, I didn’t have time for change. And It supposed to be Mary Stuart. So it’s Queen Y/N L/N”. He nodded while he run his hand over his hair. He stopped to think about something. Even nervous, I can't take my eyes off him. “Did you know that Mary became Queen of Scots at only six days of age and Mary’s last night was spent drafting an elaborate will in which all her servants were remembered. On the day of her execution, she appeared in her customary black cloak and with a white veil over her head and she then dropped the cloak to reveal a crimson red dress?” he ask me, I can see the excited in his face. I couldn't help but smile big, he's so endearing, so cute. I think he's trying to make me more comfortable.

“Yes!!! And she also was the first woman to practice golf in Scotland. She even caused a scandal when she was seen playing the game at St Andrews within days of her husband Darnley's murder. She was a such badass, I like her” I said. Then I remember about the little girl, they must have been in a hurry to help her. “But Dr. Reid, changing the subject, can we talk about the little girl? What you want me to do?” the expression on his face changed from a happy face to a worried one.

He explained to me that she was only 6 years old, she is physically fine and she was rescued from a kidnapping a few hours ago, they couldn't find her family and they couldn't ask her questions because she only speaks Portuguese. That's why they called me. It looks like his team has been looking into this possible unsub for months. Well, now I'm more relieved to be dressed like this, she deserves a good time in the middle of this chaos, I hope she likes princesses. Doctor Reid will walk me into the room so I can be the bridge between him and Mila.

I was the first to enter the room, there were some children's things on a table in the corner of the room. In the center of the room was a shaggy green rug and a table. Mila was drawing on the table, she had her back to me, focused on drawing and there is another blonde woman in the room with her, it must be another agent. She got up and wished him good luck. I looked at him and he nodded for me to start.

"Oi Mila, me falaram que tinha uma princesa por aqui” ¹ she looked at me and took to give me a hug. She got really excited saying several things at the same time, I sat with her on the floor and she played with my hair. That's when she realized that Dr. Reid was in the room and her face was etched with fear. “Mila, ele não vai te fazer mal, ele é muito legal! Sabe, o nome dele é Spencer e ele é meu principe. Ele é meu cavaleiro que me protege de coisas ruins e ele protege princesas como você também. Então ele não vai te fazer mal. Okay?” ²

She waved at me and I gave her a smile. I called Spencer over and he sat on the other side of the table. I translated for him what I said to her and it was like that for 40 minutes. Mila was no longer afraid of him, she gave as much information as possible about the man who took her and she also talked about her family. When she was scared, she squeezed my hand really tight and I told her that everything was going to be alright. Now, she going to draw two drawings for us. “Y/N, I will pass the information for Agent Garcia so she can start the search. You helped a lot. Thank you. Can you stay with her?" I nodded to him. “Mila, diz “Bye, Spencer”, ele precisa ir agora” ³.

“NÃO! Ele tem que dar um presente para você. Ele é seu principe, não é? Vocês tem que casar e viver felizes para sempre” ⁴ At that moment my heart beat faster. Holy shit, how was I going to translate this to him?! I can feel the presure. If I was avoiding embarrassing myself, now is the time. She was looking for something in the toy box, she walked to Spencer and gave him a plastic ring. She just pointed at the ring and then at me. We looked at each other not knowing what to do. I was in PANIC. “Spencer, I think she wants us to get married. You don’t have to. Sorry, I can explain to her that...”.  

“Oh, don't worry, I can give you the ring. Give me your left hand" I held out my hand to him and when he touched me I feel a good feeling. His hand are so soft. Looking right into Mila's face who seemed very happy with our misfortune. "Right, we are married. I’m married to a queen. I have to go now but can we talk after this, my lady?" he said after kissing the ring on my hand. Damn, he obviously has a hold on me."Yes, we can, Prince Agent Reid". Then I give him a smirk and he left the room. I show Mila my hand, she was happy for the first time in days and I was thinking how lucky I would be if this fairytale were true.

1 Hi Mila, someone told me there was a princess around here.

2 Mila, he won't hurt you, he's really nice! You know, his name is Spencer and he's my prince. He is my knight who protects me from bad things and he protects princesses like you too. So he won't hurt you. OK?.

3 Mila, say “Bye Spencer”, he needs to go.

4 NO! He has to give you a gift. He's your prince, isn't he? You have to get married and live happily ever after.

[hasangaza]

As the river returns to the sea, human gifts return to it ❤️

Hello, I am Hassan from Gaza and I am 20 years old and I am the breadwinner for my family. Unfortunately, because my father is not here, I had a supermarket and I was also studying at the university fine arts and graphic design, but this difficult war came upon me and my family of 6 members, my older brother Muhammad, and he is suffering from psychological pressures. The difficulty that has increased in the war has increased, and he needs treatment, but there is none here in Gaza. His condition is worsening and becoming worse every day that passes without treatment, and my sister Hanin, who works as a nurse in Al-Aqsa Hospital and teaches French language training at the university, and my sister Afaf, who studies physical education at the university, and my brother Tariq. Who finished high school last year and who helps me at work. My mother, Israa, is 46 years old and used to help me in the supermarket.

Please stand with us and spread my story everywhere. We need your humanity. Maybe your humanity will bring us to safety and rebuild my family’s beautiful life again.

6 individuals. Each individual needs to pay, in coordination with the Egyptian company Ya Hala, approximately 7 thousand euros for our exit to Egypt. We need 42 thousand euros for my exit. I and my family will remain temporarily in Egypt until the Turkish visa is issued for me and my family, which my relatives presented to me, namely Nadia Majid Al-Naqla, the wife of the President of Scotland, and we will begin. By building our new life there, we will need housing, transportation, travel costs, and papers, approximately 18 thousand euros

❤️❤️❤️ Big love to you who helped, contributed and spread our story so we can get out of here ❤️

https://gofund.me/737e9c2e

Contact me if you would like to know more about my story

Thank you for standing with me and spreading my story to your friends and relatives

WhatsApp number +972597140017

my instagram@ hassan__nqlah

@ibtisamsa @fallahsart @artemisa1305 @gotinterest

@spooksier @90-ghost @palssierra @palstelnet @sarakipin @pink-sunflowers @broadacre @nikkileeshoopman @three-course-fillorian-feast @nitrogen @gaywrites @gamechangershow @asap-rcky @gazaaslim

https://gofund.me/737e9c2e

[hasannaqlah23]

it ❤️

We are reaching out to you with an urgent plea to help Hassan Al Naqleh and his

family

Hello, I am Hassan from Gaza and I am 20 years old and I am the breadwinner for my family. Unfortunately, because my father is not here, I had a supermarket and I was also studying at the university fine arts and graphic design, but this difficult war came upon me and my family of 6 members, my older brother Muhammad, and he is suffering from psychological pressures. The difficulty that has increased in the war has increased, and he needs treatment, but there is none here in Gaza. His condition is worsening and becoming worse every day that passes without treatment, and my sister Hanin, who works as a nurse in Al-Aqsa Hospital and teaches French language training at the university, and my sister Afaf, who studies physical education at the university, and my brother Tariq. Who finished high school last year and who helps me at work. My mother, Israa, is 46 years old and used to help me in the supermarket.

Please stand with us and spread my story everywhere. We need your humanity. Maybe your humanity will bring us to safety and rebuild my family’s beautiful life again.

6 individuals. Each individual needs to pay, in coordination with the Egyptian company Ya Hala, approximately 7 thousand euros for our exit to Egypt. We need 42 thousand euros for my exit. I and my family will remain temporarily in Egypt until the Turkish visa is issued for me and my family, which my relatives presented to me, namely Nadia Majid Al-Naqla, the wife of the President of Scotland, and we will begin. By building our new life there, we will need housing, transportation, travel costs, and papers, approximately 18 thousand euros

Thank you for standing with me and spreading my story to your friends and relatives

❤️❤️❤️ Big love to you who helped, contributed and spread our story so we can get out of here ❤️

my instagram@ hassan__nqlah

WhatsApp number +972597140017

Contact me if you would like to know more about my story

@timetravelingkitty @meaganfoster @briarhips @dirhwangdaseul @mahoushojoe

@rhubarbspring @pcktknife

@transmutationisms @sawasawako @feluka

@terroristiraqi @irhabiya @commissions4aid

-international @wellwaterhysteria

@deepspaceboytoy

@post-brahminism @khanger @kibumkim. @neechees @mangocheesecakes

@kyra45-helping-others @marnota @7bitter

@tortiefrancis @toiletpotato

@fromjannah @omegaversereloaded

@vague-humanoid @criptochecca @aristotels

@komsomolka @xinakwans @heritageposts

@nibeul @ot3

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@watermotif

@stuckinapril @mavigator @lacecap @yugiohz @socalgal

@chilewithcarnage @ghelgheli @sayruq @northgazaupdates2 @vakarians-babe @palmist-blog

[starfata]

When I went to see the Galloway Hoard exhibit in person, I copied the links from the three QR codes and sent them to my family. The general information was on the placards, but 3D models are cool on their own.

The Galloway hoard is a huge find, these items among others were deliberately buried in order to protect them- and then no one went back for them. For over a thousand years, the hoard lay undisturbed until it was discovered by a metal detectorist in 2014.

[skyler10fic]

Passed Down Like Folk Songs

Summary: Daisy bumps into Carol at a pumpkin patch and they both feel like they know each other from somewhere...

Notes: For @ficwip All Ships Ship Week, prompts "Do I know you?" and memories/dreams. Also for @isolus-girl who is having a rough week+. Love you!

----------------------------

The local pumpkin patch and apple orchard farm was full of people the weekend before Halloween. It was no surprise then when two single sapphic women bumped into each other by accident.  

“Oh, hey, you dropped this.” Daisy Johnson tapped the shoulder of a blonde in a red flannel and handed her a carabiner of keys. Daisy noted the pink, white, and orange striped cat keychain. 

“Oh! Thanks.” The woman took the keys and hooked them to the belt loop of her jeans. She met Daisy’s eyes and paused. “Do I know you?” 

Daisy almost responded no but something made her look deeper. “You seem familiar too. And you have a Kamala Kat. I have the bi one, the kittens.” 

This earned a bright smile. “Aw, that one is adorable. Yeah, Kamala is a family friend. Do you know her too?” 

“No, just through mutual friends. I swear I know you from somewhere, though.” Daisy laughed at how odd the feeling was.

“I’m Carol Danvers.” The woman extended a hand and Daisy shook it. She noted no one had stopped to wait as Carol spoke with her.

“Daisy Johnson. I was just about to meet up with some friends at the cider sampling. Would you want to come too and we can figure out how we know each other?”  

A little girl, dragging her mother, called back to Carol, “We’re going to the petting zoo!”

“Okay, I’ll see you later!” Carol called in reply. “You know what, Daisy Johnson? I’m suddenly available. Why not.” 

Daisy introduced Carol to Jemma and Fitz, her cider sampling friends who were saving a wood picnic table for them all. 

When they had their tasting glasses in front of them, Daisy explained, “When I moved here in middle school, Jemma and Fitz were the only other new kids that year, so we hung out a lot, even though we were all from different places.” 

Carol sipped on her cider, enjoying the stories. “I can guess England and Scotland, but where did you move from?”  

“The LA area, which felt just as far away at that age.” 

“Wow, I am from LA! Well, not really. Pasadena.” 

Daisy squinted as she asked, “Wait. Did you go to Margaret Carter Elementary?” 

Carol slammed down her glass in excitement that Fitz’s Scottish kin would have been proud of. “Oh my god. It’s you! You’re the girl.” 

Daisy giggled. “I can’t believe I forgot your name. I can’t believe you forgot MY name!” 

Carol simply stared at Daisy in awed surprise. “How on earth am I sitting at a table thousands of miles away with my first kiss?” 

Jemma and Fitz gasped, and Carol and Daisy realized they had been following this exchange with rapt attention. 

“Yep,” Daisy confirmed. “That’s me. After school out by the science garden. My mom was out of town for work and my dad was late to pick me up.” 

“And my parents had no idea where I was after school and didn’t care as long as I was home for dinner.” 

Daisy leaned in flirtatiously. “So the lesbian cat keychain… Our experiment worked? Still kissing girls?” 

Carol shrugged. “You were very persuasive. And you said you have the bi one?” 

Daisy held up her bag with the keys clipped to the side, showing a kitten with blue, purple, and pink yarn balls. “Girls are definitely at the top of my preferences list, but I haven’t had anyone to 'practice' with lately. Is that woman you were with, who had the little girl, your…?

Carol followed Daisy’s glance to where Maria and Monica were walking their way and finished the sentence: “Friend, housemate, sister. By choice, obviously.” 

She laughed in acknowledgment that biological sisterhood was genetically unlikely. They might be opposites on the melanin color wheel, but they were family in all the ways that mattered. 

“Maria, Monica, I want to introduce you to my friends!” Carol called them over. A waiter brought by another cider sampler for Maria and some apple juice for Monica. 

When Carol explained how she knew Daisy and their history, Monica squealed. “It’s so romantic. Are you her girlfriend?” 

Daisy smiled as Carol apologized. She jumped in, “Well, we could always try a date first.” 

Carol unlocked her phone and slid it over to Daisy with the texting app open to a blank message. “If you text me from my phone, I’ll have your number and you’ll have mine, and we can plan something.” 

Jemma grew serious. “I hope you mean it. I’ve trying to get her back out there for ages.” 

“I tried,” Daisy protested weakly. “I just wasn’t interested in anyone from the apps. Those things are terrible.” 

Carol laughed in understanding. “And here you were all this time I was swiping through photos of couples looking for a third or married women looking to experiment without their husbands knowing.” 

“Here I am,” Daisy confirmed. It felt like more than that. She hadn’t simply kissed Carol as a preteen. She may not have remembered her name, but she remembered enough to wonder about her, to dream about her sometimes, to wish her well wherever she was in the world. 

Little did Daisy know, Carol had done the same. And with the power of a perfect autumn day, they found each other again.

[ingravinoveritas]

I’m excited for the renewal of GO3 but I’m also kind of a little worried for David because he’s been performing McBeth for 6 six weeks now and rehearsals are also killer and now their set to film GO? Just thinking about this exhausts me so I can’t imagine how he would feel (and Michael also for that matter since he’s been rehearsing for his own show). Also, please please PLEASE don’t let GT and AL be in GO PLEASE

Hear, hear, and three cheers to the renewal of GO 3!

All I can say is, it's about damn time we finally got this announcement. I am ineffably thrilled as well to know that we will have our boys back together in Scotland to bring us the resolution to Aziraphale and Crowley's story.

In terms of filming, I did see the press release that said GO 3 filming would begin "soon," but I think "soon" is a relative term here. David's run in Macbeth goes until early February, and then Michael is in Nye at the National Theatre from the end of February until May 11th. So "soon" likely means a good six months from now at the earliest (i.e., mid 2024). Hopefully that means both David and Michael will have time to rest up and prepare for the start of filming GO 3, but I would imagine them both feeling a sense of excitement and anxiety at their forthcoming schedules.

What I think Michael and David likely do not feel anxiety about, however, is the prospect of getting to spend more time with each other. And we know they are already seeing each other at least somewhat regularly right now, what with Michael being in London at the moment, so it stands to reason that Michael and David are going to be frequent fixtures in each other's lives and worlds for a very good portion of the next year. Lovely.

In terms of Georgia and Anna possibly being in S3, I will echo what @thereallovebug previously excellently said, which is that it is very tiring to think that we haven't even had the GO 3 announcement for a day, and already people are calling for them to be cast in the show, and it's just...can we not even fully process/absorb this news before jumping to yelling at Neil to cast people? Or maybe just skip the "yelling at Neil to cast people" part completely? I'm just confused as to why there has to be an immediate call to have them in the show when there may not even be a place for them in it.

I also keep thinking of the discussion that took place when the news about GO 2 first came out, which was that having any family member of Michael's or David's would be distracting, and we saw what ended up happening with Peter Davison and Ty. I thought Peter did very well as Job, but Ty just seemed out of place the entire time and it was like you could "see" him acting instead of just...being, and as a result, his performance did not quite gel with the rest of the scene.

The takeaway point here is that the role of Ennon could have gone to any number of aspiring young actors, talented actors looking for a shot at the big time, but who did not get to have that opportunity due to nepotism. It only makes sense, then, that the same would hold true for GT and AL. And to me, it's disrespectful to the show, to Neil, and to Michael and David at this point to act as if GO 3 is somehow "not good enough" unless GT and AL are in it. As if the thousands of other talented actors in the UK aren't good enough simply because they're not Georgia and Anna. I've been accused on multiple occasions of only disliking Georgia and AL because of who their partners are, but the fact that so many people are only fans of theirs for the same reason is apparently not a problem.

(I will not go into detail here about the myriad of reasons why people are fans of Georgia and AL's because of who their partners are, but I suggest reading this post from @artificial-indulgence, who has perfectly enumerated my own thoughts on the subject.)

It is for the reasons that are mentioned in the post I just linked to that I feel many fans are unwilling to see the reality of things, which is that Georgia is a passable actor, but Anna is not, and any halfway decent casting director is not going to overlook that. I'm thinking back to an Ask I answered yesterday about her being edited out of the photo used for the I Talk Telly Awards and (more significantly) that no one actually seemed to notice that she was missing.

Given that, it's highly unlikely that someone whose performances are so unmemorable would be cast in the third installment of a major global TV show--at least purely based on merit. And knowing how important this third season is, how it's meant to resolve Aziraphale and Crowley's story and give us what Neil and Terry envisioned so many years ago, it would be truly unfortunate to see all of that overshadowed by other things.

But yes, today was very much a day filled with good news (and which I wholeheartedly appreciated, given that I am dealing with some difficult personal issues at the moment). More thoughts to come in a follow up post, so stay tuned...

[preciadosbass]

11/8/24 [PARAGRAPH 3 & 4!!! — draft from sunday. key & significant photo/s at end]

woke up at 10:20 and made myself breakfast. i ate it outside with boris in the sun and tried my best to be productive while being on my phone [e.g, make a fursona/oc/journal entry etc.] but failed miserably. i just scrolled on tiktok and saved a few videos i could use for outfit inspiration. i went back inside after 30+ minutes, got dressed [skinless shirt, dark cargo jorts + matching bracelets consisting of spiked cuffs and band bracelets, motorbike socks] and looked up a couple can tab bracelet tutorials. i know that i don’t have enough for the particular design i want to make, but i’m getting there. my dad’s sister, my aunt, has multiple pepsis a day and has been collecting can tabs for me.

i went back next door with my sister after giving up on the bracelet for the moment and saying goodbye to boris. when i arrived i just sat on my own while my sister went on the swings. a group of girls my age walked past and laughed at me and after a few minutes i got called over with the other kids to make a keyring. i honestly much preferred that but i think the staff thought i was a part of the actual camp anyways so i don’t think i had much choice either way. i picked out a star shaped template and a blue floral sticker to go on it. i stuck it on, but couldn’t cut around the star completely — so i put it in my bag for another time at home where i can use one of those tiny knives to carve all the imperfections out.

once id done i went back over to the bouncy castle. this time round, only 8 people were allowed on it at a time and this younger girl was being really bratty about it, as in acting like she owned the place, which was odd, because yesterday it was fine and nothing bad happened. but kids are just like that. she kept on going around to people and launching herself onto them, she also decided to boot me over and over again on my bruised shin which was fun 😭. i tried telling her we don’t even know eachother and ive just been sitting there but she didn’t care. she kicked me and almost everyone else off using her sister that was my age so i got off and just sat beside it while people watching.

the same member of staff from the keyrings sat next to me and just exclaimed ‘panic! at the disco?’ — reffering to my panic! band bracelet. i nodded and she started speaking about liking that type of music too. more when she was younger, but she’s still into it, she said. she took out her phone and started asking me if i’ve been to see any live bands. i told her about me seeing the mcr + fall out boy tributes, pierce the veil, cavalera conspiracy, and my upcoming concerts. [slipknot, falling in reverse, possibly the tributes again but idk was its the day before fir]. she started speaking about how she has family in scotland and therefor goes to festivals there a lot and then casually says she’s seen fall out boy 4+ TIMES??? i literally could’ve curled up and died right there and then after hearing that come out of her mouth.

she also spoke to me about seeing slipknot 20 years ago, and then she showed me one of her friends instagram pages. then she came out with that that friend, has another friend, who is the sibling of someone from PIERCE THE VEIL?? WHAT THE FUCK. i was so taken aback but she unfortunately couldn’t remember what their name was because they were told years ago now — and she couldn’t find pictures of them together despite trying as the friend is a concert photographer and it’s importable to sort through the thousands of photos.

i out of interest asked if she’d seen linkin park and she said she did at milton keynes in 2008?? with jayZ?? RAAA. i got told that everyone was leaving in 30 minutes so i stayed speaking to her until people started loading themselves onto their coach and i set off for home. it was really cool speaking to that woman and its a shame i’ll probably never see her again or get to know any more info. although it was awesome meeting someone like me that was quite a lot older. when i got home i fussed boris on the driveway and had a 20 minute nap before leaving for my other aunts house [6pm]. i said goodbye to boris, and on the way to the car, my dad showed me this injured butterfly. it was a shame because it looked so young. i held it and then placed it onto a bush before leaving. [photo at end]

since the concert, i’ve been listening to the setlist on repeat. so i obviously did even more on the way to my aunts, although the drive is really short. once i got there i stayed in the living room for a bit and greeted the family of mine that was there. there was only my grandad, his fiancé, my aunt + uncle, and one of my cousins girlfriends there. that cousin in question is on holiday, the other moved out, and the other also moved out. i didn’t really know what to speak about and my parents sparked a conversation between the others anyway so i went to see what my sister was up to. she was playing fnaf security breach so i watched her.

i had my phone out ready to record her getting jumpscared and i caught a video of her doing exactly that over moondrop. i’m surprised that i’ve never watched anyone play security breach before even though i was really excited when it came out. i don’t usually watch my sister play stuff unless it’s the last of us/the evil within/silent hill at 8:30 i stopped watching jay and went for a walk with my mum, dad, aunt, + grandads fiancé. [+ archie and my aunts dog, charlie.] we couldn’t be too long because charlie has bad diabetes and can’t do much now. we came across one of my aunts friends on our way, she accidentally called me he and didn’t correct herself which made me feel SO euphoric considering i’m not out.

she spoke about lifeguarding or something and once done, we went round to this field i used to always play in as a kid. i went in the park to spark some nostalgia and my dad pushed me on a swing for the first time since i was like 7. we walked for about 40 minutes. once i got back to my aunts i went on pinterest to look at some diys. i saved a photo example of how to make a can tab bracelet, a cardboard minecraft sword, a cardboard coffin shelf, a little fairy/elf house thing made up of pebbles, a cardboard direction sign, a bottlecap tortoise, and a number of other things i dont know how to explain. after i couldnt seem to find anything else, i watched my sister play fnaf a bit more. we had to leave so i stopped and got ready for home at 12.

i don’t really remember what i did when i got home, but it would’ve been the same as always. maybe a small nap, then obviously questions about boris, then i say goodnight to boris. i went to sleep at 3.

🗝️ — boris/my cat, archie/my family’s dog

have a good day/night O_o

[ankles-be-bitten]

i can't get over how royally the ineffable husbands managed to fuck things up but it literally couldn't have gone any other way.

so many spoilers for good omens 2 ahead <3

i know it's been done to death but i've got so many thoughts about their dynamic. like what the hell. but at the same time, i personally believe this was the only way it could've gone. obviously, if the metatron hadn't been involved, it would've gone much smoother, but our boys can't control him. he may as well be the weather.

crowley is an optimist. you can see that clearly in how he's certain how aziraphale will respond to his confession. he's sure he'll get his thoughts out, all will be well, they'll go out for an extremely alcoholic brunch at the ritz. he knows aziraphale loves him, he's barely even worried about it until the time actually comes.

which is why it's so utterly heartbreaking that aziraphale interrupted him, but as frustrating as it is, it's SO in character. it's especially evident in season 2 that it's almost always crowley listening to aziraphale, humoring him and his interests. hell, he even says it himself in the coffee shop: aziraphale frequently calls on him just to tell him about good things he's done or accomplishments he's proud of. and that's great! it's wonderful that crowley cares about aziraphale's interests and accomplishments, as much as he might feign indifference or even disapproval (as with the magic tricks). but the inverse is literally unheard of. to be fair, crowley and aziraphale are very different people with different emotional needs, but crowley acknowledges in Every Day as he's preparing to confess that he's not much of a talker, he needs to say what needs to be said right now, or it's never gonna happen. he has a need and that need is not being met, which in isolation feels INSANE for aziraphale. he's so aware of the wants and needs of those around him, highly empathetic, and receptive to others' emotions--but i noticed a bit of a pattern.

consider his behavior in scotland with elspeth and dalrymple. he readily condemns elspeth to hell, ignores the absurdity of his statements about poverty and purity, and if i remember correctly he harbored much of the same sentiment towards mr. dalrymple, that is, until he realized why they were doing what they were doing. it wasn't until the boy with the tumor was humanized to him that he realized exactly why the cadavers were needed, which created the pathway needed for him to empathize with elspeth. he's kind and generous towards maggie because he's known her all her life, she's a real person to him. aziraphale doesn't naturally empathize with people he doesn't really connect with, which i'm guessing is a byproduct of his time in heaven. the only real outlier i can name is job and his family, which can pretty easily be chalked up to aziraphale having a deep respect for the man and his devotion to the god he, too devoutly served.

so then why isn't he as receptive towards crowley's needs? they've known each other for thousands if not millions if not billions of years, a far cry longer than aziraphale knew maggie or elspeth--not to mention the fact that he never knew the boy with the tumor at all. they've seen everything together; aziraphale has undoubtedly seen crowley at his very lowest, so why does it seem like he doesn't care at all about what crowley has to say in Every Day?

my guess is that it boils down to crowley being closed off emotionally, hidden behind his veil of sarcasm and dry humor. aziraphale saw elspeth, wee morag, maggie, job, and even technically the boy with the tumor at their most vulnerable. he saw them at their most human.

but he just doesn't see crowley that way. in his mind, crowley is an entirely separate entity. he doesn't cry to aziraphale about having to live in his car or his plants having brown spots. he's often incredibly indirect, sometimes painfully so, to the point where aziraphale frequently doesn't get the point until it's much too late, like with elspeth and wee morag. aziraphale is a creature of habit, and he just isn't used to what crowley has to say being urgent or time sensitive, it all unravels itself eventually, why should this be different? yes, crowley did say outright that it needed to happen now, but aziraphale had just been given what he saw as the opportunity of eternity for both of them. no more would it be "too late," they would have all the time in the world--more, even. whatever crowley had to say in that moment couldn't possibly be more important than eternity together.

and so he did what he's always done. he went straight to crowley to tell him about the Good Thing that's happened, this time for both of them, and the offer really hit a nerve, perfectly illustrating the way crowley was not being fulfilled in the relationship with a finality that honestly just made him snap. why on earth would he want to become an angel again? he'd never expressed an interest in that, often being vocal about the opposite, albeit in his vague manner; yet another example of aziraphale learning his lesson all too late. aziraphale didn't hear or really see crowley at all, and maybe he never had. maybe he didn't know he needed to.

that kiss was crowley's last ditch attempt to get aziraphale to see him, really see him, as a person with emotional wants and needs. one fabulous kiss and we're good, right?

maybe not. but i think so. much like the story behind the tumor in dalrymple's office was the catalyst aziraphale needed to see elspeth, i think the kiss was the catalyst aziraphale needed to see crowley. that level of emotional vulnerability we had only seen from crowley when he thought aziraphale was gone forever in s1, and aziraphale didn't even realize that was about him.

but he knows now, and i think he'll do better going forward. he is capable of learning from his mistakes, i think we've more than proven that by now, and it's almost always crowley that enables that change. you can see in his eyes after the kiss how incredibly conflicted he is, and i'll be damned if a good portion of that isn't kicking himself for not really being there for crowley, even if he doesn't consciously realize that's what the issue is at that point. there is almost definitely guilt in those eyes; michael sheen knows what he's doing. for once in his life crowley was clear and direct about what he meant and what he wanted and aziraphale was so absorbed in what he wanted, not just in that moment but throughout their entire friendship, that he maybe genuinely had no clue about that facet of crowley's character.

i really don't know what's going on with him in the elevator at the end and i'm not too keen on speculating about that at this time, but whatever it is i'm sure it'll reveal itself in due time. to be honest i don't know that it's anything to do with crowley at all, and therefore may not even be relevant to this post, which is already very long and rambly.

i would absolutely love to discuss this further and to hear insight from others. i'm new to tumblr so i don't expect much visibility, but if you get this far and have thoughts about this do please share!

[scotianostra]

The 9th January 2000 saw the death of the historical novelist Nigel Tranter.

Tranter was the most prolific Scottish writer of all time, writing mainly factual and fictional books related to Scottish history, if you haven't read any of his work I recommend you do, the attention to detail takes nothing away from enjoyable stories. In my opinion the only other Scottish writer to come close to the volume and quality of work in this field is Sir Walter Scott.

His grandfathers were church ministers, but a great-grandfather invented the Tranter pistol. He was descended also from James Watt, inventor of the steam engine. He himself wanted to become a restoring architect, but the early death of his father forced him to stop studying. Instead he trained as an accountant and worked in the Scottish National Insurance Company. He served in the Royal Artillery during World War II.

Tranter went to George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh, which may have inspired his love of castles. His earliest writing on these was at the age of 13. As a boy he spent hours cycling to castles and mansions, and drawing them in meticulous detail, before going on to write about them in his first published book, The Fortalices and Early Mansions of Southern Scotland, 1400-1650, at the age of 22. This was followed by the five volumes of The Fortified House in Scotland. In later life he loved to take visitors out to castles and assisted many castle restoration projects in Scotland such as Fa’side.

He married May Jean Campbell Grieve in Athelstaneford Church in July 1933 and they had two children. He and May worked together on The Queen’s Scotland series, giving a short history of parishes in four Scottish regions until her death in 1979, when the project stopped.

Their son Philip was a climber, who sadly died in a car crash in 1966 on his way home from an expedition in the Dolomites. Tranter wrote No Tigers in the Hindu Kush from Philip’s notes.

Tranter saw himself primarily as a storyteller rather than a historian, and his first novel, Trespass, was published in 1937. Although criticised by some academic historians for writing fiction, he developed a huge new audience, who loved his tales of Scottish historical events and people. He wrote his fiction with increasing knowledge of Scottish history, introducing the subject to millions of people worldwide. From 1947 he decided he could earn a living by writing, and produced several novels for children, as well as adults. The Bruce Trilogy sold over 1 million copies and he had fan clubs in many countries. He also wrote Westerns, using the pen name Nye Tredgold.

Nigel Tranter received many honours and awards during his life, and was also actively involved in several organisations, including the St Andrews Society of East Lothian, Scottish PEN, Athelstaneford Flag Fund and the Saltire Society. He believed Scots should ‘be responsible for our own decisions’, and as chairman of the East Lothian Liberal Association for 15 years, he was part of the Scottish Convention, a cross-party pressure group set up to push for devolution. ‘We Scots are different, not better, but long live the difference’.

He continued to write into his 90s, starting each day with a walk across the wooden bridge at Aberlady Bay which he called ‘The Footbridge to Enchantment’. He was a familiar sight walking on the coast, stopping to jot down neat notes for his books on cards or even shells picked up from the beach. Some of these can be seen in the Tranter Museum, which is currently in Athelstaneford Parish Church. His last novel was Envoy Extraordinary. On his death thousands mourned and many friends and residents in the county remember him with great fondness.

Tranter and his family are buried in Aberlady Churchyard. There is a memorial cairn to him at the carpark near the footbridge which leads over to the nature reserve at Aberlady. The Scottish Castles Association have an annual Nigel Tranter Memorial Award in his memory.

There is a lot more on Nigel Tranter at the following link [http://cunninghamh.tripod.com/2001/index.htm](http://cunninghamh.tripod.com/2001/index.htm)

[weirdestbooks]

Alba agus A Mac (Wattpad | Ao3)

Scotland and Orcadians, requested by NewJerseySHlol

Alba enjoyed spending time with Arcach, his eldest son, who had been a constant for much of Alba’s life. Arcach had been with him for a long time, and while their father-son bond remained strong, sometimes it felt as if they weren’t just that but also dear friends.

Even if he was also Nirribhidh’s son, but Nirribhidh hadn’t been involved in Arcach’s life in a long time.

It was also nice to have someone to speak Scots with. Much of the time, people would mock Alba for it, calling it a crude form of English, and that only made him cling harder to the language. Arcach preferred it to English, even though he still spoke Norn frequently at home, as it was his first language, and he always had an easier time expressing himself with it.

“I don’t know how you deal with all this modern stuff. I hate it,” Arcach said as they watched the cars go by. Alba laughed.

“At this rate, you’ll be an older man than I if you keep complaining the way you do,” Alba joked. Arcach rolled his eyes. 

“You know what I mean, Athair,” Arcach began, “This is the era of globalization, and that’s really good for you, but us little guys, the ones who are people and not governments, this weakens us. I like some of it, I really do, but…it’s hard not to feel nostalgic when the simple fact of the matter is that this could all be helping lead to my death. Scottish Highland Travellers and I have talked about that a lot.”

Alba couldn’t help but wince. If Arach and Ceàrdannan were talking, that couldn’t mean anything good.

“I’m not going to try to destroy your culture,” Alba said, “I don’t want you to die.”

“I’ve already lost Norn, and sometimes it feels as if I am losing Scots. I know you aren’t trying to kill me, but I fear I might die all the same,” Arcach said before shaking his head and standing up. “But I am over a thousand years old, in the end. I think I have lived a good life.”

Alba frowned, standing up and following his son down the side of the road.

“I’m sorry if I have done anything to make you think—”

“You haven’t. I have just had a lot of time to think recently. And…” Arcach trailed off, shrugging. Alba pulled an arm over his son’s shoulder, tail curling around his leg.

“Tha gaol agam ort,” he muttered. Arcach leaned into his side before sighing.

“I know. And I know I’m not going anywhere. I just can’t help but worry,” he said. “I think that’s why some of my people want me to have my own government or something.”

“I can’t make that happen. I…I only recently stopped being governmentless. And…you know how Britain is,” Alba began, prompting a laugh from Arcach.

“Yeah, the man who sends me daily letters asking me to move into his home so we look more like a unified family, like I’m related to him. No offense, Father,” Arcach said with an apologetic smile.

“None taken. I disowned him the minute he started beating his kids,” Alba deadpanned as the two came to a stop.

“Then why are you so insistent on trying to change him?” Arcach asked. Alba sighed.

“I want to show him…I want to give him a chance to be better and grow. He’s not leaving anytime soon, so he deserves to grow as a person, like we both have over the years,” he answered. 

“You have too much faith in people.”

“And you’re too distrusting. It’s why we balance each other out so well,” Alba said, releasing his son, who laughed.

“Maybe you’re right about that,” he said, “But I still think it is a bit futile to try and save Britain.”

“Well, we’ll have to see. In the meantime, I’ll stop him from sending letters to you.” Alba offered. Arcach nodded.

“That sounds great.”

[richmond-rex]

We know that Henry VII spent a lot of money on jewelry, (a few thousand pounds at a time?), and that Elizabeth was also fond of jewelry. Is there any example of him gifting Elizabeth some jewels? Or some example of Elizabeth spending huge sums of money to buy jewelry?

Hi! It's true that Henry VII spent a lot of money on jewellery and plate, apparently even more than his predecessor, Edward IV. When he bought vast sums of jewellery, though, those items were intended for more than just himself. For one, they were also intended for his family — we know that the plate Henry VII purchased, branded with the king and queen's H&E monogram, also supplied the queen's household. But Henry's expenses were most of all institutional purchases. Those jewels the king acquired were also given to selected courtiers and even foreign ambassadors and rulers.

For example, Henry VII once gifted the queen's half-brother, Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset, a ruby ring. In 1500 Henry VII paid £14,000 ‘for diverse & many Juells brought oute of Fraunce agenst the marage of my lorde prince [Arthur]’. We know that Catherine of Aragon and her ladies received part of those jewels during the festivities, as did other Spanish officials. Likewise, on the occasion of his daughter Margaret's marriage to the King of Scotland, ‘sertain juells, plate, and other stuff’ were bought for Margaret, her entourage and James IV at a cost of £16,000. Not only were the jewels and plate Henry VII bought meant to be gifted to multiple people and displayed in multiple palaces but they were also used as prizes and rewards at tournaments.

Those costly purchases are not very detailed, though smaller purchases usually were. We don't know for example how much a single ring cost Henry in those big purchases of 1500 and 1502 for the occasion of his children's marriages, but we know that in 1505 he paid Bartholomew Rede £8 for gold ‘made in Ryng[es] for the Just[es] at Riche[mount]’ (£5,327 in today's money). We also know for example that Henry VII spent £66 (£44,209 in today's money) buying gold for his wife in 1495, and on another occasion, in 1497, he deployed £31 (£20,764) ‘for juels’ for Elizabeth of York's use. These are rarer instances though, because usually what was written down was costly but undetailed purchases that he ordered in regular batches.

In contrast with the king's bigger purchases, Elizabeth of York's were intended for a more selected audience such as herself and her sons. Still, Nicola Tallis has noted that Elizabeth's sums spent on jewels in 1502-1503, at a total of £166 (£110,548 in today's money), were 'still lightly higher than those of Margaret of Anjou', and more than the evidence that we have for her mother's surviving expenses with jewels. Elizabeth of York employed several goldsmiths, including a gentleman named Lybart, a certain Henry Wurley, John Vandelf and Alexander Hove. Tallis noted that 'the employment of numerous goldsmiths by [Elizabeth of York] indicates that they played an integral role in their lives, thereby confirming that queens employed the services of goldsmiths on a regular basis. In a further sign of great favour, on one occasion Elizabeth of York made a gift of a buck to two of her goldsmiths, John Vandelf and Lybart'.

There are no gifts of jewels bought by Elizabeth to her husband in the entries from her only surviving financial accounts (1502-1503), but we know she bought gold to embroider the king's garter mantle in that same year, and we know that in 1497 Elizabeth of York garnished her husband's helmet with jewels, probably intending him to display them during his campaign in Scotland. Since her expenses from that year did not survive, we only know that Elizabeth garnished his helmet because Henry VII felt grateful enough to compensate her partially for her expenses. It is a true pity that her accounts from other years have not survived.

[hasangaza]

As the river returns to the sea, human gifts return to it ❤️

We are reaching out to you with an urgent plea to help Hassan Al Naqleh and his family

Hello, I am Hassan from Gaza and I am 20 years old and I am the breadwinner for my family. Unfortunately, because my father is not here, I had a supermarket and I was also studying at the university fine arts and graphic design, but this difficult war came upon me and my family of 6 members, my older brother Muhammad, and he is suffering from psychological pressures. The difficulty that has increased in the war has increased, and he needs treatment, but there is none here in Gaza. His condition is worsening and becoming worse every day that passes without treatment, and my sister Hanin, who works as a nurse in Al-Aqsa Hospital and teaches French language training at the university, and my sister Afaf, who studies physical education at the university, and my brother Tariq. Who finished high school last year and who helps me at work. My mother, Israa, is 46 years old and used to help me in the supermarket.

Please stand with us and spread my story everywhere. We need your humanity. Maybe your humanity will bring us to safety and rebuild my family’s beautiful life again.

6 individuals. Each individual needs to pay, in coordination with the Egyptian company Ya Hala, approximately 7 thousand euros for our exit to Egypt. We need 42 thousand euros for my exit. I and my family will remain temporarily in Egypt until the Turkish visa is issued for me and my family, which my relatives presented to me, namely Nadia Majid Al-Naqla, the wife of the President of Scotland, and we will begin. By building our new life there, we will need housing, transportation, travel costs, and papers, approximately 18 thousand euros

Thank you for standing with me and spreading my story to your friends and relatives

❤️❤️❤️ Big love to you who helped, contributed and spread our story so we can get out of here…..

Link in bio

https://gofund.me/83678545

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I hope you care about my campaign. I trust you. Don't make me despair after you have given me hope.

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