#quinn knows which shots to use and has a greater developed artistic vision while karl has more hands on experience and pragmatism with film

[demoreelrewound]

Quinn (Mulryan)

Un-f*cking-defeated.

Canon traits: surly, steadfast, to-the-point, casual to the idea of violence, protective, keeps to himself, evasive on personal details beyond jokes and little anecdotes, nominally the cinematographer, perhaps the make-up tech, an affinity for guns

Canon backstory: a former soldier of the IRA with a very large family, he had to leave to escape authorities. One of his siblings woke up dressed as Punky Brewster after a wild night. He and Karl broke into Planet Hollywood after another bender in the States.

My ideas:

His parents - Gráinne (graw-nyuh) and Fionn (fin) used to own a corner shop near the border which supplied black market goods to Northern Catholics during WW2. They moved further down when becoming more involved in the IRA. Not outright soldiers, but trained as such, they were intelligence gatherers and resource managers, meaning many people came and left the house when Quinn was younger. "If anyone asks, they're your uncles and aunties." the children were told.

Well, I say Quinn... but that wasn't his name back then, neither was his surname Mulryan. Someone's idea of a good US disguise was to up the Irish to a degree that no one would believe a defector would be that foolish. His birth name is much tamer: Seán Ó Díomasaigh, anglicised to John Dempsey.

Has three siblings - elder siblings Ruaidhrí (ryoo-uh-ryee with a rolled r) and Aoife (ee-fa), and younger brother Dáithí (da-hee). They were thick as thieves, always watching out for each other and (minus Ruaidhrí as there's a three year gap between him and Aoife) sticking up for each other in school.

As mentioned in the past-present picrew, he and his siblings went around local pubs collecting donations for the cause - "The Boys" as they said. While scrappy and boisterous sometimes, the patrons and soldiers adored them for their cute faces and naïve optimism - they'd be described as the reason to fight.

Unfortunately, this didn't stop the family from being exposed to bursts of violence, having to learn how to best hide, fight, and play dead fairly young. It became a game that continued even as things eased off, a competition between siblings to see who could stay still the longest or who could tell the best lie under the threat of a sharp stick in the eye. It became a dark joke among them, something to shake heads about over a pint alongside the other silly childish things they did.

As long as he could remember, Seán could see the beauty in the everyday, figure out the most interesting and emotive ways of expressing something visually. This showed whenever he was the one filming family get-togethers or trips, earning him the moniker of "our little Spielberg/George Lucas/ [whatever director that came to mind]" - they encouraged him, even as it was his turn for paramilitary training, to keep at it and make a career for himself when victory came.

Once he'd become a reserve he was given leave to enroll in a part-time college film course in a nearby city, the nearest one he could find but still away from home. He learned everything he could about cinematography and what different shots meant, quickly deciding that was where his passions truly lay, but wasn't able to do much actual handling of cameras to his chagrin. As covert as he tried to be, his loyalties betrayed themselves in his coursework and led to his dangerously neutral mentor basically saying "You're better than just a propaganda filmmaker, step out of your comfort zone, make something truly creative." He graduated with a final piece under this idea, but didn't have a chance to show his family before things got bad again.

By the time he came back, his mother and father were sick, Aoife their carer and supplier, with Ruaídhrí trained as intelligence and Dáithí as an on-the-ground fighter with fire in his eyes. The little brother had become hardened, partly by Seán's own doing, and had a devastating plan that would endanger many civilians and himself but eliminate a key figure in the British side. As you may guess, this was a step he couldn't let happen - the opportunity to express himself creatively had made a crack in his desensitised shell, not much by outside standards, but enough to have him interfere to save his brother and dozens of civilians. He aimed at the target himself from on high, succeeding in killing... a bodyguard.

The fallout was life-shattering - family and cause betrayed, a target of enemy assassins, a promising career ruined before it could start. Seán ran and incapacitated anyone sent his way, first to Europe, then to the States on the same journey as a particular former East German informant.