#Man And Van Edinburgh

[thedreadvampy]

My housemate is moving out in January

She told us this a week or two ago, when she sat down and, after sitting with us watching TV for over an hour, said "hey so I bought a house and I'm moving out. We agreed on 2 months notice so I won't move until the end of January."

The last time she talked in the immediate terms about buying a house was in 2021, when the sale she was working on fell though and she was unemployed so it was a "when I'm back in a position to look I'll start looking again." Since then I've occasionally asked her how she's doing on the house buying front and she's been like "oh I'm getting there financially" but hasn't mentioned anything concrete.

She didn't tell us she was looking at places. She didn't tell us she had put in an offer. She told us when the offer was finalised. A week AFTER she emailed the letting agent about getting out of her part of the lease. And, it increasingly feels like, only because the letting agent's response was that we had to agree to change the lease.

The letting agent's response (which our housemate obviously didn't copy us into; we had to follow up separately and they copied us into the email chain) also includes that when we change the lease, they're empowered to change the rent, quote, "no cap". Rent was already going up in January - there's no possibility of Sam and I paying her share of the rent.

The really fucking upsetting thing is we're not strangers. This isn't a casual "housemate we found on flatshare" thing. She and Sam have lived together literally their entire adult lives. Me and her have known each other well over a decade. I lived in her and Sam's flat when I was homeless. We were the first people she came out to as trans. We're not super close but I thought we were fucking friends. And she's literally gone out of her way to not talk to us about this for what must have been months while the sale completed - which means she's lied to my face at least once cause I've asked her about her finances in that time (cause she's in a job she hates that she only took to get the house money, so it's like. when we've been commiserating about work stuff I'm often asking 'are you almost free?'). she literally went out of her way to talk to the letting agents before talking to us about putting us in a situation where we could lose our fucking home.

And she keeps. trying. to pretend nothing's happened. Every time I've seen her since then she's not mentioned anything or apologised or anything, she just keeps chatting away and offering hugs and fistbumps like nothing's happened. Like we're still fucking friends.

All it would take for us to still be friends and to be happy for her would have been one fucking sentence in the groupchat like "hey, just put an offer in on a house" or "I'm looking at properties, just so you know, that might happen in the next few months". Like nobody begrudges her for buying a house! It's very cool for her! She's 31 she's worked really hard to get the money I would love to be happy for her! Unfortunately she decided avoiding conflict is more important than giving the people she fucking LIVES WITH (who btw fronted her a month on the rent here while she was unemployed and agreed to take on a larger proportion of the move-in cost back in 2021, if we're still holding ourselves to shit we said 2.5 years ago), so no, you are not entitled to our friendship or to going back to normal.

like if she'd been honest with us it would have been something to process but we'd have had time to figure out our next steps. instead she's left us in a position where we have to find a new roommate before she gives her one month notice, which means finding someone by the end of December, which oh look that's the middle of the fucking Christmas holidays. and she didn't tell us anything until the START of December, or copy us into her conversation with the letting agent, meaning we still don't know what the rent on that space will be so we aren't yet in a position to advertise it. Has she offered to help find a roommate? Has she fuck. Has she offered to help out by moving her move-out date? Nah, she's moving as soon as she gets the keys because, quote, "that means her finances won't have to change". SOUNDS LOVELY. NOT HAVING YOUR FINANCES SUDDENLY CHANGE. I THINK THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY REASONABLE FUCKING GOAL.

Thirteen fucking years she's lived with Sam. Four fucking weeks over Christmas she's left us to figure out a way to not turbofuck our living situation. And she's got the fucking nerve to try and pretend we should be interacting like nothing's changed. Jesus Christ. What a fucking unhinged way to treat...anybody, honestly. never mind the friends-your-entire-adult-life part. literally cannot imagine a scenario in which I would buy a house without telling the people I lived with.

(haha actually this is what my parents divorced over so apparently it's not unusual. although at least my dad had the decency to tell the woman he shared finances with at the point he put in an offer not the point the fucking sale went through.)

Like we'll be fine. It's a huge city centre flat with decent rent and queer housemates, hopefully even when the rent goes up it'll be an easy sell in a city with a huge housing shortage and big queer community. We've got a couple of people interested already, sight unseen - worst case scenario we have to live with someone we don't get on with. And it's given Sam and me a push to look at our own finances and as of today, we've got a mortgage decision in principle and can start looking at flats in the area - mind, we'll be transparent upfront and tell any prospective housemates that yeah, we're looking to buy and move out in the next 6-12 months, and we'll tell them if we put an offer in, because we're decent fucking people who aren't going to spring that on someone out of the blue.

But it's been I think 2 weeks and I'm so fucking angry I could spit. It's such a fucking betrayal. And frankly you know selfishly like. I just had a breakup a couple of months ago, I'm in the middle of moving jobs, both me and Sam have a history of housing instability and this has been the first decent, stable, safe, not-mouldy not-freezing home I think any of us have had, and this is so fucking triggering and upscuttling I could just start biting. like I was talking to my friend about it last week and it's just like. Can I have One Fucking Thing of the three main tentpoles of survival - home, work, relationships - that are fucking stable right now? because shit has been In Flux lately. and at least the work and relationship stuff has changed because of my decisions. going through all that work to make myself short-term unstable to gain long-term stability has been really hard and draining and then just as I was reaching the crisis point with work stuff BOOM, IT'S HOUSING INSTABILITY WITH A STEEL CHAIR. fuck. seriously fuck this and fuck her. we're going to make something good come of it but what a deeply, unbelievably shitty thing to do.

#red said #the other thing that bugs me about it is. ok and again this is old shit dredged back to 2021 when we moved in together #but i had my housemate. and Sam had her. and each of us were really close pairs who'd lived together a long time #and we tried looking for flats as a four but a) a flat with 4 good sized bedrooms in Edinburgh is hens teeth #and b) my housemate was pretty happy to live with me and Sam but increasingly felt like a 4 man flat was going to be a lot for him #and so in the end we talked about it. and through a combination of that and same housemate being in a pretty #unfavorable position housing wise. cause she was unemployed and had shit credit at that moment. #we agreed she'd move with us and Joe went and found a one bed #and in the end that's been really great for him tbh he's a lot happier and more confident and we were pretty sick of each other by then #and so we get on much better now #but at the time it was a real heartache i felt like I'd let Joe down i felt like our friendship was over #and honestly I have never been a huge fan of living with our current housemate. even before we lived here #like when i was staying with her and Sam too. she's incredibly messy and takes up a lot of space in conversations #I've always liked her as a person but she's exhausting and often unpleasant to share space with #and there's a bit of me that's like. we bent over backwards to accommodate you when you were precarious. #like it would have been WAY easier for us to look for a 2-bed during 2021. and if it was a 3-bed I'd have rather stayed with Joe. #but we moved with her for her sake. and she left Sam to clean up their old place (and there were Literal Rats) #and she got really pissy about driving the moving van even though a) that was her idea and b) she's the only person with a license #and c) i walked all MY shit over by hand anyway and the only reason she hired the van was to move her tv #me and Sam found all the core furniture. me and Sam sorted out all the viewings. me and Sam did all the planning. Sam set up all the bills. #we spotted her for rent!we took a bigger share of the costs! because we fucking cared about her and wanted her to have a fucking home! #and she can't even do us the courtesy you'd offer a fucking lodger you found on fucking gumtree

[citylinkmovers]

Moving can be a daunting task, whether it’s relocating your home or office. The process involves packing, transporting, and unpacking your belongings, which can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and physically demanding. That’s where a Man with a Van service Edinburgh comes to the rescue. This invaluable service has been the go-to solution for countless individuals and businesses in the bustling Scottish capital, making relocations more manageable and stress-free. Removal Companies and their significance, benefits, and what to look for in a reliable provider.

#Man with a Van Service in Edinburgh

[unitedbydevils]

Match review: Manchester United 1-0 Olympique Lyonnais

Second attempt at writing this, after doing the horrible habit of control + Z to undo a typo and LOSING MY ENTIRE BLOG. Sake.

It was the return of Donny Van De Beek in Edinburgh for our friendly against Lyon, and we might have to rename him Donny Van De Back... maybe not.

The Dutchman played his first minutes for United since January 3rd and put in a Player of the Match performance in the 2nd half, scoring an early goal off a beautiful Dan Gore assist at the back line. His creative play and midfield maestro work was very much a return to the old Donny, which will do his chances at United - or to be sold/loaned elsewhere - absolutely no harm.

First half: Like with the Leeds game, United fielded their strongest 11 to start this latest friendly, and like the Leeds game United dominated the show - somehow not scoring 2,3,4 goals from chances falling to Antony and Amad especially.

Second half: A full change of XI and United quickly got onto the scoresheet. The game was still in their control, despite the wholesale changes, and in fairness Lyon made some changes after 5-10 minutes into the second half.

All in all it was a good warmup ahead of the US tour, but while he might not say it, I think Erik Ten Hag will be a little disappointed that the scoreline wasn't greater given the opportunities handed.

Player of the Match: Donny Van De Beek - A very nice goal and a strong creative midfield maestro performance.

Special mention: Matej Kovar - The Czech league winner is likely on loan to Sparta Prague again this season, but he has REALLY shown up in the past two games. If he has another good season, we may have our successor to Andre Onana already lined up. He has commanded his area, been confident with his feet, a good range of distribution, and tidy shot stopping. Again, it is pre-season, but everything asked of him has been done.

#manchester united #man u #man united #man utd #manchester reds #olympique lyonnais #edinburgh #friendly #preseason #warmup #matej kovar #donny van de beek #amad #antony #erik ten hag

[eirinstiva]

About emotions and science: A Study in Scarlet

Happy birthday Sherlock Holmes!!! and the best way to celebrate it is reading A Study in Scarlet from my dear friend John H. Watson, M. D.

One of the reasons I love this story is the introduction to Watson, his experience as a soldier and the loneliness that embraces him:

The campaign brought honours and promotion to many, but for me it had nothing but misfortune and disaster.

Poor Watson. The campaign left him physical an emotional scars

I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free as air—or as free as an income of eleven shillings and sixpence a day will permit a man to be. 

Oh no. He's traumatised, alone and with no money.

I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when some one tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford, who had been a dresser under me at Bart's. The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man. 

First we had Watson talking about his loneliness and the consequences of his wound, then Stamford appears as a light and then Holmes like fireworks. Too many emotions for a start and I love that.

Now the scientific part! Guaicum test One of the first presumptive tests for blood developed. It relied on guaiacum (a resin isolated from trees) in combination with hydrogen peroxide. If a stain turned blue when treated with these reagents, it was considered a positive result indicative of blood. According to this source "The historical record credits Izaac van Deen (1804-1869), a Dutch chemist and physician (...), with having discovered the test in 1861. It was only two decades later, in 1881, that the future Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery. The test was less than three decades old when Doyle wrote the story."

[ID photo: Guaiacum officinale flowers. Four light violet flowers with five petals]

Acid stains on skin There are many factors related to the final colour of a acid stain. It depends on the type of acid, concentration, your own colour skin, temperature and so on. Skin contact with nitric acid leads to specific yellow-to- brown-stained wounds by binding with complex proteins (xanthoproteic reaction) and forming a yellow substance called xanthoproteic acid. Trichloroacetic acid (the one used in chemical peeling) leaves lightcoloured scames. I met someone who had a brown stain in her hand after burning accidentaly with hot sulfuric acid. Sometimes if you have sensitive skin, diluted acids can leave pinkish stains like in my case. That's why you should handle with care acids. Many of them are colourless so it's easy to mistake them for water, and that's why in lab you should label every single container with the contents, even water!

#letters from watson #sherlock holmes #a study in scarlet #john h watson #acd canon #STUD #science #chemistry #letters in the underground

[tonyspank]

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Warnings: Just some pure fluff, let me know if i’m wrong!

series masterlist | main masterlist

Wanda found herself alone in the middle of Scotland. After siding with Steve Rogers during the Avengers Civil War, or the big cat fight over signing the accords— she had been imprisoned on the raft.

That was until the super-soldier rescued Wanda and the rest of his team from the Raft, advising them to flee New York as soon as possible.

As a result, here Wanda was. Specifically in Edinburgh, Scotland. She didn't mind the small city, and it was comforting, quiet... everything she needed at the time.

The only downside was it got lonely at times, at much as she'd hate admitting it, Wanda missed the compound. She missed having to explain simple things to Vision, Natasha mentoring her, and surprisingly she missed Tony's sarcastic remarks.

She also missed watching The Dyke Van Dyke show, not being able to grab her CD pack before rushing to a new country, is exactly how she ended up walking down the sidewalk of Edinburgh, in search of a shop that sold CDs of course.

It was another quiet night. Edinburgh was rarely busy, especially during the middle of the week. Everyone was already in their homes at this time of night.

A soft sigh left the red head's lips once her eyes set on a shop that read in big glowing letters, CD CELLAR. Quickly jogging towards the door, she swiftly opened it, the bell on the door alerting the clerk that there was a new customer.

Wanda sent a small wave to the clerk who smiled back in response, moving towards the show's isle, searching for the sitcom.

The bell had rung again, but the witch ignored it. Her full attention towards her search, "Hey, Nico! You still have my order, right?" A voice spoke breaking the silence in the shop.

"Of course," Nico replied, Wanda didn't need to look over to tell how happy the clerk was to see this specific customer, he displayed it all in his voice.

Wanda mentally cursed at herself once she noticed she wasn't getting anyplace with her search, so quickly turning on her heels she walked towards the clerk, who was already helping you.

"Your total is $15.89." You take out your wallet, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill. Just as you're about to hand it to the older man a voice interrupts you.

"Excuse me," Wanda shyly says causing you to turn your head. "Um, I don't really know how to say this but— I was wondering if I could take that off your hands. I'll give you double as much as you paid for it."

Your eyes move from her convincing emerald eyes to the box of CDs containing The Dyke Van Dyke show.

If you hadn't waited more than four weeks you'd given them to the woman without hesitation, but you had waited four weeks to watch the rom-com. Nonetheless, you however felt a sort of urge to just say yes.

For all one knows it was because of how captivating she was, her auburn hair in a messy bun while loose strains fell on her face, you wanted to do nothing more but tuck it behind her ear.

Wanting to see those beautiful green eyes again or the spotted freckles that only covered the mid of her face, you couldn't get yourself started on her pink plump lips, a type of lips you could kiss for hours.

You quickly shook yourself from such insane thought. You hadn't let yourself get too close to someone in who knows how long, why should that change for someone you had just laid eyes on? "I actually waited quite a while for this, sorry." You pointed out, slightly frowning.

The determined glint in her eyes disappeared, "Yeah, yeah. It's totally fine," She said shaking her head with a wave of her hand. You didn't know if she was trying to convince you or herself.

"Have a nice night." She told the both of you before walking out of the store. You muttered out a, "You too," once the doors shut, turning your head back to Nico who was looking at you with a smirk.

“What's that smirk for huh?"

"Nothing..." Nico said. Finally giving the currency to Nico, you kept an eye on him as you gathered your things. "It's just," The man began, earning an eye roll from you.

"Over the years I've known you. This is the first time I've seen you talk to a woman your age." You had been living in Edinburgh for twenty years, and Nico had set up shop seven years ago.

You were his first customer and you've been 'friends' ever since. You've lived in Edinburgh for twenty years but lived on Earth for thousands of years, not wanting to make friends or get a girlfriend because you knew you'd outlive them, it was an eerie feeling.

"It's not like that. We barely even had a conversation." You sigh out, gathering your things. "Goodnight, Nico! Keep the change." You briskly exited the shop, hating to admit that you were looking for the same redhead that was just in the store with you.

Once your eyes landed on her you quickly jogged up beside her, "Hi,"

Wanda slightly jumped in surprise at your voice, as she didn't hear your footsteps behind her due to the fact she was deep in her thoughts. "Hey?" She responded, sounding more like a question than an answer, stopping in her tracks to turn to you.

Your mind was racing with thoughts. A part of you wants to just give her the CDs, and the other part wants to invite her to watch the show with you, that way you'd both enjoy the comfort of the rom-com.

You were conflicted, and Wanda didn't need to go inside your mind to know what you were thinking, "As I said earlier, it's okay. I'll try catching a rerun on cable or something." Wanda muttered the last part, but still loud enough for you to hear.

"Um," You cleared your throat before speaking again."What if we just watched it together? I mean it'll be great for the both of us? This way no one has to feel-"

"I'd love to." Wanda cut you off with a large smile. "Great!" You said a little too happy, which made Wanda's smile widen, "I mean cool... cool." You tried to play it off causing the two of you to laugh.

You and Wanda stood there for a few moments, taking in the breeze of the cool night and each other's comforting presence. "My uh," You pointed behind you, "My place is that way."

Wanda nodded as you both turned around in sync towards the direction of your home. A silence fell over the two of you before you broke it, "Y/N." You said, a confused look filling Wanda's face causing you to let out an embarrassed laugh, "My name is Y/N."

"Wanda." She smiled, "My name is Wanda." The red-head repeated teasingly, you rolled your eyes before laughing with her.

"So, when did you get into Dick Van Dyke?" You asked, Wanda sent you a glance before answering. "My father was a DVD salesman and one day he brought the show home, it soon became a recurring favorite for me. You?"

You sent a gentle smile, admiring how her skin looks as the moonlight shined down on her. She was absolutely gorgeous, every time you looked at her you forgot about all your worries. And that feeling when everything washed away was so peaceful, so euphoric.

You fell back into the conversation just as easily as it was started.

There was something special about Wanda.

#marvel #reader insert #wanda maximoff x gender neutral reader #wanda masterlist #wanda maximoff x you #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x you #wanda fanfic #wanda mcu #mcu x reader #mcu fic

[bermudianabroad]

So after talking with @amreekiyakasuula about accents, I figured I do a little summin summin about Bermudian accents and phrases. Also because Cup Match is coming up (click for cultural context: tldl version it’s a cricket match between east and west ends of the island in celebration of Emancipation. Four day weekend, people camp*1, you can gamble*2 and much swizzle*3 is drunk). It’s been yuuurs (years) since I went and I guess I’ve just been bit by the nostalgia bug (go St Georges btw; I’m a east end girl, true blue on blue). And one more video for a range of different voices. It is 8 mins long and about local cricket so don’t feel you have to watch any of it the whole thing lol. 

 Anyway. Here we go.

First of all you can’t get by without ya acebye/acegirl. Nothing to do with sexuality, your acebye/acegirl is your main man (genderneutral), your best gal pal, platonically speaking. The person that will alway have your back. Term of affection, also scathing and derogatory when speaking of a stranger whose behaviour you do not condone: for instance,‘What you doing, acegirl?’ you might say to someone driving erratically, you voice dripping with condescension. ‘Acebye is getting on my last drop of nerve,’ you’ll say when the electrician fails to turn up when he said he would for the fifth time in a row. Not to be confused with ‘bye’ which is a kind of Bermudian filler for ‘man’, ‘dude’ etc. ‘Those guys over there,’ would become ‘Them byes over there.’ (or ‘dem’ and ‘dur’, since “th” becomes d or f but let’s not go into that right now.)

Onliest. More than only, profoundly only. ‘I was the onliest one at acebye’s comedy show.’ For a completely random example, not at all based in reality. (A lie: this happened to me at the Edinburgh Fringe one time. It was awkward. Being the onliest one there, I couldn’t leave lol).

Well, (but said drawn out like vooow). Gooder than good. Usually in the context of delicious food. ‘Bye, she tastes well,’ you say, monching down on your fish sandwich. Delicious food, like a ship, is always female.

Mug. So shit it’s beneath your contempt. Not worth the time or effort to even explain why it’s shit. Also anything that’s a hassle or a minor inconvenience.

The Other Day. A period of time that could span 24 hours or 70 years. ‘Oh I went to the supermarket the other day (day before yesterday)’; ‘Oh, I was in New York the other day (27 years ago)’.

To mice. To daydream, to lack situational awareness. Micing or Myscing. Take your pick of the spelling.

Full hot (and fullish); to be inebriated (and foolish). See also half hot, for when you still retain some semblance of sober propriety. See also three sheets to de wind.

[A brief note on letters when speaking:  sometimes ‘e’ becomes ‘a’; ‘w’ is swapped out for ‘v’; ‘th’ can be ‘d’ or ‘f’ (Vans-dee for Wednesday; Furs-dee for Thursday; ‘de’ instead of ‘the’). ]

Vexed. Not best pleased. Grumpy as fuck. (thickest accents would say it like ‘waxt’ lol.)

Fack. For when you’re in polite company and can’t say fuck. Also chingas/cheekumburgers for when children are present.

Ax. the process of inquiring to ascertain an answer. As in, you axt me about Bermudianisms and I answered. :) 

*1. camping = put a tent up by the side of the road and drive back home to shower and use the toilet, get in a little sneaky AC use when it gets too hot.

*2. gambling is illegal, but during cup match you can play Crown and Anchor which is a dice game based solely on luck. No skill required which is great considering everyone is full hot on...

*3. a truly leathal rum based fruit punch. It goes down easy, and bye she tastes well. I’ve linked you lot a recipe here. Not responsible for any decisions you make make whilst three sheets.

#bermuda #bermudianisms #cup match #linguistic whatnot #can you tell i had fun with this

[scotianostra]

On February 26th 1672  the Border woollen industry was  established when  Philip van der Straten of Bruges set up the first mill dressing and refining wool at Kelso

Van den Straten came over to Scotland to set up the business, but first had to wait for the correct paperwork to be completed, by the powers that be, when it did it read;

‘Anent a petition presented by Philippus van der Straten… intending to reseid in this country and imploy a considerable stock of money in dressing and refining of wooll, in order to which he hath already sett up a work and imployed diverse workmen who are now refining and dressing of Scottes wooll at Kelso… being born in Bruges in Flanders.’                         Register of the Privy Council.

This certainly wasn’t the first time a Flemish man came over to ply his trade here, the first influx was said to have happened in the 11th century,.The Flemings were so expert in making woollen cloth, that it was said of them that their skill in the art of weaving was a peculiar gift conferred by nature. Large numbers of weavers came over from Flanders.

In the reign of Alexander III. considerable quantities of wool were exported to the Continent in exchange for linen, silks, and broadcloth; but there is no mention in the records of those times, so far as I can see, but a lot of our mediaeval records were lost when Edward I plundered the country and took everything that  defined our nationality south in an attempt to turn us into his fiefdom.

 About the year 1600 seven Flemings were brought to Edinburgh to instruct the people how to make "seys" and broadcloth at home, so as to be independent of a supply from England. There were many difficulties in the way, however, and no record remains to show that anything came of the scheme. When "the Hospital of our Lady," which had been founded in Leith Wynd, Edinburgh, by Bishop Spens of Aberdeen in 1479, passed into the hands of the Town Council in 1619, it was converted into a work-house, and named Paul's Work.

The woollen industry really took off in 1771 with the introduction of stocking frames by a canny merchant, Bailie John Hardie. The Pringle brand began life in 1815, with Barrie, Innes Henderson, Lyle & Scott, Peter Scott and many others following.

Over time, stockings evolved into ‘combination’ garments, and eventually knitted underwear made the leap into outerwear, in the form of pullovers, cardigans and the classic British style icon, the ‘twinset’, invented by Pringle’s.

The woollen industry saw a downturn in the late 20th century due to overseas competition, but is thriving once again, with renewed emphasis on design, superb quality, cutting-edge technology and exquisite hand finishing.

Hawick has a long association with the world’s most famous designers, from Dior, Bernat Klein and Chanel to Vivienne Westwood and Clements Ribiero.

Today, couturiers and designers from Italy, France, London’s Savile Row and Highland estates are still regular visitors to Hawick’s mills. And the Hawick-couture partnership is a secret no more!

#Scotland #scottish #woollen mills #woollen industry #scottish borders #Flemish #history

[philomelia]

last post before i disappear to edinburgh for a week BUT if i was gonna make a cassie’s narrative-centric multimuse, the characters i’d include are under the cut:

cora rike, a tv psychic who was taken off the air after one too many mistakes in missing persons cases. she settled down with a man she only half - loved and spent ten years as a housewife and a mother before she decded she couldn’t take it anymore. she takes her family all around the world, acting as a home renovator who also doubles as a supernatural expert, clearing away the bad vibes of the house as she redecorates it.

andrew rike, cassie’s father. he is a sad, bumbling man who used to be the atypical man of the house before his life was uprooted. he is desperate to please his wife, though he feels a distance between them and his daughters. 

athena rike, the eldest of the rike siblings. burnout, stoner, lesbian. athena leaves after a messy, blown out argument with her mother and only returns home at christmas. she’s cassie’s favourite sister, mostly by virtue of never being there. she was once the owner of cassie’s van and is responsible for most of the decoration. athena can communicate with ghosts and channel them in her own body; she treats this as an accessory rather than a burden.

cleo rike, second oldest sister and complete neurotic mess. cassie’s least favourite sister. cleo is the most violent of the sisters and the more likely to cause trouble for trouble’s sake. she can see the future, but refuses to tell anyone anything because she thinks that’s messing with the natural order. she is very straight - laced in all regards except she will throw a fucking PUNCH if the situation requires it. cleo is seen to be their mother’s favourite, which is not true. athena is her mother’s favourite. cleo is tolerated. 

clotho rike, dead before the narrative even really begins. clotho is bright and kind in every sense, though she is often twitchy. clotho often sleep walks and has rather muddy visions. she can read tarot, but she doesn’t have the showmanship that cassie has with them. she makes quick friends with people, though she worries about never having long term connections. at 15, she leads a group of people into the new house her mother is taking care of and watches them slowly getting killed, dying at the end of the story. 

barnaby isaacs, the priest that becomes obsessed with cassie after her possession. he thinks he cure her and expands all of his energy on it, taking his time to research world - eater’s extensive past and its motivations. he becomes so devoted in his story that he undergoes a false possession. while he believes himself to be possessed and begins to dine on flesh because of it, cassie decides to believe she isn’t possessed. he indulges where cassie abstains.

world - eater, HER DEMON LETS GIVE IT UP FOR HER DEMON PARASITE BABY LOVER BEST FRIEND.

an assortment of all the strange and wonderful supernatural creatures that cassie has encountered. i’ve been wanting to rp a huli jing for so long... this will be my opportunity.

[maybeamiles]

Saw the last voyage of the demeter today. HOLY SHIT IT WAS FUN. 10/10 good first horror movie.

I am pleased to report that I was not too scared by it. The jumpscares were, well, jumpscares, but between knowing the monster in advance and not actually being scared of vampires, blood, or gollum-esque monsters, I was able to enjoy the movie and not be constantly looking over my shoulder when I got out of the theater.

(Of course, it helps that I live in the middle of a fucking desert and saw the 12 O'clock show. If I'd been in, say, Edinburgh and seen the evening show, I would probably be far more spooked.)

Anyways I have more thoughts but they are SPOILERS SO BE WARNED. THEY ARE UNDER A CUT FOR A REASON.

But if you want a TL;DR without the spoilers: Changes were made to the version we saw in Dracula, they were good and necessary changes, and Dr. Clements is going on my list of favorite characters who deserve a happy ending.

Alright, so yalls have seen the movie now? Okay let's go.

First of all, 10/10 for including a multicultural/multiracial cast. More period shows should do that.

Second of all, I love Dr. Clements. He is such a good protagonist for this story. He would fit in so well with the main dracula crew, and I now want to write a fanfiction where he meets Van Helsing in a bar somewhere and joins the Vampire-Hunting squad. Or bumps into the crew at the Abbey. That would be good, too.

It was fascinating to see Clements, a man of pure science, deal with the threat of the supernatural, and it was nice to see him go "this shouldn't be possible, but here we are, so I'm going to figure out why, and how to stop it." Then the more superstitious crew tried to blame anything other than what was in front of them. Him and Anna are a tiny microcosm of the whole Vampire-hunting crew, minus Van Helsing's expertise.

All of the new characters were good additions. Even the dog. I liked the little detail where, as things got more dangerous and the crew got whittled down, Anna put on mens clothes and integrated into the crew. And the stuff with the kid? GOD, THAT WAS HEARTBREAKING.

They did make some changes to the story of the crew. They didn't try to put blame on the first mate, they made the captain lose it a little bit over the death and vampirification of his grandson, they didn't have the captain tie himself to the wheel, and they didn't have anyone commit suicide in order to escape Dracula.

I think that these changes, while not the most accurate version of the original Demeter's story, worked very well. In the novel, the Demeter's story is dark foreshadowing, another glimpse at the terror that will be inflicted upon the main characters. They never learn the nature of the monster. That wouldn't work for a modern audience that would immediately think "vampire" the moment blood loss was mentioned. As such, we needed a sense of resolution that we wouldn't have gotten if they had just been "yep everyone died. We never see what killed them. Wow, that sucks."

There were even some changes to the vampire lore in dracula. Vampires are no longer repelled by crucifixes, and they burn in direct sunlight (which they don't do in Dracula). That makes Dracula a much more physical threat (and maybe means they actually had a chance of killing him).

The horror we got was very much a "bad things are happening, but we don't have the skills to fully stop them" kind of horror. The decision to have some of the crew members turn was amazing. It made things so much tenser when I realized there were two vampires they had to deal with, and then the scene where the kid turns and the captain kinda looses it? OUCH. And then Anna. Poor Anna. She had it so rough. I think she died in the water from cold or injuries or something, but her death was a very narratively satisfying end to her story.

And finally, the ending. GOD THAT ENDING. Logically, I know there's no way that Dr. Clements would survive if he actually found Dracula. He doesn't have the tools or knowledge to defeat him. But I still think it would be very cool to have a Dracula AU where he teams up with the main cast for whatever reason. I think this guy deserves a proper victory after everything. I had no clue how they would make an "everybody dies" story end in a satisfying way, but BOY did they pull it off. I want Clements to survive all future encounters with Dracula even if I know he shouldn't.

#last voyage of the demeter #movie review #dracula #horror movies #tw suicide mention #last voyage of the demeter spoilers

[aknightonthetown]

The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson : Part 3 - Early Writing

While the previous part was Part 1 of Religion, I believe it will be better to examine Stevenson’s later relationship with Religion as we approach the end of this series. With that in mind, let’s look at the early stages of his career and his life during this time as well.

In 1873 Stevenson began to ingratiate himself into the London literary scene, becoming acquainted with many writers of the time. His acquaintanceship with Leslie Stephen (editor of The Cornhill Magazine) would introduce him to a man who would become a very important friend to Stevenson. Taken into the Edinburgh Infirmary to visit a patient, Stevenson was introduced to William Ernest Henley, a very energetic poet with one leg (having had it amputated at the age of 12 for Tuberculosis).

Henley would be described by Stevenson’s stepson as “... a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch; jovial, astoundingly clever, and with a laugh that rolled like music; he had an unimaginable fire and vitality; he swept one off one's feet.”  Henley would go on to both have a longstanding friendship with Stevenson (their friendship lasting until 1888, when an issue of plagiarism between Stevenson’s wife and Henley’s cousin caused them to break off) and the partial inspiration for one of the most famous pirates in all Fiction, Long John Silver. In a letter Stevenson wrote to Henley after the publishing of Treasure Island, Stevenson writes “I will now make a confession: It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begot Long John Silver ... the idea of the maimed man, ruling and dreaded by the sound, was entirely taken from you."

However, later in the year Stevenson’s health became worse, his recurring illnesses and general weakness having reached a breaking point. To recover, he was sent to Menton on the French Riviera in November 1873. When his health had recovered, he returned to continue his work in April 1874. However, this visit would inspire in Stevenson a fascination with the country, frequently returning to France for inspiration for his art and to broaden his mind more generally.

One of his trips to France would be taken with Sir Walter Simpson, a friend he made at the Speculative Society. This trip in 1876 would be much longer than his other trips so far, being a massive Canoeing voyage through France and Belgium. This trip would be chronicled in Stevenson’s first Travelogue, “An Inland Voyage”

An Inland Voyage details this trip, with Stevenson referred throughout as “Arethusa” after the name of his canoe and Simpson being referred to similarly as “Cigarette” after his canoe. The trip began in Belgium, but passed through many industrial areas and Canal locks, which dampened the holiday aspect of it all. And then once they reached France and the much more rural part of the trip, it became apparent that outdoor travel for leisure’s sake was so unusual for the time that they struggled to get rooms on several nights as they were assumed to be travelling salesmen. However, at other parts the sheer novelty of the 2 Scotsmen travelling through France by canoe would cause villagers to follow along the riverbank after them, shouting “Come Back Again!”.

During this trip, Stevenson would travel to Grez-sur-Loing and would there meet a woman who would change his life. A woman named Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne.

#jekyll and hyde weekly #The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson #Apologies for this not being Part 2 of Religion but like #Since talking about his later relationship with Religion also relates to his death #Feel it is more fitting for nearer the end

[paperbunny]

S2, E2: The Clue feat. A Companion To Owls, Pt. 1

Not a meta, just a tribute.

Episode 1 Part 1

Episode 1 Part 2

(Fashion) Bildad née Crowley looks amazing. No notes.

(General Omens) This seems like it is shot to look like an old movie. Very Ben Hur, or 10 Commandments vibes. The wigs and costuming and framing is all very Vibey.

(General Omens) Can't help but notice that they are standing in front of a Great Divide. Also Bildad has 10 stripes on his robes. AVAUNT.

(Domestic Moments) There's a familiarity here. They last saw eachother during The Flood. There's already some kind of trust, or common ground. Neither is freaked out by the appearance of the other, and there's a dialogue without animosity. This is not The Way Of Things. They aren't Friends yet, but they are friendly.

(Aziraphale the Company Man) Clearly he's here to do his job. He didn't expect Crowley so I suppose he could have already had plenty of experience with intimidating other demons, as per the guidebook that we see Furfur has. Even so, he already shows that he can step in and out of The Show. Where was I? Avaunt.

(VFX) I love the effect for Angel!Aziraphale. It's beautifully done. And if you see how minimal of a set they were working with here, it's even more impressive.

(Aziraphale the Company Man) Definitely didn't expect that Satan and God were having tete a tetes. I love that he took the permit to get checked out.

('Allo 'Allo 'Allo) Muriel at her desk job. She's probably so excited to be useful.

(Fashion) Muriel doesn't have a pointed collar. She only has a round gold collar. Aziraphale has five pleats on his shoulder. Michael and Gabriel have wide and intricate collars. Not pointed exactly. Maybe we are seeing something like fractals? The higher up you get the more complex your collar gets? Maybe not, Micheal's collar is more loopy. Az seems to have 11 points on his collar.

(Aziraphale the Company Man) He is nervous to disagree, and yet he does. He clarifies what they mean and tries to (gently) tell them they are possibly wrong. He's still not up for getting in trouble, exactly, but he's not comfortable just letting things happen and following orders.

(Jim!Gabriel) K is the 11th letter. Jim, you know what alphabetical is but not what an author is?

(Aziraphale the Comfy) Our favorite hobbitty little introvert has someone in his space. It's so disconcerting. Do you let Jim!Gabe continue the madness and reshelve books in an insane and illogical way? Yes, yes you do because it is keeping him busy. But also you hate it and it is Wrong. I love cranky Aziraphale. He's soft, not weak.

(Aziraphale Insights) He knows immediately that there's something weird about Jim!Gabe singing. Angels don't seem to have any connection to music (another Az divergence) and it's not something there is any general reason to know. It's Unique Information of Undetermined Origin.

(Van Life Crowley) I wonder how far from London Soho this street is supposed to be? In real life it's in Edinburgh, which would be quite a commute. He's asleep in the Bentley and it looks even more uncomfortable than his usual positions.

(Crowley the Dork) Shax tells him that he's in trouble. His response is to go all Movie-narrator. I really didn't understand what a big dork he is the first few times though this.

(Crowley with a Purpose) Shax isn't sure that he knows he is being threatened. He's already been approached by Beeze, as a sort of good cop, so now Shax is playing bad cop. Do they know they have both approached Crowley at this point? Oh and the plants DO SHAKE. Poor Crowley has a tell. He's scared. The plants can sense it.

End Part 1

[10:24]

#good omens #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #good omens 2 #crowley #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2 #aziracrow #ineffable idiots #ineffable dumbasses #meta #meta tumblr #good omens meta #speculation #train of thought

[quordleona03]

Aliens in Glasgow

So I'm standing, in front of a seated assembly in Glasgow's SECC, behind a whole lot of recording equipment - I can't really see them, but I know that the crowd includes Nicola Sturgeon and our first visitor from the galactic federation. Another planet. An alien. She looks like a woman.

"Hello," I say, and there is a difficulty with the sound equipment not transmitting. The technician sets to work. The event manager gives me a pep talk. They're both men. I am to speak for five minutes without worrying about it; it's being recorded, they will cut, etc, as necessary. They are so sure I shouldn't panic that I begin to panic. I'm in front of a crowd and I dont't know what I'm going to say.

Suddenly, I realise this is a dream. And I can do lucid dreaming. Lucidly, I decide what I'm going to say.

Ladies and Gentlemen and Others, I was very honoured but quite surprised to be asked to speak to you today. You see, this is Glasgow…. and I'm from Edinburgh.

We're friendly rivals from a way back. Well, fairly friendly.

For example, when Glasgow became Europe's capital of culture for a year, the city council here paid for posters to be put up - Glasgow the Capital of Culture - around Edinburgh. During our international Festival.

I was also surprised because I thought, on an occasion like this, with our distinguished guest from another planet in the audience, you'd want someone really important, someone who really is involved in the government of Scotland - someone who kept us going through the darkest time of the coronvirus pandemic - Janey Godley.

But they asked me. So I want to talk a bit about what Glasgow means to us here in Scotland, as we welcome our friends from near and far.

When the outside world depicts Glasgow, often they go to the long-standing rivalry of certain football clubs. And they depict mobs of Glaswegian men in George Square getting drunk and doing roaring damage to a bit of the city's fabric and a lot of the city's reputation. But I want to celebrate another mob.

A few years ago, the UK Immigration police came, with their little van, to take two men, not born in Glasgow, refugees, or as they say here refuweegies, out of their home and to a prison, because an authority elsewhere had decided - without consulting the men or their legal representation - that they weren't "really" refugees, and they should be locked up unless they could prove they were. Immigration is reserved to the UK government, so these UK immigration police had the law and the constitutional settlement of the United Kingdom on their side.

A Glaswegian on a push bike spotted the van, and the two men being hustled into it, and he knew what it meant. So he and his bike got under the van. And he got on his mobile phone, this Glaswegian, and he called his friends, and his friends called friends, and the van couldn't move off because there was someone under it who wouldn't move - and then they found themselves surrounded, walled in, by a crowd of Glaswegians.

A very peaceful mob, this one. They just stood. Being Glaswegians, they shouted chants and they sang, but nobody stirred, nobody approached the van, nobody threw anything - everyone knew that if there was any violence, the army of mounted police just around the corner would have their excuse to move in, disperse the mob, and - once the man UNDER the van had had to move, he had no food or water with him - they could take the two refugees away. And for twelve mortal hours, that peaceful Glaswegian mob stood around the van, protecting those two refugees inside, and the police waited round the corner, waiting for an order from the Justice Secretary of Scotland to move. The then-Justice Secretary of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, was in negotiations with the junior Immigration Minister in London by video call, so we hear: Yousaf wouldn't give the order to send Scottish police against the peaceful crowd.

Well, eventually, the driver and the immigration police in the van had to give in. They had no food or water either. So the two refugees were let out of the van, and their lawyer met them and escorted them to the local mosque where they could have a well-deserved cup of tea - neither man was Muslim, but the mosque would have given them tea anyway - and go safe home. And the man with the bike got out from under the van at last, to find that everyone watching wanted to buy him a pint, and that's why I, from Edinburgh, love Glasgow. People make Glasgow.

Welcome to Glasgow, our friends from so very far away.

#aliens visit Glasgow #refuweegies #lucid dreaming #people make glasgow

[thecrimecrypt]

Crimes That Shocked Britain (Edinburgh)

Child Killer Robert Black On 8 July 1988, Caroline Hogg, 5, was playing at the fairground on Portobello Promenade. Only, after riding the carousel, the little girl disappeared. Playmates had spotted her walking away with a 'scruffy' man who had paid the 15p for her carousel turn. Ten days later, her naked body was found in a Leicestershire ditch.

Susan Maxwell, 11, had been killed in similar circumstances a year earlier. Police linked the cases and in 1990, they got a breakthrough.

Delivery driver, Robert Black was caught with a 6-year-old in his van in a Scottish borders village. Detectives then spent four years piecing together his past movements.

It turned out that the day Caroline vanished, Black had been delivering posters nearby. In 1994, Black was jailed for life for the abduction and murder of Caroline, Susan, and Sarah Harper, 10, in 1986.

In 2011, he was convicted of the 1981 sexual assault and murder of nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy. Police suspected that he'd actually murdered many more, but they will never know for sure. Black died at the age of 68 behind bars in January 2016.

Burke and Hare Irishmen William Burke and William Hare met in 1827 when Burke moved into Hare's Edinburgh boarding house. On 25 November 1827, an elderly lodger died owing Hare £4. Burke and Hare stole his body and sold it to anatomist Dr Robert Knox st the Royal College of Surgeons.

In early 1828, another lodger was dying of a fever. The men smothered him, selling his corpse to Dr Knox for £10. Burke and Hare murdered 16 people over the following year, selling their corpses.

The body of their final victim, Mrs. Docherty, was discovered before Burke and Hare sold it. In court, Hare blamed Burke, in return for his freedom. Burke was hanged in January 1829. Hare fled Scotland and Knox was cleared.

Murder of Suzanne Pilley On 4 May 2010, Suzanne Pilley, 38, vanished while making her way to work in Thistle Street, Edinburgh.

A murder inquiry was launched police suspected Suzanne's ex-lover and colleague David Gilroy, Suzanne had recently ended their affair. Officers believed jealous Gilroy lured her into the office's underground car park as she arrived for work, then dumped her body in the countryside.

In June 2010, Gilroy was charged with murder, later convicted, and jailed for life. In 2012, his appeal against the sentencing was rejected. Despite searches, including an area near Loch Long, Suzanne's body has never been found.

Donald Forbes In 1958, Donald 'Ginger' Forbes was sentenced to death for murder. He'd bludgeoned nightwatchman Alan Fisher, 66, to death while robbing a fishing factory.

Only, public letters of support for Forbes poured in, and his sentence was reduced to life. He was released in May 1970. Weeks later, he stabbed ex-soldier Charles Gilroy, 27, to death during a pub brawl.

With the death penalty now outlawed, Forbes was convicted of murder, sentenced to life again. He was released in 1998, only to be jailed for 12 years in 2003 for running a cocaine and cannabis factory. Forbes, 73, died in 2008, handcuffed to a hospital bed.

World's End Murders In October 1977, Helen Scott and Christine Eadie, both 17, were raped and killed after a night at Edinburgh's World's End pub. For decades, the case went cold - until a forensic review found a DNA profile, matching Angus Sinclair.

Sinclair had been serving life since 1982 for raping and indecently assaulting 11 girls. He'd received another life sentence in 2001, after DNA matched him to the 1978 murder of Mary Gallacher.

In 2007, he stood trial accused of murdering Helen and Christine, with his late brother-in-law Gordon Hamilton, who'd died in 1996. The case collapsed, Sinclair was acquitted. However, in November 2014, Sinclair was re-tried, finally convicted, and jailed for life.

#murder #truecrime #tc community #tcc family #serialkillers #true crime junkie #edinburgh #Robert Black #Burke and Hare #Suzanne Pilley #David Gilroy #Donald Forbes #World's End Murders #Crimes that shook britain #Victims

[thecursedhellblazer]

Punk & Road Thugs

( @thedemonconstantine )

The growing light of dawn stretched lazily across the vast grass field, the rays of the rising sun spreading through the cheerfully green grass and getting caught among the beaches of the rare trees. They rode the gentle waves that the hills painted all over the landscape, washing away the shadows of the fading night and spreading brighter splashes of colour in their place.

John dropped the side of his head against the window of the passenger’s seat, blue eyes distractedly following the scenery that rushed just out side of it. No matter how in love he had fallen with London and her gloomier sights, the tall buildings reaching for the clouded sky and the fog that so very often intertwined its cold fingers with the city’s alleys, he couldn’t help the tinge of awe that gripped at his still half asleep thoughts.

There was something liberating in finding himself floating in the middle of such open spaces. They made it much easier for him to breathe. Or, at least, they gifted him with the welcome delusion that the air could move more freely in his lungs.

Rolling his eyes at his own thoughts, John grumbled a half unintelligible curse under his breath and moved his attention at the man who was currently occupying the driver’s seat.

“...Ey, Chas. E’er been to bloody Scotland before?” He asked in the most casual tone, moving to stretch his slightly stiff limbs and turning to shoot a glance over his shoulders.

Gaz, Les and Beano were fast asleep in the back of the van. Lucky bastards. He had dozed off for half an hour at most during the whole trip. Unfortunately, someone had to keep company to their designated driver.

Chas had been driving them all night long, to get to Edinburgh at a decent hour of the morning. The concert they had managed to snatch wasn’t until nightfall, but they would have still needed to find a place to stay for the next few days and John was sort of looking forward to do some sight-seeing.

Not that he had openly told it to his bandmates.

“Ne’er been outta England. Blimey, I’ve ne’er been far from fuckin’ Liverpool till I left for London.”

He and Cheryl had moved around a bit when they were kids, mostly during the period their father had spent in jail, but that had been it.

“Dis is like a bloody vacation for me. Shitty sleep arrangement n’ same oul company aside.”

He snorted and flashed his companion a cheeky grin. Things had been a bit tense between them after that night in the back of the van, on Chas’s side at least. Then the days had turned into weeks, Chas had agreed to become a permanent fixture in their little group and the air between them had relaxed once again.

Still, that didn’t mean that John didn’t enjoy poking fun at the poor young cabbie from time to time.

“Yeh know woh would be brill? If we ditched th’ other tossers when we get there n’ go somewhere. Jus’ yeh n’ me. I gots a few ideas tha’ could be fun to try ∿”

#* Blokes like me? We cheat. * ::ic:: #* I walk my path alone * ::threads:: #* Punk and Road Thugs * ::thread:: #sv. Invertigo #thedemonconstantine #(( I hope this works! )) #(( sorry for taking an age and a half to get this done >.< ))

[alitwebster]

They say home is a place you can choose to be, and I've decided to carry home inside me.

Full name: Ali Tavish Webster

Faceclaim: Manny Jacinto

Date of Birth/Place/Age : June 21st, 1987/Edinburgh/35

Gender identification: Cis male

Preferred pronouns: He/him/his

Neighborhood: Sutherland Park

Occupation: unemployed when arriving in EH

Positive traits: Calm, open-minded and non judgemental.

Negative traits: He doesn't know what to do with his life, and doesn't know how to work through his anger. He can be quite fussy

Relationship status : Happily in love with Andrew Blythe

In East Haven since: Arrived in March 2023

Biography

(to be updated, I wrote it with the inspiration I had today.)

TW : mentions of abandonment, adoption, homophobia, conversion therapy, near death.

This is the story of a boy who made his dreams come true, and became a man along the way. 

Ali Webster was born on a hot first summer day, when the sun had just decided to begin his night routine. You, readers, will probably never know his mother’s name, as she left the hospital without ever looking back. In fact, Ali’s story starts in January 1988, when he was finally adopted by the Webster family, who named and baptized him. He was brought up by his parents’ strong religious beliefs, to become the most perfect boy. Every sunday, he would go to church with gel in his hair, a cute tie or bow tie, and a smile on his face that greeted every person who paid him a compliment. “What a sweet boy”, they said, “making your daddy proud, aren’t you ?” He was. To Mark and Sophia Webster, Ali was a miracle. He was, with his sister, the proof God wasn’t mad at them for not being able to conceive. They were so proud, and so happy, until Ali proved to be a little more challenging. 

He met his two best friends when he was very young. He met Hannah, the neighbor’s daughter, when he was 5, and he met Aindreis, a canadian, scottish latino boy obsessed with space, when he was 9.If you know Ali just a little bit, then you know he’s all about the people he loves. He takes mimics, thinks of small gifts, and words of appreciation. Ali lives to meet people. To this day, Hannah is still his soulmate from another universe, the one he could’ve never loved, and Andy, the one he loved but wasn’t allowed to. Ali was 14 when he knew he was in love with his best friend, and he was 14 and a day old when he realized he could never say anything. Andy finally knew, one afternoon when they were looking at the old atlas or doing god knows what. A cute teenage love story was born out of it, but being a teen must come with delusion, must it not ? Shame caught up with Ali when his mother learned the news, then told his father, and then all of this became the shame of the Webster family. There’s no need to tell all the things Ali heard said about him that day, these words will resin engraved in his brain for the rest of his life, and kept echoing in his ears when he was driven to Heaven’s Hope, a conversion therapy campsite, where he was supposed to stay for a while. Of these little trips to Hope’s Haven, Ali kept memories, and souvenirs. Mostly memories he still dreamt about, now at the age of 35. However the one he cherishes the most is certainly the night he escaped, and decided to never see his parents again. He was 17 when Hannah, who still lived at the other end of the street, had her mother prepare what would be his room, until he moved for University. That was the beginning of his life without Andy, whom he never saw again.

He worked as a waiter, as a dogsitter, as a housekeeper and many other things to be able to afford uni. He smiled, and went to class, and discovered life like he never could in the tiny town called North Berwick. Ali discovered he could be himself, work on his dancing, and learn about how the human body worked. In uni, Ali became thirsty for knowledge and adventure, and never stopped to be. So one day, when he’d gathered enough money to buy an old van he could live in, Ali packed his things, quit his shitty job, and left. That was the last time Ali had a stable life. At least it wouldn’t be the case for a while. In his van, he saw the world. From Nice to Seattle, from Florence to Bangkok, Ali never felt more alive than when he drove his van through roads and seas. He drove and led an adventurous life until he couldn’t anymore, until, finally, he had healed and felt the need to go back home, to Scotland. During that time away, he had become a massage therapist, he had become obsessed with meditation, and was sure that he could step foot on Scottish land again without feeling suffocated. In 2019, Ali was finally done escaping. 

He came back to North Berwick when he was offered a job at the hospital. At the same time, Ali hoped to befriend the ghosts of his past. And he did. Sort of. He worked, made friends again, finally saw Hannah after years of only seeing her through shitty video calls. He never thought he’d say this again, but North Berwick made him happy. Andy was there, too. That, may have been the hardest part, at the time. Imagine being reunited with the guy you were in love with, but whom you never talked to again in roughly twenty years. As shameful as he could ever be, teen Ali turned his back on his best friend turned boyfriend, and had proceeded to ignore him. Too hard, too weird. Andy would eventually tell him, that it was good to make amends. Something about the steps to sobriety ? Ali wasn’t on the sobriety path, he never needed to to begin with, but he did need to make amends, and so he did, and so history repeated itself. Aindreis and Ali became friends again, and they fell in love again. That’s the end of the story, xoxo, Sam. Kidding. If only. Couldn’t be that easy tho, right ? One thing Ali didn’t learn during his trips, was how to properly communicate his feelings. It took time, for these two to understand that they were meant to be together, and when they finally did, tragedy hit. Well, a storm hit. Just under a year before, Ali had opened a small wellness center. Things were going great, although business had been slow to start. Anyway, the boss was confident things would work out. Although when a storm destroyed a lot of North Berwick’s city center, Ali being almost drowned in the process, the Willow, as it was called, didn’t survive. Not being able to go to work because of mental health issues, Ali closed down his cherished creation, and wanted one thing, and one thing only : leave again, to try and forget again, to try and live again. There was Andy now tho, wasn’t it ? So, once again, Ali went back, and never left. This time, I swear, these two stayed together. And that leads us to january, when Aindreis told Ali he was offered the direction of a communication agency in East Haven. You guessed it, Ali said yes, quit the job he’d taken to pay the bills, and voilà ! They were both finally here mid march of 2023. Beautiful story, right ? Well, to be continued. 

#easthavenintro

[devosopmaandag]

Het ontmoeten van een vreemde

Aan de westgrens van het oude China houdt een poortwachter een oude man tegen. Hij begrijpt dat de man een wijze is die uit teleurstelling niet gehoord te worden zijn land wil verlaten. De poortwachter haalt hem over om zijn ideeën op papier te zetten, voor ze verloren zullen raken. Aldus, zegt de legende, zette Lao Zi zich neer en schreef wat later de Tao Te King zou heten, een boek dat tweeduizend jaar later nog gelezen wordt. Een toevallige ontmoeting die zijn schaduw eindeloos ver vooruit wierp.

Iedereen heeft toevallige ontmoetingen, en niet zelden vinden ze een vaste plek in het geheugen als zo'n ontmoeting met een vreemde leidt tot een gesprek, soms zelfs zonder dat. Ik herinner me de Letse kunstenaar Leonards Laganovskis met wie ik een slaapcoupé deelde in de trein van Berlijn naar Riga, de naamloze Braziliaanse vrouw in de trein van Parijs naar Amsterdam, de tweedehandsboek-handelaar Bill Smith in Edinburgh, die me later boeken als cadeaus stuurde, de volkomen onverwachte ontmoeting met de opgebaarde vrouw in een lege St. Nicholas Church op het eiland Tresco.

Vriendin en galeriehouder M vroeg me of ik een mij onbekende jonge Chinese kunstenaar wilde ontvangen, gewoon voor een gesprek. Ik zei onmiddellijk ja en vroeg hem, via haar: een tekstfragment mee te nemen, een beeld (beide niet van hemzelf) en een object. Ik besloot niet zijn website te bezoeken maar de ontmoeting open tegemoet te treden. H.Z. verscheen, een elegante jongeman met lang zwart haar en een bril. Hij keek nieuwsgierig en afwachtend toen hij binnenkwam en overhandigde mij een emmertje met blauwe bessen, een geschenk dat ik zeer waardeerde. Drie uren zouden we praten, hij vooral. Het viel mij onmiddellijk op hoe rijk zijn Engels was. Zijn zware accent maakte dat ik nog aandachtiger luisterde. Zijn grootouders waren boeren, zijn ouders hadden weinig scholing gehad. De transormatie die hij doormaakte, binnen luttele jaren, is enorm. Hij stuurde zijn ouders een video van zijn allereerste performance ooit. Voor even konden zij een blik werpen in de onbereikbare wereld van hun zoon. Hun reacties waren zowel aandoenlijk als ontroerend. Zelfverwezenlijking vraagt nu eenmaal een hoge prijs, kunstenaar worden een nog hogere.

H. koos het beroemde schilderij met het bruidspaar van Chagall, zwevend hoog boven een dorpje. Het object was een gekregen klein hart van ongebakken klei met een gat erin. Ik kon aan het einde van ons gesprek die twee dingen niet anders zien dan de uitdrukking van een verlangen naar verbinding, misschien ook liefde. Voeg daarbij nog een strofe uit een gedicht van Wisława Szymborska dat hij in een Engelstalig boek over Nan Goldin vond:

…. The little soul roams among those landscapes, / dissappears, returns, draws near, moves away, / evasive and a stranger to itself, / now sure, now uncertain of its own existence, / whereas the body is and is and is / and has nowhere to go.

Na afloop bedankte hij mij voor onze ontmoeting, en ik bedankte hem.