#referring to himself as keith’s wife

[justaz]

au where like keith spent those two years on the space whale and allura brought shiro back to life but they still can’t go back to earth. shiro has gone grey, no black hair on his head, he’s retired and stays on the castle, does not pilot a lion. keith and lance are now like the “leaders” of the team. like keith relies heavily on lance support and lance thrives in the sort of co-leader dynamic they have. pidge casually referring to “dad” and lance being like “shiro or keith??” and pidge going “shiro is retired and has a full head of white hair. who do you think i’m talking about?” so shiro has been promoted from space dad to space grandpa and lance and keith are now mom and dad

#lance LOVES this joke and leans heavily into it #referring to the rest of the team as his kids and calling keith his husband #referring to himself as keith’s wife #he just finds it funny #there’s no hidden feelings that are expressing themselves by pretending to be married to keith #absolutely not #hunk is a liar #keith being so confused but he’s not gonna argue #because it boosts morale #people are joking and laughing and it makes them happy with this little inside joke #not because he really likes the idea of being married to lance and having kids #nope. not at all. #vld #voltron #klance #lance mcclain #keith kogane #pidge gunderson #katie holt #hunk garrett #takashi shirogane #princess allura #coran vld #lance is a mother hen and keith is whipped and can’t say no to lance #so it fits #when they start to piss each other off they’ll threaten to file for divorce #like it’s a genuine threat and they’re scared of the idea so they’ll switch to a calm rationale discussion #no one points out that they’re not really married so the threat is empty

[2knightt]

「 you are—unforgettable.」

IN WHICH—you’re them and they’re you!♡ ໋֢ 👒✧

🍵ヾFT. THE GREASERS࿐ྀུ ♡

⌗ 👒 notes !𖥔༌ ᰷ ﹅ people in this fic refer to two-bit as ‘keith.’ who cuz who the FUCK says ‘he got his two-bits in🤓’ NOBODY! but in the descriptive parts he will be two-bit. ALSO IF U DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING LOOK IN THE TAGS!

Ponyboy Curtis ;

his class was gonna watch this movie before reading a book. ‘the outsiders,’ or somethin’.

it was made in the ‘80’s—he didn’t want to even watch it. watching movies in class was the worst!

ponyboy sat at his desk, head in his arms. he heard the music and looked up, chin resting on his arms.

when ponyboy seen you writing down and narrating, he could’ve sworn he died and came back to life. LIKE WHEN HE HEARD YOUR VOICEEE HE GOT A LITTLE BLUSH ON HIS CHEEKS.

his friends beside him noticed, snickering to themselves. they shoved him, asking if that was his future partner. he just pushed them off, quietly telling them to fuck off.

when ponyboy seen you covered in the soot??? phew—he questioned his morals, man. and THEN HE SEEN YOU BEAT UP?? he was getting FED.

ponyboy came out of that school a new man.

his ears were hot, his cheeks were red, and he was already looking up edits of you. ponyboy shoved those almost broken wired apple headphones in his ears and tuned everyone out.

when he got home he ignored any questions darry and soda threw at him and immediately went to his room. ponyboy quietly closed the door before hopping into bed, pulling out his phone, and going on tiktok.

spent like a solid 30 minutes tweaking over edits of you. like full on screaming into his pillow—i’m so serious.

“darry, what the hell is that noise?”

“i dunn—ponyboy?”

“AHHH!!”

when he found out that, outside of the outsiders, you’re decades older than him he was SO HEARTBROKEN.

the gang seen him looking at photos of you and immediately started teasing him. he absolutely tried to back himself up with stutters.

“they’re how much years older than you, bro?”

“NONO HEAR ME OUT, PLEASE! KEITH, BRO, PLEASE.”

reads fanfic. look at me in the eyes and try to tell me that ponyboy motherfucking curtis doesn’t read fanfiction.

you can’t.

like bro he’s so desperate for more content of you to the point where he writes the fics he yearns for—got pretty popular to.

“why the fuck is your phone blowing up?”

“PLEASE don’t ask me any questions about it.”

he’s a freak. he knows everything about you. ponyboy’s even began to watch your interview’s about the movie. and your other movies.

literally a teenage girl.

“THEY’RE SO FINE THOUGH, PLEASE!”

“nuh-uh.”

“FUCK YOU MEAN ‘NUH-UH’?”

Johnny Cade ;

seen you when he was watching random movies at the curtis house. at first he was like, ‘wait!! they’re so me coded😛.’ it never occurred to him that you could be so cute.

he seen you crying and something in him like actually snapped.

“wait….am i getting a crush? they’re kinda…”

when he seen the equivalent of ponyboy in this universe snuggled up to you in the church he was soooo jealous.

yk that one audio where it’s like, “how long is he gon’ be talking to my WIFE.” that’s literally johnny cade when he seen that person kiss the top of your head.

“what the fuck?”

“…what do you mean?”

“nothin’. it’s just kinda bullshit that they swoop in and steal my chance😒.”

“you never had one.”

“okay, pal😐.”

heart broke when he seen you in the hospital bed btw. like was full on gripping onto a pillow with tears in his eyes.

johnny was in such denial when he seen you die😭. ‘bro, no. they literally aren’t dead.’/‘guys!! it’s just a prank!!’

when he got to the scene he was in SHAMBLES. HE WAS INCONSOLABLE. ripping his hair out, screaming, crying, allat.

“stay gold…”

“NOOOOOOO-“

was so pissed when you didn’t come back. was even more pissed when your letter was read out loud.

“HOW COULD THEY KILL THEM OFF?? THEY DIDN’T DESERVE IT!”

“johnny, it’s a movie.”

“this is so unfair. i hate movies.”

gets nervous looking at photos of you. like to the point where he tries to look up your name on pinterest before bailing mid sentence and giggling. like full on throwing his phone across the room, kicking his feet.

will talk for hours about you. thinks your the coolest character ever!! defends you like his life depends on it.

“they killed someone?”

“so?? you’re acting like you wouldn’t do it to🤣🤣 fake ahh friend.”

—

“they legit can’t stand up for themselves. you want someone like that to be out walking them streets?”

“oh, god for bid a person has trauma. and YES I DO🗣️. i hope they walk right into my arms, HO.”

all said online btw. he would never ruin his ego by speaking like this. i am a strong believer johnny cade puts up a strong front online.

johnny literally thinks you’re the cutest person he’s ever seen. like his cheeks get so hot when he thinks about you and he gets a silly little smile on his face.

he looks at photos of you and his friends think he has a little girlfriend.

“who you textin’, johnnycakes?”

“nobody-uh!”

“c’mon—we see that smile!”

and it’s literally just you with blood dripping down your face.

Dallas Winston ;

caught a glimpse of you at some girls house he slept at. literally stopped dead in his tracks as he seen you light a cigarette before mumbling, ‘nothin’ legal, man.’

“i-uh, what movie’s this?”

“huh? oh, the outsiders. pretty good movie.”

he thanked her and threw on his jacket before speed walking to bucks place. he had to watch this movie or he’s actually lose it.

imagine buck’s bar is actually a house, kay? dallas sits his pretty little ass on that couch, flips to whatever streaming service, and turns on ‘the outsiders.’

thought it was all boring until he seen you walk into frame—mocking the main character. at that very moment he was all, ‘wait that’s kinda hot.’

seeing you help the two younger ones run away while still acting tough was so attractive to him. dallas felt like he was losing his mind.

seeing you run in after the two into the church kinda made his knees weak.

“BAE NO!”

“what the hell are you screamin’ ‘bout?”

“nothin’, buck…”

he was so scared that you’d die in the fire. (little did old dallas know am i right fellas!!!!) like i swear to god he was so scared you’d end up like the johnny in this universe.

WHEN HE SEEN YOU FIGHTINGGG. he went feral. dallas was like so flustered. he was trying so hard to hide his blush to the ghosts around him with his hair.

his flush was short lived however. seeing you cry and then literally point a gun at a cashier was lowkey whiplash for him.

“what the fuck is happening?”

dallas figured out what was gonna happen early on and started kinda tearing up. like one tear formed in his eye before he blinked it away. but he was still devastated.

WHEN DALLY HEARD SOMEONE SCREAM “they’re just a kid!” he lost it. like actually. he went limp on the couch and spaced out. like damn…his fiancé, who doesn’t know they’re his fiancé yet, really WAS just a kid.

nobody knows he likes the outsiders OR that he has a crush on you. and they CAN’T know, it’s way too embarrassing. like actually.

when he’s with the gang and he’s just casually scrolling on tiktok and he sees the tags with your name, he immediately favourites it and scrolls. he saved it for later when he’s alone.

also defends you like there’s no tomorrow.

“they were hitting on someone who had a partner??”

“okay?? fucking live a little jesus.”

—

“THEY’RE A FUCKING CRIMINAL?”

“i’m into it tho lmfao”

swears up and down that if you and him were in a room together—you’d have a crush on him. top tier delusion.

like if he gets drunk with keith, he will rant about it.

“no—hear me out. put me in a room with y/n l/n and i swear to god they’re gonna be madly in love with me.”

“no they won’t, dallas.”

“yuh-huh.”

looks at photos of you and probably has you as his pfp on his spam. includes you in every other photo dump.

Sodapop Curtis ;

seen an edit of you on tiktok and audibly gasped. full on went, “WHO IS THATT😜” went to the tags and just scrolled under it for a good long while.

he seen a angst edit of you and made up his mind that he had to watch the movie.

for the while that you weren’t on screen, he was trying to push through. he really was. but deep down—in his head he was screaming, “BORING! SHOW ME THE PRETTY ONE!!”

when sodapop seen you tending to your younger sibling he could’ve sworn he was on cloud 9.

“my turn when :/.”

WHEN SODA SEEN YOU GET OUT OF THE SHOWERRR😭😭. he lost his BREATH like was full on gripping his imaginary pearls.

had to take a breather to walk around the house before unpausing the movie. had a blush across his cheeks, i can’t even lie.

when he learned that you were described as, “movie star attractive,” all he did was nod. like,

“mhm. i always knew my fiancé was good looking.”

SODA WAS APPALLED WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT YOUR PARTNER CHEATED ON YOU. like jaw was on the FLOOR.

“I COULD TREAT THEM BETTER🗣️🗣️ THEY KNOW WHERE HOME IS!!”

he is so open about his little crush in you—it’s so cute :(

“steve, look at ‘em.”

“i see them—get your fuckin’ phone outta my face.”

“aren’t they so perfect??🤭🤭”

“i guess.”

“well, BACK OFF. we’re already happily married.”

“in your dreams maybe.”

“oh my god.”

soda has you as his pfp on at least two platforms. his name on one platform is “y/n’s boyfriend (REAL!)”

seeing you run out on your siblings after they grouped you into your argument made him just wanna hug you so bad. like he just wanted to tell you it was all gonna be okay.

has a album in his photos where it’s edits of you and photos. giggles and twirls his hair as he looks at it.

Darry Curtis ;

his parents used to watch the movie all the time and you’ve always just been a life long crush of his.

like when younger darry seen you walk into frame, comforting your kid sibling, something in his head snapped.

suddenly everything was in slow motion, there were hearts everywhere, he had rose coloured glasses on, and for some reason—harps play in the background.

as darry grew up it literally never went away. whenever the outsiders comes on when he’s home he always still goes, “woah.😍😍”

like he thinks you’re so fine.

he doesn’t like watch edits, read fanfic—none of that🗣️. but if he gets asked who is celebrity crush is—your name is coming out of his mouth ASAP.

“so, darry, who’s your celebrity cru-“

“y/n l/n.”

“but they’re a character?”

“Y/N L/N.”

he has like ONE printed out photo of you in his room from years ago. he knows exactly where it is and where to hide it, but he still keeps it.

at least once every two months, when everyone’s asleep and he has no work the next day, he’ll stay up just to watch the movie.

he’ll have a budlight in his hand as he watches you absolutely DEMOLISH at the rumble.

“i always knew they’d win.”

“you’ve watch this movie a thousand times.”

“PONYBOY?!”

the gang eventually found out his little crush on you. only light teasing ‘cause they’re so scared they’ll get that darry smoke if they push him further😭😭.

“oh my god! look, darry! you’re little crush is on screen!”

“steve, i will beat some sense into you if you don’t shut up.”

“…okay, bud.”

—

“when’s the weddin’?”

“after your funeral, keith.”

“wow. hater.”

Steve Randle ;

his dad fell asleep on the couch one night with this old movie playing in the background.

steve was about to turn it off before he caught a glimpse of you offering this half naked person some cake. he was all, ‘WAITTTT🙈🙈!!’

like he seen you in that sleeveless jacket and immediately fell in love. literally was on a mission to figure out who you were.

when he did? all he wanted to do was watch the outsiders. WHEN HE SEEN YOU SCOLDING THE MAIN CHARACTER HE SOO KNEW YOU WERE HIS TYPE

“wish they’d scold me like that…damn…😞✊”

was TWEAKING SOO HARD WHEN HE SEEN YOU ALL BLOODY WITH YOUR HEAD THROWN BACK.

“…you think i look tuff?”

“YES BAE!!!”

making his name on like insta or something, “y/n’s HUSBAND.” he puts emphasis on the husband because he believes that you want him so bad.

like actually. he’s fucking delusional.

“guys…they like cake…and I LIKE CAKE! do you see my vision??”

“no??”

“man, fuck you.”

photo dumps on insta of pictures of you with the caption, “from our honeymoon 😍😍😛😛!” his friends are ripping him apart in comments btw.

WOULD GO FOR WAR FOR YOU.

“they’re actually so gross what.”

“YOU’RE GROSS!🗣️ KEEP THEM OUT OF YOUR MOUTH YOU FOOL!!”

—

“they have 0 depth.”

“0 depth to YOU. to ME they’re the love of my life.”

Two-bit Matthews ;

seen the outsiders when he was drunk. he didn’t remember anything that night but the cute lil’ actor who was laughing after flirting with some rich lookin’ kid.

the only thing he remembers saying that night was,

“damn—when is it MY TURN😩😞”

WENT ON A FUCKING HUNT TO FIND THIS MOVIE ISTG. he was looking up shit that didn’t even matter to the plot—so he got different movies each time.

‘cute actor flirting’

‘cute actor in old ass movie’

‘mickey mouse shirt’

‘when was mickey mouse created’

‘who is walt disney’

he got a little distracted but that’s not the point. two-bit found the movie and cried tears of joy. fell to his knees and all😭.

he immediately turned the outsiders on and waited to see you. HE WAS SOO SAD TO FIND OUT YOU HAD LIKE SUCH LITTLE SCREENTIME.

but he worked with it. he was taking SO MUCH PHOTOS OF HIS TV WHEN YOU WERE ON SCREEN LMFAO. they were all so shaky too😭😭.

doesn’t shut the fuck up about you.

“they want me so bad🤣🤣😂😂.”

“they wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole, keith.”

“what if i killed myse-”

—

“they’re so find i won’t ‘em.”

“what the fuck are you saying?”

“what are YOU SAYING? back up.”

saves edits of you. he is ABSOLUTELY THE TYPE OF PERSON TO SAY THE MOST OUT OF POCKET SHIT ABOUT YOU IN THE COMMENTS LMFAOOO

‘they could beat the shit out of me and i thank them :3’

‘WHAT?’

‘omg who said that’

you are his profile picture everywhere. and anywhere.

genuinely believe you’re the love of his life. i swear to god he does. KING OF DELUSION ABOVE ALL ELSE!

#the outsiders #the outsiders x reader #dallas winston x reader #johnny cade x reader #ponyboy x reader #ponyboy curtis x reader #sodapop x reader #sodapop curtis x reader #darry curtis x reader #two bit x reader #two bit mathews x reader #two bit matthews x reader #steve randle x reader #LUV THIS CONCEPT!!! #like you’re the movie character and he’s the real person #like idk you’re the dallas and he’s the real person giggling over u. #feels so good to write like this again!!! teehee!!

[blueiskewl]

A U.K. Museum Claims Roman Emperor Elagabalus Was Transgender

The North Hertfordshire Museum will refer to the 3rd-century ruler using she/her pronouns.

Third century C.E. Roman Emperor Elagabalus was transgender, says the North Hertfordshire Museum in the U.K., which will be referring to the ruler with she/her pronouns.

The change is in keeping with museum policy that states that pronouns used in its displays will be those “the individual in question might have used themselves” or whatever pronoun is “in retrospect, appropriate,” according to a report in the Telegraph.

The museum owns a coin minted in the reign of Elagabalus, who ruled Rome from 218 to 222 C.E., when the emperor was assassinated at age 18. It has been used in LGBTQ-themed displays. According to the museum, it consults with Stonewall, an LGBTQ+ charity, and trade union Unison’s LGBT wing for best display practices.

“Elagabalus most definitely preferred the she pronoun, and as such this is something we reflect when discussing her in contemporary times,” Keith Hoskins, Liberal Democrat councillor and executive member for arts at the Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition-run North Herts Council, told the Telegraph.

“We try to be sensitive to identifying pronouns for people in the past, as we are for people in the present,” he said. “It is only polite and respectful. We know that Elagabalus identified as a woman and was explicit about which pronouns to use, which shows that pronouns are not a new thing.”

Cassius Dio, who chronicled the history of Rome, wrote that Elagabalus was “termed wife, mistress, and queen,” telling one lover, “Call me not Lord, for I am a Lady.” Elagabalus even reportedly asked to have female genitalia fashioned for her.

There is some disagreement among historians about the meaning of the classical texts in which Elagabalus asks to be called “lady,” however, according to the Telegraph, with some deeming it an attempt at character assassination. Dio served the reign of emperor Severus Alexander, who succeeded Elagabalus, and used such behavior as justification for the assassination.

“The Romans didn’t have our idea of ‘trans’ as a category,” Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, a Cambridge classics professor, told the Telegraph, adding that “they used accusations of sexual behavior ‘as a woman’ as one of the worst insults against men.” Wallace-Hadrill also indicates that racism may have played a part, since Elagabalus was Syrian and not Roman.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (c. 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nicknames Elagabalus and Heliogabalus, was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was notorious for sex scandals and religious controversy. A close relative to the Severan dynasty, he came from a prominent Arab family in Emesa (Homs), Syria, where since his early youth he served as head priest of the sun god Elagabal. After the death of his cousin, the emperor Caracalla, Elagabalus was raised to the principate at 14 years of age in an army revolt instigated by his grandmother Julia Maesa against Caracalla's short-lived successor, Macrinus. He only posthumously became known by the Latinised name of his god.

Later historians suggest Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with the deity Elagabal, of whom he had been high priest. He forced leading members of Rome's government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, presiding over them in person. He married four women, including a Vestal Virgin, in addition to lavishing favours on male courtiers thought to have been his lovers. He was also reported to have prostituted himself. His behavior estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate and the common people alike. Amidst growing opposition, at just 18 years of age he was assassinated and replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander in March 222. The assassination plot against Elagabalus was devised by Julia Maesa and carried out by disaffected members of the Praetorian Guard.

Elagabalus developed a reputation among his contemporaries for extreme eccentricity, decadence, zealotry and sexual promiscuity. This tradition has persisted; among writers of the early modern age he endured one of the worst reputations among Roman emperors. Edward Gibbon, notably, wrote that Elagabalus "abandoned himself to the grossest pleasures with ungoverned fury". According to Barthold Georg Niebuhr, "the name Elagabalus is branded in history above all others" because of his "unspeakably disgusting life". An example of a modern historian's assessment is Adrian Goldsworthy's: "Elagabalus was not a tyrant, but he was an incompetent, probably the least able emperor Rome had ever had." Despite near-universal condemnation of his reign, some scholars write warmly about his religious innovations, including the 6th-century Byzantine chronicler John Malalas, as well as Warwick Ball, a modern historian who described him as "a tragic enigma lost behind centuries of prejudice".

#Roman Emperor Elagabalus #A U.K. Museum Claims Roman Emperor Elagabalus Was Transgender #ancient artifacts #archeology #archeolgst #history #history news #ancient history #ancient culture #ancient civilizations #ancient rome #roman history #roman empire #roman emperor #long reads #long post

[kjosi]

tagged by @milfcodeddean - list 5 comfort characters and tag 5 people . Thank you!

Let’s goo:

Jack Bristow from Alias - Dilf. Badass. Protective from the shadows, shares no secrets. Gets called out by his daughter Sydney all tf time. Gaslight girlboss gatekeep. No nonsense. His very rare soft smile. BAMF. Best loving spy dad who doesn’t know how to show it <3 emotionally damaged crispy marshmallow.

Allura from V:LD - she is so special to me. She deserves so much better than what she got in canon. She changed so much and had her own special journey throughout the series. Loved her dynamic with both Shiro and Keith. Natural leader. Full of heart and courage. Not fearless. Not flawless. She grew into her own. Babygirl. She deserves the WORLD.

Castiel from Supernatural - Thee gay angel. lobotomy man. Commits crimes and atrocities. Will ‘play you’ to steal your weapon from under your pillow. Endlessly in love with Dean Winchester. Occasionally sad and wet. Dadstiel. Will not hesitate to cut a bitch.

Columbo from Columbo - same game Every time. I love it. Traps the rich entitled characters who think they can get away with homicide. Bumbling little detective in his frumpy coat comes along. Master of the hussle. You watch the hussle live. Your eyes don’t perceive the hussle. It’s just Columbo being Columbo. Downplays himself, self-deprecating in a cute way. References his wife constantly , who we never see, of course. Little stories. His doggo and his bowl of chili. His old ass car. He wins every time. Sorry it just doesn’t get old !!

Maito Gai from Naruto - He is ball of sunshine. Motivator. Loves his team very much. Style icon. Very dedicated and self-disciplined. Very caring and perceptive but hides it under humor or rigor. Steadfast in his beliefs. Husband close friend of Kakashi. Will of fire my beloved. Beautiful man. Has done nothing wrong in his life ever.

—

Tagging @angelcasendgame @hauntedpearl @queermania @mybrainproblems @dwcas and anyone else from my followers, if you want!! 🧡Sorry if you’ve already been tagged

#swirly.txt #gpoy #jack bristow #allura vld #columbo #castiel #maito gai

[chiropteracupola]

I am on a foth kick and I would like very much to know about to keep it real and green knight, if you have things you want to share!

to keep it real is currently in a weird state where it doesn't quite know what it wants to be, since it's certainly not the fic I set out to write, but I don't want to abandon the original idea entirely. the original idea would have been a mostly plotless practice scene based on the 'his wife has filled his house with chintz' post/poem, featuring Ewen visiting Keith at Stowe House in some nebulous future, but I got a little carried away with setup, writing interactions with Francis, and attempting to research the location itself.

the trouble with houses that keep getting used is that they do very much keep getting updated, and frankly, it's a little more effort than I'd like to put in right now just to figure out exactly which ostentatious bits of architecture would have been there at the time that Keith would have been! there appears to be some kind of 3d model of the house that might get looked at later on, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around a) figuring out how the ground-plan has changed since the mid-eighteenth century, and b) the sheer scale of these gardens (for the record, I'm using a garden I'm more familiar with as a reference point for the size, and it's only a seventh of the size of this place. yikes and other such exclamations.)

due to the nature of this particular story, I'm going to want a pretty detailed interior design plan for the room, since it's the sort where I'm essentially making what amounts to a dollhouse in my head. so that's taking a while! someday I will pick this thing up again because It Compels Me, but right now I really do not know when that will be.

the green knight story is based on an idea from @tgarnsl, and is basically exactly what it sounds like - a Gawain and the Green Knight AU with Keith, Ewen, and Alison.

it's been slow going writing it, as I'm having trouble settling between my usual writing style and the more poetic, kenning-heavy style that I use for things like Rat Piper, as well as the fact that I thought it would be very funny to get it done by Christmas and that very much Did Not Happen. and then there's the fact that the name Keith simply doesn't sound right to me in the sort of quasi-medieval setting I've been working with - well, there's not really any way out of that one that I like, so that's just something that I'll have to figure out as I go along. or probably I'll just leave him there, all incongruous as he is.

and since you've read all the way through that, here's the prologue for that particular tale:

His mother’s hand is on his shoulder, and his father’s sword is belted at his side, its bright blade so, so, much lighter than it looks.

“Go and do it, won’t you, Keith?” He doesn’t need to be asked. Every eye in the hall is on him, and he steps forward, and lets one knee bend so that he can dip just far enough to take the offered weapon. His fingers are on the axe-handle — good! — and in one smooth motion, he’s up again and that shining arc of steel is cutting through the air with a sound like church-bells. In that half-second before steel meets skin, the strange knight smiles, and tips his head a little to one side, his loosened collar slipping to show a line of pale skin.

Keith strikes true.

He steps back, his footsteps crisp as if against frosted-over ground. A thick slap of meat against stone, a flare of iron-scent in the air, a gasp from the assembly. The head rolls to a stop at Keith’s feet, the seeping blood staining the toes of his shoes as the strange knight falls to his knees.

But what is this? This man so lately slain is reaching out a hand for balance, reaching out towards Keith as he slowly, slowly pulls himself upright. His head is in his hands, gold-green hair trailing over lichen-pale fingers, but his blood runs down red, red, red to splatter on the rushes at Keith’s feet. Keith looks down, the axe now heavy in his hands, and watches as the stain sinks and blurs into the shadows, red turning back to green. His hands tighten on the haft of the axe, its weight solid but not at all reassuring.

Now, Keith no longer has to look up to meet the Green Knight’s eyes, for he holds his head just at the right height for Keith to see. And for all that this man is bleeding and headless, impossible and out of place, he smiles like the sun.

#em writes stuff #heronposting #if you are here for foth things then you are in luck because I have Things planned... Things I'm drawing... #me: it will be a fast quick short thing. me several months later downloading pdfs from the national trust: oh god oh no. #at some point I want to come up with outfit designs for the green knight thing but that would mean settling on a time period and aesthetic #so I Haven't. hooray. #aaugh. the readmore keeps going in the wrong place. hell and death. #for pete's sake it just did it AGAIN! BITING!

[thepastisalreadywritten]

ITV News: Prince William's First Interview (June 1998)

It was 24 March 1998 and hundreds of teenage girls were crammed behind barriers outside a suburban Vancouver high school.

The girls weren’t squealing for the Backstreet Boys or Leonardo DiCaprio — they were there to see William, a real-life prince.

“You thought it was a rock star coming,” said Monika Vriend, former business services co-ordinator for Burnaby South Secondary School, recalling the day that Prince William visited.

“Like back in the day when the Beatles came through, people were just going crazy and swooning and couldn’t believe their own eyes that the princes were there.”

📷: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

The frenzied female reaction to Prince William, then 15, during his 1998 vacation with Prince Charles and Prince Harry, cemented his status as a teen heartthrob.

Canadians’ warm welcome also undoubtedly comforted him on his first official trip abroad after his mother’s death, royal watchers say.

So when William returns to British Columbia on Saturday for a week-long visit with his wife and two young children, observers say it will be a homecoming of sorts after his star power was proven in the province two decades ago.

“Prince William was the original One Direction,” said Keith Roy, Western Canadian spokesman for the Monarchist League of Canada, referring to the British-based boy band.

“He was always a nice kid. Then to watch him go through the tragedy of his mother dying and still hold himself together and be stately, be strong and be vulnerable — that’s quite the threat when girls are looking for characteristics in a guy.”

The “Wills Mania,” as it was dubbed by the British press, appeared to surprise and embarrass the young prince.

A particularly devoted pack of girls vowed to follow him to every tour stop, carrying signs that proclaimed, “William. It’s me you’ve been looking for.”

One 14-year-old jumped a barricade outside his hotel to try to deliver a teddy bear and bouquet, but she was caught by a police officer.

“Prince William should know his future wife,” she protested through tears, according to a Canadian Press report at the time.

The princes and their father only spent about 24 hours in Vancouver before taking a helicopter to Whistler for four days of skiing. Their time on the mountain was mostly private, as the boys were still grieving their mother’s death the previous August.

But their brief stay in Vancouver was memorable. A photograph of the brothers wearing red maple-leaf Olympics jackets from Roots became a symbol of the family’s embrace of the Great White North.

📷: Tim Graham Picture Library via Getty Images

Then there was the visit to the high school, which administrators believe was chosen because it contains a school for the deaf.

Princess Diana was passionate about deaf education, and it appeared Prince Charles wanted his sons to share that interest, said former vice-principal Steve Bailey.

The royal family was introduced at an assembly inside the school’s Michael J. Fox Theatre, where the former principal called Prince Harry by his real name, Henry. Bailey said Charles stood up and quipped, “We only call him Henry when he’s very, very naughty.”

Bailey recalled that Harry, then 13, was more outgoing than his shy, older brother and assured William at one point, “Don’t worry about this. It’ll all be fine. All you have to do is smile and wave at the people.”

The brothers also visited the city’s astronomy museum, now called the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, where they revealed a competitive side to their relationship while playing with a computer simulator to land a space shuttle.

“They were kidding each other, if one was doing better than the other one,” said Gayle Seaman, an administrative assistant. “But staff noticed William was protective. He could kid Harry, but he wasn’t going to let anybody else say anything about him.”

A friendly competition also emerged on the ski hills, recalled Barrett Fisher, president and CEO of Tourism Whistler.

All three princes were expert skiers, tackling all terrain, but there was an ongoing joke about who was best, she said.

“I think a journalist had asked, ‘Was Harry the best skier?’ And William said, ‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’ ”

📷: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Royal historian Carolyn Harris said the 1998 visit didn’t only attract fawning teenage girls. It also drew many Canadians who had admired Diana and wanted to make sure her sons were all right following her death, she said.

“William was very warmly received … though the attention may also have been fairly overwhelming at that difficult time,” she said.

There was speculation that the princes were being eased into a greater degree of public life, as Canada is thought to be a safe and welcoming destination for royal visits, Harris added.

Roy said the upcoming trip comes at a much happier time in William’s life.

“We’re going to see enormous crowds of people out to support William and Catherine on this tour. It’s going to be the same level of frenzy and excitement that we saw in ’98.”

https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/throwback-to-prince-williams-vancouver-visit-1998/

#Prince William #Prince of Wales #British Royal Family #Youtube #Wills Mania

[sbrown82]

My heart breaks for the 17 year old boy, Scott Cantrell. Keith was in Paris at that time, and Anita 'played Scott's mother and lover.' Another man (Anita's friend), who was there at that time, 25 year old Jeffrey Sessler, said that Pallenberg was not interested in Cantrell sexually but I honestly don't believe in it. For me, Anita is the type of woman who would seduce a man and later ruin his life. Scott earlier lost his mother due to suicide :(.

Oh, it was horrible! The whole thing was just a mess. I also don't believe that it was a non-sexual relationship because Scott Cantrell was just a 17-year old boy who worked the grounds of Keith and Anita's estate, but he was found shot to death with Keith's gun in their bed. Now, what was he doing in there? That's inappropriate, especially for a grown-ass 37-year old woman. I mean, Anita seduced everybody. Men, women, it didn't matter. Plus, at the time, she was strung out on heroin and was shockingly bloated and depressed from the death of the her 10-week-old son Tara who died in 1976 from SIDS. She started having an affair with this young boy while Keith was away working. But, Scott was something else though, and a bit of a nasty kid. He actually used to tell their son Marlon, who was 10 at the time, that he was going to shoot Keith with his own gun. He thought it was cool to be with Keith Richards’ "wife". She also referred to Scott as her "boyfriend." But apparently he accidentally shot himself while playing Russian roulette. Keith was trying to get his life together and even underwent the black-box cure for his addiction where they attach wires to each ear that sends electronic pulses that can reduce the pain of withdrawal. And then this incident happened at his house and that was like the nail in the coffin for Keith, he was over her. He did manage to keep her ass out of jail.

#anita pallenberg #keith richards #the rolling stones #scott cantrell #actress #1970s #old school tea #rock history #rock & roll #anon #sbrown82

[justmultifandom]

Parallels between Zarkon/Honerva and Keith/Pidge!!!

Ok.. so... I was rewatching Voltron when I noticed some parallels between Zanerva and Kidge. These are just theories so nothing is canon but I noticed that there are many thing so similar and that's pretty strange...

The way they met each other.

We know that Zarkon met Honerva when she was doing experiments and studying the portals of the differents reality, and Zarkon saw Honerva for the first time thanks to her cat Koba.

Well... Keith and Pidge really met for the first time when they went on Arus and decided to be a team for save the universe. Personally, I don't think they had a talk when they resqued Shiro but that's not the point. The point is how they met: thanks to the lions which are made with the comet that can travel through realities. Lions and cats are felines, so the same family.

2. The person who they both know

Honerva knew King Alfor since school (as we see in her memories on s8), while Zarkon knew King Alfor since they did the alliance, but they had never met before the comet's discovery. King Alfor is an altean.

As we know, Keith knew Lance since the Garrison, and so Pidge, and I add one more: it was Lance that decided to follow Keith when he tried to resque Shiro, while Pidge followed Lance. But there's more... Allura gave Lance altean marks on s8, so he's in part altean now...

3. Quintessence

Just don't be scared...

We know that both Honerva and Zarkon were corrupted by quintessence: Honerva worked with it while Zarkon went in close contact upon entering the rift. Allura told us that quintessence awakened the violent and evil nature of Zarkon (As we will also see with Lotor and the paladins in s6).

In s1 we can see Pidge working on the Galra cristal, which is full of quintessence, while Keith he hit a container of quintessence while fighting a druid, spilling some on himself. Familiar right?

Well, someone would say that that quintessence just cured him, but we can see that Zarkon could breath in space without oxygen, and in s6 Keith, while he was fighting with Shiro's clone, was still breathing in space without his elmet. In the same episode, we can see his Galra form awaken, in fact he became more violent... Just a coincidence?

And... they both entered in the rift...

4. Family

Have you ever seen how much they were willing to sacrifice everything for their family?

I mean... Honerva literally destroyed everything while Zarkon betrayed his friends and team for save his wife...

Pidge was very determined to find her dad and Matt and, as we can see in s1 ep1, she countered the mission to search for them or otherwise find information about them. And It's not the only time she does this. In s5, when Zarkon wanted Lotor in exchange for Sam Holt, we see how she is willing to do anything to get her father back, yelling at Matt, Shiro and all her team mates; not to forget that in s1 she threatened to quit the team for the same reason.

Keith is also willing to sacrifice his life for the people he cares about, such as Naxela for example. Also in s8, while the team is in Honerva's mind, you can see very well how he tries hard to save Pidge in particular, shooting and hitting the surface with the bayard, then falling to his knees and surrendering in defeat.

5. The titles

Ok... Now let's think about it...

Zarkon was a Galra black paladin..

Keith was also a Galra black paladin...

Honerva was a scientist...

Pidge is also a scientist...

Both are a Galra black paladin and a scientist!

Also, at the end of s8, Keith said that the Galra wanted him as their leader, but he refused. If he had accepted, the parallel would have been somewhat worse...

6. Pidge as Honerva references

Also, we can see how much Pidge and Honerva look similar extriorly.

For example, when she was working on the Galra crystal on s1, but there's more! In s4, when she was searching Matt, she went on a planet for a merchant, and she was wearing a black hood at the time, similar to Honerva's…

And, on s5, when Hunk, Lance and Pidge programmed a robot for fun, made some selfies. In one, we can see Pidge wearing Honerva's hood...

And that's all guys. But these are just crazy theories of mine. One thing I really wanted to say is that English is not my first language so there must be some kind of mistakes and I'm sorry about that...

#kidge #keidge #voltron legendary defender #zarkon #honerva #keith voltron #voltron pidge #parallels #keith x pidge #twst theories #headcanons

[waugh-bao]

The quote from Shirley made me think of the one press conference thing where a guy (there always has to be some ‘wacky’ guy asking dumb questions at these things) asked Charlie if he had a business card. Charlie seemed annoyed and said “this is my business card” and pointed at his face. I thought good for you Charlie! It was nice to see a moment of ‘I know who I am’ confidence.

After a little sleuthing, I found it in a documentary about The Bigger Bang tour:

It is a funny interaction. He dealt with enough wackiness/idiocy on a regular basis, he wasn't putting up with any more. But what you said is true, it's a moment of 'I know who I am' confidence, and those are nice to see because they were quite rare with him.

He's one of those people where I guess you have to make a distinction between self-respect and self-confidence. Charlie had an immense amount of self-respect, something that showed itself in how he chose to live. He had a very certain image of who he wanted to be, which wasn't some kind of hedonistic rock god, and he conducted himself in accordance with that image (loyal to his wife, well dressed in a classical way, devoted to jazz, etc) even though it made him stick out in some ways.

At the same time, he didn't have a massive amount of confidence in his own abilities. Charlie was the first person to insist that he was "just the drummer", wasn't a great drummer at that, and that the band could fire or replace him easily. And Charlie was absolutely the only person of the four of them that believed that. It's sort of ironic that they fell into that dynamic, because based on the history of the band, it really should have been the other way around. They knew they were getting something extraordinary with him, he was the one taking a chance to go with them.

This is probably a slightly boring detour into history, but it's interesting to note that Charlie's ultimate drum hero was a guy called Dave Tough. Tough was an American swing and jazz drummer who played from the late '20s to 1948, and if you read interviews with almost any musician who worked in that period, they're full of praise for him. Which would come as a surprise to some people, as he's been forgotten relative to figures like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, famous for their long solos and big kits. As a drummer and a man; "Dave was the single most musical drummer that I've ever known...a sweet man, a gentle man" according to Artie Shaw. He was an extremely thin little man who dressed sharply every day, loved to make art and wanted to be a writer, and hated taking solos. Ultimately, he drank himself to death because, among other things, he felt he wasn't a good enough drummer.

I think one of the most beautiful things about the story of the Stones, if you can call it that, is that they worked so very hard to try to make sure that Charlie never felt the way his hero did. They did everything they could to give him confidence, always.

There's a striking moment during an interview from 2013 where Mick is explaining why Charlie couldn't play with the Stones for their Marquee Club gig in 1963, and, with Charlie sitting right next to him, he just casually tosses this out:

Likewise, there's a little throw-away line in an intro Mick did for Charlie a few years ago that strikes the same chord. He refers to Charlie as Max Roach, who was another one of Charlie's heroes and a highly respected and technically talented bebop drummer. It was Mick's way of saying 'we don't care how mediocre you think you are, we think you're as extraordinary as this guy who was one of the two or three greatest jazz drummers ever':

Ronnie was just the same:

It bears noting here, in relation to Charlie's comment about being replaceable, that the Stones have made a very conscious choice not to replace him. This is how Keith put it: "You took Charlie, everything fell apart, and to be able to transition this thing and also feeling Charlie's presence in a way via Steve...[was important]." Steve is filling in for Charlie, and he's doing it precisely because he was a close student of Charlie's style, so through him they can retain their link to Charlie when they play.

Of course, Keith was Charlie's biggest fan and booster. Like Mick, Keith took all the joy in the world in grabbing him and making him try to see how talented he was via the thousands of people screaming their admiration for him:

He could basically give a graduate level lecture on why Charlie was amazing, and would do it for any journalist who would listen:

And he did everything humanly possible to give Charlie the confidence he needed to get out there and kill as a band leader. I know we've all seen this picture:

It's Mick and Keith coming out together to support Charlie's big band premiere at Ronnie Scott's in 1985. But what you discover, if you read the reviews of all of the various bands, quartets, tenets, etc. that Charlie fronted over the years, is that Keith came to every premiere no matter where it was, and every New York performance. In fact, he and Patti flew from Jamaica specifically to see Charlie start a residency at the Blue Note in 1986. But if you look at those pieces, you'll also see a lot of stuff like this:

"Mr. Watts is as modest as can be. He waited until nearly the end to introduce the musicians; while he was presenting the bassist Dave Green, touchingly, as ''my childhood friend,'' Keith Richards, sitting at a table with a retinue, a poodle and an ever-lighted cigarette, heckled in mock surprise, 'You have one?'"

That wasn't Keith being mean to Charlie. A music critic actually discovered the real reason. Jazz band leaders are basically required, in addition to introducing their players, to do patter between songs and interact with the audience. Charlie was shy, both hated public speaking and thought he was dismally bad at it. So Keith would heckle him throughout a performance in order to make Charlie feel like he was the only person there, and like everything was safe and comfortable.

Anyway, this is far too long, but yeah, Mick, Keith, and Ronnie knew (and know) they had something singular in Charlie Watts, and they're still out there trying to show Charlie just how special he was:

#sorry that this is painfully long #but all the nine billion ways Mick and Keith and Ronnie tried to give Charlie confidence make me feel some kind of way #a band that's really a family #the rolling stones #charlie watts #keith richards #mick jagger #old married band #ronnie wood #the married trio #middle aged married band #dave tough #anonymous #ask response

[pandawriterstuff]

Pinehallow Summary & Character List

This is my main WIP, if I'm complaining about characters doing whatever they want, this is them.

Pinehallow Summary-Monty, an eleven year old boy who has spent most of his life traveling from place to place with his in-demand lawyer mother, Irene, is sent to live at his uncle's horse ranch because she thinks he needs roots. Used to nearly everyone but his mother not being around long enough to get to know, Monty is more than a bit uncertain about this. But in scrambling to find his place in a town different to anything he's ever known, he finds friends, both human and animal, makes discoveries, and even manages to foil a plot against Pinehallow Ranch itself.

Character List

Monty (Montgomery) Cade Waller- Main character, 11, white. Monty is curious, bright, and more than a little awkward. He has a tendency to state the obvious, which can be endearing or annoying depending on your perspective. Big vocabulary and grown-up way of speaking because he’s spent more time around grown-ups than other kids. He’s quietly stubborn, particularly when it comes to being told he’s wrong when he knows he’s right. Insecure about socializing and friendships because of constant moving and traveling. Can’t hold a grudge for the life of him, even when he likely should. He likes bugs, birds and turtles, would rather read nonfiction than a story. Fills lonely afternoons with sketching, nature sketching on the ranch.

Irene Waller- Monty’s mother, 36, white. Irene is a powerful corporate lawyer, either full of energy or exhausted, never in between. She loves using words to sway minds and deciphering documents to find exactly what the opposition doesn’t want her to find. Sometimes Irene wishes she was using her skills in more meaningful ways, but also really likes the money, the traveling, and the competition. Has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of show tunes from musicals. She has a hard time letting people get close. Would stab someone for her baby, but knows it’s better to teach him to stab for himself. Only partially joking. Dolly Parton is her hero, and as much as she loves her music, it’s Dolly the business woman and Dolly the philanthropist that she strives to emulate.

Keith Waller- Monty’s uncle, 34, white. Horse Rancher. Keith loves working hard and getting dirty, and if he’s not exhausted at the end of the day he’ll be looking for something else to push him there. Otherwise he gets antsy. Loves animals and absolutely will not tolerate anyone mistreating any of the animals on his ranch-ordinarily he’s very careful of his size and strength, in that situation, all bets are off. Times that by about ten for any of the ‘barn rats’ that help around the ranch for riding lessons/time. Loves romantic comedies and telanovas and doesn’t care who knows it. Keith doesn’t read a lot, it never came easy to him, but if he’s taking a long trip he’ll always check an audio book or two out of the library instead of just relying on the radio.

Juniper - Keith’s goddaughter, 15, white. She has a calm, confident personality with a smile for most everyone she meets. If she doesn’t have a smile for you and it isn’t because her head is in the clouds over a girl, you’ve probably earned her scorn and will be ignored as much as possible. Juniper raises rabbits and it’s taught her patience, and a lot about unfairness when a kit doesn’t make it. She helps out with riding lessons at the ranch in exchange for riding time of her own, and has become a fixture, spending more time there than she does at home, and when she can get away with it, school. Loves sunflowers and her sunflower comforter is probably her most prized possession.

Nell - Caretaker/cook for the ranch house(would cooking lunch for the workers still be a thing on a modern ranch?). 38, white(?). Not about to put up with nonsense. Will make you cookies if she doesn’t have to put up with nonsense. Please. At one point she wanted to be a chef and has a year of culinary school under her belt, but quickly decided the super fast paced and competitive environment wasn’t for her. Anything that was making her hate one of her favorite things that fast could not be good for a person. She intends to live a long, long life and that kind of stress can just walk right out of the door. Loves to go on long walks, often into the hills (BLM land) behind the ranch. (maybe she was taught/took a class on foraging, and teaches Monty to find wild onions and stuff? But this would mean *I* have to learn about foraging in Idaho.) This leads to a contented, if often silent, companionship between her and Monty, who desperately wants to explore/record/sketch everything about the natural world of his new home, particularly the parts that are off limits to him without an adult along.

Ray- Family Friend/Co-Owner of R & M General (designed to feel vintage, but shiny. Bit of a tourist stop now, they decided to lean into it.), 50, Black. He uses his background in chemistry to make amazing looking candies and chocolates, using that to deal with a time he used it in less pleasant ways when he was in the military. He never expected anybody outside of his small town, or maybe the folks at the county fair to make so much fuss over them. This might embarrass him, if he weren’t so delighted. A cheerful man with a dreamer’s heart, a magazine once referred to him as a small town Willy Wonka. He dotes on his wife, often making and gifting her small surprises. An amputee in honor of my Grandpa (missing left leg at the knee, possibly missing one arm as well, but I’m not sure how that would affect candy making.). Has certain parts of his past he just doesn’t talk about.

Mavis- Co-Owner of ____ with Ray, 48, Black. Fierce and kind in equal measures, Mavis believes in protecting what’s hers, and as far as she’s concerned the entire town of (oh my god, it needs a name) is included in that. Mavis is very selective about the battles she fights, but when she chooses one she throws herself in whole-heartedly. On several committees around town, she’d be on more, but then she wouldn’t have enough time to really get into the work of the ones she loves. She knits in her limited free time, often while listening to the news, but sometimes opera. Has started knitting stuffies in the shapes of the more unusual candies Ray makes, it’s silly, but fun, and tourists and the local kids love it. Still head over heels for Ray, even though his often dreaming about things for ages instead of just doing them is also still baffling to her.

Leanna - Juniper’s sort-of girlfriend, 15, Vietnamese. Quiet, a little cynical, but very empathetic. She avoids the news because it’s that or be mad and want to cry all the time-until she hears about something she can’t not research, and goes on a 24 hour google search and learns far more than is probably good for her about a species going extinct due to logging in prohibited areas, or genocide being covered up by claims of violent uprisings. She loves manga and comics. Leanna sometimes tries for a cottagecore* type aesthetic, but mostly thinks it's too much work. She’s starting to worry about what she’s going to do with her future, and people telling her that she’s only 15 and doesn’t have to worry about it yet is NOT HELPING.

*even though cottagecore isn’t a thing in the early-mid 2000s this is maybe/vaguely set in. Shh, let me have this. Anne of Green Gablesesque maybe?

Winnie - Leanna’s mom, 45, Vietnamese. Widow? A little ditzy, but a lot loving. Everyone in town is convinced she’s the stoner type of hippy, but no one minds as she’s someone who truly wants to know how you’re doing when she asks and strangely almost always has very spot on advice. She’s rarely on time anywhere, but that’s because she’ll have stopped to talk, and often to help, whoever she’s run into. Leanna and her bicker over this when she’s late picking her up. Always wears bright colors. Loves Agatha Christie books. Calls everyone, even people 50 years older than her, hon.

Logan - Juniper’s stepdad, 40, white. Kind of a jerk, but most of the jerky things he says are actually jokes that fall flat or have simply gotten old. Tries really hard, like *really* hard, but has a tendency to get annoyed if people don’t appreciate his efforts right away-more in his personal life than professional, possibly because of his profession. A contractor, hard worker, loyal, has worked for the same company since he was twenty even though they don’t often treat him right. Sometimes tries to buy people’s affections. Wants to have better communication with Juniper, but it’s gotten really hard the last few years and he’s never quite sure why.

Candice - Juniper’s Mom, 39, white, works at a nursery that sells seedlings and baby fruit trees, has a cheerful, calm personality, but a lot softer and more lowkey than Juniper’s version. Very house proud, but has a ‘maximalist’ approach to decorating-everything is in its place, but there are places for lots of things. Loves spending time outdoors, but would rather spend it tending her garden than hiking or riding, preferably with a cup of tea by her side. On the weekends, a fruity beer or wine instead. Wants to go on one of those train rides where you get to drink wine, eat canapes and try to solve a mystery, thinks Winnie might be a good candidate for someone to go with her.

Ura - a ‘barn rat’, 12 and a half, white(maybe a Czech immigrant? 2nd generation?) . A cheerful, rough and tumble boy who is always climbing things, and often being told to stop when he gets too high for other people's comfort. Ura is fearless when it comes to physical feats, but has a fear of ‘slimy’ things like worms and frogs. He has a thick layer of pudge and a big appetite, but is athletic and strong enough that anyone bullying him over it would be doing it at their own peril. Not that he’s the type to start fights, or even finish them most of the time. Doesn’t feel he quite fits in with his family, who are all more serious, reserved people. Redwood is his favorite of the horses, and Keith has all but given up on telling him that sitting on the floor of Red’s stall to talk to the horse isn’t exactly safe.

Elliot - Ray and Mavis’s son, Black, 19 and a college student-maybe/probably at U of I. Lives on campus, but comes home at least a couple weekends a month. Has an older car that he and Ray fixed up together, that is his pride and joy. Quiet, with an irreverent sense of humor that he unleashes somewhat at random. Interested in robotics, engines and mechanics and generally has some project he’s working on, a piece of which may or may not be in his pocket. Often has oil, grease, or ink on his hands, either from working on or designing a new project. A bit of an overachiever, he can spread himself thin trying to live up to all his responsibilities at once. He’s best friends with Randy, a friendship his parents want to disapprove of, because the few times Elliot’s gotten into trouble not only was Randy there, but 99% of the time whatever it was is Randy’s idea, but never quite manage too.

Randy - Handyman at the ranch, mixed race Hispanic and white, 21. Technically head handyman, because the old head retired six months ago, and is a little young/inexperienced for the job, but he’s not the type to back away from a challenge and has risen to the occasion beautifully. Loves rock and metal music, and spends a lot of his free weekends at concerts, the ones crammed into little venues and bars where people are practically on top of each other and the beat is so loud and solid it throbs through you, connecting you to everyone even before you hit the mosh pit, are his preference. He’s been working at the ranch since he was 16, and feels like he has a claim on it, not afraid to speak up if he thinks a decision Keith is making isn’t right or that he isn’t taking something important into consideration. Can be a bit wild when he’s not being the responsible one, definitely doesn’t always think before he acts.

Alma - Local artist/worker at R & M’s, Hispanic, 25. Alma is a painter and poet, a confident young woman who’s figured out that half of surviving as an artist is being your own agent/a salesperson as well, and in addition to several shelves at the R & M that hold postcard prints of many of her pieces, both the coffee shop and cafe have some of her larger paintings displayed, and she always has a booth at the Saturday market, though the majority of her sales come from her website. Alma is cheerful, and likes to tease, and growing up the middle child of four brothers, is very able to hold her own in verbal sparring. She’s close with her family, still living with her parents, and while at first her father was dismayed at her choice of career, he now hands out her business card to basically everyone he talks to.

Miriam - Nell’s Mom, white, 71, a little deaf, speaks loudly, partially because of the deafness, partially because she spent too long letting other people push her around and when she hit about 50 decided she was going to be the one talking over people now. She’s earned it. Age has made her more delicate than she likes, bruising and scraping easily, but she’s determined to do most things for herself. Those that are beyond her she has no problem loudly ordering someone else to take care of. Volunteers a lot, often fosters kittens for the local animal shelter. Used to chain smoke, quit when Nell was a teenager because she kept leaving pictures of diseased lungs everywhere. Still uses the candy ones as a substitute.

Places

Unnamed Town- Somewhere in Latah County, Idaho, where there is not already a town in the way. Around 200 years old and has grown and shrunk and grown again, and currently has a population of about 12,000. Having grown out from a traditional mainstreet, _______ no longer has the western style boardwalk seen in old pictures, but it does have a large cluster of local businesses and ‘hot spots’ still along that old main street, a coffee shop, a diner, a combination bookshop and independent library, a hardware store, a bar, a few places I haven’t thought of yet, and of course R & M General. There is a historical barn half a mile or so away from mainstreet that has been converted into a theater/meeting hall/dance hall, and a community center was added onto it in the early 90’s. During the summer there is a farmer’s market on the property every Saturday. The elementary school and junior high are all on one property, several miles out of town, because the majority of families live on farms, ranches or small rural properties rather than in one of the neighborhood clusters in the town itself. The junior high is 7th, 8th and 9th graders, in a newer two story building, and the elementary school is divided into lower and upper elementary with the bracket shaped building basically being cut in half, K-3 on one side and 4-6 on the other. The high school is outside of town on the other side by several miles, and actually serves kids from another town(s) as well. There is also a trailer park with about forty units, not exactly sure where it is yet, but Miriam(Nell’s Mom) lives there. There is also an animal shelter, a vet’s office, a cemetery, and a couple churches, and I’m sure more things to come.

R & M General (working title?)- Ray and Mavis’s store, a general store with a candy focused twist. A vintage Pepsi sign, neon still bright, and a charming green glass juke-box filled with hits from the 1940’s onward grace the front porch of the R & M, along with a long bench that locals are encouraged to use for a spell or to listen to a couple songs, provided they can behave themselves (teenagers arguing over who their favorite member of the rat pack is might be amusing, considering they were already ‘mom and dad’, or at least older brother and sister, music by the time Mavis and Ray were teenagers, but when they get loud it also gets annoying.). The store itself still has the original wooden counter up front and built-in shelves along the walls, but all refinished and polished to a high shine. A mixture of display types going down the middle of the store, barrels and baskets filled with skeins of colorful yarn and cloth or Mavis’s knitted stuffies(and during winter sometimes socks and mittens), other sewing and craft supplies, display racks with local arts, postcards and carvings, sometimes wind up toys made by Elliot, and of course many, many displays of candies and chocolates. They also have a lot of dry goods, and some of the simpler candy types have little instruction booklets and the ingredients it takes to try out making them yourself stocked in the same display, drink coolers, and sometimes have local produce available. Basically, they have a bit of everything, except for building equipment/home repair supplies, and that’s because of the hardware store across the street.

Pinehallow Ranch-A sprawling 100 acre ranch in Latah County, Idaho where the Waller family has been doing something or other with horses for four generations now. Originally it was a horse breeding ranch, but Keith and Irene’s grandfather felt the money was in training horses, and offered boarding as well, and Keith has continued to build that up, offering lessons for a variety of styles, ages, and skill levels. Butting up against BLM land that allows additional grazing and trail riding, the ranch has four pastures, a large corral, a medium sized indoor arena and two horse barns, one for boarded horses and one for the ranch's own stock, and an equipment barn, an old bunkhouse that is mostly used to store feed-though Randy has slept there when in between places, mostly unbeknownst to Keith-and some smaller equipment sheds, placed where they’re needed. The main house is an L-shaped ranch house with a porch that goes around the entire long front of the house with a large herb/kitchen and rock garden arranged around that. There are treed pockets scattered here and there, left alone as the rest of the ranch was developed, but the creek Monty and Juniper sometimes hang out at is on BLM land, as is most of the forested area around the ranch.

Pinehallow Taglist @sleepysera @enchanted-lightning-aes @odysseywritings @thegreatobsesso @writing-is-a-martial-art and @hiitsolivia If anyone else wants to be added just interact with the post :) (My more advanced tumblr knowledge has led me to believe this is better than asking people to reblog/comment to be added, but if I'm wrong just let me know.)

#character list #oc list #someday I'll do a proper series introduction #and an introduction for me #but today is not that day #pinehallow ranch #original writing #I tend to build my world around the characters #backwards I know

[erithel]

I don’t think ‘jealous’ would be the right word. Because shiro is a grown adult and shouldn’t and wouldn’t be jealous that a teenager found friendship, happiness and emotional support with another teenager. Maybe nostalgic wistfulness is a better description?

Huh okay. I agree that 'jealousy' did not fit the canon version of Shiro's character, or the slightly altered version in my head. But I do know many people resent him, and I could totally see jealousy being written into a fic. In terms of "shouldn't and wouldn't," however...unfortunately that only exists in an ideal world. Age and life experience isn't guaranteed to fix issues in an individual's personality. There are literal cases of husbands being jealous of the attention their wife is giving to their newborn child. It's beyond toxic and of course it shouldn't happen – but it does happen.

I can see where you're coming from with the 'nostalgic wistfulness' – and honestly, I'm not sure if you're the same person who wrote the previous ask, so I'm not sure if you're referring to a specific fic you've read where this was the case.

The one thing I can say is that I can see Shiro being simultaneously proud and disappointed. Proud because Keith is opening up to someone, but disappointed in himself for not being the person Keith needed to open up to. You can feel happy for someone while still wishing a situation had been different, as it pertains to you.

I have had two friends be recognized at the same time for a contest we had all entered. Was I happy for them? Hell yes I was. Did I also wish I had received some recognition? You're damn right.

Again, I haven't read any fics where Shiro is portrayed with anything even remotely resembling jealousy, so I can't give an example of "jealousy vs. disappointment in self." I can say for sure, if I ever read a fic where Shiro was portrayed as being actually jealous of Keith opening up to Lance, it would not be a fic I'd want to finish.

#erithel's hot takes #asks #shiro (voltron) #vld

[rivertalesien]

i hope this isn't pushy pressure just want to know if you'll share what you learned on the depp case?

The big takeaway (and there are too many examples to cite) is that Depp is surrounded by simpering sycophants who will do anything for his spoiled, rotten ass, including lying. 

He tells the judge he considers himself to be a “southern gentleman” but consistently refers to women as cunts and whores and wishes violence on them (his text with Paul Bettany where they joke about raping and burning Heard as a witch is vile af but it isn’t the only example). 

His career has clearly been negatively affected by his own behavior: an entitled drunk and drug addict who has gaslit everyone around him. His determination to destroy Amber Heard for daring to stand up to him has made him completely unbearable. He clearly blames her for interfering with his “legacy.” Nothing in the proceedings suggests she was anything more to him than the pretty young trophy wife he had collected, was consistently shitty to and underestimated. Her own behavior, especially toward the end of the relationship, looks more and more like a woman pushed over the edge while, especially during one moment Depp recorded, he was clearly manipulating her throughout their conversation.  

The judge didn’t buy any of his bullshit. Hopefully no one else will again.  

As for abuse allegations against Heard: her ex-wife was very clear on the point that they were harassed by cops who got involved in their argument and blew it out of proportion and she supported Heard. The only statements in support of Depp were by two exes: one who hasn’t been with him in over 20 years and the other who has a financial stake. They were not interviewed or questioned for any details on their experiences with him. 

The whole thing stinks and a reminder that men like Depp who have held power and influence in their industry, who seek out younger women for companionship, are all about controlling everything around them. I believe he was abusive, I believe he’s an asshole and he brought all of this shit on himself. 

He looks up to the likes of Keith Richards and wants that fucked-up rock n’ roll fantasy life. He got it. 

#questions #seriously though #the sycophants around him? #unbelievable #jd #johnny depp #amber heard #april 2021 #the dude is friends with marilyn manson #whose fans are pulling the same ish

[sharada-n]

shae, gimme ur l4d2 headcanons, do it do it do it

Guess you forced my hand :( Warning: this gets loooong

Coach:

Loves kids? Like, we know he changed careers because his injury meant he couldn’t play football anymore, but I think in the end he actually liked his new gig better

Has a name but is just more used to being referred to as Coach and also didn’t want to reveal it because he didn’t know how long these idiots would stick around (and by the time they were full found fam it was just funnier not to)

Widower - was married for 20+ years but his wife died a few years before the events of the game. Due to fertility issues they had no children

Suuuuuuper protective of the others? Total dad friend, would always be the first to go back for a fallen comrade. Is friend-shaped

He’s also hug-shaped. Coach gives the best hugs, he’s a real physically affectionate guy, and he will not be stopped

Besides sports, he is also really into (rock) music and board games. Biggest regret about the Apocalypse is he can’t play chess anymore

Also super good at cooking? He’s the designated team cook, give him some corned beef and half a can of baked beans and Coach will make you a delicious feast

Rochelle:

Honestly was better than most people at her job, definitely a bit of a workaholic. Sometimes she has a hard time letting loose

L... lesbean - had several relationships before but wasn’t in one when the Apocalypse started

Definitely knew how to handle a gun already before shit went down. Going to the shooting range was a hobby of hers (perfect way to de-stress). Other hobbies include writing, watching reality television and jogging. She was also definitely in a book club

She is one of those ‘silent anger’ types. She’ll be the first to engage in witty banter or sarcastic jabs, but piss her off for real and it’ll be a deadly storm coming you way and you won’t even hear it coming

She’s definitely the planner of the group. She is down-to-earth and realistic, and also remembers EVERYTHING so the others do occasionally rely on her to keep them in line. Their team doesn’t have a leader, but Rochelle comes closest to serving as one.

Actually sucks at first aid. She has had the fortune of not being in many scrapes or accidents in her life, but it did have the side-effect that Coach had to teach her how to patch herself (or others) up

Her family is not from the area and in fact she has no idea how they’re doing or how to contact them. She’s very worried about them, but knows she won’t ever be able to find them if she’s not alive to do so

Ellis:

As much as he doesn’t want it, he’s the baby of the team. That’s just how it is, he can not change this. He can handle himself just fine but that won’t stop the others from thinking it

Definitely has untreated ad(h)d of some kind? This man is a force of chaotic energy you can not comprehend. His attention span is also all over the place. Has an unhealthy need to be liked by people at all times or he will combust

Knows how to ride a horse, knows how to ride a cow, probably would try to ride a goat if given the chance

Was an only child but was very popular among his friends

Ironically did not know how to shoot a gun before things went down, but played video games and also watched Keith shoot cans sometimes (the sound of the gun is very bothersome for him) and he’s a quick learner

But for this reason, he will always prefer melee. Weapon of choice will be the baseball bat but he’s handy with anything 

Speaking of handiness, as a mechanic Ellis is great at fixing up shit and the others are internally grateful he’ll keep the electricity running. Thanks to Keith and their wild adventures, he’s also great at first aid

Doesn’t know where his parents where when the outbreak happened and frankly doesn’t really care

Nick:

Convicted felon, conman, and known crook. Served a grand total of six months in the slammer, but he doesn’t talk about it. Absolutely has killed before but gotten away with it

Had a bad childhood, bad family, joined gangs at an early age. He dabbled mostly in petty theft and vandalism before upgrading to actual organized crime, but went solo because he doesn’t like people

Trust issues central. Partly because of the above reasons, partly because he’s just a pessimist and doesn’t believe people will stand for anything but themselves when the world ends. He takes the longest to warm up to the others

After he does, he’s definitely ride or die though. They all have each others backs, but Nick is the only one who would gladly shank a guy for even looking at his team funny

Likes gambling but often loses money when he’s not cheating. His less detrimental hobbies are visiting bars, traveling and sailing. He’s a boat boy and knows how to operate one

Rich through unsavory means, Nick has expensive tastes and his biggest adjustment about the Apocalypse is the lower living standard. Hates the lack of toilet paper and will not shut up about it

Germaphobe. Hates gross things, hates gross smells, hates anything gross except blood (and that’s just because he’s used to it). Pukes pretty easily, all things considered

Married young and stayed with his (ex-)wife for 7 years. He really loved her, she... did not exactly return the sentiment. In the end she cheated and they divorced, but Nick is mostly over it, just bitter

#left for dead #l4d2 #Left 4 dead 2 #answers #thank you so muuuch I love theseeeee #and now I just wanna write them

[weavingthetapestry]

Places to Go: Tullibardine Chapel

A small kirk sheltered by Scots pines, Tullibardine Chapel has an air of tranquility and simple elegance. Formerly the private chapel of the Murrays of Tullibardine, it is one of the few buildings of its kind in Scotland to have survived with many of its medieval details intact.

The Murrays acquired the lands of Tullibardine in the late thirteenth century, when William ‘de Moravia’ married a daughter of the steward of Strathearn. Later, through judicious marriages and court connections, they first became earls of Tullibardine and then Dukes of Atholl. But even as lairds the Murrays were a significant power in late mediaeval Perthshire. In those days Tullibardine Castle was one of their main strongholds, and the close proximity of royal residences like Stirling meant that the Castle also hosted several notable guests. Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed there in December of 1566 (allegedly in the company of the earl of Bothwell). One laird of Tullibardine became Master of Household to the young James VI, while his aunt Annabella Murray, Countess of Mar, oversaw the king’s upbringing. Thus James VI was also a frequent visitor and it was he who created the earldom of Tullibardine in 1606. The king is known to have attended the wedding of the laird of Tullibardine’s daughter Lilias Murray, though it is unclear whether this took place at Tullibardine itself. The castle grounds were probably an impressive sight too: the sixteenth century writer Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie claimed that a group of hawthorns at the “zeit of Tilliebairne”* had been planted in the shape of the Great Michael by some of the wrights who worked on the famous ship.

Thus the tower at Tullibardine, though presumably on a small-scale, was apparently comfortable and imposing enough for the lairds to host royalty and fashion an impressive self-image. But the spiritual needs of a late mediaeval noble family were just as important as their political prestige, and a chapel could both shape the family’s public image and secure their private wellbeing. The current chapel at Tullibardine, which originally stood at a small distance from the castle, was allegedly founded by David Murray in 1446, “in honour of our blessed Saviour”. At least this was the story according to the eighteenth century writer John Spottiswoode, and his assertion is partly supported by the chapel’s internal evidence, though no surviving contemporary document explicitly confirms the tale. A chapel certainly existed by 1455, when a charter in favour of David’s son William Murray of Tullibardine mentions it as an existing structure. In this charter, King James II stated that his “familiar shieldbearer” William Murray has “intended to endow and infeft certain chaplains in the chapel of Tullibardine”. Since the earls of Strathearn had previously endowed a chaplain in the kirk of Muthill, but duties pertaining to the chaplaincy had not been undertaken for some time, James transferred the chaplaincy to Tullibardine. He also granted his patronage and gift of the chaplaincy to William Murray and his heirs.

The charter indicates that Tullibardine Chapel was an important project for the Murrays. Interestingly though, no official references to the chapel in the fifteenth, sixteenth, or seventeenth centuries describe Tullibardine chapel as a collegiate church, even though later writers have frequently claimed this. Collegiate foundations were increasingly popular with the Scottish nobility during the late Middle Ages, but, although such a foundation might have been planned for Tullibardine, there is no evidence that this ever took place.

The 1455 charter serves as an early indication of the chapel’s purpose and significance. Judging by its architecture the current chapel does appear to have been constructed in the mid-fifteenth century. However it was also substantially remodelled and enlarged around 1500, when the western tower was added. One remnant of the original design is the late Gothic ‘uncusped’ loop tracery on the windows. Despite the apparent simplicity of the chapel, features such as this window tracery have been taken as evidence that its builder was acutely aware of contemporary European architectural fashions. Another interesting feature is the survival of the chapel’s original timber collarbeam roof, a rare thing in Scotland. Several coats of arms belonging to members of the Murray family adorn the walls and roof corbels, although some of these armorial panels were probably moved when the chapel was reconstructed. They include the arms of the chapel’s alleged founder David Murray and his wife Margaret Colquhoun, as well as those of his parents, another David Murray and Isabel Stewart. A later member of the family, Andrew Murray, married a lady named Margaret Barclay c.1499, around the same time that the chapel was renovated, and although they were buried elsewhere, their coats of arms can also be seen there. Aside from such details- carved in stone and thus less perishable than books and vestments- the chapel’s interior seems quite sparse and bare today. Originally though the mediaeval building probably housed several richly furnished altars and some of the piscinas (hand-washing stations for priests) can still be seen in the walls. But the sumptuous display favoured in even the smallest mediaeval chapels was soon to be swept away entirely by the Reformation of 1560, when Scotland broke with the Catholic Church and Protestantism became the established faith of the realm.

Tullibardine was used chiefly as a private burial place after the Reformation, but there are signs that the transition from one faith to another was not entirely smooth. Four years after the “official” Reformation, a priest named Sir Patrick Fergy was summoned before the “Superintendent” of Fife, Fothriff, and Strathearn to answer the charge that he had taken it upon himself “to prech and minister the sacramentis wythowtyn lawfull admission, and for drawing of the pepill to the chapel of Tulebarne fra thar parroche kyrk”. Fergy did not obey the summons and so it was decided that he should be summoned for a second admonition. It is not known whether Fergy compeared on that occasion, nor what kind of punishment he might have received for his defiance. We are also in the dark as to the laird of Tullibardine’s views on the situation, even though it was going on right under his family’s nose. Nonetheless the case does provide a glimpse into what must have been a complex religious situation in sixteenth century Perthshire, no less for the ordinary parishioner than for the nobility. It also raises the possibility that private worship continued in the chapel after the Reformation, albeit unofficially.

Even as Tullibardine chapel’s public role diminished, the castle was still of some importance. Royal visits must have been considerably rarer after James VI succeeded to the English throne in 1603, and the Murrays of Tullibardine themselves acquired greater titles and estates, but the tower at Tullibardine still witnessed some notable events. During the first half of the eighteenth century, the castle was the home of Lord George Murray, a kinsman of the Duke of Atholl and famous for his participation in the Jacobite Risings of 1715, 1719, and 1745. During the last of these, Tullibardine Castle played host to a Jacobite garrison and was visited by Charles Edward Stuart. In less warlike times, Lord Murray often resided with his family at Tullibardine, and one of his daughters, who sadly died in infancy, seems to have been buried in the chapel. Lord George himself expressed a wish to be buried there as well but he was forced to flee into exile on the continent after the failure of the ’45, and so his body was interred “over the water” at Medemblick, in the Netherlands.

After Lord George’s exile Tullibardine castle entered a period of slow decline. Much of the fabric of the building was removed in 1747. Some years earlier plans had been made for the old tower to be replaced by a fashionable new house designed by William Adam, but these never materialised. A sketch of the mediaeval chapel made in 1789 shows the castle in the background- a roofless, tumbledown ruin. Tullibardine castle was finally demolished in 1833, and the family chapel, whose very existence had for centuries been defined by its proximity to the laird’s house, now stands alone. We are thus all the more fortunate for its survival, and both its attractive situation and interesting mediaeval features make Tullibardine chapel well worth a visit.

(Tullibardine Chapel, with the castle ruins in the background, as sketched in 1789. Reproduced with permission of the National Libraries of Scotland, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License)

Sources and notes may be found under the ‘read more’ button.

* “zeit” is presumaby “yett”, the old Scots word for gate.

Selected Bibliography:

- “Account of All the Religious Houses That Were in Scotland at the Time of the Reformation”, by John Spottiswood, in “An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops Down to the Year 1688″, by Reverend Robert Keith.

- Seventh Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Part 2 (Duke of Atholl papers)

- “Register of the Ministers, Elders, and Deacons of the Congregation of St Andrews”, volume 4, Part 1 (St Andrews Kirk Session Register), edited by David Hay Fleming

- “Statement of Significance: Tullibardine Chapel”, Historic Environment Scotland

- “The Historie and Croniclis of Scotland From the Slauchter of King James the First to the Ane Thousande Five Hundreith Thrie Scoir Fiftein Zeir”, by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, volume 1 edited Aeneas J. G. Mackay. 

- “Late Gothic Architecture in Scotland: Considerations on the Influence of the Low Countries”, by Richard Fawcett in ‘Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland’, 112 (1982) 

- “Aspects of Timber in Renaissance and Post-Renaissance Scotland: The Case of Stirling Palace”, Thorsten Hanke

- “Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland”, Vol. 5, ed. M. Livingstone

- “The Household and Court of King James VI”, Amy L. Juhala

- “Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland”, by David Moysie, ed. James Dennistoun for the Bannatyne Club

- “Calendar of State Papers, Scotland”, Volume 10, 1589-93, ed. William K. Boyd and Henry W. Meikle

- “The Indictment of Mary Queen of Scots, as Derived from a Manuscript in the University Library at Cambridge, Hitherto Unpublished”, by George Buchanan, edited by R.H. Mahon

#Scottish history #Scotland #British history #Perthshire #Places to go #Strathearn #Tullibardine Chapel #Tullibardine #Auchterarder #fifteenth century #sixteenth century #eighteenth century #1450s #1500s #building #architecture #Gothic Architecture #kirk and people #religion #Church #Christianity #private chapel #chapel #Murray family #Murrays of Tullibardine #Murray #Duke of Atholl #Jacobites #James VI #Mary Queen of Scots

[aion-rsa]

Mass Effect: Best Star Trek References and Easter Eggs

https://ift.tt/3tH2zJa

Look, it’s not exactly a secret that Mass Effect has a little Star Trek in its DNA. It’s a franchise all about assembling a crew comprised of humans and aliens as you explore the furthest reaches of space and try your best to romance a few of those humans and aliens. It’s safe to say someone on the Mass Effect development teams watched an episode or two of Star Trek.

So while Mass Effect is, in some ways, a giant tribute to Star Trek and several other notable sci-fi works, there are a few ways that the Mass Effect games reference Star Trek that you may not have spotted unless you’re a hardcore Star Trek fan who also explored the furthest reaches of Mass Effect‘s galaxy.

From suspicious lines of dialog to familiar voices, these are some of the best Star Trek references and Easter eggs you’ll find in the Mass Effect trilogy.

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The Borg and The Geth

As a race of networked AI who utilize a “hivemind” system and have to deal with the occasional dissenter, there are clearly similarities between Mass Effect‘s Geth and Star Trek‘s Borg that can’t be ignored.

Having said that, some fans have pointed out that the designs and philosophies of the Geth could also be a nod to Battlestar Galactica‘s Cylons. It should also be noted that Mass Effect‘s Reapers are often treated as a mysterious galactic threat similar to how the Borg were described in early TNG episodes.

The Thorian and Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan’s Ceti Eels

In Mass Effect, you’ll encounter a sentient plant known as a Thorian. If this almost slug-like creature with the ability to use painful spores to control people’s minds seems oddly familiar, that’s likely because it’s almost certainly a reference to the Ceti Eels that Khan used to control people in one of Star Trek 2‘s most memorable scenes.

In fact, there’s a memorable moment in Mass Effect when Fai Dan shoots himself after ignoring a Thorian order to kill Shepard. It’s an almost exact recreation of a Wrath of Khan scene in which Captain Terrel uses a phaser on himself after disobeying Khan and the influence of the Ceti Eels.

Cerebus and Section 31

In Star Trek: Deep Space 9, we learn there’s a special section of Starfleet known simply as Section 31. They’re kind of a “wetworks” organization that has operated with and without Star Fleet’s support over the years. Through it all, they claim to promote “security” through whatever means necessary.

The Cerebus group in Mass Effect serve a similar purpose, with the biggest difference being that Cerebus has long been a kind of “splinter” group that operates independently to protect human interest (allegedly) on a galactic scale whereas Section 31 did seemingly operate with Starfleet’s support (at least for a time).

The Normandy’s Poker Table

While it’s a bit of a shame you don’t really get to do much with the poker table on the Normandy, the fact there’s a poker table so prominently featured on a spaceship has to be a callback to the poker table frequently used by the Enterprise crew in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Actually, TNG‘s poker table was such an important part of the ship (at least to key members of the crew) that it was even the centerpiece of the final scene in TNG‘s last episode, “All Good Things…”

Kenneth Donnelly is (Accidentally?) a Scotty Tribute

As a spaceship engineer with a heavy Scottish accent, it’s easy to assume that Mass Effect‘s Kenneth Donnelly was designed to be an obvious homage to Star Trek‘s Montgomery “Scotty” Scott.

However, Mass Effect level designer Dusty Everman has previously stated that the similarities between those two weren’t planned from the start and really only came to life as the result of voice actor John Ullyatt’s performance choices and a bit of coincidence. Actually, Everman (or someone convincingly posing as him once upon a time) stated that Donnelly’s accent was based on his wife’s love of Ewan McGregor and that the original plan was for female Shepard players to be able to romance him.

“Yes! Exhilarating, Isn’t It?”

One of Mass Effect‘s better Star Trek references happens when Shepard warns a Krogan that the area around them is collapsing and the Krogan replies “Exhilarating, isn’t it?”

The same line is spoken by Christopher Lloyd in Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock under spiritually similar circumstances. Lloyd even portrays a Klingon in the film, and the Krogan have been called a Klingon-like race.

Various Star Trek Actors Voice Characters in the Mass Effect Franchise

If you’ve ever wondered just how much Star Trek influenced Mass Effect, look no further than Mass Effect‘s voice actor cast list.

Marina Sirtis, Armin Shimerman, Keith Szarabajka, Dwight Schultz…the Mass Effect cast is packed with actors arguably best known for their roles in various Star Trek series and films. Michael Dorn (who famously portrayed Worf in Star Trek: TNG) even voices a Krogan in Mass Effect 2.

Read more

Games

Mass Effect’s Hidden Kirk/Picard Morality System

By Matthew Byrd

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Star Trek: Judgment Rites Was the Final Season The Original Series Deserved

By Matthew Byrd

“This is… it’s green?”

While visiting the Dark Star lounge, Mass Effect‘s Commander Shepard receives an alien drink and remarks “This is… it’s green?” The line is a clear callback to a Star Trek: TOS episode called “By Any Other Name” in which Scotty picks up a strange bottle and makes the same comment.

In fact, Data says a similar line in the TNG episode “Relics” while pouring a mysterious green drink for…Scotty.

Mordin Solus and Data Have Similar Taste in Music

Mordin Solus’ love of music isn’t just one of the best Mass Effect companion’s most loveable attributes, it’s an apparent nod to Data: the also hyper-intelligent, also slightly detached Star Trek: TNG character who also loves to sing.

Actually, Solus and Data seem to share an appreciation for Gilbert and Sullivan as the two sing the duo’s greatest hits in their respective series.

“Goodbye Little Wing” and Deanna Troi

Matriarch Benezia isn’t just one of the more memorable side characters in the original Mass Effect; she’s another one of those characters in the Mass Effect franchise you may have not realized was voiced by a Star Trek alumni. Yes, Benezia is played by none other than Deanna Troi actress Marina Sirtis.

Best of all, there’s a moment in the first Mass Effect when Benezia says “Goodbye little wing, I have always been proud of you” shortly before dying. It’s an odd phrase that might make a little more sense when you realize that Troi’s mother was always calling her “little one” in TNG.

“When Your World Seems Hollow, We Help You Touch the Sky”

This one has to be in the running for the honor of “most obscure” Star Trek reference in any Mass Effect game.

In Mass Effect‘s Bring Down The Sky DLC, there is a radio shack located between two fusion torches. Go inside it, and you’ll find a log filled with unused radio promo spots. The script for one of those spots reads “If you are feeling hollow, we can help you touch the sky.” What is that supposed to mean?

Well, it seems to be a nod to a Star Trek: TOS Season 3 episode called “For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky.” In that episode, an old man living atop a mountain tells the Enterprise crew “the world is hollow and I have touched the sky.”

The Systems Alliance Logo Looks Very Familiar…

Mass Effect‘s Systems Alliance is an Earth coalition responsible for representing the interests of humans in Citadel space. There are obviously many organizations in several notable sci-fi works with similar responsibilities, but there’s little doubt that the Systems Alliance is intended to refer to Star Trek‘s Starfleet.

In fact, the Systems Alliance logo bears a strong resemblance to the Starfleet logo from later Star Trek series and films. It’s not exactly a 1:1 copy, but it’s impossible not to spot the similarities once you start looking for them.

“Karora is Essentially a Great Rock in Space”

You’ll find another surprisingly subtle Star Trek reference in Mass Effect 2 when you request more information on a planet named Karora. The Normandy’s computer will inform you that “Karora is essentially a great rock in space, tidally locked to Amada.”

As it just so happens, Spock describes the Regula planet that the Enterprise crew encounters in Star Trek 2 as “essentially a great rock in space.” Maybe the wording is common enough to be a coincidence, but given all the other clear Star Trek references in Mass Effect, it feels like an intentional tribute.

The post Mass Effect: Best Star Trek References and Easter Eggs appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[thecoleopterawithana]

Your quote: "So perhaps, when in 1989 Paul asks “Did I ever take you in my arms, look you in the eye, tell you that I do” the part that he “never did” was the latter"( with John according to your perspective??)--I saw a video where Paul says he's talking about how the workaday life meant he sometimes took marriage and Linda for granted--like we all do our spouses at times--and that was why he wrote that song. Your take please? Respectfully inquiring--thanks!

Hello, anon dear. Thanks so much for your respectful request! Especially considering that every opportunity I get to talk about “This One” is a personal pleasure.

I believe the video you were referring to is this one (eheh), where correspondent Bernard Goldberg interviews Paul for the TV series 48 Hours. The episode follows part of The Paul McCartney World Tour, which marked not only his first major tour outing in ten years, but also the first time in his solo career that a substantial number of Beatles songs were included in the setlist.

Paul is asked about “This One” near the 8:30 mark of the first video and his answer continues in the second part.

Here is a transcription of the segment in question:

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Q: Let me ask you about one of the new songs, “This One”. Is it about a marriage?

Paul: A relationship, yeah.

Q: And about, not expressing emotions and feelings?

[Paul performing “This One”]

Paul: You get those moments, sort of late at night or when you’re feeling good and you think, “Oh, you know, it’d be great to kind of— I hope I tell her I love her enough, and all that.” And then come the morning, when you’ve got to get off to the office and it’s [yawns] “Okay, goodbye, love you!”, and so on. And, you know, life’s like that. And there’s never kind of enough time to— If you like your parents for instance, to tell them, “God, just what you meant to me.” 

[Paul performing “This One”]

Paul: You always think, “Well, I’m saving it up. I’ll tell ‘em one day.” And what happens with a lot of people is— Something like John, for instance, getting back to that subject. He died. 

I was lucky. The last few wee— months that he was alive, we’d managed to get our relationship back on track. And we were talking and having real good conversations. Real nice and friendly. But George, actually, didn’t, I don’t think, get his relationship right. They were arguing right up to the end. Which I’m sure is a source of great sadness to him. And I’m sure, in the feeling of this song, that George was always planning to tell John he loved him. But time ran out. And that’s what the song is about. There never could be a better moment than this one, you know, now. Take this moment to say, [hesitates] “I love you.” [Laughs] It’s not quite the same. 

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Now, about your question. I take you were wondering why in the post you quoted me on I used an excerpt of this song to hypothesize about a facet of Paul and John’s relationship. 

Allow me to begin by saying that, as the wonderful @amoralto pointed out in the aforementioned post, one should be cautious about what kind of information we’re extracting from an art form like songs. The sources of inspiration can be multiple, and the exact meaning of the piece elusive even to its author. So it’s probably best to be prudent about taking the lyrics too literally or extrapolating the entire song as to be about a single situation/person. 

Nevertheless, there are still certain patterns and themes that keep emerging, and I am curious about examining those. And being songs one of the places where they more openly communicated and truly laid bare their feelings, I believe the tumble down the rabbit hole of speculation might be worth it, just to see what we may find there. 

As Paul put it:

The idea is that what I’ll leave behind me will be music, and I may not be able to tell you everything I feel, but you’ll be able to feel it when you listen to my music. I won’t have the time or the articulation to be able to say it all, but if you enjoy composing you say it through the notes.

Of course, John also said:

When Paul and I write a song, we try and take hold of something we believe in – a truth. We can never communicate 100 per cent of what we feel, but if we can convey just a fraction, we have achieved something. We try to give people a feeling – they don’t have to understand the music if they can just feel the emotion. This is half the reason the fans don’t understand, but they experience what we are trying to tell them.

So maybe we can experience the emotion they infused the song with, but not always be able to understand the circumstances that gave rise to it in their own lives.

To find that last crucial piece of the puzzle, one has to truly contextualise the song. And that’s where all the other more tangible sources of information come in, such as quotes and timelines. 

Of course, drawing conclusions from any kind of data is, in itself, an interpretation. And an inescapably personal one at that. 

The only way to approximate objectivity is through critical thinking and emotional intelligence. Continuously question your own assumptions and those of others, and don’t be attached to any one answer. Be willing to change your views based on new information and be open to considering new perspectives. I find that input from others is invaluable in drawing my attention to an angle I’d previously missed. For if our personal experiences sometimes blind us to certain facets of the subject we’re examining, they also give us a more intimate understanding of other sides of it, as we’ve walked in those same shoes before and know precisely what it feels like.

What I essentially mean with this disclaimer is that this is my current interpretation of the information. And my answers are usually so slow and long (my apologies) because I try to provide the data so that you can draw your own conclusions.

That settled, here is how I interpret Paul’s explication of “This One”. 

The interviewer begins by asking if the song is about a marriage and Paul sightly corrects him that it’s about a relationship. 

Then Goldberg posits his theory regarding the theme: “not expressing emotions and feelings.” And Paul goes on to explain, in his usual inclusive and generalising fashion: 

You get those moments, sort of late at night or when you’re feeling good and you think, “Oh, you know, it’d be great to kind of— I hope I tell her I love her enough, and all that.” And then come the morning, when you’ve got to get off to the office and it’s [yawns] “Okay, goodbye, love you!���, and so on.

He uses the second person to emphasize how the reporter must share his feelings — ‘you know what I mean, right?’ — thus making his experiences not only more relatable and perceivable, but it also slightly removes the focus from himself. You put it best when you said, “like we all do […] at times.”

He does start by giving the example of an apparently marital routine. And though it could have been chosen as something the interviewer would more quickly relate to, it may also be that he had difficulty “expressing emotions and feelings” in his marriage with Linda. He has spoken of such hurdles in his relationship with Nancy, which he expressed in his 2013 hidden track “Scared”. 

Well, I’m just like anybody else, man! You know? You get those moments. I don’t normally write about them; but it’s a good thing to use. I was feeling it, as well. I was newly in love with Nancy, and I was finding it a little difficult to say, ‘I love you.’ Number one, I’m a guy, and that’s a big excuse, I know, but it is a bit true to form…

— Paul McCartney, interview with Miranda Sawyer for The Guardian (13 October 2013).

So I slightly disagree with your assessment that the song is about “how the workaday life meant he sometimes took marriage and Linda for granted”. I don’t think he took his relationship with Linda for granted as much as he was unable to openly express how much it meant to him. He got inundated by “those moments” of love and appreciation, but then kind of used the hustle and bustle of everyday life as an excuse not to dwell on the discomfort of having to confess them.

I think it’s perhaps more accurate to say that the matter of “expressing emotions and feelings”, particularly actually saying “I love you”, is something that Paul has struggled with all his life and pervaded most of his relationships.

He even goes on to give the example of his parents, and how he wished he’d tell them, “God, just what you meant to me.” Which is a similar phrasing to the one he uses in “Scared”, more than two decades later:

I’m scared to say I love you / Afraid to let you know / That the simplest of words won’t come out of my mouth / Though I’m dying to let them go / Trying to let you know […]I’m still too scared to tell you / Afraid to let you see / That the simplest of words won’t come out of my mouth / Though I’m dying to set them free / Trying to let you see, how much it means to me / How much you mean to me / How much you mean to me now

But the relationship in which this theme of not expressing emotions and feelings seems most stark, at least as Paul expressed it publicly and in his music, is in his relationship with John.

He puts it quite plainly in another quote about “Scared”:

Paul: You can actually say, “I love you,” to someone, but it’s quite hard. And so that’s why it’s usually easier when you’re a bit drunk. It’s like ‘Here Today’ [on 1982’s Tug of War], which was for John, and there is the line, (sings) “Du du du du du du du, I love you,” and it is a bit of a moment in the song. It would be a bit like Keith Richards saying to Mick, “I love you.” I mean he does, but I’m not sure he’s going to say it. I’m sure the Gallaghers love each other on some level, probably quite deeply, but that certainly isn’t going to get said soon. I think it’s quite an interesting subject and I felt it most recently with [wife] Nancy, I knew I loved her but to actually say, “I love you,” you know, it’s just not that easy.

— Paul McCartney,  interview with Pat Gilbert for MOJO (November 2013).

Note that even here, in a quote about a song he wrote for Nancy, he harkens back to his experiences with having difficulty saying “I love you” to John. 

Paul even mentions that it’s easier to do it “when you’re a bit drunk” — I want to tell her that I love her a lot / But I gotta get a bellyful of wine — which seems to be a reference to “the night we cried”. That night in Key West in 1964 was an “important emotional landmark”, not only because they exposed themselves emotionally by crying, but they also may have actually said the big ‘I Love You’.

One night, we got pretty drunk and argued and laughed, and it ended up us both crying, because it was, you know at the height of your drunkenness, when you’re all, “Hey man, I love you, man. No, I love you, man.” That was probably the only time we just got that kind of intimate with each other. It’s a male machismo embarrassment thing. I mean, you might say to a girl, “I love you”, but in my case, within the group, The Beatles, it would have been difficult, even though we all did love each other. You just all had to be guys to the full. We were all rough, tough cream puffs.

— Paul McCartney, interview with the Daily Mail (4 June 2016).

He attributes his difficulty to a “male machismo embarrassment thing”, and that he could say “I love you” to a girl but not to his mates. But in his 2013 interview for The Guardian, he also points to the fact that he is a guy to explain his difficulties verbally expressing his love Nancy. 

But adding to the “stiff upper lip” imposed on northern lads, Paul himself is especially guarded about his feelings:

It’s funny because just in real life, I find that a challenge. I like to sort of, not give too much away. Like you said, I’m quite private. Why should people, know my innermost thoughts? That’s for me, they’re innermost. But in a song, that’s where you can do it. That’s the place to put them. You can start to reveal truths and feelings. You know, like in ‘Here Today’ where I’m saying to John “I love you”. I couldn’t have said that, really, to him. But you find, I think, that you can put these emotions and these deeper truths – and sometimes awkward truths; I was scared to say “I love you”. So that’s one of the things that I like about songs.

— Paul McCartney, on the challenge of giving too much of himself away when writing meaningful and truthful songs. Asked by Simon Pegg and interviewed by John Wilson for BBC 4’s Mastertapes (24 May 2016).

More than the pleasure associated with creating something out of nothing — “songwriting is like sex” — music also offers the utter relief of unburdening Paul of his feelings, which he finds great difficulty in exorcising in a more direct way:

Songwriting is like psychiatry; you sit down and dredge up something that’s inside, bring it out front. And I just had to be real and say, John, I love you. I think being able to say things like that in songs can keep you sane.

— Paul McCartney, interview with Robert Palmer for the New York Times (25 April 1982).

There was an inescapable need to come out, be real, and say to John, “I love you”; even if he has to “write it to the great record player in the sky”. 

Because more than speaking of a fear of expressing emotions and feelings in Paul’s day to day life — like in “Scared” — “This One” is clearly about the regret of doing it too late:

[L]ife’s like that. And there’s never kind of enough time to— […] You always think, “Well, I’m saving it up. I’ll tell ‘em one day.” And what happens with a lot of people is— Something like John, for instance, getting back to that subject. He died. […] And I’m sure, in the feeling of this song, that George was always planning to tell John he loved him. But time ran out. And that’s what the song is about. There never could be a better moment than this one, you know, now. Take this moment to say, [hesitates] “I love you.” [Laughs] It’s not quite the same. 

Even with his usual emotional distancing by projecting onto George and using “we” instead of “I”, Paul plainly explains the song is about cautioning people to take this moment to say “I love you”, at the risk of having time ran out on them as it happened with him and John.

And one can see how determined Paul is to get this message spread, as he often reiterates it when introducing “Here Today” in concerts — a song written in part out of his need to clearly say “I love you” to John — a frequent presence in his live performances for the last 20 year.

Paul McCartney’s One on One World Tour in Detroit, Michigan, at Little Caesars Arena on October 2, 2017.

Paul: One of the other things I say on our shows is that sometimes you want to say something really nice to someone, or pay them a compliment, or you feel a bit shy and a bit embarrassed, so you think, “Ah, I’ll say it tomorrow.” You put it off to another day. You know, you can put it off. And sometimes that’s too late; you’re too late. I wrote this next song after my dear friend John who passed away. Let’s hear it for John! And you know, when you’re kids, particularly — I mean, when we first started the Beatles we were in our early twenties, kind of thing — and you’re a bunch of guys, up in Liverpool at that time… There’s no way you’re gonna say to each other, “Hey, I love you, man.” It just didn’t happen, you know. You just didn’t say things. But you know, when [unintelligeable] we didn’t say it, so when John died, you know, I wanted to kind of say it somehow. So this next song is in the form of a conversation we didn’t get to have.

The fact that Paul has often connected the theme of not verbally expressing his feelings, and in particular of being too late to do it, to his relationship with John, is what led me use “This One”, in that post and in others, as an expression of that dynamic between them. 

In the post you quoted me on in specific, I say that perhaps the part that they “never did” was outright “tell” each other “that I do [love you]”, given that they have embraced — “take you in my arms” — and made intense eye contact — “look you in the eye.”

The song is basically a love song – did I ever say I love you? And if I didn’t it’s because I was waiting for a better moment… ‘There could never be a better moment than this one…

— Paul McCartney, in “Club Sandwich 52, Summer 1989″.

Paul goes on to repeat this sentiment of emotional frankness in the rest of the verse: “Did I ever open up my heart / Let you look inside?” A phrase that, in my opinion, so aptly encapsulates the issues Paul brought to the relationship, that I use it as a title for Paul-centered posts in the Don’t Let Me Down | Trust Issues series.

But to be honest, the thing that really convinced me that song was about him and John, was a moment in this session:

After singing the lines “Did I ever touch you on the cheek / Say that you were mine, thank you for the smile”, Paul mimics one of John’s characteristic smiles, as the wonderful @vairemelde illustrated in this post.

With all that said, it appears that all there is to do is to appreciate this wonderful piece of music.

Did I ever take you in my arms, / Look you in the eye, tell you that I do, / Did I ever open up my heart / Let you look inside?

If I never did it, I was only waiting / For a better moment that didn’t come. / There never could be a better moment / Than this one, this one.

The swan is gliding above the ocean, / A god is riding upon his back, / How calm the water and bright the rainbow / Fade this one to black.

Did I ever touch you on the cheek / Say that you were mine, thank you for the smile, / Did I ever knock upon your door / And try to get inside?

If I never did it, I was only waiting / For a better moment that didn’t come. / There never could be a better moment / Than this one, this one.

The swan is gliding above the ocean, / A god is riding upon his back, / How calm the water and bright the rainbow / Fade this one to black.

What opportunities did we allow to flow by / Feeling like the time it wasn’t quite right? / What kind of magic might have worked if we had stayed calm, / Couldn’t I have given you a better life?

Did you ever take me in your arms / Look me in the eye tell me that you do? / Did I ever open up my heart, / Let you look inside?

If I never did it, I was only waiting / For a better moment that didn’t come. / There never could be a better moment / Than this one, this one.

The swan is gliding above the ocean, / A god is riding upon his back, / How calm the water and bright the rainbow / Fade this one to black.

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Tangents

I’m Scared To Say I Love You

What About The Night We Cried

Did I Ever Take You In My Arms 

The Surrealist

#asks me why #This One #For you were in my song #Did I Ever open up my heart and let you look inside? #look you in the eye #Scared #Here Today #her majesty #Songwriting is like psychiatry #'i love you' #what about the night we cried? #the person i actually picked as my partner #macca #johnny #Linda #Nancy #solo #meta #my stuff