#concerned mckay

[sga-mcshep-4ever]

McShep out of context

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

ok seriously what the FUCK you guys what in the universe is so bloody sexy about Rodney McKay stimming?!?!?!? is it just him????? do you just think stimming is sexy????? i dont understand and i am frightened

[behold-the-daybreak]

if rod has a million haters i am one of them. if rod has ten haters i am one of them. if rod has only one hater then that is me. if rod has no haters, that means i am no more on this earth. if the world loves rod, i am against the world.

[xycuro-illuminati]

Himbo kings getting shit on from these recent writers it's so sad 😞

[cow-on-a-skateboard]

In the episode about McKay's "second childhood", after John and Rodney sat on the pier with beer and had a heart-to-heart talk, I want to believe that then they returned and John offered to spend the night with him so as not to run around the cabins. After all, he suggested it at the very beginning, when his terrified friend came running to him.

(I tried to depict a relaxed light from those panels that are located in each room, but it turned out to be too bright)

It seems to me that the moment I depicted is a bit mawkish, but due to the situation, this is the best that John could offer him. McKay is scared, confused, and very outraged that his brain is degrading, and he's still aware of it. He curled up and pressed his arms to his body, falling asleep more or less normally, feeling calm and protected. But John didn't even close his eyes all this time, replaying Rodney's last words in his head and sometimes glancing at him with concern.

It seems that his arm has already gone numb, and unpleasant tingling has begun. Sheppard decided to try to change his position a little, but it would be a real success to free his hand. John inhaled and held his breath, carefully starting to remove his hand from under McKay. Because of John's movement, Rodney shifted his head and put it closer to his friend's chest, pressed his hands tighter to his body and shifted slightly, finally languidly and deeply sighing, continuing to sleep. John exhaled in frustration and abruptly relaxed, sprawling on the bed, realizing that he was trapped. At least he was glad that there was less pressure on his arm now, and he gently stretched it, getting rid of the tingling.

It was a little unusual to feel Rodney's breath so close. It's too dark, too quiet, too drunk to ignore his calm monotonous breathing. John finally gave up trying to get out, which caused a quiet chuckle to escape from him. Either from hopelessness, or from the way McKay sighed softly again.

But what will happen in the morning? What if McKay wakes up later and finds no one around, gets confused about where he is, or tries to figure out what kind of place this is by shouting someone's name? Or vice versa, will he wake up earlier, and how about shaking John (or screaming) to wake him up and find out why he's in the same bed with him?

I like to imagine the chemistry between the characters, which can be off-screen. What could be the consequences or what consequences would actually happen.

[bumblesimagines]

this is just flirting. this will always be just flirting.

that's not what you used to say.

Maddy Perez

this is just flirting. this will always be just flirting.

that's not what you used to say.

pronouns: he/him, m!reader

Madeleine Perez had always been a force to be reckoned with. From an early age, she'd always been certain of herself and it shone through her confidence. She was the pretty popular girl with equally pretty popular friends. The cheerleader who dated the star quarterback. The girl who got everything she wanted one way or another.

Or, well, she had almost everything she wanted.

(Y/N) Daley. She'd barely given him a single thought growing up. He'd always been in the background, just another classmate and neighbor who blended in and stayed out of the more popular friend circles. Then, he changed from classmate to project buddy and it blossomed from there.

Maddy loved the attention. She loved the knowledge that she was wanted by others. Nate bruised her ego, he always did eventually, but it'd mend when she locked lips with some random guy who looked at her as if she were an angel that walked the Earth. Guys chased after her with hopes of getting with one of the prettiest girls in school and in hopes of finally one-upping Nate Jacobs. (Y/N) had been one of those guys. His head would turn when she walked by. He'd perk up when she spoke to him. He allowed her to dance around the subject of a relationship. He took the shoulder checks from Nate Jacobs when his friendship with her became known. And then, that disappeared, suddenly and abruptly the attention she had grown to desire and look forward to vanished. 

Not knowing knawed away at her like an anxiety she'd never experienced before. Nate always made her feel small during their fights, made her feel like a lost child looking for their home. He always made her worry, always ran circles in her mind each night. But this time, it'd been (Y/N) fucking Daley doing all those things. It hadn't been until Cassie, confused and concerned at her side, asked a simple yet heart-stopping question. 

"Maddy, do... do you think you love him?" She'd asked, voice soft and delicate as she ran her fingers through Maddy's raven locks. Maddy's body had stiffened, her whole body tensing at the mere mention of love. It had made Cassie backtrack and switch topics, but the question weighed heavy on her mind. She loved Nate. Or, she thought she did at least. He was everything she needed. Well-off, popular, good family, good future. She'd never have to work a day in her life with him, just as she always wanted. But did she actually want Nate or did she desire the life he could provide her?

Maddy couldn't concentrate, even with a bottle of cheap beer in one hand and BB's vape in the other. She stared at the swarm of teenagers grinding and dancing together, drunken voices singing along to a generic song playing over the speakers. Her nail clinked against the brown glass, a slow rhythm as her hawk eyes searched for his familiar face. Cassie stood at her side, phone in hand and her bright screen illuminating her face as she frantically typed. Likely another fight with McKay. Kat stood at her other side, her phone also in hand but awaiting a message. Finally, her phone vibrated. 

"Okay, Ethan says they're he-" Maddy passed the beer and vape off to a barely conscious BB and walked forward, those with sober minds immediately stepping out of the way for her. She slipped around the tipsy and drunk ones, calling out sharp 'excuse me's and 'move's until she reached the less crowded front door and watched with bated breath. It creaked open and Ethan stepped through with his phone clutched tightly to his chest. His brother followed with his phone in hand as well, his brows dipped and eyes focused on the screen in deep concentration. 

"Hey, Maddy." Ethan greeted, trying to sound casual but the high-pitched end to his greeting failed him. She plastered a fake smile for him and motioned over her shoulder in the direction of Kat, watching him nod in thanks and disappear into the crowd. (Y/N) lifted his head and dragged his eyes away from his phone at Ethan's movements, lips jutting out in slight offense at his brother's abandonment. His head tilted in her direction and they locked eyes, prompting her to glide over to him.

"Why do I feel like you're avoiding me?" She asked, arching one brow and folding her arms over her chest. She'd chosen a good dress, the dress that always drew eyes to her wherever she went. (Y/N)'s eyes, however, remained on her face and his casual shrug made her skin prickle. Her arms fell to her sides and she groaned, catching his arm and pulling him down a lonely hallway. He grunted quietly but otherwise didn't protest. 

It was foreign territory. Maddy Perez wasn't one to beg or chase or be tripped up over a guy. No, she was the one who turned the other cheek and moved on to the next prize that would have Nate doing all those things for her. Yet, there she was, standing in the middle of a dimly lit hallway because a guy- her crush- had decided to ignore her. How the mighty fall.

"Why are you so worked up, Mads? We're... classmates who occasionally flirt. This is just flirting. This will always be just flirting."

"That's not what you used to say." 

"No, it's what you used to say." She blinked, and then her heart sank into the pits of her stomach. "Why would I waste my time when you're always going to go back to Nate? I'm the rebound, remember? The guy you to go when Nate leaves and then ditch when he comes back. I'm not mad about it, Mads. I'm just treating you how you've always treated me."

"I-"

"And I prefer it this way."

[dalishious]

Did you see the news from Bioware that they laid off 50+ employees, including several of their writers? They made a statement about on the EA website. go.ea.com/SoBW2023

Reading this news has made several Dragon Age fans, including myself, very concerned.

Yes, I saw the news, and I think the damage control statement is fucking pathetic. The thing is several paragraphs long of just. Nothing. Not a single real explanation as to why they're doing this.

"It will allow our developers to iterate quickly, unlock more creativity, and form a clear vision of what we’re building before development ramps up."

Ah yes, the famously faster and more creative work of less people. //sarcasm

"These changes coincide with a significant number of roles that are currently open across EA’s other studios. Impacted employees will be provided with professional resources and assistance as they apply for these positions. While it’s unlikely that everyone will find a new role within the company, we are committed to supporting our staff as they navigate this change."

You fucking laid them off! If you wanted to put them in different positions, you can do that without laying people off!

"If you’re wondering how all of this will impact development of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, let me be clear that our dedication to the game has never wavered. Our commitment remains steadfast, and we all are working to make this game worthy of the Dragon Age name. We are confident that we’ll have the time needed to ensure Dreadwolf reaches its full potential."

You think I give a damn about a video game more than I do abruptly dismantling actual real life people's livelihoods? I would rather Dreadwolf never see the light of day in exchange for 50 employees not losing their jobs for no apparent reason.

Gary McKay can eat shit.

[spurious]

HELLO feel free to ignore this obviously but you seem like the best person to ask - i’ve had a shitty week and am in desperate need of mcshep fic recs. what are the coziest most sweetest soppiest saddest ones youve ever read???

I am so sorry to hear you’ve had a bad week anon!!!!!!! Let me grab some of my best Warm Blanket fics for you 💖

Painted Blind by aadarshinah

John rather thinks he would know if he and Rodney were dating.

Or: Idiots in love, take twelve.

This one is soooo sweet and funny and THEM

I Do by cathalin

The feeling expands and grows and words are pushing up his throat, and he finds himself speaking. “Is that a promise?”

This is just. 🥹🥰🙏💖

Comfort Break by @salchat

On the usual mission-gone-wrong, John and Rodney are hiding in a ruined house. John is hurt and being overly stoic about it as usual and Rodney wants John to admit to being in pain and accept his help. They talk.

Rodney being caring in his stubborn, bullheaded Rodney way 💖

four boots, five thousand two hundred and eighty feet by Pares

"So what you're saying is, learning to love yourself really is the greatest love of all!"

Just a really fun, well-written, sexy body swap fic.

In Plain Sight by lamardeuse

The day they repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Rodney marched into John's office and dragged him out.

Soooooo romantic I love this one!!!

Number Theory by Valdomarx

On another version of Atlantis, John is a mathematician who is better with numbers than with people.

But he's going to have to learn to get on with his team and their bossy leader, Rod, if he wants to survive here.

Set in the parallel universe from McKay and Mrs. Miller.

Hard-won and gradual vulnerability with a lot of team feels!

Monomial Factors by anonymous

Rodney wants a cat. John's always been a dog guy.

SOOOOO sweet this one.

The Reverse of Fascination by shrift

"I only have one idea left," Rodney said, because the situation was dire. It was desperate. It was this, or Rock Paper Scissors, and he didn't have a handy copy of the official strategy guide.

One of those fics where you can just HEAR the dialogue

Loop the Loop by alsaurus

One man's quest to comfort a friend. And maybe himself, just a little.

(AKA the one where John takes Rodney out on a million dates without realizing it.)

One of my absolute FAVES. This one is SO good and SO sweet and SO them!!!

The Suite Life by CartWrite

John did not ask to sprain his ankle, to be reassigned to the best quarters in Atlantis, or for Rodney McKay to become his new neighbor. But that’s what happened. Post-series.

Bit of a longer read but GOD is it worth it. Absolute comfort fic, it’s SO good.

Bare by @alienfuckeronmain

“Did you not know,” Teyla says carefully, shooting a concerned look at Ronon over their mostly empty plates, “that Lt. Colonel Sheppard enjoys the company of—”

“No, I did not!” Rodney manages to grit out, sucking in air desperately before grabbing his glass of water and downing it. “Since fucking when?!”

According to my ao3 history I’ve revisited this 79 times. Rodney thinking he’s homophobic when in fact he’s jealous is SUCH a good amazing trope. Also the sex scene in this is SO incredibly good 🫠

Okay I’m stopping there but like, if anyone wants to reblog with their own fluffy faves for this anon? Yes!

[dr-futbol-blog]

Sanctuary, Pt. 18

Sheppard takes off with the jumper to go find out what just happened but not without one last look at the people he's ultimately doing all of this for.

McKay and Weir both turn to look at him but McKay is still quiet, not giving him any advice, not asking him not to go, to be careful, wishing him good luck, or what ever it is people are meant to say in situations like this. He wouldn't know what to say even if he wanted to say something. Sheppard asked him to give them a moment, and that's something he can do for the major.

What's interesting is that now we are shown Weir's agitation. We get a very similar shot of her as we did of McKay the previous night:

They are both worried about him. But Weir's worry had to do with Sheppard flying in alone and without back-up to an expected wraith attack. It's a very sensible thing to worry about. She had suddenly lost all control over a situation she thought she had a handle on and could only helplessly watch the senior military officer endanger himself, make one of those calls he saw "a little different," very clearly allowing his emotions to dictate his actions again. She's worried, and she's frustrated.

McKay's concern had been much more personal in nature. He could tell something wasn't right long before anyone else. And he'd been right about her all along. She wasn't who she claimed to be, she had some kind of a hold on Sheppard, and as much as he desired to know all the secrets of the Ancients, they should have sent her away. If Weir is concerned for him now that he's flying in blind to enemy territory, McKay is well beyond that point. He did everything in his power to protect Sheppard, and now he can only helplessly watch him go. But because the camera pans on Weir, we don't actually get to see McKay's reaction to him leaving.

For Sheppard, this is still all about "the people". He mentions Chaya's people to Weir as his motivation, and once he's through the gate and she materializes in his jumper, he also tells her that his purpose is to defend her people:

Chaya: What are you doing here? Sheppard: I'm here to help you. Chaya: Help me? Sheppard: To defend your people.

He does the same thing he did with McKay at the beginning of the episode: he wants to look but then forces himself to look away. She touches him, calms him down the way her touch has calmed down everyone she has used it on. Notice how she gives him a command while still holding on to him. She's trying to use what ever powers of suggestion she has to keep him safe by making him leave.

Only, it's not working on him anymore. For what ever reason--be it his strong ATA gene, the strength of his resolve, the power of love, something overriding her influence--it doesn't work the same way it had previously.

I want to highlight something, here. All the other characters (bar Ford) gave Sheppard commands in this episode, told him what they wanted him to do. Teyla volunteered him to show her around, Weir just told him to go. All of the women, in one way or another, disregarded Sheppard's consent. This is also something that we as the audience are primed not to recognize, as he is a man. He's the hero, the protagonist. How could his will be overridden? This is why we return to this episode in the context of Lucius Lavin later. But in contrast to all of them, McKay only ever gave Sheppard his recommendation: "I'm just recommending that in the meantime..." Even when every bone in his body seemed to be telling him that something was terribly, horribly wrong, he respected Sheppard's autonomy. He also clearly didn't want Sheppard to leave just now (also in contrast to her, here) but he still didn't tell him to stay or not to go either. If you love someone, let them go.

And here she is, still trying to make him do something that he doesn't want to do. But it's not working. He does not leave.

You can tell that he's extremely conflicted here, doing the lip thing. The beginning and the end of the episode rhyme. But where she now disappears, earlier we saw McKay appear (having just been knocked down by her). Chaya and McKay are very much contrasted in this episode.

Sheppard asked her previously what she would do if the shoe was on the other foot which seemed to upset her: "What if the shoe was on the other foot? What if your people were in trouble and we could help you? Would you just take no for an answer?"

He is not a hypocrite. He's looking for sanctuary for his people, yes, but he is willing to defend anyone from the wraith. Especially as he believes that it's his fault they have been unleashed on countless defenseless worlds. This is his responsibility. So he is there to do his part. Only, he doesn't need to. She disposes of them with ease.

Not only does Sheppard not leave like she told him to, he goes after her to her holy of holies. He needs some answers. He deserves some answers.

When she appears, he still clearly feeling anger toward her:

Sheppard: Is it "Chaya" or "Athar"? I'm just curious. Chaya: When I was a mortal, I lived here. This was my home. When those of us who you call the Ancients ascended, we were supposed to leave behind us all human ties. Some of us found that difficult. Sheppard: So you couldn't stand by and watch your people getting wiped out by the wraith.

In this, they are kindred spirits. He can understand this. She mentions human ties and he does not think of romance, he thinks of protecting his people. He can respect that but he's still upset that she pretended to be something that she never was, that she lied and lead him on. This is the first time that he even gets to meet the real her.

Chaya: This is my punishment. This is what makes it punishment. If your people came here for my protection, the others would stop me. Do you understand? I can never help your people. Sheppard: I'm not sure I'm willing to walk away that easily. And I'm not just talking personally here, although that's definitely part of it… There is so much more we can learn from you. Chaya: I can't, John. The others won't allow it. Sheppard: That's just— Chaya: It is their highest law to never interfere. I am bound by those laws, however much I wish to help you. Sheppard: So, uh, we can never… Chaya: I can never leave.

He says 'we can never' do something that he never gets to specify. We are to assume that he means "you and I" and that it has to be something romantic--they are a man and a woman, after all. We can never consummate our love. We can never hook up. We can never grow old and die together. We can never have one another. Right? I mean, Sheppard has known her, the real her, for all of ten minutes and what he does know about her is that, while she may care for her people, she's a liar and fraud. Yeah, that makes no sense.

For most of the episode, Sheppard's "we" has been "we, the people of Atlantis," and his desire has been to secure them sanctuary on her planet. It's also notable that while he's telling her that sure, he would like to get to know her better, he's still, yes still, working McKay's agenda ("We'd give just about anything to talk to you, to learn from you"). It's probably not something he does consciously, just like his reference to the instruction manuals earlier. They've just become so close, so much a part of each other, that slipping into "we" has come about naturally for the both of them. We see signs everywhere that McKay is constantly in his thoughts, even here, even now.

It's when Chaya says "And so I was exiled. My punishment was the unending protection of this world" that Sheppard finally approaches her. That is something he can relate to. Her story is very similar to his albeit on a cosmic scale. Whether exile in Antarctica had been meted out as punishment or he had chosen to punish himself with it, it's this confession that resonates with him. Allows him finally to see her as a person.

But he hasn't forgiven her. He says "Why pretend to be human at all?" through gritted teeth.

She tells him that she had never regretted the choice she made all those years ago to isolate herself and eschew human connection until she met him, having come and gone among her people never staying long enough to get attached to anyone. The thing is, we are very much asked to see the parallels between her and Sheppard. Their lives have been very similar. Their loneliness, their deep hurt, their yearning for connection, they share all these things. And Sheppard, too, could speak the words that she does here.

Only, it wasn't her that made him regret his choice to not let anyone close to him. Oh no. He has been regretting it for a while now. And the more he desires that connection, the more violently he has lashed out to protect himself from it. Chaya may lash out with her mind but Sheppard uses his words.

She is a mirror that forces him to take a look at himself, and it is not an easy thing to do. It's uncomfortable. He doesn't want to end up like her and if he persists, that's what is going to happen. It makes him deeply unhappy.

It's only when she says "Do you understand? I can never help your people" that he actually reacts to her, suddenly springs to action. Until that moment, he was merely listening to her with very little emotion on his face. And as soon as she mentions his people, the people he has endangered and that she seems to be willing to leave defenseless that he, once more, tries to convince of the right thing to do. And yes, he uses flirtation. He openly admits that it's flirtation.

He tells her: "Well, I could come and visit. And now I'm flirting with somebody from another species." He's now flirting with somebody from another species. Previously, he didn't know who she was. Now he knows, and he still has to try. It's worth it, to try.

Now, she's told him that she can never give it to him, so he would be free to flirt with her as himself. But he also just told her again that he's not willing to walk away from this so easily, he never had intention of taking no for an answer. It is also entirely possible that he's still trying to use the fact that she is clearly fond of him to try to make her change her mind, in an attempt to influence her, screw "the others". Because it is clear that she was always much more infatuated with him than he was with her. He has felt loneliness but her loneliness is on a whole other level.

But the thing is, everything that she's saying is a mirror for John Sheppard. She is saying things that he has been thinking. He's also bound by laws, by rules and regulations. However much he wishes he could do something that goes against those regulations, he is bound by them. Which means that they can never. Not him and Chaya, there's nothing about different species in his regulations. There's something else there that means he can never, even if he was allowed to have feelings, even if he never had to justify them to anyone. He can't. They can't.

Chaya tells him that she can never leave which actually is the thing Sheppard most desperately wants to hear from someone. Athar is a friend that is with you, always. But there's a difference between someone that can't leave and someone who can but chooses not to.

In the SG-1 episode Ascension, we meet Orlin. He was an ascended Ancient who is very similar to Chaya, whose character parallels her in many ways. Orlin had likewise been punished by the Others for trying to help people of the lower realm by being forced to stay on the planet and watch them.

What he tells Carter is something that Chaya may as well have told Sheppard:

Orlin: I was there for hundreds of years by myself. The first time I saw you… Carter: Look… Orlin: Please. Let me finish. My kind are capable of a level of communication that shares our innermost essence. Carter: Telepathy. Orlin: Reading someone's mind is an invasion of privacy. It's not about specific thoughts or memory. It's a sort of… exchange of spirit. Carter: So you did this sharing thing on me. Orlin: Unfortunately, you passed out. I guess you weren't prepared. But I did learn about you. Carter: What did you learn? Orlin: That you're a good person, that your heart is pure, that on the inside your spirit is as beautiful as you are on the outside.

Orlin fell in love with Samantha Carter on first sight and was willing to sacrifice everything for her, even going so far as to retake mortal form. His story mirrors Chaya's beat for beat, only she chose her people over her love for a mortal. And while Orlin fell head over heels in love with Samantha Carter at first sight, he was not the love of her life. She thought he was cute, she was flattered that such a being had taken an interest in her. But it was a human that she loved. And this human knew her much better than Orlin even after sharing their essence. Also make note of this: Sheppard could have stayed. Here, he would have someone that can never leave and basically lives forever. On Proculus, he could live out the rest of his life without having to fear losing his companion. And he, too, chooses something else. Something more fragile.

Chaya tells Sheppard "We're not as different as you think." And they are very much alike. Both are willing to do pretty much anything to protect their people, including lying, manipulating, and even killing. Both have isolated themselves to protect the people from themselves but also to protect themselves from getting too close to anybody. So long as they remain alone, they can deal with the loneliness. Both think they know what's best for their people without having to consult them on the matter. Both yearn to connect but are too afraid to reach out. Yes, although they are a different species, they are very much alike.

Sheppard tells her, "I think we're more different than you think." They are that, too. John Sheppard is human. He is flawed, he's a work in progress. His heart is not pure and his love is carnal, occasionally jealous, sometimes selfish and self-serving. He can be petty, quick to anger, make rash judgements and wallow on his mistakes. He's human, and he loves humans for being human. He loves discovery, the potential for healing together, learning about the other person, finding a home in someone that is just as deeply flawed as you are, supporting one another in sickness, through thick and thin, someone to grow old with. John Sheppard gets sick, he hurts, suffers, cries and feels sorrow. He also experiences joy, passion, yearning, desire, and compassion. He's mortal, and his life is his to give away for anyone or anything he chooses. Chaya is not these things, and can never even come to understand what any of it means. Yes, although they are similar, they are also very, very different.

Earlier, Sheppard told Chaya "We're human, which means we're not strangers. We're family." But she is not human. She is, as he says, a different species. And he is glad that she didn't say they are family.

Returning to the topic of Star Trek for a moment, according to McKay, Sheppard was acting like Captain Kirk circa 1967 in his romancing of the alien princess. Only, Kirk did no such thing. In fact, 1967 which covers the latter half of the first season and the first half of the second season of the show don't really show Kirk romancing that many women whatsoever. If anything, he is frequently sexually assaulted by alien women or he has to pretend to romance them for some particular cause. He was frequently the victim of sexual coercion by women they encountered on their journeys. In this, Sheppard is indeed like Kirk, although that was not what McKay was referring to.

There aren't any alien priestesses in the first two seasons. The first bonafide alien priestess on the show is in the third season episode For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (S03E10). And it is not Kirk who romances her but McCoy. Natira is the high priestess of the Oracle, an unseen authoritative entity manifested by a decorative altar and a booming voice. The episode seems to be borrowing more than a little from the Wizard of Oz. The priestess falls in love with McCoy but, alas, they cannot stay together because she has to stay to lead her people. Kirk promises to McCoy that he will get to visit the planet in the future. They never return.

There are some parallels between the episode and this one.

The biggest difference of course is that Natira is an alien priestess where Chaya was only pretending to be one. She tells McCoy something that is very relevant to the resolution of this episode:

McCoy: But we're strangers to each other. Natira: But is not that the nature of men and women? That the pleasure is in the learning of each other?

The pleasure is in the learning of each other. Getting to know the other person through shared experiences, through conversation, through sustained observation, through the exploration of each other's bodies, that is the journey that is so much more important than the destination. That's what a human connection is all about.

In another episode, McCoy describes human connection as follows:

You see, I feel more sorry for you than I do for him. Because you'll never know the things that love can drive a man do. The ecstasies, the miseries, the broken rules, the desperate chances. The glorious failures, the glorious victories. All of these things you'll never know simply because the word love isn't written in your book.

At the end of the episode, Chaya offers to share herself with Sheppard in the same way Orlin did with Carter. She tells her that they will know each other as well as anyone ever can. According to Orlin, this is a level of communication that shares their innermost essence. And Sheppard consents to this. They meld.

The thing is, this is what John Sheppard is desperately seeking. This connection to another, this wholehearted acceptance of everything that he is, including the darkness and pain and anger, and most of all his fear. Being so close to someone that they become a part of you. He used isolation to punish himself with because it's the thing that hurts him the most as he longs to love and to be loved so badly that he's willing to do anything to have it, even very dark deeds. So yes, he wants this. He wants this very much. But not with her. And not like this.

This is a cheat-code. This is hacking the process of forming a human connection. This is arriving at the finish line without having actually run the race. That's not a victory, it's meaningless. Yes, it does Sheppard a world of good to feel acceptance from someone. It does perhaps heal some parts of him. Especially feeling acceptance from someone who seems to be so very much like him. But Chaya Sar is not the love of his life and she never could be. Yes, she saved him but her own life was never in danger doing that. The gift that she gives him is not as precious as that which comes with true sacrifice and a conscious choice for him over and above all others.

So, he tells her "This is cool." Because that's what it is. It's a cool experience. He told her that he might visit her sometimes but we never see him return because once you've shared someone's innermost essence, what else is there left to learn about them? The pleasure is in the learning of each other. Learning about their childhood, their heroes, their likes, their dislikes, their allergies, their crushes, their exes, their sleeping habits and schedules, their favourite beverages, their fears, their anxieties, their dreams and nightmares, their family, their hobbies, their chess moves, their cultural background, even their password. Like Sheppard told her, he has a car he needs to get back by midnight. There's someone waiting for him back home. Someone who doesn't usually stay up as late as he does.

And from here, we move conveniently to an episode that has a lot to do with sleeping, and sleeping arrangements.

[olympic-paris]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more …

September 15

1189 – On this day, William Longchamp (d.1197), sometimes known as William de Longchamp or William de Longchamps, a medieval Lord Chancellor, and Chief Justiciary, was appointed Bishop of Ely in England by Richard I. Born to a humble family in Normandy, he owed his advancement to royal favour. Although contemporary writers accused Longchamp's father of being the son of a peasant, he held land as a knight. Longchamp first served an illegitimate son of King Henry II, but quickly transferred to the service of Richard I, Henry's eldest surviving son. When Richard became King in 1189, Longchamp paid £3,000 for the office of Chancellor, and was soon named to the see, or bishopric, of Ely and appointed legate by the pope.

Longchamp governed England while Richard was on the Third Crusade, but his authority was challenged by Richard's brother, John, who eventually succeeded in driving Longchamp from power and from England. Longchamp's relations with the other leading English nobles were also strained, which contributed to the demands for his exile. Soon after Longchamp's departure from England, Richard was captured on his journey back to England from the crusade and held for ransom by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Longchamp travelled to Germany to help negotiate Richard's release. Although Longchamp regained the office of Chancellor after Richard's return to England, he lost much of his former power. He aroused a great deal of hostility among his contemporaries during his career, but he retained Richard's trust and was employed by the king until the bishop's death in 1197. Longchamp wrote a treatise on the law, which remained well known throughout the later Middle Ages.

There were contempory claims that he was homosexual. Of Longchamp's homosexuality, Giraldus Cambrensis claims that "the more outrageous the sexual act, the more he liked it"; that he made homosexuality so common that heterosexuals were ridiculed at court - "If you don't do what courtiers do, what are you doing in court?"; that a woman brought her daughter to him dressed as and trained to imitate a young man, but when the bishop undressed her and found she was a girl he would not touch her ("although she was very beautiful and ripe for the pleasures of the marriage bed,"); and that his homosexuality was so great that even descendants of his family were suspected of homosexuality.

John Boswell warns that Giraldus' claims are so exaggerated, they may be based on little more than the standard English animus against the French-born Norman overlords - but also notes that unlike other English diatribes against the invaders, his complaints against Longchamps are not about general sexual depravity, but concerned only with homosexuality. It is also important to note that male sexual relationships appear to have been commonplace at the court of the bisexual King Richard I.

There was a well-known line about Longchamps that the barons would trust their daughters with him, but not their sons.

1890 – Claude McKay (d.1948) was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

Born in Jamaica, McKay first traveled to the United States to attend college, and encountered W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk which stimulated McKay's interest in political involvement. He moved to New York City in 1914 and in 1919 he wrote "If We Must Die", one of his best known works, a widely reprinted sonnet responding to the wave of white-on-black race riots and lynchings following the conclusion of the First World War.

In the following years he made visits to and had prolonged stays in the U.K., Russia, and Morocco.

A poet from the first, he also wrote five novels and a novella: Home to Harlem (1928), a best-seller that won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature; Banjo (1929); Banana Bottom (1933); Romance in Marseille (written in 1933, published in 2020), a novella, Harlem Glory (written in 1938-1940, published in 1990), and in 1941 a novel, Amiable With Big Teeth: A Novel of the Love Affair Between the Communists and the Poor Black Sheep of Harlem, which remained unpublished until 2017.

McKay was bisexual; he pursued relationships with both men and women throughout his life. He never officially "came out" as it was considered a societal taboo or explicitly state his sexual preference, but over the years he appears to have frequented and enjoyed the "clandestine" homosexual communities of New York as well as relationships of intermediate duration with several women. According to his biographer, Wayne Cooper, Frank and Francine Budgen, whom he knew during his stay in London in 1920 remembered him as "open" about his sexuality and as "not at all effeminate."

Several of his poems suggest homosexual sentiments. In others, the gender of the speaker is not identified, which leaves to interpretation the nature of the relationships presented. Some suggest that there was a sexual component to McKay's relationship with his mentor, Walter Jekyll, who was apparently homosexual but there is no evidence one way or the other.

In the early 1920s McKay was intermittently involved with the English labor advocate and IWW organizer, poet, and translator Charles Ashleigh.

1895 – Walter Spies (d.1942) was a Russian-born German primitivist painter. In 1923 he came to Java and then Bali starting in 1927. He is often credited with attracting the attention of Western cultural figures to Balinese culture and art in the 1930s and he influenced the direction of Balinese art and drama.

Walter Spies was born in Moscow, Russia, on September 15, 1895. His father was a German diplomat. When he was 15, Spies was sent to school in Dresden, Germany, but he returned to Russia on summer vacations, and he was there when World War I broke out in 1914.

Spies's father was arrested immediately, and when Spies reached military age in 1915 he too was arrested by Russian soldiers and sent to an internment camp in the remote Ural Mountains. This experience was much less severe than might be assumed, however. Though unable to leave the remote village, Spies was not restricted to a prison; he worked for local farmers and lumbermen and learned their folktales and songs.

As Russia became immersed in political change in 1917 and withdrew from the war, Spies was able to return to Moscow. Disguised as a peasant he rode trains as a hobo toward Germany and then sneaked across the battlefront, arriving once again in Dresden. There he worked for sculptor Hedwig Jaenischen Woermann in her studio.

In the 1920s, in Amsterdam, where he saw artworks imported from the Netherlands' Indonesian colonies and connected them in his own mind with the natural themes and slightly surrealist constructions he had been cultivating ever since his internment in the Ural Mountains. Obtaining passage to Indonesia by signing on with a freighter crew, Spies arrived in Bandung on the island of Java in October of 1923 and quickly got a job accompanying silent Chinese films on the piano.

His enthusiasm for music attracted the attention of the Sultan himself, who hired Spies as conductor of a small European orchestra he maintained. Spies quickly mastered both the Javanese language and Malay, which served as a common language for Indonesia's thousands of islands and became the basis for the modern Indonesian language.

Spies grew weary of his increasingly hectic social life, and retired to the tranquil mountain retreat that was to become the setting of some of his most beautiful and atmospheric paintings, including "Iseh im Morgenlicht 1938" Despite his desire to escape from a constant stream of visitors, Spies still used to receive guests at Iseh, including the musician Colin McPhee and his wife, anthropologist Jane Belo, the Swiss artist Theo Meier and the Austrian novelist Vicki Baum. Vicki Baum accredits Walter Spies with providing her the factual historical information and details on Balinese culture for her historical fiction novel "Love and Death in Bali" - dealing with the Dutch intervention in Bali (1906), and first published in German in 1937.

In December 1938, Spies was arrested as part of a crackdown on homosexuals. Spies was gay, and that fact, combined with his German citizenship, helped to seal his doom as Germany menaced the rest of Europe in the late 1930s. The cultural atmosphere in Indonesia tightened, and Spies was arrested on charges of indecent behavior in December of 1938, serving a prison term that lasted into 1939. With the influence of people such as Margaret Mead, he was released in September 1939.

When Germany invaded Holland soon after the outbreak of World War II, the few German citizens in the Dutch East Indies were arrested. Spies was held for 20 months in internment camps on Java and Sumatra. Even there he could occasionally paint and study musical scores sent to him by relatives. But early in 1942 he was put on a transport ship bound for Ceylon. A day after it left Sumatra, on January 19, 1942, the ship was hit off Nias Island by a Japanese bomb, and the Dutch crew abandoned ship without setting its German prisoners free. Spies drowned with the rest of the prisoners.

Never prolific, he left a modest body of paintings that sometimes yielded prices of more than $1,000,000 in art auctions by the early 2000s.

1904 – Umberto II of Italy, born Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia, occasionally anglicized as Humbert II (d.1983), was the last King of Italy for slightly over a month, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946. He was nicknamed the King of May.

Son of King Victor Emmanuel, as the Prince of Piedmont, he was educated to a military career and in time became the commander in chief of the Northern Armies, and then of the Southern ones. However, his role was merely formal, the de facto command belonging to Benito Mussolini. By mutual agreement, Umberto and Mussolini always kept a distance.

After the end of WWII, King Victor Emmanuel abdicated formally in favor of his son Umberto in 9 May 1946 under the threat of an upcoming referendum to eliminate the monarchy.

Umberto served as king for 34 days. He and his wife were both young and cultivated, and thus presented a stark contrast to Victor Emmanuel. It was to no avail, however—a decisive majority voted to make Italy a republic. Having promised to accept the election results, Umberto accepted the defeat, urging his now-former subjects to serve the new republic. The monarchy formally ended on 12 June 1946, and Umberto left the country.

Umberto and his young wife separated in exile; it had been an arranged marriage, following a long tradition of royal families.

Some academics have explored Umberto's possible homosexuality. As early as the 1920s, Mussolini had collected a dossier on his private life for purposes of blackmail. Certainly during the war, newspapers asserted that Umberto was homosexual, and information continued to be spread in the lead-up to the post-war referendum on the monarchy in the hope of influencing the outcome. It is, however, unclear to what extent such rumours could be substantiated.

Umberto's custom of giving a fleur-de-lis made of precious stones to favoured young officials in his entourage was well known, and Umberto's lovers may have included Luchino Visconti and Jean Marais, and a former army lieutenant who published details of Umberto's advances to him.

King Umberto lived for 37 years in exile, in Cascais in Portugal. He never set foot in his native land again.

1954 – John Hervey, 7th Marquess of Bristol (d.1999), also known as John Jermyn, was a British aristocrat and businessman, notable for his wealth, drug addiction, imprisonment on drugs charges, homosexuality and flamboyant lifestyle.John's father, Victor Hervey, 6th Marquess of Bristol, who had been jailed for jewel theft in his youth, was harsh to his oldest son, according to friends of the latter. "He treated his son and heir with indifference and contempt," said Anthony Haden-Guest. The Marquess of Blandford summed up the relationship: "Victor created the monster that John became." John was a ward of court for some part of his childhood.

In spite of a lifetime of homosexual relations, John married Francesca Fisher, then 20, just shy of his 30th birthday; it is not known whether they consummated their relationship. The marriage lasted for four years; they had no children.

Lord Bristol was educated at Harrow School, where he began to be known for drug and alcohol use; the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography designates him a "wastrel". The 7th Marquess was described by his friend Jamie Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, as a "complicated, reserved character, hiding behind a flamboyant personality".

He was frequently depicted in the British tabloids for his drug use, wild parties and homosexuality. He served two prison terms for drug offences. Bristol even piloted his helicopter — without radar — while snorting cocaine off the map he was using for navigation. The Marquess blamed some of his difficulties on what he called bad blood, that is, a "family disposition to depression."

Lord Bristol sold the remaining lease on the ancestral home of Ickworth House back to the National Trust in 1998 in lieu of their evicting him for bad behaviour. He died of AIDS the following year at the age of 44.

He inherited a million pounds when he was 16 years old, and another four million five years later. He amassed a personal fortune worth up to £35 million, but by the time of his death at 44, it had "all slipped through his fingers — every last penny", according to The Times. His estate was probated for £5000.

The Spectator describes the 7th Marquess as follows:

Born with an inheritance which included millions of money, thousands of acres, and oodles of style at Ickworth, the family seat, this flamboyant homosexual, charming but empty of soul, allowed himself to sink into a brain-mincing addiction to heroin and cocaine. Before the end he could not pass two hours without a snort, was frequently in prison, and was reduced to penury.

1969 - Jeffrey Schwarz is an American Emmy Award-winning producer and director known for an extensive body of documentary film work. His feature documentaries include The Fabulous Allan Carr, Tab Hunter Confidential, I Am Divine, Vito, Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.

A New York native, Schwarz is a graduate of the SUNY Purchase Film Department. His senior thesis documentary was Al Lewis in the Flesh, a short film profiling Al Lewis, famous for playing Grandpa on the television series The Munsters.

His first job in the film industry was as an apprentice editor on The Celluloid Closet, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's film adaptation of Vito Russo's seminal book. Schwarz's work on this project would later bridge into the development of his own documentary about Russo, titled simply Vito.

Schwarz spent the late 1990s working in the low budget feature world, editing movies and trailers.In 1998, Schwarz was hired to edit a documentary about the making of Gus Van Sant's controversial remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Psycho Path was included on the Universal Pictures Home Entertainment DVD release of Psycho, and was Schwarz's first foray into the burgeoning world of DVD bonus features. As the DVD format was introduced to the public, all the major studios began offering making-of featurettes and audio commentaries on their discs as an incentive to consumers to replace movies they already owned on VHS or laserdisc. Schwarz capitalized on this moment to segue into producing original bonus content, and soon became one of the leading producers in this field.

Currently in development are feature documentaries about the making of Paul Verhoeven's "misunderstood masterpiece" Showgirls; the recently premiered documentary about Gloria Swanson's attempts to mount a musical version of Sunset Boulevard starring herself; and the true-life murder that inspired William Friedkin's 1980 thriller Cruising.

Schwarz is a member of the LGBT community. He appeared in The Advocate's "Out 100" in 2013, and in 2015 was presented with the Frameline Award, by San Francisco’s Frameline Film Festival. The award is designed to honor those who have made a major contribution to LGBT representation in film, television, or the media arts.

1969 – Gay Power, New York’s first gay newspaper and the first publication to emerge from the post-Stonewall movement, publishes its premiere issue. Gay Power was a biweekly newspaper edited by John Heys. It covered the culture and politics of the New York gay scene through a very personal vision. Each issue featured psychedelic covers and centerfolds and one of its covers was created by Robert Mapplethorpe. The newspaper also contained illustrations by Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, as well as other regular contributors and regular columns from all of the active gay activists groups, from the most conservative Mattachine Society to the most radical The Gay Liberation Front, and all the other groups in between.

2011 – Australia: "X" becomes the gender option for intersex people on their passports, while transgender people continue to choose between "male" and "female."

[sga-mcshep-4ever]

"There's movement down there!" "Go! Go tell Markham to get ready for takeoff! I'll cover you." "What about you?" "I'll be there in a minute! Go!"

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

here's part two of puppy eyes lol

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

DC Comics Superhero OC: Chickadee, The Boy Wonder of Toronto

Co created by @confusedhummingbird and yours truly

Civilian Name: Henry Holland

Son of Natalie Holland, Captain within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police O Division and Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Holland, of the 32 Brigade Group of the Canadian Army

Age: 12 1/2 years old

Height: 5’0”

Weight: 77 lbs

Personality: Mature Minded and Intelligent with Tactics in the Field, Formal and Professional When Addressing Older Heroes and Civilian akin to a Military Officer, Determined and Steadfast, Stubborn in his Attempts of Leading a Team Efficiently, Has a Low Sense of Humor That He tries to work on, Doesn’t Like to Show Any Weakness of any Degrees in front of enemies and allies, Deep Down All of That, an Utter Fanboy of Nightwing in particular and if his guard is down, can be an excitable, passionate and cheerful. He’s begun to slowly open up more courtesy of being around fellow heroes around his age range.

Possible Junior Partner to Flying Fox II and Definite Leader of the Canadian based Titans North

(More Below the Cut)

History: Born to both a Soldier within the Canadian Army and what are commonly referred to as Mounties, Henry is a child that easily takes much inspiration from his parents’ works whom they take with honor and distinction. Though this comes at the drawback even in the present day of being usually with his aunt or a babysitter at home during days he’s not on patrol or at school due to the consistent scheduling his Mother Natalie has keeping her away from home. As for his father Terrance, there’s an element of tragedy to him which effects both Henry and his mother to this day; during a combat tour in a war torn Middle East as part of a US led coalition, Terrance’s platoon became ambushed by extremist insurgents and in the chaos that initially wiped out most of said platoon, Terrance was taken captive. For two weeks, the Lieutenant Colonel was brutalized and tortured for any sort of intel the extremists wanted yet through it all, he maintained a stern silence and refused to talk. Eventually the insurgents found their hideout under attack by a rescue operation from other Canadian and American troops, so they proceed to execute Terrance, rather gruesomely, so much so, the other soldiers had no choice but to simply take the dog tags and leave the body behind.

Natalie and Henry of course took the loss hard given how much of a good man Terrance was for them as a husband and father respectively but both maintained a firm and strong face at the memorial service, knowing at least they have together as long as they do. They’ll remain strong. Wanting to honor both of his parents for their many deeds to save, serve and protect others, being a lifelong fanboy of the first Robin, the Boy Wonder and later the leader of the Titans International, Nightwing, in addition to some encouragement and advice from the Flying Fox, the recent one to bear that mantle and with some self teaching in martial arts and police detective work, Henry decides to create and don a mantle of his own choosing for which he can patrol and protect the streets of his native Toronto, being a hero for the city the way his parents are for their county or entire country.

As for why the Chickadee, not only are the commonly found throughout Canada and have a degree of being an equivalent to the Robin birds of America, but when Henry was five, during one of the few times the Holland family was able to have a vacation, they took a hiking trek on Mount McKay. Whilst there for a photo for both Terrance and little Henry, two Chickadees perched gently on top of their heads to which made a perfect photo for Natalie to capture and a new nickname for Henry that his parents especially Terrance would refer to him. Hence naming his mantle as such serves a tribute to Terrance as far as Henry is concerned.

Skills, Equipment, and Abilities:

- Black Belt in Judo, Yellow Belt in Tai Tzu and Lui He martial arts

- Has Proficient Enough Knowledge in Using a Grappling Hook and Wires

- Ametuer level with the arts of Disguise

- Advanced Junior Training in Forensics

- Wing suit flaps built into his suit

- Can communicate in English, Francaise, Algonquin and 3 other Amerindian languages (Related Below, also two Jewish languages)

Occupation: Student at Robbins Hebrew Academy

Physical Appearance: Light Brown Hair, Peach tone skin with freckles on the face, Green Eyes and a Birthmark on the Back of his neck

Crime Fighter Uniform:

- Black Domino Mask, Advanced in meaning containing a Holographic Heads Up Display, featuring a Radar for contacts within 50 meter radius, Heart Rate Monitor, Proximity Sensor for incoming attacks, connected to ear piece for contact with teammates

- A White Cape that extends to the back of the legs with a Light Brown Underbelly, attached to it being a black hoodie which covers the back and crown of the head, leaving only the face open

- White Bulletproof Vest with Black Long Sleeves and Light Brown Highlights throughout the buttons. Has his Logo, a Red Chickadee Silhouette displaying its wings in a white circular background with a black circle around it, on the right side of chest

- White Fingerless Gloves with Light Brown Soles

- Black Utility Belt with a buckle having said Chickadee logo; contains pouches housing Grappling Hook, Magnifying Glass, Signal Flares, Smoke Pellets, Flashbang Grenades, Snacks including Toffee, and Spare Masks

- Black Kevlar Pants with Light Brown highlights on Knee Caps

- White Robin Style Pixie Boots with built in hidden Steel Toes, and White Soles. Made from a leather and Kevlar fabric blend that makes them extra sturdy and durable in harsh environments

Additional Facts and Trivia

- The Holland family are prominently descendants of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Poland during the Interwar Period (1920-1939). While having Liberal leaning politics and values, the Hollands are Orthodox with their Faith, adhering in particular to Halakhic traditions and customs. Therefore Henry wears a black Kippah on his head even as Chickadee which his hood covers. Henry also has a Kosher diet based on said Halakhic Orthodox customs. He’s currently training in reading the Torah in preparation for his Bar Mitzvah. He’s so far made it to Shemot, also known for The Christian faith as the Book of Exodus. The Hollands are fluent in both Hebrew and especially Yiddish, the latter more promotional spoken between the two languages in that front.

- As stated above, leads a small Canadian branch of Titans, named Titans North, who as of yet are not yet officially affiliated with the well known Titans International but have so far managed to earn a small follow of supporters and fans across the Toronto metropolitan area and other localities throughout the state of Ontario. Often gets teased playfully by said teammates for being the youngest of them

- Among the Titans North, one member called Push-and-Pull, a 14 year old Algonquin female Metahuman with a compassionate and caring tomboy personality, possessing the ability to control and manipulate gravity with the palms of her hands (Similar to My Hero Academia’s Ochaka Uraraka) and Chickadee having a small budding crush between them or at least the starts of one in process ever since they first met

- Has a small hobby of playing video games, mainly on the console side. Not interested in competitive or online play as due to lack of friends outside his Titans North, he nonetheless has a fondness for games that are both sci-fi and military themed as befitting his background. Henry however finds himself woefully out of date when it comes buying the latest hardware; his most advanced console in possession being the DCU equivalent of an Xbox 360

- Trivia: Can in fact Successfully Curl his Tongue while the rest of his teammates can’t

- While an admitted fan of the first Robin (therefore also fond of Nightwing), Henry is rather very cautious and weary of the Batman himself. This can be attributed to his earlier childhood having been told of terrifying stories surrounding the Bat, a lot of them coming the earlier days when he worked solo and was regarded as an urban myth. As for Superman, Henry has a trust and respect for him. He’d probably however faint from excitement should he meet Nightwing in particular

- Is particularly interested and into the music elective in his school, more so in particular having a liking for classical songs and artists, mainly Beethoven and Salieri. Plays the Cello as his main instrument. While not intolerant and rather okay with more modern music, his playlist on his phone features mainly said classical songs and is working on working on compositions himself.

[consanguinitatum]

David Tennant's Obscure TV Appearances: 1989's Biting The Hands

I'm back from my visit with my family and ready to dive straight into my latest find - I'm excited to share I've finally obtained access to David's 3rd earliest TV performance! His first two performances were in 1988: his anti-smoking ad, and in Dramarama: The Secret Of Croftmore. And in 1989 he did a Play On One called Biting The Hands. And I've FINALLY got it! Biting The Hands has been one of the most elusive pieces of work David did in his early years. First, it wasn't a sitcom or an ad but a one-off play, and it was broadcast in the late 1980s, limiting its exposure to those who might be recording on beta or VHS. It was part of the second series of the prime-time contemporary single TV play series, The Play On One (which was itself a re-tooling of an older series called The Play For Today.) Biting The Hands was directed by Carol Wilks and produced by Norman McCandlish. It was 75 mins in length, and was broadcast at 9:30 pm on 11 Apr 1989. Here's the play's synopsis: "Linda and Gail are Hell's Belles - an alternative comedy double act. When success begins to beckon, they must decide whether to change their act or keep doing what they believe in. Are their principles justified, or are they just 'biting the hand that feeds them'?"

The writer of Biting The Hands, Rona Munro, was born in Aberdeen in 1959 and is an award-winning Scottish playwright. She started writing professionally in 1981 and has written for film, television, stage and radio. Biting The Hands was Munro's first play for BBC-TV. Given today's excitement about the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary trailer, it might interest Whovians to know Munro wrote the classic DW story Survival as well as the New Who story The Eaters of Light, making her the first (and only!) writer to do both Classic and New Who!

But Munro has yet ANOTHER connection with our dear DT! For their production of Scotland Matters in 1992, the 7:84 Scottish People's Theatre asked established Scottish writers to consider aspects of life in Scotland and write playlets about them. Munro was one of these writers! She wrote a playlet called 'The Fence' for Scotland Matters which concerned the interrogation of a Gulf War peace protester. In a turn around of questioning technique, we are told the story through the security police and not via the protester. David played the protester Keith!

But back to Biting The Hands - which was produced three years before Scotland Matters and filmed when David was still in drama school. Let's take a look at what the play was about, and go more in depth about its stars: Judith Sweeney (Linda) and Louise Beattie (Gail).

Judith Sweeney (Linda McKay) attended David's alma mater - the RSAMD, now the Royal Conservatoire - and graduated in 1977. She played the role of Sally Shaw on the Scottish soap opera Take The High Road. Louise Beattie (Gail Graham) later went on to star in Emmerdale.

Here are a few more articles on "Biting The Hands" from the time of its broadcast:

Beattie's older sister Maureen has ALSO starred with DT many times! Among these are For One Night Only (an evening of theatrical prose, poetry, and gossip at the Swan Theatre for the 1998 RSC Fringe Festival) and a 2001 staged reading of Medea at the Cottesloe Theatre. More recently, Maureen has played David’s mother in Deadwater Fell, and Kelly MacDonald's mother in The Decoy Bride!

Now we've been introduced to the stars of the play, and we know what it's about, let's get to David's part! His part begins about 47 minutes into the play, and it's a role which makes up a total of about 20 whole seconds. He plays one of three squaddies (low-ranking military) and is in a group of soldiers who travel on the train the main characters Linda and Gail board in Edinburgh to go to London - but he's not seen in this particular scene. After the ladies board the return train back home to Edinburgh, by coincidence these same squaddies happen to be traveling on their train. David's character is the only one of the squaddies to speak, and his words entail wolf-whistles at the two women and calling them "Pet"! Here are some screenshots:

In a later scene, Linda and Gail happen to bump into another friend on the train, and the three open a bottle of liquor and sing and drink. David's character sings and drinks with them. Here are a few screenshots of that short scene:

You may notice in the first set of screenshots David is clean shaven & in the second, he sports a mustache. These scenes all supposedly occur on the same train from London to Edinburgh so it seems there's a continuity error here. Perhaps these scenes were shot at different times?

These short scenes are the only times David appears in the play. He's given credit in the end titles. Of significance, though, is he is NOT credited as the "Third Squaddie" (a designation I've seen all over the Internet for close to a decade). He's just the third squaddie listed.

The BFI (British Film Institute) holds a VHS video recording of Biting The Hands. The copy is in "pending" status, which means it's unlikely the copy can be viewed.

Before I close this post on Biting The Hands, two more little benefits: here are its opening sequence, and its title frame!

[emarasmoak]

The Rings of Power showrunners discuss, at length, that huge Sauron reveal

JD Payne: [Vickers] did eventually know. We kept it very close to the vest for a while. He read a monologue from Richard the Third. At certain points he suspected [Halbrand was Sauron], he was putting it all together like, ‘Okay, they're having me read deep English canon villains.’ We didn't tell him from moment one that this was what was happening. We let him discover it.

Patrick McKay: Charlie's amazing and enormously talented. And we were thrilled to get him. He actually read originally for Elrond. But this character was always Sauron. One of the initial sparks and ideas and, in our opinion, right or wrong, a reason to do the entire show, is that Galadriel talks about Sauron in the books in a way that indicates that she knew him really well.

JD Payne: [Quoting Galadriel in Fellowship of the Ring] ‘I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves, and he gropes ever to see me and my thoughts. But still, the door is shut.’ The idea of ‘still the door is shut’, that he's been reaching after her for a long time, and there's this sense of back and forth between them – we found that endlessly fascinating. And we said, ‘There's an entire history between them. He's not just some eye in the sky, who's looking at it from afar, there's a relationship. And so, how could you have a relationship between the Dark Lord and Galadriel, in a way that lets them get to an interesting place? If she knew it was him from the beginning, obviously she would reject him out of hand, because we know from the legendarium that he was responsible for her brother's death. We know that he has this desire to heal the world, and she has this heroic desire to fix the world. So if we could put them in parallel to each other without exactly knowing who he was, there was an opportunity there.

Patrick McKay: Two other things to add. There’s this whole idea from Tolkien's letters and other writings where he talks about how Sauron wasn't evil in the beginning. Elrond says in the book: ‘Nothing is evil the beginning, even Sauron was not so.’ Immediately, we're thinking about [the TV series] Breaking Bad. We're thinking about Tony Soprano [from The Sopranos], these characters who are these enormous, larger-than-life modern villains, but have this other side. You go back and forth: do I hate them? Do I love them? Are they seducing me? We thought that was really rich terrain. And then, Tolkien had this idea of chance meetings throughout his books – that chance meetings are preordained in Middle Earth. So, what if Sauron is in a place where he's repentant and lost? And Galadriel’s in a place where she's desperate and obsessed. What might happen if they meet? Maybe they'd be friends? Maybe they’d get along? The idea of a non-romantic, cosmic connection seemed so pregnant with possibilities. That was by far the hardest thing that we worked on. We have this idea that, if you watch it again, every single thing he says is not a lie. This isn't like a rug poll. We're not trying to shock people. We want to hopefully reward close viewing if you’re suspicious of him early. That's a whole valid version of the show, we felt.

JD Payne: There’s something in him that is sort of vaguely reminiscent of Gollum, when you watch it again, where you see these two forces driving within him. In some ways, Gollum is to Sauron as Sauron is to Morgoth, a little bit. The One Ring is operative on his consciousness at all times. And even maybe if he tried to turn away from it and be Mairon, the Maiar, who, in the beginning, was good, there's this shadow that has operated upon his soul that he is enslaved to, that you always see, every decision he makes, takes him, in one way, towards the good, but it also takes him towards power. And power is his addiction. Watching back, with that in mind, it's fun to pick apart everything he says, or if he does retreat from the decision he makes.

Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/rings-of-power-sauron-halbrand-episode-8-showrunners

[random-brushstrokes]

John Bulloch Souter - The Breakdown (1926)

The Breakdown is a strikingly accomplished painting. Yet it was the subject that caused controversy, as the painting depicts a black saxophonist, sitting on a shattered classical statue of Minerva, the goddess of music, while a naked white woman dances to his music. The woman appears to move as though in a trance, totally abandoning herself to the music, and her discarded clothing and shoes are visible in the far corner of the composition. Within days of its exhibition, the British Colonial office contacted the Royal Academy to request the removal of the picture for 'reasons of state, not art' and 'in the interest of the empire.'

Souter claimed that his painting was intended to 'to illustrate the tendency nowadays for Jazz influence to permeate our daily lives,' and this was true, jazz was beginning to filter through into wider cultural life and in many circles the radical change this represented, towards freedom and a breaking down of strict social norms, was met with celebration and enthusiasm. Yet, at the same time, the British Empire, and the wider racism it represented, were obviously felt to be under threat, and the incident was featured in news stories as far as the U.S.A., India and South Africa and records made of society figures making comments such as, 'it would make ruling our natives difficult.'

As cultural researcher George McKay explains, the idea of Jazz had become at this time a catch-all for wider concerns about new social freedoms in the post-war era, as well as the perceived instability of the empire; everything felt to be 'disruptive, chaotic and dangerous,' could be located within this scene, and thus read either positively, or negatively, into the picture. We can even read Souter's title as part of the dichotomy around the reception of jazz; on one hand the freedom it represented, but on the other the suspicions around its subversive nature. The very term 'breakdown' could be referring to a musical concept, or in a wider sense, the breakdown of the established order.

Most surprisingly, some of the British music establishment reacted strikingly negatively, the editor of Melody Maker, spoke out on the picture on behalf of the whole music scene, claiming 'We jazz musicians … protest against, and repudiate the juxtaposition of an undraped white girl with a black man,' the picture represents a 'perversive danger to the community and the best thing that could happen to it is to have it … burnt!' In fact, Souter did destroy the original painting following the outcry, but kept his original drawings and studies. The subject and painting obviously remained important to him, as much later in his career, he painted a new version, which he dated 1926-62, acknowledging the time that had passed. (source)