#seagulls of aberdeen

[thelittlepinkwitchblog]

THE SEAGULLS OF WATERDEEP - A ONESHOT

First off, hello I am not dead just inactive.

I don't usually post much of my writing but here I am, and I'll be 100% honest, this idea has been bouncing around my brain since i made that initial post I dont know when (idk how to link posts but its there somewhere), about the Seagulls of Aberdeen by Scottish comedy group Weegie Hink Ae That? With respect to the source of my setting (the person whose story has me in a vice grip), this one-shot takes place in sort of the “in-between-scenes” of a story like @galebrainrot2024 ‘s on-going series, a former school rivals to friends to more (?) Kind of story. Come into my mind scape, where Tav went to Blackstaff with Gale as kids, they were rivals, and for whatever reason Tav went on to multiclass as a Sorcerer-Bard in order to make a better living or fulfill a passion or whatever, I didn't really think about that until I'm literally writing this intro thing. I like my Tav being F personally but I wrote this as an genderless Tav so I hope everyone can enjoy ^_^

Setting - the party camps in a relatively safe area for the night, allowing everyone to relax a bit from the Ilithid problem, along with the array of personal quests to be fulfilled. Gale made a hearty stew and everyone decided that they should have a little bit of wine as a treat for their weeks of steady hard work. Karlach was the first companion found by Tav after the crash, and so she requested a song the bard had played before meeting the rest of the party. Takes place after the meeting with Elminster.

***

“Oh, oh, sing that funny one about the seagulls!” Karlach almost vibrated from excitement, the heat of her skin radiating more than the well tended campfire. Tav looked around, at the reactions of their companions. Halsin and Wyll both nodded at them encouragingly, Astarion shrugged nonchalantly. Gale had been quiet for days, as quiet as one could expect from him; ever since Elminster quelled the orb with Mystra's blessing, so that he could, well, never mind. Tav observed him as he ran his fingers over the hem of his purple linen chemise, a silent glimpse into the torrent of his mind. “You'll love this one wizard, it's about your home turf.” Having caught on to her friend's gaze, the teifling deliberately brought the wizard from his thoughts and into the circle of conversation.

“Honestly, I would love to hear it.” He did his best to smile, to seem like his usual self, but Tav could see a forlornness deal within his eyes, having taken root in his heart since the orb was silenced.

“Yes, Tav. Do indulge us.” Shadowheart added, taking another sip of wine.

Tav waved their hand, silently summoning a lute with their Bardic Arcana, an act of casual magic that made Gale's heart skip, though for a moment he thought it was the now slumbering orb. Checking the tune with a single strum across the cords, Tav's lips curled into a cat's grin, obviously pleased to have been asked to provide entertainment during their rest. “Alrighty then, if you know the words, sing along.” Playing a simple intro, Tav began to sing, their accent, what dear readers would recognize as Scottish, clearly audible. “Oh the seagulls o'er in Waterdeep, have you seen the fucking size of the seagulls in Waterdeep?” Expecting a ballad that was aforementioned funny, Gale surprised himself when he burst out laughing with everyone else after the first crass line.

“Oh the seagulls o'er in Waterdeep, I watched one fight a granny at the Harbour in Waterdeep.”

Karlach joined into a rough harmony, Tav altering their pitch to accommodate the joyful teifling. “I thought I must be Water-dreamin’ up I wasnae, the big ol' bastard's devil eyes staring right through me. I thought I must be Water-dreamin’ but I wasnae, the big ol’ bastard chased me down and tried to kill me.” Shadowheart, Wyll, and Halsin all joined in with the chorus, Astarion enjoyed the spectacle too much to join, Lae'zel had left to train, and Gale was too busy marveling at how easily Tav smoothed over any friction that may have arisen during the day; any disagreement or tension between comrades was quickly forgiven or forgotten the moment they sat by the fire with their lute and vocal chords. As the bridge came and Tav's voice easily shifted higher, their eyes met for a single moment before the bard turned to Karlach, saying something quickly between verses. “Oh the seagulls o'er in Waterdeep they scream. Karlach, make the seagulls noise! Oh the seagulls o'er in Waterdeep they scream,”

“Wawa wawawa wawawa wawawawa!” With her whole chest, Karlach did her best seagull impression, flapping her hands to imitate wings.

“Oh the seagulls o'er in Waterdeep they scream,”

“Wawa wawawa wawawa wawawawa!” Shadowheart had joined Karlach's impression, her cheeks red from the wine most of them had consumed with the dinner Gale had prepared.

“Oh the seagulls o'er in Waterdeep,” Slowing the tempo, none knew the final line the Bard would deliver, the final blow to a song that almost had tears of laughter flow. “I watched one bust a nut at the Harbour in Waterdeep.” Shaking his head as Tav flourished on the lute in finality, he struggled for breath as his fingers clasped the bridge of his nose.

A moment of applause rang through the clearing as Tav said their thanks and seemed to humbly accept whatever praise or criticism came their way. Though no complement could surpass Gale’s; Tav's heart swelled almost painfully at his breathy laughs as he muttered to himself with a half smile, almost hiding his face in his hand to suppress himself. “Oh sweet Gods above, I needed that.”

***

please be kind to me with criticisms, be constructive but I'm sensitive k thanks

Okay, I love you, Gods bless ♡ bye ♡

[eladrins]

saw an incredibly giant seagull outside the shopping centre this thing was HENCH it had defined traps like I've never seen a seagull this large or muscular

it pulled a full bag of quavers out the bin and began feasting, before a swarm of lesser seagulls descended and this god among gulls physically fought them all off while stanced like a vulture to defend his crisps

[free-will-is-stressful]

[reasonsforhope]

"There’s something deeply comical about suggesting that seagulls are smart enough to wait for you to look away before stealing your french fries, but dumb enough to fly into wind turbine blades.

A two-year study on the interactions of several seabird species at an offshore wind farm found that not a single case of birdstrike was recorded over the study period or in the 10,000 videos taken.

Looking at herring gulls, gannets, kittiwakes, and great black-backed gulls, Swedish state wind company Vattenfall found that most of the birds maintained a 50 to 230-yard distance between themselves and the radius of the spinning turbines.

“This is the first time that any kind of bird species has been studied this closely and in detail at an offshore wind farm,” said study author Henrik Skov. “And these birds are really good at avoiding the turbines. Now we need studies on more varieties.”

The study was conducted on a wind farm consisting of 11 offshore turbines near Aberdeen, Scotland. It used radar surveys and mounted video cameras to gather data.

Why these seabirds avoided the turbines could be down to the individual species observed since other studies have shown seabirds tend to rank high in offshore wind turbine mortality, and of medium risk for land-based wind turbine mortality.

Skov also offered that it could be the turbines are, for one reason or another, outside of prominent flight corridors, and therefore aren’t where birds have historically flown either for migration and nesting purposes, or feeding.

The study is a big milestone in scientists’ attempts to learn how and where to build wind turbines so that they don’t interfere with birds’ flight patterns. If there is something in the data of this study or future observations that could reveal the secret as to why there was no mortality at the Aberdeen wind farm, it could mean that hundreds of thousands of birds could be saved in the future."

-Good News Network, 3/31/23

[scotianostra]

Iain Crichton Smith was born on the 1st January 1928 in Glasgow.

It’s sometimes stated that Crichton Smith was born on Lewis but his first two years were spent in Glasgow, a fact he refers to in his writing. He went to school in Stornoway, attending the Nicholson Institute, then gained a place at Aberdeen University, where he took a degree in English. Having trained as a teacher, he worked at Clydebank High School and – from 1955 to 1977 – at Oban High School. In both Clydebank and Oban he lived with his mother, until her death in 1969.

His years in Lewis proved to have a lasting influence on his creative work, in particular the “Wee Free” Kirk strand that permeates much of island life, which he saw as dogmatic and authoritarian, even anti-art. In an early piece of work, ‘Poem of Lewis’, Smith tells us that ‘They have no place for the fine graces of poetry.’

Crichton Smith wrote a huge number of poems almost a thousand , short stories, novels and plays in English and Gaelic, twenty-seven collections of poems appeared during his life or posthumously, alongside fourteen novels and numerous critical articles.

He is generally more respected in Gaelic for his prose, in English for his poetry. However, his achievement in both genres, in both languages, is remarkable and distinctive, with various features and concerns carried across genre and language borders.

A number of his poems explore the subject of the Highland Clearances, and his best-known novel Consider the Lilies is an account of the eviction of an elderly woman during such times. Elderly women and alienated individuals are common themes in his work. Among his later story collections and novels there are The Last Summer, Survival Without Error, My Last Duchess, which records the breakdown of a marriage, Goodbye Mr Dixon . With his knowledge of both city life and island life his works can be easily switched between either, There are vivid depictions of school life on Lewis in Mr Trill in Hades, and Other Stories and interrelated stories set in different apartments in The Tenement

Smith’s last book is a tragedy. An Honourable Death in 1992 it tells the story of Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald, known as Fighting Mac, he was a boy from the Black Isle who rose through the ranks of the army and was renowned for his courage, admired and loved, yet whose reputation was ruined by accounts of his homosexuality and encounters with young men in Ceylon. The Major-General sadly shot himself in a Paris hotel, avoiding a court-martial.

Iain Crichton Smith died aged 70 at his home at Taynuilt, Argyll after a fight with cancer.

I have chosen this poignant poem by Iain Crichton Smith it will tie in with a later post.

The Iolaire

The Iolaire 

The green washed over them. I saw them when  the New Year brought them home. It was a day that orbed the horizon with an enigma. It seemed that there were masts. It seemed that men buzzed in the water round them. It seemed that fire shone in the water which was thin and white unravelling towards the shore. It seemed that I touched my fixed hat which seemed to float and then the sun illuminated fish and naval caps, names of the vanished ships. In sloppy waves, in the fat of water, they came floating home bruising against their island. It is true a minor error can inflict this death that star is not responsible. It shone over the puffy blouse, the flapping blue trousers, the black boots. The seagulls swam bonded to the water. Why not man? The lights were lit last night, the tables creaked with hoarded food. They willed the ship to port in the New Year which would erase the old, its errant voices, its unpractised tones. Have we done ill, I ask? My sober hat floated in the water, my fixed body a simulacrum of the transient waste, for everything was mobile, planks that swayed, the keeling ship exploding and the splayed cold insect bodies. I have seen your church solid. This is not. The water pours into the parting timbers where ache above the globular eyes. The lsack heads turn ringing the horizon without a sound with mortal bells, a strange exuberant flower unknown to our dry churchyards. I look up. The sky begins to brighten as before, remorseless amber, and the bruised blue grows at the erupting edges. I have known you, God, not as the playful one but as the black thunderer from the hills. I kneel and touch this dumb blonde head. My hand is scorched. Its human quality confuses me. I have not felt such hair so dear before not seen such real eyes. I kneel from you. This water soaks me. I am running with its tart sharp joy. I am floating here In my black uniform, I am embraced by these green ignorant waters. I am calm

[littlelillycatsworld]

have you seen the size of the seagulls in Aberdeen?

why yes I have and I'm never coming to visit you again they are that big🥰

[whitepolaris]

Aberdeen

The city of Aberdeen is the center of several smaller towns that follow the shoreline of Grays Harbor, in the middle of the Washington coast. Aberdeen is the birthplace of grunge: It's where the band Nirvana first started out. The band's trademark flannel shirts might have been a holdover from loggers a few decades earlier, when the town was known as the gateway to the Olympic Peninsula.

Aberdeen was founded in 1884, a few years after the nearby towns of Cosmopolis and Hoquiam. It was originally named Wishkah, after the river that ran through it; the town changed names when the Aberdeen Cannery was built on its wharves.

Aberdeen competed for years with the towns of Cosmopolis and Hoquiam in the timber, fishing, and canning industries. More importantly, each wanted to become the main line for the Northern Pacific Railroad. It was a big shock to all when the railroad located the line in the town of Ocosta. Instead of admitting defeat, in 1885, Aberdeen's and Hoquiam's citizens built their own rail line, which connected to the Northern Pacific rails. This brought about economic prosperity for Grays Harbor for several decades. By 1900, Aberdeen was one of the fastest growing towns in Washington. In addition to factories, lumber mills, and stores, it was filled with saloons, brothels, and gambling dens, all serving the sailors and lumbermen who came to town looking to spend their pay.

Many deepwater ships sailed from Aberdeen to Asia, making it somewhat of a gateway to the Pacific, but sailors didn't see it that way. They'd often refer to Aberdeen as the "hellhole" of the Pacific. Considering the fact that one of its citizens was the sailor-robbing and murdering Billy Gohl, that's not surprising. (See "Local Heroes and Villains.")

Aberdeen weathered the Great Depression and grew again during World War II. However, by the 1950s, many of the lumber mills had shut down because most of the old-growth timber was gone. The local fishermen complained that the runs were declining, and they moved to other locations. The canneries followed the fishing fleet to Alaska. In the 1990s, the spotted owl went on the endangered species list, and more lumber jobs went away. Although Aberdeen is still a collection and shipping point for raw logs, there are few sawmills left in the Grays Harbor County. In the 2000s census, the population of Aberdeen was 16,461, down from 26,073 in 1930.

Today the private railroad grade is still there, but most of the wharves along the Wishkah River and Grays Harbor itself has rotted away. Many of the old buildings near the harbor survive, but most are empty shells and the haunt of vagrants, who will chase you away with shouts and throw beer cans if you venture near. Nature is taking back part of this abandoned area. On a recent visit, we saw a sea lion trying to eat a fish while seagulls dive-bombed it. Just twenty years ago there would have been too much water traffic and pollution to attract that much wildlife.

Despite these challenges, the people of Aberdeen and the surrounding are trying to reinvest themselves and their city. It's the home port to the Lady Washington: a reproduction of a tall sailing ship used by Captain Robert Gray as he explored the Pacific Northwest. A few new businesses have opened up in the surviving buildings on the waterfront. Local business owners also hope a biodiesel plant will bring more industry to their town. Timber harvests have increased, as more trees have grown and the lumber mill technology adapts to cut them. But even if the changes happen, Aberdeen will never again be the town it once was.

[eandamj]

CANNON BEACH, OREGON 29-30 May 2024

We departed from Lake Quinault mid-morning on 29 May to drive back south to Aberdeen. We stopped here first for about an hour while we got the new replacement tyre ordered the day before. We then proceeded to the coast at Westport for lunch. This was a fishing port. The coastline had impressive boulder barriers to protect the town from storm damage as well as the rare tsunami. Here is a view of the marina with the trawlers used for fishing:

We then drove south first along the coast and then through areas with lakes as well as forest. We crossed from Washington State into Oregon at Astoria by crossing the Astoria Megler Bridge. This is the longest trestle bridge in the world. We visited the Astoria Column.

The views were impressive at the top and worth the 164 step climb. Here is a photo of the bridge we crossed to arrive in Astoria:

And here is the view of Saddle Mountain in the distance:

We drove south and arrived late afternoon at Cannon Beach. The view of the beach and Pacific Ocean from our lodge was stunning (see below). We got a lift from the hotel to the centre of town for dinner. This was in a 195Os Cadillac and reminded us of our trip to Cuba in 2020.

On the 30th May we spent the day exploring the extensive beach in front of the hotel. This is the distant view of the Haystack Rock from the hotel:

As we walked closer to the Haystack Rock we were able to watch the many birds roosting on it. As well as seagulls we saw razor bills and pelicans. We were able with care to walk around the rock pools exposed by the low tide. We saw fish, crabs and starfish.

This was a closer view of the Haystack:

In the afternoon we walked along the beach in the opposite direction to see the big rocks at the other end of the beach. This is the long distance view:

Once we had walked closer to the rocks, this was the view:

We were amazed at how empty the beach was but we are here in what is probably viewed as the early part of the summer season.

[paulinecordiner]

Don't forget Spectra Festival is next week!  Spectra is Aberdeen's Festival of Lights and this year is returning for its 10th anniversary of the first Spectra in 2014. 

Lindsey Storyteller and myself will be telling tales in the Cowdray Hall between 6 and 10pm each night - some inspired by the various artworks across the city. Come hear a tale of a stubborn princess wooed by the lords of the local industries - she'd rather ignore them and hang out wi the seagulls instead!

(Now I'm getting carried away and considering Greggsy Granite, Shuggie Shipbuilder, Farquar Fash and ... I don't know. The temptation to have a golfing tycoon is huge. HUGE!) Fizzy and Fuzzy the Fairies will be back (oh no) with a new story of their own - all about the giant beastie that rolls the sun across the sky!

[harrison-abbott]

For about four straight hours I couldn’t relax. Was all jittery and scared of the world. Even when, in the late afternoon, I went out to go to the shops – there was a pack of high school kids rollicking home for the day, all screeching and revved up from that sense of freedom. They were ahead of me and hadn’t seen me yet; but I knew if I kept walking and overtook them (as I always tend to walk fast) they would berate me, say cheeky shit, maybe throw stuff, the way teen boys do. And I was too angsty for that at the moment, so I held back and waited for them to go on … It was raining, quite heavily, and the early October was weirdly hot. The lining of my t shirt stuck to my torso above my stomach, which had attracted lots of fat in these latter times; wasn’t overweight but had this ugly bulge in that area. Not that I had to keep up appearances. After the kids had gone I bounced along the path. And thought about all kinds of things all at once. Being relentlessly pestered, physically, by one of my siblings; and this useless history of tension from the parent; and being ditched by a French girl from long ago; and the unclear future which was creeping up, every day, and which Time was not going to cease at bringing closer. Muttering to myself in short profane whispers. Oh, fuck all that. Fuck that shit. But the memories only whirled around in their confused glee, just like the leaves, now, swishing in crackles with the wind. I pondered my position as an artist. And worried about this ongoing dilemma with alcohol; how I wish beer didn’t knock me out for days or weeks. Was ashamed of that A-word, and all its tumbling connotations. Though the rain was heavy I didn’t pull my hood up because I wanted to collect a load of vitamin D on the face, on the skin, so I could keep vitamin levels up, even if it was only low Autumnal light. I thought about that history teacher who had a perverse crush on me in school and would smile and giggle whenever I did anything and of how I simply didn’t get it and only thought it was bizarre and berserk that everything I did amused her, and that excruciating dinner table scene with her repeatedly laughing, right in front of me, whilst ten people silently listened on. That memory which has bothered me continuously for going on thirteen years. That’s why consciousness can be so demented and relentless and tiring. But I was way too panicky to rest, or stop moving; even when back home and reading this book of stories and poems (which were pretty good) my mind was all displaced, scattered like a burst bag of marbles, clinging and rolling about on the floor. My temples dripped for ages, and not from the rain. One of the stories, in the book/journal, was set in Aberdeen, and it was crazy that I spent five years in that city, and though I had halcyon memories of the campus (which was like a different planet) the entire rest of the town was, just as the tale described, grey and drab and seagull infested, ugly. It felt progressive to be a student and I sure got those two degrees: but what was I doing with myself these days? Was my writing any good? I tanked through the journal with some speed, and very gradually my body began to ease down, though it took a long while. A dimness came in the sky and the rain eased up and I would just have to get through this evening, mentally, and hope that I could sleep a few hours in the night, and wake up a calmer man.

[anewbrainjughead]

I’m Scotland anon! We’re flying into Inverness and driving to visit my sister who’s living outside Aberdeen. It would be cool to know a couple good places to go, but also any tips to not embarrass myself as a tourist?? Ty!

Hi! I'm going to be honest, i haven't spent a ton of time up the north end of the country, at least not for a good few years, so i'm afraid i don't have a ton of insight on what places to go around aberdeen, especially if you're looking for nightlife and the like. I know that inverness has a castle and a really cool bookshop called Leakey's and thats about it. I've been to aberdeen exactly 3 times and all i remember about it was that the sea had foam so thick and yellow that it looked like old mattresses and that the seagulls there are massive hulking mutants who run that city through intimidation and stolen chips

I'm not sure whether you're planning on spending most of your time in the city or if you want to see more of the country, but there's some lovely countryside around the north/northeast. Stonehaven is a really nice picturesque seaside town about half an hour from aberdeen. There's a castle/ruins you can take a tour of, and tbh there's few things more scottish than eating ice cream and chips on a beach on a cold day, assuming you're going to be visiting sometime between now and like april lol. If you have the time it's worth checking out some of the islands. Skye is beautiful and one of the closer islands to aberdeen. I think there's a pretty regular ferry from there to the mainland and its less than an hour journey.

(i'm about to go on a food rant sorry) Scotland definitely isn't renowned for its food, but if you are looking to eat 'traditional' scottish food then the best thing to get is fish/seafood. You can get some really good, really fresh stuff in seafood shacks by the beach, but also just in restaurants in any coastal town/city, though i'd make sure to look at locals reviews on google so you don't get ripped off. Scotland is overall pretty good for vegan/vegetarian food too, and we have a lot of really solid indian restaurants and takeaways, which i'd def recommend. Honestly scotland's best culinary offerings are probably curry, ice cream, and whiskey. Also if you find a sweet shop (or more likely a newsagents selling old fashioned sweets) you should try soor plooms, these bright green boiled sweets (or hard candies if you're american).

I really don't think you need to be worrying about embarrassing yourself, i promise you that as long as you have basic human courtesy and aren't super condescending about scottish accents/culture nobody will be bothered by you. I will say that aberdonian accents, and accents around that part of the country are really fucking weird and not very similiar to any of the accents you'd likely have heard on tv, which tend to lean more towards a stereotypical highlands or glaswegian accent, so if you're alarmed by how people talk you aren't going crazy, they just do talk like that. I doubt this will come up, but scottish ppl might get pissy if you mispronounce certain things. Like scottish gaelic is pronounced gah-lick not gay-lick, edinburgh is pronounced edin-bruh, and glasgow is pronounced glaz-go. Also never refer to scotland as being a part of or the same as england, and generally don't refer to scottish people as british. Not everyone will be offended by being considered british, but it's generally a sore spot for people, and the english thing is just plain wrong. Also if you're american and have scottish ancestry its perfectly fine to be excited about being in scotland but if you're too enthusiastic about it people will give you the side eye and think you're obnoxious tbh

sorry i couldn't be more of a help, i actually would have advice about travelling around the middle/south of the country but i'm not sure whether you're planning on travelling down that far and i've already rambled on way too much. If you are thinking of travelling further down the country, especially around edinburgh or glasgow i would be happy to give more salient advice on where to go and what to do. I hope this helped in some way at least :) I really hope you have a good trip nonetheless

[thelittlepinkwitchblog]

(size a the seagull's in Aberdeen)

Oh the seagulls o'er in Waterdeep,

have you seen the fucking size of the

Seagulls in Waterdeep?

Thank you for withstanding my random thought of Bard Tav singing a version of this song for the Party with Gale silently laughing and shaking his head

[julianuittartstuff-blog]

Who's heading to the beach on a gorgeous day like today?

'Making Waves'

A large wave comes ashore to wash over the sand and rock as a lone seagull takes flight. The waves at Aberdeen beach are the inspiration for this piece.

[theessaflett]

The Last Lesbian of Aberdeen

The last lesbian of Aberdeen scuttles around in the shadows, her Lucy & yak dungarees crusted with mud around the twice folded trouser cuffs. The others of her kind have long left this deserted wasteland, tired of trying to find a mate in this barren post-apocalyptic town of grey granite and loud seagulls.

This sole queer, now seen scratching at one of her many small tasteful black-ink forearm tattoos, might not know for sure that she is alone, but she suspects. She has tried the usual watering holes and no other mates have appeared - poetry nights, feminist art exhibitions and independent coffee shops have all proven to be empty of her kind. She is, tragically, stuck. The land of her people, Glasgow, is a £22 return train ticket away, and this lesbian has used up her funds over the winter.

There is now nothing to do for this creature except look at the empty “you’ve run out of people”  tinder screen, read bell hooks and wonder how serious the landlord is about the no pets rule. She is beginning to really want a lizard. Watch as she goes, Converse slipping in the muck as she scampers back to her hole, ordained with obscure sapphic pop culture posters and plants that she’s trying not to kill.

And then, with a final clink of her clip-on carabiner keychain, the lonely lesbian is gone, into the night. The last of her kind.

 …Until she finally cracks and moves back to London.

[nhacly]

Buy Tickets for the Lady Washington Sailing Ship | Aberdeen WA | Grays Harbor Historical Seaport

Buy Tickets for the Lady Washington Sailing Ship | Aberdeen WA | Grays Harbor Historical Seaport

So, you’re ready. You’re ready for the tranquility of the Pacific Ocean breeze. You’re ready to be enchanted by the waves as they rhythmically flow below and see the seagulls effortlessly navigate above. You’re ready to take a deep breath in awe of the dazzling sunset on the horizon. You’re ready to come aboard the majestic Lady Washington. Well, look no further — buy your tickets here. Choose…

[the-busy-ghost]

I promise you, Aberdeen’s really still like this! Honest!