#48 draft challenge

[pwhl-mybeloved]

NEW YORK AND TORONTO (Nov. 19, 2024) – As part of a continued focus on player safety and innovation, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is unveiling new and updated rules, as well as key dates, for the 2024-25 season.

Player Safety

This season, the PWHL will become the first professional hockey league to assess a major penalty and game misconduct as a default penalty for all illegal checks to the head that occur during play. Announced today as part of the 2024-25 Rulebook, application of Rule 48 – Illegal Check to the Head will automatically initiate a further review with the PWHL Central Situation Room, by which referees may confirm their original call, reduce the penalty to a minor if the hit was accidental, or rescind it entirely if the review determines the head was not the main point of contact.

Additionally, the severity of the penalty for head-butting (Rule 47) has been upgraded to a major penalty plus game misconduct, while a major penalty and game misconduct has been added for any player who pulls her opponent’s hair or grabs her opponent’s chin strap, facial protection or throat protection (Rule 51).

Innovation

To maintain a forward-thinking approach to hockey while respecting the sport's rich tradition and history, the PWHL has introduced rules designed to favor offensive play.

The new No Escape Rule (Rule 15.5) requires players on a team that take a penalty, which leads to penalty time on the clock, to remain on the ice until after the face-off that resumes action. This requirement, similar to the current No-Player-Change Rule that governs icing the puck, could lead to situations such as teams opening a penalty kill with three forwards and one defender on the ice until an opportunity for substitution arises.

Further, an additional penalty for delay of game will be assessed to a team if it intentionally places too many players on the ice to cause a stoppage of play and create confusion about which players must remain on the ice in the application of the new rule (Rule 70.6).

“We’re always looking to make the game safer for our players and more fun for our fans,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior VP of Hockey Operations. “We believe these rule innovations take strides toward both objectives.”

The rules were vetted through the Rules & Competition Committee, which was created during the off-season, and approved by the PWHL Hockey Operations. The Committee, chaired by Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Meghan Duggan, includes players, a Head Coach, a General Manager, the Associate Manager of Player Safety and a representative of the on-ice officiating staff.

Other rule changes for the 2024-25 season: 

If a shot originating in the attacking zone is deflected out of play by any means (off either team or the crossbar), the ensuing face-off will be conducted in the attacking zone (Rule 87.5).

A coach may challenge applications of Delay of Game - Puck Over Glass. If the challenge is not upheld, the team that challenged will receive an additional penalty for delay of game. (Rule 38.11).

When a goalkeeper is removed for mandatory medical evaluation or injury, the replacement goalkeeper may be afforded a brief warm-up (Rule 8.2).

Rule 52.1 regarding Body Checking, has been reworded to provide clarity for the On-Ice Officials in applying the rule.

PWHL Key Dates 2024-2025

November 20-22: Mini-camps TOR/MTL (28-32 players)

November 26: Waiver Period Begins (5:00 p.m. ET)

November 27: Waiver Period Closes (3:00 p.m. ET)

November 27: Roster Compliance (by 5:00 p.m. ET)

November 30: First Game of the Season

March 1 – May 8: 2025 Draft Declaration Period

March 2: Trade Deadline (by 12:00 p.m. ET)

March 3: Roster Freeze Date (by 12:00 p.m. ET)

May 3: PWHL Regular Season Ends

May 6: 2025 Playoffs Begins

[toasttt11]

octavia hughes

Octavia Wren Hughes

Number: 8

Season: Second

Position: LW

Height: 5”10

Hometown: Manchester, New Hampshire

S/C: L

NHL: TOR

Prev School: University of Michigan

NHL

• Selected 2nd overall (first round) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2021 NHL Draft.

International

Team USA

• 2023 World Junior Championship- Bronze Medal, 9 G, 8 A, 7 GP

• 2022 World Junior Championship- 8 G, 6 A, 5 GP

•2022 IIHF World Championship-13 G, 13 A, 10 GP

• 2021 World Junior Championship- Gold Medal, 13 G, 11 A, 6 GP

•2021 IIHF World Championship-14 G, 12 A, 10 GP

•2019 World U-17 Hockey Challenge- Silver Medal, 6 G, 7 A, 6 GP

Second Season (2023-2024)

Toronto Maple Leafs

36 G, 41 A, 77 P, 40 GP

Rookie Season (2022-2023)

Toronto Maple Leafs

65 G, 52 A, 117 P, 78 GP

Received the Rookie of the Year award.

Third in most points in the whole NHL.

Signed a Contract for 12 Million dollars for three years and a 1 million dollar signing bonus.

Freshman Year (2021-2022)

•First and only Year at University of Michigan, 45 G, 31 A, 41 GP.

•Big Ten Freshman of the year.

Before University of Michigan

• Played two seasons with the USNTDP.

• Totaled 224 points (138-97--235) in 124 games with the USNTDP, the most points and goals ever in USNTDP history.

• First on the team in scoring in 2019-2020 with 69 goals, 47 assists for 115 points in 61 games with the U17 and U18 team

• Scored 110 points (71-48--118) in 63 games with the U18 team in 2020-2021, First on the team in scoring.

Personal

• Born September 9, 2003

• Daughter of Jim and Ellen Hughes

• Has three siblings, Quinn, Jack, Luke.

[chu-diaries]

140 days of productivity: day 48/140

📸: candle making + the tree in my backyard is now full of those little flying seeds + I finally took some pictures of my vanilla candle

(This was on my drafts and I forgot to post yesterday 🤡)

I woke up thinking that today was Wednesday and I only found out it wasn’t around 5 pm LMAO i don’t really know what happened. I checked my calendar several times but I could swear it wasn’t Tuesday. Anyway, it was Tuesday. I’m not able to control the time yet.

I was very productive today. I made 15 200g candles in the morning, then I labeled all my 140g candles that are finally ready to sell. I took some pictures of my vanilla candle and already got three reels ready for posting this week. I also planned my activities for tomorrow and for Thursday.

I’m having great fun looking at all of those reblogs of my Spotify challenge! I saw artists and bands there that I used to listen to ages ago (hey Amon Amarth, I’m lookin at you) and it’s so funny to see artists that I know for only a single or two being actually famous (like hozier — a lot of you guys listen to him but for me he’s the guy who sings ‘take me to church’ and that’s all I know about him).

💥: day 15/27

💧: 1,5 L

🏋🏻‍♀️: 🚫

🏃🏻‍♀️: 🚫

🕯️: candle making + candle labeling + social media content production (11 h)

🪘: 🚫

🇰🇷: 🚫

📺: one piece ep. 88-91

📚: 🚫

🎧: love again - baekhyun

🛑: 8 days pick free

💊: vitamin c, omega 3 and iron supplements

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ian Millhiser at Vox:

Oklahoma v. Department of Health and Human Services is the sort of case that keeps health policy wonks up late at night. On the surface, it involves a relatively low-stakes fight over abortion. The Biden administration requires recipients of federal Title X grants — a federal program that funds family-planning services — to present patients with “neutral, factual information” about all of their family-planning options, including abortion. Grant recipients can comply with this requirement by giving patients a national call-in number that can inform those patients about abortion providers. Oklahoma had long received Title X grants to fund health programs in the state. After receiving a $4.5 million grant in 2023, however, the state decided it would no longer comply with the requirement to give patients the call-in number. Accordingly, the administration terminated Oklahoma’s grant. Now, however, Oklahoma wants the Supreme Court to allow it to receive Title X funds without complying with the call-in number rule. Its suit has landed on the Court’s shadow docket, a mix of emergency motions and other expedited matters that the justices sometimes decide without full briefing or oral argument.

Oklahoma raises two arguments to justify its preferred outcome, one of which could potentially sabotage much of Medicare and Medicaid. Briefly, the state claims that federal agencies may not set the rules that states must comply with when they receive federal grant money, even if Congress has explicitly authorized an agency to do so. Taken seriously, Oklahoma’s proposed limit on federal agencies’ power would profoundly transform how many of the biggest and most consequential federal programs operate. As the Justice Department points out in its Oklahoma brief, “Medicare’s ‘Conditions of Participation’ for hospitals alone span some 48 pages in the Code of Federal Regulations.” All of those rules, plus countless other federal regulations for Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs, could cease to function overnight if the justices accept Oklahoma’s more radical argument. (Oklahoma’s second argument, which contends that the call-in rule is contrary to a different federal law, is less radical and more plausible than its first.)

This fight over whether Title X grant recipients must provide some abortion-related information to patients who seek it will be familiar to anyone who closely follows abortion politics. In 1988, the Reagan administration forbade Title X grant recipients from providing any counseling on abortion, and the Supreme Court upheld the Reagan administration’s authority to do so in Rust v. Sullivan (1991). Since then, the policy has sometimes changed depending on which party controls the White House. The Reagan-era policy was eliminated during the Clinton administration, and then revived in 2019 by the Trump administration. Biden’s administration shifted the policy again during his first year in office.

[...] Oklahoma, however, argues that Congress cannot delegate this kind of rulemaking power to a federal agency. If it wants to impose a condition on a federal grant, Congress must write the exact terms of that condition into the statute itself. The implications of this argument are breathtaking, as there are scads of agency-drafted rules governing federal grant programs. The Medicare rules mentioned in the Justice Department’s brief, for example, cover everything from hospital licensure to grievances filed by patients to the corporate governance of hospitals receiving Medicare funds. The rules governing Medicaid can be even more complicated. These are more vulnerable to a legal challenge under Oklahoma’s legal theory because Medicaid is administered almost entirely by states receiving federal grants. Oklahoma, in other words, is asking the Court to fundamentally alter how nearly every single aspect of hospital and health care administration and provision works in the United States — and that’s not even accounting for all the federal grant programs that are not health care-related.

[...]

If the justices are determined to rule in Oklahoma’s favor, there’s a way to do it without breaking Medicare and Medicaid

Oklahoma does raise a second legal argument in its suit that would allow it to receive a Title X grant, but that would not require the Court to throw much of the US health system into chaos. The Biden administration’s requirement that Title X providers must give patients seeking abortion information a call-in number arguably conflicts with a federal law called the Weldon Amendment.

The Weldon Amendment prohibits Title X funds from being distributed to government agencies that subject “any institutional or individual health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.” The three appellate judges who previously heard the Oklahoma case split on whether the Weldon Amendment prohibits the Biden administration’s rule. Two judges concluded, among other things, that providing a patient with a phone number that will allow them to learn about abortion is not the same thing as referring a patient for an abortion, and thus that the Biden rule was permissible. One judge (who is, notably, a Biden appointee) disagreed. In any event, Oklahoma’s Weldon Amendment argument gives this Supreme Court a way to rule against the Biden administration’s pro-abortion access policy without doing the kind of violence to Medicare and Medicaid contemplated by Oklahoma’s other argument. If the justices are determined to rule in Oklahoma’s favor, anyone who cares about maintaining a stable health system in the United States should root for the Court to take this less radical option.

The Oklahoma v. HHS case could be very big regarding Title X impact, along with Medicare and/or Medicaid.

[googleitlol]

Peace of Mind Asks!

Dove Masterlist:

Asks: 1) Falling in Love | 2) AO3 Username | 3) Fanart Ask | 4) My Twitter | 5) Idiots in Love | 6) Jealous Wukong | 7) Draft Anon | 8) Macaque's 'Love' | 9) Will Mac Die? | 10) Macaque's Plan | 11) Pigsy's Chapter | 12) Future/Past Wukong | 13) Future/Past Dove | 14) Cute Idiots | 15) First Kiss | 16) Wukong Realization | 17) We Got Him | 18) Challenge Accepted | 19) Mengtao! | 20) More Mengtao!! | 21) Forehead Kisses | 22) Marcu Sneak Peek | 23) AO3 Posts | 24) Marcu Art | 25) Dove Visualisation | 26) Literal Dove and Monkey | 27) Design questions | 28) Ash's Sketch | 29) Flower Symbolism | 30) Ash's Doodles | 31) Ash's Sneak Peek | 32) Lovea's Sneak Peek | 33) Eye Colour | 34) Dove Colours | 35) Book Cover | 36) Anon Artist | 37) Wattpad | 38) Blanca/Dove | 39) Yanderes | 40) MK: Reborn | 41) BM Wukong | 42) BM!Dove | 43) Hurt Feelings | 44) LMK!Dove | 45) LMK!Dove Meme | 46) TMOY and BM Angst | 47) 'Trigger Warning' | 48) Oneshot Pain | 49) Dove Symbolism | 50) PoM Theories | 51) PoM and TMOY headcannons | 52) Dove/Lian VAs | 53) Change? | 54) Please Please Please

[sterekreversechallenges]

Sterek Reverse Bang 2024

**TIMELINE**

*April 15, 2024* - Sign-ups open via Google form

*May 30, 2024* - Art due, sign-ups close

*June 2, 2024* - Art goes up for viewing

*June 8, 2024* - 7 pm UTC - Claims round 1

*June 9, 2024* - 7 pm UTC - Claims round 2, if necessary and until all art has been claimed.

*June 14, 2024* - Check-in 1: Teams must confirm that they have made contact and are good to collaborate.

*July 14, 2024* - Check-in 2: Team update: Writers submit an outline of 200-500 words to their artist for comment and mods for check-in.

*August 11, 2024* - Check-in 3: Writers should have 3k written. They will submit a draft link to the mods and their artist. Artists will confirm that their writer has been in communication with them and that they have seen the draft.

*August 30, 2024* - Last day to request a pinch hitter and receive a one year ban. Dropping after this date will result in a permanent ban.

*September 14, 2024* - Check-in 4 aka The Final Check-in: Teams must confirm that they are on schedule to post. Writers will receive a link to a Google form for submitting their drafts. Drafts should be 80 % done with any parts/scenes that are not yet complete outlined. Artists will confirm that their writer has been in communication with them and that they have seen the draft.

*October 6, 2024* - All collaborations posted to the challenge collection on AO3.

*October 11, 2024* - Moderated posting starts and runs until all collaborations have been posted.

**RULES and EXPECTATIONS for all Participants**

Sign-ups open April 15th via Google Form.

By signing up to participate you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the rules.

While the mods will send out reminders in the Discord server, it is your responsibility to meet the Sterek Reverse Bang deadlines.

Communicate with your partner within 48 hours of your claim being confirmed. Mandatory partner check-ins should be met as well. This is meant to be collaborative and fun.

>>>Check-ins are mandatory and deadlines are strict.<<<

Participants must be 18 years or older.

Participants need an email address that they check on a regular basis, a Google account for sign-up and submission forms, and must have a Discord account.

Any questions or disagreements should be taken to the mods.

**GUIDELINES for ARTISTS**

In the regular reverse bang round the following types of art are accepted:

painting/drawing (traditional, digital, mixed)

mood boards

fanvids (min 30 sec)

original gif sets (min 6 gifs)

>>All art will be uploaded through a Google Form so you must have a google account.

>> In the spirit of anonymous claims, no watermarks, signatures etc. are permitted during initial submissions! If you are worried about art theft, you can add "Sterek Reverse Bang" as a watermark. Signatures will be added for the final posting with the fics.

>> Artists are limited to submitting one or two pieces.

>> Art must not have been published before, been a commission, or be associated with a fic at the time of claims.

>> When you submit your art, it should be finished. You may of course keep working on it until posting.

>>You may choose to create more art or headers for longer fics but this is not a requirement.

>>If you do not regularly have communication from your writer or you have not seen an actual draft as a deadline approaches, please contact the mods.

>>If you feel like an explicit dislike of yours is being disregarded by your writer, you are not being kept up to date with major story changes (especially when the deadline is approaching), or your input is not being heard, please contact the mods.

>>TLDR Your mods are here to help but we can’t help if you don’t talk to us.

**GUIDELINES for WRITERS**

>> Minimum word count for fics in this challenge is 10k.

>> Artists' prompts and requests need to be followed unless both writer and artist agree to something else.

>> Squicks and triggers have to be followed without discussion.

>>Authors may not demand or request changes to the art. The artists may offer to do this, but that is up to the discretion of the artist.

>>Fics must be in English.

>>Submitted drafts for check-in must be typed and be in a standard document form (.docx or Google Drive). iOS extensions or photos will not be accepted.

>>Writers must follow all check-in dates, including sharing an 80% completed draft with the mods and their artist by September 14, 2024.

>>All fics should be posted in their entirety on the submission date.

>>You must tag for any of AO3’s major warnings and use appropriate tags, including the Sterek Reverse Bang tag.

>>All fics need to be beta read. If you need help finding a beta reader, you can ask on Discord. Mods for the bang will not assign beta readers.

Like a regular Bang, a Reverse Bang is meant to be a collaboration between artist and writer. Think of your artist like a partner in your creative process and follow the sharing guidelines that we have laid out in terms of sharing outlines and drafts. Everyone has their own creative style, but do be willing to listen to the input from your artist as you write. One of the joys as a writer is having a collaborative partner to bounce ideas off of and talk through your WIP. Your artist will probably love to be part of this process.

>>>This means that you should regularly be sharing drafts with your artist.<<<

>>TLDR Your mods are here to help but we can’t help if you don’t talk to us.

**Dropping**

>> Should any participants drop before claims, no harm done, no worries.

>> Should any participants drop out after claims without extenuating circumstances, participants may not be allowed to take part in the next round. In any case, talk to your mods! There is usually a solution, both for the person dropping and the person remaining in the bang (e.g. finding a pinch hitter), and the sooner one is figured out, the better.

>>If you drop before August 30, 2024, and request a pinch hitter, you will receive a one year ban. Dropping after this date will result in a permanent ban.

>> Should a team wish to drop out by mutual consent, they may do so, but may not post their work as part of the Sterek Reverse Bang Collection.

**COMMUNICATION**

The STRB is meant to be a collaborative effort between artist and writer. Part of the fun of the process is working with another creative person to make something new in the Sterek fandom. With that in mind, we have a set of things you should be talking about with your partner.

**First check-in: June 14, 2024**

Teams must confirm that they have made contact and are good to collaborate.

Talk to your artist/author partner and exchange:

Names and pronouns

Account names (AO3, Tumblr, Discord)

Best way to communicate

Any general ideas you have

**Second check-in: July 14, 2024** - Team update

Author to Artist contact

Writers submit an outline of 200-500 words to their artist for comment and to mods for check-in.

**Third check-in: August 11, 2024**

Writers should have 3k written. They will submit a draft link to the mods and their artist. Artists will confirm that their writer has been in communication with them and that they have seen the draft.

**Fourth check-in: September 14, 2024** - The Final Check-in (insert klaxon siren here)

Teams must confirm that they are on schedule to post. Writers will receive a link to a Google form for submitting their drafts. Drafts should be 80% done with any parts/scenes that are not yet complete outlined. Artists will confirm that their writer has been in communication with them and that they have seen the draft.

Artists and writers are free to decide mutually on how much contact they wish to have and in how much detail they wish to collaborate.

🟡 **Check-ins** 🟡

All Check-ins must be done on time and are mandatory. Missing a check-in forfeits your art prompt (writers) and will result in a year ban (before August 30th) or permanent ban after August 30th.

**SIGN-UPS**

Sign-up via Google Doc

https://forms.gle/xt1pm2UY3HospyAPA

You may sign up as both an artist and a writer.

[a-d-nox]

menu of astrology readings

status: closed as of october 2, 2024

the blog's masterlist

general astrology reading reviews: no. 1, no. 2, no. 3, no. 4, & no. 5

★ FAQs to read before purchasing ★

"how do i get you my information?"

★ first submit your payment and then completed google form. you have 48 hours to provide me with the information i will use in the reading(s). if you don't submit by then i will consider the tip a blog post tip. if you provide me with the incorrect information (i don't double check with you) and don't resubmit your response i will not rewrite the reading(s).

"how do you accept payments?"

★ in full and before the reading is drafted. you can send your payment via paypal or ko-fi. all readings are non-refundable.

"can i purchase multiple readings at a time?"

★ yes! just make sure you select them all on the form and send the adequate amount for your purchase.

"how long does it take to receive a reading?"

★ anywhere from 7 to 14 days. it all depends on when your reading request comes through and what my schedule looks like because i do work full-time. if it will take longer than that, i will communicate with you and let you know before that 10-14 day range.

"what house system do you use?"

★ all readings will be done using placidus / tropical charts.

"can i share what i learned in your reading online?"

★ all information provided in readings may NOT be reproduced on a separate blog/account apart from this one as they are MY personal remarks - thus they are subject to my copyright policy.

"what if i have a question or want a specific reading that is not listed?"

★ DO NOT SUBMIT A FORM OR PAYMENT! please email me at a.d.nox.astrology@gmail.com with your question or the type of reading you are interested in so that i can provide you with a monetary quote!

★ prices and readings ★

ode to cupid

cost: 4.00 USD

unlock the secrets of your future romantic relationship with this astrological reading that utilizes my hypothesis. by combining the nuances of your natal and 7h persona chart, a detailed and brief prediction about the partner's profile, potential meeting scenarios, and places your romantic soulmate will be formulated. each reading is approximately 275 words.

mirror of aphrodite

cost: 6.00 USD

discover the secrets of your natural allure and magnetic presence with this customized astrological reading. this insightful analysis of your asteroid placements (will be asteroids on the masterlist) reveals how you shine in every aspect of your life (warmth, charisma, desirability, elegance, timeless beauty, etc). each reading is approximately 375 words.

hymn of protagonist

cost: 8.00 USD

become part of the myth, by exploring the how an asteroid's story (must be on the masterlist) can be adapted to your life with this astrological reading. discover how heroes and deities shape your destiny and influence your connection to time, suffering, and personal journeys. each reading is approximately 450 words.

review no. 1

ode to chaos

cost: 16.00 USD

get ready for exploration of your unique astrological aspects/placement. this analysis focuses on three chart influences you are likely to over look but i can't help but notice. anything from your emotional expression, perception of the world, and personal challenges can be given insights into with this reading. each reading is approximately 800 words.

review no. 1 & no. 2

tendons and bones

cost: 16.00 USD

explore the powerful influences of an asteroid (must be on the masterlist) in your chart to understand how you can maximize your potential in various areas/themes of your life. learn more about the house, degree, and sign of one asteroid and its aspect(s) of note. each reading is approximately 775 words.

the alter

cost: 30.00 USD

unveil the incredible potential of deity work, change your reality and help yourself rise from ordinary to extraordinary. by connecting with your deity of choice must be on the masterlist), you can harness their energy to transform various aspects of your life. learn how you can benefit and what offerings will resonate most with them in a respectful and meaningful manner. each reading is approximately 1,475 words.

crystal or rock

cost: 30.00 USD

explore the depths of your relationship with critical analysis of your synastry and/or composite chart. discover how astrological placements/aspects shape your connection and learn strategies to enhance understanding, intimacy, and personal growth. each reading is approximately 1,275 words.

review

curio kit

cost: 32.00 USD

ready to explore how your astrological placements can guide your career decisions using my hypothesis? enjoy a personalized career consultation to gain deeper insights into your professional potential and strategies for success. each reading is approximately 1,300 words.

review no. 1, no. 2, & no. 3

sunny d

cost: 32.00 USD

find out secrets of your upcoming year by choosing three key areas you’re most curious about. whether it's understanding your relationships, exploring career opportunities, or uncovering how to navigate challenges, i’ll use key placements in your solar return chart to provide detailed insights and actionable advice tailored just for you. each reading is approximately 1,625 words.

i am the mage

cost: 60.00 USD

ever wondered how the stars align with your ambitions, passions, and personal growth? dive into a comprehensive astrology reading tailored just for you, and discover the cosmic blueprint that shapes your life. learn about your personality, love and relationship dynamics, public persona, what challenges you, and where you can grow. embrace your true potential and transform your life with insights from the cosmos! each reading is approximately 3,025 words.

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my "suggest a post topic." button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next!

copyright terms

[in-death-we-fall]

Slipknot

The Tightest Knots Never Fray

Metal Edge 48-11, March 2003

By Roger Lotring

(google drive link) Murderdolls interview here – Stone Sour interview here

“Someone has to bring down the whore, dude,” says Shawn Crahan, determinedly addressing the soulless gluttony that has devoured integrity from contemporary music. “I’ve been all over the place,” he admits, readily likening his foregone ranting as being “almost schizophrenic, man.” But for #6—the Clown percussionist of Slipknot—the corporate impurity that desecrates his sacred rock ‘n’ roll art form pits him as the proverbial David in the face of a Goliath. “People always say Clown’s a fuckin’ retard genius,” he exhilarates. “And I say, ‘You’re right.’ I’ve taken an oath, spilled a lot of blood, and I’m part of an organization that is going to do nothing but bring down the pig.”

The challenge of Disasterpieces is the first of the slings and arrows. A turbulently intense package, the very first Slipknot DVD is largely centered around a February 2002 live performance filmed at the London Arena. A fast-paced style of editing moves conjunctively with 5.1 surround sound to overwhelm both the aural and visual senses, making for an extreme Slipknot experience. An accompanying second disc features a video history of the band, including the banned clip for “Spit It Out,” plus a previously unreleased animated version of “Wait And Bleed.” Enhanced bonus material and an exclusive audio track—”Purity”—make this DVD the gauntlet of a challenge to sedentary bands reigning over hard rock popularity. “I’ve kind of made the DVD like, ‘Look, if you’re not this good, and you don’t know what the fuck’s going on, why don’t you quit and do us all a favor?’” Moreover, Disasterpieces is an architectural draft by which metal fans can judge what to expect from their music. Nothing less will suffice anymore in a landscape of media saturated mediocrity.

“It’s the cattle thing,” Clown defines, a cultural popularity branded by lethargy. “If you’re not at the back of the pack, something in life forced you to be at the front,” he says, intimating music fans as an order of natural selection. “There’s probably a chance for everyone, but it means we’re going to have to go, ‘Hey, you guys at the back of the pack, they’re going to eat you, do you understand?’” It’s what he calls an education. “That’s what Disasterpieces is,” he says by comparison, something by which metal fans can decipher the natural order of musical innovation.

Metal Edge sat down on a Saturday afternoon for an intense conversation with Clown about Disasterpieces, as well as his perspective on the Stone Sour and Murderdolls branches of the Slipknot family tree. “I used to talk about unity and pushing forward,” he concedes, noting that, “I think Slipknot did that to the point that we don’t need to anymore. Now, it’s obvious all of us are looking for our insides. We are trying to evolve Slipknot. All of us need to fuckin’ find some stuff for ourselves,” he explains, assuring diehard Slipknot fans that “they ain’t got nothing to worry about. Let the Maggots know it’s all coming for ‘em. We’re not getting older, we’re getting better.”

METAL EDGE: Is the Disasterpieces DVD meant as a means of focusing attention on Slipknot in the interim before a new album? SHAWN CRAHAN: Most people in the world have to realize that we, the band, have been doing this for seven years. We’ve been doing it professionally, nonstop, for four years. We just got to the point where we understand what home is. So, everybody’s kind of doing their own thing right now—which is totally cool with everybody in the band—because we need time. The third album is coming, right around the corner, and we know it’s going to be different. No one has to be worried about anything drastically changing, ‘cause we’re pretty focused on what we need to be. However, the third one, I think it’s gonna be a really crazy, weird, all-out war. Every member is gonna bring who he is to the table, with all the experience he’s downloaded for the last seven years. This DVD was never intended to let people know that we were alright or whatever. It’ll run its course for two or three months, and we’re starting to write the new album in January—not all of us, but people are gonna fall into place as need be. But, like I said, man, this new album’s gonna be completely insane, as far as I’m concerned.

ME: Would it be fair to say that this DVD almost closes a chapter of Slipknot? SC: I’ve been getting into a lot of trouble lately, because I’ve been telling people that it ends an era. And I don't care what anyone says about it, it ends an era. I’m not interested—the Clown is not interested—in using goats anymore. I’m not interested in half the shit that’s on our stage. Have I talked about this with everyone else? No. But I do a lot of that stuff, and I’m just not interested in the Iowa show no more. I mean, I’m done, I’m bored, and it’s over with. The DVD captured it as best as we could. There were over ten thousand people, over twenty-one cameras, and it was just pure mayhem. You got the most of the show that we could do, that we did for Iowa for over a year.

ME: But isn’t that the point? Why continue doing the Iowa show? It wasn’t meant to be forever, it was meant to be that album. SC: Right, I think people just think that we’re breaking up, or something stupid like that. But no, it’s absolutely the end of an era, get fucking used to it! People change. Fourteen-year-old fans that were there [when] we came out, they’re eighteen now. We’re changing, too, and if no one likes it, fuck off.

ME: You mentioned that this project consisted of a multiple camera shoot, comprising a double DVD. When the idea was first conceived, was it readily apparent that it was going to be so intensive? SC: I knew what was going to happen. I came up with the idea of so many cameras, and the reason was, before, we had only a couple that would film the band. I would just pretty much almost shoot myself, every time we got something in, ‘cause I was so disappointed. Great, you got footage of Sid jumping in the crowd, but what about Joey’s excellent footwork? Where’s all the angles? So, I knew we were going to have a monster. They were talking about one disc, but I knew it would be literally impossible. There’s over four thousand edits in the show itself, and that just takes a lot of information for a computer to recognize.

ME: But with a band like Slipknot, and what it does onstage, you almost have to do it the way Disasterpieces was done, because if you’re at the show, visually, there’s so much going on. SC: That’s how I edited the whole thing with Phil [Richardson]. We edited it like we were in the front row. The reason why I was so excited about being able to do this project was, just like you said, yes, it moves very fast. But how is it moving? Is it moving out-of-control, or is it literally going Clown… Chris… joey… Mick… Sid… Paul… Jim… Mick… Clown… Sid—Ya’ know what I mean? That’s what it’s doing. You’re literally getting to see the chaos as it’s being done. Yeah, it moves very quick, but so does Slipknot. [Laughing] This is for kids to identify with what the fuck exactly goes on at a Slipknot show—Who starts what, who’s playing where, and what they’re doing while they’re doing it. This is all about cues, and the only way to do it right is to do it quickly. Plus, I don’t make anything for the weak, dude. I am here to cleanse the weak away from the idea known as Slipknot. I only want people that understand, because after they take it all in, they’re teachers. And they’ll go out and start molding the future. I’ve kind of made this DVD like, ‘Look, if you’re not this good, why don’t you quit now and do us all a favor?’ That’s how angry I am at the music scene. I understand music has to move, but I’ve never felt so sorry for people listening to music right now, ‘cause it’s fucking crap! Nu Metal? Garbage! It’s garbage, dude! It is! If you know you’re a nu metal band, you’re fucking garbage, end of story. This DVD is about real music, real players—there’s not one musical overdub in the whole thing. What you hear is what happened that night. The only thing that was done, I believe, was in the beginning of “Purity,” because the pyro blew up a couple of the mics. I don’t know any bands that can go through an hour-and-a-half of intensive, dead-on musicianship as we do. I pride myself very, very much to be honored in a band in such good company, ‘cause we’re all incredible musicians, and we make it fly.

ME: So it’s fair to say that this DVD is a challenge to any other band out there right now? If you can’t live up to this… SC: …If you can’t live up to this, why are you even bullshitting? I’ve been on tour with bands that suck. And I’m looking at 'em like, ‘You got a record deal? You’re getting a chance to change the world? Who signed you, some fuckin’ dork? Some idiot over at some big company that knows the formula?’ Man, they’re all losers, dude. Record people get a formula of something that works—Just take Slipknot, for example. Look at all the little fashion statements that have been started, because a band like Slipknot works. Most of the idiots that sign bands because of us are people that said no to Slipknot. I could call four people out from every label. The industry’s a fuckin’ joke, dude! I’m in rock ‘n’ roll, and I’ve never been so embarrassed to be a part of something in my entire life. But it doesn’t matter, dude, ‘cause Slipknot’s there. That’s what we stand for, and that’s what we break down.

ME: Isn’t that a cue, then, with your band being a leader within the rock genre, to throw a monkey wrench into it and make a total left turn? SC: I think so. I never sit here and intend to break the rules. I go, ‘This is the band I’m in.’ The whole time I was editing the DVD, I said, ‘Oh my God, I’m in that band! Yeah, I’m getting to design this, and the whole idea of the DVD is mine, but holy fuck, that’s me in the band! I’m in this band!’

ME: It’s a little surreal, isn’t it? SC: Oh, it’s completely surreal, man! I am so honored to be in the company of eight dudes that fuckin’ throw down. We throw down, man, and I’m proud of it. And I’m not gonna sit back like other people in the band—Everybody would be humble. I don’t care anymore! If your band isn’t this good, then you suck! I’m tired of all the political bullshit, all the bands making fun of us, talking shit. Well, guess what? All your bands suck. None of you could do what we do. I’ve watched all of you, and it doesn’t happen. You come short.

ME: It’s like the early days of KISS, when they would be ridiculed, and then blow other bands off the stage. Nobody would be laughing afterward. SC: We’re actually now managed by KISS’ manager. And we’ve talked a couple stories, ‘cause I play music because of KISS. That was my introduction to music. In the early stages, no one knew what they looked like, and people used to flip out. And I was thinking, goddamn, that sounds a lot like Slipknot!

ME: Watching Disasterpieces, everybody’s faces have been carefully obscured to preserve that mystique. But is the marketing necessity of Murderdolls and Stone Sour detrimental to Slipknot? Joey, Corey and Jim have all been unmasked. SC: I don’t know how to answer that, man. I love Joey, Corey and Jim—As I love everybody in the band. However, things have changed now, and they’re the only ones that have to live with that. And they’re the ones that have to be responsible for that. It is what it is, man, but I don’t think it matters. Joey and Corey and Jim have found another extension of themselves, okay, and I want to clear it up. Corey is a genius. He writes all the time, all day long. I got notebooks that he’s just left laying around, full of conceptual pieces. Some belong to Slipknot, some belong to Corey Taylor. There’s things he won’t even bring to Slipknot, because it’s not the ‘Knot. And no one knows that better than Corey. Think about what he did, man. I mean, he takes the mask off—You know how hard that was? And he did it, and he’s succeeding. And I say, good for him, because that’s what Slipknot stands for. Recently, I said we’re the biggest punk band in the world. I didn’t mean like we’re a punk band, [but] I mean we live the punk feeling. We’re the biggest metal band in the world, and I got three dudes trouncing around the world without masks, succeeding, okay? That’s exactly what Slipknot is.

ME: Meaning that Slipknot is at the point where it can fly in the face of convention and do whatever it likes. SC: I think what we’ve always preached, if we’ve preached anything, is to thyself be true. Don’t ever judge me, just let me do my fucking thing. We’re Slipknot. We stand up and teach kids to stand up! Fight for who you are! Be who you are, don’t worry about it. And now, my own members are like, ‘I gotta do this.’ They go up against all odds and break down all the fuckin’ walls. And they look everybody in the face with their real face, after relying on rubber masks for fucking years? People need to shut up. Fucking ignorance, man! I don’t care what any of ‘em say, we do what we want.

ME: Isn’t that the fundamental basis of being in rock ‘n’ roll to begin with? SC: Yeah! You got Slipknot, now you got the Murderdolls, you got Stone Sour—I will bet my left testicle, there will be other things. Who knows? Every member of the band might have its own entity, and then get together as Slipknot. Oh, some might suck, some might be good. But the point is, what do you do with your life? Most people that have an opinion, aren’t you just cattle being programmed with the imprint? I’m ready for this whole thing to change, man. I’m ready for the pictures in your magazine to change color; I’m ready for people to start talking about things they want, instead of their editors. I’m ready for bands to start telling the truth and lift the veil of rock ‘n’ roll, instead of all this bullshit.

ME: Have you listened to either the Stone Sour or Murderdolls albums yet? SC: Oh, yeah. I listened to the Murderdolls by myself—Joey gave me the copy. When we’re on the road, we’re both very, very busy, and we don’t have a lot of Shawn and Joe time. But Corey, when we were in Europe last time, we both happened to be up very early in the morning, and we were on a long drive. I got to listen to the whole Stone Sour album with Corey. Sitting there with the creator of it, somehow I understood all of it and knew where he was going. I even told him what his next single after “Bother” would be.

ME: Their exploration of musical direction will be invigorating when working on a new Slipknot album. That’s going to be the most positive effect on what the band comes up with, creatively. SC: Yeah. I would have used to have told you that I’d have my people take your head off with that explanation, but I agree with you now. I mean, dude, we’ve been going for four fucking years. Only now can I say thank you to the rest of the guys for allowing ourselves to be home and figure it out. And let me tell you, the three years before being signed—Pure hell. You want to see the evolvement of Slipknot? It took fuckin’ years. I used to wear a Barney outfit. One weekend, I’d be Barney, the next, I’d be a priest. Mick would be Little Bo Peep—Look at Mick, almost seven foot tall, in a Little Bo Peep outfit, slamming with a bonnet on.

ME: But that makes sense, because it wouldn’t have worked if it was something formulated. SC: No! I’ll be honest, man, I hurt some feelings when those guys did that. I hurt some serious feelings. I think people are still angry at me, ya’ know? And that’s cool. I don’t give a fuck. So what? [Laughing] But I take the responsibility of Slipknot hardcore, man. We gave these kids with nothing, something. They were the ones that were so far gone, they were like, I’m outta here, I’m gonna kill myself. Boom—Slipknot comes alone. I’ve had kids wear Slipknot shirts—you know how they are when they wear Slipknot shirts—it’s like a fucking army. They’ll wash it every day, to wear it every day. It lets other kids now (sic) what kind of kid they are. It’s a mentality. That kid is basically telling us where he’s at, by wearing that statement. That’s why I get so nuts, [and] why people are mad at me. Slipknot’s come to a point where—we know we’re a band, dude—but we’ve become icons of responsibility in the world we live in. I try to live my words, man. I try to be really, really responsible.

[bergdg]

Analyzing Invention: Jan-April 2024

The first four months of 2024 have come and gone. Along with wind, snow, solar eclipses and rain, there have been 16 challenges with the Inventor's Fair, a Magic: the Gathering card design contest blog here on Tumblr.

For the uninitiated, each week, a design challenge is announced on the blog and members of the community create cards meeting the design specifications. At the end of the week, a few winners and runner-ups are selected from the submission.

Similar to what I did at the end of last year, let's take a look at some of the trends so far this year - January through April.

Art. Katerina of Myra's Marvels. Illustrated by Gaboleps

The Contests

So far, there have been 16 contests over 17 weeks, with one off-week for a call for new judges from the community. In Week 6, spooky-bard moved from contestant to judge and had their first time in the judgement seat with a contest all about Nothing.

There have been 78 distinct participants, with 3 participants submitting a card each contest thus far. On average, there have been 21 participants per contest, with the highest being Week 3 - For the Spikes! (28 participants) and the lowest being a tie between Week 7 - My Better Half and Week 11 - War Never* Changes (16 participants).

A big shout-out to the IF team for their work in planning and judging each week's contest: @abelzumi, @follower-of-liliana, @gollumni, @loreholdlesbian, Mr. ShinyObject, and @spooky-bard!

Speaking of the contests...

The Submissions

Over the 16 contests, there have already been 350 unique submissions. And with some contests having multiple cards per submission, that results in 377 cards, enough for a draftable cube.

Let's look at some of the stats behind these cards, starting with Card Type.

Fig. 1 - Bar graph of card submissions by card types. Artifact, 51. Battle, 16. Creature, 205. Enchantment, 41. Instant, 30. Land, 2. Planeswalker, 1. Sorcery, 48. Other, 0.

By far, the most popular card type to design are Creatures, with a fair few of them also falling into the Artifact and Enchantment buckets. Planeswalkers have seen the least amount of love, with only one having been in the contest thus far: Leucina of Dark Desire by @mudthing in the For the Spikes! contest of Week 3.

For color, I've decided to stick with the overall Color Identity of the cards created, rather than those represented in the mana cost. I've also just separated the submissions by single colors; parsing them into pairs, wedges, and shards would be possible, but a little more convoluted.

Fig. 2 - Donut graph of card submissions by color identity. White, 103. Blue, 99. Black, 117. Red, 100. Green, 80. Colorless, 20.

Black colored card submissions are slightly edging out white, red and blue with 22.5% of submissions being at least partial black. This is especially interesting as one contest, All the Colors of the -1/-1 Counter in Week 15, was explicitly to NOT have any black cards.

Of the five main colors, green is lagging behind with only 15.4% of card submissions being at least partial green. Sounds like we are in need of some lichens and tigers and bears ...

Image - George Takei, Oh My

For Mana Value (MV), there is a similar bell curve to what we saw last year.

MV 0: 7 cards

MV 1: 24 cards

MV 2: 76 cards

MV 3: 116 cards

MV 4: 83 cards

MV 5: 37 cards

MV 6: 14 cards

MV 7+: 10 cards

Cards at MV 3 are the most popular to design, with MV 4 and MV 2 close behind. Seeing these numbers, it really does make it seem like there could be a draftable cube, albeit a wonky one with some crazy drafting strategies.

Finally, let's jump into Rarity.

Fig. 3 - Donut graph of card submissions by rarity. Common, 51. Uncommon, 140. Rare, 151. Mythic Rare, 24.

At around 40% for each, Rare and Uncommon are the card rarities most often designed. This is right in the sweet spot for a decent amount of complexity, really allowing designers to show off their design skills.

Winners and Runner-Ups

Starting in this section, we have to give a shout-out to the 31 card designers who have had cards selected as either a Winner or Runner-Up in the contests. In particular, put your hands together for the top 3 entrants so far this year:

@izzet-always-r-versus-u: 10 submissions selected

@nine-effing-hells: 8 submissions selected

@horsecrash: 7 submissions selected

Data-wise, we see some similar patterns with what has been submitted. Creatures are crushing it (67 entries), MV 3 is ahead (32 entries), and Uncommons and Rares are close (although Uncommon is slightly ahead with 41 entries to Rare's 38).

But a shake-up between submissions and selections is in the works with Color Identity.

Fig. 4 - Donut graph of winner and runner-up card selections by color identity. White, 21. Blue, 33. Black, 30. Red, 25. Green, 22. Colorless, 3.

In a big surprise, Blue jumps to the front of the pack, followed closely by Black. Red sits in third place, with Green and White close behind (and to each other). In my analysis last year, Red was the color to beat, but it looks like Blue's allure of card draw, bounce effects and flying creatures has wowed the judges this time around.

But really, the biggest take-away is that we have a community of wonderful card designers and judges who give us a little something to look forward every week. Thank you everyone for your hard work! There will be another data analysis at the end of August.

And I'll see you in the weekly submissions!

[prettylittlelyres]

Hello, friends! You might have seen my brief post last night (technically the last addition to a long self-reblog chain) or you might be one of the people I've been chatting to today, in which case you already know, because I am buzzing, and have not stopped talking about it... but...

Second Violins and Violets book - complete!

I finished the second book in the "Violins and Violets" series (still untitled) last night at 23:35! The total wordcount is 78,250, of which I wrote 18,126 in the second half of December 2023, and 60,124 in the first 30 days of January 2024. It's taken me 48 days to write in all, so this is the fastest I've ever completed a novel.

I've written every single day since Hallowe'en 2023, so now I am taking a rest in order to avoid burnout. It's a little frustrating because I want to pounce on the third book right away, but I know I will have to spend a lot longer recovering from the crash that brings, than one little month. I don't plan to write anything huge in February; I want to put my energy into other pursuits for a bit.

This is by no means a hiatus from writeblr, though. i'm going to go through the first two V&V books that I have drafted, and pick out an excerpt to share each day. I also want to have a go at a little (short! soft and gentle! without pressure!) writing-prompt challenge because it's been a long time since I've taken part in one of those.

Then, in March, all being well, I will pick up work on the third book, and maybe get it done for the end of April (probably doing Camp NaNoWriMo). Alternatively, I might start redrafting the first book in March, and get that done for the end of April, so that I can use May to rest, and June and July to redraft the second book. The best bit is that I don't have to decide yet... and maybe I don't have to decide at all.

I couldn't have achieved this without my friends' encouragement, so thank you all so much. Happy writing, or happy resting, and above all, happy February.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this press release from the Center for Biological Diversity:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its draft Insecticide Strategy, a guidance document establishing a framework to protect more than 850 endangered plants and animals from insecticides. This is the latest move in the EPA pesticides office’s work to start complying with its obligations under the Endangered Species Act.

The draft strategy focuses on practical measures to ensure that endangered invertebrates and the species that rely on them for prey and pollination are protected from conventional insecticides. It builds on the EPA’s draft herbicide and rodenticide strategies to protect the species most vulnerable to the 24 million pounds of insecticides used on 83 million acres of agriculture each year in the lower 48 states.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a draft biological opinion for just one insecticide, methomyl. It found that this one insecticide is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of 82 endangered plants and animals, including the rusty patched bumble bee, Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, Attwater’s greater prairie-chicken, Karner’s blue butterfly and red wolf.

Insecticides are known to play a major role in the “insect apocalypse,” harming bees, butterflies and countless other “non-target” insects.

“Insecticides play an outsized role in driving our current heartbreaking extinction crisis, but I’m hopeful that the EPA’s strategy will be implemented in a manner that gives species on the brink, like the Dakota skipper and Florida bonneted bat, a shot at survival,” said Burd. “The EPA has to do all it can to ensure that no species goes extinct because of the pesticides it’s in charge of regulating.”

For decades the EPA has failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act’s requirements to consult with expert wildlife agencies to reduce the harm of pesticides to protected species. As a result of ongoing pressure and a series of court decisions, the EPA released a comprehensive workplan to address how it would meet the challenge of protecting endangered species from pesticides. In addition to the herbicide, rodenticide and new insecticide strategies, the agency has initiated pilot programs focused on reforming the pesticide-approval process to correct violations of the Endangered Species Act.

[mekana47]

2023 Fanfic Reflections

Tagging: With no pressure, @beepbeepsan, @isabellehemlock, @alllthequeenshorses, @genyathefirebird, and anyone else who wants to play.

What is your favorite thing you created?   “A Little Trust” because it was my first fic in The Witcher fandom. I was nervous to try something new and starting off with an AU, but I love the idea of Lambert running a floral shop that’s a front for poisons and antidotes for this underworld of killers-for-hire.

Which work are you proudest of?  “Scene by Scene” I had a nearly completed fast draft of this story by the end of 2020, but it took me nearly three years to edit and post it. My standards changed, my skills changed, The Old Guard fandom shrunk considerably, but the emotional payoff speaks for itself.

Is there anything you are proud of that you achieved this year? I finished “Scene by Scene.” I posted 14 other fics, nearly doubling my total on AO3.

Did you explore anything new this year? (A new way to be creative, a trope you didn’t write before, or an idea you hadn’t thought of earlier, etc.) I started writing for a new fandom, which I had resisted because I still love TOG and have a ton of ideas and drafts, but to my surprise, writing for The Witcher also got me back into writing, in general, including for The Old Guard. I also did 48-hour challenges ten times. Having that deadline for posting doesn’t let me second-guess my choices.

Which work gave you the most difficulty? Either “Between You and Me (and You)” because it’s a Tenet time-travel PWP with two versions of the same character who canonically does not have a name, or “Buy Me Some Peanuts” because I completely restarted this Witcher baseball AU when I realized I’d started the story way too early for a flash fic. Also I cut like half the baseball jargon and I still feel like it’s jargon heavy.

What was your biggest creative challenge this year? I’m still not great at balancing new ideas, completed drafts that need editing, WIPs that aren’t ready to post, and WIPs that are already partially posted. Adding a new fandom gave me this surge of creativity and productivity, but I also have even more ideas. What am I going to post next? Not even I know.

Which work brought you the most joy? All of them, in different ways, but to choose one, “A Changing Tide.” I wanted to write something new solely for me, so I picked some prompts off a list and ended up with a fun TOG pirate AU.

Which of your works do you think people should check out? It depends on your interests. For The Witcher, I’d say “At Your Back” is representative of how I think about canon-- a web of witchers who trust and care about few others but will also trust those who’ve earned their loved ones’ trust. For The Old Guard, I strayed from my typical mission-fic this year for mostly PWPs, but “A Changing Tide” might be the most representative.

Do you have creative plans for next year?  Is there anything exciting you’re currently working on? For The Witcher, I’d like to finish “All Our Truths, Crossed Out,” keeping doing flash challenges that spark ideas, and work on a cursed!Geralt fic through January. For The Old Guard, I have two completed fast drafts that need heavy edits (one’s a sequel to the a/b/o “Rapid Boiling” and one’s a sorta spiritual prequel to “Hold Tight”), a Keane-centric futurefic that I adore but have only written about half of the fast draft, and the possibility of more pirates.

Lastly, any words of wisdom or anything else you would like to share? Have fun. Write what you want to write. You might be surprised what other people like. Finishing things can be helpful, but so can setting things aside.

[toasttt11]

maddox hughes

Maddox Theodore Hughes

Number: 22

Season: Fourth

Position: C

Height: 6”4

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

S/C: L

NHL: CHI

Prev Team: TBL

NHL

• Selected First overall by the Tampa Bay Lighting in the 2020 NHL Draft.

• Traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2022-2023 season.

International

Team USA

•2022 World Championship- Forth - 7 G, 5 A, 6 GP

•2021 World Championship- Bronze Medal, 7 G, 6 A, 6 GP

•2021 World Junior Championship- Gold Medal, 11 G, 9 A, 7 GP

•2020 World Junior Championship- Forth, 5 G, 2 A, 5 GP

•2019 World Junior Championship- Fifth, 3 G, 2 A, 4 GP

•2018 World U-18 Hockey Challenge- Silver Medal, 7 G, 7 A, 7 GP

•2017 World U-17 Hockey Challenge- Gold Medal, 8 G, 7 A, 6 GP

Fourth Season (2023-2024)

Chicago Blackhawks

70 G, 60 A, 130 P, 80 GP

Signed a 64 million dollar contract for 7 years and three million dollar signing bonus.

Captain.

Third Season (2022-2023)

Chicago Blackhawks

62 G, 56 A, 118 P, 79 GP

Was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks during the off season.

Alternative Captain.

Second Season (2021-2022)

Tampa Bay lightning

58 G, 54 A, 112 P, 77 GP

Won a Stanley Cup.

Rookie Season (2020-2021)

Tampa Bay Lighting

54 G, 52 A, 106 P, 56 GP

Received the Rookie of the Year award.

Signed a Contract for 13.5 Million dollars for two years and a 1 million dollar signing bonus.

Won a Stanley cup.

Before NHL

• Played two seasons with the USNTDP.

• Totaled 260 points (100-160--260) in 125 games with the USNTDP, the most points and assists ever in USNTDP history.

• Scored 130 points (50-80--130) in 63 games in 2018-2019, played with the U-17 and U-18 Teams.

• Scored 110 points (71-48--118) in 62 games with the U18 team in 2019-2020.

Personal

• Born September 9, 2003

• Son of Jim and Ellen Hughes

• Has three siblings, Quinn, Jack, Luke.

[amaiguri]

I did the 24hr Novel Challenge last year...

Last year, I did the 24 hr novel challenge over the course of 48 hours (so the novel was written in 24 hours but I did in 48 hours) and it went about as well as you'd expect:

Fine. I did fine.

I didn't exactly FINISH finish but I did complete a solid 0th draft and I wrote like 26 thousand words (16k the first day, 10k the second day). I learned two really big things from doing this:

The first thing I learned was I really method act when I'm writing -- like, in order to describe emotions, I really simulate them in my body. So simulating a whole rollercoaster ride of stress and love and sadness and terror and desire and despair was A LOT and I would get numb to things as the scenes went on.

The thing that restored me was watching snippets of things that inspired me -- the starts of shows, trailers, music, images, etc. These ended up being a sort of palette cleanser in-between scenes for me.

But when I'm not pushing myself, I learned I really need to just. Write when I'm feeling it. Because my writing is higher quality like that.

Secondly, I learned how fragile my hands were: I really destroyed my hands doing it -- something I didn't anticipate was how much I was going to need to stretch my hands and TO THIS DAY, my hands still get more sore than they ever did when I was younger. I'm getting old >_<

The Characters & Story

Heirs to the Tilted City was (to no one's surprise) a fantasy polticial drama about a city in the wake of a disaster that broke apart and almost fell into the Abyss. The Goddess who ruled the city sacrificed herself to protect it, leaving it behind to her baby Heiress, Shiel.

But while the Goddess made the celestial inhabitants of the gorgeous astral whimsigoth city, Shiel's descended from a line of Demons who migrated to the city after a disaster of with their own Goddess. Furthermore, she's so young. Many residents have mixed feelings about her taking control back from the City Chamber -- despite her being born, raised, and educated in the city...

Meanwhile, the former Chamberlain of the Goddess -- removed from power after trying to take power from Shiel when she was a baby -- has a son, Isegael. And in the dregs beneath the city, Isegael, too, has risen to power as his rivals mysteriously vanish. From the head of a crime syndicate to a legitimate local leader, Isegael now has his eyes set on the Chamber too.

And so begins a collision of ambitious young people trying to wrestle power from those who'd maintain a crumbling status quo. Will they overcome their past traumas to become the people the city needs? Or will the Old Guard let the city slide the rest of the way into the Abyss?

...I suck at writing copy. Don't make do it lol

Feel free to take a gander at the writing vlog too -- it's definitely one of my better ones!

[thatwordybirb]

1, 5, 8, 13, 15, 16, 20, 29, 33, 34, 40, 44, 48, 52, 58, 64, 71, 90, and 93 for the ask game ‼️‼️

Ooo, thankies for sending! Alright, let's go:

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Hm! I guess I'd say... coffee mugs. But I never use them for coffee, just milk for dipping oreos in (via fork of course). Never had coffee. Grew up with Mormon parents and they ain't about that. Honestly think that's one of the biggest blessings of that unhappy upbringing: I never got addicted.

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

Glass! Hands down. Didn't drink soda of any kind as a kid, and plastic cups don't retain the cold or heat from drinks. Feels weird. And anything (especially milk) in a chilled glass (as in left in the fridge for a while before drinking) is just really Nice.

8. movies or tv shows?

Ooo, now this is a tough one! I like both, some movies are my favorite pieces of media (like Arashi no Yoru Ni subbed version not dubbed the dub intentionally literally tried to hide that it's a gay love story, biggest comfort movie for me), but I prefer TV shows in general. I like getting immersed in long stories, getting to know the characters and setting and seeing them evolve for hour upon hour. It's hard for a movie to give its story enough time to breathe. TV shows have issues with never knowing when to end (capitalism driving them forward long after a satisfying ending could happen, or canceling them before there is any ending at all), but movies do that too.

13. lanyard or key ring?

Key ring~! Never owned a lanyard, I think?

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

Um. Hm. That's... challenging. Because I have severe memory issues. I guess that honor goes (largely by default) to Dante's Inferno. I found it fascinating, historically and conceptually speaking.

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

Any position I can put my legs up! They do not like being on the floor!! I will legit stretch my legs to a different couch across from the one I'm on just to put my feet up, without realizing it!!!

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

On my desktop! Got over 200k stored on here now (after many years of not even a single paragraph), and damn does it feel nice to accomplish something~!

29. best way to bond with you?

Oh! Um, hm. Little embarrassed to say this, because it's super niche and not all my lovelies (I find the phrase "loved ones" so mechanical, I use the term "lovelies" instead) do it, and I feel selfish saying it! But I think the best way to bond with me is to talk shop creatively. Brainstorm ideas, read rough drafts, swap brainrot. I made all my friends through shared interests, but my beautiful beta readers have a special place in my heart (shoutout to those of ya still on tumblr!). That is not to say I do not strongly bond with people purely through shared interests, though! I do! Most of my lovelies are not beta readers. It's just that writing, and my writing being read, makes me happier than anything else - I do my best to reciprocate though, because to do otherwise would make me a jackass!

33. most used phrase in your phone?

I barely use my phone, because I'm a homebody who only leaves for groceries! I think it's "so sorry for the inconvenience" because I have to cancel appointments a lot. My life is one long comedy of chicanery and shenanigans, and things keep! Coming! Up!

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

Very first thought was the fucking "WEEEEE" pig in those Geico commercials, because my dad loved those, it will never leave my brain, nooo- no modern ones, haven't seen an ad in ages thanks to adblockers, the last straw was ads for that really ableist Shyamalan horror movie about the escaped elderly mental patients and i just couldn't take it anymore.

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

Another challenging one due to my massive memory problems! I racked my brain for over an hour on this one (first thing that sprang to mind could be identifying information about which school I went to, second thing that came to mind was just Tragedy), but finally remembered something: one day in the locker room somebody stuck a shoe in my lunch box. A fucking shoe. I do not remember the rest of the details, or if I ever figured out why someone stashed a grey laceless sneaker in my lunch box! I was too confused to even be bothered by what I think was a bullying attempt, to be perfectly honest!

44. favorite scent for soap?

Now this is challenging because of a different problem: most days I do not have a sense of smell, due to a childhood injury to my face! So every soap scent is basically the same to me, except on the rare days my nose works. I guess if I could make my own, cinnamon would be lovely. Or cotton candy. Or granny smith apples. Or rosewater. Hm. I guess every nice scent is my favorite, since I get to experience them so seldomly.

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

Tempted to make a lewd joke by saying peach or pear, buuut if I were to answer honestly... I think I see myself as an apple: thin skinned with a core nobody should eat. My friends tell me otherwise, and I'm starting to come around to their positive affirmations, but self hatred is a habit that digs deep and dies hard.

52. favorite font?

Never really perused fonts! I guess Verdana, since I find it the easiest to read. All my writing documents are in Verdana. If I could get away with a font that was composed of kickass logo letters (such as from, say, Kingdom Hearts) tho, I would!

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

I didn't see this one in the ask game, and now I feel a little bad I didn't ask you this one! T.T Um! First and foremost: I am proud of my ability to judge people's character. Always have been. I am not perfect, I've made some bad calls, but in general I am pretty good at telling if someone is a good person after getting to know them for a while. Sniffed out some backstabbing bastards and secret creeps before the people around me could before, multiple times. Second: I'm good emotional support. I'm proud of how I can help people out of really deep psychological pits. It's sometimes a huge problem, though, because my lovelies come to me for their problems all the time and being everyone's shoulder to cry on 24/7 can drive you crazy. It did drive me crazy! But I've gotten better at saying "I'm too overwhelmed to help right now, if I try we'll both be wrecks" and they've gotten better at going to other people more often, so, progress. Still there for folks, just can't do it as much as I used to. Third: I'm proud of my writing lately. Took me so many years to get to this point, but I feel so damn good about what I'm making. Fourth: fuckin uhhhh I guess my skill at shooters, I used to be a crack shot at Halo (covenant carbine, my beloved) back in high school and these days I'm kinda good at Splatoon (dualie main, giving chargers a try tho and I'm half decent at it).

64. favorite website from your childhood?

Fanfiction.net! Hands down! It's where I met my first circle of friends. It's where I first joined a fandom. I loved the stories there. Sad I'll probably never find some of them again, though.

71. least favorite pattern?

I mean the Iron Rule of Oligarchy sure is a drag. Joking, joking, I know this is referring to aesthetics. There is this ungodly pattern of wallpaper I've seen that's a yellow-beige background and has scattered American Revolutionary War period imagery. It's ugly as anything and I hate(d) it.

90. luckiest mistake?

Honestly? Joining Fanfiction.net. It's where I met my first circle of friends. Not all of them were good people. Some were very bad influences, actually. Things happened that hurt. But I survived. And the ones that were good people have remained my dearest lovelies for many years. Love them with all my heart.

93. nicknames?

All my lovelies call me Birb unironically, and anyone who reads this is welcome to as well~!

[spnbangbang]

Challenge Rules

The 2023 rules for the SPN Bang Bang

Eligibility

The SPN Bang Bang is open to participants of all levels of experience. There are no prerequisites in order to sign up. 

Judging by the nature of the challenge, you must be at least 18 years old to enter the SPNBB. No exceptions will be granted. 

Authors must register between by May 31 to be able to submit a fic to the challenge. 

Artists must register by July 20 to be eligible to claim a fic during the first round of Art Claims. 

General Requirements

All participants must be familiar with the challenge’s rules and requirements, as well as with the schedule. Failure to adhere to these may result in disqualifications from current and future rounds of the challenge. If you have any questions, or need any clarification, please reach out to the mods whenever you need. 

All author, artist and team check ins are obligatory. These check-ins are substantial in making sure that everything runs smoothly through the challenge so that it’s enjoyable for every party. 

Failure to meet deadlines or check-ins will result in disqualification from the challenge. If you need an extension, please reach out to the mods. 

Failure to submit promotional materials or to comply with all standards outlined for promotional materials may result in exclusion from the Bang promotional posts. 

All banners submitted with art and all art included in master posts must comply with the posting restrictions set forth by tumblr. We will be posting promotions and the fic links through tumblr and we reserve the right to exclude any artwork that does not meet these requirements. Links to NSFW art on other platforms is permitted.

Extensions will be considered depending on the circumstances, and will be granted at the discretion of the mods. 

Check-in forms will be sent to the email address you provide during registration, so make sure that it’s the correct one. 

Author and artist teams will be formed through an anonymous claim process which will take place as outlined in the schedule. You cannot form teams outside of this process, or switch teammates after you’ve been paired up. 

No participants may offer services in exchange for payment or solicit donations/tips from other participants. If you do, you will be disqualified and unable to enter the challenge again. 

Partners that are paired during Art Claims are required to contact each other within 48 hours after being assigned. Failure to do so, or to keep in contact with each other during the challenge as well as failing to check-in may result in being disqualified from the challenge and its future rounds. 

We ask that you communicate regularly and respectfully with your teammates in the spirit of collaboration. Should any issue arise between you and a teammate and you find that you can’t resolve it yourself, please contact the mods as soon as possible so that we can try to mediate and find a solution together. 

The stories submitted for this bang will be explicit. The content of the story will be at the author’s full discretion provided it otherwise meets the requirements of the challenge. The content of the art will be at the artist’s full discretion provided it reflects the story.

It is your responsibility to manage your schedule to meet the deadlines. If you anticipate being unable to access internet in time to submit a draft or to check-in, it’s your responsibility to reach out to the mods for assistance before the deadline. 

All due dates operate on Eastern Standard Time. 

Any participant who engages in racist, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, sexist, ableist, or any other discriminatory speech or behavior, including any kind of harassment, will not be tolerated.

Author Requirements

Fics must meet a minimum word count of 5,000 in order to qualify for the challenge. There is no maximum word count.

When submitting your rough draft for Art Claims, your fic must be at least 80% complete with the remainder outlined to qualify. 

You can write only one fic for the challenge. If you’re co-writing, you cannot sign up as a solo writer or as part of another co-writing team on the side. 

If you’re co-writing, both you and your writing partner need to sign up individually. This will allow us to make sure you both receive our emails. When you submit your rough draft for Art Claims, you’ll be able to select both of your names in the Author(s) field, which will let us know that you’re co-writing. 

The work you submit for the challenge has to be brand new or previously unpublished, and no part of it may have been published prior to Art Claims (this includes sneak peeks on social media!). 

Fics must be complete & stand alone; no cliffhanger endings will be accepted. They may be part of a series or act as a timestamp if they stand alone so that a reader who has not read the remainder of that series would be able to read your fic without background or explanation.

Fics must be written in English. 

Drafts you submit must be typed, and must be submitted in the following format: .doc, .pdf, or a Google doc share link. 

You’re welcome to participate as both an artist and an author, but you won’t be able to claim your own fic. Authors who are also participating in the challenge as artist won’t have access to the fic discussion channel before claims to ensure that the process stays anonymous. 

To make sure that we preserve the anonymity of the claims, please don’t reveal any details about what you’re working on publicly prior to Art Claims. This includes discussions about your fic in private groups that may include people who are not participating. We have an author channel in the SPNBB Server where you can discuss your fic. You can discuss your fic with an alpha or beta reader. 

While the challenge is taking place, participants may only promote their fic and art with the official promotional posts. 

Finished fics need to be posted to Archive of Our Own and remain publicly available for at least one year. We will be creating an official AO3 collection for this round and all fics are expected to be added. If you don’t have an AO3 account, reach out to the mods and we will help you set one up. Should you decide to remove your affiliation with the fic at a later point, please consider orphaning instead of deleting the work. Your fic must be posted entirely on your posting date. Serial posting is prohibited

Fic content requirements and restrictions 

GENRES AND RATINGS 

All fiction genres are welcome. 

AU (alternate universe) fics are welcome. 

Fusion fics (SPN universe fused with another fictional universe), and crossovers (SPN universe intersecting or crossing over into another fictional universe) are allowed. 

Dark fic summaries might have to go under a read more when promoted on Tumblr if they meet AO3’s warning criteria 

There are no pairing or grouping restrictions for this challenge provided that your fic otherwise meets the content requirements and restrictions. Any character from the Supernatural universe (including The Winchesters) is acceptable provided your fic complies with the other requirements.

There are no kink restrictions for this challenge, unless otherwise expressly prohibited. Get as wild as you want. We're here for it. 

Considering the nature of the challenge- PWP/Smut - all fics must be rated Explicit and feature explicit sexual content during the story you’re writing. No Mature, Teen and Up Audiences or General fics will be accepted.

We are not here to police the definition of smut/PWP. Your fic may contain plot (gotta get them into that only one bed or afflicted with that sex pollen spell after all) and there is no requirement for penetrative sex, but the overall feel of the fic should be "smutty" and the rating should meet the level of Explicit.

CONTENT RESTRICTIONS AND WARNINGS

The moderators are fully supportive of kink and do not condone purity culture or censorship. However, we have enacted certain content restrictions for this bang. The following content will not be accepted for this bang: Explicit Underage Content, Incest, NSFL (necrophilia, snuff, extremely graphic nonconsensual torture). If you have any questions regarding the content restrictions, please contact a moderator. 

You must tag/warn for any of AO3’s major archive warnings, including major character death (MCD), non-con, underage, and graphic violence. 

For this challenge, MCD means a major character is permanently dead OR that a reader could reasonably believe that they are dead when the fic ends. Tagging for "temporary MCD" or "perceived MCD" is okay where a character is dead but resurrected, or another character believes that character has died. Given the nature of the challenge, we don’t expect a lot of questions on this, but reach out to a mod if you are at all concerned about this rule. 

You may not choose to withhold a major archive warning from a fic posted as part of this Bang.  We STRONGLY recommend using the built-in warning system when posting. If you do not wish to do so, you must select the option “Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings” and use a regular tag OR disclose the information in your author’s note. If you feel the info would spoil the fic, a solution is to say, “This fic contains content that will upset or disturb readers. I feel it is a spoiler, but for those of you who need to know the contents, you can check the author’s note at the end of the work” with a link to the end notes. You may not use the “No Archive Warnings Apply” option if you are choosing to warn in this manner. 

You may not withhold a major archive warning from your Art Claims information.

BETA READERS

All fics must be beta read and represent your best effort at storytelling and grammar. You can use any beta reader of your choosing; they do not need to be registered for the bang. We'll also have a list of beta readers available to you later in the challenge. 

You will not be assigned a beta reader as a part of this challenge. It's ultimately up to you to find someone to work with. We will have a Beta reader list that you can request. 

If you work with a beta reader prior to Art Claims who is registered as an artist for this round of the SPNBB, please let the moderators know before we begin the claims process. We'll make arrangements so that artist won't be able to claim your fic.

UNDERAGE FICTION

All characters engaged in sexual activity or sexualized situations must be at least 18 years old. 

If your story includes a past history of sexual abuse involving an underage character, you should tag appropriately and NO graphic mentions of the actual act are allowed.

INCEST

Fics featuring incest will not be permitted. This includes romantic and/or sexual content between family members regardless of consanguinity (blood relation), including adoption. If you have any questions regarding this rule, please reach out to a moderator.

NSFL

Fics featuring necropholia, snuff, or extremely graphic nonconsensual torture will not be permitted. If you have any questions regarding this rule, please reach out to a moderator.

Artist Requirements 

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Artists will create at least 1 piece of art per fic they claim. 

You are welcome to do more pieces. You may also make a banner and/or separators/icons for your author to use when they post, but they won’t be counted as the obligatory art piece. 

Any explicit art posted will need to comply with the restrictions of the host site. For the master post, any explicit art posted to tumblr will need to be appropriately cropped or censored to comply with posting guidelines (provided however that a link to the explicit art is acceptable)

All materials and art style are welcomed. 

Art should be a minimum of 540px wide for Tumblr posting, but the final size and orientation are up to you. 

Artists are encouraged to work with an art beta

Art may not be shared publicly prior to your assigned posting date (this includes progress shots and sketches). 

Art can be embedded in the fic (if the author allows it), posted to the artists’ website of choice, or both. 

Posted art should remain publicly available at least for one year. If you decide to remove your affiliation with the work at a later point, please consider providing your author with the files so they can continue to be displayed. 

You’re welcome to participate as both an artist and an author, but you won’t be able to claim your own fic. Artists who are also participating in the challenge as author won’t have access to the fic discussion channel before claims to ensure that the process stays anonymous.

ART DRAFT 

There are two checks-in required where artists will be expected to supply drafts.

On July 15, artists will be asked to submit a work-in-progress screen capture of their required piece. This can be a sketch or rough outline, but must invariably show that you’ve been working on your pieces by that time. 

On August 1, artists will be asked to submit a screen capture showing the rough draft of their required piece. You may continue to work on your pieces past that deadline, but you should be well beyond the outline stage by this date. 

Failure to submit your draft past the due date will be taken as an unannounced drop out, and a pinch-hitter artist will be assigned to your author

If you decide to do more than one piece, it will not need to be submitted during check-ins.

Claims Process

To be eligible for the claims process, an author must meet the submission deadline. 

Claims will be done anonymously. Artists will submit their top three fic selections and we will match them on a first come, first served basis depending on time of submission.

If an artist’s selection is unavailable, the artist will be notified and permitted to select from remaining open claims

Once every artist has been matched with at least one author, we will open up the remaining claims to registered artists.

If any claims remain outstanding, we will open them to unregistered artists. 

DROPPING OUT AND DISQUALIFICATIONS 

DROPPING OUT

If a participant drops out before art claims, you’ll be allowed to sign-up for future rounds. 

If a participant drops out after art claims, you’ll need to reach out to the mods via e-mail and contact your teammate and let them know. 

Except for special circumstances or emergencies, dropping out after art claims will result in disqualification from future rounds. 

All drop-outs are final. Once you’ve dropped out, you may not re-join the current round. 

DISQUALIFICATIONS

Certain behaviors or failure to hit the different check-ins can results in disqualifications: 

Failing to adhere to the rules of the challenge 

Failing to adhere to the schedule and ignoring the mods’ reminders 

Ghosting your teammate 

Demonstrably mistreating your teammate and/or other participants of the challenge Depending on the circumstances, you may first receive a warning. If that warning doesn’t change the way you act, the next strike will be disqualification. 

In the event that an artist is disqualified/stops responding, a pinch hitter artist will be picked to step in and create art for the author who had been paired with the disqualified artist. If an author is disqualified/stops responding and the artist already completed their pieces for them, you’ll be allowed to post the art as standalone pieces on the assigned posting date, or arrange reverse-pinch-hitter to write a short ficlet based on the art. All disqualifications are final and at the discretion of the mods

SPN BANG BANG DISCORD SERVER • An SPN Bang Bang Discord server for the 2022 round will open to new participants on Discord on April 1.  

This chat server is invite-only, and has separate channels for artists and authors, along with a general off-topic channel. 

Rules for using the Discord server will be sent out with the invitation to join, and these must be read and adhered to. 

If you sign up to create art as well as write fic, you will only be able to access the off topic and artist channels until after art claims have been finalized. You are of course able to chat with your fellow authors in direct messages to get advice, but as an artist you should not be privy to the details of other author’s fic. This is to ensure that the anonymous claims process is not compromised at any stage.

Participants who fail to adhere to the rules of the server may be removed from the chat, and depending on the circumstances, disqualified from the challenge.