#Best Driving School Scarborough

[goldstardrivingschool1]

Learn to Drive Safely with Driving Lessons Scarborough

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[justagalwhowrites]

Have the best time at the ren faire bestie!!!! Would you have any head canons for how your Joels / OCs would experience a ren faire in their universes 👀 I could totally see them setting up a little faire in Jackson omg

Thank you so much, Bestie!! I'm excited for it! Not excited to get up at 6 a.m. to go to beat the traffic to pick up our season passes but excited for the rest of it lol

Because it's me and I love story and I know Texas ren faires (I used to work at Scarborough for those in DFW!), Joel lived close to the largest ren faire in the world, the Texas Renaissance Festival! It's a fall faire just outside Houston, and I'm assuming that's where he'd go. MAYBE Sherwood? But probably TRF so that's where I'm going to be sending the pre-outbreak and no-outbreak Joels :)

Here are my Ren Faire HCs!

Lavender: Joel and Doc definitely took Sarah to TRF at least once. Sarah and Doc got matching flower garlands and the knight gave Sarah the token at the joust. Everyone got their own turkey leg even though Joel was very skeptical that Sarah could eat one by herself. Joel ends up eating all of his and half of Sarah's because she can't finish. Sarah falls asleep on the drive home and Joel keeps looking over at Doc with the flowers in her hair and a little smile on her face while her fingers are laced with his in the glow of the streetlights. When he carries Sarah inside and tucks her into bed, Doc calls him her knight in shining armor and she has to stifle a laugh when he damn near tackles her before taking her to bed.

Yearling: Savvy finds a book that talks about renaissance faires and she asks Ellie about them. "Fuck if I know, dude" is all Ellie has to say. So they take the question to Joel and Bambi. Joel's like "Took Sarah to one of those once... kinda weird but she loved it." Bambi gets a good laugh out of it and says "Yeah, there was one of these not too far from me when I was a kid. I went with some friends in high school once, almost got kicked out for drinking too much. They wouldn't let me try jousting though..." Savvy gets a little hung up on the idea in that way teenaged girls sometimes do so Joel organizes a little Jackson renaissance faire. The more theatrical kids put on a show, Julia makes flower crowns with the girls, he convinces Bambi to play some period-appropriate music with him. Jousting isn't really possible because without the armor you're just going to get hurt but Olivia helps coordinate some contests for the best riders in town (minus Bambi because that's just unfair.) Everyone has a great time. It becomes an annual thing.

New in Town: Beautiful has never been to a ren faire. "You're shittin' me," Joel just looks at her. "Not ever?" "Nope," she says. "Kind of thought they were a kid thing. Aren't they a kid thing?" He smiles a little. "There's kid stuff but... trust me, every time I brought Sarah there, the grown ups were having more fun than the kids." So they go to TRF and Joel insists on getting Beautiful a corset and then kind of regrets it because holy shit now he has to look at her looking like that without anywhere to sneak off and fuck her. They go to the rowdiest shows and when she gets tipsy, she whispers in his ear "You sure there's nowhere around here you can fuck me?" Joel immediately gets on his phone and books the nearest open hotel room. They fuck like crazy and decide to go back to the faire the next morning and see the rest of it.

Halcyon: Joel and Goldie definitely went to TRF when they were teenagers. She would have dragged him and he would have had even more fun than her. She'd think it was because of the corsets. It's really because he could see how happy she was and dammit, it's hard to get better than that for Joel. So they decide to take Sarah for old time's sake. Sarah and Goldie wear peasant skirts and shirts and at faire Sarah gets a cloak that she PROMISES to wear for part of her Halloween costume that year and Joel catches Goldie eyeballing a particularly beautiful corset. He convinces her to try it on. "C'mon, live a little woman." So she does and she looks so good in it he forgets how to speak for a moment and she says "Sorry, I know, it's dumb..." "No!" He almost yells it before he clears his throat. "No, it's... really not dumb, Goldie Girl. Looks really nice on you, you should get it." He tries not to stare at her all day in it but he definitely fails. She asks him for help getting out of the corset when they go back to the car later and his hands shake a little as he unlaces her.

The Savage and the Sanctuary: Ellie hears about the festival from a classmate and begs to go. "There are swords, Sissy. SWORDS." And Joel tries not to groan and Reader just smiles, realizing this is just another way to annoy him. "Well, you heard her. There are swords." So they go. Ellie is obsessed with the weaponry. Reader lets her pick out a sword to take home. Joel's head is on a swivel the whole time but Reader's baseball cap and sunglasses disguise have actually helped her fly under the radar here. So many people are looking at the elaborate garb on other patrons that she's largely ignored. She does get one or two "Has anyone ever told you that you look just like..." and she cuts them off with a laugh and goes "Yeah, I get that a lot. Not sure why, she's WAY prettier." Joel tries to not like how happy Ellie and Reader look because that would mean he cares and he shouldn't care. Fuck caring. The traffic to get out of the parking lot at the end of the day looks miserable so Reader lets Joel drive. He hates that she still wins because of it.

I hope you enjoyed this little adventure into fic land Ren Faire! This was so fun to think about, thank you for asking!!

[scarboroughdebutante]

CRTNYLWS - Truly (SVF Scarborough Debutantes Remix)

I remixed a track by my best friend since high school and its on streaming platforms! Back in our teens we used to drive around Scarborough in his mom's—and later his—car and sing to all these 00s R&B songs and talk about making music, and so we finally did it.

Enjoy and expect more to come.

[charlies-letters]

December 7, 1991

Dear friend, Have you ever heard of a thing called “Secret Santa?” It’s this activity where a group of friends draw names out of a hat, and they are supposed to buy a lot of Christmas presents for whatever person they choose. The presents are “secretly” placed in their lockers when they’re not there. Then, at the end, you have a party, and all the people reveal who they really are as they give their last presents.

Sam started doing this with her group of friends three years ago. Now, it’s some tradition. And supposedly the party at the end is always the best of the year. It happens the night after our last day of school before the break. I don’t know who got me. I got Patrick.

I’m really glad I got Patrick even though I wished for Sam. I haven’t seen Patrick in a few weeks except in shop class because he has been spending most of his time with Brad, so thinking about presents is a good way to think about him.

The first present is going to be a mix tape. I just know that it should. I already have the songs picked and a theme. It’s called “One Winter.” But I’ve decided not to hand-color the cover. The first side has a lot of songs by the Village People and Blondie because Patrick likes that type of music a lot. It also has Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, which Sam and Patrick love. But the second side is the one I like the most. It has winter kind of songs. Here they are: Asleep by the Smiths Vapour Trail by Ride Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum Time of No Reply by Nick Drake Dear Prudence by the Beatles Gypsy by Suzanne Vega Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues Daydream by Smashing Pumpkins Dusk by Genesis (before Phil Collins was even in the band!) MLK by U2 Blackbird by the Beatles Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

And finally... Asleep by the Smiths (again!) I spent all night working on it, and I hope Patrick likes it as much as I do. Especially the second side. I hope it’s the kind of second side that he can listen to whenever he drives alone and feel like he belongs to something whenever he’s sad. I hope it can be that for him. I had an amazing feeling when I finally held the tape in my hand. I just thought to myself that in the palm of my hand, there was this one tape that had all of these memories and feelings and great joy and sadness. Right there in the palm of my hand. And I thought about how many people have loved those songs. And how many people got through a lot of bad times because of those songs. And how many people enjoyed good times with those songs. And how much those songs really mean. I think it would be great to have written one of those songs. I bet if I wrote one of them, I would be very proud. I hope the people who wrote those songs are happy. I hope that they feel it’s enough. I really do because they’ve made me happy. And I’m only one person.

I can’t wait to get my driver’s license. It’s coming up soon!

Incidentally, I have not told you about Bill in a while. But I guess there’s not a lot to tell because he just keeps giving me books that he doesn’t give his other students, and I keep reading them, and he keeps asking me to write papers, and I do. In the last month or so, I have read The Great Gatsby and A Separate Peace. I am starting to see a real trend in the kind of books Bill gives me to read. And just like the tape of songs, it is amazing to hold each of them in the palm of my hand. They are all my favorites. All of them.

Love always, Charlie.

[caddonline-blog1]

Master the Road with Excellence at Caddonline.ca

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Call 416-642-8549

Canadian Academy of Defensive Driving

5005 Steeles Ave East, Unit # 208, Scarborough, Ontario M1V 5K1 Phone: (416) 642-8549 Email: info@caddonline.ca https://www.caddonline.ca

[murrumbaautocareau]

Emergency Car Mechanical Services in Kallangur

When your vehicle has problems it can be a major inconvenience. From a car that won't start to brakes that are squealing, there is nothing more frustrating than having to find an emergency mechanic. Luckily, you can compare and book local mobile mechanics to come to your location with AutoGuru.

Kallangur is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia located north of the city. It is situated on the Bruce Highway and is home to many parks and reserves. The suburb is also a popular choice for families because of its large number of schools and amenities. To know more about Emergency Car Mechanical Services Kallangur, visit the Murrumba Auto Care website or call 732856933.

Whether you need a quick oil change or a full logbook service, Auto Hero has a network of mechanics in and around Kallangur ready to help. Our service partners are fully qualified to carry out servicing that will maintain your warranty, and can work on all makes and models. From Holden, Ford, and Toyota to European brands like VW, Audi, and Mercedes Benz.

You can even book a mobile mechanic in and around Kallangur to perform your car servicing on the spot. This saves you time and money, as well as the hassle of organising and picking up your car afterwards. These mobile mechanics are fully equipped with all the tools and equipment to complete both basic and logbook services, so you can be sure they’ll be able to meet your needs.

Exhaust systems are a vital part of your car and are made up of piping that directs exhaust fumes away from your engine. A properly functioning exhaust system is safer and better for the environment. If yours isn’t working properly, the experienced technicians at Northside Auto Service can help.

The chassis is the internal framework that supports your wheels, engine, transmission, and other parts of the car. A damaged chassis can result in poor handling and performance. The experienced undercar specialists at Northside Auto Service can inspect and repair your chassis.

A broken shock absorber can make it difficult to drive over rough roads, so you should visit a professional mechanic to have it fixed. Mechanics in Northside have the tools and knowledge needed to diagnose and fix your shocks.

Your vehicle is a critical part of your daily life, so it’s important to keep it in good working order. If something goes wrong with it, however, it can be a big inconvenience and even dangerous. It’s always best to have a trusted emergency mechanic on hand in case of a breakdown. Emergency car repairs can occur from many different reasons, including hitting a pothole or bumping into another object while driving. They can also arise from neglecting regular maintenance, which can cause parts to wear down or clog up. Fortunately, there are a number of great mechanics in the area that can help you.

A lot of things can cause a car to need emergency repair, including damage to struts and suspension from hitting potholes or curbs, power steering issues and brakes that start making a grinding noise. However, many of these problems can be prevented by getting regular servicing and inspections. This will also help to keep your car running smoothly and efficiently.

If you are looking for a mechanic in Scarborough, consider Murrumba Auto Care. They are an independent mobile mechanic service that will come to you at your home or workplace. They will give you a transparent quote and a detailed breakdown of the work they will carry out on your car. They have a network of mechanics across Australia, and their prices are competitive with garage prices.

Located at 170 Nantucket Blvd in Scarborough, this auto shop provides a variety of car services. They offer air conditioning units, mufflers, electrical services, and more. This is a family-owned and operated business that offers great customer service. To know more about Emergency Car Mechanical Services Kallangur, visit the Murrumba Auto Care website or call 732856933.

[superdriving]

You can register in the top super driving school in Scarborough if you want to learn how to drive and want to work as a driver. Our education centre is MTO-approved, and with a premium licence, you will receive the best recognition.

[richincolor]

New Releases

Happy early launch day to these exciting new YA books! Are any of these books on your TBR pile?

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan In an empire on the brink of war . . . Ahn is no one, with no past and no family. Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.

When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities. But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Our Way Back to Always by Nina Moreno

Luisa (Lou) Patterson grew up across the street from Sam Alvarez in the small, quirky town of Port Coral. They used to be inseparable–spending every holiday together, shooting silly YouTube videos, and rescuing stray cats. But then middle school happened, including the most disastrous (and embarrassing) serenade ever, and Lou and Sam haven’t talked in the four years since. Sam is now the golden boy with plenty of friends, while Lou is an introverted romantic who’s happy playing video games and writing fan fiction. But it’s also the summer before their senior year, and life is knocking on Lou’s door.

With her older sister having given up a scholarship to Princeton to have a baby and work at the local botanica, all of their mother’s expectations are now riding on Lou’s shoulders. She’s retaking her SAT’s, signed up for way too many AP classes, and her sights set on colleges with fancy names like Duke and Vanderbilt. But when she finds the bucket list she and Sam wrote together as kids, before Sam’s father was diagnosed with cancer, she’s shocked to see that she hasn’t accomplished any of the goals she’d set for herself. Go to a party? Nope. Pull the greatest prank of all time? Still no. Learn how to be a really good kisser? Definitely not.

Torn between the future that her mother, sister, and younger self planned for her, Lou sets out to finish the list, and in a stroke of destiny or fate, Sam decides to tag along. Still trying to stay afloat amid the grief of losing his father, Sam himself is staring down a future that feels all too close, and is coming far too fast. But with the bucket list to guide them, Sam and Lou might just be able to find a way through the future, and also a way back to each other. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Dragonblood Ring (Blazewrath Games #2) by Amparo Ortiz

After the Sire’s capture, teen athletes Lana Torres and Victoria Peralta travel to Puerto Rico with their former Blazewrath team. While Lana discovers her roots, nothing fills the void Blazewrath’s cancelation has left in Victoria. But it’s up to their team and the Bureau to protect their dragons.

But when reports of burning towns and kidnapped dragons dominate the news, Director Sandhar refuses to answer the girls’ questions. So they follow him into his Transport Charm into Le Parc Du Chasseurs.

In this French theme park, they find dragons forced to fight. When the Blazewrath World Cup ended, people turned to this illegal sport for wealth. So now, not only are the Sire’s followers looking to release him, the leader of this fighting ring wants Puerto Rico’s dragons to fight in Bloodbath too. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Keeper of Night (The Keeper of Night #1) by Kylie Lee Baker

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.

When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death… only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

A Snake Falls To Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories. Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he’s been cast from home. He’s found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.

Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries.

And there are some who will kill to keep them apart. Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed. — Copy and summary via Goodreads

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World (Aristotle and Dante #2) by Benjamin Alire Sáenz In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys in a border town fell in love. Now, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence.

Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.

The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles Forgotten heroes still leave their mark.

Malcolm Williams hasn’t been okay for a while. He’s angry and despondent and feels like nothing good ever happens for teens like him in D.C. All he wants is to be left alone in his room for the summer to draw or play video games–but no such luck. With growing violence in his neighborhood, his mother ships him off to his father’s family farm in Mississippi, and Malcolm is anything but pleased.

A few days after his arrival, his great-aunt tells him that the State is acquiring the farm to widen a highway. It’s not news Malcolm is concerned about, but someone plans to make it his concern. One minute Malcolm is drawing in the farmhouse attic, and the next he’s looking through the eyes of his ancestor Cedric Johnson in 1866.

As Cedric, Malcolm meets the real-life Black statesmen who fought for change during the Reconstruction era: Hiram Revels, Robert Smalls, and other leaders who made American history. But even after witnessing their bravery, Malcolm’s faith in his own future remains shaky, particularly since he knows that the gains these statesmen made were almost immediately stripped away. If those great men couldn’t completely succeed, why should he try?

Malcolm must decide which path to take. Can Cedric’s experiences help him construct a better future? Or will he resign himself to resentments and defeat? — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[upthenorthmountain]

Heartwood - Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter Three

It was warm for April. The sun shone through the trees, making patches of light and shade and falling in thick beams between the branches. All around Anna was green, an almost alarmingly bright green of new shoots and buds of leaves. There were tiny wildflowers in the grass, pink and purple and blue and yellow. And from every direction there was birdsong.

The footpath was longer than she remembered. Anna moved the tent from arm to arm but it was too heavy with her rucksack as well; in the end she put the tent at the side of the path and hid it a little behind the bottom of a bush. She’d have to come back for it. The day was dry so it didn’t matter. 

It was mid-afternoon by now. It had taken a little while at the outdoors shop to make sure she had everything she needed, but not more than she could carry (although that hadn’t worked out completely successfully). And she’d had to go next door into a clothes shop to buy some sensible shoes, and some sensible clothes, for that matter. And then home again to pack a few personal items. And now, finally, she’d had a taxi drop her off on the road at the end of the footpath - it seemed silly to bring the car when she didn’t know how long she’d be leaving it for - and was almost at the camp.

Anna slowed a little when she reached the stile into the field. From here she could see the little clusters of tents. It was true Lillian had invited her, but did she actually expect her to come? How would everyone react when she told them all to move over to the corner of the field? Maybe they didn’t care. Maybe they’d laugh at her and send her away.

She thought about what expression Elsa would have on her face, if Anna came back home without even staying away one night.

That was more than enough to drive her on, over the stile and into the field. 

There were five tents, all pitched in a rough circle around a central area that had a cooking fire in it. A few people were sitting around on camping chairs or log stumps. Anna walked slowly over. Her new shoes were rubbing already.

“Hi,” she said, looking around. She saw Lillian over to one side and smiled at her. “I think I can help you.”

“Help how?”

That wasn’t Lilian, it was a male voice, behind her. Anna turned and saw Kristoff standing there, frowning. “We’re managing, thank you,” he said, and turned away again. 

“Wouldn’t you be managing a bit better if you had permission from the landowner to be here?” Anna asked.

He was frowning even more now. Anna dropped her rucksack and crouched next to it to unzip a side pocket and pull out the map Mr Owens had given her.

“Not here, exactly,” she said.

“Oh, well -”

“Just over there.” She waved the map at him and pointed. Lillian came over.

“Anna, hello! So glad you’re here, so good to see you,” and she hugged her.

“And you,” Anna said. ��Look at this.”

She showed them both - and a couple of the other campers, who joined them - her map. Lillian was excited and pulled Anna over to pace out the boundary of her land. “We won’t have to move far,” she called to the others. “And we’ll have plenty of room to put up the equipment. Anna, this is incredible, thank you!”

“The point is to be occupying the field,” one of the other women said doubtfully.

“Well, if we see anyone coming with bulldozers, we’ll still be well placed to lie down in front of them.” Lillian was almost bouncing up and down on her heels. “Right, everyone, our friend Anna has invited us to camp on her field, let’s get everything over there before dark.”

“We’ll have to move all the recorders,” Kristoff said, “But we won’t manage it before dusk. They’ll have to live dangerously for another night.”

“You play the recorder?” Anna said.

Kristoff gave her a look that was just a shade short of rolling his eyes. “For the bats. They hang in the trees. But the bats are most active at dusk and we don’t want to miss a day of observations.”

“He plays the guitar,” a young woman said. “He’s really good. I’m Rebecca, by the way. Where’s your tent? Or do you need to share with someone?”

“It’s back along the lane,” Anna said, “I didn’t have enough hands. I’ll go and get it.”

Anna left her bag as out of the way as she could, and scurried back to where she had left her tent. It was a bit covered in grass but fine; she hugged it to her chest as she walked back to the others.  People were already moving belongings and arguing about the best way to move tents; Lillian was holding Anna’s map and calling to people and pointing. Anna had to throw the tent over the stile then climb over herself, but before she could pick it up, Kristoff had appeared, and was taking it and carrying it away.

“Hey!” She chased after him. “I can manage.”

He looked slightly abashed. “Sorry. You said it was heavy.”

“I said I didn’t have enough hands, with my bag and everything as well. I can manage. And I know how to put it up, thank you, before you ask.” She held out her arms and he hesitated, then pushed the tent at her. She took it and started walking back over to the camp; he walked along with her.

“I’m sorry I made everyone move,” Anna said, to fill the silence.

“It’s fine. We would have had to move the tents in a day or two anyway. To save the grass.”

Anna shifted the tent to her other arm. “What happens with food? I mean, do we all eat together?”

“Yes, Lillian has a kitty, she’ll tell you what to put in. Are you vegetarian?”

“No.”

“Well, you are now.” 

“That’s fine.” They were in Anna’s corner of the field; she looked around, and put down the tent in a likely-looking place. “Thank you.”

“Well, I’d better go and move my stuff.”

“You had, yes.” Anna crouched down and pulled the tent bag open. “See you later.”

He nodded, hesitated, then left.

Anna slid the tent out of the bags and spread out the pieces. It had been a few years since she’d put one up, but she could remember the basics - peg out the ground sheet with the inner on it. Then poles. Then the fly sheet. This was only a small tent, and it looked quite simple. Oh, rats, she didn’t have a mallet.

Fortunately, the woman setting up her tent next to her did. Sue was another retired teacher, though not from Anna’s old school, and Anna was able to copy her tent-building and manage very well.

“I see you’ve already got a follower,” Sue said cheerfully, waving the mallet at Kristoff. He was setting up his tent on the opposite side of the circle and Anna felt like she caught his eye every time she looked up.

“Oh, goodness,” Anna said, flushing a little. “He was just helping.”

“Pretty young thing like you, bound to happen. Let me know if he bothers you, though,” she said, her tone changing. “Can soon send him packing.”

“No, it’s fine,” Anna said. Sue raised her eyebrows.

“I mean - I only just met him,” Anna added quickly. “I’m sure he’s fine. Does he work for the conservation group, or something?”

“Oh, no, that’s all Lil - I think he’s a neighbour of hers. Loves the countryside, nature, all of that. Not sure what he does for a living but he’s been hanging around in this field for a week so it can’t be very high-powered. Nice lad. Very earnest.”

“He went to my school, I think,” Anna said.

She stood back and looked at her tent. It was only very slightly wonky, and it was definitely up. “I’d better find my bag,” she said, just as Kristoff walked by, dropping it at her feet. He didn’t say a word, just kept walking. Sue snorted.

-----

Dinner was vegetable curry, with naan cooked on metal sheets over the fire. Then hot drinks were made, and everyone sat around in a circle, relaxing and chatting. Anna kept wanting to pinch herself. She was maybe five miles from her home, but she felt so far away. She stared dreamily into the flames and wished she’d brought some marshmallows.

“We need some music,” someone said. 

“Yes, music!” someone else agreed.

“Come on, Kristoff,” Rebecca said on Anna’s left. “Get your guitar.”

Anna expected him to refuse, but instead Kristoff stood, walked away for a moment and returned with guitar in hand. He sat and tuned it, and played a few chords. Anna gasped. He gave her a quizzical look.

“Thistle Harvest,” she said. “I love that song! John Foster, he’s my favourite singer.”

Kristoff pulled a face. “If it was, it’s a coincidence.”

“He doesn’t play John Foster,” Rebecca said. “He has this weird dislike of him. Ask him to play something else before he starts ranting about ‘twee pap for the masses’ and so forth.”

“It was exactly the same,” Anna insisted.

“Coincidence,” Kristoff said again, firmly, and started playing Scarborough Fair.

[homenum-revelio-hq]

Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Maggie!

You have been accepted for the role of HESTIA JONES! We love how you explored Hestia’s “gray” aspects. How she’s torn between doing “the right thing” knowing it’s outside the confines of the law, which she also finds incredibly important. How she’s positive and optimistic, but how that can be hard to maintain during war. We also loved your discussion of how pretty and feminine don’t equal dim - but that she often gets overlooked for it in a sexist world. That’s exactly what we were going for when we wrote her bio! So excited to have you part of the roleplay! 

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours! Thank you for joining the fight against Voldemort!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME: Maggie

AGE: 23

TIMEZONE: CEST

ACTIVITY LEVEL: I’m a student, so I normally have a very flexible schedule with time to write. Sometimes things will be more hectic, in periods where I’m swarmed with essays or exams, but I always try to carve time out to get some replies done

ANYTHING ELSE: No triggers or anything. I have a few years of experience RPing on tumblr, and lately I’ve been in a similar role-play focusing on long-term character development and longer para-based writing.

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Hestia Jones

AGE: 18

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Cisfemale, she / her. When it comes to sexuality, Hestia is still in the discovery phase. Currently, she identifies as heterosexual, although she has sometimes questioned it. While Hestia is the kind to get surface-level crushes easily, deeper feelings comes a lot rarer and she thus doesn’t feel like she has enough experience with love / attraction to sort out what exactly she’s feeling. Sometimes she finds girls pretty too, giving her heart the same flutter as pretty boys, but she’s unsure if that means she likes-likes them. Hestia has shrugged it off at the moment and reckons she can figure it out as she goes along.

BLOOD STATUS: Half-blood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Ravenclaw

ANY CHANGES: None

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY:

At a first glance, it’s easy to overlook Hestia. But only for a moment - and only if her mouth is closed. While Hestia’s never been the kind to chatter mindlessly, she’s never been the kind to ponder in silence either. Her way of interacting with the world has always been to question it and she learned early on that asking out loud might give her an answer.

She was never the child that could sit quietly for hours and play. She’d race through the house, through the backyard (and the streets if her parents didn’t catch her), a hurricane of braids and skirts, a million question bubbling at all times. Her parents learned quickly that it was better to let her test her abilities -magical and normal- under supervision. She was always an outgoing child, happy to make friends with anyone from the kid next door to the mailman walking past, and thrived when she started Hogwarts. There was no question Ravenclaw was the house for her, filled with other likeminded kids to encourage and challenge her.  

Hestia is outspoken, sometimes coming of as abrasive when she get heated up. While she tries to avoid staring arguments, Hestia’s never been one to shy away from one either and is more than willing to defend herself - or someone else. It is easy to believe that if someone is kind, they’re a pushover, and if someone dresses prettily, they’re vapid - two assumptions that Hestia has rebelled hard against her entire life. She hates being dismissed for not wanting to trample over others, hates the idea of having to act cynical to be taken seriously. Hestia has a thousand thoughts and ideas, topics and questions brewing at any given moment. That doesn’t stop her from being kind, or from making friends. Most importantly, being feminine doesn’t make her less capable. As a child, she’d scoffed at the notion of having to chose between brains and beauty. She had scoffed - only to find it a trope that haunted her. While it was no doubt where she belonged once she started Hogwarts, and Hestia loved being in a house filled with likeminded people, she sometimes felt like she was hand waved away for not dropping parts of herself. Hestia made it difficult for anyone who talked to her to ignore her, but it didn’t stop her from getting into rows. More than anything, Hestia dislikes being underestimated.

One of Hestia’s issues is that she easily gets tunnel vision when it comes to solving problems, often seeing things as very black or white. Growing up in sleepy Scarborough, with a small population and an even smaller magical one, she was kept quite sheltered in terms of the problems in the wizarding world. Her parents explained the basics of how the magical world worked but avoided the issues of it - both for her sake and for theirs. They were content keeping to their corner and not rocking the boat. Hestia, as it would turn out, was not. Starting at Hogwarts taught her a lot of new things, including many of the injustices of the world that had been kept hidden from her. At eleven, it was vague concepts but the more she grew, the more she questioned, the clearer it became. As things grew bleaker as the dark side grew stronger, Hestia’s drive to do something grew as well. While she is clever, Hestia often doesn’t know when to stop- when it’s smart to walk away from an argument, when to admit defeat. It drove her into magical law, and later into joining the Order.

Hestia wants to do good. It’s one of her driving forces - clambering to fix at least a little corner of the world. To make something better for someone. But it’s difficult to keep an upbeat attitude when it feels like the world is determined to get a little worse each day. Sometimes it feels like pushing a rock up a hill, when the news keep pouring in and her efforts keep pouring out. It’s enough to chip away at the confidence of even the most chipper, optimistic person. And while Hestia is optimistic, she’s not naive. Some days it feels difficult to keep hope up, but she keeps fighting in the belief that if you keep pushing, something has to give. Even if it’s just the tiniest pebble. So Hestia keeps going, even on the days when the world keeps kicking when you’re down. She has always been stubborn, and she has never backed away from a fight before - so why stop when it’s something that matters?

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY:

Hestia was the not quite planned, but more than welcome kid. Her father, Richard, was working as an editor for a publication focusing on magical authors and her mother, Delia, had just started working as an English teacher at the local muggle school. Hestia came with a bang; faster and with a bit more drama than either of them had expected, and it set the precedent. She was always a curious child, defying both muggle and magical child-proofings as she climbed across the house. Both her parents discovered quickly that the best way to keep her still was by distracting her through making her think. Delia would bring home puzzles, growing more complex as Hestia did, and Richard would fire off riddles and questions, pushing her to think outside the box and work her way through problems. As she grew older she would, in return, come up with her own riddles.

As a child, Hestia never ran out of questions. Her mom liked to joke that her first word was ‘why’, and that at the very least it was her favourite word. Hestia didn’t just want to know about why things happened - she wanted to know how they functioned as it did. How did the sky change colours? Why did birds fly certain places, how did their wings work, how did they know where to go? How did rain form, how did she grow?

If her parents ever grew tired of her constant stream of questions, they never showed it. They explained what they could when they had time, encouraging her to explore the reasoning of the world they lived in. If Hestia’s favourite phrase was ‘how does this work’, her father’s was ‘let’s find out’. When she grew older and her questions became more complex, he taught her how to navigate information and find answers. Every Saturday, he would take her to the library, where she’d spend hours browsing for books containing whatever topic that had caught her that week. They’d find enough books to tide her over until the next weekend. Hestia has many fond memories of sitting next to her mother while she graded papers and tests, reading her books and sharing the most interesting bits. While her parents might have been hesitant towards her experimenting with magic, trying to understand that part of herself, they never stopped her from learning.

While Hestia still loves her parents very much, her relationship with them started changing as she grew older. Her bubble expanded the day she went to Hogwarts, opening her view to the topics her parents had skirted away from. Her questions about the world became more difficult, and for the first time her parents didn’t have any way to help her find answers. Even worse, they didn’t want to. How come the wizarding world has such deep-rooted issues? Why did so many stay content knowing about the prejudice and injustice that ran rampant? It started as innocent questions once it became clear to 11 year old Hestia how important blood purity was to so many, and evolved as she grew older. Hestia did as her father had taught her -finding answers by looking for them- and that was how her interest for magical law started.

Her relationships to her parents kept changing as she grew, and it reached a new foothold when she graduated. They were delighted when she got an internship at the Department of Magical Law, happy that their daughter was reaching high and aligning herself with the Ministry. They are none the wiser about her involvement with the Order, and Hestia intends to keep it that way. She has distanced herself from them after joining; a part of her feels guilty keeping such a large secret from them, and even more so about putting them in potential danger through association with her. So it’s easier to not talk about it. She knows they would be horrified at her involvement - her parents that she loves so much, but that will always prefer to avoid the hard questions, to look away. It is a difficult process, growing up and realizing that your parents are just humans, with flaws and problems, and Hestia is still learning to navigate this new landscape.

OCCUPATION:

Hestia is currently an intern at the Department of Magical Law. She is just starting out and trying to find her footing, bouncing around doing the paperwork and research reading. While she hasn’t quite worked her way up to getting to handle any of the important cases -or a permanent position for that sake- Hestia loves her job and is determined to plant her roots in the department. She leaps at the chance to be given any kind of responsibility, taking on anything from coffee-runs to extra work. Hestia knows how it goes, and is determined to work her way upward through hard work - and she’ll do it all with a smile.

Her interest in law-work started around her fifth year, when it was time to start considering where she wanted her life to go post-Hogwarts. Hestia had always known that she wanted to have a job that challenged her, and she had always dreamt of having a job that mattered. Certain parts of the wizarding world had always bothered her and a childish part of her had always dreamed of helping to fix it. While researching careers and stumbling over the Department of Magical Law, Hestia started playing with the idea of making her childish dream a reality. It became clear what she wanted to do and she has geared towards it since. She thinks its perfect for her; not only does she get to be a part of something bigger, trying to make the world better through legal channels, but she also gets to spend her days pouring over texts, finding arguments and logic nestles within pages. While she is a long way from being able to lobby for dismantling the outdated laws, she’ll get there some day.

ROLE WITHIN THE ORDER/THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ORDER:

Hestia is on the newer side of the Order, still on the low-level and trying to find how her talents are best put to use. She contributes where she can, coming up with ideas and suggestions, joining the missions she’s asked to. While Hestia does believe in the work they do, she still harbors some conflicted feelings. Her work is within the law -the law that she truly believes can be fixed if enough good minds keep working on it- and it feels hypocritical to be a part of a group that’s outside of it, even if she’s working towards the same goal with both the Order and her job. Then there’s the question of what would happen if she got caught; her Order involvement could jeopardize the good she can do from within the Ministry. When first asked to join, Hestia hesitated, considering the risk and gains. In the Department of Magical Law, she could create long-term groundwork to help future generations, which would stop if she got arrested. In the end, Hestia decided that while fixing magical laws to prevent future discriminations is important, it would take too long. People are being killed now, muggleborns are running for their lives now.

While she doesn’t regret her decision, that doesn’t mean her involvement has been smooth sailing either. First of all, there’s the issue of clashing with some of the other members. Hestia hates being dismissed and passed over for her appearance, hates having good ideas waved away or being bossed around. While Hestia likes to be friendly, it doesn’t mean that she’s going to let people step on her either. Then there’s the Order itself. Hestia has by all means lived a pretty sheltered life, and is fresh out of school with a good amount of youthful optimism. She still sees things as pretty black and white - even if she’s part of an illegal group, it’s the right thing to do in her eyes. She has strong ideals, that gets a bit more challenged each day. Hestia is slowly coming to terms with the world -and particularly the Order- being a lot more grey than she thought. That doesn’t mean that some of their work sit easy with her. Especially recent deaths make her uneasy, making her views of what is right more difficult. Hestia knew that the Order is desperate, weary, but how far are they willing to go to to make the overall situation better? Where do they draw the line? Where does she?

SURVIVAL:

Hestia’s work is her survival. It’s her distraction, her alibi, her sanity. While she has no doubt that joining the Order was the right move, it still makes her feel uneasy standing opposite the law - even when it’s the right thing to do. So she throws herself at her work, compensating her work outside the law by working hard within it. It gives her comfort when things look bleak within the Order, to know that she can help in another way. If the Order’s mission fail, Merlin forbid, then the law will still be there. Chipped and with its flaws, it’s still there. It can be worked on, it can be improved.

It also makes her look inconspicuous. Hestia’s hopes are that someone so dedicated to the laws and rules of the wizarding world won’t arise suspicion of being in the Order. If her presence is missed or she has to reject a social advance, she’ll cite mountains of paperwork as a reason for staying home, joking that interns are always given the worst tasks nobody else wants to take on. Still, she takes precautions to not be associated with the vigilante group. She likes to travel around when she’s not working, making it less suspicious to rarely be seen around her flat in Queensway. She avoids the topic of the Order when she can, content to shake her head in disapproval or tsk as she knows how oftentimes choosing words too carefully says more than you intend to.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Hestia is desperately trying to manage her relationships but it’s difficult. She navigates different spheres, there’s her normal friends, her work friends, the Order and her family - all of which are taking hits. Hestia has a lot on her plate. Time-wise, the Ministry takes a huge chunk of her days, and she is working hard to not neglect her Order position either. Then there is the Order itself. Outside it, Hestia is navigating how to keep it at a distance. It’s difficult to have deep, meaningful conversations when you’re afraid that you’ll slip up, say something wrong that raises suspicion, especially in this world where the wrong person learning the wrong thing can be disastrous. There’s the guilt of lying, of putting her loved ones in danger.

Then there’s the war, the weight of being involved with it. There’s this weight on her shoulders, that demands so much of her time and mentality, that she can’t talk to anyone about outside the Order. While she is making friends within it, she’s also arguing with others. Arguments she can’t vent about. The people she does like have enough on their plate and friendships are difficult when you’re worried about overloading them.

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: My main basis for ships / anti-ships is chemistry. I rarely go in with ideas of ships beforehand, preferring to see how relationships and chemistry evolves.

WHAT PRIVILEGES AND BIASES DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE?

Hestia always sort of fell in-between when it comes to this point, having the sort of privilege that you don’t necessarily recognize until you look back. Her family wasn’t swimming in money and prestige like some of the wizarding families, and neither did she have the pure blood that is lauded. But as a half-blood, she didn’t fall lowest on the pecking order, with enough magic in her veins to not have to worry about being targeted for her muggle part - at least not in the way muggleborns have to worry about. Neither did her family really struggle. While the Joneses didn’t have manors and summer homes, they had a steady house in a good neighborhood. Hestia never had to worry about things like food or new clothes, there were no difficulties when she needed school supplies.

When it comes to biases, Hestia, like everyone else, has a few built in. While she is eager to work for a more just society, it is a bit harder to shed the feelings that’s been instilled in her - some that she might not even recognize. She grew up with stories and warnings that integrated themselves as part of her worldview (stay in your bed during the full moon, lest werewolves eat you, careful in forests for giants have to qualms eating you) and it’s difficult to shed biases when you don’t necessarily recognize them as such.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

Is saying ‘absolutely everything’ a lazy answer? Because my answer is Absolutely Everything. First of all, I think this rp has such an interesting plot and I absolutely love the premise. I think it sounds so fun to write within this world, explore the shades of grey. Second, I really love the focus on deeper character explorations and the style of longer paras (once you’ve been in one lsrp, you can’t go back). Third, everyone seems so nice and good writing partners are worth their weight in gold.

PLOT DROP IDEAS (OPTIONAL): Not at the moment, sorry!

ANYTHING ELSE?: This got a bit longer than intended, but thanks for reading!

[goldstardrivingschool1]

Affordable and Reliable Scarborough’s Best Driving Schools

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[lynxmuse]

For many years my friends and I would travel to Toronto to visit, among other things, the few gaming stores to get our fill of RPG materials.  Taking the subway from Scarborough, we’d walk through then from the Eaton’s Centre down Queen Street, and up Spadina Avenue to our main gaming store haunt.  Along the way, we would pass around this amusing oddity, a point where the street flowed around a large island located smack in the centerline of the street.  On that island was a rather stately building that, despite that stateliness, we never could tell what it was used for, or whether it was even use at all.

Well, I needn’t wonder any longer, for the building has been taken and expanded into the new home for the School of Architecture at the University of Toronto!  From the restored front to the landscaped back, the building mixes old and new and emphasizes the juncture between the two, turning that intersection into the primary entryways into the building.  The addition is a box, primarily relying on changes in the roofline and topography to provide some (and I might say just barely enough) articulation and interest.

The best happens inside that box, however, with a plethora of interconnecting spaces radiating off a principal hall that serves multiple duties as auditorium, gallery, and critique space, all culminating at a large graduate studio on the top floor.  With a sculptural ceiling that allows for an abundance of natural, indirect, light, the hall then itself connects through generous circulation to other ancillary spaces allowing the whole affair to come alive in different ways throughout the needs of the school year.  Crits, symposiums, workshops, and extra project space are all well accommodated.

I think my favourite spaces though are the revamped interiors of that stately original, bringing forth much of the character and form of the existing building and rendering it in a nice and new twist with careful touches and with some striking lighting.

Overall, I call this one a win.  The interpenetrating shards of the interior works excellently in providing the varied spaces needed for an architecture school, and there is a nice interplay between the orthographic and grounded original building and the airy, fractal-like new (which in of itself is great for budding architects to experience). And best of all, it’s brought life and use to a building that was once this odd folly cut off from the city by a busy road and streetcars.  Now it’s a vibrant hub that even makes the detour drive around it curious and new.  Well done.

The Daniels Building by NADAAA

[caddonline-blog1]

The Best Driving School for Your Teenager in Toronto, Markham

The Best Driving School for Your Teenager in Toronto, Markham

When your kid is turning to a teenager, his first wish would be to take your car on the road. As a parent it means a lot that your teen knows the driving principles before going out for the first time. You should definitely find a professional driving school for your teen.

A teen, who is gonna just learn the basic principles of driving on the dangerous roads with the warm blood. He needs to be…

[superdriving]

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[richincolor]

I can't believe we're well into the second half of the year already. With the last weeks of summer around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share what's up next on my TBR list. What books are you looking forward to reading next?

Mercury Boys by Chandra Prasad Soho Teen

After her life is upended by divorce and a cross-country move, 16-year-old Saskia Brown feels like an outsider at her new school—not only is she a transplant, she’s biracial in a population of mostly white students. One day while visiting her only friend at her part-time library job, Saskia encounters a vial of liquid mercury, then touches an old daguerreotype—the precursor of the modern-day photograph—and makes a startling discovery. She is somehow able to visit the man in the portrait: Robert Cornelius, a brilliant young inventor from the nineteenth century. The hitch: she can see him only in her dreams.

Saskia shares her revelation with some classmates, hoping to find connection and friendship among strangers. Under her guidance, the other girls steal portraits of young men from a local college's daguerreotype collection and try the dangerous experiment for themselves. Soon, they each form a bond with their own "Mercury Boy," from an injured Union soldier to a charming pickpocket in New York City.

At night, the girls visit the boys in their dreams. During the day, they hold clandestine meetings of their new secret society. At first, the Mercury Boys Club is a thrilling diversion from their troubled everyday lives, but it's not long before jealousy, violence, and secrets threaten everything the girls hold dear. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake Quill Tree Books

Summer 1958—a string of murders plagues the Midwest. The victims are found in their cars and in their homes—even in their beds—their bodies drained, but with no blood anywhere.

September 19- the Carlson family is slaughtered in their Minnesota farmhouse, and the case gets its first lead: 15-year-old Marie Catherine Hale is found at the scene. She is covered in blood from head to toe, and at first she’s mistaken for a survivor. But not a drop of the blood is hers.

Michael Jensen, son of the local sheriff, yearns to become a journalist and escape his small-town. He never imagined that the biggest story in the country would fall into his lap, or that he would be pulled into the investigation, when Marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to.

As Marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to Michael to find the truth: What really happened the night that the Carlsons were killed? And how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Keeper of Night (The Keeper of Night #1) by Kylie Lee Baker Inkyard Press

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.

When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death… only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

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