#Cobalt the Porcupine

[moonstonecanyon]

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Both the Canadian Mining Institute and its Ontario branch vigorously condemned the proposed 3 per cent profits tax which it said would lead directly to a general depression and the virtual ruination of persons with small means. Representatives from the Standard Stock and Mining Exchange protested against what they considered "partial confiscation," and a deputation of Cobalt miners claimed that the industry already paid enough in the form of licenses and fees. According to the main theme of the miners' logic, any tax would discourage both prospecting and investment with tragic results for the farmers and businessmen of southern Ontario, a lamentable train of consequences usually symbolized by the tiresome Bean stalk metaphor.

The gloomy outlook forecast by the miners did not move the government to reconsider its tax. "We think public opinion demands it," Whitney replied to its critics. Frank Cochrane even lectured the deputation of mining men from his own constituency upon their responsibilities in protecting the investment of capital:

Let me tell you straight, as a man, that I believe the present conditions of speculative boom which you deplore are caused by the mining men and brokers themselves. They have gone on filling the papers with reckless statements not calculated to help your district. And not one mining man rose to contradict or counteract this attempt to manufacture a stock boom out of what should be an honest enterprise. Let me tell you men of my own district that this was far more injurious to the getting of capital to develop the mineral resources of this Province than any tax we can put on your profits.

Defending his tax in the Legislature, Cochrane argued that the mining industry depended just as heavily upon the state for protection and redress and relied upon the services of stable government as the other moderately taxed enterprises. Historically, mining development depended more than most other businesses upon government-owned or at least publicly aided railroads. As the industry established itself, which it was most certainly doing after Cobalt, it ought to bear its reasonable share of the burden of civil government. Indeed, the government regarded the 3 per cent profit tax as particularly lenient; local taxes could be deducted, as could legitimate expenses, and marginal mines were completely exempt. This very liberality reflected a concern to encourage future investment and recognized that in many remote areas mining companies had to provide some of the public services usually expected of the state themselves.

The separate levy of two cents an acre on all mining lands in the unorganized districts was frankly designed to discourage long-term speculative holdings while providing at the same time an income to support schools and law enforcement. Some of the funds thus raised, Cochrane told J. S. Willison, might also be used to provide the funds for the nickel and silver smelting bonuses which he introduced during the same session. Once passed, the acreage tax and the profits tax became permanent features of the Mines Act. And, despite its protestations to the contrary, the mining industry discovered that it could live quite comfortably with the modest toll.

Growing from strength to strength as it moved from Cobalt silver to Porcupine and Kirkland Lake gold, the mining industry quickly blossomed into a bright and important component of the Ontario economy. From 1902 to the end of 1906, Ontario mines yielded a total output valued at $77,977,533; during the next five years (1907-11) production soared 111.5 per cent to $164,929,057, and between 1912 and 1916 it increased yet another 62.1 per cent to $267,419,383.

...

Profits equalled almost 25 per cent of total production, and in some sectors, silver mining for example, they soared to more than 50 per cent. After Cobalt it was no longer necessary to speak hopefully of Ontario's mineral potential, for in the space of a few short years the province witnessed the rise of a brash, boisterous and rich mining industry.

Of course the Whitney government modestly assumed credit for the "wonderful progress of the mining industry" and crowed mightily about the vastly enlarged "people's share" it had garnered from this new found wealth. Indeed the royalties and the mining taxes, which the government had established in response to the "loud and ignorant clamour" for greater public revenues from this source, delivered handsome returns to the public treasury, particularly when compared with the pre-1907 revenue record. Annual income from all phases of mining activity averaged only $82,511 between 1902 and 1906 but during the following five-year interval it climbed to average almost a million dollars a year!

…

However, figures for the last years of the Whitney administration and the beginning of W. H. Hearst's term demonstrate just as dramatically the tendency towards patronage affecting governments. Between 1911 and 1916, when the value mineral production was increasing by 62.1 per cent, public revenues were falling by 50.5 per cent to an average of only $57,775 a year. With this decline the public share of production popped back to only 0.91 per cent, close to the much-maligned former Liberal level. Over time a strong, confident mining industry accommodated itself to the new regulations, and the regulatory body - in this case a pliant government - interpreted regulations in the interests of its clients. Gradually the companies were negotiated downwards to between 3 and 5 per cent. The International Nickel Company argued successfully its profits should be distributed over the smelting and refinery processes, which did not fall under the profits tax, rather an be attributed entirely to mining, Nor did W. H. Hearst demonstrate the same enthusiasm for royalties from the rich Porcupine and Kirkland Lake discoveries as his predecessors at Cobalt. Accommodation and lack of determination permitted the "people's share," once so proudly championed, fall back to earlier unacceptable levels."

- H. V. Nelles, The Politics of Development: Forests, Mines & Hydro-Electric Power in Ontario, 1849-1941. Second Edition. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005 (1974), p. 178-181.

[echo-the-artist]

Sonic Movie writing practice

This isn't the first writing practice that I posted but I took down the first one because I wasn't happy with it and I will rewrite it completely when (if) I have the motivation to do so. For now, please enjoy this incomplete writing practice I did out of boredom

_____

Stone looked at the cobalt speedster, glowering at the sight of his enemy. "Now I'd love to stay and chat" said Sonic with his familiar snark "But I have to make sure my family is okay." The hedgehog began to turn, quills raised in a clear defensive manner which didn't appear to match such a confident demeanor.

"And if they aren't?"

Sonic froze, for a moment, Stone wondered if Sonic thought the worst. And soon, their eyes met. There was an emotion, a burning rage, Robotnik had definitely seen before, and one Stone saw often in his love's eyes when that rodent was brought up, though Stone hadn't gotten close enough to any of the Wachowski family to witness it himself.

Sonic's mouth opened. Stone expected a snarky comment or some kind of sarcastic retort.

"If they aren't okay..." the tone wasn't like that. Nothing of the sort, venom dripping down with each word spoken. Even Sonic's demeanor no longer held that confidence and attitude he became known for, leaving only an uncharacteristically still stance as he stared directly into Stone's eyes. Was his fur always that dark? "Then, you better hope you can run faster than me"

Stone blinked in surprise, part of him expected to see that retched blue porcupine staring back when he opened them again, But of course, Sonic was nowhere to be seen, no trace left behind, not a quill nor shoe, the only thing Stone could find was the threat that echoed in his head.

Oddly enough, there was a sense of dread to those words. Something about it lingered inside, repeating over and over like a malfunctioning record, and Stone knew why. If Sonic's relationship, was anything like him and Robotnik, then Sonic was, most likely serious

Part of Stone found himself hoping, perhaps futilely, that Sonic wouldn't find his family in harm's way. The other half couldn't care less

[cinder-no]

THE RAFT: ACCEPTING NEW INMATES

The Raft is a villain focused character server for Marvel fans of all varieties. Whether you're a fan of A-listers like Doctor Octopus or the niche Z-lister, there's room for you here! We have a selection of general channels for chatting and sharing, character and team specific channels, media channels like #comics and #movies, and a host of bots to help out. We're also accepting #suggestions for new bots/channels/features, so if you feel anything is missing, feel free to ask!

Categories and channels list/preview under the read more.

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[doctorstarlineheritageposts]

[Starline returned after a few minutes holding a small, but wide vial and a syringe.]

This should basically act as an "update" of sorts to the virus he spreads... It may not affect him specifically since his form has already been decided... But that matters little.

[Starline carefully places the syringe into the vial and extracts a gray, gooey liquid.]

Brass, I'll need you to restrain him very well so he doesn't touch me.

I've brought the source of the signatures as requested. Should I release it, Doctor?

Don't release it all willy-nilly just like that... I'll let you inside, just throw whatever you got into this capture pod.

[phloxclan]

Moon 36

Dogpaw is apprenticed to Splintergale, Halfpaw to Laurelfern.

Laurelfern goes missing for a few days.

Fiercefern, Fennelspeckle, and Coppersight recover.

Mottledleaf twisted a paw.

Splintergale takes Dogpaw training and teaches her the importance of moss. Laurelfern takes Halfpaw training but isn't sure what to do with her.

Lemonlily gets stabbed by a porcupine (she's fine though).

Moon 37

Everyone has recovered and Peatwish can finally rest. Pantherkit complains that Peatwish never does anything useful.

Branchwillow has 4 kits, refusing to talk about the other parent. Gullkit - Blue-gray speckled tom with cobalt eyes, troublesome, quick witted Flaxkit - White molly with a black eye patch, sunlit ice eyes, and long fur, noisy, quick to make peace and help. Starlingkit - Gray tabby molly with green-yellow eyes, daydreamer, confident with words. Bouncekit - Dark gray ticked molly with cobalt eyes and long fur, impulsive, avid play-fighter

Teaselkit surprises Branchwillow with something nice.

Copseshiver is expecting kits again.

Moon 38

Fiercefern's kits are apprenticed Flailpaw - Umberstar, Primpaw - Lemonlily, Haypaw - Squirreldapple, Pantherpaw - Mottledleaf.

Sloemallow saves Weevilsun from the large dog, but he is badly injured in the process.

Stumpkit wakes up with a headache but tries to play anyways. Squirreldapple asks how Stumpkit is doing.

Coppersight dislocated a leg.

Aspenswipe realizes that molly no longer describes him, he now identifies as a trans tom.

Halfpaw spends time with Laurelfern and they get to know each other better.

Teaselkit and Stumpkit ask Halfpaw what training is like, while Riftkit sneaks out of camp.

Primpaw is stabbed by a porcupine and dies on his first day out of camp.

Springsprout hears strange sounds while gathering herbs and finds a recently dead queen (named Windy) and her newborn kits. The kits are alive, and he takes them to camp. Windkit - Light brown marbled molly with hazel eyes, bullying, lover of stories Grovekit - Brown rosette tom with hazel eyes and long fur, impulsive, lover of stories.

Sprites:

Previous - Next

[scourge-lover]

Undeserved

Arthas's world is small but worth it.

Which hurt more, Arthas's emotional distress from his complete lack of direction, or his broken bloody nose from Marwyn's unchecked rage? He nursed the grinding mess of cartilage and flesh that was magically mending.

Sleep would do nothing but cause him even more focus on his anguish. There was nothing to look forward to. He was out of control. Bolvar still sat encased in ice. Arthas felt powerless.

Only a tiny glimmer of light remained in the aching abyss that shrouded Arthas.

His master bedroom had been commandeered by children. It was not like he actually needed a bedroom, but not even that belonged to him anymore.

Falric stood at the double doors for the room, his back turned to Arthas. He was looking into the room. Surprisingly he wore no armor or weapon. Even if he did not need a weapon to slaughter anyone he wants, Falric never went without armor even when he was alive. It was like a second skin to him.

Arthas attempted a weak smile as Falric turned, but the scowl on Falric's face caused the smile to vanish immediately. He stiffened in response to the man moving toward him.

Falric's words stabbed like poisoned daggers. "You are alive because of Sapphire."

He grabbed Arthas's upper arm painfully tight and leaned in close.

"I should have let Marwyn cave in your face. The only reason I stopped him is I could not let Sapphire continue to witness that."

Arthas nodded in understanding. He could not bring himself to speak.

Falric dramatically jabbed one finger backwards to the bedroom.

"Your only allies in the entire world are in that room. And you don't deserve them. Fuck up again, and I will personally finish the job Marwyn started. No one will ever recognize what's left of you."

The threat echoed in the hallway. Arthas did not have a snarky rebuke or even a defensive response. He didn't look Falric in the eye. Falric shoved his shoulder into Arthas's on his way back to his usual post.

As soon as Arthas got near the doorway, he was hit with a wave of warmth. Braziers had been dragged into the room and filled to the brim with wood and lit. It felt more like the room sat in the middle of a volcano, not Icecrown Citadel.

Before he could even look for the kids, an impressively large wicker man rose up from the floor defensively. A deer skull as large as a horse's loomed over Arthas despite his own intimidating height. Porcupine spines bristled along the body of bone and wood. Cobalt blue magic blazed in the skull's eye sockets. This wicker man did not attack.

"You are Arthas?" It asked with a deep masculine voice.

Arthas gave it a discerning look, before nodding. With that silent confirmation, the wickerman moved aside.

The three children that were now Arthas' unfortunate charges sprawled all over the large bed. Three children. Two humans and a very young gnoll. Chompers had claimed a pillow all on her own, curled up into a little bundle of fur. Little gnoll cackles escaped her throat in her slumber. Sapphire's own faerie dragon and the little undead puppy Rot were piled up along with Mr. Bigglesworth and his kittens. Falric had not been lying when Arthas's entire world was in this one room.

Ethan and Sapphire, bound by blood, were lying next to each other. Sapphire used Ethan's shoulder as a pillow. Arthas never experienced having a cousin but having a sister had not seemed pleasant at the time.

Calia...How could she have had a child without Arthas knowing? They might have not been best friends, but Calia had confided in Arthas many times before. That one summer where Calia went away did not seem suspicious at the time, but that must have been when it happened. Who? Who could she have been so close with?

Both human kids were injured in one way or another. Arthas could not look at Sapphire's reddened flesh without the worst guilt. She would be bluer than her namesake in less than a day. Ethan's head had been swathed in frostweave gauze.

They looked like siblings in practice, if not in appearance. Perhaps they will be closer than him and Calia.

[lyricalporcupine]

All I can show you of a CRR (Dairon/Marion/Clara Lionett) pic. Am posting updates in the Cracklepop City discord server and will eventually post the full image there.

[frosted-cinnagrifs]

im still laughing at Varric calling Fenris an ‘Angsty porcupine’ when he asks about Hawkes relationship with him w heeze

[scryingworkshop]

[prince-toffee]

Villains

Part Two

The room was empty and bare. The room was very plain, no paintings or pictures hung or framed, no personalised items, no trinkets or mementos. The space was devoid of any personality or warmth. This partially due to the fact that everything personal was moved out of the room, and also the fact that the person whom once occupied these living quarters wasn’t one for forming close personal attachments. Shadow Weaver sat on a beautiful ornate wooden chair at the centre of the sterile room. She watched the blank dark green wall as she took a long sip from her glass of red wine.

That room was once hers. When she officially aligned with The Horde, she was given her own bed chamber as she had to live in The Fright Zone as an unspoken rule. Where else would have she been accepted? She had no where else to go. She was pleased with what she was given, the room was quite large, she had a queen sized bed, her own side bathroom, with a toilet, shower, sink, and bath all included. The bath in particular became a favourite location, useful in relaxation after a long day of dealing with cadets that made her blood boil and her blood pressure rise. Over time she did personalise the room, add various scented shampoos and what not, some artistic and yet horrifying paintings, and a study with all her work - reports, cadet exams, notices, and request forms over which she lost her mind too many times.

Her quiet pleasant contemplation was cut short as Force-Captain Cobalt’s voice invaded the room through the data-pad which leaned against one of the wooden legs of the chair she sat on. The blue porcupine man cleared his throat, “Umm, Sha- uh, Lord Shadow Weaver.”

“Speak.”

“All your personal belongings have been moved to Lor- to Hordak’s old Sanctum. But there’s another emergence that requires your attention.” Weaver sighed, she responded by saying she would be there in a few minutes. She downed the glass of wine in seconds, it was a good year, shame she couldn’t have savoured the taste, she had saved that bottle for a victorious occasion. And she couldn’t have thought of a better occasion.

The witch just discarded the glass by simply throwing it away, it shattered on impact, of course. But the brand new leader didn’t care. Not anymore. She was in charge, no consequences, it felt so freeing. The scarred woman shifted her mask over her grey face and moved out. She did not admit to another soul the fact that she was ashamed of her physical appearance, she never betrayed a weakness, she was distant therefore safe. There was logic and reason to her outfit - a frightening mask to deflect any questions about her face, a high collar to hide her neck, and then a layered robe to allow no part of her scarred, wounded, burned body to be seen. She implemented the opposite tactic to Hordak, he choose to show some flesh, some key areas of his body that were healthy and strong to deflect any suspicion or conspiracy of him being otherwise. Anyone who saw Hordak, as rare as it was, they all thought the dark Lord was a modern Adonis. Nobody suspected he was in fact a sick frail man who was slowly falling apart.

Shadow Weaver knew about Hordak’s ‘sickness’, and vis versa. There was a deal between them, both knew each other’s weakness, and so they formed a partnership to support one another. Hordak had the Black Garnet in his possession after acquiring the Scorpion Hill Kingdom, and so he handed the magical artefact to Shadow Weaver, he knew the Garnet was useless in his hands, he had no knowledge therefore no ability to utilise the Garnet. But Shadow Weaver could. She was brought in as his Minister of Magicks to advice the Horde in the magical ways, how to defend against magic, and how to weaponise magic in offense.

The rune stone gave her sufficient life force for her to leech off of, never again was she hungry. And she wielded the awesome power of the elemental mineral. In return Shadow Weaver took the spotlight off of Hordak, the duty of truly commanding the Horde’s forces, leaving Hordak free to do... whatever he did. Weaver never knew what Hordak did in his ‘Sanctum’, all she ever managed to get out of him was the fact he was working on a secret ‘experiment’, and she knew that much was a slip up. It didn’t matter now anyhow, all of Hordak’s secrets were going to be hers and if not, then they don’t matter anyway.

She waltzed through the corridors and hallways of red and green metal, pipes, and cables, at a leisurely pace. Unlike Hordak, who’s heavy metallic footsteps always alerted the soldiers ahead of time in the corridor, Shadow Weaver made no sound, didn’t allow any trooper to get ready, they had no idea she was coming. She scared the hellfire out of everyone she passed. They always jumped in shock, straightened themselves out and stiffened. Weaver liked that.

The noise of double doors sliding open marked her entrance into the throne room, her throne room. Her commanders turned to her and bowed. She liked that too. “Speak.”

“Lord Weaver, while we were breaching Hordak’s Sanctum, which was harder than we thought it would be, a lot of booby traps, we got around a dozen treating wounds in the infirmary. But anyway when we got in we acquired all of his personal belongings mostly just tech. One of his personal data-pads gave off a ping, some sort of automatic notification. It was a signal sent from an outpost in the Northern Reach in the frozen wastes, apparently the computers there have detected some new First Ones tech.”

“Ah perfect! That’s exactly what we need!” Shadow Weaver heard the vent being kicked open, only then when she lifted her head up to the high ceiling did she see the short purple woman descend to her to the floor. This. of course, was Entrapta the Princess of Dryl. Shadow Weaver didn’t like her much, she was the one to whom Hordak was going to give the Black Garnet. They didn’t see, but her face soured as her arms folded. “Have you briefed her about the power grid?”

Cobalt sighed, “I was about to.” It seemed that the Princess had interjected herself into Horde matters and into the command structure. She swung around like she owned the place. And Hordak would’ve probably let her walk all over him too.

“Well, since I’m here already I’ll explain. The Fright Zone’s power grid, a surprising intricate system that transfers power all around The Fright Zone keeping everything running, over heated. Meaning it’s stopped working, coolant systems have failed and ruptured expelling scolding steam through the corridors, a powerful and dangerous feedback surge has been created leading to the destruction through explosion of the main power-generators. Multiple floors are on fire. In Layman’s terms: It’s bad.”

“We are not imbeciles, Princess, do not treat us as such. You are not in command here, so I would watch your tone with me! You are only here, but I permit it.” Weaver pointed her finger at the hovering woman.

Entrapta looked down at the grey finger of the sorceress and then turned around, “Mmm, no, I am here because I want to be.” She began to stride across the throne room using her hair. Shadow Weaver still didn’t know if the purple tentacle hair was a magical ability or a technological aspect. Either way she followed the Princess. With a simple wave of her hand she dismissed her Force-Captains, its not like they wanted to stay around her so Cobalt, Grizzlor, and Octavia left without any further convincing. The witch kept up with the Princess. She made no sound when she walked, but the purple woman somehow knew she was close enough behind her to hear her, “As I was saying, the power grid can’t hold the amount of power it transmits, so we need a strong conductor, maybe a regulator too. That’s why the signal from the Northern Reach is a mighty convenient occasion. First Ones tech is ideal for the job. My recommendation: Send an excursion to the outpost, excavate the tech, transport it back here and install it in, solving the issue.”

“I didn’t ask for your ‘recommendation’... but that is a decent solution.” They passed the throne and moved forward through a thin hallway of pipes, as they reached its end a door slide open. Past it they entered a sort of  a corridor round-about, another door in front of them. The corridor curved around to multiple doors, opposite the doors were windows of one way glass looking over the landscape of The Fright Zone.

Shadow Weaver noted the burn marks and metallic plating torn and shredded, signs of damage caused by an explosion. The booby traps the Force-Captains spoke of. All disarmed, she hoped. The Sanctum doors opened, Entrapta entered first, Shadow Weaver followed close behind. Hordak’s Sanctum was a dimly lit tall box, computers all around it with data Entrapta couldn’t wait to get into. Various tech scattered around. To contrast all that were Shadow Weaver’s own belongings moved from her old room to her new one. “I like the paintings, good taste. I’ve got paintings too, back at home. But I prefer little cute big eyed kitties, rather than abstract horrific rorschach-like depictions of inner turmoil of anxieties. Hm, perhaps representing repressed and or traumatic memories. Interesting.”

Weaver raised a brow as she narrowed her eyes, “Uh huh. Thank you.” She was spot on. Her eyes could barely keep up with the Princess. She seemed very excited. She finally stopped dashing across the room madly and stood still at the centre of the room. Her pigtails split into multiple ends each tendril plugging into a different computer or any other data-holding devices, her hair fuzzed and the ends of each tendril lit up in a bright purple, on the boarder of being pink. The light moved inward towards her head in pulse-like motion. Weaver guessed, correctly, that Entrapta was downloading the information into herself.

“Oh, that’s fascinating.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure.” Before Shadow Weaver could ask any follow up questions from the corner of her eye she noticed a grey blur dashed across a higher scaffolding, accompanied by sounds of small footsteps scuttling about. She looked up to see a pair of small yellow luminous eyes.

It was Hordak’s tiny bat creature, Hordak seemed to have been close and appreciative of the creature. Whether it was a pet to him or like a child she did not know. All she knew was it was an annoying tattletale - spying, recording, and telling on people, completely loyal to Hordak in the way a child tells their parent on a sibling in return for candy, or chin scratches in this instance. The creature hissed. It clearly did not like Shadow Weaver, she did get rid of its creator.

“Cute.”

“What?”

“The hybrid, I think it’s named Imp. Fascinating little miracle of science.”

“Ugh, it’s as useful as a rodent. And twice as infuriating.” She said that like Imp wasn’t there in the room with them, he heard that and launched at the sorceress, biting her in her finger. The dark magician yelped and shook her hand in a cartoony comedic manner, a few seconds of the motion and Imp’s grip loosened and he flew through the air and landed in Entrapta’s hair where she brought him closer to her and gave him some soft scratches under his chin. He softened in her arms and pressed his cheeks against her shoulder. He stock his tongue out, and mouth farted at Shadow Weaver. Weaver growled and sighed.

“I’m getting the feeling you don’t like me.”

“What inclination makes you say that?”

“Oh just about anything and everything you do.” Entrapta unplugged from the tech and finally turned to face Shadow Weaver. She gave her a genuine smile, warm and well-meaning, “How about a dinner?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re clearly not a fan of mine, and this might be a beneficial social experiment to let us know each other better, since we’ll be working closely together for the foreseeable future.”

“Heh, what makes you think we’ll be ‘working closely together’?”

“You do want to know what this Hordak had been working on, don’t you? Do you know anyone else who can comprehend this sort of stuff?”

“I... I suppose not.” It was true, she didn’t, so Entrapta was important. But she wouldn’t admit that, and she would certainly not go to a dinner with a Princess. Before she could scoff any further, she heard a shy voice clear its throat. Weaver turned around to face it. It was Scorpia. Princess Scorpia.

“Umm, Ms Weaver, the uh, the excursion transport is ready. What are our next orders, ma’am, sir, m’Lord, Lady, Shadow Weaver... sir.” The Scorpion Princess awkwardly informed, her large red claw raised up to her temple, saluting. Two or three drips of sweat rolled down her face. For being so huge and muscular walking-rectangle she was very shy and small.

“What transport?!”

“Oh I was the one who requested it.” Entrapta replied. Entrapta moved through the room past the new Lord and moved to Scorpia. She handed the bat baby to the Scorpion Force-Captain, the hybrid boy kept attempting to chomp on Entrapta’s hair. Scorpia cradled the batling, whom now moved onto biting the hard claws. “We should solve the problem as soon as possible, so I gave a go-ahead.”

Shadow Weaver’s hand instinctly went up to her face, her muscle memory told her to rub her nose in exhausted irritation, but of course her mask blocked her hand. “Fine. Go. Fix my fortress.” She waved her hand to dismiss them, Scorpia and Imp moved out swiftly, only once she moved out of frame did Weaver notice that Catra stood behind her. The cat was sweating, clearly very nervous, she didn’t say anything, and followed Scorpia out. Entrapta hanged behind.

“Dinner. When I get back. We’ll talk. Takes around four hours to get to the outpost, four back, and a day in-between for excavation. So in three days, at 7, The Fright Zone cafeteria. I’ll cook.”

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"PORCUPINE MINERS VOTE FOR STRIKE," Cobalt Daily Nugget. November 15, 1912. Page 1 & 3. --- General Strike is Called Over Question of Wage Reduction ---- The miners of the Porcupine camp at the close of the counting of yesterday's ballot, the result of an all day poll, were found to have voted solid for a general strike throughout the camp.

The men are already called out and in a day or two there will be practically no work in operation in the camp except that being performed by prospectors and claim holders, who are not connected with organized companies. The strike comes as a severe blow to the camp. Porcupine had just reached the period when it had practically recovered fully from the effects of the fire of the summer of 1911. The Hollinger mine has just reached the dividend paying basis and had announced that this dividend would be kept up at the rate of three percent every four weeks. Other dividend declarations were expected soon but unless some solution of the present trouble is discovered the conditions now prevailing in the camp all of an optimistic to be - will be sadly changes.

The origin of the strike just called dates back a number of weeks. The mines in the Pearl Lake section of the camp gave the required notice that they would reduce the wages to conform with those paid in other parts of the camp. This change affected the men at the Plenaurum, Jupiter, Pearl Lake, McIntyre, McEnaney and Vinond mines. The matter was immediately taken up by the miners union and a board of conciliation was appointed by the Government to adjust the difficulties. The board consisted of Sec. Thompson of the Porcupine local, Prof. H. E. T. Haultain and Peter McDonald, of Woodstock. After protracted sittings this board failed to arrive at an agreement. The matter then went to the department of labor and since then matters have dragged along until the vote of yesterday

About 1000 men are out on strike. These may be enumerated among the principal mines of the camp as follows: Jupiter 25. Pearl Lake 20 at resent, Plenaurum, 30, McIntyre 60 it present, underground operations being held up for mill, McEnaney 80, Hollinger 300, Vipond 50, Dome 300, Dome Lake 60, Dome Extension 25. Hughes 10, Three Nations 20, Porcupine Lake 50, Hollinger Reserve 50 and Krist 10. Other smaller properties are also affected the total thus being made up to about 1000 including every union man in the camp and a number who are not members of the union.

The miners give the returns from the conciliation board as the reason for the strike. They claim that the schedule in force in Porcupine has been the same as the union schedule in Cobalt, although this schedule is not in effect everywhere in Cobalt. A notice of the proposed reduction in wages was not satisfactory to the employes and the matter was refer red to the board mentioned above and its report as returned from the department was unsatisfactory to members of the union. It was put to a referendum vote and it was unanimously decided to go out.

Some of the mine managers state that while the new scale adopted was 25 cents in advance of the average wages in the Cobalt camp with a little extra charge for board, there will be no compromise with the men and that the only terms that will now be agreed to will be those in force in Cobalt. Some of the mines had added small forces getting workmen up from the south in anticipation of the trouble.

[sky-lia]

I’ve never drawn so much handsome Joeys in my entire life !!! ziefhzjhv they’re are all Joey Joeys from Halfus discord server uwu

From left to the right : Doc - @vespavespa ; Corvid - @silvenarts ; Efheajwskl - @strepsilkiing ; Egg - @greenghostlyjekyll ; Snowy - @aceofintuition ; Gingie - @pipesflowforeverandever ; Dream - @waruihoshi ; Cobalt - Meh ; Magenta - @halfusek ; Johan - @insane-control-room ; Hyde - @startistdoodles ; Eclipse - @just-log ; Duncle - @randomwriteronline ; Porcupine - @we-cool-beans ; and finally ; Magician - @lady-lampblack

[hypexion]

Ashes of Outlands: Cobalt Reveals

Apparently, Cobalt was named after Kobolds. It’s also one of the few naturally magnetic elements.

In other news, a large number of Legendary cards have been revealed. It’s kind of ridiculous, really.

Augmented Porcupine is a spikey new Hunter minion. Once defeat, it fires out one last volley of spines, which will hopefully take out an enemy minion. Or all go face. This scales pretty well with attack buffs, and as a Beast, there are plenty of cards that can make it stronger. Extra damage is always welcome when playing Hunter, so this could be quite nice. As a Zombeast component, meanwhile, it’s probably better than average, especially if combined with a high attack minion.

Warmaul Challenger is one of those weird Epic cards. When you play it, it pokes an enemy minion to death. Maybe. It might lose, given that it only has one attack. And that ten health will go away pretty quickly against anything with a positve attack value. Obviously, this gets a lot better if you draw it with Galakrond, but that’s not guaranteed. Since Warrior doesn’t have many other options to boost this up, it doesn’t really seem that it will work out all that well.

Kayn Sunfury is a new minion with Charge. This is such a powerful keyword, only a Legendary card could have it. Also, he lets you ignore Taunt. That’s probably pretty useful, for either killing important minions, or just smashing the opposing hero. This seems like a good choice for a more aggressive Demon Hunter deck, since it lets you push a little more damage, which could be enough to win.

The next Prime is Zixor, Apex Predator. As a Rush minion, it’s pretty easily to kill it off. Zixor Prime, meanwhile, summons three extra copies of itself, which is pretty good for filling up your board. It’s also good for cleaning up your opponent’s board. However, like all Prime minions, Zixor is rather slow, and Hunter isn’t a class that works well with slowness. Not really sure how good this is overall, but if Hunter gets enough Beast tutors, Zixor could end up being a surprisingly consistent threat.

The other Hunter Legendary is Beastmaster Leoroxx. This one is more of a combo card - find a way to fill your hand with King Krush, then summon them for a lot of damage. Or just use him to summon a bunch of scary minions your opponent will have to deal with. Again, this is a card that kind of runs against the way Hunter works, since it wants you to be holding onto many cards. Leoroxx looks impressive at first glance, but he might not measure up when played.

Lady Liadrin is a Legendary for the archetype of Buff Paladin, right as a bunch of support for it rotates out. Game design! Not really feeling this one, since you can’t actually play her on turn seven, and getting any reasonable amount of value requires to play several buff cards. Sure, a handful of statbuffs might provide some decent burst, but currently there aren’t going to be many buffs actually playing, even with Liadrin letting you double-dip.

Prime number six is Akama, who has Stealth. Really, the based minion isn’t really that good, but that’s a general property of many Stealth minions. Akama Prime, meanwhile, has permanent Stealth. Never shall your opponent target this minion. There are other tools that will get rid of Akama, but he has just enough health to dodge most damage based mass removal. Of course, while he’s very good at not dying, he’s also very slow to come online. Six mana is a lot, especially for Rogue, so unless you draw him via Galakrond, you’re losing a lot of tempo. Then, since Rogue lacks healing, Akama is only really useful for hitting your opponent, since he won’t survive attacking many minions. Sure, he eventually provides a lot of pressure, but ultimately, Rogue has better tools for that.

The Lurker Below is positioning based removal. With it’s repeating Battlecry, it’ll tear through any board of low-health minions. The stats aren’t the best, but ultimately, you’ll be playing this for the mass removal effect. This Lurker is probably going to meta dependant, with it being better the more low-health minions are seeing play. But it’s a positioning card, so I automatically like it.

[heshefamilytree]

“GLASS BLOWING”

Recently, I had the opportunity to blow my own glass. I had wanted to do this for many years. It was such a unique creative thing to do. Totally spoke my language.

As I sat on a bleacher watching I saw three hot furnaces in front of me burning bright with fire. They looked like the ovens that pizza are cooked in in a restaurant, arches included. To the right was a table filled with different kinds of very sharp small shards of glass. The shards were brilliant in color.

Pretty soon it was my turn. I went to the 2400 degree fire oven and put my long pole in the fire and rolled it around. (Remember your kitchen oven reaches 500 degrees.) I pulled my pole out with a fireball on the end of it-brilliant orange, very hot, and smooth like glass.

I carefully carried the pole to the table and rolled the fireball in cobalt blue shards, purple shards, a touch of yellow and swirl of white and green so as to make turquoise when it melted-like the sea. All the shards stuck to the fireball like a magnet and poked out sharp, like porcupine quills.

I rolled and rolled the pole round and round in my hands like the pole was on a spit, watching the sharp shards melt in the fire ball.

I put the pole back into the fire pit at 2400 degrees again turning the pole the entire time, the colors became smooth with the fireball till you couldn’t tell where one began and one ended. (This procedure of applying shards and melding in the fire pit was repeated several times.)

As I watched this process I thought of Heavenly Father and how He refines us as we walk through the Refiner’s Fire throughout our life. Our choices and experiences can get-oh, so very hot, yet with hearts turned towards our Lord He slowly melts our sharp shards, battling our will versus Father’s will, until our souls and Father’s will become one. A soul that melts into a refined obedient soul, one who wants to follow our Lord and be an emissary of God wanting to choose the right and be good forever; so individual, yet happening individually with each of us-Heavenly Father’s children throughout time.

In the end, after much heat, and fire, a beautiful refined piece of glass was created. A treasure never to be forgotten, just like in the end of our journey a beautiful refined child of God moves to his next estate, refined with rough edges smoothed out, at one with God.

The experience was life changing-a poingnant change of heart.

[handsomehybrid]

Bold any that apply to your muse!

Remember to repost! Feel free to add to the list!

[ COLORS ]  ~  burgundy. red. crimson. scarlet. maroon. mahogany. copper. amber.chocolate. brown. tawny. tan. bronze. brass. orange. gold. saffron. yellow. chartreuse.spring green. lime. mint. green. olive. forest. turquoise. teal. cerulean. blue. navy. cobalt. periwinkle. indigo. pewter. plum. purple. magenta. fuchsia. lilac. lavender. pink. coral. peach.ivory. cream. white. silver. grey. smoke. charcoal. ebony. black. pastels. vibrant. matte.metallic. muted. dark. light.

[ BODY ]  ~  mutations. claws. fangs. wings. tails. feathers. webs. spikes. scales. fur.stripes. spots. freckles. acne. bruises. scars. scratches. gashes. lashes. wounds. amputations. burns. brands. teeth. gums. tongues. lips. beards. mustaches. cheeks. noses.ears. eyes. eyelashes. eyebrows. hair. heads. neck. shoulders. collar bones. arms. elbows.wrists. hands. fingers. breast. back. ribs. abs. belly. hips. curves. butts. legs. thighs. knees. shins. ankles. feet. toes. nails. sweat. spit. tears. blood. heart. stomach. lungs. liver. veins. guts. bones. spine. muscle. skin. feline. canine. masculine. feminine.

[ WEAPONS ]  ~  bites. fists. kicks. sword. dagger. spear. arrow. bow. crossbow. hammer. shield. poison. guns. axes. throwing axes. whips. knives. throwing knives. pepper sprays. tasers. machine guns. slingshots. katanas. maces. staffs. wands. powers. magical items. magic. rocks. mud balls. bombs. missiles. boomerangs. lethal pets. lasers. canons.

[ MATERIALS ]  ~  metal. gold. silver. platinum. pewter. titanium. iron. steel. copper. bronze. brass. tin. bismuth. diamonds. pearls. rubies. garnets. sapphires. emeralds. jade. peridots. alexandrite. opal. topaz. jasper. quartz. rose quartz. smoky quartz. amethyst. citrine. fluorite. amber. malachite. turquoise. lapis lazuli. sodalite. pyrite. labradorite. moonstone. petrified wood. wood. paper. parchment. hemp. canvas. burlap. oils skin. muslin. rayon. faux. wool. fur. lace. leather. skins. suede. corduroy. silk. satin. chiffon.velvet. denim. linen. cotton. charcoal. clay. stone. rocks. flint. asphalt. brick. granite. marble. dust. rust. glitter. sand. dirt. mud. smoke. ash. carbonate. rubber. synthetics. nylon. polyester. plastic. glass. porcelain. bone. shells. coral. kevlar.

[ NATURE ]  ~  grass. leaves. trees. bark. flowers. roses. daisies. forget me nots. tulips. lavender. sunflowers. blue bells. petals. thorns. seeds. hay. roots. ocean. pond. river. stream. waterfall. creek. meadow. forest. desert. tundra. savanna. rain forest. tropical. jungle. marsh. moors. swamp. plains. hills. highlands. caves. underwater. coral reef.beach. waves. space. clouds. mountains. fire. lava. ice. frost. water. air. earth. rain. snow. wind. moon. stars. sun. heat. cold. steam. lightning. sunlight. moonlight. dawn.dusk. twilight. midnight. sunrise. sunset. dewdrops. shadow. tornado. hurricane. water spout. thunder. hail. twisters. humidity. dryness.

[ ANIMALS ]  ~ birds. penguins. eagles. owls. falcons. vultures. hawks. swans. parrots. parakeets. doves. pigeons. ducks. robins. cardinals. blue jays. bluebirds. blackbirds. crows. ravens. magpies. mockingbirds. flamingos. ostriches. seagulls. albatross. peacocks. condors. finches. pelicans. chickens. geese. quail. bats. sheep. cows. buffalo. deer.hedgehogs. porcupines. elephants. horses. giraffes. cats. lions. tigers. pumas. cheetahs. jaguars. foxes. dogs. wolves. coyotes. bunnies. mice. rats. monkeys. apes. bears. pandas. polar bears.snakes. iguanas. chameleons. alligators. crocodiles. turtles. lizards. frogs. toads. whales. dolphins. fish. sharks. stingrays. octopus. lobsters. crabs. bugs. spiders. moths. butterflies. flies. maggots. roaches. ladybugs. beetles. cicadas. dragonflies. fleas. termites. leeches. worms. snails. mosquitoes. werewolves. unicorns. pegasus. dragons. dinosaurs.

[ FOODS/DRINKS ]  ~  pepper. salt. sugar. honey. syrup. caramel. candy. bubblegum.mints. candy canes. gumdrops. lollipops. chocolate. vanilla. cinnamon. ice cream. cake.cookies. brownies. biscuits. pie. tarts. lemonade. soda. champagne. wine. brandy. rum.whiskey. vodka. tequila. sake. beer. soju. gin. crema de cacao. cocoa. latte. coffee. tea.spices. herbs. fruit. apples. oranges. lemons. cherries. strawberries. blueberries. raspberries. cranberries. watermelons. cantaloupes. bananas. coconuts. grapes. kiwi. pomegranates. tomatoes. vegetables. potatoes. cucumbers. carrots. turnips. onions. leeks. celery. broccoli. cabbages. lettuces. roots. nuts. white meat. red meat. raw meat. veal. pork. chicken. beef. venison. fish. lobster. oysters. pizza. ambrosia. pasta.sandwiches. soup.

[ HOBBIES ]  ~ music. piano. flute. woodwinds. whistles. drums. guitar. base guitar. cello.synthesizer. violin. lute. harp. fiddle. harmonica. trumpet. brass. singing. composing. folk.classical. bluegrass. blues. jazz. big band. swing. rockabilly. pop. country. rock. punk. metal. electronica. hip hop. reggae. ska. rap. vinyl records. cassettes. cds. soundcloud. itunes. spotify. art. sculpting. pottery. painting. watercolour. drawing. pastels. charcoal.sketching. graffiti. printing. inking. collecting. fighting. martial arts. self-defense. boxing. fencing. sumo. wrestling. jousting. paintball. lazer tag. duelling. hunting. fishing. climbing. weight lifting. training. sports. football. football (usa). rugby. baseball. cricket. lacrosse. volleyball. basketball. tennis. badminton. skating. cycling. sailing. swimming. rowing. hiking.running. gymnastics. dancing. ice skating. hockey. reading. writing. cooking. sewing. acting. photography. video games. horseback riding. gardening. smithing. shopping.traveling. movies. theatre. libraries. books. magazines. playing cards. poker chips.chess. dice. science.

[ STYLE ]  ~ nudism. perfume. cologne. piercings. tattoos. henna. body paint. war paint. make up. lipstick. mascara. eyeliner. eye shadow. powder. beauty marks. blush. nail polish. lingerie. fishnet. pantie-hoes. socks. stockings. leggings. long johns. under armor. corsets. sports bras. bustles. camisoles. blouses. button ups. tunics. vests. waistcoats. leather jackets. ponchos. letterman jackets. sweaters/jumpers. hoodies. skirts. jeans. kilts. breeches. scarfs. cravats. ascots. belts. sashes. gloves. heels. sandals. platforms. tennis shoes. penny loafers.jordans. slippers. boots. cowboy boots. rain boots. army boots. armor. justaucorps.trench coats. capes. cloaks. burqa. suits. tuxedos. kimonos. saris. sun dresses. gowns. jewelry. earrings. nose rings. lip rings. tongue piercings. belly rings. gauges. eyebrow rings. necklaces. pearl strings. leis. bracelets. bangles. cuffs. watches. friendship bracelets. rings. pendants. lockets. broaches. boutonnieres. pocket watches. cuff links. hats. crowns. circlets. flower crowns. helmets. hijabs. turbans. baseball caps. cowboy hats. brocade. doublet. gorget. bracers. masks. cowls. braces. glasses. sun glasses. eye contacts. pajamas.

[ MISC ]  ~ balloons. bubbles. candles. battle. war. diplomacy. peace. money. power. clocks. photos. mirrors. pets. diary. fairy lights. madness. sanity. sadness. happiness.optimism. pessimism. loneliness. family. friends. assistants. co-workers. enemies.loyalty. smoking. drugs. kindness. love. sex. hugs. duality. sin. lust. greed. wrath. envy. sloth. gluttony. pride. virtue. chivalry. honor. piety. charity. diligence. chastity. gentleness.aggression. romance. hatred. grief. pity. success. bitterness. sorrow. joy. fear. anger.good. evil. relativity. vampirism. sapphism. life. birth. time. death. illusion. silence.