#big brother canada 2

[world-of-wales]

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY TO THE SWEETEST AND SASSIEST QUEEN, HRH PRINCESS CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH DIANA OF WALES (B. 2 MAY 2015) ♡

On 2 May 2015, Princess Charlotte was born to Catherine and William, then known as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in St Mary's Hospital, London, at 8.34 BST weighing 8 pounds and 3 ounces. She was born during the reign of her paternal great-grandmother Elizabeth II is the second child and only daughter of Will & Cat. The little princess' name was announced on 4 May as Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Charlotte is the feminine version of her paternal grandfather's name - Charles & also her aunt Pippa's middle name. Elizabeth honours her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and is also the middle name of her grandmother Carole and her mum Catherine. Diana is in honour of her late paternal grandmother, Princess Diana. Lottie was nine weeks old when she was christened by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on 5 July, at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham. She wore the handmade replica of the Royal Christening Robe, and the Lily Font and water from the River Jordan were used during the baptism. Charlotte spent the first two years of her life at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, before relocating to Kensington Palace in 2017. She started at Willcocks Nursery School in 2018 and later joined her brother George at Thomas's School in Battersea in 2019. In 2022, Lottie and her family relocated to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, after which she started at Lambrook School with her siblings. Born as a Princess of Cambridge, she became HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales after her grandfather conferred her parents with the titles of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Charlotte who is currently third in line to the throne, made history as the first British princess to outrank a brother in the line of succession. She made her official royal debut at the Trooping of Colour in 2016 and since then has accompanied her parents and brothers for engagements and events. Charlotte joined her parents on official tours to Canada, Germany, and Poland. Taking part in two royal weddings, Lottie has also been a part of her great-grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 and her grandfather's coronation in 2023. Charlotte is a nature pixie, and is a keen rugby and tennis player. She loves gymnastics & acrobatics and does amazing cartwheels & handstands. She adores dancing, especially Tap & Ballet and has a passion for theater, putting on shows for her family at home. Lottie loves Pizza and Olives (that's a queen, right there). She's an excellent footballer, which her father was sure to mention to the Lionesses, who she is a big fan of during a visit.

[soshadysoquiet]

An attempt to salvage S4, for your delectation. S4E1

Okay, I think I'm ready. This is so long that I'll have to post it episode by episode. [FYI this isn't written Fic or script style so much as a play-by-play]

This is I'm sure an imperfect fix but I do think this would have been better especially if used as a base to work on - if anyone does want to, please feel free!

Rules I gave myself: Keep the 6 episode formula. The characters have to start Ep 1 in the same state (jobs, accommodation etc) they do in the show. Use as much as is salvageable from S4 to make the base of this cake.

I will say that I think one easy fix the show should have done was to keep the long-running theme of using flashbacks at the beginning of each ep to flesh out the story; so I've done that off the bat. Every character has a beginning flashback, but they all include Ben or Jennifer to a degree (because this is his season) and Diego and Lila have to share because there isn't enough room soz y'all.

EPISODE 1:

Starts with Viktor's Flashback: Over a series of 2 years him having a terrible time at family reunions where Diego and Lila are squabbling, Luther is being harrangued. He's working as a bar tender and they keep showing up at his bar; Klaus gets carted off by them to rehab there for being stoned, he has to kick Five out for being too drunk and disorderly. Viktor starts looking for a bar elsewhere, sees the one in Canada and moves there. Shows him chatting up the ladies, being unable to connect to them on a deeper level. In the background of all these scenes we see the Rise and Fall of Ben on the bar's TV. - he's an up and comer, he's in the big leagues! He's one of the wealthiest people in the world! He's committed tax fraud and being taken to jail!

Viktor in present time is being asked about going to Gracie's B day party, and torn about it, by Luther.

Luther is at his work.

Diego is lazily delivering packages, one of them with a symbol of an inside out umbrella on it, he is seen to pocket.

Lila is stressing over the kids party bits and another parent mentions seeing her at book club tonight.

Ben is getting out of prison, he's told by the guards that no one's due to come for him despite him arguing that someone should be, and that his parole officer demands someone be responsible for him. Ben is shown resigned picking up the phone.

Allison's work is running over and she has to call Klaus

Klaus takes Claire to her destination very cautiously

Five is at his work in CIA, staring at blueprints of the country, bitching to his boss about not being given access to blow through a wall to look at the hidden network of stations he's uncovered. Bitches to his assistant about how a few years ago this wouldn't have been an issue - assistant refers to the fact that a few years ago he was lucky to have been given this opportunity before he nearly drank himself out of his doctorate.

Luther comes to pick Ben up, he's pleased. Ben is pissed and seems edgy. They discuss in the car how Luther wasn't Ben's first choice, Luther asks who that would be, Klaus? Ben angry and claims that no, he has a girlfriend, she should have been there,  doesn't know where she is. Luther sympathises, saying he's been there, he'll help Ben look surely it was just a misunderstanding. Ben asks in a slightly scathing, though less than normal way, whether he's still looking for Sloane. Luther wishes he could hope still that she's out there, but it's fainter by the day. Ben and he share a small moment, that it's nice he's not the only one who remembers his family.

Gracie's party, much is the same

Viktor turns up late, is confronted by a blonde woman (Abigail) Abigail gives him the box of cross-timeline paraphernalia plus marigold jar. Says they're needed to save both his brother Ben and Jennifer, that they need to save the world. Leaves while Viktor is asking who Jennifer is.

Viktor goes into the party (it's wrapping up) shows the marigolds and they set up a meeting for later (the kids are still there)- there is frustration about commitments getting in the way and mixed excitement and dread.

They go separate ways, Lila is shown going to her 'book club' meeting where they talk about the Cleanse and the umbrella effect, it's Abigail, though Lila doesn't know who she is.

Diego after waving Lila off is seen pulling out the package he'd pocketed with the umbrella on it in his study full of papers and files, he goes to open it, tries to do a trick with a letter opener and it falls from his fingers, frustratedly he tosses the package as his in laws call for him to come help with something.

Five has gone down into the subway, he's staring at the wall, clenches his fists.

Allison, Klaus and Claire go home. It's quiet between Klaus and Allison. They have a stilted conversation about how they clearly don't want to have their powers back, and Allison asks for help prepping for the audition, Klaus jokes that at least acing those would have been easier with powers, she jokes back that with their powers she wouldn't have need to feel guilty killing his immortal ass for being a jerk.

Ben is with Viktor and Luther at Luther's place demanding what the woman said to Viktor who says he'd rather wait for the others but then admits about saving Jennifer and him, Luther asks who Jennifer is and guesses his 'prison girlfriend'. Viktor is a bit suspicious.

The others turn up, they go through the box properly.

Five and Lila notice items of interest in the box - subway map, umbrella inside out printed on things, items from other timelines, and both notice that Diego has much less subtly shown recognition and pocketed an umbrella item too. The two share a glance but both shrug as neither knows what's going on. Klaus finds and takes the dog tags.

Ben is on edge and demanding they get out and find Jennifer, that they take the marigolds, the others all agree they don't want their powers, though a few of them give some assurances to help Ben find Jennifer.

Ben pockets the marigolds and spikes everyone when they do a toast to another odd thing happening around their family before they all leave. (Viktor stays the night begrudgingly with Ben and Luther.)

[theniceandaccurategoodomensblog]

Good Omens and The Crow Road

I read the novel The Crow Road by Iain Banks—the book Muriel is reading at the end of season two episode six and the book that hints at the events of season three.

My thoughts are under the cut. You can also read it on AO3 here. Obviously it includes spoilers for The Crow Road.

The Crow Road

The protagonist of The Crow Road is Prentice McHoan. He is a young man (early twenties) and, personally, I found him to be a bit of a dick though he does mature over the course of the book.

The book meanders and leaps about in time, telling the story in a non-linear way and with switches in point of view. This means that the relevance of events is often not clear as you read them, only becoming clear later on.

The title The Crow Road is a metaphor for death as the novel introduces early on that “he’s away the Crow Road” is a way of speaking of someone being dead.

There are three key story arcs:

(1) No one has spoken to or seen Prentice’s Uncle Rory for years. Rory is Prentice’s globetrotting Uncle who became famous because he wrote a bestselling travel diary as a young man. Rory’s ambition is to write a serious novel he called “The Crow Road”. No one knows where Rory is but Prentice’s father believes that he is still alive because he regularly receives match book covers from different locations all around the world. He believes that Rory is the one sending the match book covers because Rory once confessed to him that as a child he lit a fire that accidentally burned down a barn. Prentice becomes increasingly obsessed with what happened to Rory.

(2) Prentice is estranged from his father and he struggles with this. The estrangement is over belief in God. Prentice’s father is a communist and an atheist. When a friend of Prentice’s dies tragically, Prentice decides that there must be an afterlife and hence a God. The estrangement begins and he moves in with a religious Uncle.

(3) Prentice has an intense and unreciprocated infatuation with a young woman called Verity and does not handle it well when Verity becomes an item with his own brother Lewis. Seriously ridiculous childish drama here. Prentice complains about this all many times and at length to Ash, another young woman who is a more patient friend than Prentice deserves.

Here’s how each story arc lands (obviously this is the big spoiler bit for The Crow Road):

(1) Prentice eventually works out through reading a rough draft of Uncle Rory’s novel that Rory was murdered by another of Prentice’s Uncles for realising that that Uncle had previously murdered his own wife (and Prentice’s Aunt) in a car crash by undoing her seatbelt. The match book covers were being sent to Prentice’s father by a friend of the murderous Uncle to convince him that Rory was still alive. Rory’s body is found in a lake. It is all quite proven as far as Prentice is concerned but the murderous Uncle dies and hence there is no sense of justice, just a mystery solved.

(2) Prentice’s father dies while climbing a church spire by being struck by lightning and falling. At the point of his death Prentice and his father are still estranged. In the end, after solving the mystery of Uncle Rory, Prentice decides that there is no afterlife and no God. Prentice hopes that his father died knowing that he wouldn’t be a fool forever.

(3) Prentice’s brother Lewis marries and has a child with Verity. Prentice finds peace with this and realises that he actually loves Ash, the patient friend who has been listening to his nonsense for years.

Prentice and Ash sleep together and confess their love—I kid you not—in Morse code during sex with a series of squeezes and pushes. Yeah. Sometimes I think we come up with weird stuff in fanfiction and then I read a published novel and… but I digress. Point is, they are in love and they both know it. Prentice is finally growing up. But Ash planned to spend time in Canada and she goes anyway (good for her) saying that if Prentice does love her then they can still be together and simply continue when she returns. That’s where it ends which might sound sad but it actually feels mature and real after Prentice’s carry on with Verity. There’s a general feeling that Prentice has finally grown enough himself to make a relationship work and they are both starting that relationship right.

Implications for Good Omens seasons three:

(1) Good Omens has also been jumping about in time. The story is not being told in a linear manner. I suspect that there are scenes we’ve already seen where the meaning of those events won’t be clear until sometime in season three. I suspect that there are missing pieces to the overall story arc that will also be shown in season three. In short, we don’t have all the information and we don’t know what we truly have.

(2) Season three will involve working out, possibly using a diary or a book of some kind, what has happened to somebody. From simply hearing about the plot of The Crow Road I thought it would be Muriel working out what’s happened to Aziraphale by reading his diaries. Perhaps season three will open with a very different Aziraphale to the one we are used to and Muriel will work out what is really going on (memory wipe, manipulation, Aziraphale lying to enact a plan). This might still be true but after reading The Crow Road I was left with a different idea.

After reading The Crow Road the obvious parallel to Uncle Rory is not Aziraphale but God. God narrates season one but season two is strangely lacking in God’s narration. As Crowley says she’s “not talking to any of us”. Just like Uncle Rory. Yet everyone assumes that Heaven’s orders ultimately come from her. What if they aren’t coming from her? What if they are being sent by the person who murdered her? I think a big focus of season three will be what exactly is happening with God. It won’t necessarily be that she’s dead like Uncle Rory. Not everything is going to line up perfectly with The Crow Road. But finding out where she is and why she isn’t talking to anyone, just what this ineffable game is, will be important.

(3) It is worth noting that in The Crow Road Prentice’s father is sent match book covers to convince him that his brother, Rory, is still alive and in Good Omens we have Gabriel putting Beelezebub’s fly into a Resurrectionist match box. Does this mean anything beyond simply making a connection between Good Omens and The Crow Road? I don’t know. I can’t see any extra meaning to this yet.

(4) Aziraphale, like Prentice, won’t be a fool forever. We can depend on that. He is currently fooling himself because the truth (that Heaven is corrupt all the way down or rather up I suppose) is too painful to contemplate. But this won’t last. Aziraphale and Crowley are currently at odds, but they won’t remain so. Aziraphale’s viewpoint will shift and align more with Crowley’s.

Unlike Prentice’s father, Crowley has already fallen and will be ready when Aziraphale comes to his senses. Their estrangement will have a full resolution.

(5) Aziraphale will move on from his immature infatuation with Heaven to focus on his mature love relationship with Crowley.

Crowley will clearly state his love during passionate sex in Morse code by rhythmically contracting his effortfully formed vaginal muscles around Aziraphale’s hard cock. Wait. What? Crowley, if you are reading this please don’t do that. I know you struggle to put your love into words but that’s not the answer. But seriously, the physical expression of their love will be important. It will be important to Aziraphale. This is consistent with fanon conjecture that physical touch is Aziraphale’s love language and that physical (ie human) expressions of love are what is unique to Aziraphale and Crowley.

(6) This quote slapped me on the face: “Places have an effect on people. They alter your thoughts.” It is very like the Good Omens quote, “form shapes nature”. Aziraphale has been on Earth a long time. I wonder how he will be affected by being back in Heaven? Even if he has returned with a plan, Heaven might start seeping back in. Our angel has never been more vulnerable.

(7) This quote slapped me in the face too: “Faith itself is idolatry”. I wonder what Aziraphale would say about that? Is his faith in Heaven a form of idolatry? Aziraphale needs to shift in his stance regarding Heaven but I wonder where he will ultimately land on God. Will his faith in God be preserved or must that die too? Much depends on what exactly has happened to God and just what kind of ineffable game she is playing. So I suppose we will have to wait and see.

[coldsaturn]

Okay but tell me WHY the Olympics are such a big thing in exy. Like is exy being grouped in with sports like figure skating? Or does it get group with sports like soccer where there is the World Cup. No one really cares about Olympics soccer. It’s all the World Cup (and Continental Cups).

That's a very interesting question.

I think the Olympics are A Thing for two main reasons. These all take the point of view of the writer, and not the canon world (even though I'm not in Nora's head, of course, so this is just what makes sense to me): 1) Exy was conceptualized as a Japan thing first and foremost 2) Once the US became the setting, the sport needed to have international standing

Japan is big on Olympics. It took part in basically every single Game from 1912 onward.

No one cares for Olympic soccer but you can still find youtube reaction videos of Americans being flabbergasted that the World Cup is bigger than Super Bowl. Hockey, one of Exy's big brothers, has different and independent world championships going on which are just chaos to me. Ice Hockey "World Cup of Hockey" managed to see the light of day only 3 times. Did you know that Lacrosse has a World Championship? I didn't. It's only after 1998 that people outside US-Canada-Australia-England started participating.

At the end of the day, if you need a trophy that instantly gives international reputation and social standing to a sport based on people's perception of "How big are you if you win X", then the Olympics are the obvious choice, because everything else is considered big based on national trophies.

If you want to consider the canon world:

"The first professional teams were formed around the graduates of the first university teams. Two years later the national team, the US Court, was born. The following year Exy made its first appearance at the Olympics, where Japan took home the gold."

The Olympics bridged the gap between Japan (where the sport was born) and the teams on the other side of the world, allowing them to compete against each other. They could have organized a world championship, sure, but the Olympics sound so much better and more distinguished lol

[emilythedog661-tf2]

The RED Mercs and The BLU Mercs

This is my version of what the RED Team Mercs are compacted it the BLU Team Mercs

First off, We have the RED and BLU Scout

Red Scout

Annoying

is 25 years old

Talks a lot

ADHD

Dyslexia

loves baseball

grew up with 8 brothers and Spy is his dad but he thinks it's Tom Jones

Adores Miss.Pauling even is she's a Lesbian and flirts with Pyro now and again knowing he has a crush on him just to see his reaction

BLU Scout

Reserved

is 24 years old

Mute

AuDHD

Very Smart

loves Soccor/Football

grew up knowing he had 8 Sisters and spy raised him as a single father as he mother didn't want him as he was a boy

is gay and is dating Sniper

RED and BLU Soldier

RED Soldier

Loves North America

is 46 years old

not very bright

goofy yet cute smile

might be autistic

owns raccoons but loves all animals

used to be roommates with marasmus before he kicked him out and now lives with Engineer who loves having him

is gay and is dating Engineer since they started working for mann co and now act like a old married couple

Surprisingly a good father figure to RED Scout and RED Pyro

BLU Soldier

Loves South America

is 44 years old

super smart but extremely lazy

never smiles and is always grumpy

is not autistic

isn't really a animals person but tolerates them

roommates with BLU demoman who likes his company

is straight and is dating Zhanna also best friend with the BLU Demoman

RED and BLU Pyro

RED Pyro

is a child in a adult body

sees RED Engineer and Soldier as his parents

adores scout having a huge crush on him

loves fire

see pyroland everywhere

is hydrophobic

BLU Pyro

Is the green blob controlling the pyro suit

likes BLU Medic and Spy

sees scout as his next victim for his body

uses fire but prefers water

doesn't see pyro land and is the serious pyro

is pyrophobic

RED and BLU Demoman

Red Demo

Loves to drink

is 36 years old

very social with the others being called a party animal

never really taken seriously

is a bomb expert

lost his eye to the bombinomicon

is straight and has got laid by many woman even BLU Medic's ex-wife

is best friends with RED Soldier seeing him as a brother

BLU Demo

isn't a drinker

is 35 years old

hangs around with some people as he is picky who he likes

is always serious

is a gun expert

lost his eye to the loch ness monster

is gay and has been to many gay bars with some of the other BLUs

Buddies and roommates with BLU Soldier

RED and BLU Heavy

RED Heavy

Loves his Miniguns

is 55 years old

loves eating Sandviches

sees RED Medic as a Brother

is very smart with some PhDs in russia literature

hates robots

grew up with a single mom and 2 sisters

is straight but can't find a relationship as he's expecting it to be like his love for sasha and the other miniguns

BLU Heavy

loves his guns

is 54 years old

loves eating sweets and chocolate

is gay and BLU Medic is his boyfriend

is some intelligents and has a PhD in history

loves aliens

grew with with a mom, dad and a sister, Zhanna

is wolfie main caretaker

RED and BLU Engineer

RED Engineer

His dad and grandfather worked for mann co in the past

is 44 years old

Has many PhDs in Engineering

built all his buildings

from texas being from beecave and is a big fan of cowboys

loves cooking

is gay and dating RED Soldier loving him very much

being a good father figure to RED Scout and RED Pyro

BLU Engineer

Hired as he was a engineer of trains

is 43 years old

has some PhDs in Engineering

Copied the buildings from RED Engineer

from Canada and loves maple syrup

hates cooking

is straight and has a wife but it's a struggling relationship

doesn't like the others very much

RED and BLU Medic

RED Medic

is insane

is 40 years old

had lost his medical licence after taking a skeleton out of someone's body

has a infirmary where he keeps loads of animal organs

has done countless experiments on RED Pyro, RED Demo, RED Heavy, RED Scout and some of the BLU Team

is gay and dating RED Sniper a year after working for mann co

is best friends with RED Engineer and see RED Heavy as a brother

has a entire room full of doves that he stole from the president of germany

BLU Medic

is sane

is 39 years old

still has his medical licence and still works as a hospital

has a tidy infirmary where he checks that everyone is healthy

the only operation he has done on his team was to put the uber plug in their hearts

was straight as he had a wife but she had been cheating on him with the RED Demoman so now he's gay and dating the BLU Heavy

has no pets as they are unhygienic

RED and BLU Sniper

RED Sniper

Born in new zealand and raised in australia

is 30 years old

is a introvert but he's also very chatty when he gets use to people

used to be a wildlife ranger before deciding to be a mercenary

loves his 'adopted' parents even if he argues with his dad a lot

is gay and dating RED Medic loving the love and attention he has for him

buddies with RED Scout, RED Pyro and has a nice friendship with the others

BLU Sniper

both born and raised in australia

is 28 years old

is a bit of a extrovert but is also very quiet

never left the house until his mom had to end up kicking him out

hates his parents as they wanted him to be a girl

is gay and is dating BLU scout

can't get on with the others well other then wolfie

RED and BLY Spy

RED Spy

is very introverted

is 48 years old

has sercertly been in Scout's life since he was a baby but hid from him as he was busy and he stated one time he hated him so he stayed hidden

smokes a lot

is from france but knows a lot of different languages

is a voice mimic

acts serious but he's really a big softy

is straight and is still dating scout's mom on his off days which scout doesn't like

BLU Spy

Is a bit of a extrovert and loves going to parties

is 47 years old

raised BLU Scout since he was a baby and has been a good father to him

doesn't smoke as much but still smoke

raised in france but born in mexico

uses a tape recording of the others mercenaries

is a gay man who acts gay

has a big crush on RED Engineer and doesn't everything to try and get him even if he's dating RED Soldier

RED and BLU Pets

Emily

is really smart and clever

is from a alternate universe future of 2024 that can teleport to this world whenever she wants

uses both electricity and magic

has wings to fly

uses telepathy to talk

hates robots

is the sanest out of all the mercenaries

is a little scared of saxton hale

best friends with Wolfie and her owner are Sniper, Medic, Soldier, Engineer and Scout

Wolfie

is clever but he's can be easily fooled

has a talking collar that the RED Engineer made him as the BLU Engineer didn't know how to

very fast

is a husky so he's very vocal

also hate robots

is the calmest out of all the mercenaries

also scared by saxton hale

is best friends with Emily and his owner is heavy

That's all for now, i will add more when i think of anything and i'll see you all next time 😋

[theinquisitxor]

October Reading Wrap Up

October was a great reading month and I got through ten(!) books in the month. That's more than I've read in a while, so it felt good to be able to know I can still read that many. I read some spooky/halloweenish books, as well as continued a few series, and finished a series.

1.Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters 2) by Juliet Marillier, 5/5 stars. I started the month with reading the second Sevenwaters book. Just like with book 1, I enjoyed this immensely, and I found the characters and storyline to be strong and engaging. This one is even more romance heavy than the first books. Adult historical fantasy

2.Paladin's Hope (Saint of Steel 3) by T. Kingfisher, 4.5/5 stars. Another good installment in this series and new mystery that our characters are faced with. This one was a bit shorter than the first two books, and I wish this was a little longer, but otherwise it was great as always! Adult fantasy romance

3.The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way by Bill Bryson This was my nonfiction book for the month, and I read this on audio. Enjoyable, but I felt like it was a little dated. I've read other more recent books on linguistics, and enjoyed them more. Nonfiction.

4.Echo North by Joanna Ruth Mayer, 4/5 stars. This was an enjoyable YA fantasy, and a good blend of fairytales I really enjoy. I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but this reminded me of some of the 'older' YA that is really good. East of the Sun West of the Moon, batb, cupid & psyche retellings all blended together. The author also credits Robin McKinley, DWJ, and Edith Pattou as big inspirations, and I could tell. YA fantasy

5.Last Argument of Kings (First Law 3) by Joe Abercrombie, ?/5 stars. I honestly was so done reading this trilogy, and just wanted to know how it ended so I could just finish it. I skimmed most of it, and only read the Glokta chapters and the ending. This type of fantasy is 100% not for me. I only finished the series because my brother gifted me the boxed set (and he read them). Adult fantasy

6.I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacquline Harpman, 5/5 stars. This is a lesser known classic that's gotten some popularity recently. It's part dystopian, part science fiction, and reminded me a little of The Wall which I read earlier this year. Very poignant, dark, but an exploration of self and a woman on her own. This is translated from French!

7.A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher, 4/5 stars. Another good T Kingfisher fairy tale retelling (however this was quite loose on the retelling), but also dark, featuring child abuse and animal horror. But there is humor, and a good cast of adult characters trying to fix the situation, and I like how T Kingfisher writes competent adults.

8.Witch Week (Chrestomanci 3) by Diana Wynne Jones, 3/5 stars. I started this on audio, but finished with the physical book. Can't say I enjoyed this one as much as the first two. This just reminded me of how horrible middle school was! A good halloween time read though. Middle grade fantasy.

9.The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky, 4/5 stars. This is a historical fantasy that has been on my tbr since 2019. This is light on the fantasy elements, and about first contact between Inuit and Vikings in present-day Canada about 1000 years ago. Our main character is an Inuit shaman, and they and a viking have to team up to save the land and their peoples. Super detail rich and well written.

10. Graveyard Shift by ML Rio, 4/5 stars. A good read for Halloween, and excited to see that ML Rio is publishing again! A thriller about 5 people trying to discover who made a new grave in an abandoned graveyard. As someone who works in academia, I liked the academia element in this story, I only wish it was longer!

I'm on track to finish my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year, which is 80 books. Usually I get somewhere in the 90s, but not this year I guess. For Nov and December, I'm planning on finishing the Sevenwaters series, and Chrestomanci, so I'll be prioritizing those books.

November tbr:

The Scorpio Races (reread on audio)

Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters 3)

Heir to Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters 4)

Chrestomanci: The Magicians of Caprona (book 4)

Paladin's Fate (Saint of Steel 4)

Nonfiction

The Word for Woman is Wilderness

Cape Cod (on audio?)

The Virgin in the Garden

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

At the Dawn There is Rejoicing--a birthday gift for @kmomof4 (Chapter 1)

Summary:  Birthday gift for Krystal, @kmomof4. Based on the story of Leslie Moore and Owen Ford in the book Anne’s House of Dreams–the 5th book in the Anne of Green Gables series.  Emma Gold has led a difficult life.  Her brother and her father died when she was a child, and she was then coerced into marrying the odious Neal Gold.  She thought she’d been granted a reprieve when he was believed to be lost at sea–only for him to return disabled and in need of a caregiver.  Killian is a newspaper reporter who is tired of his routine life.  When he falls ill, his editor forces him to take a sabbatical.  What will happen when Emma takes Killian in as a border for the summer? Big thank you to @snowbellewells for making the cover pic set!

Word Count: 2445y

Other Chapters: (Prologue) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (Epilogue)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Four Winds Harbor, Prince Edward Island, Canada, 1890

Emma Gold shut the door quietly but firmly before taking the harbor road toward the small, seaside village she’d called home all her life.  She let out a long breath, rolling her head from side to side, trying to work out the tension of the day.

And what a trying day it had been!  Neal had been absolutely impossible today.  Some days her husband was calm, affectionate, sometimes even helpful, as much as he could be anyway.

This was not one of those days.  

Today, he’d vexed her from the moment he woke up until the moment he went back to bed.  Her one consolation was that Neal slept like the dead, not moving from the time his head hit the pillow until the rays of the morning sun woke him.

It was a lovely evening for a walk, the twilight painting the sky with beautiful pinks and oranges and yellows, the temperature ideal for an evening stroll.  If her life were different, she’d likely have enjoyed every moment of it–the temperate sea breeze, the faint call of the seagulls, the distant crash of the ocean against the shore.

But her life wasn’t different.  It was an endless cascade of drudgery ever since the day she’d turned twelve.

She remembered that day like it was yesterday, knew she’d never forget it.  It had been a lovely summer day.  She and her eight year old brother, Henry, had been playing out in the barn.  She’d never, to her dying day, forget the moment Henry had stepped through a broken floorboard in the barn loft and fallen to his death.

She might have gotten past the trauma–or at least learned to live with it, if, not six months later, tragedy hadn’t struck again.  Her father, Philip, had never been the same after his only son’s death, and when he’d subsequently fallen ill with pneumonia, there was no fight in him.  He succumbed to the illness within a week of its onset.

And so, all that was left of her once happy, vibrant family was her and her mother Aurora.  Aurora, known for her stunning beauty, but never for her strength and resiliency, had rather fallen apart after the death of both her husband and her son.  Emma, at the tender age of thirteen, had to effectively take on the role of head of the household.

“Those appear to be some rather melancholy thoughts, you’re having, Emma, Dearie,” came a comforting voice to her left. “Difficult day was it?”

Emma turned and smiled despite herself at the woman who’d joined her.  Granny Lucas, though four decades her senior, if she was a day, was quite possibly Emma’s best friend in the world.  Granny had stood beside her through thick and thin, always ready with a comforting pat–as well as a run-down of all the gossip in the village, peppered liberally with scathing commentary about anyone she deemed to be in need of it.  (More often than not, it was the men who got the sharp side of her tongue, rather than the fairer sex.  Good woman, though she was, Granny was something of a man hater.)

Emma sighed loudly.  “Indeed,” she said. “Neal seemed to take it as his personal challenge to plague me from morning until night.”

“Just like a man!” Granny scoffed.  “Emma, dearie, would you like me to come by and give you a break tomorrow?  I’m determined to finish knitting my blanket for the expected Hubbard baby–it’s their eighth, you know, and them barely able to care for the seven they already have.  That house of theirs is no bigger than a shoe!--and I can knit just as well at your place as my own.  You’re looking pale and thin.  You need a break.”

Emma smiled at the older woman, but then shook her head.  “Neal is my responsibility, Granny.  You’ve been too kind already.  I’ll muddle through as I’ve always done.”

Down at the shore, the lighthouse came on just as dusk fell, and Granny scowled darkly at the beacon.  “I will never, no never, forgive Captain Nemo for bringing Neal back to you that fateful day all those years ago.  The man should be horsewhipped!”

Emma looked up at the lighthouse, thinking of the kind old man who ran it like clockwork.  After Granny herself, Captain Nemo was probably her greatest friend and ally.  There wasn’t a mean or hurtful bone in his body, and Emma knew he’d have walked over broken glass to spare her from pain if he could, but he also had a sense of honor and duty that was stronger than anything.

She sighed.  “Granny, you know that’s not fair.  When Nemo found him down in Havana, he couldn’t leave him there, as much as I wish he had.”

“Well I’d have left him,” Granny said with a decisive nod, “and I’ll tell you, I wouldn’t have felt one pang of conscience for it.  That man deserved what he got!”

Emma couldn’t exactly disagree with the older woman there.  Neal Gold had been the bane of her existence since she was little more than a girl.

She’d met him when she was sixteen–he was twenty-four at the time, and had been away from the harbor for many years–and she’d despised him from the start.  He was handsome enough, she supposed, but he was arrogant, something of a womanizer, utterly full of himself, and had a mean streak a mile wide.

To her chagrin, he’d taken a fancy to her from the moment they first met, and he’d immediately made his interest known.  The first time he’d proposed marriage, she’d gently turned him down.  The second, she’d refused more firmly.  The third time, she let her fist do the talking.

If she’d believed Neal got the hint after that, she was sorely mistaken, for Neal had a secret weapon, and he was more than willing to use it.  Emma and her mother lived on land that was owned by Robert Gold, Neal’s father, and the day after Emma’s third refusal, Mr. Gold had shown up at the house they rented from him and threatened to evict them if she didn’t agree to become Neal’s wife.

Everything in Emma screamed at her to refuse, but her mother had simply fallen apart at the thought of being turned out of her home.

“After everything that’s happened to us, Emma!” Aurora had wailed.  “I can’t lose our home too.  I can’t!”

And so it was with a heavy heart that she’d agreed to the marriage.

Emma found marriage to Neal every bit as noxious as she’d anticipated, and when her mother passed away suddenly, only two weeks into her horrible marriage, she felt as though she didn’t have an ally left in the world–save for Granny and Captain Nemo, of course. Some days, Emma woke next to her snoring, detested husband, and thought the hopelessness of her situation would swallow her whole.

And so, when Neal got bored of staid, married life no more than a month after their nuptials and declared his intention to seek treasure and adventure on the high seas, Emma had breathed an unqualified sigh of relief.  She’d be left alone to tend to their farm and make ends meet to the best of her abilities, but she’d be free of Neal.

He vowed to come home in six months, and Emma circled the date on the calendar with a heavy, black pen.  A little dramatic, maybe, but she felt like that date spelled her doom.

But the date came and went with no Neal.  

Six months passed, seven, eight, and still he didn’t appear.  The good folks of the harbor began to worry that something had happened to his ship.  When the year mark was passed and still no sight nor word of him, they gave him up for dead.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief–and then immediately hated herself for it.  What kind of horrible wife was glad it looked like her husband was dead? 

Granny had no such qualms.  “Good riddance!” she averred firmly.  “Someone needed to take the trash out.  It looks like the sea managed to complete the task.”

“Now, now, Granny,” Captain Nemo said good naturedly, “I’m surprised at you!  Such an unChristian thing to say.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t feel exactly the same, Nemo,” she said, piercing that jolly sailor with a withering glance above her spectacles.  “Neal Gold was no good.  You know it. I know it. We all know it.  Our Emma is well rid of him.”

But the ill-luck that had plagued Emma ever since her twelfth birthday was not done with her yet.  Two months later, Captain Nemo had set sail once more with his crew–being at that time still an active sailor and not yet the keeper of the lighthouse.  It was when he made port in Havana that he learned the awful truth.

Neal was still very much alive.  

Several months past, he’d been ambushed on his way to his ship and beaten badly.  He’d been taken to a dockside inn, where the proprietors had nearly given him up for dead, but he’d pulled through–physically at least.  One of the worst blows to his head had evidently induced not only amnesia but brain damage as well.  To wit, he emerged from his life-threatening injuries with the mentality and faculties of a child.

The innkeepers had continued to house and care for him, having no notion of his identity or how to discover it, but from the moment Captain Nemo set eyes on him, it was clear.  The man before him had changed–he’d gained weight and he had a scar on his face that wasn’t there before–but it was unmistakably Neal Gold.

For a moment, Nemo had contemplated simply setting sail and pretending he’d never learned the truth, but Captain Nemo was such a fundamentally honest and upright man, determined to do his duty no matter how detestable, that in the end he brought the man-child home with him.

Emma took the news as stoically as she could, knowing there was nothing for her but to accept her responsibility to care for her husband.  Only once did she bemoan her fate.  On the day Neal returned, she’d looked across the table into his vacant eyes and said “I was hoping you were dead - because it would be easier for me to put you behind me, than to face all the pain that we went through all over again.”

That was eleven years ago.  She had cared for him from that very day.  Some days he was reasonably pleasant–even somewhat helpful.  Others, he was a holy terror, reminding her of nothing so much as an overgrown toddler.

Still, life with this Neal was far more palatable than life with the man in his right mind, and so she persisted.

Coming back to the present, Emma sighed.  “You and I both know Captain Nemo would do anything he could to help me, but we also know he couldn’t turn from doing the right thing, even if it was hard.”

Granny merely harumphed, and for a moment, they walked on in silence.

“Well, as I live and breathe,” a delighted voice came from beside Granny, “if it isn’t Granny Lucas, looking lovely as ever.”

“Well as I live and breathe,” she retorted with an eyeroll, “if it isn’t Marco Gepetto looking as much like an overgrown wooly mammoth as ever.”

Emma smiled in spite of herself.  Marco was, indeed, an odd looking personage with his beard and hair both falling in tangled curls to his waist.  Apparently his state of hariness had something to do with politics, but Granny Lucas never missed an opportunity to tell him, in no uncertain terms, how utterly ridiculous he was.  Marco, for his part, gave as good as he got.

If Emma didn’t know better, she’d swear it was their preferred method of flirting.

As the older couple began bickering in earnest–and apparently enjoying every moment of it–Emma excused herself and walked on.  She did, in fact, have a few errands to run before the sun fully set and the stores closed, and if she waited for her companions to finish their “conversation”, she might be standing here all night.

Emma walked on in silence, her melancholy thoughts returning once more, and she’d nearly reached the store when she heard the sound of a horse and buggy approaching.  She looked up in curiosity.  Few people drove into town, everyone living within walking distance.

The carriage contained a young couple–a woman with long, curly black hair and sparkling green eyes.  A blond man with blue eyes.  Both looked at each other as though there was no one else on earth.  Their love was nearly a tangible thing.

This must be the new doctor–David Nolan, wasn’t it?--and his bride.

The woman noticed her then, standing on the road, and she raised a hand in greeting, apparently eager to make her acquaintance.  Emma turned her head and rushed away as an overwhelming wave of bitterness washed over her.

Talk in the town was that the new doctor and his bride had married that very day and then, in lieu of a honeymoon, had set out for their new home–the little house on the harbor which would make them Emma’s nearest neighbors.  Emma knew she shouldn’t begrudge the newlyweds their happiness, but sometimes the pain overwhelmed her.

That kind of happiness would never be hers.  Tomorrow she’d likely feel bad for her lack of neighborliness toward the newest citizens of her town, but for right now…for right now, she just wanted to wallow.

Notes: I did warn you there would be a good deal of pain on the front end of this story, didn’t I?  I took (and will continue to take) a fair amount of liberties with OUAT character relationships for my story.  The goal was to cast OUAT characters that I felt best matched the personality and story of the Anne’s House of Dreams characters.

For those who have read Anne’s House of Dreams, you’ll probably recognize that Mary Margaret and David  are Anne and Gilbert, Granny is Miss Cornelia Bryant, Nemo is Captain Jim, Marco is Marshall Elliot, and of course Emma and Neal are Leslie and Dick Moore.  (If I ever slip up and call Neal Dick….it’s probably due to the character’s name in the book, although the insult is also warranted.)

Up Next: Emma meets Mary Margaret.  Meanwhile in Montreal, Killian is rather burnt out at his job as a newspaper reporter in Montreal.  His boss suggests he take a vacation.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[onyichii]

I went Geek Psycho 100

So I bought a few things from the Ankama shop and I just wanted to say my ass is such a geek for this! Back when I was broker than I am now, I used to want to order from their shop but that shipping cost gave me a dirty look. It looked at me like I was a poor. Which I was… but damn. Now that have a few more dollars I’m okay with the shipping as long as I’m getting my worth (plus shipping from this book store in Canada cost as much as shipping from France. So that made it okay with me as well).

Okay so here is what I got…

Yes…I bought the Yumalia necklace. It’s cute and reflective. If this shit fades in a week of wear I’m gonna be pissed. Because a necklace of this price—$70–should last long. They better have gotten a jewelry expert to test the craftsmanship (though I doubt it). I still think it’d be a good emblem for the new Sadida kingdom.

I ordered the Amalia tofu but they sent me Adamai. He’s cute too but not what I ordered. I want my Amalia Tofu.

So I sent a Missing Item Help Request and have not gotten a response. It's been over 7 days, and I hope they reply. I expect a response this week since France had a 2 day holiday last week. But that would be triflin' if they ghost me.

I was just adding whatever to my cart at this point because if I’m paying $30 in shipping I gotta have a ton of stuff in there (that’s my logic). I like foxes and recall this character from s2 of Wakfu… I think. So into the cart he went.

I got the god Ecaflip piggy bank. I was just browsing the shop to see what they had because they didn’t have anything Wakfu that interested me. And this caught my eye. They had two versions but were sold out of the other version. And the other version is so cute ⬇️

I already have a coin bank!

Yup—the pig from Toy Story! He holds my coin well! Now he and Ecaflip can hold them together! I might start putting my foreign money in Ecaflip or USA dollar coins (which exist but are rare). I have two USA dollar coins because i conned them from my brother. He acquired them from a store but didn’t know what they were. he just thought it was change …but I knew. the moment I saw them, I knew! Muhahaha! I told him after he gave it to me! 😈

I also got free goods!

I wasn’t expecting the bag to be this big!!!!

They give you measurements of the bag but I didn’t convert it to US metrics and just assumed it was standard size. I am 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm). This bag covers most of my torso.

I guess I’m set grocery shopping now! This will be my one trip bag!

Lastly, I got this key chain.

I think it’s ugly…. But it was free so I took it.

Ankama gives you a code to get the bag and keychain for free. They’ll send it via email if you leave something in your cart. They'll email you and try to seduce you to buy it.

The Wakfu category of the Ankama shop was not “giving” to me. I wanted more stuff from the animated series like stickers, art prints, and etc of the cast. Maybe even a cool class hoodie.

They did have Waven stickers of the classes you can play as. I would have bought one if they had Sadida on there but they did not.

[wosowrites]

Canadian Wonders (Jessie Fleming x Reader)

Warnings: None

A/N: This is so cute my heart melts for jessie

Prompt: Reader is australian, and has never seen a lot of snow before. So Jessie takes her to her home town to meet her family and have a traditional Canadian winter.

When you’ve lived in the land down under for 20 years, and then move to play for a huge club like Chelsea at 21, a lot of things take adjusting. But somehow, it wasn’t the intense training, or the new people, that was the biggest adjustment. It was the weather. You never went to university, not being a big scholar and being raised in a broken home with little money. Instead, you opted to go pro right away. You went pro in 2020, and was relieved to know you would have another aussie at the club with you. You and Sam Kerr had been playing together since you were 15 and she was 18. Soon enough, you got known as a pretty dynamic duo, arriving to winter practices in huge puffy coats, and covered head to toe. You were both strikers, and Emma loved playing you both at the top. In a bit over two years, you both reached your 100th game for Chelsea, having collected between the both of you, 169 goals and 32 assists.

In the middle of 2020, you met Jessie Fleming.

You both started dating in 2021, and 2 years later, you were still going strong. Jessie finally decided she wanted you to meet her family in person, and see her home town. So, in january of 2023, you hoped on a plane to London, Ontario. And you thought London, England was cold…

You stepped out of the small London, Ontario airport, the freezing cold hitting you right away. "I told you to put a coat on baby," Jessie said, laughing at your shocked face. "I didn’t think it would be this cold!" You said, shivering. "I warned you!" Jessie said, opening her long winter coat. You quickly dropped your bag at your feet and abandoned your suitcase, putting your arms around her and feeling the comfort of her body. Jessie closed the big coat around the both of you, kissing the top of your head.

You were taller than her only by an inch, but in your cold state, you were hunched over to stay warm.

"How quickly is Eylsse gonna get here?" You whined. "Just texted her, she’ll be here in- oh there she is." Jessie said.

You reluctantly left the comfort of your girlfriends body, pulling away and seeing Elysse and Tristan driving up in the family subaru. You saw the pure joy in their eyes, the happiness of seeing their sister. You felt happy for Jessie, happy she had that bond with her siblings, but also sad that yours hadn’t reached out to you in years.

Tristan and Elysse stepped out of the car, Elysse running up to Jessie and jumping in her arms. Tristan seemed more reserved, more like Jessie, so you opted for a simple handshake. "It’s nice to meet you in person, you’re taller than you seem on family facetimes." Tristan says. "Don’t lie to me," you laughed, knowing very well you were not tall. "Hey, Elysse!" You said. She hugged you tightly, smiling at you wildly. "I love your nose piercing, oh my god it looks so good on you! I’ve always wanted one but I don’t know if it would suit me." You say to Elysse. "You should get one! I know a really good guy if you want!" Elysse said, smiling at you. "I’ll think about it. Let’s just please get out of the cold." You said, grabbing both yours and Jessie’s luggage and bringing it to the car.

"Did you not tell your aussie girlfriend to wear a coat in Canada?" Elysse laughed, addressing her sister. "I did! She didn’t listen!" Jessie answered, watching as her girlfriend and brother put the luggage in the trunk. "She’s a gentleman," Elysse said, smiling. "You haven’t seen anything yet."

———

Michaele and John Fleming met you with open arms. Literally. The Fleming’s were warm, and inviting, the house smelled like fresh food and slightly of paint. You had all finished eating supper, a meal cooked to perfection by both Jessie’s parents, and were now sitting in the living room.

"I’m so happy you all managed to get time off work and school." Michaele said, pouring you a cup of coffee. "Me too, it’s really nice here." You said, thanking her with a nod for the warm drink. "You haven’t even hiked yet." Jessie told you. "Hiking? It’s too cold to hike." You said, shocked people went outside willingly in this weather. "Is not. In fact, that’s our first activity."

It was known to everyone that Jessie loved order. So when she told you that she had specific activities planned, you weren’t at all suprised.

"Tomorrow morning, 5:00 am, sunrise hike. Then skating on the mountain, then I want to bring you to a really cute coffee shop and show you my elementary school." Jessie said. "5:00 am!" You said, but we’re ignored. "Don’t forget your appointment! You’re getting a nose ring at 5:00 pm tomorrow." Elysse said.

It was true, the youngest Fleming had convinced you to go for it. Worse case scenario, you didn’t like it and let the hole close.

"How could I forget? Just you and me for that one, Els?" You asked her. "Yeah, mum and I are making supper. We’re only here three days." Jessie said.

A few hours later, you went to bed in Jessie’s childhood bedroom. It was surreal being in that are, seeing the trophies, the blue walls, the medals and framed pictures. "What would 14 year old you say if she knew that 24 year old you was lying in this same bed with her girlfriend?" You asked her as she traced patterns on your stomach. "I think she would pass out."

———

As Jessie had said, the next morning she had woken you up at 5:00 am. The whole thing was a blur. You remembered her literally having to dress you, and her telling you to be quiet as you tip toed down the stairs. She had bundled you up in a warm hat, a big winter coat, gloves and a scarf. Your hood was up the second you were out the door. You had fallen asleep in the car, and by the time you were to the mountains, it was almost 6:30.

"You ready baby?" Jessie said, opening the door for you and laughing at your grunt of an answer. You didn’t stay mad for long though, as you saw the still starry winter night peeking through the pine trees. "Oh, Jess. This is beautiful." You told her.

The both of you started your hike. Jessie had her camera with her and was taking pictures of you, and the world surrounding you the whole time you walked up the mountain. The snow was mangeable, due to the trail having been plowed. By the time you arrived at the top of the mountain, the sun was rising. Jessie pulled out a cover from her bag and put it in the snow. You cuddled up next to her, sipping a mocha Jessie had made.

The sky was painted orange, pink, red, yellow and purple, it was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. Well, second most beautiful thing. Jessie would always be first. "I’m happy you brought me here." you told her, peering into her eyes. "I’m happy you like it here." She answered. "One day, when we retire from football, I wouldn’t mind having a family with you here." You told her, nervous of her answer.

You didn’t meet her eyes, that is until she used her gloved fingers to lift your chin up. "I want that more than anything." Jessie said, kissing you lovingly.

[always-rolling-my-eyes]

I haven’t watched Big Brother Canada in years, but apparently a man brought a woman to Final 2 because he said she was the “most beatable” and ended up losing to her 6-1

[devilsupdates]

Some world info on the devils that is playing in the world this won’t go in order of events.

Nico Hischier just set a new personal best in points at Worlds! 🫡 His primary assist on Kevin Fiala's PPG was his 10th point of the tournament (6GP), passing his 9 from 2019.

What an outlet pass out of the zone for Luke, he springs his teammates right out of there! From the far blueline sends the pass on the diagonal

USA takes a 1-0 lead on Kahzakstan.

Simon Nemec leads all Slovak defensemen through their five games with six points (1g-5a). His six points also tie a career-high at the tournament he set in 2022 (1g-5a, 8 GP).

Nico Hischier is currently the leading scorer among all forwards at this year's World Championship with nine points in five games (5g-4a). And he's second overall in the tournament scoring behind only his teammate Roman Josi’s 10 points. Just Nico being Nico. 🫡

Our Dawson seals the victory for Canada! Mercer once again on the ice for Canada defending a one-goal lead in the final moments the game. His second empty-netter of the tournament. Are we up?! Nico Hischier has a three-point game (1g-2A) going for Switzerland… all before the 4-minute mark of the second period. He’s factored in on 3 of the 4 Swiss goals against Denmark.

“My brother Jack was really disappointed he couldn’t come. It’s something he really wanted to do.” - Luke Hughes at Worlds Jack, of course, is recovering from surgery.

Ondrej Palat sets up Tomasek for Czechia’s fourth goal of the game against Austria.

Czechia getting a big boost on their Worlds roster as Martin Necas is on his way, less than 24 hours after the Hurricanes were eliminated from the playoffs. Czechia is hosting this year’s tournament.

The big man is back! Kurtis MacDermid re-ups with #NJDevils  on a three year deal!

Yesterday was a big day for our Simon Nemec. He etched his name in the IIHF history books. And all as a U20 player.

Big day for Nico Daws! Played his first game of Worlds, backstopping Canada to a 4-1 win over Norway *and* earning an assist on Canada’s 4th goal *and* gets a little kiss on the forehead! 😅 Way to go, Dawsy!

Your friend and mine, Luke Hughes with another point at the World Championship today. Secondary assist on Matt Boldy's first goal of the game.

We have re-signed forward Samuel Laberge to a one-year, two-way contract.

#NEWS: We have re-signed forward Brian Halonen to a two-year, two-way contract.

Akira Schmid posts a shutout for @SwissIceHockey against Great Britain. His first Worlds start. 15 saves. Nico Hischier with a goal and Jonas Siegenthaler with an assist. #NJDevils  reported for duty!

#MensWorlds goal-scoring leaders:

1. Oliver Kapanen, FIN - 5

2. Connor Bedard, CAN - 4

3. Nico Hischier, SUI - 3

Nemo! 🎯

Simon Nemec unleashes a bomb on the Slovak power play and puts Slovakia up 3-1 on the USA.

What a shot!

Hattrick for Nico Hischier against Austria - well done!

[canadianno]

🌲 Pinned Post 🌲

I'm Copper, username Canadianno. I am a minor (16 years old)

I've got lots of nicknames and most r just fine, ofc don't call me anything mean or anything </3

Most common nicknames are Copp and Can !!

🌲Fandoms !!🌲

Warrior cats

Cult of the Lamb

Gravity Falls

Honestly not much else.. lots of interests come and go !!

🍄Gravity Falls sideblog - @canadianno-gravityfalls 🍄

"Guys I am gonna be so annoying about this"

Me^

🪲My tags🪲

#TCOLC au

My COTL au, which is posted on Ao3 under the name "The Cult of Lost Crowns" by yours truly! (Canadianno)

#TornWings WC

Doesn't have anything on it yet, but if I ever post abt my WC comic it'd be here!

🍁DNI🍁

Pedophilic

Racist

Bigoted in general

Zoophilic >:(

If you are just gonna ask me abt politics

Argumentative. This is a safe spot

Block evaders

🪲Notify me!🪲

Are you struggling reading something I've posted? Are you visually impaired and wish for me to add image ID's? Do you want to know the definition of something I've mentioned?

Just message me! Both asks and DMs are fine, my DMs are open! I am safe to speak to. This is a space for all of us!

🍁Possible Triggers🍁

Cartoon violence

Dark themes in media

Cults

Cartoon death

Big family issues (fictional)

Blood in art

Creepy or horror-esque art

I am working on making tags for these, and I try to give content warning and hide disturbing art under cuts! Notify me if I've forgotten this anywhere :]

"Aorry thsi jorigicantion work me up frok my nsp"

Me^

🪲Fun facts and stuff!🪲

My favorite animals are frogs, toads, cats, and sheep. My favorite colors are green and yellow. I have a really annoying older brother. I work on Fridays. I love the smell of lilacs. I have 2 cats and a dog. I live in Canada. I can read French almost perfectly fine but I can't speak it for the life of me. I have the best Mom in the world.

🍁Go check it out!🍁

Creator of the COTL potluck reblog chain! Go check it out and give love to all the incredible artists who participate! The potluck is eternal!

Interested in COTL themed dnd shenanigans? Go check out the Run Lamb Run dnd blog!

[rapid-artwork]

After honing my cartoon-ing skills a bit further, I've moved on to making some new characters for a secret project. Studying the Cartoon Network™ style has paid off.

Names subject to chance, but for now let's meet Charlie and Penny.

Charlie (Lee to his friends, Charlie to his teachers, Charles to his parents whenever he is in trouble.) He is the ultimate big brother. He just turned 13 and is convinced that he is the coolest person to ever exist. He even has his own Palm Pilot Handi-Man™ 20X6! He definitely didn't steal it from his dad's office, so don't even ask!

His RCA-Lyra Portable Music Player™ is filled to capacity with all the hottest MP3s. (Literally just the Kingdom Hearts OST and nothing else.) He knows all the cheat codes to every Sega Dreamcast game, and just last week he got to see his first PG-13 movie! (Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, he hasn't seen the first one and probably isn't aware it exists.) He was very brave and only cried a few times!

He spent all of his allowance on a pair of ripped jeans but his mom made him sew patches on the knees so his legs wouldn't get cold.

He can and will die for Penny at the drop of hat.

Penny: (Short for Penelope, but she tells everybody that it's short for "Dollar", exactly 99 cents short. She's very proud of that joke and tells it everybody.)

She is the ultimate little sister. She is 10 years old and is very nervous about what happens when you are too old to count your age on your fingers. She loves playing with her dolls, and listening to her favorite death metal band, 𝕲𝕺𝕺𝕱𝖄 𝕺𝕮𝕿𝕺𝕭𝕰𝕽 (Goofy October; the most intense PG rated death metal band in all of Canada.)

She has a bad relationship with the local dentist because she refuses to stop chewing on the cool rocks she finds in the woods behind her school. She has destroyed multiple retainers with great prejudice and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Literally everyone loves Penny and finds it impossible to say a bad word about her no matter how hard they try. Every single person in town is terrified of what might happen if she gets too sad. It is foretold in the ancient scriptures that if Penny cries for more than 60 seconds the entire world comes to a violent end.

These two are gonna be protagonists in a fun little video game I'm pitching. It will be very weird.

In process sketches I made in designing their character below the cut:

Charlie had Johnny Bravo energy from the beginning. It was pivotal that he wasn't just "cool" but specifically what a 13 year old THINKS is "cool"

Penny's design was nearly perfect from the get-go, but I had to get the hair just right. She feels like a mix of every single KND character and I like that.

[wanderingmind867]

My Interpretation of the Justice League Pt. 2:

Part 2: Justice League Detroit: Now that J'onn is the new leader of the team, he moves to Detroit and sets up a private detective service there (possibly with his brother ma'alefa'ak as junior detective or something). From Detroit, J'onn goes looking for new members for his team. He finds them without too much hassle, and the Justice League Detroit is born!

The Justice League Detroit consists of six members: Martian Manhunter, Commander Steel, Gypsy (whose name probably really needs some reworking), Vibe, Vixen and J'onn's brother Ma'alefa'ak. The team is quite dysfunctional at first, since most of the team's members are young and impulsive. But with Martian Manhunter's careful guidance, the team slowly begins to come into their own.

The team is sadly still dealing with reputation issues from that civil war thing, and no amount of good press seems to be able to fix the problems inherent in the team around this time. Even though they get some big name allies or members (like Hawkman or Captain Marvel/Shazam or Green Lantern John Stewart), the team can't beat their bad reputation.

And sadly, everything comes crashing down around 2-3 years into this teams history. When J'onn's brother Ma'alefa'ak feels like he's been discriminated against by the people of earth, his already unstable mind (we can cover that in a seperate note), snaps and leads him to go on a rampage all throughout the globe. In order to stop him, the Justice League Detroit has to team up with all the members of the original Justice League (except Batman) and hunt him down.

And while this brave team of around 20 manages to subdue Ma'alefa'ak and make him see reason, the team still comes out of this looking bad. Ma'alefa'ak was technically a member of the Justice League, so some people are quick to blame the league for this conflict even occuring in the first place. Besides, Ma'alefa'ak and the league caused so much property damage across the world that they're pretty much broke by the time this adventure is over.

Part 3: Justice League…Canada? Originally conceived when the Justice League Detroit gets a mission in Canada. The mission goes well, and the Justice League gets some contacts in Canada. A year or two after this, the Justice League has the whole Ma'alefa'ak incident and their public reputation sinks even lower. Knowing that the United States has turned on them, the Justice League use their connections in Canada to keep the team running. Only one requirement: the team will have some oversight by the canadian government. Nothing too severe. But there will be some oversight and guidelines.

This new team is dysfunctional but shockingly more cohesive than any team before or after. Despite it all, this Canadian team slowly begins to recover the team's reputation after years of trauma. Who knew a team with members like Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and others would be the team that leads the league back to greatness? Or well, as close to greatness as you can get after 4-5 years of awful publicity.

[hetaologist]

APH America "Ethnography" and Headcanons (SFW)

The United States of America, Alfred F. Jones, Mr. Stars and Stripes, 'Merica, Pretty Boy, um... or just simply America.

Here is a list of data I have gathered from this country and oh boy, what an interesting specimen we have here....

Ethnography

You will find this find this mythological creature at your local Walmart superstore during the evening hours on a weekday, sporting flannel loungewear pants (The plaid kind), a cotton t-shirt that definitely has been worn no less than two (2) times, Old Navy $1 flip flops, and a gray jacket.

When asked about his late night runs to the popular supermarket chain, his answer is just simply:

"There's nothing else to do and no where to go."

America's Cart Inventory for March 22nd:

One (1) package of "Mega Stuf Chocolate Oreos" for $5.97, One (1) 6-Pack of "Starbucks Frappuccino Chilled Coffee Drinks" in Caramel Flavor for $7.98, One (1) Family Sized Bag of "Flaming Hot Cheetos" for $5.94, One (1) "Furby Interactive Toy" for $39.19, and One (1) Stick of " Axe Apollo Men's Deodorant Stick" for $4.97. Total of purchase was $64.05 before tax.

When questioned about the "Furby Interactive Toy", he replies:

"Yeah dude, there's this thing I wanna make that's called a "Long Furby". Wanna come by my place and check it out?"

I agreed to the invination as it would give me a better look into his living space and lifestyle. He's very friendly person.

Living Space (Home):

Oh dear god, why did I agree to come here?

House is a what you would expect from a typical American college student such as:

"Saturdays Are For The Boys" banner flag, Marvel and DC posters, a very unsettling looking blue leather couch that looks like it has been through hell and back, random dumbbells and untouched exercise equipment, every game console from the 1972 "The Magnavox Odyssey" to the PS5, action figures from various popular TV shows and comics, an old KFC bucket with half eaten chicken on the coffee table and a shelf with a huge vinyl record and CD collection.

Conclusion: What a fucking gross nerd.

America offers a cold can of Coca-Cola, I accept it.

He shows me a very long light blue "Long Furby" from his collection, further proving how much of a dork he was.

When asked what kind of music he liked (in regards to his music collection), he replies:

"That's hard to answer, it changes every week. Because of my diverse music, I pretty much like everything. One week I could be listening to 1980's classic rock, 2000's techno-pop, Bluegrass Country, 1990's Hip Hop or anything. But, if I had to give you this week's favorite artist, it would have to be Taylor Swift and Doja Cat."

"Interesting..." I replied.

I have recorded enough data for today (the smell was bothering me) and left his home to do further extensive research.

Headcanons:

America has a deep love for cars and trucks, he can be seen working on his vintage 1968 Dodge Charger R/T called 'Thunderbird' (an absolute speed demon that can reach at top speeds of muthafuckin' 156 mph), and his enormous 2019 Ford F-150 'Big John' that he loves to drive to world meetings because he is a total stud muffin showoff.

Oh yeah, he defiantly modded 'Big John' horns with airblasters. So when he parks his car and he sees other nations come out of their vehicles, he pounds on that horn and scares the living shit out of them.

He totally does 2 am donuts in the Thunderbird the front of Walmart parking lots with his brother Canada to freak him out.

Other than seeing him work on his cars while listening to "Waking Up in Vegas by Katy Perry" on the radio, he's in his room sorting out his action figure and comic book collection.

Damn, what what a geek.

He has an eBay account where he buys, trades and auctions his collection as his interests constantly change.

If you think him being a geek, dork and a nerd is gonna save him from getting a basic ass Stanley cup, you're wrong.

He has a navy blue one that he takes to meetings and he would get dirty looks from the other nations.

"Goddamn it America, you do not need that much coffee."

"Fuck you, you scone sucking twink. It's not coffee, it's the Panera Super Charged Lemonade mixed with Redbull."

"I beg your fucking pardon..."

He gave Canada a red one for his birthday that he also takes with him to meetings.

"Canada, mon ami~. That better not be that merde American drinks that makes your heart explode."

"No, it's Tim Hortons iced coffee."

"Well.. that's better than what America drinks..."

[puckgoss]

um girl can you do Jamie’s backstory or more facts ab him/his life he’s so private

sure!! i'm not gonna do too much on hockey related stuff bc it's all pretty basic and easy to find like highly-touted prospect, great skater, played for the toronto marlies, played for the toronto marlboros, erie otters, team canada, etc etc. here's an article that summarizes his pre-NHL hockey career.

first here's a pic of jamie & his mom tina, dad gary, and big brother charlie from jamie's ig. i'm sure you've seen it before. link

jamie grew up around yonge & lawrence in north toronto which is a very safe, family friendly and wealthy area. source 1, source 2

he went to st. michael's college school to play high school hockey before he was eligible for the OHL draft. this is a well-known private school in toronto that many NHL alumni have attended including tyler seguin, jason spezza, and tim horton himself. source 1, source 2

while playing for the erie otters, he attended fairview high school in fairview, pa. source 1

his billet family in erie described him as kind-hearted, quick-witted, and competitive. his coach in erie described him as a great teammate, selfless, and a great person. source 1

his mom tina appears to be the manager of finance & operations for the toronto marlboros. source 1

here is her twitter account

she went to havergal college which is a fancy independent girls school (pre-K to gr12) in toronto. she graduated in 1988 so she was born in around 1970. source 1

jamie's dad gary is very successful in the IT sector - previously he was vice-president of commercial and channel sales for Printing and Personal Systems with HP Canada. source 1, source 2

at one point he was on the canadian channel chiefs council (C4) board of directors. source 1

he is now the director of sales at intuit quickbooks canada. source 1, source 2, source 3 (source 3 is a video, you can see a couple pics of jamie in the background)

jamie's brother charlie is a biomechanical engineer who attended queen's university in kingston, ontario. source 1 (jamie used to have a pic of him w charlie at charlie's grad on ig but i think he archived it)

this was jamie's grandpa: richard. source 1, source 2

and this was his grandma: isabel. source 1, source 2

so in conclusion, jamie comes from a wealthy background and is kinda your typical toronto hockey boy, but everyone loves him and consistently talks about how lovely and sweet he is so his parents did a great job!