#cafe des sports

[wgm-beautiful-world]

[boanerges20]

Kawasaki Z1000 by Sur Les Chapeaux De Roues.

[ha-bakbuk]

[northsoulss]

the media thinking reader is in a relationship w some popular male footballer but she's actually with elisa and they soft (or hard) launch their relationship 🤭🤭

mon amour - elisa de almeida

(a/n : here it is! hopefully this is what you had in mind lol. this is quite a long one. writing this hit home, so i quite like how it turned out! thanks for the request xoxo)

growing up in a relatively conservative town, you never had the chance to express your identity as a queer individual. it was a constant internal battle, thinking something was wrong with you for liking someone of the same gender. things became more complicated when you began liking football, it being seen as more of a boy-ish sport.

thankfully, your hometown had a small women’s youth football club, and you begged your parents to allow you to sign on, which they begrudgingly accepted. hoping to meet other queer women, you went into football hopeful, but your ideas were quickly shut down when you realised a lot of them were straight. you continuously struggled with your sexuality as you grew up, fear taking over whenever you had the opportunity to come out. so you never did, remaining closeted for all your teenage years.

as you began to advance and become better at football, you wanted to make it a career, to do it professionally. eventually when you signed with psg a year ago, it was undoubtedly the best decision of your life. after moving to france, you finally got to experience a proper queer community with supportive people. you still made no move to come out, for you realised that there was no need to put it out there; to let everyone know that you were queer. so long as you were contented with what you identified as, nothing else really mattered. or so you thought.

over time as you became more popular and well known, you began to see that there are many upsides and downsides to being a public figure. on one hand, you have formed close bonds with other footballers of both genders and experienced nothing like you could have ever imagined. on the other hand, every time you posted something vaguely couple-ly with one of your friends, especially the guys, your fans would go nuts.

“is she dating him?”, “i knew they were together!” were the very common comments you would get when posting pictures with you and another footballer, who happened to be one of your very good guy friends, _(insert male name)_ , whom you hung out with quite often. you decided that one day you were sick of the comments, and posted something for pride, saying that you were proud to be a queer woman. lo and behold, that did not stop the comments.

lady luck must have been on your side for your team has been nothing but incredibly supportive of you coming out. at the same time, one of your teammates took this chance to snag you, and surprise, surprise. you fell head over heels for the woman and have been dating ever since.

you have decided to lay low for the first few months, trying your hardest not to post anything that would make the fans suspicious. however, one day you decided had enough of the speculations.

it was a lazy saturday, you and elisa were out at a quaint neighbourhood cafe having brunch, just enjoying the warm summer weather. it had been a few days after your 6 month anniversary, and you just couldn’t get enough of her. so, as sneakily as you could, you snapped a picture of her looking off into the distance, watching the kids at the playground goofing around with a small smile. too bad your phone wasn’t silenced, so a loud shutter sound was made and caused elisa to whip her head around.

she locks eyes with you, and you must have had the guiltiest expression on your face, because she immediately broke out in laughter. “what are you doing baby?” she laughs harder as your face reddens, her taking your hand in hers and rubbing small circles with her thumb.

“you just looked really good okay!” you defend yourself defiantly, showing her the photo that you took. she gives you a knowing look, before turning away to continue looking at the scenery around, a small smirk on her lips. there was a comfortable silence amongst you two, but your mind started to wonder. for a while now, you’ve been meaning to ask elisa about announcing your relationship. you were sick and tired on hiding things and being so secretive, but you were scared. you enjoy the privacy, the intimate looks given to each other across the room, the subtle electrifying touches on the pitch when you’re standing next to each other. you just don’t want to ruin things-

“what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” elisa breaks you out of your thoughts, head tilted slightly to take a look at you. you were oddly silent for a while, and when elisa turned back around to see what you were doing, you were just staring into space, a dazed look on your face.

you swallow dryly, taking a deep breath. “i think i want to announce our relationship.” you say quickly, averting eye contact with her. you felt her hand tighten around yours, interlocking your fingers with hers. you look up at her timidly from your lap, and you see lines of worry etched onto her face. her brows furrowed slightly, her mouth in a taunt line.

“are you sure about this?” she questions, concern clear as day in her voice. she knew about your past, and you were the one who was more worried about the relationship compared to her. now that you were bringing this up, she had every right to be concerned.

“well, i’m just sick of people thinking i’m dating that meathead. i’m not. i’m dating you. you’re the one i love.” the moment the last sentence left your mouth, elisa swore her heart skipped a beat.

“a-are you very sure? there’s no going back after you announce this you know?” she looks into your eyes, searching for any signs of uncertainty or hesitation, but all she saw was determination.

“i’m sure, baby.” you smile at her, pressing a chaste kiss against the back of her hand. at that moment, elisa was so proud of you. you have come so far, and she knew how big of a step this was for you — to publicly announce that you were in a relationship with another woman.

“i’m proud of you, mon amour.” she wore a warm smile, eyes crinkled, the midday sunlight hitting her facial features just right. you pick up your phone to snap a picture, and this time you did not shy away from her, even asking her to give you her best smile.

before you left the cafe, you quickly posted it, tagging her and titling the caption as “the love of my life, @/elisadealmeida5. mon amour.🤍” of course, the fans were not impressed, but you didn’t care, for you were finally proud to be loud about your identity and your relationship, and the press and media are not going to get in the way of that.

later that night, as you lay in bed with your head on her chest, you get a phone call from your good guy friend. elisa raises a brow at you, and you shrug, picking it up and putting him on speaker.

“yo what’s up! you’re on speaker by the way.”

“you just had to do a hard launch huh?” he cuts to the chase, tone teasing, but proud. you groan, your hand coming up to cover your face.

“ugh c’mon! they were shipping me with you out of all people!” you tease back, looking at elisa who was staring at you, admiration in her eyes. you give her a soft smile, pressing a small kiss on her cheek.

“yeah, yeah, i know. proud of you, short stack. tell elisa i said hi!” and with that, he hung up. not long after, you received an instagram notification where he replied to your post. “i told you so.. what a man child.” you read his comment and smile knowingly, and put your phone away, turning around to face elisa again when she grabs your face and kisses you hard. you gasp into the kiss, melting into her lips. when she pulls away, she leans her forehead against yours, you panting slightly.

“i’ll say this again and again, and i know you’ll grow tired of it, but i’m so proud of you, mon amour, don’t forget that.” she finishes her sentence with another passionate kiss to your lips, smiling into the kiss.

[sgiandubh]

OMG! I can practically see her pulling at her pearls in indignation and fury! I wonder how many wet dreams he rejected her to result in this anger 🙃🙄😜 https://www.tumblr.com/maximumwobblerbanditdonut/747779411400671232/public-intoxication-sh-was-invited-to-the-landcon?source=share

Dear Pearl Clutching Anon,

This woman is the worst mythomaniac and the most pathetic know-it-all of the entire fandom. Mark me: probably a sock account of one of the Mordor sopranos, who'd like to play it cool otherwise. She is an impostor, pretending to be a Scot. But her grammar and spelling recurrent mistakes point to anything else but an English native speaker.

Prized and praised as she is by the dim-witted, she is living proof of the fact that you cannot reasonably and endlessly pretend to be an expert in hair implants, cocktails/bartending, audiovisual production, copyright, alcohol sales and pretty much everything in between. To me, she is at her most pathetic when she pretends to analyze the legal intricacies of the French regulations applicable to public alcohol tasting events.

What happened, in fact, at the Landcon 6 whisky tasting?

Ok. So, this was announced by the French organizers on March 5th and presented as a limited audience event, priced at 350 euros.

This idiot's comment is absolutely priceless:

She would be surprised to find out that, unlike the US, there has never been any Prohibition decreed in France (Hell would have frozen). Even more interestingly, the only venues where French law specifically prohibits alcohol tastings and sales are enumerated very clearly in regulations far above her intellectual abilities:

The main idea is that you cannot sell/organize alcohol tastings in public health venues (hospitals, clinics, etc), rehabilitation clinics (d'oh!) - both for alcohol and drug addictions -, schools, youth summer camps, sports arenas, swimming pools or any other public or private sports venues.

(Source: French Public Health Code, https://www.dalloz.fr/documentation/Document?id=CODE_CSPU_ARTI_D3335-1&scrll=CSPU022225&FromId=CODES_SECS_CSPU_TALPHA)

To these limitations, the French national professional organizations add, as best practice, the following: churches, cemeteries, prisons, military barracks, railway/public transport facilities (including depots).

(Source: Vin & Société's Guide juridique de la dégustation/Tasting Legal Guide - https://www.syndicat-cotesdurhone.com/upload/article/file/202103guidejuridiquedeladegustation-60658bb9468b4.pdf)

To my knowledge, Landcon's venue was neither a cemetery, nor a church (the latter could be, however discussed: wee & lame joke, btw). And for that poor woman's information, you would not need an exemption, but a permit, or licence. In current French law, there are four such sale permits, ranked from I (soft drinks, such as Orangina) to IV (all drinks, including spirits). The fabled Licence IV (also the name of a beloved 90s French kitschy music group, LOL) is now impossible to obtain and if you want to have one, you have to buy the venue (cafe, nightclub, bar, bistro, restaurant or buvette) that had it issued first, many moons ago.

That problem solved, we would have to further analyze the type of event hosted by the Landcon. Was it a tasting or a sale, according to French regulations?

If it was a tasting, no licence is needed. If it was a sale, you might need a temporary licence, granted by the Mayor, provided you have notified them at least 3 months before the event. These are also famously hard to get and very sparingly granted, too.

Because tastings are an exception, they are strictly defined by French regulations as 'free alcohol consumption' and their regulations are excruciatingly detailed. Procedures and limitations vary according to the type of event: sports, tourism promotion, markets and fairs, public gatherings or cultural events (which is the one that seemed the closest to our situation). But a cultural event-cum-tasting would have to be completely free of charge (no paying access tickets), in order to be exempt from any legal obligation. This was not the case, as we know there was a rather steep, 350 euros fee, to be able to attend it:

(Source: Vin & Société's Guide juridique de la dégustation/Tasting Legal Guide - https://www.syndicat-cotesdurhone.com/upload/article/file/202103guidejuridiquedeladegustation-60658bb9468b4.pdf)

That new activity was certainly not a tasting, as defined by French law. An amateur could then conclude, that S's event was, in fact, a disguised sale and that he is either a sinister fool or a filthy conman.

The trouble is, French legislation tolerates one single, overruling exception to everything I wrote above: sale by the producer of said alcohol. It is to be found (or rather interpreted - and it has been so by myself AND the French professional organizations), in the Code Général des Impôts/ French Tax Code:

To avoid a tedious legal translation, the idea is that if you do not sell your own produced booze, you are automatically considered as a stockist/trader and as such, subject to alcohol sales' regulations. If the Landcon organizers would have sold/promoted Laphroaig, for example, they would have needed the permit. But hosting a paying tasting event organized by SRH, promoting SRH's whisky and which profits entirely belonged to SRH is a sale by the producer, as defined by French law, not needing a permit:

(Source: Vin & Société's Guide juridique de la vente/Sales Legal Guide - https://fgvb.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Vin-et-Societe-Guide-juridique-de-la-vente-19042021.pdf)

So: even if the tasting event was, in fact, a sale, French law allows a producer to sell his own alcohol, for promotion purposes as a side event, with no further need to obtain a permit. And this is exactly what their legal team rightfully advised them to do and completely what I would advised them to do, too.

That woman is so often and in so many ways completely wrong, that she is absolutely ridiculous. She (and also her other Big Friend) should perhaps stop pretending to be whatever they are not. Infantilizing, bullying and snarling at people does not help with their credibility.

Such women are genuine Frauds and absolutely despicable. People spend years fucking their eyesight in law school and we do not joke about interpreting and reading legalese. Ever. But to see idiots pretending to know just because they fucking used Google for ten minutes is just infuriating: it took me two hours to find the exception and another two to write this comment.

I hope this long, tedious answer was helpful, Anon.

[starlight-lesbians]

Me! I'm gonna ask questions about the taco bell au!

What do they do on their off days?

OOH OOH OK

so during the day they’re all students at the local community college, so they see each other a decent amount outside of work already!

Dinah and Pearl are roommates and they’ll take nights off together to have movie nights and go get free taco bell from their partners/crushes

Belle and Tass are similar, they also live together and they’re neighbors w Dinah and Pearl. They have quiet study nights when they have time off together usually. Belle likes experimenting with different tea blends at work to find which one puts them to sleep the fastest after studying

Dinah and Greaseball super rarely get days off together since they’re like the de facto shift leads at their respective shops, but when they do, they’ll normally go out to a bar or something rather than stay home. I get the vibe they’re both pretty into parties

When Dinah has nights off to herself she makes herself margs and does her homework (cooking, she’s a culinary major) at literal lightning speed while listening to Kesha

Greaseball’s solo nights off are normally spent at sports practice or the gym, she’s a tryhard(/affectionate)

Pearl’s time off is mostly just studying at the Taco Bell to flirt with Rusty or the coffee shop to flirt with Electra (she’s an adorable menace, neither of them can focus on work)

Electra avoids everyone but Pearl and Rusty when they have time off, they’re like a ghost lmao. (They’re at the library working on electrical engineering homework or something)

Lumber and Porter literally always take their days off together bc they’re attached at the hip, they’re usually at the skate park

Hydra spends his days off getting high and annoying Tass at the coffee shop if he’s working

Slick does essentially the same thing except she’s bothering Belle and drinking way too much caffeine (she’s like two weeks behind on her schoolwork)

Belle just goes to bed early on her nights off, nuff said

Tass hangs out in the library quiet floor and reads usually

Rusty probably hangs out in the cafe most nights, partly on account of Electra and Pearl but also because Momma is there

[hjarta]

yay montreal!! i have lived here 4 years and i would say: great neighbourhoods include the plateau, mile-end, outremont, saint-henri, verdun are all fun to walk around. for cafes (my faves) are cafe iso, cafe edmond dépanneur cafe (often has live music). de stiil bookstore and drawn & quarterly are awesome and the word is a used bookstore near mcgill campus. got to get a bagel from st viateur or fairmount or both... kawha cafe has great sandwiches, cafe jose for brunch, falafel yoni, patiti patata for poutine (i think la banquise is overrated), else`s for drinks and carrot cake, reservoir for good beer, majestique is a super cute bar, champs is a lesbian sports bar with great vibes and events... must have a croissant from kouing amann or hof kelsten, must walk around one of the beautiful parks! have so much fun!!!

omg you are incredible thank you for the recs

[xx-midnight-candy-goblin-xx]

Jackson's Diary Headcanons

Because I saw someone else post theirs so now I wanna post mine :P But also some of these things are just canon lol

Jackson: Transmasc, He/him, maybe bipolar?? bisexual preference to femmes (i'm totally not projecting onto him), helps Carol bake sometimes, reads the newspaper like an old man (got the habit from Frank), secretly likes gossiping with Ronald on occasion, spends most of his weekends doing homework or reading comics, zodiac is Taurus,

Exer: Genderfluid, unlabeled (canon) with a preference to boys, autistic, music is LIFE, literally cannot do chores unless music is playing, would listen to Fallout Boy and Imagine Dragons, from Jamaica

Pamela: cis she/her, bisexual, has an undercut because her hair is more manageable that way, had a crush on Brenda at some point, sometimes gets Spanish and English grammar mixed up, her parents have English as a second language so she and Marco have to translate for them sometimes, Dia de los Muertos goes hard 🔥, visits family in Mexico whenever she can (Marco usually takes her because of complications with her parents not being American citizens), knows some traditional dances that her mom taught her, would read the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series,

David: bisexual (canon) no preference, cis he/him (canon), ADHD, randomly really good at swimming, still steals Exer's sweaters often, would listen to Canon Gray (is it gray or grey?? also hello kitty I know I just summoned you here by saying "conan"), knows how to sew, has small flecks of gray in his eyes, is of German and Irish heritage

Brenda: unlabeled , she/it because yes, models Jolie's clothes, had a crush on Pamela at some point, EXTREMELY good at basically every sport in the history of ever, if "looks like a cinnamon roll could kill you" was a person, ADHD, would listen to Chappell Roan, is of German and Irish heritage,

Ronald: queer, ace (canon), all pronouns and neopronouns but prefers he/she, looks like he could kill you but is a cinnamon roll, treats Jackson like a brother, writes to his mother and sister(s) in Russia often, she absolutely amazing with kids and animals, has the patience of a god, has weekly gossip sessions with nearly all of her friends

Ken: *cracks knuckles*, he/they/it, pansexual, autistic and ADHD, totally has a thing for redheads, sensory issues. thought he was gay for a solid two years before realizing he was pan, they love reading fantasy, favorite animal is a dragon because why wouldn't it be?, fluent in Japanese but only knows how to read Hiragana and Katakana, not Kanji though, loves drawing hates painting, love/hate relationship with pottery, may or may not have the tiniest crush on Jackson, questioned if they had a crush on Jolie (they didn't), would marry Jolie for tax purposes though, has good grades because of pressure from his parents (his grades in ELA and S.S. could be much better though), has MANY inside jokes with its siblings, would listen to Imagine Dragons and AViVA, knows some Eisa dances (Search "mirukumunari" on YouTube, it's one of my favorite Eisa dances), would read Wings of Fire as an elementary school student,

Jolie: demigirl she/they, sapphic, would listen to Girl in Red, loves being crafty, WILL BECOME FAMOUS FOR HER CLOTHING DESIGNS BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT ANOTHER GENIUS WOMAN OF COLOR TO BE FORGOTTEN TO TIME AND DESPAIR, became/will become a big advocate for queer rights and poc rights, took over the cafe once her mom died/retired, Brenda and Ken model clothes for her often, also Jamaican (or from the Bahamas? hmmmmm), very neat and organized and has a calendar that has the rest of her senior year planned out to nearly the exact minute of everything, models her own clothes as well, does photography as a hobby

Timothy: Transmasc he/him (canon), dyed his hair red, writes/draws comic books (Jackson proof reads them like the nerd he is), babysits often, chills in the library at school whenever he can, knows American Sign Language and how to read lips (might be canon?), would've read Warrior Cats, can hold basic conversations in Russian

I might edit this later idk

[gracegrove]

Elf au Harringrove (mostly Billy tho)

Where the plot is mostly the same as Elf except,

Billy grows up in the North Pole not believing that he's a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins but rather an exceptionally genetically gifted elf who is by far taller than all the other elves. He excels at winter sports and is a menace at ice hockey and polar bear polo. He is not talented with toy making but why would someone such as himself want to waste time on Litebrites and Mr. Potato Heads? No, Billy wanted more than an elf's life. He is often in trouble for racing the reindeer, swapping spit (and other things) with other elves, and passing out in the stables hiccuping with an empty bottle of maple bourbon from Santa's personal stores.

One day while sobering up in a pile of hay, Billy overhears the stable elves complain that Billy's behavior is human and no elf would act this way. Why did they ever take in a human? Billy then has an identity crisis.

Billy finds out from his adopted elf parent, that as an infant he was in a car accident in which his mother was driving. She died in the crash and Billy was taken to an orphanage. No one at the time came to claim him. Billy's name was known because he was found with a blanket that had his name embroidered on it. However, Santa knows who Billy's father is.

Santa tells Billy that his father is Neil Hargrove, a New York City police sergeant with a wife and daughter who live in Queens. Santa says that Neil is a good man who has been on his Nice List since 1973. Billy cannot believe it.

Blaming Neil for abandoning his mother to die and not claiming him at the orphanage, Billy sets out for New York City with the goal of putting Neil Hargrove back on the Naughty List.

Billy puts his plan in motion by going to Neil's precinct on his first day in NYC (still dressed as an elf) and introduces himself to Neil with the most vulgar Christmasgram complete with ass shaking. Neil arrests Billy and has his lieutenant, Hopper run fingerprints and DNA on this guy because he's gotta have priors for prostitution or distribution or something. No way that kid was telling the truth, even if he somehow knew his late girlfriend's name. The DNA comes back a familial match. Father and son.

What is he going to do? Hopper suggests taking Billy home and Billy musters his most innocent smile in agreement. As Billy worms his way into Neil's life he learns that his parents had a fight the night his mother died and that Neil and his new wife fight sometimes too. This fuels Billy's mission, as he decides to tail Neil during his day to catch Neil messing up.

After meeting Steve and growing closer with Neil's daughter, Maxine, Billy begins to realize that his efforts to put Neil on the Naughty List aren't worth it. He will never forget what happened to his mother and how it affected his life, but seeking out revenge will not fulfill him. Billy realizes that Neil does not need any help getting back in the Naughty List and that he should put his efforts into protecting the new relationships that he has found.

Elf au extras

The pennies from heaven montage but Billy style:

Billy sneaks into a peep show, kicks his feet up, and enjoys himself with a Christmas themed striptease. “Santa was sooooo elfing wrong… this is better (than peeking at presents early)”.

Goes into the WORLD'S BEST CUP OF COFFEE cafe to try it. He silently takes a sip. Says with a straight face, “This is gumdroppings.” [Insert elf equivalent of cussword to mean shit] Then he walks out of the cafe without paying.

A teenager on the street offers Billy a CD copy of their ‘demo’. Billy takes it because it looks like a shiny Christmas bauble, but doesn't pay for it.

Billy gets asked by a family from Des Moines if they can get their picture taken with him. He says no but gives in when their little girl starts crying.

Billy acts like he's cool but goes round and round in the carousel door until he can't walk straight and falls back out onto the sidewalk.

Billy farehops the subway.

Billy has done at least five different things without paying that the cops are now chasing him like a cartoon character and the only way he loses them is by blending in with the Christmas decor at the department store…. Where he meets Steve.

[queermtl]

Queer MTL : quoi faire en juillet 2024 // Queer MTL things to do: July 2024

(Photo by Eva Blue)

Queer MTL things to do: July 2024

The summer festival season is in full swing, and things are queerer in MTL than ever this July! This month, Montréal is stuffed to the brim with events, parties and unique experiences painted in all the colours of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. From drag to community, circuit to underground, here’s some of our picks for the best LGBTQ+ things to do in the city. For further announcements, including those not announced at time of publication, follow QueerMTL on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr! Got an event coming up? DM it our way!

LEGEND

🎥 Cinema 👑 Drag 🥳 Parties 🎶 Concert ✊ Activism 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans 🏳️‍🌈 Community 😆 Comedy 🎭 Performance 💪 Sports 👯‍♀️ Dance 🎤 Karaoke 🎨 Arts 📚 Literary / Educational 👠 Ballroom / Vogue

Lundi 1 juillet / Monday, July 1

🥳 DramaQueen presents DramaQueen on the river with Dracvla, Wiltbarn and Rakehell, Riverside Bar Terrasse St Henri 🎨 VITRINE Festival 2024 : VISION art market and film screenings, Union Française de Montréal 🎭 La Curieuse—Ligue d’improvisation estivale, Chez Ernest 👑 C’est ma toune! : Edition Divas, a drag show where you pick the playlist, with Sasha Baga, Jessie and Bobépine, Cabaret Mado

Mardi 2 juillet / Tuesday, July 2

👑 Full Gisèle : Oh Canada ! with Gisèle Lullaby, Rawbin, Carmen Sutra, Bobépine and Kitana, Cabaret Mado 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal

Mercredi 3 juillet / Wednesday, July 3

🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 😆 Ace Pride Comedy Show with Heathcliff, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 🎨 Drink & Draw by @Hommehomo, Bar Le Cocktail 👑 Mercredi Drag Live with Victoire de Rockwell, Jessie Précieuse, Lady Guidoune, and Rock Bière, Cabaret Mado

Jeudi 4 juillet / Thursday, July 4

🎭 Cup of Tease and Velvet Pistol present Red, White & Boobs with Yikes Macaroni, Foxy Lexxi Brown, Baron Von Styck, Butterscotch Blondie, Charli Deville and Miss Behave, The Wiggle Room 🥳 L’Orage presents Jeudi diversité !, L’Orage Club 👑 Girls' Night Out: Battle of the Decades with Lady Boom Boom, Pétula Claque, Daisy Wood and Krystella Fame, Cabaret Mado 👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail

Vendredi 5 juillet / Friday, July 5

🎶 Orville Peck, Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, TD Stage, Place des Festivals 🎨 Montréal Comiccon, Palais des congrès de Montréal 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Kiara, Jimmy Moore, Nana and Sasha Baga, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Samedi 6 juillet / Saturday, July 6

🥳 Sweet Like Honey hosts a Block Party with DJ Honeybunn, Glowzi and Po, Marché des Possibles 🎨 Montréal Comiccon, Palais des congrès de Montréal 🎤 Queer Karaoke MTL hosts a Trans March Fundraiser, followed by a trans-forward queer dance party, Blue Dog 🎤 Bareoke: Strip Karaoke, Café Cléopatra 🥳 Parallel Vol. 9 featuring Arab/SWANA region-based music, Cabaret Berlin 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Kiara, Jimmy Moore, Nana and Sasha Baga, Cabaret Mado 👑 Jimmy Moore personnifie Lady Gaga, Cabaret Mado 👑 Late Night with Jessie Précieuse, Cabaret Mado 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail

Dimanche 7 juillet / Sunday, July 7

📚 The Violet Hour Book Club reads Henry Hoke’s Open Throat, Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe 🥳 Sweet Like Honey with DJ Lax, DJ Tokyo and DJ Playgirl, Village au Pied du Courant 🎨 Montréal Comiccon, Palais des congrès de Montréal 🏳️‍🌈 Afterglo hosts Slow Dating #13 Gay for men identifying as gay, Le Central 🎭 On the Blvd Multi-Mic, Bar Bifteck 💪 The International Wrestling Syndicate presents IWS vs GCW, focusing on underrepresented athletes including LGBTQ+ fighters, L’Olympia 👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash and special guests, Cabaret Mado 🏳️‍🌈 Aimé Chartier : 60 ans de carrière et 80 ans de vie, Bar Le Cocktail

Lundi 8 juillet / Monday, July 8

🎭 La Curieuse—Ligue d’improvisation estivale, Chez Ernest

Mardi 9 juillet / Tuesday, July 9

👑 Full Gisèle : Extravaganza with Gisèle Lullaby, Saltina Shaker, Sunshine Glitterchild, Adriana The Bombshell, Sasha Baga and Nick Saanto, Cabaret Mado 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal

Mercredi 10 juillet / Wednesday, July 10

🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 😆 Tony McIntyre is a Time Traveller with Merry Kringles, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 👑 Celes and Marc-André Caron present Loreen vs Sia, Cabaret Mado

Jeudi 11 juillet / Thursday, July 11

🎭 Lust Cove presents The Lust Cove Sex(y) Education Show with Miss Scarlet Knife, Yaya Havana, Mina Minou, Mei, Kaya Koko and Carmen Mayhem, The Wiggle Room 🥳 L’Orage presents Jeudi diversité !, L’Orage Club 👑 Le Sami Party with Sami Landri, Cabaret Mado  👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail

Vendredi 12 juillet / Friday, July 12

🥳 BIMBO with DJs Diskommander and DJ G3MINI, Le Livart  🥳 Cerise Noire goth night, Bar NDQ 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Bobépine, Peggy Sue, Nana and Aizysse Baga, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Samedi 13 juillet / Saturday, July 13

🥳 FRKY presents FRKY x 2 Year Anniversary with Manclaudy, Moka, Rawsoul and Sexnobe, La Sotterenea 🥳 Soirées Velours presents Trouve ta Muse, a special lesbo-queer party, Bar le P2 🎭 Voulez Vous Productions presents Bootcamp: Séduis toi pour les fat babes with Rosie Bourgeoisie, Centre Strathearn 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Bobépine, Peggy Sue, Nana and Aizysse Baga, Cabaret Mado 👑 Jimmy Moore personnifie Céline Dion, Cabaret Mado 👑 Late Night with Jessie Précieuse, Cabaret Mado 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail

Dimanche 14 juillet / Sunday, July 14

🎭 Voulez Vous Productions presents Bootcamp: Séduis toi pour personnes avec experience scénique with Rosie Bourgeoisie, Centre Strathearn 👑 Afternoon Drag Café with all-ages, neurodivergent-friendly and sober, with Itsh and Timothy Toxic, L’Orbite 👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash and special guests, Cabaret Mado 👑 Happy Birthday Miss Butterfly with Miss Butterfly, Michel Dorion and Chouchoune, Bar Le Cocktail

Lundi 15 juillet / Monday, July 15

📚 Fierté Montréal and Fierté littéraire presents Queer académie : La sélection with Barbada, Théâtre La Comédie 🎭 La Curieuse—Ligue d’improvisation estivale, Chez Ernest 👑 Da-Lulu with Enigma, Woody Fungi, Asmalix and Vulverine, Cabaret Mado

Mardi 16 juillet / Tuesday, July 16

👑 Full Gisèle : Disney with Gisèle Lullaby, Marla Deer, Bambi Dextrous, Tracy Trash and Prudence, Cabaret Mado 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal

Mercredi 17 juillet / Wednesday, July 17

🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 🎥 Jane Fonda stars in Barbarella, Cinémathèque québécoise 😆 The Crochet Comedy Show with Shosho, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles

Jeudi 18 juillet / Thursday, July 18

🎥 Queer Cinema Club of Montréal hosts a screening of But I'm a Cheerleader starring RuPaul and Natasha Lyonne, Cinema Moderne 🎭 Them Fatale presents Summer Heat with Amnesia, EnvyTheClown, Kitty Catcher, MX. Quest, Rosie Bourgeoisie and Xénia, The Wiggle Room 🥳 L’Orage presents Jeudi diversité !, L’Orage Club 👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail

Vendredi 19 juillet / Friday, July 19

🥳 Studio ZX presents Festival Ctrl+Alt with Afrotonik, Place du Village 🥳 SUPER TASTE MTL presents We Can’t Stop! 2010’s Dance Party, Cabaret Berlin 🥳 Dark Area and Techno Haute Couture present Dark Area x THC with Special K, Rögue, LAPA XII and Deaf, Collectif MTL 🥳 Strawberry Gothcake rave with 99jakes, Kilbourne, FortifiedStructures, Outback and Mowie B2B The Bald Girl, La Sotterenea 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Kitana, Velma Jones and Celes, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou : Soirée sans pantalon with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Samedi 20 juillet / Saturday, July 20

🥳 Studio ZX presents Festival Ctrl+Alt with ElleLui, Hauterageous and Discoño, Place du Village 🎶 La ferme coopérative aux champs qui chantent presents Rae Spoon with KY, La ferme coopérative aux champs qui chantent 🥳 GTR—Girls Theys Rave with Broodmare, Faneva and Dracvla, La Poubelle Magnifique 🥳 SUPER TASTE MTL presents Voulez-Vous Disco & New Wave Dance Party: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Bar Le Ritz PDB 🎤 Bareoke: Strip Karaoke, Café Cléopatra 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Kitana, Velma Jones and Celes, Cabaret Mado 👑 Jimmy Moore personnifie Taylor Swift, Cabaret Mado  👑 Late Night with Jessie Précieuse, Cabaret Mado 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail

Dimanche 21 juillet / Sunday, July 21

🥳 Studio ZX presents Festival Ctrl+Alt with Blush and Unikorn, Place du Village 🏳️‍🌈 Italo Queer Montréal hosts Picnic Estivo, Parc Jarry 👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash and special guests, Cabaret Mado 👑 Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Lundi 22 juillet / Monday, July 22

🎭 La Curieuse—Ligue d’improvisation estivale, Chez Ernest 👑 Tout le monde en drag pour REZO with Pétula Claque, Cabaret Mado

Mardi 23 juillet / Tuesday, July 23

👑 Full Gisèle : The Matrix with Gisèle Lullaby, Esirena, Fabien L’Amour, Kelly Torrieli and Celes, Cabaret Mado  😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal

Mercredi 24 juillet / Wednesday, July 24

🎭 The Poly Mic open mic 1-year Anniversary, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 😆 Max Higgins is The Underdog with Raquel Maestre, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles

Jeudi 25 juillet / Thursday, July 25

👑 Cult of AnarchKey presents the Drag Open Stage Fundraiser for “Native Women’s Shelter of Montréal” with Korra AnarchKey, Champs Bar 🥳 BLUSH presents Salade de Fruits : Happy Hour Queer, an event by and for FLINT+, Bar La Marche à côté 😆 World’s Smallest Comedy Festival presents World’s Queerest Comedy Night, Hurley’s Irish Pub 🥳 L’Orage presents Jeudi diversité !, L’Orage Club 👑 Jimmy Moore personnifie Taylor Swift, Cabaret Mado 👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail

Vendredi 26 juillet / Friday, July 26

👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Marla Deer, Tracy Trash and Pétula Claque, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Samedi 27 juillet / Saturday, July 27

🥳 Rubber Electric queer dark electronic fetish rave with Vicky Devika, Mushin and Nori, Cabaret Berlin 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Marla Deer, Tracy Trash and Pétula Claque, Cabaret Mado 👑 Jimmy Moore personnifie Rihanna, Cabaret Mado 👑 Late Night with Jessie Précieuse, Cabaret Mado 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail

Dimanche 28 juillet / Sunday, July 28

👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash and special guests, Cabaret Mado 👑 Happy Birthday Crystal Starz with Crystal Starz, Michel Dorion and Chouchoune, Bar Le Cocktail

Lundi 29 juillet / Monday, July 29

🎭 La Curieuse—Ligue d’improvisation estivale, Chez Ernest

Mardi 30 juillet / Tuesday, July 30

👑 Full Gisèle : Femme fatale with Gisèle Lullaby, Victoire de Rockwell, Jessie Précieuse, Kiara and Foxy Lexxi Brown, Cabaret Mado 👑 Le cirque de Teddy Boop with Teddy Boop, Sally D, Sarah Winters and Mister Boogie, Bar Le Cocktail 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal

Mercredi 31 juillet / Wednesday, July 31

🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 😆 The Poly Showcase with Raquel Maestre and Tranna Wintour, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 👑 Sitcom Bonanza : Spécial Friends, Cabaret Mado

OTHERS / LES AUTRES

🤠 Club Bolo—Danse Country Montréal meet on Fridays at the Association sportive et communautaire du Centre-Sud.

👯 Tango/Salsa Queer holds lessons every Saturday, visit queertangomtl.com for information or contact tango.queer@hotmail.com or call +1 (514) 709-4678 for prices and signup information, Espaces des Arts.

🏐 Les Ratons-Chasseurs (Montréal’s LGBTA dodgeball group) holds regular events. Keep an eye on their Facebook for upcoming opportunities to join in and play. 

🕹Montréal Gaymers hosts regular gatherings including board game nights and gaming gatherings. Check their Facebook for what’s next!

🏃🏾Join the Out-Run run and workout club for people relating to the queer / sapphic experience. Details on their Instagram!

🐦 Bird lovers should keep their eye on Queer Birders' regularly scheduled birdwatching events and excursions. Join the Facebook group and get those binoculars at the ready.

👠 Twice a month on every second Tuesday, Bring It! hosts an OTA night of ballroom and vogue with commentator and DJ. Follow their Instagram for dates and details.

[otakusparkle]

Identity V x The Chara Cafe Collaboration

Menu

Food

- Fiona's Calavera Carbonara

- Aesop's Pan de muerto style set dedicated to all those who have departed on their journey

- Norton's Fun and refreshing tortilla

- Luchino's Chili Con Carne to share with your amigo

- Grace's Delicious seafood omelet rice handed down from fishing village

Dessert

- Victor's Jack O’Lantern’s Pumpkin Parfait with the Power of the Soul

- Emil's Fondant chocolate to convey love to your beloved

- Ada's Muffin promises to her beloved that will be together forever

- Lily's Inspiring and supporting friends with Pon Pom Pancakes

- Jack's Tiramisu strudded with hearts

Beverage

- Fiona's Blue Raspberry Yogurt Drink

- Aesop's Black Milk Tea

- Norton's Sparkling Kiwi and Muscat Drink

- Victor's Hot Choco Caramel

- Luchino's Warm Tomato Soup

- Lily's Red Melon and Popcorn Sport Drink

- Emil's Chocolate Chip Coffee

- Ada's Choco Vanilla Latte

- Jack's Hot Wine (non-alcoholic)

Novelty

- For every drink order, you will receive 1 random coaster

- For every drink order, you will receive 1 random bromide

Merchandises List

Acrylic Stand

Badges

Acrylic Keychain

Acrylic Pen Stand

Bromide

- Grace's Apple Cider

Mousepad

For more information :

[boroughshq]

Greetings, loves! I'm popping in with a tiny announcement about a new page update. The page in question is our locations page! The page itself has the exact same layout, the only difference is an additional 30 locations have been added to the page! Hope that adds a bit more variety for our members and their threads and character careers. The specific locations are listed below by borough for convenience!

Manhattan:

Bluebirds - brunch resturaunt

Bark Park - membership dog park

Pegasus - gay club

Muse - lounge

Luxury Nails - nail salon

Zenith - rooftop bar

Toastery - bread bakery

Brooklyn:

Brownstone Books - bookstore

Diva Diner & Drag Show - drag restaurant

Vault - upscale bar

Sappho's - women's cafe

Gilded Gallery - sculpture gallery

Etoile - ballet studio

The Bronx:

Vino e Cucina - italian restaurant

Santiago's - bodega

Riot House - concert hall

Bronx Dog Park - public dog park

The She Shed - lesbian bar

Queens:

Inkwells - writer's cafe

Sugar & Spice - lesbian club

Flushing Subs - sandwich shop

Casa de Tacos - taco shop

The Blue Note - jazz club

Antiques -antique store

Staten Island:

The Well - dive bar

The Snug Mug - cafe

Tailgaters - sports bar & grill

Bit Bar - arcade bar

The Tool Shed - gay bar

Crab Cabana - seafood shack

[rosetta-j-stone]

Sent this to my Slovenian colleague pretending it was indeed for him when really it was a reminder to myself to watch it later:

[onboardsorasora]

Maxiel Masterlist 2

So it seems like I've hit the link limit on my maxiel masterpost. So I guess this is the start of Maxiel Masterpost 2 lmao

My Dewis and OT3 stories are on Masterlist 2

My Ao3: Quesorasora

Here are ALLLL my current Maxiel stories :) Part 2!

Tumblr Fic

Dentist Drabble

Grey Pube Drabble - which is now on AO3 as well- Old Man Balls

Alpha!Dan Drabble

Soul Meets Body also on AO3

Something Something Drabble

Neighbor AU Tag

Max Time Travel Drabble

Girl!Dan Part 3

Boy Band Drabble

Hockey AU Drabble

Fireman Daniel AU Drabble

Young Max DM-ing Daniel

Hanahaki Idea Drabble

Newscaster AU Drabble

5+1 Fic Ideas Tag

Monaco Fix It Drabble

Daniel Next Win Drabble

Witch!Max

Reverse Age Gap AU

Tennis AU Cont.

Part 1 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part

On AO3

De-Aged Daniel | De-Aged Daniel Pt2 | De-Aged Daniel Pt3 | De-Aged Daniel Pt 4 | De- Aged Daniel Pt 5 | De-Aged Daniel Part 6 | De-Aged Daniel Part 7 | De-Aged Daniel Part 8 | De-Aged Daniel Part 9 | De-Aged Daniel Part 10 | De-Aged Daniel Part 11 | De-Aged Daniel Part 12 | De-Aged Daniel Part 13 | De-Aged Daniel Part 14 | De-Aged Daniel Part 15 | De-Aged Daniel Part 16 | De-Aged Daniel Part 17 | De-Aged Daniel Part 18 | De-Aged Daniel Part 19 |

Fool In the Rain

Summary:

“Is there anyone who has any reason why these two should not be married?” The officiant asked the hushed crowd. Everyone glanced around with identical smiles, but no one moved– as expected.

What was not expected was the doors to the church to open and a very pregnant woman walking up the aisle quickly.

maxiel; miscommunication, misunderstanding, angst, getting back together

Ribbons and Lace

summary:

Max felt like the words were bouncing around the hollow walls of his brain as everything shut down. 'You like it?'

Not an excuse about performance wear, nothing about heart rate monitors or even jokes about whether his good looks could pull it off. No. Daniel had asked if he liked it.

Of course he liked it, he loved it and he didn’t even know what it looked like.

Written for the @thattropeyouhate fest :)))

Trope: Animal Transformation/Shifter

Dog Days

summary:

Daniel brought an arm to his face, hoping to see the familiar rose of his tattoo. He was distraught to see a fur covered paw instead. Well shit. He hadn’t shifted in years, not since he signed for Red Bull. And it had been going fine, too. He hadn’t shifted this entire time and he’d honestly forgotten how to.

So this was a tad inconvenient.

Follow Your Nose

summary:

The scarring of a mating bite was a point of pride for omegas. Because a True Mating Bond looked like a birthmark, a tattoo that proclaimed them as bonded to their soulmate. A True Mating can only happen with compatible pairs, and bonds that weren't True scarred silvery like old wounds. It wasn't uncommon to see an omega with a scarred bond or two.

Max was a great alpha, a great friend. Daniel was a poor omega with a neck full of scars like a diary of failed relationships

welcome to whiskers

summary:

In the small village just outside the city, there is a popular cafe on main street. There really wasn’t anything that special about it– the coffee was soso, the tea was pretty ok. The staff were close and it felt like a family. Oh and there were cats.

;

Max works at a cat cafe. Daniel is his manager and in love with him.

Sponsor Max

Summary: 

Everything in Formula 1 came with a price tag and sponsors dropped unserious amounts of money in their sport for the prestige of it all. In all of his years, Peter had never once seen a blank cheque. Until now. 

The memo section simply said for Daniel.

Tags: Power Imbalance, Extremely Dubious Consent. Gratuitous Smut, Topping from the Bottom, Max is Toxic and Possessive, Daniel Doesn't Have A Choice, Sexual Coercion, Explicit Sexual Content

Prince Max

summary:

“Yeah I have a ticket and everything. I promise I'm not stalking you– what are you stalkable Maxy?” Daniel waggled his eyebrows before turning to pick up his tote bag from the sand, completely missing Max’s reaction.

;

Or: Max is the Crown Prince of the Netherlands, Daniel has no idea.

Tags: Fake Dating, Mutual Pining, Idiots in love, Getting Back Together, crack treated seriously

you make my heart beat like the rain - ao3

rainy maxiel meet cute at a concert - tumblr

Enchanted AU

Enchanted AU - Disney Princess Dan 1 | Part 35 | Part 36

Homecoming: A Winter Soldier AU

summary:

“Hydra have been active recently.” And that got Max's attention. “We've been tracking their movements and we fear they’re attempting to activate the Winter Soldier.” As Nico spoke a few faces scrolled past the screen; current, known directors in the Hydra organization– senators, city councilmen, business owners. The slideshow ended with a photo of a man with short wiry curls and the second half of his face obscured. He was mostly turned away from the camera but Max would recognize his profile anywhere.

“Daniel.” Max breathed.

tags: Action, Alternate Universe, Coffee Shop AU …ish, Blood and Violence, Getting Back Together, Daniel has PTSD, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending

written for MaxielFest2024

Orange Juice

summary:

Honey, come over The party's gone slower And no one will tempt you We know you got sober

There's orange juice in the kitchen Bought for the children It's yours if you want it We're just glad you could visit

Max comes back home to pick up the pieces

tags: Max POV, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Angst with a Happy Ending, Recovering addict Max Verstappen, Deals with Addiction and Recovery, Getting Back Together

Daniel's Ghost Adventures

summary:

Daniel was a ghost hunter, a good one– nay, a great one, but not particularly by choice. Ghosts love him, but he does not like them back.

Daniel wasn’t so much a ghost hunter, as he was… bait.

tags: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Ghost Adventures, POV Daniel Ricciardo, Daniel Ricciardo Needs a Hug, Suspense, Horror, Demonic Possession, Witch Max Verstappen, Ghosts Like Daniel But He Does Not Like Them, Scared Ghost Hunter Daniel, Fluff and Humor, I promise there is fluff, Getting Together, Boo the Dog, We Love Boo, Happy Ending

written for Motorsport Halloween Fest

Ripe Cherries

summary:

Once upon a time…

Prince Max knew he would marry someday, for the good of the kingdom. He would do his duty to his people and the crown and marry the omega his father chose for him.

Princess Daniel had never wanted to marry, least of all some prince he didn’t know. But that was no longer his decision. He’d at least hoped his new alpha wouldn’t have been the Brute Prince of the North.

tags: Omega Verse, Alpha Max Verstappen, Omega Daniel Ricciardo, Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Daniel Doesn't Want to Get Married, Angst and Feels, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn

additional tags to be added

[frankensteinical]

Forty Days of Frankenstein, The Final Frankenstein!  And here we are, we made it to Hallowe’en.  And I saved the best for last.  This really is the most amazing Frankenstein I found this October.  And to understand how amazing it is, I have to tell you a story.  You probably know that Mary Shelley published the first edition of the novel Frankenstein in the year 1818.  You may also know that the novel was first adapted for the stage (loosely) in 1823, a mere five years after its debut, under the title, *Presumption, or The Fate of Frankenstein*.  It was very popular.  So popular that, three years later in 1826, the play (technically a melodrama) was in turn itself adapted for the French stage under the title, *Le Monstre et le Magicien*.  This version made substantial changes to the story, including changing the Monster Maker from a scientist to a sorcerer, and changing his name from Frankenstein (which, at the time, didn’t have the power of name-recognition it has today) to Zametti.  This play, also, was wildly popular.  So popular, in fact, that it was revived multiple times, including in 1861, which brought it to the attention of a Dutch playwright, who, in turn created a Dutch dramatic ballet based on it in 1865. This ballet, titled *Het monster en de Toovenaar* was also very popular.  In 1865 the theater where this production was staged commissioned a series of illustrations depicting the various productions they had put on in recent times, among them *Het monster en de Toovenaar* for use as advertisements which could be hung in cafes.  The artist, Charles Rouchussen created this gorgeous depiction of the moment from the play when the Monster threatens to cast a child into the raging river in front of his Maker.  No flat head, no electrodes, not even a Pretty Good Sport Coat™—just the pure rage of a Creature at his Creator for having been created.

[air-rising]

‘Irreplaceable’: meet the Matildas’ other bonafide superstar

Ellie Carpenter, one of the world’s best footballers, was playing in the biggest game of her career when her knee gave way. One year on she’s chasing an even bigger prize – a home World Cup.

It’s the biggest game of her life but Ellie Carpenter is being carried off on a ­stretcher. The replay is a sickening sight, causing groans among the 32,000-strong crowd. Her left knee has buckled beneath her, leaving the 22-year-old thumping the ground in agony. Her Women’s Champions League final is over and maybe so much more.

Waves of pain from her ruptured ACL make it hard for the young Australian to think clearly as she is lifted off the field after only 13 minutes playing for her club Lyon against Barcelona in Turin on May 21 last year. And yet, at this moment, she is focusing harder than she has ever thought before. The girl from Cowra, the former child prodigy of Australian soccer, wipes the tears from her eyes and stares straight up at the sky as if in a trance.

“Count,” she tells herself as her ­stretcher makes its way out of the ­stadium to the applause of the sympathetic crowd. “Count the months.”

“I was thinking, ‘Oh shit, what month is it?’ Carpenter recalls. “It’s usually a 12-month recovery [from an ACL injury] and I needed to count the months until I could play again. So in my head I was going like ‘June, July, August’ and then I’m like ‘YES, YES, YES, I’ll make it. I’ll recover in time for our World Cup.”

-

Almost exactly 12 months later Carpenter, now 23, bounces into a cafe in central Lyon, France, with her blonde hair in a bun, wearing a T-shirt and shorts and a grin on her face. It’s a wet spring day, but the sun is rising again for Carpenter after a horror year. She is back on the field, playing again for Olympique Lyonnais, the best women’s team in the world. Off the field, she is happy and in love. She has bought a house just outside Lyon with her ­partner and teammate, Danielle van de Donk, one of the best footballers on the planet, who also plays for the Netherlands national team. 

If the rapid-fire ticket sales are any guide, Carpenter may be underestimating the reception that awaits her and the Matildas. 

The World Cup, to run from July 20 to August 20, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, will see an estimated 83,000 watch Australia’s opening match against Ireland at Sydney’s Accor Stadium – more than double the Matildas’ previous highest attendance of 36,000. The opening match was moved from the 42,500-seat Sydney Football Stadium to the 83,000-seat Stadium Australia (known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes) to meet the surging demand for tickets. At least 1.5 million people are expected to attend the games in Australia and New Zealand with an estimated worldwide audience of two billion. FIFA predicts the World Cup will encourage up to 400,000 girls to take up soccer in Australia.

“It’s crazy now, women’s football,” says ­Carpenter. “I’ve seen it go from here to here,” she says, moving her hands towards the sky.

Marketing surveys show the Matildas have overtaken the men’s Wallabies rugby union team in popularity, something that would once have seemed unthinkable for a team that only formed in 1978 and for years had to play on substandard ovals. The small crowds that came to watch them play in those days were mostly family and friends. 

“It’s incredible to see where this team has come from to be one of our biggest sporting brands … so many players have paved the way for this moment,” says Heather Garriock, who played 130 games for the Matildas between 1999 and 2011.

Ellie Carpenter's FIFA World Cup mission

For years Matildas players were paid a pittance, having to hold down second jobs while playing for the national team. In the early days one player recalled how a teammate called the coach before an international match to say she would be late because her shift at Woolies didn’t finish until 5.30pm. In the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Matildas were so desperate to secure sponsorship and public support that 12 of them posed naked for a calendar to get attention. Fast-forward to today and the Matildas are a household name, and Kerr is ­arguably the most recognisable Australian sports star in the world. In May, wearing a sharp black suit, she carried the Australian flag into Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles III.

But it will take more than Kerr’s soccer ­royalty for the Matildas to realise their dream of winning a home World Cup.

-

On a cold spring evening in London on the eve of the coronation, Kerr is playing to script, slamming the winning goal for her team Chelsea against Liverpool with just minutes to go. As she leaves the ground I ask her what she thinks about having Carpenter back with the Matildas for the World Cup. “Ellie is one of the best players in the world,” says Kerr, who ­described Carpenter as “irreplaceable” when she injured her ACL last year. “We’ve missed her and she’s a great personality to have on the team … I’m feeling good, I’m feeling excited [about the World Cup].”

A few days later, Carpenter is sprinting up the right wing, weaving the ball around her teammates during morning training near the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium on the outskirts of Lyon. It is just over two months since she made her comeback from her injury and the previous weekend she was one of the team’s best players in their 3-0 win over Dijon.

She calls out to her teammates in French and jokes with them in French, but if she makes a mistake on the field, the word “shit” rings out across the ground in an Aussie twang.

Her bilingual world in Lyon, a French foodie capital crammed with UNESCO World Heritage sites, is a reminder of just how many lives Carpenter has squeezed into her 23 years. “It all started here,” she says, pointing to a tattoo on her ankle that shows the outline of Cowra, her hometown of 12,500 people in the Central West of NSW. “It’s like one main street, two sets of traffic lights, a place where we knew everyone and everyone knew the Carpenters.”

Looking back, Carpenter’s unlikely rise from the streets of Cowra to international soccer star was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because she lived the real-life sporting fairy-tale. This was the tale in which a determined young country girl becomes a prodigy of the game, shattering every barrier in her path to find herself playing for Australia at the age of just 15 and then at the age of 16 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the youngest ever female footballer in the world to compete in an Olympics.

The curse was that she was so good, so early, that she was a kid playing among adults, being thrust into the spotlight ahead of her time, ­before she was ready and before she had time to grow up. “I hated it sometimes,” she says. “I was always the youngest. People would say, oh, you’re the youngest ever Olympian or you’re the youngest ever to score a goal, the youngest this, the youngest that. I was playing with ­people who were 10 or 15 years older than me and you had to mature very quickly. It was hard with the pressure, the spotlight, the critics … I wasn’t prepared for that at the time.

“I’ve been in the public eye since I was 15 and now people think I’m 30 but I’m still just 23, one of the youngest in the team.” 

-

Belinda Carpenter still scratches her head about how her daughter fell in love with soccer. “She was highly energetic, she never sat still but she did all sports – a bit of athletics, AFL, soccer, cricket, even triathlon, cheerleading and trapeze,” she says. Belinda and her then husband Scott, who were Physical Education teachers in Cowra, encouraged Carpenter and her older brother Jeremy to dabble in any activity that took their fancy. “Ellie also did ballet, so she would play ­football in the morning and then go to ballet with muddy knees under those pink stockings,” Belinda recalls. 

“I think I always knew I would be a sportsperson, because ever since I could walk I was running,” says Carpenter. “I think I could have done any sport really because I was also good at swimming and athletics. I was a tomboy. I didn’t really have a normal childhood. I never went to parties like other girls, I just wanted to play sports.”

She played soccer from an early age but her path as a serious player began by accident when, at the age of about seven, she watched her brother Jeremy train with the NSW country soccer team. “I was just on the sidelines waiting for him, juggling the ball on my own, when the coach came up and said that I could join their next session. I was the only girl and the boys were much older than me. I don’t ­remember this but apparently I was, like, really good, smashing all the boys.”

Belinda and Scott decided to give both Ellie and Jeremy the chance to compete in competitions across the state. This required a brutal schedule of long drives for training and games. “Honestly I can’t believe they did that for me,” Carpenter says. “From Cowra we used to drive to Canberra every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which was more than two hours there and back, and then sometimes we would play in Sydney which was four hours there and back on the same day. I would spend so much time in the car, doing my homework or making up quizzes and things just to pass the time.”

By the time Carpenter was 12, it was clear that she had a natural talent that could no longer be nurtured from Cowra. So Belinda quit her job and moved with both the children to Sydney so they could attend Westfield Sports High School in Sydney’s west, which had a specialist sports program.

It was a big school in a big city, a culture shock for a country girl. “It was a huge change, I became this small fish in a big sea,” she says. Not long afterwards, her parents divorced, a time which she describes as difficult and sad.

The following year, aged 13, ­Carpenter went to watch the Matildas play in Sydney. “I think there was a maximum of 1000 people there but I watched the national team play and I was like, ‘Oh, sick, I want to be that.’ Then two years later, I was on that team. It was crazy.”

Carpenter’s precocious talent turned heads in the soccer world at that time, and things ­unfolded quickly. She broke into the “Mini-­Matildas” under-17 team at the age of 14, and when she turned 15 signed her first professional contract with the then W-League club Western Sydney Wanderers. The coach was so impressed with her that she didn’t even need to trial for the team.

Carpenter’s ambition was such that although she began her career as a midfielder, she volunteered to be a defender when the Mini-Matildas said they needed defenders only because she didn’t want to be cut from the squad. “I was like, I want to be in the team so I will play wherever.”

In March 2016, when she was still just 15, Carpenter made her debut for the senior Matildas, playing in a 9-0 victory over Vietnam. 

Not long afterwards, she was playing for Australia in the Rio Olympics, the first of the string of “youngest ever” firsts that she would soon tire of. “Obviously I was so young – I think I was the youngest in that team by five years,” she recalls. “So I guess I was kind of on my own. Some players were 30 years old and some of them were a bit like, ‘Who is this 15-year-old who has come into the team?’ and some people don’t want you there because you might take their spot. So some didn’t like me being there, but you’ve just gotta keep going.”

After the Rio Olympics, Heather Garriock, who was then coaching, says she noticed that the 16-year-old Carpenter was struggling. “I could see that she wasn’t doing well with the massive comedown after the hype of the ­Olympic Games. So, you know, I just put my arm around her – and since then I’ve always put my arm around her and taken her under my wing. She just wanted to be the best and to get better every day.

“She is so driven to win and yet she’s got such a nice nature, a very humble kind of girl who will always give you her time.”

Carpenter says she was forced to grow up quickly, but with the help of people like ��Garriock she eventually found her rhythm and adapted to the ever-growing public glare of being a Matilda. “I think it took me a couple of years, until I was about 17, to come out as Ellie,” she says.

In Year 10 Carpenter dropped out of school to pursue her dream of being a full-time ­footballer. “She wasn’t at school very much anyway,” says Belinda of her daughter’s busy soccer schedule. “I just told her, ‘Go do it, ­because if it fails and you don’t get to where you want to go in soccer, we will go back and figure out the education route’.”

When Carpenter was 17 she was pursued by the US National Women’s Soccer League team Portland Thorns, in Oregon on the US west coast. She signed with them but, in those days, women were not allowed to play until they turned 18. The club was so keen for her to play that she signed a contract literally on her 18th birthday, and played the following week, racking up yet another series of “youngest evers”. “That’s why I was the youngest ever player and the youngest ever person to score a goal in the NWSL at that stage,” she says.

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Carpenter says life in the US was a shock ­“because it was so different to Australia”. ­Belinda recalls that her daughter would often ­FaceTime her during dinner just to have a ­companion to speak with. “Until she found her feet I would often hang out with her on the phone while she was having dinner at a restaurant or something when she didn’t ­really know anybody.

“Even though Ellie is really outgoing, with a wicked sense of humour, I think she is also a bit guarded about who she lets in.”

Even so, Carpenter says she enjoyed her two years in Portland where she regularly played in front of crowds of 20,000. By this stage she had become a fixture of the Matildas team, playing in the 2019 World Cup in France where they made it to the round of 16 and then the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where the Matildas made it to the semi-finals.

By the time she turned 20, Carpenter was being pursued by the strongest women’s team in the world, Olympique Lyonnais. She recalls the moment she learned that Lyon wanted to recruit her. “I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ It was Lyon and I was like, ‘Are you sure they want me?’ I mean, if Lyon calls, you go to them ­wherever you are because they are the best in the world.” This is no exaggeration – the team has won eight Champions League finals in the past 12 years, including five in a row between 2015 and 2020. 

But Carpenter’s arrival in 2020 wasn’t so easy. “It was the time of the Covid pandemic so the city was shut. I didn’t know anyone, and I didn’t know French,” she says. So she began her life anew yet again, throwing herself into French lessons and making friends at her new club. She impressed local fans by trying to speak French at press conferences, albeit with an Aussie twang. She also fell in love with Lyon itself. “I love it, it’s beautiful – not as nice as ­Sydney, but it’s still beautiful.” As soon as she arrived, she also saw why her new team kept winning championships. The ­fitness, the training, the skills were next-level, even for Carpenter. “She called me up and said, ‘Um, Mum, these players are really, really good’,” recalls Belinda. Initially she found it hard to break into her new team, and she won her first European Championship with Lyon in 2020 without taking to the field when she was on the team as an unused sub.

“I don’t think many people understand what it really takes to be a football player,” says Carpenter’s teammate and partner Danielle van de Donk. “You win trophies and everyone thinks it is a high but no one really knows about the lows.” Van de Donk, who has been going out with Carpenter for about two years, says she has the rare ability to lift the team’s morale ­single-handedly. “She is the most energetic person I know, she is very, very positive, and off the pitch she just brings a different kind of energy to the room – even when she was injured the coaches were saying to her, ‘Bring your energy to the team, we need it’,” says van de Donk. “She is already a star but she is just going to get bigger and bigger. She is only 23.”

Van de Donk says she’s attracted to ­Carpenter because they are “similar people in life”, adding: “It’s kind of wild, she is from ­Australia, I’m from the Netherlands and we are buying a house in Lyon – it’s very cool.’’

After that tricky start at Lyon, Carpenter ­became a regular in the team – until the 13-minute mark of last year’s Champions League final. “It was just sickening to watch her go down,” recalls Belinda, who was watching the game live in the middle of the night from her home in Wamberal on the NSW Central Coast. “I actually said when I watched it, ‘She does not go down and she does not stay down’.”

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Carpenter’s injury came in two parts. The first came when she was tackling an opponent near the corner post and her left knee twisted in the tackle. Carpenter hobbled off in obvious pain. But she was desperate to come back on, and tested the injured knee in front of the team’s medical staff. “I remember being on the sideline and they were testing me and I was like, ‘Is it strong, can you feel my ACL?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah I think it’s fine, so you want to go back on?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s the Championship Final.’ So I ran back on and then I was like, ‘Oh, something’s not right’.”

Back in Wamberal, Belinda was horrified to see her daughter run back onto the pitch. “We were like, ‘No, no, no, don’t do it’,” she recalls.

Moments after returning to the field ­Carpenter moved to intercept a long pass. But as soon as she changed direction her knee gave way completely, severing her ACL and sending her to the ground.

Van de Donk, who was watching from the sidelines as a substitute, had torn her own ACL as a teenager and knew what lay ahead. “I saw her go down and instantly I knew it was wrong,” she recalls. “It was horrible to watch.” 

But once Carpenter counted the months and realised she could still potentially play in the World Cup in Australia, her mood lifted. Lyon won the match 3-1, giving Carpenter her second championship medal and yet another first as the only Australian to win two Champions League medals. After the match, despite having her injured leg in a splint, Carpenter joined her teammates in the celebrations on the field, swinging precariously on her crutches and then hopping on her one good leg as she held up the Champions League cup. She then flew back to Lyon with the team and continued the celebrations. “I was in so much pain, so I just took lots of painkillers but we went to a restaurant and partied in Lyon drinking champagne until 5am.”

The next morning Carpenter woke with a hangover to the bad news she had feared. She needed a full knee reconstruction and would be out of the game for up to a year. Recalls Belinda: “The first thing she said to me on the phone was, ‘I’m getting an operation, I’m going to get better and I’m going to play in the World Cup’. It was all about the World Cup.”

That has been Carpenter’s singular goal ever since. In those early months after her injury when she could not run, she followed her rehab plan like it was Holy Writ – long hours in the gym keeping the muscles working followed by swimming, physio, massage and the hardest task of all: patience.

“I had to learn a lot about patience because I am impatient,” she says. “When I finally was able to take my first jump again I actually cried with happiness.” At times Carpenter wondered whether she would be the same player when she returned, but mostly she says she kept her mental demons at bay.

“It was a long journey for her and she was a bit insecure in the beginning, she struggled for about three weeks,” says van de Donk. “But after that she was OK, she just powered through – and now I think she’s much stronger than she was.” Carpenter, for her part, puts a gloss on the whole saga, saying she believes it gave her a much-needed break from the game she’d been playing almost non-stop since she was a child.

Today, Carpenter’s football routine is very full-time. She goes into the club from around 9am to 4pm most days to do a mixture of ­training, gym, recovery and sponsorship work. Then she plays on weekends, often travelling. She works with a nutritionist and also a ­psychologist. She estimates she gets one day properly off each month. Such is the profile of the team in Lyon that she now gets recognised in the street, and after three years here she says she is now fluent in French.

“Ellie has always known the path that she wanted and she has just followed it ­completely. That is pretty incredible for a 23-year-old,” says former Matildas player ­Garriock. “She is already one of the world’s best players and her energy and leadership are crucial for the World Cup. She has achieved things at 23 that others wouldn’t achieve in their whole career. I have no doubt that she will be the captain of the Matildas in the ­future. She has all the leadership qualities and the big game experience.” 

Carpenter is now on the home stretch of her quest, hoping to stay in form and avoid ­injury until the World Cup begins in three weeks.

Although she loves playing for Lyon, she says there’s nothing like going home to play with the Matildas. “It’s like going back to your family,” she says with a grin. “We’ve all known each other for years. Everyone is so close. We can all laugh at ourselves and we look after each other. It’s such a good, strong group. I don’t know how to ­explain it but I have a special passion when I play for the Matildas, it’s unique. For me, this World Cup is the top of the top, it’s probably the best thing I will ever experience.”

So how far can Carpenter and the Matildas go in this World Cup?

“We’ve never seen an Australian team like this,” says Garriock. “This core group of players like Ellie Carpenter, Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord have played together in World Cups and big tournaments since they were 16 years old. They are in their prime and this is their moment. It is written for them.”