#holiday fun Toronto

[uglyandtraveling]

Santa Claus Parade 2024: A Guide to Toronto’s Most Magical Tradition

Experience the magic of Toronto's Santa Claus Parade! Get route details, road closures, and tips for a festive day with Santa, floats, music, and more. 🎅✨

[flemingsgirl]

it’s an always kinda type – chapter two- from rivals to something more

Tw: fluff fluff

Previous

The winter break comes quickly, and with it, Christmas, as the games fly by. You’re heading back home for the holidays, looking forward to one and a half weeks of time with your family and friends before the team reconvenes at Kingsmeadow on January 3rd. Finally, a chance to recharge and enjoy the beauty of your hometown, away from football.

“Hopefully there’s snow back home,” you murmur, your voice full of hope. “It hasn’t snowed in so long.”

Jessie, sitting beside you, smiles and nudges you with her elbow. “Next time, you should come with me.”

You laugh, shaking your head. “I don’t think there’ll be snow in May.”

She giggles along with you. “You’ll see.”

The last few days, you spent with Jessie in California before flying home. You visited farmers’ markets, explored the Christmas markets in Los Angeles, and enjoyed the warmth and freedom of the West Coast. One day, at the beach, you sat reading your book while the waves crashed nearby, the sun warming your skin. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Jessie’s gaze fixed on you. A small smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you returned to the words on the page, feeling a little spark of something unspoken.

Back in London, bundled in your winter jacket and your favourite emerald scarf, you walked down the street with Jessie. She had asked you to try a new restaurant a few blocks away, and after the meal, you decided to take a stroll. Her camera was capturing the little details in the alleyways until it was suddenly pointed at you. Oblivious, you continued talking about something that had happened to you days ago, a smile naturally creeping onto your lips.

“Did you even listen?” she teases.

“Oh no, sorry. What were you saying?” you ask, cheeks flushing a little.

“I think Niamh wants to join us next time.”

“Why?”

“She messaged me, something like, ‘Don’t have too much fun without me,’ and I heard Toronto has some great spots.”

“She’s just jealous we got best friends, and she’s the appendix,” you joke, laughing. Jessie’s cheeks go cherry red, her eyes glued to the ground. “It’s crazy how fast that happened, right?” you add, and Jessie nods. “Yeah… if someone had told me we’d be friends this quickly and even best friends within a month, I would have laughed,” you say with a soft laugh. Jessie looks at you, her brows furrowed. “Well, it felt like you tolerated me at first, but now… now it’s like we were always meant to be friends.”

In early preseason days, you would hang out with Jessie and Niamh from time to time. Messages were exchanged, but Jessie was always quiet, staying to herself in those meetups. You remember the first time Sam had tried to include Jessie in the group, and she had hesitated but eventually joined in.

“I didn’t know if I belonged, but you made it easy,” Jessie admits softly. “You’re so easy-going, and I really liked how you chose me that day. It never felt forced, like we were destined to be friends.”

Warmth spreads in your chest, and you place your hand over your heart. “Those are really nice words, thank you.”

Jessie smiles, and the two of you continue your walk in comfortable silence.

Soon, it was time to say goodbye for the holidays. At the airport, Jessie gave you a tight hug, her scent surrounding you, filling the space with warmth. You rested your face against her shirt. “Don’t miss me too much,” you mumbled.

“Don’t miss me too much,” she chuckled, releasing you from the hug. “Have a great holiday and a wonderful New Year.”

“You too. See you next year,” you said with a wink.

Jessie rolled her eyes, laughing lightly. “Oh, I’ll definitely miss you,” she muttered under her breath as she walked off.

The days spent with your family were filled with love and laughter. After a cozy dinner with your parents, you sat on the couch with your mom, her arms wrapped around you. “Finally, you can enjoy some down time with your family. We really missed you,” she said softly, pulling you closer.

“I missed you too. But I told you, you could visit me in London. My flat’s big enough,” you replied with a grin.

“You know, all the flying…”

You laughed heartily. “What? The Bahamas, Germany, Australia, all were flights.”

“We got older,” she teased, chuckling.

“It’s okay. Maybe next year.”

“Of course, honey,” she said, kissing your temple.

Your phone buzzed, and you pulled it out of your pocket, much to your mom’s amusement. The message from Jessie appeared on the screen, a picture of her and her dad cutting down the Christmas tree.

Thought you’d like to see this—a picture of the tree, fresh and freshly chopped, with Jessie standing beside her dad. Your heart warmed at the sight. You typed a quick reply.

Looks great! My mom already put ours up

Then another picture from Jessie: And I promised… Her dog appeared on screen, a fluffy ball of joy.

Look at this good boy. Did you boob him for me?

Of course, the first thing I did.

What are you up to now?

Just helping my mom with dinner. Friends are coming over tonight.

You wanna talk?

Watching a movie w my family

But you wanna talk?

She wouldn't mind

Don’t you need to help Michaele? Couldn’t leave her alone.

You don’t wanna talk?

Sure, but your mom…

She’ll understand.

Okay, wait a sec.

You got up and informed your family you were going upstairs to take the call. “Jessie’s on the phone,” you said, smiling.

You sat on your bed and dialled her number. “Is everything alright?” you asked when she picked up.

“Should it not be?”

“You wanted to talk.”

“Am I not allowed to?”

“Of course, but I’m just surprised. We saw each other like five days ago, and we’re texting. Just didn’t expect this.”

“True, but it’s more personal this way.”

“So, you do miss me?”

“No—no… what no?” She stumbles over her words, and you chuckle softly.

“It’s okay, maybe I miss you too, just a little.”

Your phone buzzes again, and you see it’s Sam calling. “Wait a sec, Sam’s calling.”

“Okay, greet her for me.”

You answer the call, and Sam’s face fills the screen. “G’ day!”

“Howdy.”

“Ow ya going?”

“Quite well, relaxing most of the time. You?”

“See the sun, the ocean, what does that mean?” Sam chuckles.

“That you love your life.”

“Exactly. How’s Christmas?”

“Family got together, nice dinner, calm."

"Its always good to be back gome. But I miss my little annoying Bludger.”

“I miss you too, Stinkerr.”

“How’s Fleming?”

“Alright, I think? Ask her yourself,” you laugh.

“You’re not in touch?”

“Of course, what’s your plan?”

“Just asking a friend about a friend. Good night to you and say ‘hi’ to Fleming for me.”

“By the way, she says ‘hi’ back.”

“Well, greetings back.”

“Good night, Sam.”

You returned to Jessie, smiling. “Sam says ‘hi’ back.”

“What a kind soul.”

“No, Jess, she’s not.”

“Do you mind…” Jessie hesitated before her FaceTime notification popped up. “Wow, look at you, all dressed up in PJ’s,” she giggled. “We’re matching.” You showed her your Christmas PJs. “What are you wearing later?”

“Just casual, black blouse and trousers.”

“Very nice. Leaving your hair open?”

“I could.”

“You should.”

She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. “Fine.”

“You look great with your hair like that.”

“Sure…” she mumbled, clearly flustered.

“No lie, Jess.”

“Thank you.”

“Just stating the truth, Fleming,” you teased.

The conversation fell into a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's presence. You couldn’t help but smile as the moment stretched on.

“You should wear that green blouse, suits you.”

“I thought about the black one.”

“You’re not at a funeral.”

“I think about it,” she muttered, the faintest smile playing on her lips.

“You better do, and I’ll know if you wear all black,” you teased, winking. Just as the doorbell rang in the background, you heard the voices of Jessie’s family.

“They’re here, but I’ll text you,” she said.

“Of course you do.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

-------

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” you shouted, your excitement spilling over.

“Happy New Year to you too, Y/N.”

“And did you start the year good? A kiss or something?” you teased; your eyes sparkling.

She raised an eyebrow. “No.”

“Okay, okay. I can’t believe we just have two days before we head into camp.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be good.”

“It will.”

Jessie could hear muffled voices from the room next door. “You probably need to get going again, right? We’ll hear from each other. ‘Til then.”

“See you, safe and sound.”

-------

With your luggage by your side, you waited in the airport for the Canadian. As soon as she appeared, she threw herself onto your back, covering your eyes with her hands. Her scent gave her away. “G’ morning,” she whispered in your ear.

You smiled and turned around. “Morning. How was your flight?”

“Good one in a long time,” Jessie said, her phone ringing with a call from Niamh. “Yeah, we’re on our way… max ten minutes. See ya!”

“I missed it.”

“Me too.” The two of you laughed, your bond stronger than ever as you walked out of the airport together.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

In addition to photographing insects, one of my other hobbies is collecting glass Christmas Ornaments. Simply, I love their colors and detailing, not to mention the sheer variety. The best thing about them though: the way that light touches them, causing them to shine and glitter magnificently. It is truly something to behold! Although I love them a lot, there are too many to buy and they are too expensive to have them all. As such, I strictly stick to the ones I like, which tend to be food and animals. Luckily, downtown Toronto's "Outer Layer" and "Juxtapose" stores always come through with a lovely selection of glass ornaments year after year. As such, this year a lovely new Luna Moth ornament has graced the tree. I have to say, Old World Christmas beautifully captured the look, essence, royal-ness and beauty of the Luna Moth perfectly. All the important details are there: the 4 eyespots, the 2 hindwing tails, the curvature of the wings, and the feathered antennae (implying this ornament is a male). Even the ornament's backside, little legs and eyes. I'm very thankful to have found it.

The Luna Moth is a perfect companion to my mother's glass Monarch Butterfly ornament (from the same brand, and the same ornament uploaded a few years ago). They both compliment and contrast each other beautifully thanks to their colors, curves and intricacies. Both capture the difference essential aspects of popular Lepidopterans wonderfully, but with some artistic license as well. Since they pair well together, I've placed them near each other on the tree (the Luna Moth is higher since the tails need room) towards the top. From the look of it, the Luna Moth is right at home on the tree; it is a creature of the forest after all. Of course, this insect won't become food for the nearby birds, green iguana, skunk and blossom possum. Admittedly, keeping a real life Luna Moth on an indoor Christmas tree would be quite difficult, so this glass representation helps with that, and it is quite eye-catching, even from a distance. While I'm making a big deal over these fun holiday trinkets and decorations, I truly believe that although the real life insect only lives in adult form for a week or so, it is far more beautiful, ethereal, majestic and worthy of adoration than even the finest ornament. To see one in nature is a delightful, awe-inspiring gift!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidaysl! Here's hoping for more lovely insect finds and insect ornaments to enjoy in the future. Bless you all!

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: holiday fic #2 and william fic # 3 in the last few weeks 😭 this fic was wholly inspired by his commercial because i couldn’t stop imagining his difficulty putting UP the lights it that’s how he reacted to taking them down 😂 i know the fic takes place in november and is getting posted in december but fuck it we ball. anyway, i hope you enjoy!!!

word count: 2.4k

tw: dirty talk, innuendo

summary: it’s only november, but you insist on taking advantage of william’s presence by having him help put up the outside lights

Toronto weather can be unpredictable, which is why you’re fully taking advantage of the warm front that’s gracing the area to start putting up the outside Christmas decorations.

Yes, it’s only November 1st, but it could snow literally next weekend and then you’d be shit out of luck.

Plus, William is off for the next two days, minus practice, so you have to take advantage of the extra pair of hands.

“Älskling,” William murmurs, hands on your waist and lips on your neck, “we could do something more fun than hanging lights.”

You lean back against his chest, your fingers working to unknot a string of lights. His hips work lazily against yours, the bulge of his cock obvious against your ass. Especially when he pulls you close and holds you firmly in place to grind against your ass.

“Mmm,” you hum, shivers running down your spine with each rasp of his beard against your skin. “We can do that later. I want the lights up before the weather starts to suck.”

William’s mouth turns up in a smirk against your neck and his fingers dip under the waistband of your jeans. “How about we skip the lights and I suck on your clit until you see stars instead?” He huffs a laugh against your skin, ruffling your hair, and nips a little mark on your neck.

Your nipples pebble tightly and you suck in a shaky breath through your teeth. William’s words combined with the steady, rocking pressure of his cock against your ass are overwhelming. Abandoning the lights and with a more steady voice than you thought you were capable of, you turn in William’s arms so your ass is leaning against the counter and you can look into his eyes to say, “if you help me with the outside decorations, I’ll suck your dick until you beg for mercy.”

William’s throat bobs as he swallows, his blue eyes turning dark. He whines a little, pulling you close and burying his face in your hair. “You drive a hard bargain, älskling,” he grunts. With one final kiss below your ear, William pulls away and smirks at you, “hand me the lights.”

“I knew you’d see it my way,” you chirp, pushing the bundle of lights into his arms with a bright smile.

Your boyfriend laughs and mutters, “only for you,” before wandering off to find his boots and a jacket.

Maybe buying a house in the beginning of the season wasn’t the smartest idea, since you’d been left on your own to unpack the contents of two apartments and decorate, but now that you’re settled in, it’s nice to have the room. Pablo and Bansky love the yard and running around the open concept first floor. William’s had fun christening the house by having sex with you on every available surface.

Besides the sex, your favorite part of the new house is the wrap around porch with its room for oversized outdoor couches and armchairs - the perfect place to curl up on a gorgeous Toronto fall day with a mug of coffee and people watch.

You’re beyond excited to get the outside of the house decorated for the holidays. You have big plans that are likely bordering on delusions of grandeur, but you’ll deal with that if and when it comes.

Right now, you’re focusing on wrapping the extra long fake pine garland you’d bought to wrap around the porch railing with lights. You settle everything on the floor and drop into a cross-legged position to twist the lights and garland together. Pablo pads over with a stuffed dragon in his mouth and settles at your side, one paw on your thigh.

“Hi, buddy,” you murmur, scratching at his ears. “Where’s your brother?”

“Fuck, Banksy, no!” William’s shout carries through the screen door and you press your lips together to smother a laugh. Found him.

There’s half a dozen things the other dog could’ve gotten into, you just hope neither he nor William is hurt. You can hear a bark and William laughing which is probably a sign that everything is fine out there, so you return to your work on the lights and garland.

“You picked the better decorations to help with, Pablo,” you laugh, stroking the dog’s soft fur for a few minutes before returning to twisting the lights and garland back together. Pablo yawns and chews at his toy, clearly agreeing with you.

It doesn’t take too long for you to get the dozens of feet of garland ready to be hung. The faux greenery coils across the floor and Pablo’s batting at it with his paws, yipping excitedly. Whenever you try and tug it away, he lunges for it, totally all-in on this new fun game.

“Okay, cool it,” you sigh, tugging at his collar to get him to disengage with the garland. “William!” You shout for him through the door, needing him to come and help you get the garland outside.

“Little busy!” He shouts back, followed by a string of curses. “Can you whistle for Banksy? He’s right up my ass and it’s making this harder.”

You whistle for the other dog, calling his name and clapping until he comes trotting into the house with a delighted little bark. You drop to your knees and scratch his head too, cooing, “hi there baby, were you driving Daddy crazy outside?”

“These lights are driving Daddy crazy,” William shouts on a laugh.

“Don’t refer to yourself as Daddy,” you reply. “It’s weird.”

William’s head appears at the screen door, a shit eating grin splitting his face. “That’s not what you were saying the other night,” he reminds you as heat rises in your chest and cheeks. “I think I remember the exact opposite coming out of that mouth of yours.”

“I was delusional,” you cross your arms. “I had no idea what I was saying. Come take this garland.”

He comes inside, grabbing the garland off the floor, saying, “want me to remind you? Let’s see, there was ‘fuck, harder, Daddy’ and ‘come inside me, Daddy.’ Not to mention all of the pretty noises you were making.”

Arousal pools low in your belly, slicking your underwear. Your clit twitches and you cough to hide your sharp intake of breath. One of the dogs licks at your ankle, but you’re laser focused on William and the tip of his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip.

Smirking, he continues, “does that jog your memory, älskling? Or do you need a more hands-on reminder?”

He takes a step towards you and accidentally steps on a piece of the garland, fake pine needles crunching under his boot and reminding you what your plan for the day had been. You shake your head and narrow your eyes at him, “no way! You’re trying to distract me so you don’t have to help decorate.”

“Guilty,” William laughs, blue eyes crinkling at the corners. He darts forward and presses a chaste kiss to the corner of your mouth. “Is it working?”

Yes.

“No,” you murmur. “I want the house decorated and then we can do whatever you want after that. Otherwise, I’m going to have to get up on the ladder during the week.”

You poke your lower lip out at him in a pout and William chuckles. With his free hand, he reaches out and thumbs your lower lip, murmuring, “such a bossy little thing, aren’t you?”

“Mhm,” you hum cheerfully, a smug little smile on your face. William kisses your puckered lips and gathers up the garland.

“At your command, my little brat,” he teases, sweeping out of the house with the garland and two dogs trailing after him.

“Thank you, karastë,” you shout after him, giggling.

You give up on any pretense of helping William with the outside decorations, instead heading for the kitchen to make cookies as a reward for him when he comes back inside. You experiment with a new to you recipe for oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips since it feels festive. While the mixer works, you dance absently at the counter to the constant stream of ABBA music playing in your head.

Your two favorite things to come out of Sweden are definitely the ‘70s band and the man outside hanging lights.

Once you pop the trays in the ovens, you decide to check in on William and see how everything is going.

“Oh!” You yelp, nearly stepping on your boyfriend. “What are you doing?”

He’s laid out on his stomach on the porch, head buried in his arms, lights tangled around his legs, and the dogs nowhere to be found. He groans and rolls onto his back to look up at you.

“I quit, I can’t do this, älskling,” he complains, kicking at the lights around his legs.

You cover your mouth to muffle a laugh. Taking a look around the porch, it does seem like William’s been defeated by the lights. The garland is on the porch railing, crookedly hanging off. The lights are uneven where they’re actually attached to the house and hanging off in most areas.

Squatting down next to him, you brush your hand through William’s hair, frowning sympathetically. “Maybe your talents don’t extend to outdoor decorating,” you murmur.

“The stupid shits don’t stay where they’re supposed to,” he grumbles. “I don’t care what it costs, pay someone to do it. Please.”

William pushes himself into a sitting position and tosses the lights off to the side, shaking his head and muttering to himself. You’ve never seen him this frazzled about something. Usually he’s calm, cool, and collected.

“I think you’ve earned the cookies I made,” you comment, standing up and stepping into his side. William wraps an arm around your shoulder and you nuzzle your nose against the flannel of his shirt.

“I’d rather the blow job,” William replies cheekily, yelping a laugh and jumping away from you when you pinch his side. “Ow, älskling, you promised!”

“Only if you hung the lights,” you gesture behind you at the carnage as you step back inside. “The quality of that job only gets you a dry hand job at best!”

“I’ll take it,” William deadpans, holding his expression for a second before bursting into laughter. It’s contagious and you start giggling too.

Still laughing, you lean your arms on the counter and shake your head. “You’re definitely not that desperate,” you murmur. But still, you curl your fingers loosely and give the air a few pumps, miming a hand job. “I could use some practice though, it’s been a minute since I made you fall apart with just my hands.”

William smirks at you and leans in across the counter. He raises an eyebrow and tracks the movement of your hand. “You know I’m not going to say no, love. You want to get those hands on me, you just have to ask,” he teases.

“Oh,” you drag the syllable out, “in that case…”

You step around the counter and into William’s space, your palms flat on his chest. “William,” you purr, smiling sweetly.

He hums, bringing his hands up to wrap around your wrists. He lifts each hand to his mouth, kissing your palms.

“Can I put…” you say slowly, “one of those giant Snoopy inflatables on the lawn?”

It takes a minute for your words to sink in and by the time it clicks in William’s brain, you’re laughing and dancing away from him.

“Hey!” He shouts your name on a laugh and gives chase, making you shriek every time he gets close. “Dirty trick, you little tease!”

William chases you into the living room and tumbles over the couch to catch you, pulling you flush against his chest, the both of you breathing hard. You’re laughing, gasping for air, and wriggling against him.

“Stop that,” he laughs, biting at your earlobe. “You, my love, have been a brat all day. It’s time for a little punishment.”

You can feel the bulge of his cock against your hip and your stomach flips with excitement. “What do you have in mind?” You ask, breathless with arousal.

“I’ve got a few ideas,” his voice is a low rumble, hands roaming over your stomach and breasts. “Starting with those lights outside.”

William captures both of your wrists in one big hand and holds them against your stomach. “Can’t have you moving when you’re getting a spanking,” he murmurs, kissing behind your ear.

Fresh heat pools in your stomach and your underwear are getting uncomfortably wet. You grind your ass back into William’s groin and he grunts, thrusting his hips forward.

Even just the thought of William tying you up has you creeping towards the edge, combined with the hard heat of his body at your back, you’re not sure you’ll last too long once he gets his hands on you.

“William,” you whimper, heat jackhammering in your chest with each press of his cock against the seam of your ass.

Any answer is drowned out by the sudden piercing shrill of the smoke alarm.

Acrid smoke hits your nose next.

You startle, realization that the cookies are burning like cold water to your system. You jump away from William, shouting about the cookies and grabbing an oven mitt to take the charred dough out of the oven.

William has the alarm turned off just as you’re tossing the ruined cookies in the trash.

You both stand in the kitchen, staring at each other in the sudden silence for a few heartbeats before bursting into laughter again. It’s that kind of crazed laughter that doesn’t stop, intensifying every time you look up and lock eyes with William.

“Oh my god,” you gasp, clutching your stomach. “Literally nothing has gone right today.”

You feel lightheaded from all the laughing, the faint haze of smoke still in the air.

William clears his throat and chuckles again. “How about we take the dogs and go out for dinner?” His eyes twinkle. “Wouldn’t want to risk burning down the house again.”

“I think that’s the best idea all day,” you agree, still laughing even as you gather up the dogs and load them into the car.

Later, while you’re eating dinner, you point out the lights that are strung up around the restaurant. With a cheeky smile, you comment, “maybe we should ask them who hung their lights? They did a good job.”

William just rolls his eyes at you and tosses a piece of bread in your direction.

Two days later, with William out of town for a game, you come back from work to find the entire outside of the house decorated and lit up. There’s even a Snoopy inflatable on the lawn.

Tears fill your eyes and your phone vibrates in your hand. You look down to see William’s text.

‘surprise, älskling! i love you, even if i never got that hand job 😂❤️‍🔥’

[covid-safer-hotties]

a newsletter some of y'all may be interested in subscribing to

By John Dupuis

Welcome to the latest issue of the Covid-Is-Not-Over Newsletter! A couple more issues during December before I take a little break from regular issues and publish a couple of filler “Bonus” issues. I’m definitely looking forward to a couple of slower weeks of holiday movies and fun books. I’m thinking of a Lord of the Rings rewatch this year. LotR are holiday movies, right? Right?

Mini-theme this week seems to be librarian-friendly, with a couple of colleagues writing about Information Literacy and the pandemic and how we’ve gotten ourselves in this rather amazing fine mess. How can all that good information be available to seemingly smart people, and yet it doesn’t seem to sink in? How can Long Covid fly under the radar, ignored or psychologized?

One thing that I want to remember from last week is that appalling Lisi Tesher article. You may recall that Lisi Tesher is the Toronto Star agony aunt who gave a horrible response to a letter about how to accommodate a Covid cautious person at a wedding. Tesher basically called the person mentally ill. Appalling.

Anyways, clear air advocate Ryan Tennant wrote a fantastic response as a letter to the editor at the Waterloo Record, which republishes Tesher’s column. Here’s a little bit.

In the context of COVID-19, we should respect and support individuals who make choices to protect their health and the health of those around them, especially when science justifies it.

For weddings and similar gatherings, a compassionate response would have offered creative ways to understand and incorporate evidence-based health protections against COVID-19, ensuring everyone feels valued and safe.

I urge this publication to ensure its contributors are equipped with accurate information and an appropriate tone for readers seeking support.

If you are the grudge-holding type of person, perhaps it’s not too late to encourage Ms. Tesher to read this week and last. The Star’s Life section email is life@thestar.ca, the city editor is city@thestar.ca and Ms. Tesher herself is at lisi@thestar.ca.

This week I also highlight some more on Trump and public health, not to mention some revolution-making, rabble-rousing, high-energy jazz.

Like! Share! Subscribe!

As most have probably noticed, there is no paid subscription option for this newsletter. However, Substack does have an option where subscribers can pledge to subscribe “just in case” and a few kind subscribers have made that pledge. I very much appreciated the vote of confidence in what I’m doing here. What I’ve decided to do on a trial basis is to set up a “tip jar” on the Ko-fi platform. I’m not anticipating a huge surge of income from using Ko-fi but whatever revenue I do end up with, I plan to spend on supporting artists on Bandcamp.

Be my secret Santa!

It’s not about information literacy: Why people’s risk calculus around COVID has changed by Meredith Farkas / Information Wants to Be Free: The Newsletter I don’t think information literacy is the issue here. Most people I know are quite smart, well-read, and adept at research. I don’t know if they read things about COVID anymore, but if they’re not, it’s not because they don’t know how to find it. I think a lot more is happening with people who avoid COVID information and ignore risks and I think it’s a mix of personal psychological factors, privilege, the absolute disaster that was public health messaging around COVID, and social pressure to align with the dominant narrative that COVID is over. I know we like to distill things down to a single cause (“they’re selfish!” “It’s Biden’s fault!”), but this is considerably more complicated.

Many of us are dealing with pandemic fatigue, which is a lot like burnout and leads to a “demotivation to engage in protection behaviors and seek COVID-19 related information” (Haktanir, et al., 2022, p. 7315). Ford, Douglas, & Barrett (2023) describe pandemic fatigue as “a complex set of emotions comprised of anxiety, hopelessness, depression, and anger.” There are a few of reasons people become fatigued in this way. The biggest is simply the length of time we were all expected to stay in a state of emergency and hypervigilance. Living in that state with no clear end in sight can easily lead to burnout as many of us who have worked in high stress jobs can attest. You can’t stay in a state of hypervigilance forever without eventually becoming exhausted and desensitized (Koh, Chan, & Tan 2020). Chen et al. (2024) found that even when they controlled for pandemic severity at particular points in time, pandemic fatigue increased in study participants an average of 5.8% every six months of the pandemic. Instead of vilifying folks who experience pandemic fatigue and decrease their precautions, the WHO portrays it as “a natural and expected reaction to sustained and unresolved adversity in people’s lives,” (7), an approach which I personally appreciate. Shame is not a motivator and these are very normal psychological responses.

Advice for U.S. Government Scientists: Lessons Learned From the ‘Muzzling’ of Their Canadian Counterparts by David Shiffman / The Revelator Step One: They Can’t Delete What They Don’t Exclusively Control

For scientists working at government agencies, they suggest making copies of everything so it can be stored somewhere else — and to do that as soon as possible, certainly well before the next administration starts.

For example, does your agency have a publicly funded database, report, or educational website that has anything to do with climate change, conservation, diversity, equity and inclusion, or public health? It’s very likely that the next administration will try to suppress or delete at least some of it. A nongovernment partner, such as a university or large nonprofit, can host copies of these important documents and data if they’re shared in advance.

These efforts are already underway, but it’s vital to spread the advice as far as possible, as quickly as possible, so no data is left vulnerable.

New Zealand Covid inquiry finds vaccine mandates were ‘reasonable’ by Australian Associated Press / The Guardian A royal commission into New Zealand’s Covid response has largely accepted the need for vaccine mandates, while accepting they harmed a substantial minority of New Zealanders.

The first of two inquiry reports on the pandemic was released on Thursday and also called for broad investment to plan for the next pandemic.

A headline finding is that New Zealand had one of the lowest rates of Covid deaths for each head of population among developed countries.

The most contentious of the issues surveyed was the use of lockdowns and vaccine mandates, which helped to curb the spread of the virus, but at the cost of social cohesion and trust in government, according to the report.

“Contentious public health measures like vaccine mandates wore away at what had initially been a united wall of public support for the pandemic response,” commissioners Tony Blakely, John Whitehead and Grant Illingworth wrote.

“Along with the rising tide of misinformation and disinformation, this created social fissures that have not entirely been repaired.”

Another finding was “it was reasonable to introduce some targeted vaccine requirements based on information available at the time”, but the case was weaker from early 2022 when the Omicron variant took over.

The COVID inquiry report is an excellent guide to preparing for the next pandemic – health cuts put that at risk by Michael Baker, Amanda Kvalsvig, Collin Tukuitonga, Nick Wilson / The Conversation The report concludes that New Zealand’s adoption of an elimination strategy was highly successful, but had wide-ranging impacts on all aspects of life.

The strategy required early use of border controls, lockdowns and other restrictions which helped prevent widespread infection until most of the population was vaccinated. This response gave New Zealand one of the lowest COVID mortality rates globally.

The report also found that as the pandemic progressed into late 2021, the negative impacts increased. Controlling the pandemic was focused on mandates, including restrictions on public gatherings, quarantine and isolation, contact tracing, masking and vaccination requirements.

The effects included declining trust in government within some communities and loss of social cohesion. Vaccine hesitancy emerged as a growing challenge to the vaccine rollout, fed by exposure to misinformation and disinformation.

The prolonged pandemic and lack of a clear exit strategy from elimination added to the difficulties, according to the commission’s report.

Almost a third of preteens, teens with long COVID still not recovered at 2 years, study shows by Stephanie Soucheray / CIDRAP A new study from UK investigators shows that—while most COVID-19 patients ages 11 to 17 who reported long-COVID symptoms 3 months after the initial infection no longer experienced lingering symptoms at 2 years—29% still did.

The findings, published in the journal Communications Medicine, come from the National Long COVID in Children and Young People cohort study, which followed up on thousands of young people after their COVID-19 diagnoses. …

Overall, 20% to 25% of all infection status groups reported three or more symptoms 24 months post-testing, with 10% to 25% experiencing five or more symptoms. Not all who reported symptoms, however, met the formal criteria for long COVID. In fact, five or more symptoms were reported by 14.2% of those who never tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and by 20.8% of those with at least two infections.

Older teens and females were most likely to meet formal definitions, the authors said. "We did not find that symptoms or their impact differed by vaccination status," the authors wrote.

Independent Long COVID Journalism as a Lens for Critical Information Literacy: Conversations with The Sick Times Founders Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles W. Griffis by Andrea Baer / Communications in Information Literacy The realities of COVID-19 and Long COVID and their ongoing impacts are unsettling. In a world of information overload, when we face numerous wicked problems that have no simple or complete solutions, it’s understandable that we may sometimes want to simply look away or may, at times, feel paralyzed and throw up our hands. Some readers may, like me, ask themselves to what extent to engage with wicked problems like COVID-19 in the realm of information literacy, given how polarized and taboo this topic has become and given that most discussions about COVID-19 place it in the past tense (e.g., “postpandemic,” “post-COVID era”). Some readers may also, like me, ask themselves how examining reporting on complex topics like COVID-19 might inform their teaching practices more broadly. I would like to do more of the latter along with others, and do so with critical reflection, care, and an ongoing practice of perspective-taking. …

COVID-19 and Long COVID, similar in many respects to climate change, are not going away, and they affect us all, albeit to varying degrees and in different ways. The Sick Times is a concrete example of people and communities making a positive difference for many in the short term, while also growing connections and efforts that necessary for larger and more systemic change over the long term.

Long COVID is becoming a serious social and economic issue for Australia by Jason Murphy / Crikey Among the current generation of kids, many are growing up with their mother or father confined to bed or confined to bed themselves. According to a study by ANU, long COVID is hitting up to an estimated 20% of Australians three months after they contracted COVID — mostly women, but also men and children. In the current COVID wave, that means a lot of people coming down sick for a long time.

Long COVID is keeping people from their jobs and their lives, and as COVID cases continue, it is unclear whether the rate of new long COVID cases is increasing faster than the old cases recover.

‘I was in denial about it’: actor Matt McGorry on having long Covid by Estelle Tang / The Guardian What does risk mitigation look like for you, and what did you want people who don’t have long Covid to take away from the video?

The risk mitigation in my life is very high. When your health is taken away from you, you realize how important it is. There’s not much that feels worth the risk of another Covid infection.

I don’t necessarily expect that everyone does or should do what I’m doing, but the number one thing is having a very well-fitting respirator. For maximum protection, you need something that forms an airtight seal. While you may get some protection from a surgical mask, if you’re already taking that step, it makes sense to find something that seals to your face. I wear the Flo mask, which is a reusable mask. People definitely look at it, and I have all sorts of feelings about that. I used to love to people-watch, and now I don’t any more, because people are watching me. …

My asks are very simply masking, at the very least, in places where disabled and immunocompromised people have to be: grocery stores, medical settings such as doctors, offices, pharmacies, hospitals, and transportation like planes, trains and buses.

Even as an act of solidarity, picking a couple of those places, making a commitment to that and making that known is incredibly important. As someone who feels extremely isolated and abandoned by the rest of society, I don’t have the capacity any more to ask individual people in my life if they will take this on. That’s what the video was for.

Long COVID pandemic in the aftermath of the acute phase / Centre for Pandemics and One-Health Research Why is this topic important?

It is important for many reasons, but I would say the main reason is that this is a problem that affects a large fraction of those with acute infections or certain acute infections. In this COVID study with adolescents, we found that approximately 47 percent had long-term sequels, and quite a high percentage of these would fulfil the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome, which is a debilitating situation. That is quite similar to what we have seen after other infections. For instance, with kissing disease, six months after the infection, you are left with 10 to 15 percent with a chronic condition and with functional impairments.

The good news is that the majority, especially in the younger age group, will recover spontaneously. However, this can take a long time, and in adolescent medicine, this is one of the major causes for functional impairments in adolescents. So, it has a significant impact on people´s functional capability. It is necessary to understand the details of the pathophysiology for treatment, prophylaxis and prevention. The first step is, therefore, to understand what is going on. The next step is to conduct clinical trials in order to try to treat this phenomenon. This is something my research group is doing as part of the research.

For the love of God, Covid isn't over - so can people please wear masks? By Sam Williams / Canary A week ago, my wife and I went to John Lewis to look at air fryers. As we entered the store, I put on an FFP3 mask because of Covid. My wife looked at me in disgust and said, “Oh, you’re wearing a mask?” I replied, “Yes. There’s a lot of Covid around, and I don’t want it. Do you?”

She responded, “Well, the trouble is, I’m not wearing a mask”.

I said, “Yes, I can see that. I wish you would. The trouble is, every time I’ve caught Covid, it’s been from you. I’m disabled with long COVID, and every time I get reinfected, it makes me really, really ill”.

So here’s my question: does my wife not care?

I want to use this piece to spark a debate about who we are as people. Are we kind and virtuous, or are we selfish and indifferent? Writing an article about what stops people from wearing masks, while I live with the pain caused by my wife not masking, feels like an oddly meta activity.

That’s right, folks: it was probably my wife who gave me Covid in the first place. Although, to be fair, neither of us knew about masking or long Covid back then.

Want to Limit Respiratory Virus Infections? Mask and Test in Hospitals by Rachel Robertson / MedPage Today Stopping universal masking and SARS-CoV-2 testing in hospitals led to a surge in hospital-onset respiratory viral infections relative to community infections, a cohort study found.

After these safeguards were removed, there was a 25% jump in hospital-onset respiratory viral infections compared with the preceding Omicron-dominant period (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.02-1.53), reported Theodore Pak, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.

When hospital staff began masking again, the rates of hospital-onset respiratory viral infections decreased by 33% (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.52-0.85), they wrote in a JAMA Network Open

Testing and Masking Policies and Hospital-Onset Respiratory Viral Infections by Theodore R. Pak,Tom Chen, Sanjat Kanjilal, et al. / JAMA Network Open In this study, stopping universal masking and SARS-CoV-2 testing was associated with a significant increase in hospital-onset respiratory viral infections relative to community infections. Restarting the masking of health care workers was associated with a significant decrease. Limitations of our analysis included a lack of concurrent controls, possible variations in compliance, difficulty disentangling effects of testing vs masking, and potential case misclassification. However, medical record reviews suggested most hospital-onset cases were true acute cases.

Nosocomial respiratory viral infections remain associated with increased length of stay and higher mortality in hospitalized populations. Our data suggest that masking5 and testing were 2 potentially effective measures to protect patients who are hospitalized, particularly when community respiratory virus incidence rates were elevated.

Long Covid-19 Weakens Immunity In Children, Increases Risk Of Infections: Study by Himani Chandna / News18 Children experience weakened immunity and bacterial infections after suffering from long Covid-19 syndrome, a study published in the medical journal Nature has revealed.

Persistent fatigue was the most common symptom in children with long Covid syndrome, while the majority of children often complained about anxiety.

Is H5N1 (Bird Flu) the Next Pandemic Causing Virus? / LIL_Science One critical aspect of H5N1 becoming a pandemic causing virus is developing person to person transmission, this has not yet been reported for the virus. However, research published December 2nd, 2024 in Nature Microbiology makes a strong case for increased virus shedding and hence airborne transmission being a key component of increased infectivity. The researchers found that increased viral shedding in H5N1 found in an infected dairy farm worker but not in H5N1 that infected the in cattle themselves. This means the virus in that person had changed in a way that allowed for improved airborne spread. This supports prior research published October 28th, 2024 in Nature showing that the same virus strain (A/Texas/37/2024 (huTX37-H5N1) had acquired a mutation that improved the virus’s ability to infect human cells and increased lethality in animal models.

Repeat human infection gives the influenza virus more chances to develop mutations. Within the last month several reports have indicated that H5N1 is moving closer to person to person transmission while maintaining it’s highly pathogenic nature, exactly what we don’t want.

I have gotten hundreds of questions on social media about this so I will start with some of the basics to help everyone navigate what might be coming next. Let’s dive into where H5N1 came from, why is it more concerning than annual influenza strains, and what can we do to protect ourselves?

'Mistaking Covid as a cold may put people at risk' by Nikki Fox / BBC An NHS matron said that too often people were mistaking Covid for a common cold and a lack of testing could be putting vulnerable people at risk.

Lana Goodwin, who works in Covid services at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in Billericay, Essex, said she believed people who were not high risk "feel that Covid has gone".

She added that statistics showed many vulnerable people were also not aware they were eligible for anti-viral drugs.

Ms Goodwin said: "I feel the public see [Covid] symptoms as a cold and it doesn't trigger off a response to test."

Ms Goodwin said that her clinic had people testing positive for the virus every day and vulnerable people were "unfortunately still dying from Covid".

[swissboyhisch]

Halloween Surprise

Pairing: Matthew Knies x Marner!Reader

Summary: The team's Halloween party seemed like the perfect time to reveal to everyone who you were dating.

Word Count: 2546

Warnings: Alcohol, blood, a little bit of 18+ content towards the end.

THE MASTERLIST JOIN THE TAGLIST HOCKEY DISCORD

Halloween. Your favourite holiday by far. Growing up, your parents decorated the house with tons of decorations and your mum always went all out with family costumes. When you moved to Toronto to live with your older brother and his girlfriend, you were always in charge of organising the Halloween parties or costumes. 

And nothing changed. As soon as it was announced it was Mitch’s turn to host the team’s Halloween party, he came straight to you. It was your job to organise everything but luckily, since Mitch will be busy with the start of the hockey season, Steph is more than happy to help you. It would give her something to do. And it means the two of you can spend more time together. 

First thing was to create a list of people who would get the invites. Then organise a time and place for the party. Mitch and Steph said they’re happy to have it at their place instead of hiring out a place. Due to game schedule conflict, the party was going to take place on the Friday before Halloween.

Once the who, what, when and where was decided, Steph and you designed the invites and sent those out as soon as possible. Next was the entertainment. You had a couple Halloween Playlists from previous parties you had hosted so you just said you would bring your audio system and set it up around the house and use Spotify. Food wise, Steph said that she was thinking the two of you make the food the couple days leading up to it. She loved to cook, and you loved to bake so it was the perfect pair. Drinks were just going to be bins with cans of alcohol and soft drink in them and pitchers of cocktails. Then it was just costumes for you guys and decorating the house and backyard.

“What are we going to dress as?” Asked Mitch as he joined the planning party of you and Steph on the couch. 

You just smirk, “You two are going to be a ken and barbie variant. It fits so perfectly.”

Steph let out a squeal of excitement. It really was perfect for them. “Oh my god, yes!”

“And Auston is going to be Alan. A permanent third wheel.”

“What are you going to do?”

“It’s a surprise,” You retorted to your brother. As a fashion major, you had an endless number of options. But one in particular was the number one choice. It wasn’t hard but it was a fun one. “You’ll see at the party.”

Then it was onto planning the couple’s costumes. For Steph, you were thinking of a cute pink satin dress that stopped mid high. Low cut but not as low as you could go. A pair of cute white heels and white accessories. Her hair is in waves with pink makeup and hints of silver. A white clutch to top it off.

Mitch, luckily, will go with whatever you choose. Which is going to be matching pink pants, a white button down not fully buttoned and a pink satin scarf in the pocket. That will be made from the same fabric as the dress. His hair will be styled and maybe you can convince him to have a little makeup on.

Auston was a little harder, but he was going to be dressed in blue pants that are the same as Mitch’s and shirt striped like Alan’s sweater in the movie. A permanent third wheel who you question their involvement in a relationship.

You lived in an apartment in the city, close to where you work. Since Mitch and Steph got married, well a bit before that, you managed to find an apartment and skedaddle out of there. So, you found yourself the night before the party organising your bag full of your costume to take over to Mitch’s place early in the morning. It was late but it had to be done now and you had gone to the game against the Stars.

Your apartment's buzzer going off surprised you. No-one was expected. When you peaked at the camera footage, the familiar boy dressed in the same suit as earlier was standing there waving at the camera. You were quick to let him in and eagerly await his arrival. 

“Hey,” Matt greeted as you let him into your apartment. Pressing a kiss to your lips. “What are you doing?”

“What am I doing? What are you doing here at this time of night?”

He shrugged off his suit jacket and hung it up on your coat rack, “Was on my way back to John’s from the arena and thought I’d stop in.”

“And does John know where you are?” You question. 

“Yes, I told him,” Matt whispers, his lips brushing against yours softly. His warm breath mixes with your own. “Don’t worry your pretty little head.”

You had to shower so despite Matt already showering at the arena he took up the opportunity to join in on your naked task. The two of you took a little longer than necessary but it was all in good fun. Now you were cuddled up in your bed with Coraline on the tv.

“Seriously?” Matt chuckles when he sees the movie title card. 

You just shrugged innocently, “it’s a favourite at this time of year.”

“This time of year?” He laughs harder knowing the truth behind that statement. “You mean any time of year.”

The next morning you were up early regardless of Matt’s whining when your alarm went off. The brunette tried to keep you in bed a little longer, but you wanted to get ready and head over to Mitch’s. The boys had a morning skate so you knew Matt would have to get up anyway. No sympathy from you.

“I’ll see you tonight. You have your costume right?” You mumble. 

Matt hums, pressing a reassuring kiss on your lips. “Yes, I have everything. I get dressed then just have to style my hair and splatter some blood from that bottle over my face and hands.”

“Perfect.” You pressed a kiss to his lips one final time and headed out the door. “Lock up on your way out!”

Steph and you had done most of the cooking and baking yesterday. The big decorations were already done as well, just the main decorations and little bits and pieces were to be put in place. 

The drive to your brother’s went quicker than you expected. But it was welcomed as you and Mitch crossed paths; him heading to practice and you arriving. He gave you a quick hug before you retreated into the house where Steph was eagerly waiting.

“Let’s get this started,” She says excitedly, pressing play on her phone.

Halloween themed songs started playing through the music system you guys had set up the previous day. You two finished off the food first giving it time to rest and cool. Then onto decorations. Starting with the inside, you decorated the entryway, then lounge room and dining room before finishing with the backyard.

“I think we are finished,” Steph states happily, looking over the pair of you’s hard work.

With a glance at your phone, it was 3pm. Perfect time to slowly start to get ready. “I’m gonna go have a shower and start getting ready.”

“Good idea.”

You went straight to your old room that had an ensuite and started to lay out your outfit. A pair of black booty shorts, a black lace corset bra, a blood splattered white button down and a pair of fishnets. That was the basis of your costume. Then a mask that was the same as Matt’s, both lighting up blue.

First things first, shower and prep first before starting on your hair. Then onto make-up, pretty simple, before getting into your costume. The last touch was blood splattering over your make-up. When you finished getting ready, you went downstairs to make a cocktail for Steph and yourself.

“Oo, what’s on the menu?” Steph questions as she comes downstairs in her costume.

“You look so good!” Steph did a twirl for you. “Ah, I picked the perfect costume.”

At the mention of that, Mitch came down solidifying the choice. He was the perfect Ken. Complimenting Steph’s barbie. When he came into the kitchen, he looked you over. Looking at your costume. “What are you?”

“From the purge,” You answer. You poured two cocktails into nice glasses and slid it over to Steph. “Cheers to another successful Halloween.”

“Cheers.”

When you took your first sip, the doorbell rang. Mitch went to greet whichever teammate had arrived first. And knowing the team, it’s either Mitch’s boyfriend (Auston) or the captain and his wife.

“What’s up little Marns?” Auston greets as he presses a kiss to your cheek. “I like the costume.”

“Thanks Aus.”

The group all enjoyed the music that was playing and the alcohol while waiting for others. Soon Will and his girlfriend arrived dressed as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo. Penny joined the other two girls drinking cocktails while the boys sat around outside chatting.

“So, are you still talking to that guy?” Steph asks.

Penny immediately turns on you. “Guy? What guy?”

“Uh,” You stutter. Steph was the only person to know you were talking to a guy. But she didn’t know who he was. “Yeah, I’m still talking to the guy.”

“Who is he?” 

You shrug and go to answer the door as an excuse to leave the conversation. The person knocked at the door again as you walked down the hallway. 

“You will tell us sooner or later,” Steph calls from the kitchen.

The door opened to reveal Matthew, dressed exactly how you envisioned. God, he looked so good. Even with the blood splattered all over him. The brunette lifted his mask and smiled down at you. Well, more like smirked. 

“Heya babe,” he muttered, making sure to peek over your shoulder before pressing a kiss to your lips.

“Hey, you look good!”

“So do you.”

You shut the door behind him and lead him through to the kitchen. As soon as Steph took in Matthew’s costume, she knew exactly who you were talking to. Her eyes lit up as she ran to hug the boy. It was the first team event for Steph to meet the rookie player.

“Hi, welcome to the team,” Steph rushes out excitedly. She looked over the pair of you and your matching costumes. “How are you liking Toronto?”

“I have a good guide,” He replies, sending a small smile to the girl beside him.

“Where’s the captain?” Mitch asks when he sees Knies. 

You waited for your brother’s reaction but it seemed like it wasn’t clicking. Oh well, it will make sense at some point in his golden retriever brain. 

Matt shrugs, “He and Aryne were waiting on the babysitter.”

“Ah, come join the boys out back,” Mitch suggests, already making his way outside again. 

Steph lets out a chuckle, “We’ll see if it clicks for him at some point.”

Matt just shrugged again and kissed you once more and made his way to join his teammates outside on the patio. When the backdoor shut, Steph and Penny both turned and gave you a look.

“The rookie? Really?”

“He’s cute,” You argue.

The pair both agree with a laugh and start to ask you a billion questions. When did you meet him? Where? What was your first date? At the arena before a preseason game. Then he took you out for a late-night meal at a diner.

Soon the house was full of team members and staff dressed in every type of costume you could imagine. Funny, scary, awesome, iconic. You name it, someone is dressed in it. Everyone was mingling and snacking on all the things you and Steph had made during the week. 

“Hey,” Matt greets as he comes up to you talking to Aryne. 

Aryne smiled at the two of you dressed up together. “I love the costumes.”

“That was all her,” The brunette grinned. He pressed a kiss to your temple but soon was interrupted by a yell.

“What?!” You turn to where Mitch was standing with William and Auston. “No way.”

Steph was quick to drag Mitch inside, with the other two of the trio following suit. Luckily not many people had seen the scene created. Knowing your brother, if you and Matt delayed the conversation any longer, he’d come and drag you too in as well. 

“Let’s get this over with,” You mutter, slipping your hand into Matt’s.

As soon as you stepped foot into the living room, Mitch only paid attention to the joint hands. “Oh no, no, no.” He speeds up to you two and separates you both. “Not for the life of me are you dating a hockey player.”

“Come on Mitch.”

He shook his head. “No. I told mum and dad I’d protect you when you moved out here with me.”

“Mitch, I’m not 18 anymore. I’m a big girl. I can date who I want without your permission.”

Knowing he wasn’t going to convince you, he turned on Matthew. He got up in the rookie’s face. “And you! I told you that my sister was off limits!”

Matt couldn’t get in a word before you stepped in and pushed your brother a step back. But he was quick to pull you into his side. 

“Mitch,” Steph murmured.

“I’m serious about her,” Matt spoke up. “She’s perfect. Smart, beautiful, talented. She’s not your sister, she’s just her own, amazing person.”

You teared up. That last point he said was an insecurity you had shared with him. People only want to be with you because of your brother. “Matty.”

“She’s my person,” Matt stated. Making sure to look your brother in the eyes to convey how serious he was. 

“Let them be Mitch,” Auston chuckles, “They like each other. If he hurts her we can beat him later.”

“Fine,” your brother huffed. 

You skipped up to him and hugged him. “Thanks Mitchy. Love you!”

Without another word, you intertwined your fingers with Matt’s and dragged him to your old room.

“Door stays open!” Mitch screams when he realises where you were going. 

You didn’t listen to your brother’s order though. Matt made sure to slam the door loud enough for your brother to hear it over the music. When the door was closed, Matt immediately pulled off your mask from the top of your head before kissing you hard. 

“God you look so good,” He groaned “And your ass in those shorts.”

After making sure the door was locked, you pushed Matt onto the bed. First piece of clothing to come off was the button down. Revealing the lacy corset for all to see. For Matt to see. 

“Damn baby.”

You giggle and dance along to the faint sound of ‘I Put A Spell On You’. Matt grabs your hips guiding you close and flipped the script, making you on the bed and leaned over you. His hand gripped onto your hip as he rubbed his hard dick against your pussy. You let out a quiet moan which only spurred the man on more.

“Yeah, I’m gonna make you scream,” He smirks.

Matthewkniews posted on Instagram!

Liked by mapleleafs, johntaveres and others

matthewknies: What a killer halloween 🔪 tagged: y/nmarner

user: Holyyyyy. This was not on my 2023 bingo card

mitchmarner: Still not over this

y/nmarner: did I ask for your opinion?

stephmarner: be nice you two

user: KNIES OMG

user: new kink unlocked Liked by y/nmarner

TAG LIST

@findapenny @mp0625 @hischierhaze @11zegras @lvrzegras @francesfarhadi @cixrosie @daisysthings

[misshoneyimhome]

Yay!! So glad your inbox is open - I’ve absolutely loved everything you’ve written…keeps me motivated to finish my days at the office as work seems to be endless near the holidays😅

I was thinking the other night about falling asleep on FaceTime with Willy every night on his first long roadie since you guys have been official and the guys chirping him for it but Daddy John being so happy that Willy has finally found someone that seems to be the one…I feel like 9188 have a special bond❤️

Oh, thank you, love! That makes me so happy to hear, and rest assured, I'm here to help whenever you need it 😉

I love your way of thinking! It's incredibly soft and sweet - and yes, Daddy John will forever come to the rescue ❤️🤗 I definitely feel those 9188 vibes

I hope this was along the lines of your thoughts - I feel like it’s very soft!Willy, but I just felt like going for it, you know 😉❤️

Do I even need to warn about mention of sexual behaviour at this point 🙈 you babes should know me by now 😂

Word count: 2.2K

➼｡ﾟ

I’m only one call away I William Nylander (featuring Captain Daddy John)

"Hey, did you fall asleep with your phone again?" Mitch teased, as the team gathered for breakfast.

"Maybe..." William replied groggily, followed by a big yawn.

"Hey, Romeo, don't let your girl mess up your sleep routine - we need you sharp for the game tomorrow," Auston then quipped, a mischievous grin on his face.

"We're travelling today, Tony, don’t worry, I'll catch up," the Swede defended himself, stifling yet another yawn.

"Yeah, lay off him, Aus," Max chimed in, a playful glint in his eyes. "He's a bit touchy now... you know, 'cause he's in loooove."

"Oh, come on," William chuckled, shrugging off his teammate's teasing.

But his mates weren’t finished teasing him about his new romance. On no, they'd been poking fun at him ever since he started dating you and were not about to stop. 

_

You coming into William’s life, was probably the last thing he’d imagine at the time. 

During the last season, especially towards the finals, William had been so absorbed in his games that everything else faded into the background, and hockey became his sole focus.

However, when the Leafs were eventually defeated in the second round, it felt like his entire world crumbled, and he had to find his way back to reality.

And being the easy-going, composed, and confident guy he was, last season quickly became history, and he soon geared up for the new upcoming season, aiming to outdo his previous performances.

It had been at the start of the off-season, just before he headed to meet his family in Sweden, that you entered the picture.

He and his brother Alex were chilling in Toronto for a guys' night out when you caught his eye, as your bright smile and outgoing personality intrigued him.

And what was initially intended to be a casual one-night thing quickly turned into a second and then a third night together. And it was by the fourth time you spent the night at his place, he had to bid you farewell as he headed to visit his family.

However, throughout the summer, you both texted and snapped each other almost every day. All day.

Even his family noticed him smiling at his phone and being quite occupied during the hours that accounted for your time difference.

And as soon as he returned to Toronto, you were swiftly back in the place where it all began: his bedroom.

Truth be told, William was the best guy you'd ever been with. Not only was he incredibly handsome and definitely skilled in bed, but he was also genuinely kind and easy to talk with.

That's partly how you both ended up becoming more than just a one-night fling. You kept talking endlessly about anything and everything. And before long, William found himself sharing personal stories and details that he typically wouldn't disclose to just anyone. Perhaps only his family, Rasmus Sandin, and a select few other players knew this side of him.

However, then when the hockey season was about to kick off, things began to change up a bit.

William's schedule became overwhelmingly busy, making it increasingly difficult to meet up.

But that wasn't a real challenge for you. You hadn't expected much from your situationship with William, so when you had to be a little flexible, meeting late in the evening or leave early in the morning before he had to rush off, it was no issue at all. You simply cherished the time spent together. And when you discovered that he really enjoyed having you at the arena during matches, offering you tickets whenever you had the time, you simply couldn't refuse him.

But then, William's feelings began to gradually snowball.

Especially his teammates noticed a subtle change in his demeanour, and slowly began teasing him about it a bit. And after a couple of months and once he introduced you to his team, it was none other than the captain who felt the need to have a chat with the Swedish forward.

"So, have you told her how you feel?" John Tavares asked out of the blue during a training session while lacing up his skates next to William.

"No... I'm not sure what to say. I mean, I know I really like her... but I don't even know what we are…"

Despite feeling like you both could discuss anything, the exact definition of your situationship was never explicitly mentioned.

"Just tell her that - that you like her a lot," John chuckled with a friendly shrug. "What else is there to it?"

And truthfully, there hasn't been much else to it.

So, William gathered his thoughts, expressed to you that he liked you more than just as friends with benefits, and you reciprocated, telling him that you really liked him as well.

As simple as that.

Well, as simple as it could be when dating an extremely busy professional hockey player. It hadn’t exactly been the typical way of starting a relationship, but with flexibility, patience, honesty, and open communication, you managed it. And just a few weeks later, William was prepared to refer to you as his girlfriend.

Or to be honest, he simply assumed you were his girlfriend and forgot to ask, but that's another story.

Now, here you were, in a fully committed relationship with a man you never expected to fall head over heels in love with.

You lay on his bed as he packed his bag before embarking on a road trip, and not just any road trip - it was the first one since you officially became a couple.

"Is it weird that I'm going to miss you?" William chuckled as he zipped his suitcase before flopping onto the bed beside you.

Resting your head in your hand as you lay on your side, you flashed him a sweet grin.

"No, not at all. I mean, I'll miss you too, Willy, but it's just a little over two weeks - I think we can handle that."

"Maybe..." he pouted. "Just promise me you won't forget about me and run off with someone less busy..." He flashed you a slightly nervous smile.

It was probably one of his biggest concerns; a recurring issue for athletes whenever they got closer to someone.

But with you, there was truly no cause for concern. You were wholeheartedly devoted to the charming Swede, and besides, your work tended to occupy much of your time anyway. In fact, you saw the upcoming week as an opportunity to work a bit extra and perhaps earn some days off later on.

"Don't worry, babe, I've got work anyway," you chuckled lightly, doing your best to reassure him. "But if it makes you feel any better, you can always call me in the evenings, and we'll have a chat."

Your words seemed to comfort him, and although William wasn't truly concerned about your commitment, he ended up calling every day to talk.

And you absolutely adored him for it.

The first time, it was just to hear your voice, chat about your day, and discuss how the team had been on the road before a quick workout, team meeting, some time on the ice, and then rest at the hotel.

The following day, the Leafs faced off against the Blackhawks, and unfortunately, it ended in an overtime defeat. And upon returning to the hotel, William quickly reached for his phone, finding your name and hitting the call button.

"Oh, try to hurry up a bit more, Willy," Järnkrok teased in Swedish as William practically sprinted to his room to FaceTime you.

And then you talked for hours. Despite the lateness following a match, both of you just enjoyed talking. In fact, you enjoyed it so much that you ended up falling asleep on either end of the call, phones in hand.

Naturally, this didn't go unnoticed either, and William had to hear about it all during breakfast.

Then, during the next day, which happened to be another travel day, you exchanged a few more texts. Well, not a few, more like a lot. And perhaps you were a bit of a tease as well by sending him a lingerie photo or two, just to leave a lasting memory. However, your flirtatious photos quickly escalated, and later in the evening, after the hockey commitments were over, you found yourselves pleasing yourselves on each end of the call, exchanging moans and indulging in some dirty talk.

Seemingly, your intimate session left both of you quite tired, and once again, you ended up falling asleep during the call.

The following day, naturally, the guys were all over Willy once more.

"Looks like someone can't be away from his girl," Reaves called out through the hallways.

"Willy and y/n sitting in a tree..." Mitch sang playfully around his teammate, while others joined in with light banter and teasing.

However, John noticed something different.

With his mature, experienced captain's eyes, he noticed a change in his teammate, something he found quite intriguing and positive.

"Hey guys, cut it out," the captain intervened as they were taking their seats on the bus, prompting the others to quiet down and prepare for the ride. "Just ignore them," he told William, taking a seat next to him.

"I am... I mean, it doesn't really bother me," William replied with a crooked smile.

Although the older teammate believed him, John still felt the need to make a point.

"I know, but I'm just saying that regardless of what's going on in your head, it's for the better."

"How so?"

"You seem... I don't know, maybe a bit more mature, like you've got your head together," the captain said with a warm smile.

"Honestly, I feel the opposite," William replied with another lopsided smile. "I mean, she's in my head all the time..." he sighed. "I can't stop thinking about her - I miss her, even though it's only been a week since we've been apart... we haven't even been together for that long."

"I know the feeling, kid. These women, they have a way of getting to us," John chuckled, briefly reminiscing about what it's like to be in love for the first time.

"Yeah..."

"Hey, you're doing great, and feeling this way just means she's really something special," John offered a reassuring look.

"Thanks, I think so too. I mean... I've never felt like this about someone before," William admitted.

"Oh, she's your first?"

"Yup... and I want her to be the last..."

The two men shared a heartfelt moment, exchanging chuckles as William's eyes shone with pure love and longing, and John couldn't help but feel happy for the young hockey star.

"You know, just in case you ever start doubting yourself - not that you seem like you do - I just want you to know your game has been insanely good since you met y/n."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, it's like maybe you want to impress or something because you know she's watching - whatever it is, keep using it as fuel. It works."

And with those final words of encouragement, John gave William a supportive clap on the shoulder before standing up to move and take another seat, leaving the younger player with his thoughts and emotions.

Well, that was the case until curious George, also known as Auston Matthews, threw himself into the seat.

And throughout the remainder of the road trip, William continued to call you every day, and you both chatted in the evenings as if you were together in real time. And every night, you'd end up falling asleep with your phones in hand because neither of you felt like hanging up.

_

As soon as the boys were back in town, William wasted no time in arranging to meet up with you. As soon as he knew when he was about to land, he swiftly texted you, urging you to be ready and pack an overnight bag as he intended to pick you up.

"Willy, it's late, you don’t need to come and pick me up... we'll see each other tomorrow," you tried to rationalise, although a part of you deeply yearned to be close to him again.

"I know, but I just really want to see you," he pleaded over the phone, already seated in his car and on his way.

And you couldn’t help but release a light sigh, a soft smile gracing your lips at his sweetness. "Alright, I really want to see you too."

Soon, William then arrived at your place, and you swiftly hopped into his car, heading to his condo.

Not that there was anything wrong with your place, but you also knew that William longed to return to his dogs, having been away from them for so long.

And in no time, you reached the carpark, hurriedly taking the lift, and passionately connecting your lips every possible second during the ride up. Then upon entering the condo, bags were carelessly tossed to the floor, and amidst the heated make-out session, William briefly paused, taking deep breaths before his deep blue eyes locked onto yours, as he softly, almost nervously, spoke.

"Y/n... I love you..."

For some, those three words were easily spoken, but for William, they held more weight. And yet, they felt so incredibly right to say.

"I love you too, Willy," you smiled up at him, your bodies close, sharing warmth and air filled with endorphins between you, before reconnecting in a deep, heartfelt kiss.

[empressgeekt]

So I had a read of your version of Trolls and I have one question; who is part of the Council in your AU? Because fun fact: in my Strange Friendship AU, I explore the concept of the Pop Trolls having a Council as well.

Well that's an interesting question.

The way I'm setting up the council is that there's one representative for different occupations and sub-tribes. Most of them will likely not be named however, an example, would be Sky Toronto, who would stand for village supplies and as a rep for Glitter trolls. Doctor MoonBloom for medical needs and a rep practitioners etc.

And of Course the King or Queen who's supposed to represent the people as a whole and lead military plans. Technically They should be one step above the council and said council could only advise the ruler. However, the role of the Royal family shifted once the bergens held the Pop tribe captive. During that time the council switched all focus on survival, which meant keeping people happy so the Chef would leave them alone until Trollistice rolled around. Passing holidays, putting in Hug Time, anything to keep the populace colorful, after a few generations this just became the norm.

Cut to post escape and now the practices that kept them alive, are now hurting the populace with forced toxic positive. Only all the Council are older trolls, who are very traditionalist, and believe what kept them safe in the tree is enough to keep them safe in the woods. Making them hesitant to change anything that might upset people, since negative emotions were once a death sentence. Much to the frustration of Branch, who knows that they are using old tactics on the wrong playing field.

Poppy in this au is going to have a lot of clean up work to do, especially when the other Tribes join up, since the old ways aren't really the old ways and are not working anymore. (

(this is the same for all my Trolls aus, though in Burning Branches, the changes are more swift considering Char was heavily involved in Rock kingdom politics and knows how to fix things even if the Rock trolls government is different system)

[junkeboxjunkie]

"c'mon, donald! let's have some fun!"~

merry christmas and happy holidays, everyone! i'm busy coping with the fact that there is not a drop of snow here in toronto on christmas day 🥲 tried drawing this in the paul rudish mickey shorts style, hope it looks accurate lol

[lynne-monstr]

hi blog it's friday! in an ideal world I would be in the midst of a 4 day weekend. too bad for me, my client decided a holiday weekend was a great place to put their big deadline and so instead I am potentially working this weekend. yuck.

anyway on a happier note, things are busy busy this summer. I went for my big yearly appalachian trail hike with my friends last week. 50 miles in 5 days, and this time I did NOT injure myself! yay! I did, however, not position my rain fly correctly one night, and sadly discovered this fact at 1am when it started pouring and dripping water onto my hammock. blog, let me tell you, feeling around for a poncho in the dead of night and repositioning all the ground stakes of a rain tarp while not having a headlamp and needing to juggle a cell phone in one hand to use the flashlight app is NOT FUN. and then I spent the rest of the night worrying I didn't do a good job. it was not my most fun hiking night, I admit.

(I made up for it several days later when I slept with just my sleeping mat and bag under the stars. it was beautiful)

it was a very fun trip but I'm glad to be back and chilling and having some much needed alone time. next week is another business trip to toronto and them maybe west coast long weekend to visit family and then a beach weekend with more family. (I already had my once-a-year pina colada but I might make an exception and have another!)

I just got back from a lunchtime gym class and I feel great. I'm going to try to do zero more work today because I am still resentful about my nonexistent long weekend lol.

this weekend is more spirealm show and maybe I'll finally download the link click live action show for bestest boy jiang long. and I continue on my goal to try at least one new nyc restaurant per week! I have a few contenders for this weekend, we'll see how it goes.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

[aleckacktually]

The (Disputable) Macdonald Hall Timeline:

since the dawn of time, fans of this niche canadian book series have been plagued by Gordon Korman’s insistence on making the boys time at school timeless, and by proxy, providing no clear passage of time. at all.

wikipedia helpfully provides the only indication of age is “too young to shave” but technically, this isn’t true. in that same book (This Can’t Be Happening) Boots indeed recalls “his Grade 8 field trip” which would imply they are in grade 9.

this is literally impossible.

i was personally driven insane by this notion.

so, i decided to make an obviously entirely factual timeline for all 7 books in the franchise (and graduation for fun because they don’t mention it in book 7, which means it’s not their last year yet) based on comments made throughout the story.

the START dates for the books are all absolutely accurate, but the length is a little fishy (pardon the pun) because unfortunately they almost never confirm how long it’s been since the start of the book by the end.

the holiday dates are based off of the modern toronto school calendar as well as me asking people i know who went to school in canada in the early 80s so while they may not be EXACT, they’re as close as we’re gonna get.

so without further ado, bruno and boots antics now helpfully provided with dates:

feel free to send an ask if you want to see any of my evidence for the start of books that AREN’T right after summer or the length of certain stories cause i’d be happy to tell you!

and yes i did use apple calendar for this, i think it makes me look even more insane and that’s pretty funny

[jayhawksofficial]

Jayhawks Tour Update October 2024

🎄🎄 HOLIDAY SHOW(S) ANNOUNCED 🎄🎄

'tis the season for The Jayhawks annual Holiday Show. This year it will be twice the fun: 2 nights at the wonderful The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul on December 20 & 21. We're also thrilled to announce that our old friend and tour mate Matthew Sweet will be starting off the night. This will be a very special double bill.

================== UPDATE 10/23 In light of the recent news about Matthew Sweet's health crisis, we're working on coming up with a new opener for our December holiday shows in St. Paul. More news soon. ===================

The new venue for the holiday shows isn't the only change. The shows this year will feature a more "acoustic" approach, which presents all kinds of exciting possibilities for the setlists and staging.

Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday, October 11 at 10am CT. This is a reserved seat venue so get in early for the best selection.

There is an exclusive artist presale that starts at 10am CT on Wednesday, October 9.

Presale code is PECAN

Ticket links Friday December 20: https://bit.ly/3BCiMJq Saturday December 21: https://bit.ly/4gP7zFv

============================================

We still have a few short runs on the calendar for October and November.

Tour dates & ticket links: bit.ly/JayhawksShows

Tour schedule (as of October 23) October 24 - Fall River, MA - Narrows Center For The Arts October 25 - Woodstock, NY - Bearsville Theater (with Tommy Stinson) October 26 - Newton, NJ - The Newton Theatre (with James Mastro) November 7 - Toronto, ONT - The Great Hall (with Daniel Greaves from The Watchmen) November 8 - Toronto, ONT - The Great Hall (with Daniel Greaves from The Watchmen) November 9 - Brant, ONT - Paris Presbyterian Church November 10 - Burlington, ONT - The Burlington Performing Arts Centre December 20 - St. Paul, MN - Fitzgerald Theater December 21 - St. Paul, MN - Fitzgerald Theater

2025 January 16-20 - South Walton, FL - 30A Songwriters Festival (exact schedule released in January)

[antigrapevinepod]

E107 - I'm a Fun Machine! (Joey Jeremiah)

Ho, ho, hoe, Panthers! It’s an early Christmas episode of the Anti-Grapevine—and there’s no stepdad we’d rather spend the holidays with than Joey Jeremiah. This episode, Conor and Loren sit down by the fire and tell the tale of Degrassi Junior High holdover and used car salesman extraordinaire, Joey Jeremiah. So get ready to fall back in love with your high school ex, photobomb a baby’s first Christmas picture, and give in to the seductive voices of the Degrassi Community School goblins—because this holiday season, we go there.

(Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of child abuse.)

For the Toronto Comic Con Q&A panel with Pat Mastrioanni we reference during listener questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOyQHhNs8eE.

[leafpapi]

please remember to not make fun of kids who still believe in santa…. there are still grown adults that believe in the toronto maple leafs

happy holidays friends

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m late but nonetheless I wanted to wish you a good Thanksgiving. Thank you for all of this William content you kept us well-fed. Has anyone requested a jealous William and his brother trying to help him out?. “All these fuckin’ assholes lookin’ at you and I’m the only one that gets to fill this pussy, you got that” A lil dominant William is in order. 🥵

thank you!! it was a nice holiday and this year i’m thankful for all of YOU! there’s none of these fics, willy or otherwise, without the love and support and enthusiasm you guys have thrown my way!!! 🤍 and with the sappy moment out of the way, onto the smut, yes?

we love a jealous man around this blog, in a non-toxic sort of way of course. and a dominant william is very much a mood

you’re at a bar in downtown toronto with william and alex and some of the brothers’ non-maple leaf friends and their girls and it’s a fun night, raucous and rowdy and you’ve had maybe one too many drinks

one of the things william loves about you is that you’re just as charming and chatty as he is, you match energies for sure

but of course, that means you’ll chat with anyone in the bar, even if they’re a guy and you maybe don’t realize he’s flirting with you. getting closer and into your space, you’re just chatting away, alcohol buzzing in your veins

alex notices and even though he knows you’d never ever cheat on william, couldn’t even fathom it, he doesn’t like the way the guy at the bar is looking at you. so he pulls william away from his conversation, points the guy out and that’s all it takes for william to cross the bar and wedge himself in between your body and the guy’s

“hey! willy styles!” he’s drunk enough to think that’s an appropriate response to the dark glare william is shooting at him. “great fuckin’ goal last night”

“yeah? thanks, man, now fuck off. this is my girlfriend you’re trying to hook up with,” william deadpans with a healthy dose of bite in his tone

you wrinkle your nose and grab at william’s hand, “he wasn’t tying to hook up with me. we were talking about the best dog parks in toronto. he was going to show - oh my god! you were trying to hook up with me!”

the guy winces sheepishly and directs his response to william. “i’m sorry, man. i would never have tried to hit on her if i had known she was yours”

it’s condescending and you frown at him over william’s shoulder, but your boyfriend nods sharply and dismisses the man before turning to you, a smirk on his face

“what?” you grumble, leaning against the bar

“you really didn’t notice all these fucking assholes looking at you, älskling?” william asks and you shake your head. “fuck me. they’re all looking at you, they all want you, but guess what,” he leans in, breath warm in your ear, “your pussy is mine”

you flush and your cunt throbs at his words. “mhm,” you hum. “all yours”

william’s voice is low, warm, “i’m the only one who gets to fill this pussy up, you got that?” he punctuates his sentence with his hand reaching down to cup your cunt through your jeans and you jump when he flexes his fingers against you. “tell me, who gets to fill this perfect pussy with come?”

“you,” you breathe shakily, “only you, william”

the heel of his palm presses up, grinding the seam of your jeans against your clit and you gasp. “that’s right, älskling, this pussy belongs to me. only my cock gets to fill her.”

your knees buckle a little and william grabs your waist with his free hand

“all these other assholes want to get their dick wet in you, but they can’t, right? you’re probably soaking your panties right now, aren’t you?”

you hum, “m not wearing any”

and william’s eyes twinkle. “oh, my naughty girl. get you wet enough and everyone in the bar will be able to see it, huh?”

a nod and william removes his hand from your cunt, making you whine, and guides you off to the bar’s bathroom. he has the door locked and your jeans at your knees faster than you can blink. his cock is thick and hard and perfect, making you scream every time he hits your g-spot

“gonna fill this perfect pussy and when you talk to another guy at the bar, you’ll be leaking my come, knowing who you belong to,” he grunts into your hair, thrusting into you in a brutal pace until he comes - filling you as promised with more come than you have room for, hot drips of his come leaking out onto your thighs

he doesn’t let you come and pulls your jeans back up your legs when he’s done, legs and cunt sticky with his come and your arousal, damp spots already forming on the fabric. it’s uncomfortable as hell, the mix of textures and sensations making your clit throb and if you wanted, you could probably make yourself come with a few rubs of your clit over the fabric

william kisses you deeply, nipping at your lower lip while he tucks himself back into his pants. “keep that safe for me, okay? and if you’re a good girl the rest of the night, i’ll clean you up when we get home”

you nod stupidly, trying not to focus on the wet squelch you swear is audible every time you take a step. and later, when one of your friends points out a wet spot on your jeans, thinking you spilled a drink on yourself, william winks at you from across the table, a smug smirk curling his lips 😏

[intersexbookclub]

December pick: Across the Green Grass Fields

For December we'll be having a fun read, a YA portal fantasy with unicorns and centaurs that features a main character with AIS! The author is perisex, but the book has been well-reviewed by intersex people and had at least one intersex sensitivity reader. When we’re meeting We will be meeting to discuss the four chapters on Fri Dec 22, at: - 12:30-14:00 Pacific (Vancouver, San Francisco, etc) - 15:30-17:00 Eastern (Toronto, New York, etc) - 21:30-23:00 Central European (Berlin, Paris, etc) for more time zones see here

Normally we meet on the last Friday of the month but given the winter holidays in many countries & cultures we will be meeting on the penultimate Friday this month.

To join the discord: https://discord.gg/U8ZucKwGPK Also see: our code of conduct

How much of the book do you need to read? You don’t need to finish it participate! You are welcome to skim and/or skip chapters as desired. The book's chapters are grouped into Parts. Reading the first Part is plenty to have interesting things to discuss, and reading the first two will give you a good sense of the book. Current & future book picks If this isn’t in the cards for you, we’re reading a selection from Critical Intersex this month (November). For January we'll be reading a selection from Envisioning African Intersex.