#i love timmy and gobbles

[buttfrovski]

he's so fucking cute u guys

[emo-ficus]

They’re the coolest kids around!

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #23

Hazel Wells and the Multiverse of Jenkins

PFFT-EH?-EHHH? It's confirmed daylight savings time? Then take down the posters that've been up for 30 episodes implying it was November, you goofs.

I'm thinking Hazel showed up around September or October (i.e. before the November Sneezy Hawkins dance and we know she was in school for a few weeks before the exam at the end of "Teacher's Pal," because she told us), then Antony came home for winter break, and now it's March. That gives us a good estimate of things like founder's day and Dev's birthday. In fact, we know exactly what the length of time between those two dates is because Dev told us his birthday was 9 years, 7 months, and 14 days ago. I guess that checks out since Antony probably came home in December. If it's March for daylight savings, that would be another 3 months. This also implies Dimmadelphia is farther south than Dimmsdale, which occasionally saw snow (though it's possible godkids were wishing for it). Dimmadelphia doesn't seem to get snow.

Or he could just say "set your clocks BACK" as soon as I unpause and I'll just... sit here with my little notes. it's fine.

We're confirmed for fall, then. Possibly Hazel's been here a year if the posters are to be believed, but also at this point, those posters stay up all year round, so they're not to be trusted even for Episode 1. Unclear what the summer situation is, but I'll make a proper timeline another time.

I would say this is the key episode to build a timeline around. Then roughly place Dev's birthday and then Founder's Day the appropriate time apart and fill in the blanks.

Looks like "Operation: Birthday Takeback" aired July 31st, which might be a good place to start if I want to canonize Dev's birthday date for fanfic purposes.

Founder's Day was around school because Dale was prepping during "A New Dev-elopment," when we know school was in session, so I'll do math and consider my options when I'm done with Season 1.

So... Dev just told Hazel someone has a crush on her, but I find that hard to believe because they're at odds and I can't imagine he has good reasons for chatting like this.

He called her a nickname, which he only does when they're not friendly. And no Peri to give her any clues...

I would not trust this man, but I respect the hustle.

Are we going to be manipulating time and space; is that why it's daylight savings?

They have a class pet:

Aw, I like how Winn became a Prime Meridian fan after the book club episode, apparently.

Huh. Was it Winn who had Shakespeare for Mimes early on? It's clearly in their locker. I could've sworn it was Jasmine, which is why I was confused she was afraid of clowns. Maybe she finished and gave it to them. I'm gonna check.

I say as I look up and see the clown toy sitting in her locker. Good for her for conquering her fears.

No, it was Jasmine (end of "Teacher's Pal")

Yes, those dance posters are still up. They're getting the boot from my canon.

Hazel's "next class" is Room 104, so that could theoretically be used to scout her classroom number. Which confuses me because we know she's on the 2nd floor, but okay.

I love Father Time; he's such a silly guy.

I like how Hazel is just... so stressed out about Jenkins having a crush on her.

I particularly enjoy like how after he said she was so confident in a flirty voice, Hazel's body literally shatters and then she rushes to the cereal, throws back her head, and gobbles it in bulk. She wants this so little, she's not willing to return his affection whatsoever. sldfkj.

Hazel in "Prime Meridian Love": I don't want a relationship; I'm only 10. Hazel now, even after I was starting to believe she might be growing a crush on Dev: I don't want a relationship; I'm only 10.

That's so funny...

Timmy: I have a crush on someone even though she's not interested in me, but I hope she'll change her mind. Hazel: you guys are having crushes??

I really like how Hazel's specific reason for not wanting Jenkins to like her is "I'm too self-conscious and can't remember how to act normal." She's a very anxious character...

It's not that she's into someone else, and it's not that she has anything against Jenkins specifically. She just is way too anxious and doesn't want to deal with it.

Hazel, scrambling for a way out without hurting Jenkins' feelings: I can't go around with you. I have a crush on someone else. Uh... Trev. Trev, who was behind her and she didn't notice: Did I just hear you have a crush on me, Hazel?? Hazel: /absorbs entire box of cereal in .2 seconds

She doesn't want ANYONE to like her!! she is 10 and squirmy!

I'm once again sad Dev cited Trev as "his bud" in Episode 1, but we haven't seen them interact. I feel like Trev existing on the periphery of her interactions with Dev would've made this even funnier, lmao.

That said, it's funny that Dev's description of Trev was "He's my bud, so he probably won't give YOU time of day" and Trev is out here like "I am totally down to give Hazel the time of day." He's just chillin' and smiling. I like him.

Hazel at the top of her lungs when the entire hallway flirts with her: I don't CARE who like-likes me! I don't like any of you BACK!!

Chloe and Hazel (to me):

Holy cow, Hazel. I don't have much to say, but I enjoy watching her screw people's memories up by manipulating time. And that's a heavy sentence to drop out of context, but...

Yeah, she just did 568 timeloops speedrun and now everyone has a crush on her.

Including Dev, apparently.

Should we be worried that Dev specifically cited the thing he finds attractive about Hazel to be "how ruthless she is," because buddy... You're on track to continue the Dimmadome abuse cycle!

Hey Dev, it's kind of weird to know her middle name. What've you been doing; who've you been talking to?

Wow, it took absolutely 0 thought for Dev to yell loudly about how in love he is with Hazel [in this time loop] for the whole hall to hear.

I am once again fascinated by how he's never cared for "maintaining a reputation" at this school in any way and he's willing to dropkick whatever "cool, tough, and closed-off" persona he's formed at the first sign of what he thinks is a better future.

Local rich kid desperate for affection once again willing to jump 12 feet if you ask him to jump 6. She asked him to jump 0. She asked him to sit down and not even think about jumping.

Dev "I would commit B&E for you a second time; please let me commit B&E for you a second time" Dimmadome.

I like how Dimmadomes are known for putting the Dimm name on everything, but we keep seeing Dev's first name used (such as in the episode title "A New Dev-elopment" or Peri's quote "I'm going to take you from Dev to Dev-ine!")

It gives me the vibe that yes, he's a Dimmadome, but he's a little disconnected. Wow, it's a pun AND sadness!

I can't stop thinking about how annoyed he sounded when the time came to finally tell Vicky his last name. All the other Dimmadomes repeatedly introduce themselves by their full name... but he holds back.

Also, I like how the O-pairs are always down for anything. Dev is their special boy <3

I really really like them for some reason and I'm sorry because I can already tell any Dev 'fic I write is going to lean into them. My curse of getting attached to weird background characters unfortunately continues and these might be the worst ones I've ever fallen for. I don't look forward to trying to search up cute 'fics or fanart of them. haha; I'm in danger...

I just looked up how to spell O-pair because I was tired of not knowing and I found this Wikipedia page:

au pair /ˌō ˈper/ - An au pair (/oʊˈpɛər/; pl.: au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for child care as well as some housework, and receive a monetary allowance or stipend for personal use.

oh. okay.

IMBD's "Operation: Birthday Takeback" page lists them as O-Pair #1 and O-Pair #2, which just hurts.

Dev: My dad gives me the coolest gadgets. They have fancy futuristic names. They're my friends and I love them :) Dale, who knew exactly what he was doing:

Wow, it's TWO puns and sadness!!

Hazel's theme song, but it's rewritten for Dev and the "pair quite strange" who changed his life are the O-Pairs.

I like how in "Operation: Birthday Takeback," Peri's instinctual disguise was an O-Pair, which is incredibly fitting now that I see this description.

I wish we saw signs of Peri hanging around Dev, like a pin on his shirt or the headphones again. Or maybe I'm afraid.

This is nuts. How many hours did Hazel just live through? She needs a nap... Aw, I like the moral lesson for this episode (Letting go and not obsessing over things you can't change). Mr. Guzman is a lovely character; he's so friendly.

Also:

Jenkins: Um... I don't have a crush on you, Hazel. Dev: PSYCH! I made it up~!

She's SO mad. sdfjk

"DEV DIMMADOME!"

I've never seen her this mad. That's great.

Local anxious girl just put herself through some of the worst experiences she's faced, and for WHAT??

He's just a quirky little guy! You wouldn't hurt a quirky little guy!! He's just goofin' with you~

- This feels extremely in-character for Dev considering he outfoxed the never-before-beaten negotiator aliens in "Peace of Pizza" by memeing on them. He's just a silly wittle boy... I'm fascinated by the way his mind works. - I'm not sure Dev even knows how his mind works.

That was great! I liked that. I don't often see a character trying to work through feelings about crushes like this and I enjoyed it.

[vampirepersay]

Teen timmy headcanons

Cw pet death and cheating are briefly mentioned.

Timmy is really good at nonverbal communication, he knows sign language and he also texts his friends a lot. Due to his disability, his eye-hand coordination is not very good so his handwriting is messy. His parents let him keep Gobbles as a pet.  When Gobbles died he held a funeral for him in his yard.

He loves alternative music and has since he was a kid. 

He's punk and has quite a few piercings. He realized he was gay when Jimmy got a girlfriend and he couldn't help but be jealous of her.

He Was secretly super happy when Jimmy found out his girlfriend was cheating on him and he dumped her. He's good friends with Mike because when they saw Timmy wearing a band tee from a band they also liked they freaked out and would not stop complimenting him.  

Mike taught him how to make buttons. He's good with computers. Sometimes he accidentally (on purpose) runs over the feet of people he does not like with his wheelchair, this mostly happens to Cartman. He's gotten better at talking as he's gotten older but he talks slowly especially if he's saying a full sentence. He loves birds.

AN: I love timmy so much

[thelovelybitten]

vera's first watch of south park -- season four (part 4)

LORD THIS IS SO LONG SD GSDBGKSBKJ

EPISODE 11:

AYO WHAT IS THIS BEEEEAAAT BRO?!?!?!?!?!?!?

THIS INTRO IS SO GOOD I AM SHAKING ASS

12/10 INTRO CARD SLAYED THE HOUSE DOWN BOOTS HOUSTON I'M D E C E A S E D

they are now 4th graders !!! they abt to be 9 years old !!!

wendy and BEBE MY KIDS IN FRAME I LOVE IT

stan be for real Y'ALL AIN'T ABT TO SHOW ASS TO THE NEW TEACHER

BUTTERS JKDNSGJNJKDSNGKJNDFK HE'S UNHINGED UR HONOUR

I am looking respectfully. this lady's breasts are ENORMOUS

MS. CHOKES ON DICK ARE U CEREAL SDJFBJISDBGK

stan, baby, we gotta work on ur jokes.

THE WAY IT WAS ONLY CARTMAN DSAHFBJDSBG GET BONED

TWEEK IS ME FR

cartman in his elvis era

NO NOT CLYDE CRYING JSDFBGKJSDBKJHBKSD MY FUCKING BABY DON'T CRY MI AMOR

clyde and wendy giving butters the bombastic side eye

these boys abt to use timmy as time travel bait NOT COOL

Mr garrison?!?!?!? where art thou

wendy sussing out the specifics iktr

damn. timmy went flying.

nah not y'all doing timmy dirty...

WHAT THE FUCK LADY DON'T GRIND YASELF ON TIMMY HE DID NOTHING

20 MINS UNTIL TIMMY IS BLOWN UP. I HOPE WE NEVER GET THERE

Mr garrison backstory damn

of course they gonna put kenny w the exploding chair I mean how else this man gonna die huh

OMG EW U ARE SICK FOR THIS DEATH

TIMMY SAYING PLS HELP???? HIS FIRST WORDS

OH FUCK THERE HE GO INTO SPACE

NO NOT THE PREHISTORIC TIMES

MR GARRISON AS A MONK FOR MISS CHOKSONDIK

garrison pls just come out as gay PLEASE THIS PONDERING IS SO BORINGGGG

THANK YOU LORD

all the FACULTY BEING SUPPORTIVE OF GARRISON AS THEY

F U C K I N G SHOULD

I take it back, y'all freaks

EPISODE 12:

ITS BEEN A COUPLE WEEKS BUT IM BACK AND THIS INTRO STILL BUSTS DOWN HOLY

IKE IN A BUSINESS SUIT ?!?! clean af boi

FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN !!!

NOT KYLE AND CARTMAN HAVING THE SAME THING

cartman always 1 uppin Kyle LMAO

who the fuck is this man.

BILL COSBY ?!,!

KYLE GET HIM

Stan being the voice of reason so real

NOT THE KIDS BULLYING IKE BOOO

Mr.Garrison bro these kids understand jack shit

KYLE BEING SMART he’s that straight A kid wbk

Kyle and Ike geniuses

CARTMAN RELAX LANDISMXKMAKD

STOP IKE IS QUAKING

BILL COSBY STEALING THE TRAPPER KEEPER LMAO

FLORA 💘 A BABY GIRL

KINDERGARTENERS RIOTING

Cartman UNHINGED

OH HE A ROBOT ?!?!,

so basically Eric destroys the future alright

FLORA DECIDED !! IKE SLAY

LMAOOOO THE RECOUNT

the kiddos are FERAL

KYLE AND CARTMAN FIGHTING FOR NO REASON

everyone okay with killing cartman

“KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE FAT BOY” Stan spitting facts

DAMN THEY GETTING THE BIG GUNS IN

OH FUCK THAT THING IS SCARY

liane my beloved

LIANE OH MY GOD SHE GETTIN ROBOT DICK

OH FUCK CARTMAN OH NO

NOT KENNY

JESUS CHRIST OH MY GOD

liane still getting it tho LMAO

OH god KYLE it’s gross in THERE

NO KYLE MY KING SAVE HIM

MR GARRISON POPPED AWF AS HE SHOULD 💅🏻

this cartman monstrosity makes me physically sick

IKE WINS LIKE THE KING HE IS

cartman this is so gross

Stan forcing cartman to thank Kyle and doesn’t HAHAH

EPISODE 13

AAAAAA STENDYLEEEEE

Wendy looks SO CUTE JEICKSKXKDKXKC SHE IS THE GHURL

Stan and his fake beard WERK

KYLE MY SON

I’ve been famished of stendy/STENDYLE content pls excuse me

STENDY HAS A DAUGHTER OH MY GOOOOODDDDD

Timmy LOL

BEBE MY GIRL LETS GOOOOOO

BUTTER SPRINTING

CLYDE AND TOLKIEN OH MY GOD SO CUTE

the kids are so cute I can’t

Wendy speaking boosts my serotonin

GOBBLES :)))))

Timmy protecting gobbles is so sweet

OH FUCK TIMMY SAID JUMP THRU THE RING OF FIRE

AWWW GOBBLES SLEEPING W TIMMY IM CRYING SO WHOLESOME

Clyde slayed

THE KIDS ARE SO CUTE DANCING

kybe crumbs they beside each other

TURKSLAY

BEBE MAIN SLAYER

OH FUCK KENNY

Gobbles sacrificed Kenny for himself not slay

this man manipulating Timmy NOT COOL

cartmans brain is so whack

EW SOME OF THESE VISUALS ARE SO DISTURBING I can’t

NO TIMMY IM SORRY MY LOVE 😭😭😭

NOT HEIDI’S DOG :((((

ALL THE DADS SETTING UP CAMERAS LIKE DADS DO IS SO CUTE AND VERY WHOLESOME 😭 very slay of them

I SEE WENDY AND TOLIKEN CHITTY CHATTIN IN THE BACK 👀 SPARKS ?!?!

DONT KILL GOBBLES

OKAY PRODUCTION !!!!

OH DAMN THEY KILLED SO MANY TURKEYS

STENDY MOMENT STENDY MOMENT I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM

singing for their fake baby IM DEAD

I have BIG FEELINGS FOR MY KIDS

STAN AND WENDY YELLING AT THE PLASTIC BABY WHY ARE THEY SO UNHINGED I LOVE THEM

them faking their deaths to end the act is so REAL. no one is doing it like my kids ON GOD

NO HE SHOT TIMMY

IM SO UPSET

WATER HELEN

I know WENDY HITTING THAT HIGH NOTE I JUST KNOW

OH FUCK THEY KILLED THAT TURKEY ON THE SPOT

gobbles !!!!

butters. Oh my god

Okay another part bc I fear the character limit

[porcupiney]

dreamers

[n3onguts]

a map of our love. | timothée chalamet

summary — three big cities, two stupidly-in-love people, and one home.

pairing — timothée chalamet x f!reader

genre&tags — slice of life au, fluff, all that cutesy traveling shit that couples do, flying-induced anxiety, might require some basic knowledge about english lit (but who hasn’t read pride and prejudice??), fun country-related facts sprinkled here n there

warning(s) — none

w.c. — 732

a/n — i think anon requested this in like 2018 or 2019 when tim’s fandom was still largely active but they’ve sort of died down now oops 😅 too little, too late, i know, but, anon (if you’re still out there and waiting), you must admit my level of procrastination is unmatched! love you all very very much, don’t forget to take care of yourselves, and, for all da white boy lovers out there, enjoy some good clean wholesome fun with mah boi timmy 

Loving you, it seems, comes easily to Timothée.

In London, you pull him by his hoodie sleeve from bookstore to bookstore, along historic cobblestone streets, with the energy of a frenetic kid at a toy store. You find a secondhand, tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice with a handwritten dedication on the title page that reads, "For Amelia. I'd give up my pride for you a thousand times over." You squeal over the prospective identity of this book's previous owner to him, weaving a grand tale about the romance that led to the scrawled note, and he is more than happy to listen. He buys the book for you and you fall asleep on his shoulder on the Tube ride back to your hotel, still clinging tightly onto it. His side starts to get sore after a while, and if this were anyone else, he'd nudge them awake for some sweet relief — but it's you, so of course he doesn't. Stays like that until it’s your stop is what he does instead.

In Paris, you ask him to take a picture of you as you smoke a cigarette in a béret — the quintessential French stereotype. "Am I doing your people justice?" You joke. He sits across the iron café table from you, watching you pose playfully through the lens of his iPhone camera and making no attempts to suppress the giddy grin he's got on. "Oh, definitely. I can barely tell you're not from here." Later, at night, you stroll along the Pont des Arts and you whisper to him, full of awe as you survey the nippy gloom of the city, "I wonder how many keys there are at the bottom of the Seine from the old love locks that used to be attached to the bridge... It must house, like, hundreds of thousands of promises.” He notices you stare straight down into the calm waters intently, almost as if you can see the keys you're talking about materialize on the river floor. “I wonder how many of those relationships actually lasted." You quietly muse. He doesn’t say anything — just juts out his hand towards your chest suddenly and twists it in front of your heart, catching you by surprise before feigning a toss into the air. You roll your eyes when he looks back at you, but you do the same to him regardless. 

In Tokyo, you two share Yakiniku and Sake in some hole-in-the-wall bar at Ebisu Alley. There's a Japanese jazz record playing softly in the background, all high-pitched strings and sweet, feminine crooning. The air is sticky with heat, and your cheeks are tinted red as you gobble down the meat. There's one last skewer left on the plate and you look up at him guiltily, eyes wide and smile sheepish. He chuckles lightly, nodding his head. "Of course. Go ahead."

On the flight home, he holds your hand tightly as your plane gets ready to depart. You shut your eyes and try to focus on the sound of his voice instead of the anxiety spiking through your veins. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." — He repeats it like a religious mantra, trying to commit it to your memory. He guides you through your breathing and when you open your eyes, you're cruising smoothly in the air. The fear in your heart has dissipated, and in place, a warm inkling of something pulses for him.

Like an innate sense, almost, he'd love you anywhere. Anywhere — but he realizes it at home.

At home, in your shared New York apartment, while he watches you stir his morning coffee (just the way he likes it, of course: with a dash of sweetened oat milk, which you put him on, and exactly three ice cubes, as always) from over your shoulder, chin tucked into your neck and caramel curls tickling your cheek, he realizes it. 

He inhales the scent of coffee grounds and exhales a soft, but certain ‘I love you’. 

You smile, something small. After a few moments, you let out an ‘I figured’. 

He steps back when you turn, handing him his drink. He receives it, clasps it with two hands, but he’s still waiting. You can’t help but think how cute he looks — like a toddler whose toys have been taken away.

“Oh, and I love you too, loser. Duh.”

[tothesuuuun]

You got Gobbles too! You draw Timmy the best

Happy Birthday, Timmy!

[hhomunculus]

5: list as many sp kids as you can in order from fav to least fav

here, I’ll do my top 15 :)

Kenny - Kyle - Butters - Cartman - Stan - Jimmy - Scott M - Token - Craig - Timmy - Ike - Nichole - Clyde - Wendy - Tweek -

8: least favorite adult

I’d have to go with Gerald. I haven’t gotten into the worst of his actions quite yet (currently on s 19), but I’ve heard plenty about them and have witnessed what an arrogant prick he can be already. he’s toxic, and like it isn’t in an over the top comedic way like Butters’ dad for example, or Garrison. nah, Gerald is almost entirely unpleasant and usually leaves a bad taste in my mouth (and I say that to the writers’ credit, not a criticism)

on a less serious level, I kind of can’t stand barbrady lol but just because he’s a little annoying. not a huge fan of sgt yates either, but he’s grown on me

10: dead/one-time characters to bring back

Thomas (le petit tourette), Ms. Ellen, Damien, Bradley (cartman sucks), and Tammy off the top of my head. Ik Satan dies against manbearbig in the near future, so I’d fs want to bring him back too (does cthulu count on this list too?)

12: headcanons for specific characters

Kyle:

- short now, but grows up to be the tallest

- becomes a criminal investigator when he grows up

- bi, falls somewhere on the ace spectrum

- has ocd, or at least has major tendencies

- fav soda is fs ginger ale or something

- has faint scars from when he got electrocuted in imaginationland pt ii (look up electrocution scars for ref)

- tries to keep a healthy sleep cycle, ends up either sleeping 2 hours or 12 hours straight, no in between

Jimmy:

- becomes a super successful comedian ofc

- straight ally, but is on thin ice w the gay jokes /lh

- hangs out w Timmy every weekend. they like visiting Gobbles :)

- still enjoys playing among us

- smells like body spray. not axe, but defo something

18: episode you’d like to see happen

ok, I have SO many ideas for this, but the one I wanna see most? I wanna see Kenny work with the goth kids or something, trying to get rid of his curse, but they accidentally transfer it to another main character. then the rest of the episode is spent trying to keep that person from dying long enough to lift the curse (and failing), till eventually Kenny j ends up w it again

I know that it’s not gonna happen but it think it would make such a good episode plot, maybe even a two parter

24: favorite south park song

oh dude you’re making me choose? 🧎‍♂️ hhh I love literally all of them but I’d say my top 6 in no order are up there, la resistance, what would brian boitano do, jackin it in San Diego, make bullying kill itself, and safe space. I physically can’t narrow it down further

thx for asking @theglibglob !!

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Chapter Two of my Winx Club story:)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29434017/chapters/83442574

Chapter Two

Aisha's PoV

Aisha had always thought that magic, if it did exist, should find a way to co-exist with technology. Even though she had an affinity for water—and thus sometimes she and technology did not mix at all—she did still felt this way.

Perhaps it was because she'd thought when she was young, that she had some magic over water when it came out of the pipes. After all, if one had their hands under something and water ran over them, a child would think it was their limbs that were creating the substance, wouldn't they?

Aisha was having these kinds of thoughts while she was in class right now… as she dreamed that she could actually make something of her life. Aisha wanted to do something both practical and dreamy, so she could always make ends meet, but also not want to die in a career that she hated.

And, of course… it would be when she thought she was maybe finding her answer, about what field she should go into, that one of the rooms nearby would burst into flame, so that she and everyone else would have to swiftly evacuate their classroom!

Aisha did just that, making sure to aid any student who might have fallen in their distress to get out of the building.

It was then that she saw him, as they all got to the designated meeting place the school had set up, in case there was ever a fire there.

He looked to Aisha what a prince might have, in some alternate universe. Because he looked well-put-together, which was what made Aisha think of a royal or nobleman, but he was also rocking dreadlocks and an MP3 player playing loud rock music; and thos parts were what made Aisha think he could have been royal in an alternate universe. Not this one.

He was also certainly attractive. And Aisha was smitten, despite herself.

And the man must have seen that Aisha hadn’t quite made it across the street yet, because he linked Aisha's arm with his own and pulled her as far away from the fire as she could be in this meeting location.

And yes, Aisha thought she may have just been falling in love.

Aisha and the man parted ways for a little bit, so Aisha could go to her teacher doing roll call, but he found her again a little while later.

And then somehow and some way, he asked the questions of Aisha’s dreams! "Do you want to start a business with me?" And this made Aisha do a double-take, because she probably did... but how would he have guessed that, and why was he singling her out in particular But more importantly: "You ask someone that right after a fire?!"

"I saw you went back to help the others in this disaster. And if that doesn’t speak of your character, I don’t know what does. So, what do you say? I’m Nabu, by the way.”

And, dangit. Nabu was smiling at Aisha now—far too prettily, while he seemed to be thanking her for having a good heart—and there was really only one thing she could say to this, wasn’t there?

Since fate had finally seemed to find a way to make her dreams come true, when she was so indecisive.

Aisha stuck her hand out and shook Nabu’s, grinning herself now. “Sure. Why not? Let’s give it a go!”

Musa's PoV

Musa had always known that music could have a powerful effect on people. She had grown up watching Phantom of the Opera, after all, so such a belief had been instilled in her at a young age. Though she didn't go as far as to think music could necessarily hypnotize someone like that musical said, she did think that music could be one of the most seductive things out there, and so much more.

Like right now, when Musa was working at the grocery store, she knew that the slow jazz being played was to entice buyers to slow down and relax so they'd want to buy more. And while Musa hated that manipulative marketing strategy, she still had to respect that someone had figured that all out...

And that was even the real reason as to why she worked at "Gobble Up Groceries". Aside from the fact she needed the money, she was hoping she could figure out the reverse of that, almost: the type of music one could play in a store, so they wouldn't lose all of their hard-earned cash—but that the companies wouldn't realize was too different from their normal music they played here, and that Musa had played them—but still bought just enough so the shops could stay in business. Because, at the end of the day, Musa was nothing but someone who cared deeply about people.

And it was when she was doing more research on this subject, that she saw the crash site on the TV. It seemed a train had escaped its track, and caught fire! Two people had survived forensics was finding out, but they had disappeared into the ether right afterwards.

And if that wasn’t just spooky to Musa. She also had a thing for ghost stories, murder mysteries (though she was praying this wasn’t one of those), and anything like that. And there was a part of her that wanted to go to where this disaster had happened—not too far from her home, surprisingly enough—and see if she could figure this all out for herself.

Musa thought that maybe she could commune with the dead via her music, too, and that maybe some phantoms out there might be able to tell her what happened to the two missing survivors, this way.

After all… if ghosts would talk to people over a Ouija board, how much moreso might they be drawn into someone singing for them, since music was the ultimate kind of sublime communication that had been invented by the gods?

“Musa,” Brandon, Musa’s co-worker, spoke to Musa now, with an accusing lilt in his voice, but it was all in good fun. “You look like you’re about to jump into the Mystery Machine and do some investigating, Scooby-Doo style. And if you’re going to do that… mind if I go with you? You know I love danger, too, and I want to make sure you stay safe.”

And bless Brandon right now. He was trying to fix the bottom tray of her cash register—that held all the money, of course—that had gotten wopperjawed lately.

And it was that, more than anything else—that he was a good friend—that had Musa agreeing with him, since she didn’t need his protection or anything like that. “If you want to,” Musa beamed at him. “We could probably convince Vanessa to let us go nos, since it’s Christmas Eve and I don’t think anyone else is coming in tonight.”

Sure enough, Vanessa was an angel and did just that—and she made both of them promise to enjoy their Christmas more than they worried about the store these few Holiday days, before she bid them adieu.

Tecna’s PoV

Tecna, like her name made her sound (and her parents must have been psychic to call such a thing, she thought now), loved technology more than anything.

At the young age of eight, she’d been able to hack into government databases, just for fun, and had then been recruited by the CIA when she turned eighteen: the states had been willing to let bygones be bygones, as long as she worked for them. And she had, of course, in not seeing another way out then.

Though Tecna had left them a year ago, when she was twenty-one. And there were days that she certainly thought that the agency might try to burn her or kill her, in thinking she was too much of a threat.

But for now… they seemed content to let her be, since she was the best of the best and would freelance for them sometimes, when they really needed her once more.

What Tecna really cared about, though, was Global Warming. And trying to get the world to go green, so they might serve the Earth.

Tecna wished that she could just tell the U.S. to trust her when it came to this, since she had saved their lives numerous times and would with this, too, if they just listened.

But she knew that such a thing would be impossible, of course.

Sometimes, Tecna hated the need for secrecy so very much.

So, even though it wasn’t her cup of tea, she was trying to see if she could find a way design more efficient solar-powered windmills, here in her studio.

Tecna was currently on the phone with her boyfriend Timmy, who was telling her what sort of outfit she’d need to wear if she wanted to schmooze at this event with him tonight, to try to make her voice heard.

And… she was somewhat a contradictory person… because while she knew she was pretty and could clean up well—and would look more than fine, in this slinky dark blue dress, bordering on black—sometimes she wished that she… wasn’t this smart: that she wasn’t who she was, since the world didn’t think that “nerdy�� and “lovely” went hand-in-hand.

And sometimes, Tecna wondered if she wouldn’t have been happier, if she hadn’t been born with such a big brain, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Was there?

“Anyway, Timmy,” Tecna joked now. “We’d better find a way to save this world, before fairies from the woodlands kill us all for destroying their homes—and for what we’ve done to the planet as a whole—like I read about in that children’s book when I was young.”

[jpopitunes]

MyteesUSA - Gobble Me Swallow Me Vintage Sun Turkey Thanksgiving shirt

MyteesUSA – Gobble Me Swallow Me Vintage Sun Turkey Thanksgiving shirt

Buy this shirt:  MyteesUSA – Gobble Me Swallow Me Vintage Sun Turkey Thanksgiving shirt

Ally put on her Champagne silk vintage nightgown and matching bed jacket, pinned her hair into buns and slathered her body in lavender oil before joining Caz and Timmy in the Gobble Me Swallow Me Vintage Sun Turkey Thanksgiving shirtbut I will buy this shirt and I will love this living room. It felt good to…

[cheylouwho]

So I'm watching South Park's Thanksgiving episodes and I forgot all about Timmy playing Hellen Keller and his friendship with Gobbles! ;-;

i love timmy so so so much

[tigrin]

Not sure if you're still taking requests, but I'd love to see art of the south park kids and their respective pets i.e: Cartman with Mr. Kitty and Fluffy, Stan with Sparky, Craig with Stripe, Timmy with Gobbles. Bebe with Thumper, and maybe Kyle with his elephant? I guess? Oh and Kenny and his rats, are they his? I like to think they are.

It’s a cute idea but that’s a lot of drawings to ask for. x__x 

I’m about a month behind on requests, would like to hold off on any more until I catch up, I’ll let you guys know. ^^;

[bwprowl]

So I’ve been seeing stuff going around recently re: GI Joe and its continued failure to catch on, and it expectedly got me thinking. As a huge Transformers fan, Joe has always been somewhat on my radar (I even dabbled in collecting it for a bit during the 25A line), and the subject of its ongoing struggles to recreate its past success have consistently interested me. Meditating on this subject again this time got me thinking about the series and what works for it, along with other ideas as far as franchises, toys, and their marketing.

So the conventional wisdom on GI Joe failing to catch on in the modern era has always gone back to its military theme rendering it unpopular in our current cultural climate. Especially as an ostensible Real American Hero, it’s easy to believe that toys glorifying US Military offensives might not go over well in today’s polarized America, and definitely not in the increasingly-valuable overseas market (it ain’t exactly easy to sell toys of American soldiers to the same international customers that love the more culturally-universal Transformers).

But while I definitely understand Joe’s limited-to-local appeal, I’ve personally never fully bought into the idea that being military-themed inherently meant it was doomed to be unpopular in today’s America. The reason for that is a big one: Call of Duty. The CoD franchise (and by extension the entire subgenre of modern military shooters) have been HUGE in the hemisphere’s video game markets, and for years dominated the charts in popularity and appeal, especially (the games’ actual age-rating apparently notwithstanding) with children. True, “twelve-year-olds on Call of Duty” is something of a jocular situation blown up past its true scope by detractors, but it still stands that these games, necessarily rooted in glorifying American military operations, are very popular with kids.

So the very existence of that situation has always brought me back to GI Joe and the question of how Hasbro could be so incompetent as to not be able to sell toys of soldiers to the audience that gobbles up CoD. The marketing would definitely play a part in it, and there is the admission that the kid audiences of CoD and GI Joe aren’t exactly the same; the kids Hasbro wants buying Joe toys are younger than the bunch that pesters their parents to buy them CoD, but the through-line I’m getting at here is that military-themed content shouldn’t be an inherent deal-breaker; if Little Timmy wouldn’t want a toy that reminds him that Daddy isn’t coming home from Iraq, why would he want a video game that did the same thing?

Granted, there are obvious tonal differences. The hyped-up modern military shooters subsist on a projection of perceived gritty realism, catering to the mature gamers who only play mature games. In this respect, of course even the actual kids, the 10-12-year-olds in the audience are going to see themselves as ‘too grown-up’ for the toyetic fantasy bent GI Joe’s action figures spin on the military.

But you know what does look pretty darn close to GI Joe’s style of squad-based superheroics?

Overwatch, as wholeheartedly as I’ve thrown myself into it since last Summer, has been an utter blast to follow simply on its own and as an excellent game, but as a marketing vehicle, it’s an absolute revelation. Being an online-multiplayer-only affair with all of its story elements only available as supplementary content, I’ve always compared Overwatch to a big digital toybox, but the comparison becomes more spot-on the more you look into it.

Just the design of Overwatch’s story perfectly mirrors the toy-advert cartoons of the 80’s on: A team of varied heroes with different distinctive special abilities, engaging in regular battle with a group of recurring obviously-villainous villains. The current Talon trio of the game especially feels straight out of the nefarious retro-bad-guy playbook; Reaper, Widowmaker, and Sombra would not feel out of place compared to Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and Beast Man. The backstory elements of Overwatch’s fiction do lend it a lot more weight and detail than its cheesier cartoon progenitors, of course, but the base elements are all still there, making it feel like a natural evolution of those old tropes. In the end, you still have details like the almost annoyingly generic military-man leader Soldier: 76, turbo-revvin’ young punk Tracer (who probably gets into trouble and Learns a Lesson once an episode) and her brains-and-brawn best friend Winston (who incidentally, is also a loveable talking animal mascot).

Not straying too far from my original point, Overwatch basically makes the case for an updated GI Joe series as a virtual line rather than a physical one on toy shelves. Many of the characters in Overwatch mirror character archetypes that worked so well for Joe in it’s heyday, whether it’s the aforementioned Soldier: 76 as the Duke-type, Roadhog and Junkrat as new takes on the Aussie punks the Dreadnoks, or even Hanzo and Genji filling in for Joe’s famous feuding ninja bros! Overwatch didn’t invent these tropes, and neither did GI Joe, they both just figured out the best way to present and market them for their time period.

If you doubt that Overwatch is basically taking a toy-marketing approach to selling their game here, I urge you to check out the ancillary material they put out to promote it. Watch the animated shorts; hell go watch the newest one, Infiltration, right now, I’ll wait here.

That short came out at the same time new hero Sombra was launched in the game, and if you’ve ever seen one of those ol’ toy-promoting cartoons before, what it’s doing should be obvious. It’s almost hilarious how blatantly the short goes through all of Sombra’s abilities and gimmicks, showing them off to convince you to [strike]buy her toy[/strike] play her in the game. It’s the equivalent of when the Power Rangers get a new robot to add to their Megazord and spend a whole ten minutes in the episode showing all the cool shit it can do. And basically all the shorts are like this, whether it’s the otherwise-artsy Bastion one that still works in displays of his turret mode and self-repair gimmicks, or the Tracer vs. Widowmaker one that only needs two kids screaming narration over it and an ‘each sold separately’ at the end to complete the toy-commercial style.

And I’m not trying to be derogatory with this comparison, because I am of the firm belief that this approach does work gangbusters! The toys that the Overwatch media is selling are very fun toys, after all. Each character/action figure is fun to play with in their own right, using all their gimmicks and smashing them into each other on the Watchpoint Gibralter Playset ™ with your friends.

Anyway, my point with all this really is just going back to How Could This Fix G.I. Joe. I always proposed a CoD-style shooter tie-in as a marketing option for it, but as I detailed above, the style there never really jibed. But an Overwatch-style multiplayer superpower shooter? That very well could be the ticket. Look at how hard people clamor for toys of Overwatch’s cast after getting to play with their digital equivalents. Granted, Hasbro would need to pour a decent amount of resources into making a game that people actually wanted to play that could generate interest in their plastic products, but even that Paladins thing seems to be doing decently, so even the most frivolous free-to-play knockoff has a chance at success so long as it does some things right.

Or maybe in the long run we shouldn’t worry about G.I. Joe getting revived at all, since as I’ve outlined all up there, Overwatch is already a pretty dang close successor to the spirit and style of that one.

[goat-yells-at-everything]

What’re are your thoughts on the major characters of South Park? Do you have any favorites in particular?

Oh lord. Time for a long post! XD In order of favorite status:

Kenny: Perfect sinnamon roll. I love him so much!

Butters: Perfect cinnamon roll. Way too sweet for his own damn good.

Tweek/Craig: I’m a dirty Creek shipper and I am not sorry.

Timmy/Gobbles: Absolutely sweet and cute and kind. Pisses me off that they made him join a band with a pedophile, though...

Kyle: He’s a dumbass but he’s got a big heart.

Stan: Same. I just like Kyle slightly more. He’s got a better superpower than Kyle, though.

Cartman: Ya. He’s rock bottom. Total bastard. Claimed 4 dollars was too much for a very fine goat. xp

[arcisfoodblog]

The last part of our road trip through beautiful Vancouver Island: from Salt Spring Island, via a very scenic route, to Victoria.

We could have chosen to leave Salt Spring Island on the east side via Fulford Harbour, but we would then have arrived in Victoria way too early for the check-in into our hotel (only at 4 pm). Furthermore, it would have been the same stretch of road as we would have to take on our way back to mainland BC.

We woke up early to prevent waiting in long lines for the ferry back to Vancouver Island. Therefore, we took the 9.35 am ferry in Vesuvius instead of the 10.50 am one and had plenty of time for an impromptu scenic route. But first, brunch at Tim Hortons. Timmy’s is an institution in Canada, which we had been sort of avoiding in the previous weeks, but we gave in to the kids. To us, it was a mash-up of a McDonalds, Starbucks, and Dunkin’ Donuts (which may explain the kid’s enthusiasm and overall popularity), and it wasn’t all that bad. Furthermore, they have to be commended for already serving Beyond Meat “Burgers” and “Sausage Patties” as part of their regular menu.

Our 220km/135 mile scenic route took us through the southeastern interior of Vancouver Island, via Lake Cowichan to Port Renfrew. Then we headed east on the Juan de Fuca highway along the coast, and after a lunch stop in Sooke, we arrived in Victoria.

There were three signs at the exit for Port Renfrew at Mesachie Lake:

Next gas station 82km

No cell reception for next 53km

Watch out for Wildlife for next 60km

The road was indeed precisely between these two places; no other villages on this road, just a few turns to remote farms. You don’t want your car to break down there, but there was much more traffic than we had expected, so a helping hand would soon be available if you did. It was a beautiful route through unspoiled nature that we cruised through at around 60 km per hour.

Lake Fairy (Pacific Marine Rd, just north of Port Renfrew), is worth a quick stop as a bonsai tree grows on a rock in the middle of the lake.

The sign of the cell reception was incorrect; it was only about 10 kilometers before Sooke (thus a total of 110km) that the bars on our phones filled up again. Unfortunately, we had connected to a telecom provider from the US, which is 20 kilometers away on the other side of the Salish Sea… Also, only in the suburbs of Sooke, the “promised” wildlife showed itself, although I was responsible for one roadkill.

“Lunch” was in Sooke at one of the local breweries, Sooke Brewing Company (2057 Otter Point Rd). Great beer and view of the brewing room, but no real food options here. The bag of Crystal Meth, err… Malt, made me understand why that Canadian beer is so damn addictive!

We also visited nearby Sheringham Distillery (252 – 6731 W Coast Rd). Their Vodka, Aquavit, and White Spirits are excellent, but we were mainly there to check out their Seaside Gin, which took the 2019 World’s Best Contemporary Gin Award. This category means that the gin is not predominantly favored with the classic botanicals like juniper. Other flavors such as citrus, spice, and floral notes are more prominent here than in a Classic Gin. This Seaside gin is indeed relatively citrussy, but due to the added local winged kelp, it also has a slight saline flavor. Amazing stuff! Their Kazuki Gin is infused with cherry blossoms petals, yuzu peel, and green tea Flowers from Westholme Tea Farm in Cowichan Valley was delicious too and therefore also found its way into our suitcases back home.

When we arrived at our hotel on the outskirts of Victoria’s Chinatown, we took a short exploratory walk in the neighborhood.

Because we were quite hungry and the kids were in the mood for pasta, we attempted to get into one of Victoria’s busiest and highest rated restaurants, II Terrazzo (555 Johnson St). It opened at 5 pm, and even 15 minutes prior, we were already waiting in line outside. Fortunately, they still had a table free for those without reservations, but when we finished eating, the large restaurant was entirely packed.

We had the Fungi Arrosto (Portabella mushroom in a focaccia crumb and herb crust, baked with garlic butter, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and Parmigiano. Sliced and tossed with baby spinach, crispy capers, and balsamic vinaigrette) and Aglio Arrosto e Cambozola (Fire roasted garlic bulb served with freshly baked rosemary flatbread and a wedge of cambozola cheese). The kids had Zuppa di Pomodoro (Vine-ripened tomato soup with basil pesto and Bocconcini cheese) as starters. We were also happy to find the Blue Mountain Sauvignon Blanc in their wine “book” which had more than 1000 entries.

We had 3 different mains. The Melanzane al Forno (Fresh pasta folded over breaded eggplant, roasted mushrooms, garlic confit, asiago, and gruyere cheeses, baked in a tomato basil cream sauce, topped with spinach). A Fusilli con Sugo di Manzo (Fusilli pasta in a slow-cooked Bolognese meat sauce, baked with mozzarella, spinach, and fresh basil) as well a the Canneloni di Maiale (Fresh pasta filled with pulled pork and mozzarella, baked with savoy cabbage and smoked bacon cream, topped with a balsamic granny smith apple compote). We obviously had leftovers (approximately half of all the main courses), but for dessert, the kids still managed to gobble up a Crème Brûlée and a Panna Cotta… Delicious food, rustic plating, and as you can see, the use of garlic was not shunned. The leftovers were wafting every time we opened the fridge in our hotel room…

Our amiable waiter pointed out that in the evening, the 30th Symphony Splash would take place. The Victoria Symphony Orchestra gave an open-air concert on a pontoon in the harbor between the Empress Hotel and the British Columbia Parliament Building. Very well attended, and the final 1812 Overture of Tchaikovsky was accompanied by a festive firework display (instead of with real artillery guns).

It is clear that the end of the holiday is approaching as the call of the kids for more sleep and fewer activities is getting louder by the day ;-). Yesterday, we partly met their demands and let them sleep in. Consequently, they did have to stand in line for brunch at Jam Café (542 Herald St), which already had phenomenal lines in Vancouver earlier this holiday due to their no reservation policy.

It was a public holiday, British Columbia Day, so that didn’t help, but when we entered the line, people told us that the waiting time was about 30 minutes for a 2-person table: “not bad at all for Jam Café…”. Fifty-five minutes later, we were seated in the restaurant and had worked up quite the appetite.

The kids went for The Waffle Board (1 Belgian waffle topped with cinnamon caramelized apples and fruit salad) and Maggie’s S’Mores Pancakes, which was a massive triple stack with the expected layers of chocolate, graham crackers, and roasted marshmallows. Chantal had The Veggie Bowl (Crumbled biscuit, hash browns, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, corn salsa, spinach, mushroom gravy, cheddar and two sunnyside up eggs). I had the Jam Blackstone Benny’s (two poached eggs on an English muffin with hollandaise, hashbrowns, house sugar-cured bacon, roasted Roma tomatoes topped with Parmesan cheese) together with a side of Avocado Toast. Their reputation is understandable; the quality of the food is top-notch, and the portions are large enough to eat all day (which we did – together with the doggy bag from Il Terrazzo the day before). The Pimm’s Cup (Pimm’s #1, Ginger Beer, Lemon Juice, Chai, and Cucumber) is also a lovely summer cocktail!

Then, we strolled to the Royal BC Museum (675 Belleville St), where there was an exhibition about the Mayans that the kids wanted to see. Incredible to see how advanced they were in the times of our Middle Ages and how their culture was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors in no time (their glyph language was again deciphered only 30 years ago!).

All in all, a must-visit museum as their regular natural history collection is outstanding as well. Outside the museum, you will find the Dutch Carillon. We saw it mentioned on the map, and it evoked unintended associations with a Dutch barrel organ (oh, the horror!). It turned out to be a beautifully designed bell tower that The Netherlands gifted to the citizens of British Columbia because of Canada’s Confederation Centennial in 1967.

That night we went whale watching. The choice of the boat was leading for Chantal as open zodiacs speedboats and having to wear full-body protective gear are not her thing. Therefore, we booked with Eagle Wing Whale & Wildlife Tours as they also have a sturdy catamaran specifically designed from whale watching. We had selected the sunset tour, and departure was from the Fisherman’s wharf at Erie St. The houseboats there are nice and colorful!

As there was thick fog south of Victoria earlier that day, none of the whale watching operators had spotted orcas. The weather had cleared up, but without previous sighting data, it would make no sense to go sailing around a stretch of sea of 100 km2 sea on the off-chance of spotting some orcas. Consequently, the plan was to head north to see if there were any humpback whales around. If people still had to go to Vancouver, they could be dropped off immediately, the crew joked …

Then full speed ahead and sailing at 30 kilometers per hour and choppy waves, the first stretch from the Victoria harbor to Oak Bay was a bumpy ride. Otherwise – also in combination with the Dramamine taken as a precaution – the remainder of the trip via the Haro Strait could even be called very comfortable.

Because of the whaling, the humpbacks were decimated almost entirely in the waters around Vancouver and Seattle 20 years ago. The first whale that came back then to feed there was Big Momma, and the population has since returned to around 400 specimens. Instead of a “facebook”, they have a “tailbook” to be able to identify all the whales. Big Momma showed herself, along with her regular travel buddy Heather, after returning to this area after month and a half of absence. Lucky us! With the sun dropping in the Salish sea, amidst Ferries and various Southern Gulf and San Juan Islands, it was again an unforgettable experience.

Our last morning in Victoria consisted of sleeping in again, and we had early lunch at one of the five outlets of The Village Restaurant. Brunch restaurants and breweries are the two things to bring you riches here in British Columbia! Their Chinatown outlet (1609 Store St) was, of course, the most convenient location as it was just around the corner from our hotel. And we didn’t have to stand in a line for a table. 🙌

Chantal had the Bagel & Lox (smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion and capers on multigrain toasted mount royal bagel. I had the Drop 3 (Montreal smoked meat, back bacon, turkey sausages, roasted tomatoes, three poached eggs, roasted potatoes, toast & preserves. The kids had Hood Cakes (mixed berry Pancakes), and a Healthy Start (fresh fruit & toast with strip bacon and preserves).

We did some shopping and sightseeing. As our oldest needed a new backpack for school, we went to the MEC, the outdoor store of Canada. From the shop window, you can already see that Canadians are very outdoorsy types, but the range of gear they have in their store is astonishing! I also picked up a funny shirt with “Eh is for Adventure” on it. We had luck with the weather, so the kids wanted ice cream at Perverted Ice Cream (604 Humboldt St). The concept is rather gimmicky with “risque” slogans and names of their cones ice creams and black cones that seemingly were created for Instagram alone. Consequently,  long lines and many ice creams already melting before the perfect shot was taken… The product itself nothing special and, therefore, overpriced. Needless to say, we have left the “Perverted in Victoria” t-shirt on the racks…

In the afternoon, we took the car to drive to Beacon Hill Park, in the south of Victoria for the Mile Zero Monument (18 Douglas St), marking the start of Highway 1, the 7821 km long Trans-Canada highway. I suspect they smuggled a little bit by marking the ferry line between Nanaimo and Vancouver as a highway so they could add the extra kilometers of Vancouver Island…

The park also has the World’s Tallest Free-Standing Totem Pole in the world; 60m high and therefore good for a stiff neck from looking up…

If you are in Victoria, the 30-minute drive to The Butchart Gardens in Brentwood Bay (800 Benvenuto Ave) is a must-see attraction. I will let the pictures do the talking.

We were back from The Butchart Gardens around 4.30 pm, and the kids were more excited about gaming than visiting a brewery for a small snack and drink. Therefore, we dumped them in the hotel, so Chantal and I could have a “romantic” pub crawl… Victoria’s brewery density is absurd. Within a 500m radius of our hotel/brewery/brewpub Swans, there are eight other breweries: Spinnakers Brewpub, Vancouver Island Brewing, Phillips Brewing & Malting, Hoyne Brewing Company, Driftwood Brewery, Moon Under Water Brewery & Pub, Île Sauvage Brewing Co. and Whistle Buoy Brewing Company. The selection was the most practical one: the two nearest breweries. The tasting at Whistle Buoy was nice, and they have a beautiful venue on Market Square’s lower courtyard, but some of their beers lacked a bit of a punch and were flat. We understood that they had opened just a couple of weeks prior, so we’d chalked that one up to start-up issues.

We had been done our best at trying to get our hands on as many different local beers as possible, but with a total of 42 craft beers on tap. Our bartender of Swans managed to surprise us. Their “arrivals board” is brilliant!

First of all, he was a fellow-Dutchman (“I am from Noordwijk, so in that case, we can continue in Dutch.”). Secondly, he had been in Victoria for just eight months but unknowingly had already managed to build up a strong Canadian accent when speaking Dutch 🤪. Lastly, we each ordered a flight of 4 tasters with mainly those of Swans (very nice!) but along the way got to sample several other local beers that we hadn’t come across yet. We also got a taster of their own Negroni, which they pre-mix and then age on oak barrels that previously had Porter beer in it. A delightfully rich and smoky combination!

It was a good practice of that evening because we had already reserved for a late dinner at Cafe Mexico (1425 Store St). Hello, more cocktails !!! 😂 Chantal had the ineffable Rosa Barbujeante (Altos Plata Tequila, Montenegro Amaro, Watermelon Mint Syrup, Lime Juice, and Prosecco) and I had a Rodilla de las Abejas (Bergamot Infused Papalote Blanco Tequila, Honey Syrup, Lemon Juice, Lavender Foam). The latter looks a bit creepy in the photo but was very tasty and invoked memories of The Buchart Gardens. The kids had some Agua Fresca mocktails.

Foodwise, we had Queso Fundido (A creamy cheese dip with chorizo, refried beans, poblano peppers, and caramelized onions) and Street Corn (Charred corn off the cob with mixed peppers, cotija cheese, caramelized onions and garlic serrano, topped with Cricket salt) as a side dish. The kids ordered Quesadillas; one Carne Asada (Skirt steak, onions, poblano, and red pepper, served with guacamole and salsa morita), and one Chicken Asada (Chargrilled chicken, roasted corn, black bean, red pepper, and onion, served with chipotle crema and guacamole).

We had chosen Chimichangas as our mains, a vegetarian one for Chantal (A crispy flour tortilla filled with nopales, oyster mushrooms, poblano peppers, roasted corn and red onion, pico de gallo and Mexican rice, topped with salsa Morita, guacamole, and Jack cheese.) I had a Barbacoa one, which had braised beef short ribs as the basis. It became clear immediately that we’d be having leftovers for breakfast. Great hangover food though…

Around the World – British Columbia Roadtrip (2019) – Victoria The last part of our road trip through beautiful Vancouver Island: from Salt Spring Island, via a very scenic route, to Victoria.