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sketchfanda · 10 months ago

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Kirishima's Mystique: Weapon XXX-23

Canada, the great white north, a vast wide little land consisting of regions such as Toronto, Ottawa and Quebec. Currently within the serene wildness of the Canadian rockies, our resident Red Riot and his cotton candy link Alien Queen were having themselves a little camping trip. Nothing said summer fan like gong hiking around a different country as the sturdy and acidic pair were busy setting up shop. Mina busy prepping the picnic spot and gathering up some kindling for a campfire, that is when she wasn’t busy stealing some glances at her man.

Sensually biting her lip as his tanktop did a grand job showing off that pair of gun shows he called his arms. If there was a vet around,she’d have to call about some “sick pythons”, that was for sure, his biceps and biceps pumped and flexed from all that effort and goddamn was it making her thirsty as all fuck. Rubbing her thighs together as she tried to keep her dirty thoughts at bay, at least until they'd finished setting up camp. Pouting adorably as she thought of how lonely she and Kirishima felt without the third wheel of their tricycle.

Mina:"It's still such a bummer Maya couldn't join us on this trip. I mean granted not often she gets to visit home..."*The cotton candy bombshell quipped as she was still feeling a bit incomplete without their shared girlfriend. Maya of course was indeed spending a week or two in her home of Jagua del Toro which did remind Mina of one thing. They definitely had to go their for sure, she just knew that place wasn't just famous for its beaches, but especially the babes. The kind of babes she and Maya knew would get their Riot all nice and riled up....*

Kirishima:"Ah it is what it is, sometimes but hey next time around we might go with her there, right?"*The sturdy hero quipped in response as he continued nearing completion of the tent. Missing the erotic leer Mina shot his way as she began making her way towards him, lust glowing in her golden racoon eyes. Who could blame her when her man was looking so delicious and fuckable, those firm muscles of his in motion as he worked away on setting up their camp. She had to think it wasn't all bad given she and Kirishima could fuck as much as they wanted, loud as they wanted without anyone to bother them but the critters of nature.*

Any further personal musings of thought or conversation dirty or otherwise when they heard some very loud sounds incoming from nearby their way. Sounds of a very telltale nature that implied combat and conflict of a struggle that was very intense. Being of heroic personality of course the red and pink duo knew they had to intervene and go see what the situation was and just their luck that had to be quite a doozy. Upon investigation of course that wound up being proven to be quite the understatement.

But of course how often were you to likely run into some petite but well toned feisty but fierce girl clad in leather swinging pair of duel bladed claws in her hands like a wild animal. Small wonder she was fighting of course given she was going up against a group of misfits from the infamous Brotherhood, one of the most notorious quirk supremacist gangs around. Suffice to say that what was followed was an intense battle to say the least but numbers weren’t a problem when You had a duo like Pinky and Red Riot backing you up. Oh come on, you really think I’m gonna go into details about how the battle went?

Yeah I thought so, we all know what you’re all really here for so let’s get this show on the road, shall we? After the ragtag renegade band of villains were rounded up followed by some questions and statements with local law enforcement, the red and pink duo were soo back in their camp now with the added company of their new friend they'd saved. A young girl by the name of X-23, or Laura as she found most preferred to call her and to say her lifestory was complex and tragic was an understatement. But she wasn't one to dwell on the past, least compared to how she was then compared to now though it could be hard to tell with how calm, composed and stoic she was.

But she proved to be willing to try and socialise and it helped that Kirishima and Mina had a natural friendliness and affability about them that made them easy to like. Laura certainly had to say mina's peppy motor mouth and spunkiness rather reminded her of Jubilee in a way as the trio enjoyed some small talk and a little bit of the natural tranquillity and serenity of nature of course. Soon of course dusk began to make itself known as the Canadian wilderness became bathed in the fading light and shade of the setting sun as the trio enjoyed a little peace and quiet and making some s'mores around the campfire before Kirishima and Mina decided to call it a night but not before offering to set up a spare tent for Laura to enjoy some privacy as well as peace and quiet. Leaving her be to enjoy the campire while it lasted as they ducked into their own tent a few feet away.

Laura of course wasn't clueless or naive as she seemed to the duo and what they were really up to at this very moment. Her enhanced senses could pick up the sounds and scents of what was going on so close yet so far from her in their tent. The slapping of skin on skin, the clapping of asscheeks as Mina struggled to keep her volume down against the relentless assault of pleasure coming from her boyfriend as he danced the oldest dance known to men and woman with her sexy pink self. It was, quite frankly, intoxicating for the young woman as she felt leather clad thighs becoming soaked with sticky nectar flowing from her quivering pussy.

Oh she certainly appreciated their civility and politeness in not wanting to disturb or offend her with their passion and desire but if anything it made her curios. Despite how cool, calm and stoic she seemed, internally was a different story as she felt that innate primal beast within her stirring. The beast within that desired to mate and breed, sensing the presence of a strong, worthy alpha male, an instinct she felt the moment she'd laid eyes on Kirishima and his feats of strength and power from when he and Mina had helped her out earlier today. Hence she saw no lack of logic in her next set of moves to make as she got up from her seat by the weakening campfire and made her way over the lovers' tent.

The closer she got, the more intense the sounds and scents of their erotic mating hit her senses turning her on something fierce, a glowing red blush on her face as she silently panted with husky desire, eyes glowing with rising lust as she approached the tent. Kneeling down as she stealthily, slowly unzipped the entry way and peeked inside to find quite the delightful show happening before her. The sight of Mina mounted atop her chivalrous Himbo cowgirl style as she bounced her bubbly cotton candy pink booty on that shaft of his. Which she could gleam had to have quite the length and girth on it if the rising bump in Mina's stomach was anything to go by, the alien queen sensually biting her lip, perky pink titties bouncing as she caressed her man's washboard abs while he held her hips firmly.

Eijiro of course hadn't yet noticed their sudden voyeur but Mina's lust hazed golden eyes did, sending her a secret sensual smile Laura's way. The goth-like Wolverine clone knowing enough body language to know Mina wasn't just asking if she was enjoying this show but inviting her to join. After all why watch when it'd be better to share the fun together? Laura of course got the hint easily enough as to Mina’s delight, she began to strip down until she was naked as the day she was born.

Kirishima of course was none the wiser until he suddenly found his view of Mina bouncing on his Lil’ Riot suddenly obscured by Laura straddling his face as she sat and parked her toned perky ass atop it. Grinding and rubbing her slit before she let out soft gasps and moans as she felt his tongue respond to lick and lap away at her flowing nectar. Mina's sensual smile widening as she continued to bounce away on her lover's cock, leaning forward to press her lip's to their new sex friend's own. Tongues dancing together in their growing bond of intimacy as the girl most knew as X-23 expressed her gratitude in a way that felt fun and natural for her.

The campfire had long since gone out but the fires of passion in this threesome only continued to burn bright well long into the night as moans and the primal rhythm of skin on skin filled the wild Canadian air. The tent a tangle of limbs shifting and dancing through a variety of positions and combinations of 2 on one to one on one as one third of the kinky group would catch their breaths. Laura or Mina eating one another out as the hard-headed redhead pounded them doggy style or in missionary to Mina fingering herself with erotic delight as she looked on at the female Wolverine getting it deep and hard in a mating press. Laura was clearly no virgin by any stretch but hotdamn if it wasn't clear she hadn't been with someone on the level that Kirishima and his Alien Queen were at, and this was without their resident blue shapeshifting bombshell girlfriend!!

Naturally Mina was making plans to send Maya the details of this illicit little encounter with their lovely new friend, that is once they woke up in the morning of course. Right at the moment was about feeling as good as they possibly can, as Laura herself now watched on as she recovered her stamina. Probing her pussy with her fingers as she looked on at Mina getting it deep and hard while that flexible bubblegum pink bombshell body of hers was held by Kirishima in a full nelson as he knelt on the tent ground. Grunting and groaning as Mina was rocked with orgasms which only skyrocketed as she soon found Laura licking away at their conjoined loins, lust glowing in those cool eyes of hers. Which the horned girl of course found so damn hot....

By the time this little threesome had finally finished, dawn was kicking in as it bathed the wilderness in the radiant glow of sunrise's light. The tent warmly glowing adding to the afterglow shared by the 3 as Laura laid draped atop Kirishima while Mina spooned and hugged her boyfriend's side. Their bodies glistening with sweat and spent juices as Laura held a soft, rare little smile on her face, thinking to herself she needed more than just the one night. Reminding herself that she had come out looking to find herself spiritually and now she was thinking maybe she might be able to do that if she transferred to Japan, especially once she learned which campus Kirishima and Mina went to.

Not long after this unexpected acquaintanceship encounter in Canada, Laura's well known, imfamous father had his clone daughtered texting with enquiries about arranging a transfer or entry into an exchange program for hero schools in Japan. While Maya found herself getting a delightful surprise in the form of a few texts and videos, especially of the sexy variety from her fave Pinky and definitely liking what she saw. Reminding herself she should definitely get a few of her gal pals in Jagua to come meet her girlfriend and especially their boyfriend and ooh some gals in Japan should definitelt come to her little home paradise. The beaches were hot but the dudes and bitches were hotter!!

Sometimes it wasn't easy being a student for a hero school, especially when yours was the generation that had to deal with quirk erasing yakuza bosses, a quirk hoarder with a demon god complex and a nihilistic hand-freak among other things. But other times it made for quite the love life when you found romance especially when going camping somewhere like in some woods in Canada made you get lucky. Yeah a mouthful I know but hey, you know what they say. How sweet it is....

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mariacallous · 4 days ago

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As a blizzard swept Ottawa in February 1984, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau decided to take a walk. The next morning, he woke up and organized a hasty meeting of his senior staff to let them know that he was retiring.

Trudeau’s walk in the snow has, in the 40 years since it happened, become shorthand in Canadian politics for taking some time to reflect, sleeping on it, and quitting.

Today, many in Ottawa are checking the weather forecast for storms, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—Pierre Trudeau’s son—faces mounting calls to take his own walk in the snow. Down a finance minister and facing the dueling prospects of an internal revolt and a snap election triggered by the opposition parties, the prime minister has, nevertheless, refused.

Over the past year, Justin Trudeau’s personal popularity has sailed off a cliff, accompanied by support for his Liberal Party. Facing the back end of an inflationary spiral, a cross-country housing crisis, declining social services, rising taxes, economic sluggishness, and a general fatigue with a leader who’s been in power since 2015, things were already looking dour for Trudeau.

But, as I wrote during his first real period of turmoil in 2019, Trudeau’s support inside his own party borders on cultish. So, even if his unpopularity prompted some teeth gnashing, his party remained—at least, up to this week—loyal.

Even after his party suffered a humiliating special election defeat in Toronto in June—the equivalent of the U.S. Democratic Party losing a special election in midtown Manhattan—calls for Trudeau to step aside, at least from his own partisans, remained rare.

Publicly, at least. This summer, I happened to sit next to Steven Guilbeault, Trudeau’s environment minister, in a train station lounge as he loudly mused about how best to quell an internal “campaign to show [Trudeau] the door.” That campaign remained in the shadows for months. Another election loss, this time in Montreal, ramped up the outside speculation, but Trudeau’s patriots again remained mum. The few politicians who piped up with the suggestion that Trudeau ought to retire were not running for reelection, so their criticisms were brushed off.

Among the 100-odd members of Parliament who plan on carrying the Liberal Party’s banner into the next election, virtually every one of them have bent the knee to Trudeau.

Canadian politicians have always inclined toward a lemming-like loyalty to their party leader. But this is quite a different level.

In the early 2000s, the Liberal Party was rankled by infighting amid a power struggle between Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and his finance minister, Paul Martin. That fight ultimately resolved in favor of Martin, who went on to win one election before being turfed two years later.

More recently, the opposition Conservative Party metaphorically defenestrated its mild-mannered leader in an Australian-style caucus spill in 2022. The party instead opted for populist Pierre Poilievre—who has successfully wielded all manner of anti-woke shibboleths and conspiracy theories, from becoming an enthusiastic booster of the anti-vaccine Freedom Convoy movement to declaring that he would not let the globalists force him to “eat bugs.” (Poilievre, polling high, has since endeared himself to Elon Musk and counts U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s college best friend as one of his closest allies.)

But Trudeau has never been one for public spats. That’s why the past week has been particularly surreal.

Rumors have percolated for months that Trudeau has plotted a reset of his government. In part to placate internal dissenters—who had been passing around a gentle letter calling for him to reevaluate his political future—and in part because he had a number of retiring and underperforming ministers, Trudeau planned a cabinet shuffle.

As part of that shuffle, Trudeau planned on bringing in Mark Carney, who has served as a governor of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, as Canada’s finance minister. When he informed his current finance minister Chrystia Freeland, about the move, she balked.

Freeland, who also serves as Trudeau’s deputy prime minister, had been at odds with her boss for weeks. Trudeau, desperate to reverse their party’s popularity slide, had wanted to send checks worth 250 Canadian dollars (about $175 in the United States) to the majority of the country. Ostensibly a measure to ease the hurt of inflation, it was a naked attempt to curry favor. Freeland pushed hard against the move, insisting that it was an imprudent use of money, particularly as the Canadian debt is mounting. The move looked only more absurd as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump turned up the temperature on a possible ruinous trade war with Canada.

Facing the prospect of being demoted for her intransigence, Freeland opted to quit instead. In her resignation letter, published last Monday, Freeland reminded the prime minister that Canada could soon be facing 25 percent tariffs from the United States. “That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment,” she wrote.

The move briefly turned off the gravity in Ottawa. A planned fiscal update that Freeland was supposed to deliver, scheduled for Monday morning, was canceled in a panic. Members of the Canadian Parliament raced to the capital—including some who were supposed to be campaigning in a special election on the West coast. (Which they lost miserably.) The Liberals called a hasty caucus meeting, where Trudeau pleaded with his party to keep his job.

The meeting ended, and the parliamentarians filed out one by one or snuck out through the back door, with most refusing to comment on the prime minister’s future.

By the end of the week, things had returned back to a strange calm. Trudeau has made no signal that he intends to leave—and nobody has the power to remove him until, at least, January.

Unlike the Conservatives, who installed an ejector seat in the leader’s chair a decade ago, Trudeau’s caucus has no power to remove a leader. (Unless they just lost an election.) Parliament will have a chance to express a vote of no confidence in Trudeau’s government early next year, though it is far from clear that such a vote will succeed—the center-left New Democratic Party and the separatist Bloc Québécois have continued to prop up his unpopular government.

Instead, the country—including many of Trudeau’s allies—will spend the holidays watching the weather and wondering if, or when, Trudeau will finally venture out for his walk in the snow.

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idolsummons · 3 months ago

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Side Muse Bio Update: William Jones

Professor William Jones is an unassuming man with a life to match. He has a wife and son who he adores and who both adore him in turn, and a career as a lecturer of Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa with a specific fascination in regards to cults, particularly those which revolve around La Cour de la Lune.

His life is entirely normal, with no major complaints or oddities to be spoken of - or so he believes.

Will believes himself to be the product of the loving union between his father, Victor, and his mother, Valerie, though he doubts how loving the relationship was. Although Victor still speaks of how he loves the woman he wed and Will's siblings say that she was nothing but a loving mother, Will never knew her mother; she left in the dead of night when he was still a newborn. None know why and they do not blame the birth of Will for her disappearance. Though he has never known her, he's often told by all those who did - family and family friends included - how incredibly similar he looks to the woman who left.

The truth goes somewhat deeper than simple luck in the genetic lottery. In actual fact, Will is genetically identical to his mother, and harbours even more of her than that.

It was a deal with Vh'thra which led to the conception of Will. In exchange for immortality, Valerie was to carry a child which would carry with it a part of her soul, and for each descendant she had from then on, she would lose yet another part of her soul, each consecutive child bearing another piece of her soul. She fell pregnant with her third child - a child which Victor believed, and still believes, to be his own, yet in truth created from a supernatural power.

As such, Will is entirely human, though the fact that he was created in part by an elder god may go some way to explaining his innate fascination with and studies in the occult. As a naturally scholarly sort, Will has not - and will not - fallen into cult worship and would rather study them, whether through reading or getting up close and personal and writing what he experiences in his own journal.

In terms of his studies, they have taken him all over the world, from his homeland of Canada to locations such as Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand and many remote islands with small populations. As someone who considers himself agnostic when it comes to these matters, that is, he has no belief as at present as to the existence or otherwise as to these gods, he searches for solid evidence outside of the writings of Es'cath that these beings truly exist, have left their mark on the world.

Despite the travels his research takes him on, as well as his lecturing position, Will makes as much time as he possibly can for his family, even taking them on holidays to some of the nicer places he visits while he conducts his own studies.

As evidenced by his journal entries, Will is a friend of the Delecroix family - the mother, Sylvie, sacrificed out of her own desire to be closer with her beloved god, and the daughter, Alice - and can see that Alice, despite her often cold demeanour, sees him as a trusted person in her life. He promises to one day visit Japan, where she now resides, in order to meet with her once more and further investigate the local beliefs around Vh'thra.

In terms of his life and lived experiences up until this point, there is not much to say about Professor Jones, as little out of the ordinary has happened in his 40-odd years of life. As his research ramps up, however, and he becomes more involved in these cults which worship, unknown to him, very real elder gods, he will find more and more peril in his life, discovering beasts and gods which no man should witness, and locales which have been forgotten to all but them and time.

Who knows? Perhaps this might be enough to eventually push him off the edges of sanity and into the abyss of madness which awaits all who search for such knowledge…

#the first half or so is all new to reflect his weird mum and the final part is copy pasted from his current bio!#seeker of knowledge ･ﾟ✫ professor william jones

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brookstonalmanac · 4 months ago

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Holidays 8.26

Holidays

Alice Doesn’t Day

Animal Farm Day

Battle of Manzikert Anniversary Day (Turkey)

Congressional Startup Day

826 Day

First Thnork of the Year (Fairy)

Herero Day (a.k.a. Red Flag Day; Namibia)

Heroes’ Day (Namibia)

Horseshoe Day

International Content Creators Day

International Cosplay Day

International Day Against Dengue

International Hausa Day

Jamaat-e-Islami Foundation Day

Jay Report Anniversary Day (UK)

Kantanka Day (Ghana)

Kneel in Protest Day

Liquorice Day (French Republic)

Make Your Own Luck Day

Musical Yoga Day

National Black Family Business Day

Namibia Day (a.k.a. Heroes’ Day; UN)

National Day of Solidarity (Argentina)

National Dog Day

National Got Checked Day

National Honey Bee Awareness Day

National Kelly Day

National Logan Day

National MINI Wave to Friends (WTF) Day

National Ranboo Day

National Toilet Paper Day

National WebMistress Day

Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland)

Paul Anka Day (Ottawa, Canada)

Pieta Day

Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)

Slash Day

Spark the World Day

StartUp Day

Toilet Paper Day

Tvimanuor (Double Month; Iceland)

Typewriter Day

Winter Heliotrope Day

Women's Equality Day

World Painted Dog Day

WTF (Wave to Friends) Day (Mini USA)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cherry Popsicle Day

Eat Dessert First Day

424 Day (Oklahoma)

National McChicken Day

Independence & Related Days

!9th Amendment Certified (Giving Women the Right to Vote; US; 1920)

Official Recognition Day (Abkhazia)

4th & Last Monday in August

Araw ng mga Bayani (National Heroes’ Day; Philippines) [Last Monday]

August/Summer Bank Holiday (UK) [Last Monday]

International Day of Cyber Attack Ceasefire [Last Monday]

Liberation Day (Hong Kong) [Last Monday]

Meatless Monday [Last Monday of Each Month]

Meditation Monday [Every Monday]

Mellow Monday [4th Monday of Each Month]

Monday Musings [Every Monday]

Moody Monday [Last Monday of Each Month]

Motivation Monday [Every Monday]

Motorist Consideration Monday [Monday of Be Kind to Humankind Week]

Mushroom Monday [4th Monday of Each Month]

National Heroes’ Day (Philippines) [Last Monday]

Notting Hill Carnival (UK) [Last Monday & day before]

Ould Lammas Fair (Ireland) [Last Mondday]

Social Justice Day (Antarctica) [4th Monday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 26 (4th Full Week of August)

National Composites Week (thru 8.30)

National Safe at Home Week (thru 8.30)

Festivals Beginning August 26, 2024

Alaska’s Midnight Sun Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off (Palmer, Alaska)

Leeds West Indian Carnival (Leeds, United Kingdom)

Odense International Film Festival (Odense, Denmark) [thru 9.1]

US Open Tennis Championships (New York, United States) [thru 9.8]

Feast Days

Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Adrian of Nicomedia (Greek Feast Day) [brewers]

Alexander of Bergamo (Roman Catholic Church)

Bernardino Poccetti (Artology)

Brant Parker (Artology)

Ceferino Namuncurá (Christian; Saint)

Christopher Isherwood (Writerism)

David Lewis (Christian; Blessed)

Dichetul Do Chennaib (Celtic Book of Days)

Elizabeth Bichier des Ages (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland)

The First Thnork of the Year (Shamanism)

Gelasinus (Christian; Saint)

Genesius of Arles (Christian; Saint)

Genesius the Comedian (Christian; Saint)

Guillaume Apollinaire (Writerism)

Ilmater (Finnish Goddess of the Water Mother)

Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages (Christian; Saint)

John Buchan (Writerism)

Julio Cortázar (Writerism)

Kirby and Jeffy (Muppetism)

Krishna Rebirth Midnight Mass (Hindu; Everyday Wicca)

Lizzie Borden Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Mariam Baouardy (Melkite Greek Catholic Church)

Martha Darley Mutrie (Artology)

Melchizedek (Christian; Saint)

Ninian (Christian; Saint)

Our Lady of Częstochowa (Christian; Saint)

Robert Vickrey (Artology)

Rufino Tamayo (Artology)

Simplicius, Constantius and Victorinus (Christian; Saints)

Teresa Jornet Ibars (Christian; Saint)

Teresa of Ávila (Christian; Saint)

Usuki Stone Buddhas Fire Festival (Japan)

Vancanson (Positivist; Saint)

Women’s Equality Day (Pastafarian)

Yoshida no Hi Matsuri (End of Mt. Fuji climbing season; Japan)

Zephyrinus, Pope (Christian; Martyr)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [47 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

An American in Paris (Film; 1951)

Bodyguard (BBC TV Series; 2018)

The Bookworm and the Raven (MGM Cartoon; 1939)

Bosko’s Picture Show (WB LT Cartoon; 1933)

Boy in Darkness, by Mervyn Peake (Novella; 1956) [Gormenghast #5]

Colombiana (Film; 2011)

Crossing Delancey (Film; 1988)

Cup of Gold, by John Steinbeck (Novel; 1929)

Detouring America (WB MM Cartoon; 1939)

Dog Gone South (WB MM Cartoon; 1950)

Elijah, by Felix Mendelssohn (Oratorio; 1846)

Eragon, by Christopher Paolini (Novel; 2002)

Fire and Ice (Animated Film; 1983)

Flying Fists (MGM Cartoon; 1930)

Hey Jude, by The Beatles (Song; 1968)

Lamb in His Bosom, by Caroline Miller (Novel; 1933)

Leisure, by Blur (Album; 1991)

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Film; 1983)

Natural Born Killers (Film; 1994)

The New Mutants (Film; 2020)

Our Idiot Brother (Film; 2011)

The Reckless Driver (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1946)

7th Heaven (TV Series; 1996)

Strange Brew (Film; 1983)

String Bean Jack (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1938)

Sunshine Superman, by Donovan (Album; 1966)

Tennis Racquet (Disney Cartoon; 1949)

Those Were the Days, by Mary Hopkin (Song; 1968)

Three Thousand Years of Longing (Film; 2022)

To Catch a Woodpecker (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1957)

We’re in the Money (WB MM Cartoon; 1933)

Your Name (Anime Film; 2016)

Today’s Name Days

Gregor, Margareta, Mirian, Teresa (Austria)

Adrian, Adriana, Adriyan, Adriyana, Natali, Nataliya (Bulgaria)

Aleksandar, Branimir, Melkisedek (Croatia)

Luděk (Czech Republic)

Ienæus (Denmark)

Hilma, Ilma, Ilmatar, Ilme, Ilmi (Estonia)

Ilma, Ilmatar, Ilmi (Finland)

Natacha (France)

Margarita, Miriam, Patricia, Teresa (Germany)

Adrianos, Natalia (Greece)

Izsó (Hungary)

Alessandro, Oronzo (Italy)

Broņislava, Broņislavs, Glauda, Natālija, Nate (Latvia)

Aleksandras, Algintė, Gailius, Zefirinas (Lithuania)

Eivind, Even, Øyvind (Norway)

Dobroniega, Joanna, Konstanty, Maksym, Maria, Wiktorian, Zefir, Zefiryn, Zefiryna (Poland)

Samuel (Slovakia)

Teresa (Spain)

Östen (Sweden)

Andrian, Andriana, Natalia (Ukraine)

Percival, Percy, Travis, Trevis, Trevon, Trevor (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 239 of 2024; 127 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of Week 35 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 24 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 23 (Ren-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 22 Av 5784

Islamic: 20 Safar 1446

J Cal: 29 Purple; Eighthday [29 of 30]

Julian: 13 August 2024

Moon: 50%: 3rd Quarter

Positivist: 14 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Vaucanson]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 4 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 68 of 94)

Week: 4th Full Week of August

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 5 of 32)

#Holidays

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dizzymuses · 2 years ago

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🌦 « han so hee. cis woman. she/her. 30. » was that NARI SHIN walking through the doors of amorelux ? i heard they just moved in to apartment 502 from OTTAWA and work as a/an tattoo artist. they seem daring & adaptable but don’t get on their bad side ! they can be evasive & callous which makes sense since they’re a SAGITTARIUS. you know they’re home when you see a flash of nimble fingers detangling unbrushed hair, books carelessly scattered but never in a bookshelf, a permanently ignored notification for unread messages, memories hung up in frames.

hello, my loves !! i’m daisy, she/her, 25 and from the CET timezones which is sort of sucky most of the time when it comes to rp rip. i just started a full time intership so i’m a little bit busy these days but i should be around in the evenings and weekends for the most part. anyway, finally i can introduce u to my daughter nari, who is a brand new baby and still very much a work in progress but i hope you’ll love her nonetheless ! i would be delighted to plot w y’alls undoubtedly v sexc muses so if you’d like to do this pls react to this w a like !

basics.

name: shin nari.

nicknames: idk u could make smth up ig.

gender: cis woman

pronouns: she/her.

age: 30.

date of birth: december 17th 1991.

place of birth: busan, sk.

hometown: ottawa, canada.

nationality: canadian

ethnicity: korean.

education: high school degree.

occupation: tattoo artist, studio owner.

orientation: bisexual, biromantic.

about. (tw: depression mention)

nari was born the second of what should end up being three shin siblings, in busan. they were what you might call the perfect family, her dad being a pediatric surgeon and her mom a nurse working at the same hospital as he did. they were also a very traditional family, so while nari’s mother would often take care of them and things around the house, her father would usually come home late. he would walk up to her mother’s seat on the table, put his arms around her and kiss her on the cheek before sitting down and asking everybody about their days. in nari’s memory he’d always looked like he was carrying the world on his shoulders, endlessly tired but also truly heroic. her mother would always tell them that dad couldn’t be around much because he was saving other children’s lives and how he was making sure other mom’s wouldn’t have to miss their babies. so truly, how could nari view him as anything but that: a perfect hero.

she often asked him for stories of his work, listening with wide eyes as he’d speak on the different children and their issues. he was good at explaining things, even as a six year old she could understand just about everything. most of all she understood one thing, it’s important to help others, especially those weaker than yourself. and just like that, she became obsessed with taking care of others. while her older sister was technically two years her senior, it would still be nari kicking the boy who had pulled one of her braids hard enough to make her cry. she’d also take care of her little brother, trying to help him with his homework and reading stories to him every night. in many ways she tried her best to be a hero to others, just how she knew her father was.

of course things would have to take a turn for the worse at some point though and for nari that turn came when she was twelve. after scoring a perfect a on one of her maths tests, she was so proud, she wanted to show her father straight away and so she left the bus at the clinic, knowing her father was currently working. however, wandering around the department, she couldn’t find him anywhere and the nurses didn’t know where he went either. disappointed, she was just about to leave, when she saw her father through the creak of an almost fully closed door. walking closer, she took a careful look inside, unsure about the noises escaping the room. when she saw the half-dressed woman with her arms around her dad’s broad shoulders, they suddenly looked a whole lot less like the dependable shoulders of a hero. stepping back, she almost couldn’t believe what she had seen.

not knowing what to do, certain she’d destroy her entire family’s lives if she spoke about this big secret, nari didn’t say anything. she didn’t say anything for another three months, though her mother was wondering why nari suddenly didn’t seem as eager to spend time with her father anymore. but who would want to spend time with someone like him, why had she ever wanted to be like that man. it took those three months until her mother found out herself. a scenario that looking back had always been likely, considering they worked at the same hospita. nari’s mother found out and nari found out when only days later her mother told her and her siblings that they were going to spend some time at their grandparent’s without dad. her grandparents that had moved to canada a long time ago, therefore being little more than strangers to her and her siblings. there were tears in her mother’s eyes, she clearly didn’t want to tell her children about their father’s ill behavior but nari knew and she knew her mom knew now as well.

things were not the same afterwards, not only was their entire family uprooted and relocated into another country, their family wasn’t the same either. their move to canada meant her mother started working in her grandparent’s little korean restaurant, which soon became somewhat of a homebase to nari herself, who would spend most of her afternoon’s there doing homework and drawing endless little doodles into her notes. maybe it was a silent show of support, considering the fact that due to her mother’s relucatance to tell the children, her siblings still didn’t know why they had moved without their dad. with every month that passed, every indicator that their stay was going to be a permanent one, her siblings grew more and more upset with their mother. while nari didn’t understand why her mother would choose to protect her father like this, she kept her mouth shut. she figured her grandparents would have to know about this, figured three adults should be able to make a sensible decision about this.

however, as the years passed, nothing about this solution seemed to work out well. they were struggling. the restaurant clearly wasn’t able to really support the lives of six people but her mother had fallen into depression, making it hard for her to take on any other job. they were making ends meet but very barely and neither nari nor her siblings were used to it. tensions were building at an almost daily level, with her siblings, especially her older sister, raining down their frustrations onto her mother while nari would fight her tooth and nails to defend her. her mother might not be perfect, these days it often felt like she wasn’t even really truly there, but the fault for all their misery clearly was her father’s and his alone. one day, the fighting got so bad she just yelled it out. yelled out that their father was a rotten bastard who had cheated on their mother. silence followed her words and only as she looked up she saw her mother had walked into the kitchen, looking at nari in disbelieve. apparently she still hadn’t put it together. hadn’t known nari was aware of what had happened all along.

following all this, none of them ever got as close again as they had been before. her elder sister resented nari and her mother for not telling them earlier, her mother was a ghost of who she had once been and nari? she distanced herself a lot from her family, realizing the weight this entire situation had put on her ever since she had seen the awful scene. the only one she was still genuinely close to was her younger brother, whom she shared her anger about her father with. now in the second half of her teens, she mostly spent her time with friends from school, hanging around in skater parks or breaking into public pools at night. quickly she realized she liked those things that made her heart beat faster and her mind forget about just about anything else. on the other hand, she spent even more of her time drawing, having long since realized it was the only thing she truly wanted to do. she was doing pretty good at school and maybe, just maybe if her life had been different she could have gone on to become an art student.

instead, fresh out of college she started as an apprentice at a tattoo parlor. this plan had arisen after, in a drunken bout of horrible ideas, nari had once tattooed a couple of her friends and it had come out halfway decent considering her drunken state and the bad equipment. she had liked this, leaving her art on somebody else’s body. one of her friends also had a cousin, who had a friend, who was a tattoo artist and so she started her apprenticeship at the parlor that friend worked at. not too long after she got her license, finally getting to fully move out and get her own apartment. while she felt a bit bad about leaving her struggling mother behind, she knew in the end there was nothing more she could do for her. if her mom was to become better, she’d have to want that herself. not long after she moved out, her younger brother basically moved into her place. it was about the time that he graduated high school, which nari heavily supported him in. she knew he had an interest in studying and so she pushed him to try his best and even ended up paying most of his tuition out of her pocket.

meanwhile, over the years, nari became better and better at what she was doing at her job. she had a decent following on social media as well, admiring her work and soon people would travel across the country to get tattooed by her. alongside that came more artistic freedom, as she started denying certain design requests and instead introducing more of her own ideas to clients. at 28 she had saved enough money to open up her first own parlor, which was a hit right from the start, considering the reputation she had build for herself. by now, she was a household name in the scene, known mostly for her creative designs and shading abilities. now she only tattooed her own designs onto other people’s bodies, taking rough suggestions but mostly demanding her artistic freedom. as an artist, this felt like her final step towards freedom after years and years of tattooing butterflies and inspirational quotes. she could finally do her own thing, finally truly be an artist in her own right. only just now, nari moved to seattle to open her second parlor, this time in the us. she doesn’t quite know why she went here to take care of this herself, but on the other hand she had never been one to turn down an adventure.

tl;dr (bc lord knows this turned out way too long)

nari was born in south korea, she is the middle child of three. her family seemed all perfect and what not until nari caught her dad cheating, followed by her mother finding out as well not too soon after. not wanting to tell her children but determined to leave her husband behind, nari’s mother moved them to their grandparents in canada. after that her mom became somewhat depressed and they were struggling financially as well. her sibling were very mad at their mom, while nari tried to be by her side. one day she tells the others and they all further distance themselves from one another, aside from nari and her little brother. after school nari took on an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist (bc she once drunkenly tattoed her friends and it wasn’t half bad) and now she is a worldwide known name in the field. she is opening her second parlor in seattle now, which is why she moved here.

this got way too long and now i just wanna go sleep but like i’ll try to proof read etc as well as write some wc and whatnot tomorrow or so. ill also put out a plotting call then but u can react to this as well. mwuah !! <3 i hope it is a halfway decent read hskjdf

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brookston · 4 months ago

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Holidays 8.26

Holidays

Alice Doesn’t Day

Animal Farm Day

Battle of Manzikert Anniversary Day (Turkey)

Congressional Startup Day

826 Day

First Thnork of the Year (Fairy)

Herero Day (a.k.a. Red Flag Day; Namibia)

Heroes’ Day (Namibia)

Horseshoe Day

International Content Creators Day

International Cosplay Day

International Day Against Dengue

International Hausa Day

Jamaat-e-Islami Foundation Day

Jay Report Anniversary Day (UK)

Kantanka Day (Ghana)

Kneel in Protest Day

Liquorice Day (French Republic)

Make Your Own Luck Day

Musical Yoga Day

National Black Family Business Day

Namibia Day (a.k.a. Heroes’ Day; UN)

National Day of Solidarity (Argentina)

National Dog Day

National Got Checked Day

National Honey Bee Awareness Day

National Kelly Day

National Logan Day

National MINI Wave to Friends (WTF) Day

National Ranboo Day

National Toilet Paper Day

National WebMistress Day

Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland)

Paul Anka Day (Ottawa, Canada)

Pieta Day

Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)

Slash Day

Spark the World Day

StartUp Day

Toilet Paper Day

Tvimanuor (Double Month; Iceland)

Typewriter Day

Winter Heliotrope Day

Women's Equality Day

World Painted Dog Day

WTF (Wave to Friends) Day (Mini USA)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cherry Popsicle Day

Eat Dessert First Day

424 Day (Oklahoma)

National McChicken Day

Independence & Related Days

!9th Amendment Certified (Giving Women the Right to Vote; US; 1920)

Official Recognition Day (Abkhazia)

4th & Last Monday in August

Araw ng mga Bayani (National Heroes’ Day; Philippines) [Last Monday]

August/Summer Bank Holiday (UK) [Last Monday]

International Day of Cyber Attack Ceasefire [Last Monday]

Liberation Day (Hong Kong) [Last Monday]

Meatless Monday [Last Monday of Each Month]

Meditation Monday [Every Monday]

Mellow Monday [4th Monday of Each Month]

Monday Musings [Every Monday]

Moody Monday [Last Monday of Each Month]

Motivation Monday [Every Monday]

Motorist Consideration Monday [Monday of Be Kind to Humankind Week]

Mushroom Monday [4th Monday of Each Month]

National Heroes’ Day (Philippines) [Last Monday]

Notting Hill Carnival (UK) [Last Monday & day before]

Ould Lammas Fair (Ireland) [Last Mondday]

Social Justice Day (Antarctica) [4th Monday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 26 (4th Full Week of August)

National Composites Week (thru 8.30)

National Safe at Home Week (thru 8.30)

Festivals Beginning August 26, 2024

Alaska’s Midnight Sun Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off (Palmer, Alaska)

Leeds West Indian Carnival (Leeds, United Kingdom)

Odense International Film Festival (Odense, Denmark) [thru 9.1]

US Open Tennis Championships (New York, United States) [thru 9.8]

Feast Days

Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Adrian of Nicomedia (Greek Feast Day) [brewers]

Alexander of Bergamo (Roman Catholic Church)

Bernardino Poccetti (Artology)

Brant Parker (Artology)

Ceferino Namuncurá (Christian; Saint)

Christopher Isherwood (Writerism)

David Lewis (Christian; Blessed)

Dichetul Do Chennaib (Celtic Book of Days)

Elizabeth Bichier des Ages (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland)

The First Thnork of the Year (Shamanism)

Gelasinus (Christian; Saint)

Genesius of Arles (Christian; Saint)

Genesius the Comedian (Christian; Saint)

Guillaume Apollinaire (Writerism)

Ilmater (Finnish Goddess of the Water Mother)

Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages (Christian; Saint)

John Buchan (Writerism)

Julio Cortázar (Writerism)

Kirby and Jeffy (Muppetism)

Krishna Rebirth Midnight Mass (Hindu; Everyday Wicca)

Lizzie Borden Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Mariam Baouardy (Melkite Greek Catholic Church)

Martha Darley Mutrie (Artology)

Melchizedek (Christian; Saint)

Ninian (Christian; Saint)

Our Lady of Częstochowa (Christian; Saint)

Robert Vickrey (Artology)

Rufino Tamayo (Artology)

Simplicius, Constantius and Victorinus (Christian; Saints)

Teresa Jornet Ibars (Christian; Saint)

Teresa of Ávila (Christian; Saint)

Usuki Stone Buddhas Fire Festival (Japan)

Vancanson (Positivist; Saint)

Women’s Equality Day (Pastafarian)

Yoshida no Hi Matsuri (End of Mt. Fuji climbing season; Japan)

Zephyrinus, Pope (Christian; Martyr)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [47 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

An American in Paris (Film; 1951)

Bodyguard (BBC TV Series; 2018)

The Bookworm and the Raven (MGM Cartoon; 1939)

Bosko’s Picture Show (WB LT Cartoon; 1933)

Boy in Darkness, by Mervyn Peake (Novella; 1956) [Gormenghast #5]

Colombiana (Film; 2011)

Crossing Delancey (Film; 1988)

Cup of Gold, by John Steinbeck (Novel; 1929)

Detouring America (WB MM Cartoon; 1939)

Dog Gone South (WB MM Cartoon; 1950)

Elijah, by Felix Mendelssohn (Oratorio; 1846)

Eragon, by Christopher Paolini (Novel; 2002)

Fire and Ice (Animated Film; 1983)

Flying Fists (MGM Cartoon; 1930)

Hey Jude, by The Beatles (Song; 1968)

Lamb in His Bosom, by Caroline Miller (Novel; 1933)

Leisure, by Blur (Album; 1991)

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Film; 1983)

Natural Born Killers (Film; 1994)

The New Mutants (Film; 2020)

Our Idiot Brother (Film; 2011)

The Reckless Driver (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1946)

7th Heaven (TV Series; 1996)

Strange Brew (Film; 1983)

String Bean Jack (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1938)

Sunshine Superman, by Donovan (Album; 1966)

Tennis Racquet (Disney Cartoon; 1949)

Those Were the Days, by Mary Hopkin (Song; 1968)

Three Thousand Years of Longing (Film; 2022)

To Catch a Woodpecker (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1957)

We’re in the Money (WB MM Cartoon; 1933)

Your Name (Anime Film; 2016)

Today’s Name Days

Gregor, Margareta, Mirian, Teresa (Austria)

Adrian, Adriana, Adriyan, Adriyana, Natali, Nataliya (Bulgaria)

Aleksandar, Branimir, Melkisedek (Croatia)

Luděk (Czech Republic)

Ienæus (Denmark)

Hilma, Ilma, Ilmatar, Ilme, Ilmi (Estonia)

Ilma, Ilmatar, Ilmi (Finland)

Natacha (France)

Margarita, Miriam, Patricia, Teresa (Germany)

Adrianos, Natalia (Greece)

Izsó (Hungary)

Alessandro, Oronzo (Italy)

Broņislava, Broņislavs, Glauda, Natālija, Nate (Latvia)

Aleksandras, Algintė, Gailius, Zefirinas (Lithuania)

Eivind, Even, Øyvind (Norway)

Dobroniega, Joanna, Konstanty, Maksym, Maria, Wiktorian, Zefir, Zefiryn, Zefiryna (Poland)

Samuel (Slovakia)

Teresa (Spain)

Östen (Sweden)

Andrian, Andriana, Natalia (Ukraine)

Percival, Percy, Travis, Trevis, Trevon, Trevor (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 239 of 2024; 127 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of Week 35 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 24 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 23 (Ren-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 22 Av 5784

Islamic: 20 Safar 1446

J Cal: 29 Purple; Eighthday [29 of 30]

Julian: 13 August 2024

Moon: 50%: 3rd Quarter

Positivist: 14 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Vaucanson]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 4 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 68 of 94)

Week: 4th Full Week of August

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 5 of 32)

#calendar #Holidays

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jegs98 · 6 days ago

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This is still pretty much open ☺️☺️😌

Painting is my sanctuary, where I find solace, freedom, and joy, losing myself in vibrant colors and textures that bring my emotions to life on canvas.

If you in Canada, I could use any picture of your choice and give you a commission for allowing me use it. Out of good ideas to photos

Send a dm

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q-posts · 9 months ago

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jeudi

Doorways, entrances, there is always a certain intrigue ..sometimes more obvious than others. Even at night, we are drawn to buildings because of an entrance/doorway. Some can be very deceiving, impressive and exciting on the outside, but uninviting once inside. Other doors or functional, strong and commanding, while inside there is calm and serenity. Today I have combined the Thursday Door…

View On WordPress

#appreciation #Canada #churches #Hawaii #musing #Ontario #Ottawa #philosophy #Thursday doors

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birchkillchronicles · 2 years ago

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Getting to Marigold

Chapter Five

Tangerine, Charcoal, Heather

“That’s an odd way of saying it,” remarked Don, ripping his eyes away from the puzzle on his tablet to stare quizzically at his wife.

But Jeanie was determined not to let anything Don or Bernie had to say sidetrack her on this Sunday afternoon.

Just let them try!

She’d awoken last Monday morning with a clear sense of purpose and—without arousing the slightest suspicion in her family—had spent the entire week getting her ducks in a row.

She’d started in her craft room—as Sylvie would have definitely recommended—with an eleven-page, hyper-specific, ‘free-fall-ideas’ inventory of tasks. Which she’d only set briefly aside that evening—so she could prep and eat dinner with her family—before returning to categorize the resulting list into a variety of subdivisions.

As her mother would say, ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!’

Subsequently, on Tuesday she’d driven to her favourite craft supply store and bought a large cork panel. Which she then covered with tangerine-and-white-checked gingham fabric to make an inspiration board.

She’d divided the board into six uneven sections—Budget, Invitations and RSVPs, Accommodations, Activities and Events, Transportation, and Food. And neatly applied a label for each section with a select colour of ink—charcoal, magenta, seafoam, heather, silver, or gold.

Then, she’d sorted through her files of magazine clippings to retrieve articles which referenced anything about the planning and achievement of a big family reunion and pinned them to the appropriate section.

Satisfied that each section was overflowing with creative suggestions, on Wednesday she’d curated the articles into empty scrapbooks with similarly colour-coded labels. And then, for the remaining days of the week, she’d meditated over the scrapbooks and sought out further inspiration through extensive forays into her laptop computer.

By Googling with abandon, she’d been pleased to discover that there were infinite tourist-y resources in the sightseeing hub that Ottawa had become.

There’d been a whole slue of museums, galleries and historical sites. There’d been boat excursions, bus trips and walking tours. There’d been public gardens, picnic parks and hiking trails. And the list had gone on and on…

She’d made orderly notes of the most appealing activities—those that had seemed to fit in best with her unplugged Roaring Twenties theme, that is—and had painstakingly interfiled them with the clippings in her scrapbooks.

Then, she’d weeded out the experiences that had been obviously too pricey—like chartering bi-plane rides over the city for every Reunion invitee. And others that had been too complicated or demanding—like building wooden cars and running a soap-box derby down Sunnyside Avenue.

Some ideas had been too kid-centric—like bead-stringing, toy-painting and hat-decorating. And some had been too adult—like a day at the racetrack or night at the Gatineau casino.

Some had been too date-specific—like pre-purchasing passes to the annual Jazz Festival in late June. And some had been too culturally-specific—like arranging for a family religious service at a local church.

But, maybe, Jeanie had mused, there could be a croquet tourney. And a dress-up family photo booth. And a film night at the local cinema. And a wonderful vintage market ramble with a knowledgeable picker as guide. And, of course, a really big surprise event at the Sunday picnic finale which would end the week with an incredible bang!

And who knew what other brainwaves Don and Bernie might want to throw into the ring?

Maybe her husband had worked with a woman who’d taken ballroom dancing and could advise on them on where to find a studio that could hold a Charleston class for a crowd?

Or, maybe, her daughter had an on-line acquaintance who could fix them up with a vintage clothing store to rent out the costumes at a discount for the family photo booth?

Who knew?

It had all been extremely exciting! And—having called a family meeting at the kitchen island for this Sunday afternoon—she’d brought down her scrapbooks full of articles to illustrate her vision for the week.

Armed with the optimistic belief that she’d surely be the recipient of her husband’s and her daughter’s undivided support, she’d prepared herself to be modest in response to their praise for her undoubtably excellent plans.

In her dreamiest moments, in fact, she’d imagined Bernie saying, “Mom! That’s genius!” and Don chiming in, “Jeanie, you always come up with the most amazing schemes!”

“Oh—I’m not that great…” she’d envisaged herself murmuring.

But in her heart, Jeanie would know that she was really quite a whiz—!

With all of this in mind, Jeanie now repeated herself for emphasis. “The theme of next summer’s Olde Fashioned Dinmont-Todd Family Reunion is going to be ‘The Roaring Twenties.’ On the front of our invitations, it’ll say, ‘Do you remember The Twenties?’ and then inside we’ll answer, ‘We do!’ And then there’ll be a preliminary Schedule of Activities for the—”

“But we don’t,” Don protested, frowning.

Bernie nodded, bored. “I wasn’t even born until 1989.”

Trying to remain upbeat, Jeanie pushed aside her awakening frustration. “Well, of course not, guys. It’s just a hook to get people interested in our Olde-Fashioned Reunion idea. A way to get them to want to participate—”

“And you don’t you think that a summer family reunion is kind of its own theme?” interrupted Don. “You know, seeing the folks you haven’t seen for years? Reconnecting with the ones who’ve fallen off the Christmas card list—?"

“But we’ve got to find a way to attract as many relatives as possible!” countered Jeanie. “And I just thought that we’d get the most people to come if there was a really snappy theme.”

“But—'The Roaring Twenties?’ What’s that got to do with the price of tea in China?” Don still looked pretty blank.

“Well—if you’d listen to what I’ve got to say, you’d might have some idea.” Jeanie tapped the thinnest scrapbook—distinguished by a charcoal ‘Budget’ label—which lay on the top of her pile. “Now, using our Travel and Holiday savings account as a resource, I’ve run up a financial plan for—”

“I hate to say it—but Mom might be right,” Bernie interrupted in turn. “Perhaps we should hear her out before we dump all over the concept.”

“Why should today be any different?” objected Don, but he was powering off his laptop. “Besides, I like the reunion idea. Maybe not for an entire week…”

“I like it too,” agreed Bernie, quite readily, to Jeanie’s delight. But her daughter’s following explanation proved true to form. “I was worried that, when Mom called this meeting, she was about to announce another round of house renovations.”

“Oh, boy, no kidding!” nodded Don. “After the bathrooms and the kitchen and the back yard, I think we’ve really had it up to here with all that noise and chaos.”

“And remember when we had to move into that rickety summer cottage for six weeks so they could build on our family room?” pouted Bernie.

“Yeah,” snorted Don. “This idea’s a lot less scary. And your mom is correct in saying that we’ve spent an awful lot of time flying out to the West Coast to see our relatives and that, for once, they ought to be the ones who make the trek. Heck, I don’t even mind having a ‘themed’ reunion. But why that particular theme, dear?”

“Well, if you’ll both shut up for a moment, I’ll explain!” snapped Jeanie, all her good intentions to keep a cheery demeanor abandoned. “Now—are you two listening?”

Unabashed, Don and Bernie made ‘um-hm’ noises to indicate that they were.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “You know how I went to that play in the park several weeks back?”

“The one that Lindy Styre wrote? Geez, Mom,” scoffed Bernie. “You go to one play in your whole life and—”

“Well, the stage designer set it in the Roaring Twenties,” continued Jeanie, undeterred. “And I thought—since they have the costumes and all that already, and it’s about a family, and it’s pretty funny—why not hire Lindy to cut it down quite a bit—so it’s more of a long skit, really—and then we’d get them to perform it at our Sunday picnic as the highlight of our reunion? And then, I thought, leading up to it, we could have Roaring Twenties themed activities like—”

But, before Jeanie could present her best suggestions, both Don and Bernie leapt in again.

“Yeah, let’s highlight our reunion with a play about a dysfunctional family where the daughter hates the dad,” chuckled Don, aware of the play’s plot from Jeanie’s brief review. And, “Do you really think Lindy would want to cut a two act play down to a skit?” demanded Bernie, rolling her eyes.

“Yes, but Lindy could leave out all the bad parts and just leave in the jokes,” Jeanie stoutly maintained. “And everybody knows that actors are always looking for chances to show off. Besides which—I’ve got a great way to bribe Lindy to do it!”

“This I have to hear…” murmured Don.

Bernie just gave her absurd mother a hard stare.

“I’m going to offer to pay her—cue the trumpets, please!” Jeanie announced, pausing dramatically to add an air of expectation, “—with my professional services as an interior designer!”

“Mom.” Her daughter used the name like a sledgehammer, while scepticism oozed from her husband. “Really?” Don objected, wrinkling his nose.

“Yes, really!” returned Jeanie, with supreme confidence. “You should see that woman’s place. Her bathroom hasn’t seen a contractor since nineteen-seventy-two. Her kitchen looks like something out of The Addams Family. And she admitted to me that most of her furnishings date from before the nineteen-sixties. She’ll jump at the chance to get my advice for free!”

“Maybe she likes her house the way it is, Mom.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Bernie. Nobody wants to live like that.”

“Okay,” sighed Don. “Perhaps we should discuss the details of this later. Like after some of our relatives say that they’re actually willing to hop on a plane—”

“But, Don, if we’ve got a really wonderful theme to entice them here—"

“Jeanie.” Don put up his hand to stop his wife. “Let’s just test the waters before we dive in all the way. Now—Bernie, can you run up an invite on your computer? And we’ll send—”

“NO!”

Both her husband and her daughter turned startled faces Jeanie’s way.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” she cried. “I don’t want any of this to have anything to do with phones or computers! That’s why I want a Roaring Twenties theme! I don’t want e-mailing or Skyping or Zooming or anything else that’s not from ninety years ago! Do you hear what I’m trying to say?”

“No, dear,” dead-panned Don. “Could you speak a little louder?”

Bernie snickered at her dad’s joke and looked around for her phone.

Unexpectedly, Jeanie nabbed the device before her daughter could reach it and held the phone hostage while she continued her rant.

“I’m telling you, guys! I want real handwritten snail-mail invitations on real stationery with real reply cards and real pre-stamped envelopes enclosed!” she exclaimed, and then listed off a few of her favourite activities on her fingers. “I want real outings like picnics or Charleston lessons or croquet. And real visits to craft fairs or museums or art galleries. And I thought that having a real live show presented just for our family would be the perfect finale to a week of nothing but real face-time!”

Jeanie noted that, by their perplexed expressions, Don and Bernie seemed to be at least listening—if not seriously considering her plans—and continued more calmly.

“An Olde Fashioned Roaring Twenties Family Reunion, guys—that’s what we should have. With old-fashioned conversation and fun. Otherwise,” she concluded, “if everyone’s just going to bury themselves in their phones and tablets and computers like everybody normally does these days—I’m not interested in putting in the effort to get a full week of family reunion off the ground.”

Bernie looked to her dad to see if he was buying any of this and exchanged a mutual shrug before turning back to her mom.

“People still use snail-mail letters for stuff like weddings, I guess,” she conceded. “But you’re not going to be able to ask everyone to drop their phones and tablets in a box at beginning of the week and never touch them ’til the end, you know, Mom. People just won’t stand for it.”

“That’s for sure,” Don nodded his hearty assent.

“No, but we can keep them so busy with interesting activities that they won’t mind being off of them for most of the time!” declared Jeanie, and then switched to a wheedling tone. “C’mon, Bernie. C’mon, Don. Let’s at least try to make this all about face-time. Think of the wonderful, real memories everyone will have…”

“Oh, all right,” granted Don. “If you think you can pull it off, dear. I still don’t know about that Roaring Twenties theme, though. But I guess I’m with you on the unplugged reunion thing.” He considered for a moment, then added, with a frown, “Unless my sister, Sharon, shows up, that is. Then being able to concentrate on my tablet will simply be self-preservation. How about you, Bernie?” He reached for his device.

“Sure, I’m in,” nodded Bernie. “As long as Mom gives me my phone back right now—”

“Here you go, kidlet,” said Jeanie, handing it over with an indulgent smile. “And thanks, you guys, for the vote of confidence! I think the Olde Fashioned Roaring Twenties Dinmont-Todd Family Reunion is going to be a blast! And you don’t have to worry—I’ll plan everything out. See here…I’ve brought down some ideas from my clipping files…”

She sorted through her scrapbooks for a moment and opened the fattest one with the heather label that indicated Activities and Events.

“Now, here’s what I thought we should do about getting everyone fed and up to speed on the first night. According to these articles, our local pub or our favourite pizza place would be glad to rent out their whole space to a single party if they get enough notice. So, then I thought—”

But at this point, Jeanie realized that Bernie and Don were already long gone into their screens and she was only talking to herself. But that’s okay, she decided. I’ll take this first victory and run with it. I’m the chief planner of this event, and I won’t need any more input from either of them for a long, long time.

Plus, I might as well face it now, thought Jeanie, bravely. Sylvie won’t be around to lend me a helping hand. But I can certainly remember the creative suggestions she would have made—about activity schedules and menu design and party décor—and plan them out as if she were still sitting there right beside me...

And, with this in mind, Jeanie left her oblivious family behind and carted her scrapbooks back upstairs to spend the rest of her Sunday afternoon resolutely envisioning and scheming and organizing at her craft room desk, alone.

#gettingtomarigold #original novel #satire #family reunion #parenting #summer theatre #grief/mourning #best friends

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