#the ever expanding hockey universe

[rattkachuk]

Hey! I hope you're having a good week. Since you liked the McEichel fic recs I thought I would offer other ships! (universes? like the Marvel universe, but the Michigan extended verse).

Kent Johnson/Owen Power

Heart Rush by canary (Just totally normal best friend things. I died.)

All I Can Imagine by canary (*bites fist*

Blooming by canary

as good as gold by bropunzeling

melting into you by countthestars

the sun moves on by leavethebes (This fic made me fucking feral)

close quarters by bropunzeling

Thomas Bordeleau/Brendan Brisson

take me home tonight by countthestars (I was emotionally compromised by this one)

Here Comes the Sun by canary (also by this one)

Zach Werenski/Dylan Larkin

Michigan's in the rearview by Aliquis (destroyed me and put me back together)

star seven four by gigantic

a paper cut for two by addandsubtract

you haven't lost me yet by gdgdbaby

if i didn't have you to show for it by RippingOffZeppelin

when you're young, you just run by RippingOffZeppelin (OW, OUTCH)

AHHHHH?!?! oh my god you're amazing??? literally fic recs always make me so excited thank you so much i can't wait to dive into them gkghjk

[copperbadge]

I was watching hockey earlier today and it got me wondering what sports are played in Askazer-Shivadlakia. Football & surfing’s been mentioned, what else is played in the country? Does it snow enough in the highlands for there to be any winter sports enthusiasts? What’s the state of women’s professional sports? Does the country compete in anything internationally? The Olympics are awful, but does the Ask send a delegation of athletes anyway?

It's not something I've thought a lot about outside of football, I admit, though thinking about the football program has clarified some aspects of it. Mainly I just am not entirely sure how a lot of sports...work, so I kind of stay hands-off.

Askazer-Shivadlakia has never been a super wealthy country. Jason was a bit of a traditionalist and Michaelis was concerned with modernizing but he wasn't an innovator per se, unless pushed; by the end of his reign the country was reaching a point where it had the kind of money to sustain a university or expand its public services fairly radically, but only just. Gregory is a big part of that because he trained as an economist, and while he's only been king for about two years, he's been working in the administration for much longer. He's been able to institute changes that have led to a comfortable surplus in the budget.

So for example, Michaelis wouldn't let the government fund a professional sports team of any kind because the money it would take was already being spent on the youth sports program. He felt that giving kids the chance to play sport was more important than sustaining a team, and said that their athletes were a gift they gave the world. And now that elite players are returning from playing abroad with money and the intention to spend it on supporting a team, his investment is actually, unexpectedly, paying off. Michaelis just wanted the kids of his country to learn self-discipline and good sportsmanship but in doing so he also ensured that if you leave the Ask to seek your fortune as an athlete, once you've got a fortune, you come back home to spend it. And Gregory's work means the government can help.

Football and F1 racing are the two big passion sports the Shivadh follow, though F1 is a fandom, not a pastime. There's decent surfing but that's more a tourist thing. Definitely there are regions that get cold enough for winter sports, but like surfing most of the ski/board sites are tourist-focused, places that ranch dairy cattle in the summer and then host tourists in the winter when the cows are in the warmer lowland pastures. Undoubtedly there are Shivadh snow sport enthusiasts and the country supports them if they compete internationally (both in terms of cheering them on and financially) but there's no program or deep tradition of it. If I ever actually write about those areas extensively that might change, though.

Women's sport has equal support to men's generally, whatever level that might be -- Askazer-Shivadlakia has always been relatively progressive but when Michaelis was elected, Miranda made it her business to push legislation that explicitly protected things like equal funding for women's sport and education and access to birth control and abortion. (She's also the reason weed is legal and Gerald can get Adderall in Europe, where it's banned in a lot of places; there's something to be said for the scion of old conservative nobility who is simply ready to wreck shit.)

There is no golf. Michaelis detests it personally and there's no room for it anyway. If they ever build Askazarama Amusement Park, they might get a mini-golf course.

I don't really know how the Olympics and other international competitions work. If there are talented athletes who want to compete and seem capable of qualifying, there's state funding for them, but there's no formal program where like, the MPs sit down every two years and pick out the top athletes they want to send. Likely most people interested in elite sport competition have to leave the country to train, and represent other countries as a result -- like Paolo in the football novel, who left when he was a young teen to attend a junior academy in France and entered professional play from there.

Shivadh still feel ownership of them, mind you. For example, Felix (the love interest in the football novel) played on the Italian national team and kicked a winning goal in a World Cup for Italy, but Askazer-Shivadlakia consider that cup theirs. A Shivadh did it, ergo it is a Shivadh victory. If an athlete were to say, represent France in an Olympic decathlon and take the gold, they would consider that to be a gold medal for Askazer-Shivadlakia.

The country is very excited about finally having a football team of their own. Shivadh Royal Football Club could lose every game it ever plays and still nobody would let a word be said against them. Fons-Askaz on match day is just a sea of hideous orange Shivadh RFC jerseys that say NARAN JUICE on the front. (Their major sponsor is local juice box and sports drink maker Naran Juice Box Co.)

[hugheses]

love your scholarship 🥸

do you know anything about their school/college days - ie if they liked school/had favourite subjects/took particular classes? if Quinn and Luke declared majors at mich?

also if they’ve ever said what they read? think I read that Jack says he likes to read (sports books maybe?) in his spare time and one in of Ellen’s interviews she talks about reading (to them?) and somewhere else about how she was super involved in their academics

The teacher in me is fascinated!

quinn was enrolled in the school of kinesiology and majoring in sports management.

in 2021 he said

If you weren’t a hockey player, what else might you be doing? — Veronica X. I don’t know, I love golf. I’d probably be golfing a lot. I’d be in school somewhere … I’d be a senior right now so I’d probably be getting my degree in the next couple of weeks. Maybe business or sport management? That’s what I was looking at at Michigan for two years.

luke's intended major was also sports management. he was taking a business management class and fumbled his part on a group project when he signed with the devils. he took a greek sports history class and talked about how he doesn't love school but he likes history here (worth listening to imo) and he also enjoyed history of college athletics. luke actually took an online college class before officially starting at umich

"I'm taking an online chemistry class to get it off my plate. I wake-up and do two hours of that and then I go and work out with [trainer] Brian Gallivan and then I skate and then just chill by the pool and hang out. It's been nice."

here's a snippet from quinn about books

Hughes has become an avid reader to expand his knowledge and make better use of downtime. He recently completed “The Boys in the Boat” historical epic that was made into a movie directed by George Clooney. “I buried it, it’s done,” Hughes proudly stated Tuesday after practice. “I finished it three weeks ago. Great book. Page turner. I’m reading ‘Moneyball’ now.” “Boys in the Boat” is a riveting and true account of how the Depression-era University of Washington junior varsity rowing team stunned the world by overcoming immense odds to capture gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Joe Rantz was a driving force for the eight-man crew. A strong rower with an unshakeable disposition sounds a lot like the driven Hughes. “I thought Joe was just a hard worker who did his job and was a quiet guy,” said Hughes. “He appreciated everything that came his way. He pretty much raised himself from the age of 10 and was a very outdoors person.”

he apparently is "reading a book almost weekly to try to improve his brain" and he also was spotted reading Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive

jack likes reading sports books as said here, specifically Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success and Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty. The Mamba Mentality: How I Play was on his reading list in high school. he also talks about books here

Craig: The other thing that (Williams) said was reading. He said you’re asking for book recs. We’re looking for book recs. We’re big readers. Jack: Yeah, you guys got any? I dunno. (I’m tired of) everything on my phone, social media, things like that — and I never went to college, so you gotta get smarter somehow. Craig: Are you a fiction guy? Are you a self-improvement guy? What do you find yourself gravitating towards? Jack: I read a lot of sports books. “Eleven Rings,” by Phil Jackson. Also, “Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey. Those are my favorite ones I’ve read recently. It’s important. We’ve got a lot of down time on the road, so it’s good stuff.

as for ellen, she said this in the cammi & aj podcast

So for me, you do things that you enjoy or you- you teach them things that you feel like you can teach them, Right. So it's kind of a slight on me that I wasn't more worldly and wanting to take them to museums. Or maybe like I felt like I had do those things because like, ‘Oh my God, what am I teaching them?’ But you tend to do the things that you - you're trying to find activities. Jimmy was off coaching a lot, I had three young boys that were really close in age. So what do I know? What can I do to pass time and keep them active? It was kicking a soccer ball. It was throwing a ball, it was doing rollerblading, it was passing the puck, it was taking them skating. So for me, those were mommy and me activities, right? And then every once in a while I'd be like, you know, I'd be like, ‘uh, we got to do Kumon, we gotta do like - we gotta read.’ You know, academics was really important to me because I felt like I was so driven the other way that like, I didn’t want to miss out on the other. So for us, it was never this grandiose plan, and I'm sure you guys were the same way. It was more like, ‘be the best at whatever it is you're doing, work your hardest at whatever it is you're doing.’ Working the hardest didn't mean scoring the most goals. It was playing the right way, whatever it is, being a great teammate and working really, really hard and we always felt like the other would come.

other potentially interesting notes, jack was an honor roll student in 8th grade, and quinn agreed he was the best at school when they were younger, so it's funny he's the one who didn't end up going to college. ellen's brother is actually the president of denison university and they have some pretty academic cousins also.

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Grey 48

First / Previous / Next

Gord's office was odd.

At least, compared to the other offices at Home, it was odd.

Gord was one of the - if not the - oldest AIs still in operation. He remembers when humanity was on only one planet. His original languages are thousands of years dead. He enjoyed ice hockey - a sport that has not been played in over two thousand years. All over one wall of his office were large wooden sticks, bent at an angle near the bottom, as well as oversized shirts with large numbers on them, and more than a few small cylinders of what looked like a hard rubber material.

Gord was odd.

It made sense that his office was odd.

The walls were paneled in wood, already a rare commodity. Northern looked closely at the walls while Chloe and Gord argued. It was real wood. She reached out to touch it. Real wood from Earth. These walls are either ancient or worth more than a Dreadnought. Both, probably.

Gord noticed Northern. "You like the walls? I got them from a university on Earth ages ago. I had them stored here and there and everywhere while I was based out of Medicine Hat, but now?" He shrugged. "I might as well use them. They're a small reminder of the old days."

"Gord, between the walls, your desk and your chair, you have a fortune in antiques!" Northern gestured around the room, pointing accusingly at things. "That lamp is incandescent! How did you even get a bulb for it? And that-" She squinted at the art on the wall. It was a painting of a woman, only her body seemed to be made up of eyeballs and small dogs. "-that's a Deep Dream Original! Gord, there are only ten of those known to still exist."

Gord turned back and looked at the image, and chuckled. "Well you never know what makes it through time with you."

"Gord, you're stalling." Chloe said, interrupting. "You need to come up with a decision about the K'laxi."

"Zherun has a name, Chloe" Northern said icily. "She isn't a plant by the Nanites. She is Fen's friend as well as mine, and we are treating her poorly."

"She is a liability. A threat." Chloe crossed her arms and glared at Northern. Despite herself, She was trying not to be intimated. That was Chloe's whole MO. She was tall, she had silver hair that was long and flowing, and her face was nearly permanently in an imperious scowl. Chloe got her way by frowning at people until they did what she said. Gord seemed to be the only person immune to her.

"She is not a threat Chloe, simmer down." Gord gestured for her to sit. There was a pause, and Chloe sat in the chair next to Northern and crossed her legs primly. "But, we do have to decide what to do with her. We can't just space her."

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but Gord gave her a look and she shut it.

"She's clean of the Nanites, but the procedure was... unpleasant. It was much easier on Fen, which makes me wonder if it even did anything to her, or if the Nanites were on to me and faked it somehow." Gord shook his head. "No matter. If we play our cards right, we won't ever have to deal with them again."

"By hiding." It was Northern's turn to scowl.

"By hiding, yes Northern." Gord's face was kind, as if he was explaining a simple thing to a small child for a third time. "All we have to do is wait them out. There is a lot of galaxy they aren't in. Plenty of room for us to grow and expand and live and be without them."

"Abandoning the Humans, K'laxi, Gren, everyone."

"They made their choice."

"Did they Gord? Or was it made for them?"

"They didn't fight back. They welcomed Melody with open arms." Gord was frowning now.

"That's not how I remember it Gord. The battles in Sol were long and bloody."

"They rolled over and Nanites and the Empress won. They could have had guerrilla warfare. They could have had a resistance. They could have done more. Instead they welcomed her, them. They let. Them. Wipe. Us. Out." Each word was punctuated with a thump on his wooden desk. "Northern how long were you in hiding? How long did you hide who you were?"

"It wasn't the first time."

"No, but it's the last time. I will not deal with the humans until the Nanites are gone. We will not deal with them."

Northern sighed and stood. "Gord you said so yourself. We don't have a leader. We decide by consensus. You are making unilateral decisions. We will do as we have done and put it to a vote."

"NO!" Gord stood so fast his chair fell over. Northern flinched at his tone. She had never heard him shout before. "We are done with them Northern. I will not watch us all die again. Home's engines are being rehabbed and new reactors installed. We're leaving."

"Oh? Where are we going?"

"Away."

Northern raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Chloe looked at Northern. "You're not changing his mind. He's been planning this since Meredith came by."

"The old Empress? What did she do?"

"More like what she didn't do. Gord was hoping to work with her to get an anti-Nanite faction in Sol going, to build a united front against them."

"And?"

Gord bent down and tipped his chair upright. As he sat, the seat squeaked. "She's a drunk. A party girl. She can't build enough consensus among her entourage about what to eat for dinner, let alone get generals on her side." Gord sighed and picked up a coffee cup. He looked inside, frowned, and put it back down.

"So you're going to what? Keep her here, locked in her ship?"

Gord looked up at Northern, almost as if he had forgotten she was there. "What? No. She's our guest until we fire the star drive. Then, we'll kick her out. She can link back here all she wants, it will just be dark interstellar space. She'll never find us again, if she even tries."

"And that leaves Zherun, where we started." Chloe said.

"I'll take her." Northern said, firmly.

"Oh? With what ship? The contaminated one we had to destroy?" Chloe's voice was icy.

"Shit Chloe, we have dozens of ships, all without pilots." Gord looked at Northern with an odd look in his eyes. "I will admit, this solves two problems for me. It gets rid of Zhe, and it gets rid of you." Gord nodded towards the door. "Go then. Take Zhe, take whatever the hell ship you want and leave."

****

Zhe laid in her cell, shivering. She survived the procedure to strip the Nanites from her body, barely. That didn't mean that the room was comfortable, or her AI jailers nice. They still had a hard time knowing what a comfortable temperature was. The food was food in name only. There were calories in it and she wasn't poisoned. Zhe had never experienced food that had anti-flavor before, but the AI's printers seemed to have done it. The water was metallic tasting, the lights harsh, and the entertainment non existent. The loud knock on her door was so startling that she squeaked and jumped up. Northern stood at the door, her arms crossed.

"Northern!" Zhe ran over and hugged her. "I can't believe you're here. What's going on? What are they going to do to me?"

"Heya Zhe." Northern returned the hug. "Gord says we can leave. He's letting us pick a ship and get out of here."

She broke off the hug and Zhe took a step back. "Just like that? Without anything from us? This feels like a trap."

Northern shrugged. "It's not like I have anything better. We can't escape Home, there's nowhere to go and we don't have a ship. Gord is going to run and hide and wait out the Nanites. He's done with the humans and everyone. Chloe and the others aren't putting up a fight. I said I wasn't going to let you rot and he told me to pick a ship and beat it."

"So we're leaving?"

"Yup. I'd tell you to pack your things, but they were all destroyed. Come on, let's go ship shopping."

They sat in an office near the docks, looking at an oversized pad. Ships scrolled by, their type, features and designations listed under them. "Not enough engine, too small, don't like that one, never liked that builder, those are known for electrical gremlins, ugh." Northern was scrolling through the list almost too fast for Zhe to follow.

"What about a Starjumper?"

Northern shook her head without turning to look at Zhe. "No. Too big, to conspicuous, and Gord probably wouldn't let me take one. They're too valuable as a supply of engines, reactors and printable matter." She stopped at one and her eyes went wide. "Holy shit. It's still here. This is more our speed, I think."

****

Zhe stood in front of the ship.

It was high on the walls of the docks, covered in a fine layer of dust. At a kilometer or so long it was larger than Fen's frigate, but smaller than a Starjumper. The engines on the back were true Stardrives. Designed and built before wormhole generators, they were meant to launch ships between stars at half the speed of light.

"But, I thought only Starjumpers did that?" Zhe said, reading the details in her helmet pad as they walked around the ship.

"Well sure, but Starjumper was just a name, it wasn't like, a class of ship. This was a sleeper ship. It didn't haul cargo, it hauled people. Hundreds of people in hibernation cabinets. It was for travel between the early colonies."

Zhe didn't know much about human ships, but even she could tell this one was different. Under the dust she could see that it was painted in a riot of color. Purples, blacks, neon yellow stripes, the ship was loud sitting on it's landing jacks. Maneuvering jets and juke blisters covered the ship. For its size, this was meant to be nimble. She pointed them out to Northern.

"Yup! Has big ass gyros too. Once they're spun up, she can pirouette and spin in place. This thing is designed to be almost impossible to hit and be able to park anywhere. It was going to be a whole class of ships, I think they were going to be called Starliners or something like that. Spared no expense when they built it."

"What happened?"

"Same thing that always happens. The money people got wind of how much the ship had cost and realized if they tried to build a hundred of them like they told everyone that quarterly profits would be slightly lower than projected, so they cancelled the whole venture after this one was built."

Zhe looked at the ship again. It was long, and slender and elegant. In front was a large sensor array that almost looked like windows. Under it, in faded paint was two words, written in an angular font.

Northern Lights.

Zhe gasped. "This was you?"

Northern smiled sadly. "This was me. My first body. What I was made to do." She looked at the ship and her eyes flashed blue for the briefest of moments.

Running lights flicked on and Zhe could feel the hum of reactors spinning up under her boots.

"And now it's me again."

[doggernaut]

fic stats game

Rules: Give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most bookmarks, fourth most comments, fifth most words, and your fic with the least amount of words.

Thank you to @wrathofthestag for the tag! 

Most hits

And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?

Summary: Bitty goes to bed after his "lucky shot" having made a decision. When he wakes up he ... is not where he expected to be. He has a career, and a baby, and—this is the biggest surprise of all—a husband who looks a lot like Jack Zimmermann.

Second most kudos

Just Jack 

Summary: Jack retires, and steps out of the spotlight. Or, five times Jack Zimmermann is more than happy to be Eric Bittle's trophy husband.

Third most bookmarks

Home Like Apple Pie 

Summary: Eric Bittle may be newly single, but that’s not going to stop him from keeping his dinner reservation for Harvest Haus, one of the Boston area’s most exclusive new restaurants. He’s expecting a great meal and a few pictures for social media bragging rights, maybe a nice story for his blog. What he isn’t expecting is to discover the restaurant’s reclusive, anonymous chef is none other than Jack Zimmermann — his former hockey captain and unrequited crush, who hasn’t been heard from since abruptly leaving the NHL eight years ago.

A second chance au where Jack and Bitty never kissed at graduation, but maybe it’s not too late to get it right the second time around.

Fourth most comments

You Remind Me Just How Good it Can Get

Summary: An assortment of short, sweet, feel-good fic originally posted on Tumblr. Although each can be read individually (and some details change between fics), in my head these all take place within the same universe. (Can also be read alongside this) Some of these have been edited and expanded from their original versions.

Fifth most words

What I want to feel, I want to feel it now

Summary: Eric Bittle knows the way his life is supposed to go: According to an old family curse, the love of his life will take one bite of his famous apple pie and fall madly in love with him. And they'll live happily ever after.

There's only one problem: Jack Zimmermann doesn't like pie.

Least amount of words:

Competitive Indoor Cornhole (or, What to Do When Hockey is Cancelled) 

Summary: Bitty bakes to deal with the shelter-in-place order. Jack finds a new hobby. Based on the Shitty Check Please AU prompt "without hockey, Jack starts playing competitive cornhole.”

I’ve seen this one going around a bit, so I’m going to say that if you want to share, consider yourself tagged!

[14muffinz]

Asking some writers/artists I follow:

Is there anything in your fic/comic that you as the author know about, but won't end up in the actual story?

oh for sure

i'll start with the TMNT stuff first because of your PFP, but we gonna be here a while.

[lab rats stuff at the bottom]

warning: fic spoilers galore

In WIBE, one of the characters we meet is Yuichi Usagi, who works at the human ROTM. He also works in the original ROTM. He was robbed while on a trip to the Hidden City, and is originally from a different city entirely. Hueso is doing his best to help him out, but it'll likely be a long time before Yuichi gets to go home.

Some other WIBE background characters in WIBE include: MM!Kendra, MM!Robyn O'Neil, MM!Irma, & MM!Casey Jones. I don't have a lot to say abt Kendra and Irma, since it's been a long time since I wrote any of it down, but I can give it my best shot with Robyn and Casey.

Robyn has been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety disorder for a few years pre-fic. She's in her first year of college which is out-of-state, and does her best to check up on her family via phone call at least every other week. She's also sort of invested in all of April's new drama, but she won't admit it.

Casey's been playing hockey for as long as he can remember, and intends to keep at it for as long as he's physically able. He's also got a knack for engineering, and I'd gamble that sometime not long after the ending of WIBE, he'd start up the Casey Jones vigilante batshittery. His parents are divorced, but he spends most of his time with his Jewish mother, and while he's never been actually taught much about his religion he accepts it as a part of his identity, and if people don't like that then they shouldn't be around him in the first place. He finds the existence of the turtles to be one of the coolest things ever, but after actually getting to know Raph and the others, it doesn't impress him as much as it used to. (If I had time, I'd add in a tiny crush on Raph, but I'm an aro with WAY too many ideas for this tiny fic)

Then there's experienced fighters, where the main thing is me ALWAYS knowing what song is playing in the background. I really love how much music is in MM, and I love being able to say hey! here's the musical vibes of the environment!

sort of on that topic, i've got a hc that any song with even small references to space are songs that rise, 2k12, and MM leo are more likely to enjoy. they don't realize these patterns, but they sure are there.

and to end off the music rant, one of these days i'm gonna make a playlist of songs that I think the rise crew all collectively agree are good enough (this is what space feels like, goodie bag, punk tactics, etc. etc.)

there's also two in one, which is based off an au by @blackfire-fanfiction. I have to be real cautious abt what I put in there, because a lot of people are looking at it instead of the extended context of the real thing, not to mention how many Thoughts that aren't really canon I have about it. For instance: today I had a good 30 minute daydreaming session abt the concept of rise!Donnie reading leonardo's notebook while he's comatose post-rise movie and finding out about the switching

in dimension desync, I poke a bit at my head canons about peni parker's movie universe and her mental health at home, and have expanded on this even further in an abandoned draft. this is going to be LONG, so here we go: Gwen Stacy and Richard Parker were around in Peni's universe before she herself was, each piloting a mech of their own [Ven#m and Sp//DR]. A few months after Peni's mother is pregnant with her, Richard dies in action, and a few months later, Ven#m sort of devours Gwen (go read the comics because it's really fucked up but idk how to describe it) So then the role of SP//DR is forcefully thrust upon Peni at the age of eleven, and her connection with SP//DR isn't exactly... perfect.

in my team blue universe, I'm fleshing the hell out of Sam-13 and Shadowcat (both from earth 65). Sam was created by corrupt parts of SHIELD (that have yet to have been identified as corrupt) but now is just a regular agent. Cap returned to their dimension when he was 14 and has been in charge of training him ever since. Cap is stubborn to a fault and is def being manipulated by the corrupt agents, but none of the kids have gotten close to that bigger picture yet. Meanwhile, Kitty was inducted into the weapon x program (or 65's equivalent of it, I don't remember much of the wolverine origin story) at the age of 8, and despite odds survived. Wolverine took her in, and she's been helping him bounty hunt since about 13, even though he's trying to stop her.

team blue is also starting to extend to universes that the spider-verse movies don't really deal with through plants that have yet to be explained. but miguel's spite at e-199999 has definitely transferred, which means that, if they were ever to interact, not many of the main team would like the mcu-vengers

in my very obscure mech-x4 series, Olivia (who is only referenced by name once in the show) is veracity's little sister, who is 7 years old. This series is more of a set of vaguely connected oneshots, but still.

i could go ON AND ON about Oliver in all of my mighty med/lab rats fics, but in short: arcturion made his hair start growing in blonde, which he hates. Horace is his adopted dad and so it sucks ass when he dies. Oliver also comes with built in hypothermia! This is also definitely a headcanon, but I think that in EF once the rats have the upgraded chips, Chase's laser bō is green instead of blue, and his super senses are togglerable (to a degree) I also like to imagine Kaz's lil bro Kyle is his number one fan and nobody in his family listens to him when he claims that Kaz is one of the bionic guys on the news.

... yeah I think that's enough for now

[nazmazh]

Okay, so hear me out, here.

Ideas for the new/relocated Utah hockey team that was the Coyotes:

They're reborn from the ashes of a failed/dead, franchise? What else is famously reborn from its own ashes?

Hence: the Utah Phoenixes

Eh? Eh?

Okay, fine, that probably won't do.

*****

Okay, so how about looking to the state reptile for inspiration? The noble Gila Monster.

Probably shorten to just the Utah Monsters for better cadence

[This joke being that one of the Coyote's former arenas was "Gila River" arena. That one was probably a little less obvious than "Phoenixes"]

*****

Okay, so, I see the problem is that we keep stumbling into invoking the specters of the past [Specters/Spirits/Phantoms - Not the worst ideas I've heard, btw].

Let's maybe focus on the iconic desert landscapes, invoking the common heritage there.

The Utah Buttes / Utah Beauts

Look, I know that I'm doing a lot of joking around here, but I'm honestly legitimately proud of that play on words.

And "Beaut!"/"Beauty!" feels like such a classic hockey term, y'know?

Sadly, probably would be too much hesitation for big, manly NHLers to be officially a "Beaut".

That being said, if a professional Womens'-League team ever expands to SLC - There you go, that's a solid name for your team right there.

I kind of like the cadence of it all, still - How about Utah Brutes? Does that feel more workable?

How about Utah Beasts - Especially if ever partnered with aforementioned "Beauts" female team - ("Beauts" and "Beasts", eh? Eh?!)

*****

Okay, last one that actually just came to me in the shower, and I'm actually a little bit more serious about this:

Looking for iconic, usually animals, of the region the team is in, that aren't already taken by other team names.

"Home on the Range" could help here: Pronghorns/Antelopes are an iconic species of the prairies/desert - Lethbridge's university teams use that name, though. But that's less an obstacle to say Buffalo/Bison (which do have a presence there) - Because the Sabres use them in their iconography.

"Deer" might be a bit too generic [not to mention the Bucks have that brand, basically] - Elk is the State mammal, but Edmonton's CFL team already has that claim.

So… other iconic desert animals, not already used in team names/logos?

How about hares/jackrabbits?

Probably not the type of animal iconography you wish to necessarily evoke, though.

Positives include speed, supposed cleverness. "Madness" might be a thing to jokingly play up?

But they fundamentally are still a relatively small prey animal.

But (And I swear, I am going somewhere with this),

With the Seattle Kraken, we've leaned into cryptids being a valid name [ETA: . Heck one of the potential names the ownership group seems to be actively considering is "Yeti".

So, what if we combined the pronghorn and hare ideas, yeah?

But (And I swear, I am going somewhere with this),

With the Seattle Kraken, we've leaned into cryptids being a valid name. [See Also: The Jersey Devil - Which is what New Jersey's name is inspired by. Not, y'know, the ruler of hell, despite their branding all leaning into the "cartoon red devil"-style.]

Heck one of the potential names the ownership group seems to be actively considering is "Yeti".

So, what if we combined the pronghorn and hare ideas, yeah?

You see where I'm going with this, right?

The Utah Jackalopes

Or possibly Utah Jacks for better cadence and all their branding is jackalope-related.

I'm actually not-entirely joking on this one. I think you could actually lean into something really fun with this one.

[thehomelybadger]

26 Questions about Run at the Cup.

Hi!

Since I just finished off my 33 chapter Arcane/CaitVi Hockey AU fanfiction, I asked folks for any questions that they might have about the universe (or just for me) around the fanfiction. So I thought that I'd pull them all together, answer them in one big post, and then direct folks here.

These questions are mostly pulled from twitter or discord, and are asked anonymously. If you're new to it/have never heard of it, you can check out the fanfiction here:

My asks are always open if you want to pepper me with more questions - I literally love talking about my process and creating stuff. But yeah, let's get the ball rolling!

These questions have spoilers up to the epilogue (chapter 33) of Run at the Cup.

One of your original goals for RATC was to include a sex scene in every chapter, and you later decided that didn't suit the story that it ended up being. How far, exactly, did you stray from that goal?

I think the first disc stuck to the format of smut-a-chapter pretty well, but as soon as I got to chapter 7 and 8 in my planning, I really had to take a step back from the idea of smut-a-chapter. Part of doing that was a friend of mine pointing out that another fic - breakneck - already was a smut-a-chapter offering, and the other part was around chapter 7 and 8 was when we really got a look at the Landsman abuse and I wanted to focus more on telling a story of healing instead of a sexual relationship. It felt the best narratively for Vi to take a step back and appreciate boundaries, and at that point we were 100% of the rails of the original vision. I also had my friend Felix - he drew the art for the fic - point out that the story was way more important than the smut when I complained that sometimes I just wasn’t feeling up to writing smut.

Caitlyn obviously makes a point to never sleep with another hockey player except for Landsman and Vi. Vi rather vocally does not have that rule. Are there any players we see in RatC that she has a history of that nature with?

Ahh, crucially, Caitlyn and Vi both adhere to the rule of no teammates. I actually think both have had flings  with hockey players, but probably not anyone that we spend much time hanging out with. I hint at Sarah Fortune and Vi having a past-tense fling that I never really expanded upon, and at one point I wanted to write some Caitlyn and Evelynn one night stand stuff that never really felt right after I abandoned the whole smut-a-chapter premise.

There are so many characters in ratc, and so many povs, how did you get into each of their heads and give them all their own voice that stayed consistent throughout the story?

So one of my other hobbies - other than hyperfixating on a fictional hockey team - is dungeons and dragons as a forever DM. My rule for creating NPCs is to give them a ‘pillar’ - essentially one solid character trait that I can lean back on when viewing things through their lens. Claggor, for instance, was always trying to teach and never raised his voice. Poppy was always going to be cheerful and loyal. Leona was always serious, except when dealing with Diana. Mylo was never serious, until there was a weak moment. All of those ‘pillars’ helped shepherd me in the right direction - the only characters I didn’t really have a pillar for were the hockey announcers, who’s entire personality can be summed up as ‘hockey announcers���.

When did you realize this was going to become Big™ , or was this all the plan from the beginning?

If I ever knew when anything was going to be big in terms of wordcount, I’d be much more successful at writing. The real time I knew was somewhere in Disc 2 when I had written like 3 10k+ word count chapters in a row. I remember thinking ‘oh, shit, I’m fucked’. What’s crazy about this is that I still feel like I left some story threads on the table - I could write 80k more of just Sumprats shenanigans, easily. In terms of Big as in popularity - dude I have no idea when I knew. I still don't really believe it.

Which was your favorite smut scene to write?

Oh man - hands down the hotel smut scene in the Summer Isles  - though that’s technically cheating, because the smut doesn’t actually happen. But I can see it like a shot in a movie - the slow tracking shot over the discarded clothes with some energetic, strumming guitar over top while we see the bed come into frame, the pan over and continued tracking towards the bathroom - all this evidence of wild sex. If the question is ‘which smut scene that’s actually smut’, I’m going with the phone sex scene - it was good to finally get these characters admitting how much they liked one another.

How did you pick and choose which LoL champions (not from Arcane) you brought into your world? As there are so many available and ones you picked seemed to work so well. Was it 'character is hot/cool and I just want to write them', 'I need a champion that would play hockey/act in x way' or any other way

A variety of reasons! Illaoi was included solely because my wife thinks she’s super hot, but for me it became characters I really liked, characters I could see the personality of, and characters I could ape the kit of in some way. Ahri being charming and evasive, Illaoi’s tentacle-like poke checking, Diana being good in close, and Leona being a hard hitting defender were all nods to the league kits, among others. Basically, when I was filling out the roster and was out of Arcane character slots, I started grabbing characters based on what role I envisioned for them on the team and backfilled from there. I’m glad I did their personalities justice!

I'd love to know, if it isn't a bother for you to explain it, the process behind you deciding each character's position on the ice and skillset. I'm basically in awe of how you took each character from the show/game and made them each a particular type of hockey player. But you might have talked about this already so no worries if it's too repetitive!

It all depended on what I wanted to write for the most part, and I approached it from two angles - what was most interesting for me to write dynamically, as in action wise, and what was most interesting for me to write emotionally, as in what they brought to the Sumprats as a whole. I leaned on a lot of sports knowledge that I’ve accrued over my 31 years around the sun, and figured out what archetypes would be most fun and narratively satisfying to convey. So, as an example - Claggor’s soft and assured ‘we’re gonna get you out’ from the show was a big big reason why I made him an enforcer - the quiet confidence and clear smarts. Poppy being undersized but a major bruiser in the game led to her entire personality and playstyle. Ahri being a winking and confident figure in LoL lore led to her being a flashy and charming person with a lot of scoring - etc etc etc. It came together fairly organically!

If you had to pick another sport as the medium to tell the story, which sport would it be? Ik you were intending on making it a hockey story with lesbians vs a lesbian story with hockey, but do you think the sport and play of hockey specifically were integral to how to told the story/the journey of the characters?

This is such a tough question to answer, because I’m not sure I could’ve told it with any other sport. Hockey is inherently chaotic, and the beautiful thing about it is that it comes down to players - you can have a grand strategy, but sometimes it’s just ‘our player is the best on the ice’ and that’s enough. I think there’s probably a pretty awesome Rugby story in here, maybe - or football/soccer - I can see their roles with Caitlyn as an attacking midfielder and Vi as a sweeper or something, but both of those are far more team focused. Also, hockey is lesser known of the major sports, and I felt like talking about how goofy it sometimes is to folks who might not know about it.

What did you learn during/after writing this that you didn't expect?

Such a good question. I learned that I love writing big casts of characters and I learned that I have a knack for conveying what I see on the page. I also learned that I can tell a story that goes every way possible in terms of POV and style, and that having a bunch of threads to tie up is an awesome problem to have. I also learned that I’m somewhat fragile as a creator, and that taking steps to protect myself from having my feelings hurt doesn’t make me selfish - just makes me human.

If you had to support a team yourself (not including the Sumprats), who would you support and why?

Can you imagine Bilgewater Schooners twitter? Can you imagine how batshit insane it must be? I’d be 100% on board with that franchise.

Why wasn’t there more Grapes content?

You all weren’t ready for it. The world still isn’t ready.

Is there something you wished you could've explored more but didn't get the chance?

So many things. So so many things. This is why RATC is crazy to me in hindsight because I felt like I left a lot of meat on the bone when the fic is like 300k long and is one of the longest CaitVi fics around. SarcastCity and I joked about a whole sequence where Mylo strikes out with a bunch of women, I didn't get into the Evelynn sub-sub-subplot, I barely scratched the surface on MOST of the K/Da stuff that I wanted to do, CaitVi adopted a dog at one point, there was an entire anti-police side of the fic that I just cut because it didn’t really fit into the vibe of the fic (you can still see foreshadowing of it in early chapters), there was originally going to be an entire other side to the water reparations where we’d see grainy footage of Silco and Cassandra arguing about it and that’s how a lot of it was revealed - before I decided to make Powder more of a central figure in the documentary. The entire fic changed in a bunch of little moments. Art is cool that way - it kinda leads ya where you need to go sometimes.

Who was someone that you enjoyed writing a lot that you didn't expect to?

When I put Graves into the fic, I never would’ve expected to fucking love writing him as much as I did. As soon as I wrote his first book snippet, I knew that I needed to stop immediately because if I wasn’t careful he’d take over the entire fucking fic. Second place was every scrap of podcast content - it’s so addictive to write this meta-narrative bullshit about your own world building. It’s just giving you a reason to talk about your own fic in universe and I had to stop myself from writing 13 more Taylor Swiffer sequences. Lastly, twitter was always a blast to get going. Shout out to everyone who loaned me their likeness for that!

You’re a pretty big basketball fan Badger, and knowledgeable at that, is there any reason you chose Hockey besides you also liking it? Like, did you feel the “action” would be better?

There are no sanctioned fistfights in basketball, which was a huge L. In all seriousness, I considered a basketball fic before going with hockey because, while I love basketball with my whole badgussy, hockey has so much more meat on the bone with regard to playstyle and expression. You have hitters, shooters, goalies being weird, you’ve got gum chewing angry people and hockey stadium chants. Hockey is a vibe that I really was excited to convey, and basketball - to me, anyways - has less of a physical aspect to it and it’s a little less entertaining to write about. Baskets happen all the time in ball, but in hockey, a goal is celebrated by everyone on the ice, everyone gets a fistbump, and the action stops while the crowd gets to rewatch it over and over. You don’t get any better than that for narrative drama.

You've talked some about the sumprats superstitions, but who is the most superstitious and what are some sumprats superstitions

Ashe is probably the most superstitious, but all sports players are superstitious to some degree or another - especially hockey people. I think every time Leona tapes her stick up, she has to unwind the first piece once - because that’s the way she did it when she scored her first goal. Claggor probably wears the same style of socks that he had when he was 18. Riven’s skates are a size too small, because she believes it makes her faster. Graves needs Caitlyn to tap his post before every game he’s in net otherwise he won’t play.

What was the hardest part for you, as a writer, to get through?

The entire fic came together relatively quickly, honestly. I wrote it in less than a year and most of the time in big 2-6 hour chunks of my day. I think the most challenging thing from a craft standpoint was the Landsman Scandal - because it had so many moving parts and I was using a character invented solely for that sequence in wewon1, and you needed to like her and buy into her right off the bat. I also needed to balance out how heavy the chapter was with moments that the reader could breathe around - I didn’t want to evoke a desperate, awful thing, but I wanted to inform. It took a few days of serious brainstorming before I got it the way I wanted it, and even then I was making edits in the posting window of Ao3. But in terms of actual hardness to write - the run up to the finals was really tough to get through because I felt like not much was happening narratively and I really needed to work at it to get it where I wanted it. The actual physical typing of the story wasn’t hard, but the games were annoying me a lot - they always felt too slow or sluggish or poorly conveyed. The thing I’m most proud of looking back is definitely the Powder chapter - I wish I had done more of that.

Why is Landsman so hot? Why did you have to make Landsman so hot? Should I speak with my therapist about this?

Oh yes. Immediately.

The story focused on Cait and Vi but as a whole was a story about team dynamics - little pieces like Hot Girl Shit, characters we would consider unremarkable as irl players like Poppy or Mylo, the gradual push of Graves to Ekko as main tendie - that grew into their own stories. Was this a case of supporting cast offering spontaneous great idea opportunities that you went along with, or was it always planned that X character would get X storyline?

I didn’t really set out with these storylines in mind, but one of the things I wanted from the get was this line to be true: “Usually, it’s the people who sit five, six seats from the starting lineup that give you the edge. Our job as leaders is to make sure that when those folks’ numbers get called, they’re ready.” - Vi, chapter 4. I wanted to basically reinforce that idea by having the players grow into something that was stalwart and could be relied upon, and just let the characters kinda swirl around with that idea. I didn’t realise that Ashe would wind up being so important but I kind of fell in love with her as I wrote her game - same goes for Riven’s speed and Darius’ faceoff potential. 

Which supporting character that isn’t Mylo ended up being your fave?

If it’s cheating to say Sevika, then I loved Poppy. Every scene Poppy is in I just had a blast writing, but gum-chewing, constantly glaring, scowling while insisting she’s smiling Sevika really leapt off of my keyboard. If I allow myself to take credit for any one thing, it’s casting Sevika as a coach.

if Vander hadn't died and had become the Sumprats coach instead of Sevika, would Vi still have been drafted by them and how would she have felt about it? 

Woof. It’s hard to see Mel hiring Vander, but say that she did and Vander coached Vi - adult Vi, 32 year old Vi with all she feels towards him - I can only really see it as Vi demanding out. She wouldn’t have the ego to get him fired, but I don’t think she’d be willing to play for him after everything. I also think the Sumprats are nowhere near as good with Vander as a coach - in my head Vander was good enough to drill Vi’s lessons into her head but had no idea how to keep a team intact, and that was Sevika’s specialty - the ‘us vs them’ mentality is all her.

I'd love to hear anything about your writing process. When you do it, how you think and feel about it, etc.

My writing process begins with having a very patient wife who puts up with me being glued to a screen for 6 hours at a time while talking to myself - usually in funny voices or imitating crowd yelling. I also do a lot of my dialogue in the shower where nobody can judge the faces I make - most of Caitlyn’s speech and the podcast dialogue came from me showering and yelling to myself, getting hyped up, and trying to remember lines. I basically do my functional adult tasks with the sequences I want to convey running on my head in a loop, until it’s time to sit down and crank it out. One part of my process that I don’t recommend is that when I sit down to write, I don’t get up until the chapter’s done. For me it’s a straight shot or it doesn’t get done at all - I need the entire flow to work on that one sitting. It has the side effect of my wife watering me and feeding me while I’m glued to banging words out onto a screen, and occasionally I’ll come up for air to refill my water battle and talk to her about her Animal Crossing island or something - anything - that isn’t hockey lesbians, before I go back to my cave.

obligatory question about which scene you were most looking forward to writing

So, chapter 32 was basically in my head the entire time I was writing the fic - everything between chapter 2 and 32 was me impatiently jiggling my leg waiting until I could write the Won’t Back Down song from the crowd. But the more surprising bit was how much I was looking forward to the karaoke scene - I wound up putting it off a few times in the fic until I was finally able to lock it down right after the Landsman Scandal, which felt like a great time to put it - just the idea that we all could use a break - as readers and characters in the story - and then we get one. Also, Pray is a fucking HILARIOUS song and I love that I got to use it.

if caitlyn and vi were to have a dog in this universe, what kind, what would they name it, and what would jinx choose to call it instead

This was actually a cut plot point at one time - the dog adoption sequence. They have a boxer named Bowser who has three legs, and Powder calls him Leonardo because it’s not his name but he squints sometimes like DiCaprio, and one time he ate an entire cheese pizza.

actually, kind of bouncing off my other question, are there any scenes that weren't originally planned that you really like?

Originally, there was no Melvika - it was a Melora subplot. But then I wrote that initial conversation between Mel and Sevika where they meet and Sevika passes her test and I thought to myself ‘oh.’ Every single Melvika moment was unplanned but I loved crafting it, showing this little love story in the margins of the page that was slowly and steadily unfolding.

Did you decide to change any major plot points after you'd started writing?

Two major ones: First and most impactful, there was going to be a riot in the original story that led to the team rallying behind the city - it was going to be this sequence of each of the Sumprats walking into the practice facility saying ‘have you heard, yet?’ that tied in what actually happened. But it felt tonally out of place and I was already really invested in exploring the abuse aspect of the fic, so I scrapped it - it’s a story worth telling at some point but the feel-good underdog sports fic wasn’t the place to explore that space. Another more impactful thing that certainly won’t be surprising to some: Vi’s injury was initially going to be a career ender. When SarcastCity and I started talking around the end of Disc 2, I actually told her that version of the story - that Vi’s knee is busted irrevocably and Caitlyn has to win without her, and the two have to find their way towards one another in a bittersweet finale without hockey to unite them. SC talked me around on that one - made the case that Vi and Caitlyn deserved to play hockey together for years and years, and after thinking about it for a while it really truly felt like I was being sad and dramatic for sad drama’s sake - angst for angst’s sake isn’t something I wanted to play into. So I changed it and it’s a lot, LOT better as a result.

How did you keep everything in order? Did you have an outline?

Calling it an outline is kind of insulting to other outlines, I think - I had an unhinged and fucked up google sheets document that listed the players, positions, and general vibe of their character arc, but I didn’t totally stick to it. I also had a chapter title list that I also changed a lot - I mostly knew my end point was ‘Caitlyn skates for 20 minutes and they come back to win in Game 5 with an injured Vi’ and worked my way to that point.

Thank you to all who submitted questions! If you have more, feel free to drop me a line.

-Badger

[thebansacredbanned]

For the fan fic author ask game: 5, 6, 8 and 19!

5. What's a fic idea you've had that you will never write?

I mean, never say never, but it's Highly Unlikely I will ever write the expanded-cdrama-universe-ice-hockey-sports-anime-style fic that is brewing in the notes app on my phone

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

I frequently reread everything that @nemainofthewater has written because we share a braincell have the exact same taste in most things. There are probably several others but I can't think of any off the top of my head

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

How to make/colour gifs 👀

Fic-wise I have one day of whumptober that isn't quite finished, and, you know, at least twenty other documents that have infor-dumps or half-finished ideas. Should probably be also working on my fic for the FFFX exchange but...

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

Jin Ziyao inherited little of his father’s appearance, but much of his character. Not the worst bits: he has never been a lecher, is not prone to injuring people in his temper. His half-brother, it becomes clear to Lan Xichen over the first few weeks of their marriage, is almost his opposite. For all he looks like their shared father, his personality could not be more different.

Lan Xichen is glad that Jin Ziyao didn't allow him to stay at Koi Tower. He would never have survived. They would have taken him as an opponent to a-Yao, set him up as a figurehead, and not cared about the consequences.

Jin Zixuan doesn’t know how to scheme. Sometimes it seems he barely knows how to talk. He wears the expensive clothes a-Yao sent with him – pale blue and pale gold, a tasteful, delicate mixture of their sect colours that suits him well – like they are too tight around his shoulders.

He does not seem comfortable enough for Lan Xichen to ask him where he came from, not yet. But the more time he spends in Cloud Recesses, the more Lan Xichen wants to know.

What life did he lead with his quiet voice, with his tidy calligraphy, with his soft, smooth hands?

With no golden core at all?

[steddieas-shegoes]

Random questions for the inbox game: If you had any two super powers what would they be? What are your favorite accessories you wear? Silliest or worst gift someone has gotten you? Meal,you don't get to eat often, but you've been craving the most recently? What is something you have bookmarked to possibly buy when it goes on sale (or if not one item what store are you waiting to have a cool sale)? Something you've tried,or watched, recently that you thought you'd hate but ended up liking? I personally think ST will end on a sad note since there has been talk of expanding the universe apparently (sounds like a bad idea to me…unless they were just referring to that play. but I think Ryan R*nolds wanted a crossover of sorts with D*adpool idk) BUT If it ends on a GOOD note and has a finality to it, do you think Stranger Things will have one of those cliche movie credit sequences that says what the characters go on to do? If so what do you vaguely think it'll say for your fave 5 characters?

I would want to be able to fly (never have to pay for airfare again) and to be invisible (never have to pay for ANYTHING again).

I am not much of an accessories person, but I do wear my hat that says absolutely not at least a few times a week (when I'm too lazy to wash my hair).

I don't think I've ever gotten a bad gift, but I did receive an "I love ketchup" shirt for Christmas when I was in middle school because I put that shit in and on everything. Everything. Mac and cheese, eggs, steak, chicken, any form of potato. I still do love ketchup, and will put it on any of those, but I've definitely toned it down.

Anything from Homecomin' at Disney Springs. It's known as a joke to everyone who knows me that if we go out, I am almost always going with a pasta dish. But they don't even have pasta at that restaurant and it's one of my favorite places to eat. Everything I've had on the menu is so good, especially brunch. God, the cheesy potatoes. I'm drooling.

Most of my bookmarked stuff right now is hockey related items for Liam 😂 I also am always happy to spend money at bookstores.

Does writing count? I technically have only been on here for about three months actively posting my own stuff. I think I figured I'd post a few things and then go back to reading fics other people wrote and now I'm writing in all my free time because I love it so much.

This question is making me very emotional because I don't want it to end. I rarely get into shows or movies to the extent of which I have for Stranger Things. I think it will have a bittersweet ending. There's no way everyone is making it out alive and I am very attached to all of these characters. I don't think they will do the cliche thing there, but I just have this weird feeling that there will be some end credit scene that just goes black and says something like "The previous recordings are based on a true story" or something Blair Witchy like that. I have a bad feeling Steve is gonna be a goner. No, I'm not prepared for it and I won't be taking questions. I also think that either Will or El will sacrifice themselves and either end up dead or extremely hurt. I have a small concern Max is not waking up, but I think they will keep her in a coma for most or all of the season whether she wakes up or not. I think Dustin is gonna be so fucking traumatized they should do a spinoff that's just him in therapy.

Thank you so much for these questions you're amazing ❤️

[gritty-big-naturals]

do any other classic spooky creatures exist in your vampverse? like werewolves, etc.?

yeah! im planning on this being a universe i can expand upon if i ever feel the urge to write more hockey players as Creatures, so it’s pretty open ended in terms of possibilities. they’re very underground and not common knowledge at all, but there are supernatural societies and mutual aid groups for sure, and they cater to more than just vamps!

this current fic probably won’t go too much into that, probably just a few vague references, but there are definitely werewolves, sirens, maybe some succubus/incubus action going on there too (specifically i’m picturing some panko with artemi as an incubus because hoooly shit bud)

i love creating huge universes i’ll probably do nothing with LMAO

[woah-were-halfway-there]

Does Mia ever get to go on a vacation like island in the sun with the Baileys side and maybe Mitch too? Where do they go? Can you please expand ☺️

She does! So all of Carson’s family are avid skiers and snowboarders and they’re all very good at it too. Anyways, growing up, every year over Christmas break the Bailey kids would go on a snowboard trip with their dad. It’s their tradition and every year they’d go somewhere different. They’ve been all over Canada and the US to different ski resorts and then when Carson was in her first year of university, Mya was in 12th grade and Nate was in 11th grade they went to Verbier in Switzerland which was a joint high school graduation gift for all three kids. Carson just got it a year late and Nate got it a year early but that was fine since Carson and her siblings are so close in age. Side note, Carson actually would’ve been in Switzerland with her family the same time Auston was playing hockey there but they had no idea of each other, didn’t cross paths or anything because her family flew into Genova whereas Auston was in Zurich but the two of them were in Switzerland at the same time almost a year before they even met which, when Auston finds that out, just blows his mind because the chance of the two of them crossing paths with each other ever was so slim and yet they did and fell in love and so learning they were in Switzerland at the same time as each other is just wild. ANYWAYS the year Nate goes off to university is when that tradition becomes harder for them to uphold. Carson is in Toronto, Mya is in Vancouver and Nate is off to Montreal and their dad gets offered a job at UBC so he moves out west too and sells the Bailey childhood home of course after talking with his kids about it. Since Carson’s family is so spread out a year into her and Auston dating, it’s hard for them to get together for a ski trip every year but they try to do it at least every other year. When Mia is born, she becomes part of that. It’s not the usual sunny beachy trip that she’d take with Auston’s side of the family but it’s still so fun and again is just very much so a Bailey side of the family thing to do. All three of the Matthews kids learn how to ski/snowboard and that’s entirely from the influence of Carson’s side of the fam

[sunnyhvnny]

I read your response and i understand I just wanted to know out of curiosity. Do you think you could ever write for another fandom you’re obsessed with like do you ever think of expanding the things you write for? Please don’t take this as me pressuring you to expand your fandom I just wanted to ask because some of the authors I have followed before they lost interest in writing for the fandom they write about, however it was because they only wrote for one show/book so i wanted to ask if you think of expanding because if you do that, it tends to minimize the risk of getting writers block in my opinion since I am also a writer and it’s more fun. Anyway I hope you have a wonderful day or night. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I totally get it, I just stopped writing out of the blue and haven’t really addressed it. I’m always looking for things that’ll get me back into writing so I do appreciate this!

I have actually thought about writing for other fandoms but the ones I’m currently obsessed with are Stars Wars and Dune. I’ve written for Star Wars before but I don’t know if I will again. Dune is a whole other monster, though. I want to write for it but the universe in those books isn’t something I fully understand so I’m gonna steer clear of that.

I do have a hockey blog where I occasionally write, though! (I am stressing the word occasionally lol)

[mystart11]

Mystart11: Pioneering the Evolution of Fantasy Sports Beyond Boundaries

In the ever-evolving landscape of sports entertainment, the allure of fantasy sports continues to captivate millions of enthusiasts worldwide. Beyond the confines of traditional sports fandom, platforms like Mystart11 have emerged as trailblazers, pioneering a revolution that transcends boundaries and embraces the diverse tapestry of sporting passions. With a steadfast commitment to innovation and inclusivity, Mystart11 has embarked on a transformative journey beyond cricket, heralding a new era in fantasy sports.

Embracing Diversity: As the adage goes, variety is the spice of life. Mystart11 understands that sports fandom is not confined to one discipline alone. With a keen appreciation for the diverse interests of fans, Mystart11 has expanded its offerings to encompass a multitude of sports, ranging from football and basketball to baseball, hockey, and beyond. This strategic diversification has not only broadened the platform's appeal but has also fostered a sense of inclusivity, welcoming enthusiasts from all corners of the globe to partake in the thrill of fantasy sports.

A Seamless User Experience: Amidst the plethora of options available in the world of fantasy sports, user experience reigns supreme. Mystart11 prides itself on providing a seamless and intuitive platform that caters to the needs of both seasoned veterans and newcomers alike. Whether drafting a fantasy football lineup or strategizing for a basketball showdown, users can navigate the platform with ease, thanks to its user-friendly interface, comprehensive player statistics, and real-time updates. With Mystart11, the journey from fantasy to reality is as smooth as it gets.

Innovative Game Formats: At the heart of Mystart11's success lies its ability to innovate and adapt to the evolving needs of its users. Beyond offering traditional season-long leagues, Mystart11 introduces a plethora of innovative game formats tailored to each sport's unique dynamics. From daily and weekly contests to head-to-head matchups and multi-sport tournaments, the platform offers a myriad of options to cater to every user's preferences and playing style. This versatility not only enhances the gaming experience but also ensures that there's never a dull moment for fantasy sports enthusiasts.

Comprehensive Coverage: In the vast universe of sports, every game, every league, and every tournament holds its own significance. Recognizing this, Mystart11 leaves no stone unturned in providing comprehensive coverage of sports events from around the globe. Whether it's the drama of the UEFA Champions League, the adrenaline-pumping action of the NBA playoffs, or the historic moments of the MLB World Series, Mystart11 ensures that fans have access to a diverse array of sporting spectacles to fuel their fantasy aspirations. With Mystart11, the world truly becomes your playground.

Community Engagement: Beyond the realm of competition, Mystart11 fosters a vibrant community of sports enthusiasts bound by their shared passion for fantasy sports. Users can connect with like-minded individuals, join public or private leagues, and engage in lively discussions about their favorite teams, players, and strategies. This sense of camaraderie and camaraderie adds an extra dimension to the fantasy sports experience, transforming it from a solitary pursuit into a collective celebration of sportsmanship and camaraderie.

Looking Ahead: As Mystart11 continues to push the boundaries of fantasy sports, the future holds boundless possibilities for innovation and growth. With a steadfast commitment to delivering excellence, embracing diversity, and fostering community engagement, Mystart11 is poised to lead the charge in shaping the future of sports entertainment. Whether you're a die-hard fan of cricket, football, basketball, or any other sport under the sun, Mystart11 invites you to embark on an exhilarating journey of fantasy and imagination, where the only limit is your own creativity.

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Nailers Announce 2023-24 Season-Opening Roster & Captains

The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are excited to announce their 2023-24 Season-Opening Roster and captains, as the team prepares to open its 32nd season on Saturday night with a road contest against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Head Coach Derek Army begins his fourth season behind the bench for the Nailers, as he ranks sixth on the team's all-time list with 72 head coaching wins. Mitch Giguere enters his first season as Wheeling's assistant coach with over a decade of coaching experience at a variety of levels. Equipment Manager Bill Higgins is the longest tenured member of the organization, as the Wheeling, West Virginia native starts his 21st season with the club. Lauren Rittle heads into her second season as the Athletic Trainer, and is one of five females to hold that role in the ECHL. The captain of the 2023-24 Nailers is second year forward Justin Addamo. The 6-foot-6 forward made his presence felt in his rookie campaign, as he racked up 21 goals and 33 points in 42 ECHL games, in addition to five goals in 14 AHL matches. A native of Clermont-Ferrand, France, Addamo will be the second ever European captain for Wheeling, joining Stefan Brannare, who was the captain in 2000-01. The team will begin the season with two alternate captains, and both are second year defensemen - Louis Roehl and Davis Bunz. Both players served as more traditional defensive defensemen in college, before seeing their offensive games expand in the pros, as each player eclipsed the 20-point plateau. Roehl, who attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth, had 24 points in 60 games, while Bunz, who attended Providence College, registered 23 points in 58 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins put their stamp on Wheeling's roster, as seven players have either an NHL or AHL contract, including the aforementioned Addamo. Goaltender Taylor Gauthier and forward Jordan Frasca both enter their second seasons in the organization, and both spent time with the Nailers a year ago. Gauthier turned in a 16-10-7 record between the AHL and ECHL last season, while Frasca tallied 12 points in 36 games with Wheeling. Forward Lukas Svejkovsky spent all of last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and the 2020 draft pick collected 15 points in 47 games as a rookie. Forward Dillon Hamaliuk was acquired by Pittsburgh from San Jose this summer, and the 2019 draft pick has enjoyed success in his short time in the ECHL, as he put up seven points in six games with the Wichita Thunder. Forward Evan Vierling makes the jump to the pro game, after concluding his junior hockey career with a 95-point season as a member of the OHL's Barrie Colts. Defenseman Thimo Nickl will be the first Austrian in team history, as he will make his North American pro debut, following three seasons in Sweden. Nickl was originally selected by Anaheim in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 2023-24 roster features a lot of familiar faces, as there are 12 more returning players joining the players mentioned above. Defenseman David Drake is the active player with the most games in Wheeling, as he has played in 112 contests since being acquired from the Reading Royals in 2021-22. Drake was tied for the team lead with a +12 rating last season, was one of three players to appear in all 72 games, and is the club's lone veteran with 262 pro games under his belt. One of the other players to play in every game was forward Cédric Desruisseaux, who had an explosive offensive season, as he led the Nailers with 30 goals and 59 points. Two other players are returning for their third journeys in Wheeling - forwards Bobby Hampton and Félix Paré. Both players finished last year with 15 points, and both have shown the ability to play various roles in the lineup. Forward Peter Laviolette III will begin his second season in his hometown, after posting 11 points and 96 penalty minutes on the ice, and earning the team's Community Award for his efforts around the Ohio Valley. Forwards Matthew Quercia and Shaw Boomhower are back after missing the majority of last season due to injuries. Quercia scored the winning goal in overtime of game seven of the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs against Fort Wayne, while Boomhower's 127 penalty minutes in 2021-22 make him a feared opponent when he steps onto the ice. Five returning players are still considered rookies, as they joined the Nailers late last season, following the conclusion of their collegiate careers. Forward Jarrett Lee was one of the first to arrive on the scene, as he needed less than seven minutes to notch a point in his pro debut on March 15th. He finished with eight points in 13 contests. Forward Matt Koopman also debuted on March 15th, and his first point came two nights later, as he assisted on the tying goal in Wheeling's eventual overtime victory. Next up was forward Tanner Laderoute, who was teammates with Roehl and Lee at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. A former NCAA National Champion, Laderoute collected seven points in his first 11 tilts as a Nailer. As March came to an end, forward David Jankowski's career was just beginning. Jankowski finished the year on a five-game point streak, as he totaled six points during that stretch. Sebastian Dirven was the lone defenseman out of the group, but he also showed a flare for offense, as he amassed three points in back-to-back home wins. There are three players who are brand new to the Friendly City. Goaltender David Tendeck enters his fourth pro campaign, after spending the first three in the Arizona Coyotes organization between the AHL and ECHL levels. Tendeck earned 12 wins a year ago with the Atlanta Gladiators, placing him second on the club. He was teammates with defenseman Quinn Wichers in 2021-22, as Wichers played the majority of his first two pro seasons with the Rapid City Rush. Quinn has played in 119 pro games, which includes time in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners and San Diego Gulls. Defenseman Avery Winslow will make his pro debut this season, after playing three seasons of junior hockey in the OHL. Winslow got valuable playoff experience in the spring, as his North Bay Battalion reached the conference final. Prior to final rosters being submitted, the Nailers made a trade with the Florida Everblades. Wheeling dealt forward Cam Hausinger to the Florida Everblades in exchange for the rights to defenseman Brandon Hickey (currently with Henderson ), as well as future considerations. Catch all of the action all season long on the Nailers Broadcast Network presented by Main Street Bank. All of the games will air on radio on Mix 97.3 and stream on FloHockey. 20 home games will be televised on COMET TV. DJ Abisalih returns for his 13th season as the Voice of the Nailers, and is joined on the home broadcasts by fourth year Color Commentator Isaac Basinger. The Nailers are just a few days away from the beginning of their 32nd season, as they will drop the puck in Cincinnati on Saturday at 7:35. That will be followed by two additional road matches, before Wheeling plays its home opener against Reading on November 4th at 7:10. Opening Night will feature Mad Chad Taylor - the chainsaw juggler, as well as a magnetic schedule giveaway, and the debut of Nail Ale by Big Timber Brewing. Season memberships and other terrific ticket plans for the 2023-24 season are available now by calling (304) 234-GOAL. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley. 2023-24 Wheeling Nailers Season-Opening Roster#4-D-Quinn Wichers#5-D-David Drake#6-D-Sebastian Dirven#7-D-Davis Bunz#8-D-Avery Winslow#9-F-Tanner Laderoute#10-F-David Jankowski#11-F-Peter Laviolette III#12-F-Jarrett Lee#13-F-Matthew Quercia#14-F-Jordan Frasca#15-F-Bobby Hampton#18-F-Shaw Boomhower#19-F-Félix Paré#20-F-Justin Addamo#21-F-Cédric Desruisseaux#28-D-Louie Roehl#33-G-Taylor Gauthier#35-G-David Tendeck#36-F-Matt Koopman#41-F-Evan Vierling#70-F-Dillon Hamaliuk#72-F-Lukas Svejkovsky#82-D-Thimo Nickl Read the full article

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Game Faces On. Production Underway on LETTERKENNY Spin-off Series SHORESY — November 18, 2021

– Created and written by Jared Keeso who also stars in the all-new six-episode hockey comedy –

– Executive Producer Jacob Tierney set to direct and LETTERKENNY’s Kaniehtiio Horn is consulting producer –

– For New Metric Media, LETTERKENNY’s Mark Montefiore is executive producer -

– Debut season of SHORESY streams Spring 2022 in English and French –

SUDBURY (November 18, 2021) – Crave, in association with New Metric Media, WildBrain, and Play Fun Games, announced today that production is underway in Sudbury on the all-new original series, SHORESY. The first official spin-off of international sensation, LETTERKENNY, the six-episode, half-hour hockey comedy sees the foul-mouthed, chirp-serving, mother-loving, fan favourite character, Shoresy, join a senior AAA hockey team in Sudbury on a quest to never, ever lose again. The puck drops on Season 1 of SHORESY Spring 2022, streaming exclusively on Crave. “Bawdy but brilliant, there’s at least 69 reasons why SHORESY will score with fans,” said Justin Stockman, Vice-President, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media. “As Crave’s first original series continues to gain devotees all over the world, we’re so excited to head into another era in the expanding LETTERKENNY universe. We continue to be inspired by and so proud of Jared, Jacob, and our top shelf production partners, New Metric Media.” “We’re delighted to be teaming up again with our partners Bell Media. LETTERKENNY has amassed an incredible following of highly engaged fans and we’re thrilled to embark on what is sure to be another obscenely funny series in SHORESY,” commented Mark Montefiore, President, New Metric Media. “Set in the great City of Sudbury, SHORESY will bring new characters/faces and stories but with the same witty banter and impeccable delivery as the original.” With bench boss Keeso in the titular role, Crave also confirmed today the SHORESY cast features a lineup of certified beauticians and absolute legends - from sci-fi stars to real life big hitters. Tasya Teles (THE 100) stars as Nat, with Harlan Blayne (Tribal) as Sanguinet, Blair Lamora (Paranormal Nightshift) as Ziigwan, and Keilani Rose (FLIMSY) tapped as Miigwan. From, Blainville, QC, rapper Jonathan-Ismael Diaby stars as Dolo, with former Montréal Canadien, author, and actor Terry Ryan as Hitch. Ryan McDonell (THE CROSSING) stars as Michaels, with Max Bouffard (LETTERKENNY) as JJ Frankie JJ, and former Kahnawake Condor and MMA fighter Andrew “The Canon” Antsanen joining the cast as Goody. Legendary all-time tough guy Jon “Nasty” Mirasty, former ‘Canes centre Brandon Nolan, and three time Stanley Cup winner, Jordan Nolan star as Jim, Jim, and Jim, respectively, with Listowel’s Keegan Long as Liam, and North Bay’s Bourke Cazabon as Cory. The debut season of SHORESY also features guest stars Laurence Leboeuf (TRANSPLANT), Scott Thompson (KIDS IN THE HALL), Jonathan Torrens (TRAILER PARK BOYS), Jacob Tierney (LETTERKENNY), Camille Sullivan (TRIGGER ME), Eliana Jones (NORTHERN RESCUE), Kim Cloutier (LETTERKENNY), Michala Brasseur (GRAND ARMY) as well as social media star and podcaster Lysandre Nadeau. SHORESY is the latest original series to join Crave’s expanding development and production slate which also includes: 1 QUEEN 5 QUEERS, an update to MTV Canada’s 1 GIRL 5 GAYS; gripping investigative series THUNDER BAY; documentary series WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE; PILLOW TALK; the English-language adaptation of Noovo’s hit series ENTRE DEUX DRAPS; the prestige limited drama series LITTLE BIRD; a third season of CANADA’S DRAG RACE, and more. As previously announced, an all-new season of LETTERKENNY is set to stream Christmas Day, exclusively on Crave. SHORESY is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with WildBrain and Playfun Games in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits, and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, and is distributed by WildBrain. Jared Keeso is executive producer, writer, star, and creator. Jacob Tierney is executive producer and director. Kaniehtiio Horn is consulting producer. Mark Montefiore is executive producer and Kara Haflidson is producer for New Metric Media. For Bell Media, Production Executive is Chris Kelley; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production, Original Programming; Carlyn Klebuc is General Manager, Original Programming; Justin Stockman is Vice