#Hannah Conway

[bookquotesfrombooks]

“In its rendering as a place sitting stagnant in the past, in which “modernity” is a goal to achieve not a point on a timeline, Appalachia has been discursively queered for the greater part of the twentieth century. It has been suspended in a never-where of the past and denied access to the present as long as it remained an unruly and “unproductive” part of the body of the nation-state.”

Hannah Conway

“Crafting Queer Histories of Technology”

Published in Y’all Means All: The Emerging Voices Queering Appalachia

[knowthatiloveyou]

God herself out here yet again showing support for the LGBTQ+ community. We love her so. 🏳️‍🌈

Hannah Waddingham with Jeff Conway today at her 'Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas' FYC Event in LA

[meeghanreads]

February 2024 book haul

Hello friends!! Welcome to the February 2024 book haul!! A post where I talk about all the books that I bought and received in the previous month. Ahh February… the shortest month of the year. Although this year it’s only the shortest by one day because it’s a leap year. Somehow I managed to purchase THREE TIMES the number of books I did in January though, so I more than made up for it being a…

[failbettergames]

We are giddy to announce that we are working with tabletop roleplaying legends Magpie Games to create Fallen London: The Roleplaying Game, a fully-fledged, custom tabletop roleplaying system for Fallen London, in a big book and everything!

In Fallen London: the Roleplaying Game, players create their own characters by drawing on the factions, archetypes, and settings of the city — cutthroats, socialites, radicals, academics, and other, stranger creatures. They are brought together by a shared ambition; a very nearly unachievable goal. Such ambitions may destroy or drive mad those who pursue them… or they may change London forever. The Heart, as they say, is Destiny’s engine.

Fallen London: The Roleplaying Game is slated for release in late 2025 along with a supplement, Fallen London: Secrets of the Neath. In addition, players will be able to complete their tools for gameplay with the Fallen London Dice Pack and Fallen London Gamemaster Screen. Gameplay will consist of proprietary game mechanics currently in development by Magpie Games. We're going to introduce the project in full on August 23rd at 16:00 EDT/21:00 BST in a live stream, hosted by friend, scholar, journalist, streamer and Doctor of the Internet Kat Brewster on their Twitch channel! [PLEASE NOTE: Dear friend Johnny Chiodini has had to drop out at the last minute so utter hero Kat is picking up the host mantle and therefore the location of the Q&A has changed, go to that link instead!]

Guests will include Mark Diaz Truman and Brendan Conway from Magpie, and Fallen London creative lead Bruno Dias and me, Hannah, the one who sends the emails.

Fallen London is turning 15 in 2025 and this is our big anniversary project. We wouldn't have got here without you; we hope that this is a suitable anniversary present. 

[deadpresidents]

How many presidents have had both of their parents alive when they were president?

Three Presidents have had both parents alive when they became President:

•Ulysses S. Grant Grant was the first President with both of his parents alive at the time of his inauguration. His father, Jesse Root Grant, died on June 29, 1873 during Grant’s second term. His mother, Hannah Simpson Grant, survived both of his terms and died two years before he did, on May 11, 1883. •John F. Kennedy Not only were both of JFK’s Presidents alive when he became President, but they are the only parents of a President who both outlived him. JFK was assassinated in 1963. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., died in 1969, and his mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died in 1995 at the age of 104. •George W. Bush Both of Bush’s parents were alive when he took office and survived his entire two-term Presidency. His father, former President George H.W. Bush, died on November 30, 2018, just six months after the death of his mother, Barbara Bush, in April 2018.

Several Presidents have had either their father or mother still alive when they became President:

FATHER •John Quincy Adams: The first son of a President to be elected President himself was also the first President whose father was still alive at the time of his inauguration. John Adams died July 4, 1826, a little over a year into JQA’s Presidency. •Millard Fillmore: Nathaniel Fillmore lived through his son’s entire Presidency (1850-1853) and died in his 90s during the Civil War, on March 28, 1863. •Warren G. Harding: Harding’s father, George Tryon Harding, lived through his son’s entire Administration and died on November 19, 1928. Harding, who died in office on August 2, 1923, was the first President who was outlived by his father. •Calvin Coolidge: Not only did Coolidge’s father, John Calvin Coolidge, live to see his son become President, but he actually administered the oath of office. Coolidge, the Vice President at the time, was visiting his father when President Harding died in office and the elder Coolidge, a notary public, administered the Presidential oath at the family home in Vermont. Coolidge’s father died on March 18, 1926 during President Coolidge’s second term.

MOTHER •George Washington: Mary Ball Washington died August 25, 1789, a little less than four months after his first inauguration. •John Adams: Susanna Boylston Adams died  April 21, 1797, just under two months after Adams became President. •James Madison: Eleanor Conway Madison lived through both of her son’s terms as President (1809-1817) and died February 11, 1829 at the age of 98. •James K. Polk: Polk was the first President who didn’t outlive his mother. She died on January 11, 1852, almost three years after Polk left office and died. •James Garfield: Garfield’s mother, Eliza Ballou Garfield, lived to see him become President and die in office. She died on January 21, 1888, almost seven years after he was assassinated. •William McKinley: McKinley’s mother, Nancy Allison McKinley, lived to attend her son’s first inauguration, but died several months later, December 12, 1897. •Franklin D. Roosevelt: FDR’s mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, lived to see her son inaugurated three times. She died during her son’s third term, on September 7, 1941. •Harry S. Truman: Truman’s mother, Martha Young Truman, lived to see her son succeed to the Presidency in April 1945. She died during his first term, on July 26, 1947, at the age of 94. •Jimmy Carter: Lillian Carter lived through her son’s entire Presidency and was even sent to represent him at events overseas several times, which made her a celebrity in her own right during his Presidency. She died on April 30, 1983, two years after Carter left the White House. •George H.W. Bush: Bush’s mother, Dorothy Walker Bush, lived to see her son become President. She died on November 19, 1992, two weeks after her son lost his bid for re-election. •Bill Clinton: Virginia Cassidy Kelley, Clinton’s mother, lived to see him become President but died less than a year later, on January 6, 1994.

[hereforhannah]

Surprising Hannah Waddingham with a Pride flag and a rainbow 50th Birthday cake!

Interview by Jeff Conway

[janedances]

There are certain principals whose main alternate/swing are literally perfect for them. I present:

Natalie Paris + Courtney Stapleton

Abby Mueller + Mallory Maedke

Sophie Isaacs + Zara Macintosh

Vicki Manser + Jennifer Caldwell

Wesley Carpenter + Ashlee Waldbauer

Chelsea Dawson + Chiara Assetta

Phoenix Jackson Mendoza + Madeline Fansler

Brennyn Lark + Keirsten Hodgens

Chloe Hart + Harriet Caplan-Dean

Zoe Jensen + Aubrey Matalon

Hailee Kaleem Wright + Holli’ Conway

Terica Marie + Jana Larell Glover

Gabriela Carrillo + Erin Ramirez

Khaila Wilcoxon + Kelsee Kimmel

Gabbi Mack + Willow Dougherty

Sasha Renae Brown + Kayla McSorely

Hannah Taylor + Eden Holmes

Adriana Scalice + Taylor Pearlstein

Inez Budd + Hannah Lowther

Shoutout to Kenedy Small + Ellie Jane Grant + Shakira Simpson who make up the golden trio of Cleves on tour.

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

The Angel Maker: Final Part

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Summary: You still feel guilty for what happened to you and Hotch even though you shouldn't. If you had seen that bomb before getting blasted back, then maybe you wouldn't have so many problems with your "abilities".

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

x

Hotch and Emily headed over there while the rest of the team stayed back to work on the case. It turns out that the unsub wasn't the one who committed the crime, but Shara, the woman you and Rossi talked to. She figured if this killing spree could work for the unsub, then it could work for her.

It's already late, so you'll have to pick this up in the morning. The comment Emily made is stuck in your head for some reason. Why you're upset at this, you're not sure. You're sitting in the conference room and staring at Emily who is outside getting some coffee in the break room. You have a small pout on your face, and Spencer notices this when he enters the conference room.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," you say and look away.

"Is it your head? Are you okay?"

"Spencer, I'm okay. I took my pain meds before we left the hotel, so I'm good."

The rest of the team filters into the conference room while JJ is on the phone with Pen. Penelope is working her magic in trying to find out who this unsub could be. According to her, four hundred and sixty-three children were born in the lower Canaan area between 2006 and 2008, so you'll have to narrow the list a bit more to get accurate results.

One of the letters Spencer decoded says, "I knew even before they told me that the future had taken root", which can only mean that it was the date of conception. The date of that letter was January 7th, 2007, so Pen had to look between August to September of the same year. With that, she came up with nine names, which is a lot more manageable.

After she sent over the names, your team got to work eliminating them. The Sheriff would know more about these names than you would, so you bring him in to try and help.

"Hannah Dreyfus was in an auto accident. She could barely walk. Shannon Conway moved away when the plant closed a year ago," the sheriff goes down the list.

"Any other names you recognize?"

"No, I'm sorry." The sheriff does a double-take and grabs the paper when he recognizes another name. "Well, this one here sounds familiar but I can't really place it. Chloe Kelcher."

"Chloe Kelcher. That is familiar," Spencer says and grabs the file for Cortland. "She was on the jury."

"That makes sense. She would have been exposed to the case evidence and seen firsthand what he did to his victims. That's when she fell in love with him, sitting across the courtroom every day."

"Well, it's one thing to have a relationship with a killer, and it's another to become one," the sheriff scoffs.

"There might have been an incident that prompted the transformation," Spencer says and looks into Chloe's file. "There's a death certificate here. Microvesicular steatosis. Her baby died at the hospital."

It looks like Chloe is your unsub, so your entire team heads over to her house, but like you assumed, she isn't home. The judge signed the warrant very quickly, so you're allowed to enter her house without getting into trouble. After a thorough search, everyone gathers in the kitchen.

"All right. We all know what the end game is. She's looking for her final victim. She may have already chosen one. Let's tear this place apart and look for anything that might tell us who she's targeted," Hotch says.

You, Hotch, and Derek head toward the bedroom and come across a child's nursery with glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling.

"Daddy's watching," you say and point to the stars.

"It must have devastated her to think that she could hold on to Ryan by having his child and then lose the baby. Completing his murders became the only way she could hold on to him."

Something isn't right. The second you entered the house, something felt off about the atmosphere. You pause and look around the room until you see it.

Cortland Ryan is sitting on top of some kind of chest located underneath the window.

"What is it?" Derek asks after he sees the look on your face.

Without saying a word, you grasp the end of the chest. As soon as you open it, Cortland mists away. Lying there inside is Cortland's rotting body.

"That's not the only way she's holding onto him," you gag.

"I assume that's who I think it is," Spencer says when he walks into the bedroom. "I have an appointment book here. There are meetings with Delilah Grennan and Maxine Chandler on the day of each murder."

"Sheriff, have you found her tools or the gun?" Hotch asks.

"Nothing yet."

"She has something for this morning: Faye Landreaux."

"She's a CPA," the sheriff sighs. "She does my taxes. She works out of her home."

"Let's go."

Your entire team heads over to Faye's house. As soon as you get there, you can feel how scared she is and also another energy: the unsub.

"My team's ready. Let's get in there," the Sheriff says eagerly.

"Sheriff, we didn't recover a gun at Chloe's house. We have to assume she's armed."

"So are we."

"If you storm in now, she'll shoot, and she'll start with Faye. We need to be smart about this," you say.

"What do we do?" Derek asks.

"I think you should look for an open window," Hotch takes charge. "Sheriff, I need you to bring all your vehicles around to the front, facing forward with lights off, and I need a megaphone."

The sheriff does what he's told, and Derek creeps around the house to try and find an open window to get inside. Chances are, she's locked all the doors so no one can get inside so Derek's only shot it getting through a window without alerting her.

"Hotch, you won't be able to get through to her," you say.

"No, but maybe you can," he says and hands the megaphone to you.

"Sir, the profile is clear. We won't be able to talk her down."

"No, but we can occupy her. If we're right about the MO, she's left a window open somewhere. Morgan will find a way in. We just need to buy him some time. Hit the lights," Hotch says to the sheriff.

Seconds later, lights flood the front of the house, no doubt letting Chloe know that you're here. You take a deep breath and clear your head.

"Chloe, this is the FBI. We know you're in there, and we know what you're trying to do. I know you think that finishing what Cortland started will bring you closer to him, but first, you should know who he really was. I know you thought you were special, but the truth is, he wrote the same things he wrote to you to other women. I've seen the letters." Hotch hands you copies of the letters for you to read to her. "Dozens read the same lines: 'Without the flesh, there is only the soul. You don't need to touch me to feel the love I have for you.' Does that sound familiar? Cortland wasn't who you thought he was. He was a narcissist, Chloe. He wasn't capable of loving anyone but himself.

"To Carla Kettinger, he wrote, 'Ever since your visit, I am crazed with thoughts of you. Already, you have entered my dreams. Each time you appear to me, I am embraced by a feeling of trust and belief as if I've known you all my life. It's clear to me now that you are my fate. We are destined to be together, and when I am gone, that will not change. I will live on in you. In death, our union will be eternal. All appeals are lost. Possessions matter little to a condemned man, but I cannot leave this world without seeing your face one last time.' 

"It isn't your fault that he made you feel these things, Chloe. It isn't your fault your baby died."

That gives Derek enough time to get Faye out of the house because as soon as you're done speaking, you see Derek usher Faye to safety. Second later, you hear Chloe yell out in anger.

"It's over, Chloe. We have Faye. You have nowhere to go," you say into the megaphone.

Still, she doesn't respond. 

"I think we got some tear gas. I'm assuming it's still good," the sheriff says.

"We're not gonna need it. She doesn't have any place to go."

"Well, maybe she'll do us all a favor and put herself down."

"She's not gonna do that, either. She's not done."

Just then, Chloe comes out of the house with the gun in her hand. All officers and agents draw their guns and point them at her, and she stops at the bottom step of the porch.

"Chloe, drop the gun!" Hotch orders, and repeats himself when she doesn't listen.

"I'm coming to you, baby," she grins at the sky.

She raises her gun to shoot knowing that everyone will shoot to stop her. She goes down in two shots, and you back away in pain from the gunshot. Rossi and Emily rush over to her, but she is already dead. Emily notices blood seeing from her jacket, and she lifts it to see the markings of the final constellation.

If we took her victim from her, then she became the last one.

With the case solved, your team gets ready to head to the airport. Hotch is in the police station finishing up, so everyone is waiting by the car for him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Spencer asks.

"Yeah, just tired," you sigh.

"Did anyone get directions back to the airstrip?" JJ asks when Hotch comes out with his bag in hand.

"This town's only got one road. We'll find it," Derek shrugs.

"Yeah, Morgan doesn't like to follow directions. You didn't know about that?" Emily laughs.

"Yeah, he likes to vibe it," Spencer smirks.

"Okay, smart ass. You drive," Derek says and tosses Spencer the keys.

He unlocks the car, and you're the first one in. The car has a row of seats behind the back seat, so that's the one you take. Spencer sees how much pain you're in, and he looks down at the keys in his hands. He likes driving every once in a while, but you clearly need him.

"Not this time," he says and hands the keys to Emily who takes them with a smile.

He sets his bag in the back before climbing in next to you. After putting both your seatbelts on, you shift and rest your head on his chest. He wraps an arm around you and kisses the top of your head.

You're always able to fall asleep a lot better when it's in his arms.

"The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it." - Wendell Berry

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[jackstanleyroberts]

The Cast of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise Part 2

Aloha everybody, sorry for the delay because i was starting part 2 of the storyline of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise, but i'll be starting part 2 of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise. What if Neve Campbell is shown up the 6th installment without pay dispute? But if you liked part 1, here's part 2 of the cast of the Extended Cut of the Scream franchise.

Synopsis: The four survivors of the Ghostface attacks & their new friends leave Woodsboro & headed to New York for a fresh start. Soon they're all about finding themselves in the fight of their lives when a another killer starts a bloody rampage & the other survivors also find themselves in a plot where nobody is safe & beyond suspicion.

Scream VI (Extended Cut) Cast:

Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter

Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter

Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin

Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin

Jack Roberts (me) as Terrence William "Terry" Watkins

Chosen Jacobs as Lawrence James "Larry" Watkins

Meg Donnelly as Lexi Hicks

Olivia Scott Welch as Wendy Hicks

Jacob Bertrand as William "Will" Hicks

Jackson Brundage as Frederick "Fred" Hicks

Emily Rudd as Carrie Tatum Riley-Weathers

Isabelle Fuhrman as Rebecca "Becca" Bishop

Braeden Lemasters as Matthew Bishop

Deja Monique Cruz as Laura "Lori" Sanchez

Ysa Penarejo as Miranda Rodriguez

Joshua Bassett as Connor "Cash" Conway

Joey King as Yvonne Conway

Ross Lynch as Ronald "Rory" Williams

Jade Pettyjohn as Graceland "Grace" Prescott

Emily Meade as Elena Connors

Sophia Lillis as Grace-Lynn "Gracie" Moore

Kathryn Newton as Kathleen "Kathy" Williamson

Julia Rehwald as Katherine "Katie" Jones

Melissa Collazo as Isabella "Izzy" Yales

Hayden Byerly as Damien "Dame" Yales

Akiel Julien as Malik Hubar

Karan Brar as Craig Karbar

Odessa A'zion as Susan Winters

Violett Beane as Eleanor "Ellie" Winters

Madison Davenport as Gabrielle "Gabby" Stafford

Talitha Eliana Bateman as Yolanda Preston

Gabriel Bateman as Philip "Phil" Preston

Megan Stott as Kimberly "Kim" Watson

Charlie Plummer as Samuel Johnathan "Sam" Kincaid

Katherine Langford as Jennifer Annie "Jenny" Kincaid

Rachel Zegler as Emily Jones

Annalise Basso as Andrea Lewis

Jodelle Ferland as Joanna Thompson

Rachel Fox as Angela Stewart

Mackenzie Foy as Luna Stewart

Jimmy Bennett as Andrew "Andy" Anderson

Mickeey Nguyen as Sylvester Bradford

Brandon Soo Hoo as Takahashi Bradford

Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers

Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed

Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott

Joe Keery as Johnny Landry

Jack Champion as Ethan Landry

Dermot Mulroney as Wayne Bailey

Liana Liberato as Quinn Bailey

Logan Lerman as Quentin Bailey

Judah Lewis as Derek Shepherd

Brec Bassinger as Lillian "Lilly" Davis

Jessica Stroup as Riley Davis

Michael Rainey Jr. as Anthony "Anton" Mercer

Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Susie Kayoko

Havana Rose Liu as Hannah Kayoko

Devyn Nekoda as Anika Kayoko

Josh Segarra as Danny Brackett

Kiernan Shipka as Danielle "Dani" Brackett

Anthony Ramos as Nicholas "Nick" Rodriguez

Rachel Sennott as Theresa "Tree" Hicks

Ed Speleers as Alexander "Alex" Miller

Madison Iseman as Alexandra "Allie" Miller

Spencer Locke as Ellen Hoffman

Brianne Tju as June Dawson

Denyse Tontz as Laura Morris

Holland Roden as Gloria Smith

Addison Rae as Natalie Foster

Emily Alyn Lind as Audrey Owens

Sarah Bolger as Simone Martin

Elizabeth McLaughlin as Jessie Crane

Finn Wolfhard as Stanley Lance "Stan" Williams

Natalie Alyn Lind as Natasha Longwood

Taylor Russell as Holly McDaniel

Paige Hurd as Hayley McDaniel

Logan Miller as Lincoln Jefferson

Emily Tennant as Cynthia Cooper

Tequan Richmond as Maurice Lakewood

Zac Godspeed as Tyler Ferguson

Daniel Sharman as Kurt Parker

Jordan Elsass as Taylor Ferguson

Emma Roberts as Jillian "Jill" Roberts

Samantha Boscarino as Elaine Williams

India Eisley as Alivia Williams

Milo Manheim as Zackary "Zack" Feldman

Stefanie Scott as Caroline "Carol" Feldman

Anna Sawai as Alexis Williams

Haley Lu Richardson as Bethany "Beth-Ann" Lewis

Mekai Curtis as Reginald "Reggie" Stark

Kaia Gerber as Taylor Swanson

Jeremy Ray Taylor as Maurice Thompson

Wyatt Oleff as Wyatt Matthews

Jaz Sinclair as Jordan Harris

Lisa Yamada as Jane Dawson

Percy Hynes White as Nathaniel "Nathan" Walters

Alycia Debnam-Carey as Iris Morris

Jaeden Martell as Landon Andrews

Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis

Benjamin Flores Jr. as Edward Baker

Fred Henchinger as Darren Blake

Tony Revolori as Jason Carvey

Samara Weaving as Laura Crane

Henry Czerny as Dr. Christopher Stone

Roger L. Jackson as the voice of Ghostface

The storyline of this (The Extended Cut of Scream VI) is coming soon after this.

Stay Tuned!

[redladydeath]

"All you wanna do, all you wanna do, babe, is Touch me, love me, can't get enough, see All you wanna do, all you wanna do, babe, is Please me, squeeze me, birds and the bees me Run your fingers through my hair Tell me I'm the fairest of the fair Playtime's over The only thing you wanna do is..."

[Grace Mouat; Vicki Manser; Courtney Mack; Courtney Stapleton; Collette Guitart; Zara MacIntosh; Bryony Louise Duncan; Mallory Maedke; Jennifer Caldwell; Hana Stewart; Elizabeth Walker; Lori McLare; Natalie Pilkington; Ellie Sharpe; Danielle Rose; Ashlee Waldbauer; Esme Rothero; Karis Oka; Chiara Assetta; Harriet Watson; Roxanne Couch; Leesa Tulley; Rachel Rawlinson; Shannen Alyce Quan; Harriet Caplan-Dean; Cassie Silva; Channing Weir; Erin Palmer Ramirez; Willow Dougherty; Holli’ Conway; Aryn Bohannon; Taylor Pearlstein; Aubrey Matalon; Jillian Worthing; Leah Vassell; Eden Holmes; Shakira Simpson; Izi Maxwell; Monique Ashe-Palmer; Abigail Sparrow; Aleksandra Gotowicka; Julia McLellan; Hannah Lowther; Meg Dixon-Brasil; Audrey Fisher]

[grantmentis]

PWHL player eligibility for the draft.

“All 268 eligible players officially declared for the draft prior to the Sept. 3 deadline. The group consists of 146 forwards, 78 defenders, and 44 goaltenders representing a total of 17 different countries. 237 of the players competed during the 2022-23 season including 98 players in the PHF, 63 players with the PWHPA, and 49 players at the NCAA and U SPORTS level.”

Some notable names not on the list who have not signed elsewhere this year: Rebecca Johnston, Amanda Kessel, Laura Fortino, Kacey Bellamy, Brigette Lacquette, Meghan Mikkelson, Jennifer Wakefield, Amanda Conway, Cassidy MacPherson, Anjelica Diffendal, Whitney Dove, Michaela Boyle, Katie Burt, Sarah Forster, Emilie Harley, Jenna Rheault (stated retirement), Lovisa Selander, Lauren Kelly, Kayla Friesen, Christina Putigna, Abbie Ives, Melissa Samoskevich, Hannah Bates (CORRECTION: she is playing in Germany), Mallory Souliotis, Emma Vlasic, Janine Weber, Sydney Baldwin, Emma Stauber, Maddie Rowe, Stephanie Anderson, Kristina Shanahan, Emily Fluke, Audra Richards, Reagan Rust (stated retirement), Lindsay Eastwood (stated retirement), Breanne Wilson-Bennett

Draft will be Monday the 18th at 1EST, steaming on CBC’s official app or webpage in Canada for free or for on CBC’s YouTube for international viewers. More information on the draft itself here

[hpowellsmith]

Books of 2023

I was pleased to read lots of books this year! I greatly enjoyed the majority of these - the only one I wouldn't really recommend was Rated M for Mature - and the favourites are bolded. There were quite a lot of others that I didn't end up finishing, which were mostly memoirs of people who I felt interested in but didn't find their writing very compelling, and some second-world fantasy novels that didn't grab me. Most of this year's reading was historical, contemporary, memoirs, or horror: it was only towards the end of the year that I got some fantasy in there, which is funny as I've always thought of myself as a big fantasy fan - if anyone has any queer non-YA fantasy recommendations, I'd love to have them. The most recent new-to-me fantasy I loved was The Sacred Dark series by May Peterson, if that helps!

I was really happy to read Alison Rumfitt, Torrey Peters, Maya Deane, Lee Mandelo, EE Ottoman, and Brandon Taylor for the first time in particular, and look forward to reading more of them in the future; Ducks by Kate Beaton hit hard and stuck with me; Passion and Play is a massively illuminating read for anyone interested in writing intimate scenes in games and made me feel a ton more confident and intentional in doing so; I loved returning to and crying over old favourites Elizabeth Wein and Terry Pratchett after a very long time.

Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters

A Perfect Spy - John le Carre

Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender

Lark and Kasim Start a Revolution - Kacen Callender

Youngman - Lou Sullivan

The Ministry of Unladylike Activity - Robin Stevens

Winterkeep - Kristin Cashore

Rated M for Mature: Sex and Sexuality in Video Games - Matthew Wysocki (ed.), Evan W. Lauteria (ed.)

Passion and Play: A Guide to Designing Sexual Content in Games - Michelle Clough

How Games Move Us: Emotions by Design - Katherine Isbister

Tell Me I'm Worthless - Alison Rumfitt

The Companion - EE Ottoman

The Pearl Thief - Elizabeth Wein

Real Life - Brandon Taylor

The Autistic Trans Guide to Life - Yenn Purkis, Wenn Lawson

The Enigma Game - Elizabeth Wein

Filthy Animals - Brandon Taylor

Gender Queer - Maia Kobabe

Ten Steps to Nanette - Hannah Gadsby

Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes - Rob Wilkins

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton

The Late Americans - Brandon Taylor

Wrath Goddess Sing - Maya Deane

Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend - Lizzie Huxley-Jones

Summer Sons - Lee Mandelo

Slow River - Nicola Griffith (reread)

The Others of Edenwell - Verity Hollowell

Pageboy - Elliot Page

Brainwyrms - Alison Rumfitt

Uncomfortable Labels - Laura Kate Dale

The Easternmost House - Juliet Blaxland

The Two Doctors Górski - Isaac Fellman

Dark Matter: A Ghost Story - Michelle Paver

Charmed Life - Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

A Trans Man Walks Into A Gay Bar - Harry Nicholas

Going Postal - Terry Pratchett

Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett (reread)

In Strictest Confidence - Craig Revel Horwood

[whalepropaganda]

2022-23 Whale: Where Are They Now?

Will be updated as needed!

Playing

Hannah Bates (ECDC Memmingen - DFEL)

Taylor Girard (PWHL Boston)

Janka Hlinka (SKP Bratislava - EWHL)

Emma Keenan (reserve for PWHL Toronto)

Caitrin Lonergan (drafted by PWHL Ottawa but did not play. traded to PWHL Boston and signed as a reserve in March 2024)

Kennedy Marchment (PWHL Montreal)

Kateřina Mrázová (PWHL Ottawa)

Allie Munroe (PWHL Toronto)

Meeri Räisänen (Gladiators HT - II-divisioona)

Justine Reyes (Linköping HC - SDHL)

Retired

Mallory Souliotis

Shannon Turner

Emma Vlasic

Not Currently Playing as Far as I Can Tell (May Be Retired but I Haven't Seen an Official Announcement, or May Still Be Looking for a Team, I Don't Know) (will update as information becomes available)

Rachael Ade

Amanda Conway

Kiira Dosdall-Arena

Tori Howran (played one game with PWHL Ottawa but was subsequently released)

Abbie Ives (assistant coach at Sacred Heart University)

Melissa Samoskevich (assistant coach at Princeton University)

Lenka Serdar (in dental school)

Tori Sullivan

Janine Weber (assistant coach with HC Rhode Island)

Alyssa Wohlfeiler

[alldancersaretalented]

Tigr Icons

Sophia Schiano (DancePlex -> ??)

Balbina Cueva (Ale Mancilla Dance Studio)

Madden Zook (Artflux)

Quincy Hadlock (Artistic Dance Project)

Andrez Jimenez (Artistic Edge Dance)

Alexis Austin (Brava Dance Center)

Caroline Medley (BPMDC)

Brooklyn Medley (BPMDC)

Savy Luechtefeld (Caroline Collective)

Cydney Abbott (CDC)

Grayson Niemcyzk (CDC)

Zac Gibson (Can Dance)

Caleb Livingston (Center Stage Dance Studio)

Amaya Weeks (Club)

Elsie Sandall (Club)

Ashton Wullbrandt (Club)

Lauryn Aniyah (Collective Phoenix)

Karson Koller (Collective Phoenix)

Morgan Wendt (Complexity Dance)

Kate Baker (CSPAS)

Violet Schwarz (CSPAS)

Brooklyn Ward (CSPAS)

Kylie Lawrence (CSPAS)

Stella Hafen (CSPAS)

Richie Ford (Coastal Dance Works)

Jakey McCullough (DH Dance Company)

Alana Gordon (Dance Connection)

Paige Kim (Dance Enthusiasm)

Aracely Lee (Dance Deluxe)

Gage Davis (Dance Deluxe)

Antonia Zanin (Dance Edge)

Haven Greene (DC Dance Factory)

Hannah Fogel (Dance Institute)

Zachary Roy (Dance Town)

Rylie Bordon (Dance Unlimited)

Addilynn Sullivan (Dance Unlimited Boise)

Cameron Janson (DDPC)

Kennedie Caldwell (Denise Wall)

Talia Mempin (Elements Elite)

Jack Schofield (Elite Academy for Dance)

Mya Lanigan (Evolve Dance Complex)

Gavin Morales (Evolve Dance Company)

Coltrane Vodicka (Evoke Dance Movement)

Addi Perrotto (Expressenz)

Brynn Jones (Expressenz)

Kate Jarboe (Expressenz)

Bella Aren (Focal Point)

Regina Espejo (Gaby Pinzon Dance)

Madelyn Duncan (GCDA Dance)

Sophie Flowers (HDC Studio)

Emory Pettit (Impact Elite)

Levi Caicco (In Motion Dance)

Blais Lingle (JD Charleston)

Phoebe McNamara (Just Elite Dance)

Taya Osso (Katies Dance Connection)

Finley Aldridge (Kim Massey)

Pierson Aldridge (Kim Massey)

Bella Charnstrom (Larkin)

Cameron Kennedy (LD Dancer)

Cha Cha Shen (Mather)

Helena Olaerts (Mather)

Cova Card (MVMT)

Canaan Blasit (MVMT)

Erika Del Mazo (New Era ADF)

Emma Bassel (New Level)

Desa Jankes (New Level)

Katie Dong (Nor Cal)

Mika Takase (Nor Cal)

Channing Embry (NSDPAC)

Matthew Conway (NSDPAC)

AvaLeigh Mackaron (NSDPAC)

Madeleine Shen (Northpointe)

Sophia SantaMaria (OCPAA)

Khloe Kwon (Pave)

Addyson Paul (Pave)

Camila Cuevas (PEDC)

Izzy Pascuale (Performance Edge 2)

Lincoln Russo (Poiroir Productions)

Stella Eberts (Project 21)

Richie Granese (Project 21)

Olivia Toneguzzo (Pulse Dance Centre)

Kaylin Gabosh (Revolution Dance)

Elena Markonidis (Rhythm Dance Co)

Ansley Matchack (Sceniccity Dance)

Dylan Custodio (Stars)

Hugo Silva (Stars)

Anita Rodriguez (Stars)

Camila Giraldo (Stars)

Skyla Lucena (Stars)

Santiago Sosa (Stars)

Alonzo Dock (Stars Elite Training)

Vera Souvannavong (Studio4Talent)

Samantha Sweetman (Studio4Talent)

Kloie Goodman (Synergy Academy)

Josh Lundy (Studio 413)

Peyton Nowacki (Studio 702)

Norah Johnson (Studio7TalentCenter)

Annabella Grace (Studio L Hoboken)

Avery Nicole (TDA Prep)

Katherine Khait (Techniques Dance)

Lakota Loya (The Right Combination Dance)

Rissa Laugana (The Rock)

Addison Price (The Rock)

Tiara Sherman (The Rock)

Caitlyn Paik (TTP Dance Pilates)

Kelsey Suka (Utah Dance Institute)

Kennedy Anderson (Vision Dance Alliance)

Rudie Bolton(Weissman)

Reagan Hess (WFDC)

Kaylin Marie (Your Haven)

Blake Metcalf (Xtreme)

[fictionkinfessions]

I had a dream where apparently someone wrote a book called “Conway” - maybe it had an ‘s’ at the end, I don’t recall properly - and it was solely focused on Will and I. Apparently, it was a ‘foundation block’ of sorts for our character creation and story of our lives. I’d say that was just dream reasoning, though, because while I don’t remember the contents of the book exactly, I do remember thinking it was quite scandalous. It was sold to be a work of praise, but really wasn’t so if you turned a number of pages. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that happened back in my former life, during Will’s campaign.

— Hannah Conway (House of Cards)

✉

[7r0773r]

Human Chain by Seamus Heaney

The Conway Stewart

'Medium', 14-carat nib, Three gold bands in the clip-on screw-top, In the mottled barrel a spatulate, thin

Pump-action lever The shopkeeper Demonstrated,

The nib uncapped, Treating it to its first deep snorkel In a newly opened ink-bottle,

Guttery, snottery, Letting it rest then at an angle To ingest,

Giving us time To look together and away From our parting, due that evening,

To my longhand 'Dear' To them, next day.

***

Human Chain

for Terence Brown

Seeing the bags of meal passed hand to hand In close-up by the aid workers, and soldiers Firing over the mob, I was braced again

With a grip on two sack corners, Two packed wads of grain I'd worked to lugs To give me purchase, ready for the heave —

The eye-to-eye, one-two, one-two upswing On to the trailer, then the stoop and drag and drain Of the next lift. Nothing surpassed

That quick unburdening, backbreak's truest payback, A letting go which will not come again. Or it will, once. And for all.

***

Death of a Painter

i.m. Nancy Wynne Jones

Not a tent of blue but a peek of gold From her coign of vantage in the studio, A Wicklow cornfield in the gable window.

Long gazing at the hill — but not Cézanne, More Thomas Hardy working to the end In his crocheted old heirloom of a shawl.

And now not Hardy but a butterfly, One of the multitude he imagined airborne Through Casterbridge, down the summer thoroughfare.

And now not a butterfly but Jonah entering The whale's mouth, as the Old English says, Like a mote through a minster door.

***

Loughanure

i.m. Colin Middleton

I

Smoke might have been already in his eyes The way he'd narrow them to size you up As if you were a canvas, all the while

Licking and sealing a hand-rolled cigarette, Each small ash increment flicked off As white as flecks on the horizon line

Of his painting of Loughanure, thirty guineas Forty-odd years ago. Whitewashed gables Like petals stripped from hawthorn, heather ground

A pother of Gaeltacht turf smoke. Every time He came to the house, he would go and stand Gazing at it, grunting a bit and nodding.

II

So this is what an afterlife can come to? A cloud-boil of grey weather on the wall Like murky crystal, a remembered stare —

This for an answer to Alighieri And Plato's Er? Who watched immortal souls Choose lives to come according as they were

Fulfilled or repelled by existences they'd known Or suffered first time round. Saw great far-seeing Odysseus in the end choose for himself

The destiny of a private man. Saw Orpheus Because he'd perished at the women's hands Choose rebirth as a swan.

III

And did I seek the Kingdom? Will the Kingdom Come? The idea of it there, Behind its scrim since font and fontanel,

Breaks like light or water, Like giddiness I felt at the old story Of how he'd turn away from the motif,

Spread his legs, bend low, then look between them For the mystery of the hard and fast To be unveiled, his inverted face contorting

Like an arse-kisser's in some vision of the damned Until he'd straighten, turn back, cock an eye And stand with the brush at arm's length, readying.

IV

Had I had sufficient Irish in Rannafast In 1953 to understand The seanchas and dinnsheanchas,

Had not been too young and too shy, Had even heard the story about Caoilte Hunting the fawn from Tory to a door

In a fairy hill where he wasn't turned away But led to a crystal chair on the hill floor While a girl with golden ringlets harped and sang,

Language and longing might have made a leap Up through that cloud-swabbed air, the horizon lightened And the far 'Lake of the Yew Tree' gleamed.

V

Not all that far, as it turns out, Now that I can cover those few miles In almost as few minutes, Mount Errigal

On the skyline the one constant thing As I drive unhomesick, unbelieving, through A grant-aided, renovated scene, trying

To remember the Greek word signifying A world restored completely: that would include Hannah Mhór's turkey-chortle of Irish,

The swan at evening over Loch an lubhair, Clarnico Murray's hard iced caramels A penny an ounce over Sharkey's counter.

***

Colum Cille Cecinit

I Is scíth mo chrob ón scribainn

My hand is cramped from penwork. My quill has a tapered point. Its bird-mouth issues a blue-dark Beetle-sparkle of ink.

Wisdom keeps welling in streams From my fine-drawn sallow hand: Riverrun on the vellum Of ink from green-skinned holly.

My small runny pen keeps going Through books, through thick and thin, To enrich the scholars' holdings — Penwork that cramps my hand.

Il Is aire charaim Doire

Derry I cherish ever. It is calm, it is clear. Crowds of white angels on their rounds At every corner.

IlI Fil súil nglais

Towards Ireland a grey eye Will look back but not see Ever again The men of Ireland or her women.

11th-12th CENTURY

***

'The door was open and the house was dark'

in memory of David Hammond

The door was open and the house was dark Wherefore I called his name, although I knew The answer this time would be silence

That kept me standing listening while it grew Backwards and down and out into the street Where as I'd entered (I remember now)

The streetlamps too were out. I felt, for the first time there and then, a stranger, Intruder almost, wanting to take flight

Yet well aware that here there was no danger, Only withdrawal, a not unwelcoming Emptiness, as in a midnight hangar

On an overgrown airfield in late summer.

***

In the Attic

I

Like Jim Hawkins aloft in the cross-trees on Of Hispaniola, nothing underneath him But still green water and clean bottom sand,

The ship aground, the canted mast far out out Above a sea-floor where striped fish pass in shoals — And when they've passed, the face of Israel Hands

That rose in the shrouds before Jim shot him dead Appears to rise again... 'But he was dead enough,' The story says, 'being both shot and drowned.'

II

A birch tree planted twenty years ago Comes between the Irish Sea and me At the attic skylight, a man marooned

In his own loft, a boy Shipshaped in the crow's nest of a life, Airbrushed to and fro, wind-drunk, braced

By all that's thrumming up from keel to masthead, Rubbing his eyes to believe them and this most Buoyant, billowy, topgallant birch.

III

Ghost-footing what was then the terra firma Of hallway linoleum, grandfather now appears, His voice a-waver like the draught-prone screen

They'd set up in the Club Rooms earlier For the matinee I've just come back from. 'And Isaac Hands,' he asks, 'Was Isaac in it?'

His memory of the name a-waver too, His mistake perpetual, once and for all, Like the single splash when Israel's body fell.

IV

As I age and blank on names, As my uncertainty on stairs Is more and more the lightheadedness

Of a cabin boy's first time on the rigging, As the memorable bottoms out Into the irretrievable,

It's not that I can't imagine still That slight untoward rupture and world-tilt As a wind freshened and the anchor weighed.

***

A Kite for Aibhín

after 'L'Aquilone' by Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912)

Air from another life and time and place, Pale blue heavenly air is supporting A white wing beating high against the breeze,

And yes, it is a kite! As when one afternoon All of us there trooped out Among the briar hedges and stripped thorn,

I take my stand again, halt opposite Anahorish Hill to scan the blue, Back in that field to launch our long-tailed comet.

And now it hovers, tugs, veers, dives askew, Lifts itself, goes with the wind until It rises to loud cheers from us below.

Rises, and my hand is like a spindle Unspooling, the kite a thin-stemmed flower Climbing and carrying, carrying farther, higher

The longing in the breast and planted feet And gazing face and heart of the kite flier Until string breaks and - separate, elate —

The kite takes off, itself alone, a windfall.