#the second and third are from october and the rest are from november

[ferris-the-corndog]

art dump part idfk

[zonaenthusiast]

OPLA had no right to drop that special announcement on this random tuesday, I was at the grocery store bitch what the fuck.

That said, let's talk about it.

(The pictures look like shit because I had to download the video from twitter to have the subtitles, I'm sorry)

First of all, this is kind of funny because girlie was there reading in the most uncomfortable position and didn't notice Luffy until she heard him lmao.

Also, I don't know why I keep forgetting that's Nami's room, I was wondering why she is asking him that until I remembered when she said in season one something along the lines of "not wanting Zoro to die in my bed". Their rooms are so rarely shown in manga and anime that my brain is not processing that's, indeed, her room.

Second... blushing, giggling, kicking my feet, twirling my hair.

First Romance Dawn trio shot and I love Luffy's excitement and Nami's smile when Zoro enters. God I love them so much.

Third, I wish the rest would have mention the STRUGGLE when Zoro wanted to sit in the Baratie with them still in his haramaki. This fucking idiot.

And the silence before answering and Nami's big smile... I'm so glad to exist today.

And finally, it just looks so right that Zoro grabs a chair and sits right next to Luffy and Nami. I'm so happy.

But above all, it didn't escape my attention how Nami, when she realizes they are most definitely having a slumber party despite refusing at the beginning, looks at each and every one of her boys right there. She loves them, your honor.

I will be watching tudum this saturday and I'm manifesting season 2 premiere date and a teaser at least, but I'm hoping more for a trailer.

A friend of mine asked me today when I think is going to premiere and, because I think Stranger Things is going to be at the end of the summer or the very beginning of the fall (so september-ish, maybe october if they don't want to coincide with Wednesday), OPLA most like be around november/december. I don't rule out a very early 2026 premiere either, but I believe it will be in january at most.

I need the information so bad, I'm tired of not knowing !!!!!!!

[jaeminvore]

Young God | L.DH (M) — PREVIEW

READ HERE

SYNOPSIS: desperation had this funny way of skewing one’s perception, and since you were, in fact, way past the point of desperation, it wasn’t a surprise that you jumped the gun without even questioning the absurdly cheap rent price of the seemingly perfect apartment unit. What you failed to consider was the reason why it didn't cost you and arm and a leg and it soon came in the form of an incubus in your bathroom belting his heart out on a Sunday morning.

(alternatively: in which you were essentially scammed into cohabiting with a ridiculously clingy demon that lives off of sex. It could be worse. At least he staved off from sucking your soul out in exchange of you sucking something else—among other things).

GENRE: supernatural, urban fantasy, slice of life, humor, crack treated seriously, fluff, smut MDNI!

WARNINGS: incubus!hyuck, fem!human!reader, bickering, crude language (full list of warnings will be stated in the actual fic)

WORD COUNT: estimated 15K-20K (1.1K for the preview)

RELEASE DATE: 22nd of November

TAGLIST: send me an ask if you’d like to be tagged/notified when I post the fic!

NOTES: happy October! and what a better way of starting the spooky month with a preview for a fic that I've been working on (and screaming to the girls about im so sorry 😭) that fit the spooky aspect lol, but don't be fooled! This is actually funnier (and cuter) than it might initially come off 🫡

“Now where’d you run off to this early in the morning?”

You gritted your teeth, feeling a vein pulse on your temple. That voice.

Pretty privilege could come next time because at this very second, you weren’t feeling privileged being graced by the so-called prettiness, but threatened to even fully appreciate what he’s got going for him. Physically wise.

Without thinking, your hand shot out to grab the closest thing to you, an empty vase, and hurled it with all you’ve got, aiming straight for the intruder’s face who didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. It was like watching everything in slow motion, how the decorative piece took its sweet time to smack his face and hopefully break his nose (best case scenario).

This was the worst case scenario, with the vase pausing in mid-air as if time just decided to stop being a thing, all in this demon’s favor.

You were actually going insane, that was the only explanation because no law of physics could explain the current state of the decorative vase—it’s still in the fucking air. Holy shit—nor did you think telekinesis could extend beyond the old, generic trick of bending spoons with your mind.

“Hey,” As if you weren’t terrified enough, the stranger peeked from one of the vase’s sides with a disapproving pout. You scooted further away until your back hit the arm rest. “I picked this out for you, y’know? Thought you’d like it.” With a lazy flick of his wrist the vase ended up floating all the way into the kitchen, much to your horror, to sit on top of the refrigerator.

“Maybe we should not throw things next time?”

Your eyes flickered towards him, dumbfounded.

“You… last night,” There really was no mistaking it. The voice already told you enough. It was all too distinct; the arrogance, the grating inflection that screamed he solely existed to get on your nerves, and it was working. “In my dream. That was you?”

“Wasn’t just last night, little human. I’ve been in all of your dreams since you moved here.” He shrugged, leaning laxly against the door frame with his arms crossed. “You were way nicer in them. Pliant,” he had two fingers up to prove whatever point he was making. “didn’t throw things at me,” and there goes the third finger.

Smoke was practically coming out of your ears as you sat up straighter, tense. “Oh, I’m sorry!” One of your hands flew to your chest, tone high and mocking. “I didn’t know I had to show proper etiquette to a fucking trespasser!” You scrambled for your phone. “Now, please leave or I will call the police—”

It happened all too fast. Too fast for your human brain to comprehend because just a second ago, you were really serious about involving the police in this. Now, you were flat on your back with the wind knocked right out of you and a lapful of the man plaguing most of your nights. The atmosphere felt heavier, now that the kittenish air surrounding him was gone and the very corner of his lips tilted down into a frown as he plucked your phone out of your hand.

“First thing’s first, no police. You won’t get rid of me that way. Second, this is my”— he pointed to himself —“home. My apartment. I was just nice enough to let you stay for how long you liked.”

“I paid for this unit you—you demon!” You didn’t even try to be subtle with the eye-rolling. Of course he would preen at the title. “If anything, it’s my apartment!”

“Okay? I tied a piece of me down to this place. My sigil is somewhere around here to prove it—meaning, I have higher authority.”

A sigil. Of course. This is your life now. Possibly sharing a space with a fucking demon of all things. Exciting, but not exciting enough to stave off your hunger and you were starting to get antsy. You were just arguing for the sake of arguing to blow off some steam and to get in the last word.

“I signed a lease. The lease has my name on it.” you said as if that was on par with whatever he was talking about (probably not).

“Technically, I signed away a part of my life, so.”

Fuck. Fine. He got you there.

“Are you always going to do this?” You resigned, wriggling underneath his weight. “You’re kinda heavy.”

“I mean if it works, right?” The demon giggled, tilting his head with a coy smile as he put more weight onto your thighs, one hand falling behind to rest on your knee. “It’s not like you complained before.”

“Technically,” (“I do not fucking sound like that.”) “you smothered me in my dreams—dreams, so they don’t count.”

Which meant that you had full control of your body out of the dreamscape, proven by the indignant yell the demon let out as he was unceremoniously pushed to the ground for the second time within the twenty-four hour time frame. It wasn’t enough to make up for the numerous times he had you under him, but for now, you were even.

“They sure do!” he exclaimed from where you left him still sprawled on the floor.

“Nope. This conversation is over.”

The stew was just about done, the soup reduced to the right amount as you switched off the stove and range hood, bathing your apartment in still quietness besides the bustling from outside. The soft padding of feet came in quick succession until warmth hovered just mere centimeters behind you.

Turning your head, the demon was there, his chin just shy of resting onto the dip of your shoulder as he peered curiously at the steaming pot.

“Is that… kimchi stew?” he wondered, taking a generous whiff and appearing just as hungry as you felt. “It is kimchi stew.”

You snickered, all animosity fading into faint amusement, “I take it that you’d like some?” It was such a human reaction that you couldn’t help but smile, reaching for the ladle.

“Please?” he pressed, amber eyes all wide and imploring. “I haven’t had a decent bowl of the stuff in, like, weeks.”

“Well, make yourself useful. Set the table, yeah? And pass me two bowls while you’re at it. You know where they are…” you trailed off, looking at him in silent question. You haven’t asked for his name, or what he would like to be addressed as.

Somehow, the demon was rather quick on the uptake, curling his lips as he pushed off to do what you asked him to.

“Haechan,” he called over his shoulder, grinning as he reached for the cupboard’s handle. “You can call me Haechan.”

note: hyuck in the banner just screamed demon to me and it may or may not have caused the brainworms still wriggling in my brain to push me into writing this (rip to my wips i had before this) like just LOOK at these photos they awoken something carnal in me and i need him biblically actually

taglist: @jaylaxies @celeste-hoon @justalildumpling @dammit-jjk

[croquettish]

I was reading some of your earlier posts & I don't think Hans' wedding would be that difficult to implement, especially if it acts as a prologue to the third game. This is just speculation & how I would personally write the game. The wedding could be a good tutorial & reintroduction to the noble conflict of KCD for incoming players - with Hanush & Razdig, Divish and Stephanie, John of Liechtenstein, Jobst, Zizka & Dry devil, Godwin & co, and the Ruthards as guests - and allow the player to "lock in" a romance for the rest of the game (with the main choices being Tess, Hans, & Katherine - maybe Rosa though she is kind of irrelevant lol).

If we assume that freeing Wency will be a bug plot point in KCD3 (I would put it as the climax of the first act personally for biggest emotional turmoil as Wenceslaus is revealed to be a crappy king in the second lol) I doubt that Hans would or could be involved, he would also likely have shit to sort out back in Rattay with Jitka and Hanush. Likewise the remaining romance options - except maybe Katherine? - would stay back in Bohemia while Henry & John & the Devils' Pack go deal with Wenceslaus in Vienna.

What do you think? I'd be curious to get your perspective :)

I agree!! I think the wedding could be the trickiest to pull off in terms of weaving in the Hansry relationship but I think even that would be far from impossible. That would be a FUN prologue too. You've also 100% convinced me that freeing Wency (love that btw!!) would make for an amazing sequel.

I don't think Hans wouldn't be able to come along if they ended up freeing Wenceslas, though!! I mean, why not? Let's look at history real quick:

On October 1st of the same year (1403) the pope acknowledged Wenceslas' loss of the throne. This meant that his coronation was no longer possible and they didn't give as much of a shit about keeping him under tight lock and key. So Wenceslas got to fly the coop on the 11th of November. (As it happens, our beloved Liechtenstein was part of the rescue team!! Which could be extremely fun.) They then got to Prague on Christmas.

Scenario 1: Hans gets married beforehand. He didn't want to get married to begin with and so the second he learns that Henry is setting off for Vienna, he immediately rushes to join him.

Scenario 2: Hans is so desperate to put off the wedding that, when he learns Henry is going to Vienna to save the king, he instantly leaves with him and puts his own wedding at risk in the process, but makes it back before the end of 1403 (the year the historic figure of Jan Ptáček got married).

This would even imply that this little exchange between Hans and Botschek was meant to act as a little teaser for KCD3:

Which I would be all about tbh!!!

[maybefae]

November 2024

Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3

Remember, this is a general reading and it may not resonate for everyone or completely. Tarot is a tool to help guide but you are responsible for your actions and life, you choose your path.

Tips!

Pile 1

Tarot: The Lovers (King of Swords), King of Cups (Seven of Pentacles and Death), Eight of Cups (Queen of Swords), Judgement (Two of Pentacles and Three of Wands), Five of Pentacles and Two of Wands (bottom of  the deck), The Tower

Oracle: The Fate, The Hound, The Tailor, The Enchanter, The Puppeteer, The Merchant, The Weaver (bottom of the deck)

I wanna preface by saying that I don’t really like covering readings that entail relationships to the general. However, while I was shuffling the cards and getting them ready, I saw The Lovers twice and then it fell on the table. And the messages I’m getting are specific but you can apply these messages outside of romance.

I believe that this month for you will focus heavy on your relationship with someone. And I keep having the word “gaslight” repeated and the oracle cards to denote manipulation being at hand. Deception and Trickery. And my anxiety is high. I keep second guessing myself and how I wanna write these messages which does confirm what I’ve been feeling. If you are in a dangerous situation, please reach out to someone that could help you (and I know that it’s hard and could pose more of a danger in some situations). 

I believe that most of the people here probably keep going back into this relationship because this person probably promises loyalty and that they will be different but it’s a trap. They’re manipulating you and trying to keep you chained up and still wrapped in a red string. They keep offering explanations, apologies… This could be a third party situation. I really don’t like this energy, by the way. This is very hard to channel. 

But I think this is the month where you finally have enough (thank god). I believe you will probably speak your mind and cut it off. But I think you will probably be scared to. I think you’re scared of the unknown, most likely because you’re so used to this cycle. Even if it was a very difficult relationship, you had grown used to the routine of it. You’ll be scared as much as you are curious and hopeful.

Some of you will probably have to pull more weight to get your life back on track, most likely responsibility and money wise, but I believe you will embrace this new solitude. Rediscovering yourself in this transition will be hard but you will look back on it and be grateful that it happened because you will be in a better place. You will get your self-worth back.

I do want to warn that I do feel like you will have to turn this person down a few more times. If you are into witchcraft, I would do some form of cord cutting spell, a protection spell, and/or banishing spell. 

Pile 2

Tarot: The Unknown (Nine of Pentacles, Five of Wands, Ace of Swords), Death (Eight of Wands, Eight of Pentacles), Six of Wands (Page of Wands), Three of Wands (The Vessel, The Cosmic Tree), Five of Wands (bottom of the deck)

I believe that most of the people that have picked this group are probably rebuilding from a recent chaos (it could be all the chaos that had happened to a lot of people this October). But you guys are rebuilding, dusting your pants off, and looking forward to your goals. At the same time, the chaos has left you in a state that you aren’t taking bullshit. You’re cutting it off as soon as someone wants to create more chaos. 

I was also getting distracted a lot when doing this reading. I was pulled into conversation with my sister and I was just veering off and practically distracting myself. I think this month will also have to do with reigning yourself and having to force yourself to do things. I believe it’s most likely out of exhaustion from having to deal with all the chaos and things still wanting to distract you. 

This month will probably have to do with focusing on your own life, resting, and trying to lead yourself in the direction you want/need to go in. It will take more effort than usual. If you have seasonal depression, I believe that definitely plays a part. But you’re embracing the unknown and letting yourself follow your intuition when it comes to directions. Also, I’m being told to tell you that it’s okay to stay in your comfort zone this month, especially if you need to rest. 

Inspiration could come back to you this month and out of the blue! Although this will be more of a slow month for you, you will be thinking of these ideas and planning to work on them. You may also have other people inviting you to work on a project with you or you will be planning on a goal/project with others (I feel it’s more towards the end of the month).

Pile 3

Tarot: The Chariot (King of Cups), Ace of Cups (Six of Wands), Five of Cups (Seven of Wands), The Tower (Knight of Cups), The Empress (bottom of the deck)

Oracle: Other’s Wishes, The Empress, Slept Through the Rumor, The Hierophant, Unseen Eye (bottom of the deck)

I think this pile will feel good about themselves this month and the things happening. This is a pile that is following their heart and doing what they love despite people telling them that they shouldn’t be going after their goals. And this could just be happening in the background without you knowing or you are simply ignoring the comments. It could also be because of the high you are experiencing with working towards your goals. You could be feeling really confident and sure of yourself just by the meer act of what you’re doing because you could be seeing progress in real time. It’s like you assured yourself that you’re goals are tangible by actually taking the steps (no matter how small). 

I believe you are encouraged to continue on this route. There could be a bigger breakthrough towards the end of the month and you could also find that someone else shares a similar goal/interest. This could be a potential project partner or simply a companion that shares a similar goal so you both encourage each other.

There will still be hard work being done but I don’t think it will feel like any work at all because you are enjoying the process. 

Decks Used: The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, The Citadel: A Fantasy Oracle by Fez Inkwright, Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck by Matt Hughes, Ophida Rosa Tarot by Leila and Olive, Maiden Oracle by Leila and Olive

Dividers: @inklore

[ninja-muse]

So yeah, that happened… (Not as bad as it looks, though. The top half is books I own and read this month, not books I've acquired.)

November has been a month of highs and lows for me. Mostly lows, if I'm being honest. The US election kicked my brain back to 2020 for a couple days and I don't think I've really reset yet. (It's taken me three years and counting to reset from 2020 itself so I'm not surprised.) For any American reading this, I'm still very saddened for you and I wish there was something I could do beyond listening and sympathizing. I wish the world was a better place to live in.

And speaking of 2020 mode, I haven't been writing. I was at a crossroads at the end of October with a difficult scene, and even though I've fixed it so it's better, I still haven't continued. It's hard for me to write cheery, upbeat things when I'm scared and angry, and work's getting busier for the holidays, and both Bake Offs I follow were airing and that just seemed more important. At least this time, it's definitely writer's block rather than a terror of traumatizing people by writing diversely. (2020 was fun, y'all.)

And I also didn't write for five days because my mom and sister and I went to Disneyland. This was, of course, the high of the month! It was good to spend that time together, and do the rides and the whole experience, and see Disneyland as an adult. I'm especially glad we went when we did because I don't think I'm ever going to visit the States again.

It was also a fairly lukewarm reading month for me, which I don't think it helping the mental stuff. The best book I read was intense and heavy, a few of the others also dealt with dark stuff, and pretty much everything was "fine". No new favourites, though I've added the rest of Claudia Gray's Austenian mysteries to my TBR and I'm still thoroughly enjoying the Lady Trent novels. A couple of the other books (the Clarke, the Stearns) were ones I was hyped for but which didn't live up to expectations.

That said, for all that it's my lowest ranked book, The Price of the Stars was surprisingly fun. It's completely mindless, cliched space opera that reads like an off-brand Star Wars novel and I'm sure I'll have just as much fun with the sequel (also on my physical TBR). But I also recognize that the writing's on par with mediocre fanfiction or cult 1980s B-movies.

Books and otherwise, here's hoping for a better December.

And now, as always, here’s my list of everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

Submerged - Hillel Levin

A journalist dives into a 1990s murder case—the disappearance, the first suspect, the second investigation, the innocent man in jail, the family secrets…

8.5/10

warning: grooming, molestation, rape, victim blaming, failures of the justice system

reading copy

The Murder of Mr. Wickham - Claudia Gray

The Darcys, the Tilneys, and sundry other friends and relations are attending the Knightleys’ house party when Mr. Wickham (uninvited) is killed. The murderer’s still in the house but everyone had motive.

7/10

major autistic character

warning: homophobia

off my TBR

The Empress Letters - Linda Rogers

A mother in the 1920s writes her life story in a series of letters to the daughter she’s searching for in China.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (bisexual), Jewish protagonist, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (sapphic, gay), Jewish secondary characters, Chinese secondary characters, 🇨🇦,

warning: death of parent, sexual exposure, adult-teen relationship, anti-Chinese racism, fetal remains, homophobia

off my TBR

The Voyage of the Basilisk - Marie Brennan

To create a taxonomy of dragons, Isabella Camherst takes a voyage around the world—but as always, she runs afoul of politics, social mores, and other perils.

7/10

Middle Eastern-coded secondary character, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (third gender), Polynesian secondary characters

library book

The Secret History of Audrey James - Heather Marshall

In 1938 Berlin, piano student Audrey steps into danger when her Jewish hosts are arrested and she must turn housekeeper to Nazis to protect her best friend. In 2010, Kate takes a job at a hotel to restart her life after tragedy—and must convince Audrey, the owner, to let her stay.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (sapphic), major Jewish secondary characters, secondary character with partial leg paralysis and a cane, 🇨🇦

warning: antisemitism, murder, police brutality, misogyny and sexism

library book

The Wood at Midwinter - Susanna Clarke

A young woman enters a midwinter wood alone and encounters a fox, a crow, and a bargain.

6.5/10

library ebook

Under a New and Brilliant Sky - R.E. Stearns

Elys, on the run from Republic authorities, is brought to Alyansa to fix a failure in their city’s AI. But the Republic knows where to find her, and she can’t quite trust that the Alyansans will keep her safe.

6/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (sapphic), protagonist with auditory processing disorder, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (trans woman), brown-skinned secondary characters

warning: xenophobia, colonialism

digital reading copy/won

Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble - Alexis Hall

Paris isn’t really sure why he’s on Bake Expectations and he definitely isn’t sure how he feels about the contestant he keeps flirting with, if you can call it flirting, oh god, how do you relationship when anxiety?

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (gay), protagonist with anxiety disorder, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, sapphic), major Bangladeshi Muslim character, fat secondary character, Bangladeshi Muslim secondary characters, Chinese-British secondary character

warning: realistically depicts anxiety disorder and panic attacks

library ebook

Rivers of London Vol. 12: Stray Cat Blues - Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel with José María Beroy (Illustrator)

Abigail and the foxes are “hired” by a cat-woman to break her fellow hybrids out of a brothel. Easy, right? Out in December.

7/10

wajor Black British characters, disabled secondary character

warning: sex trafficking

purchased/off my TBR

The Price of the Stars - Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald

When Beka’s politician mother is assassinated, her father gives her his warship in exchange for her tracking the assassins down. Cue a pan-galactic adventure!

6/10

warning: sexual assault, gun violence

off my TBR

Currently reading

The Stardust Grail - Yume Kitasei

Maya’s put her thieving past aside to pursue academia, but when a chance to find the legendary stardust grail (and save her friend’s species) falls into her lap, she can’t help but be tempted—even if Earth wants to use it to save itself.

protagonist with Japanese heritage, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (achillean, nonbinary, alternate gender system)

library book

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin

A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

Victorian detective stories

disabled POV character (limb injury), occasional Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 10 Yearly total: 116 Queer books: 4 Authors of colour: 0 Books by women: 6.5 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 2 Classics: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 4 Books hauled: 5 ARCs acquired: 2 ARCs unhauled: 2 DNFs: 0

January February March April May June July August September October

[louisupdates]

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Louis Tomlinson is well-known for being part of the band One Direction. However, in recent years, he has ventured out as a solo artist with some very interesting musical offerings. Starting with the album Walls, released in January 2020, which unfortunately didn’t receive the media coverage hoped for, partly due to the less-than-ideal Covid period. Nevertheless, it’s an album with some great tracks: Two of Us, Kill My Mind, We Made It. The album was still promoted on our soil with two Olympia shows in April 2022. However, no festival appearances were planned.

A few months later, in November 2022, a second album was released, Faith in the Future. It’s also a very good record, featuring tracks like Bigger Than Me, Out of My System, Silver Tongues. And things started to pick up, particularly in France. The show moved to the Accor Arena on October 14, 2023! A 1 hour 40 minute set that even included a cover of 505… by the Arctic Monkeys!

Shortly after, festivals began announcing their line-ups for the summer of 2024. And here comes the surprise! Two events decide to trust Tomlinson: Main Square and Cabaret Vert. Two true French institutions, which allowed him to showcase his music to a broader audience that wasn’t just there for him. A set of only 55 minutes, but enough to make an impression.

One of our writers attended the show at Cabaret Vert. Here are a few words from her report: « We have to admit that we didn’t know him very well… We were a bit skeptical about seeing an ex-member of One Direction… and yet, Louis Tomlinson turned out to be one of our great discoveries of the day. The artist created an absolutely amazing atmosphere and introduced us to his very rock repertoire with a pop touch that makes most of the songs incredibly addictive. In fact, he’s now among our liked tracks on Spotify… We definitely recommend checking out this artist who has managed to break away from the image of a teen boy band singer. »

Unfortunately, our dear Louis’s tour is coming to an end. Let’s wish him a well-deserved rest after these busy months, hoping that he will offer us a third high-quality album. And who knows, maybe we’ll see him at our festivals again, in addition to his traditional Parisian appearances… In any case, he will be welcome!

[vikenticomeshome]

The Cyberchase Homepage Through the Years: part 3 (March 20, 2007 through present day)

Alright, let me pick up where I left off. So, as of March 20, 2007, the main Cyberchase website looked like this.

However, there was also a non-flash version of the page. It was made for users who couldn't process the Flash content. Here's the first version of it, as captured on October 23rd, 2006.

Yeah, they put up a placeholder page before the real thing was ready. I just thought it was funny that the Wayback machine managed to capture it. Here's the final version of this page, captured on January 8th, 2007.

This basic version of the page is not animated. I don't know why they took a freeze-frame with Nezzie's arms stuck like that.

I like their choice of the "Featured Send It", which would have been an excerpt from a fan submitted story.

'Oh no!' Jackie yelled. Her and her friends were in another Cyberchase mission.

Classic Jackie.

Unfortunately, it seems that this basic version of the site was never updated beyond this point. It was just this one freeze-frame for its entire life, which lasted over four years. The basic version of the page was eventually removed when the Flash version of the site was overhauled in late October of 2011.

But what do we care about the non-Flash version when we have the superior Flash version? Well, some time after that March 20th screenshot, they changed how the Flash version of the site was loaded. This change broke the Wayback Machine's ability to archive is properly.

So, between March 20, 2007 until the October 25, 2011, the Wayback machine gives us two types of captures. We either get a failure to load the SWF file for the Flash content...

...Or we get the main SWF loading, but the rest of the content doesn't load.

So, if they did anything special between March 20, 2007 and October 25, 2011, that history is lost.

The overhaul on October 25, 2011 is pretty cool though. We get a view of Motherboard's hangar with a big screen to announce what is going on. This version of the website selected one of three Flash animations to play over the background.

Jackie is the star of the show in the first one. The kids have finally realized that they need to do something to stop The Hacker from accessing their clubhouse. So, we get an animation of the Hacker showing up at the slightly open door, and we get Jackie closing it on him. His bowtie gets stuck.

The second animation stars Buzz and Delete. Delete knocks on your screen and writes "wash me" on it. Then, Buzz sprays the message and delete.

The third animation also features Buzz and Delete. This time, Delete has some donuts, and buzz is made to dance to get one as a reward.

This version of the website also gave us new bios for the characters. However, they aren't as detailed or interesting as the old "Meet the Cybersquad" bios.

We also get a page called "Find it!", which was a directory to different math topics.

We also get revamped versions of the pages for Games, Videos and Activities.

They let The Hacker introduce a page, but they don't have Matt introducing any pages. How strange.

The homepage was supposed to have a banner called "Motherboard recommends over the big screen, but it wasn't capture properly at first. Here's a good capture.

This version of the site also contained polls, some of which have been preserved.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any special holiday editions for this version of the site. It is possible that they weren't captured. However, I don't think they did them.

To make up for that, here's a capture from October 1st, 2017, where the poll screen glitched out. It just says "What". Hell of a question.

And then, on July 27, 2018, we got another revamp.

This is more or less the framework for the site today. They will put different backgrounds out sometimes. I'm happy to report that they started doing holiday theming again.

Here's a capture from November 2, 2018 with their Halloween decorations still up.

Here's a capture from December 2, 2018 with a winter theming.

Here's the one for today.

And with that, we've gone through the full history of the homepage. This was fun.

[burningdarkfire]

blood moon (author's notes)

Putting this post on my resume as proof that I am committed to seeing things through to the fucking end. It might be 2024 now but here is a finished author's note for blood moon!!

It's been long enough that the below is more of a retrospective than what we usually think of as an author's note. Some of it dates back to two or three years ago, a lot of it doesn't. With the goal of finishing these notes, I recently reread the fic in its entirety, twice, and I still very much enjoyed it. That's all I can really ever ask of a fic, so I'm happy 💕

Writing Timeline

Blood Moon was a fascinating writing problem. I always knew it was going to be a long fic, longer than I usually wrote, and I also knew that I was bad at finishing long fics. I started writing in November 2021 with the promise to myself that even if I didn't finish it, I would eventually share whatever I had. I initially planned to upload chapters without editing because I suspected that it would bog me down in a lot of small details … and I was entirely correct! So here is the 18 month journey of the fic, in monthly word counts, from start to finish:

November 2021: 18723 

December 2021: (no work)

January 2022: 3591

February 2022: 2872 (finished the shadowgast oneshot, outlined the rest of the fic)

March 2022: 4353 (this is when i first thought "the ending was in sight" LOL)

April 2022: 3667 (i made the decision to edit/rewrite some chapters—at this point i had already written up to fjord meeting back up with the m9 after getting the third eye)

May 2022: 1163 

June 2022: 2028 (this was my initial estimate/deadline for finishing)

July 2022: (no work)

August 2022: (no work)

September 2022: 3371 (i copied over my existing work—up to fjord and astrid's conversation—and started a major edit/second draft)

October 2022: 1228 

November 2022: 2278 (posted the first chapter to ao3)

December 2022: 2144 

January 2023: 1876 (finished my second draft and sent to beta for edits)

February 2023: 126 (finished edits! left some very minor points to polish)

March 2023: 17

April 2023: (finished posting!)

Blood Moon Universe

Blood Moon is an original universe of mine that dates back to 2011. It has all the cliché vampires vs. werewolves vibes that I will shamelessly admit I have never grown out of. We didn't get to see a lot of it in the fic, but it's a very fertile, flexible environment—this is the fourth story I've set in this world, and even though they've all been vastly different from each other, the shell concepts have always served me well. Unsurprisingly, one makes original worlds that are conducive to the themes and motifs that one likes to write about.

Caleb and Fjord live in a dark age, where the last war between the vampires and werewolves decimated both populations so severely that the world is simply emptier than it used to be. Molly and Yasha raid abandoned manors, Caleb lives on ceded vamp territory where the wolves are also absent. Caduceus is alone in the Clay family home except for his temporary companions. Everyone is busy with their own survival, and there's no way for the scarce, scattered populations of the northern forests to repel the Shades on their own.

It was a big decision to write a story about two humans in this world, but Fjord and Caleb have always been underdog stories struggling with established powers. It's hard to imagine them any other way.

Canon-Related Concepts

One of my favourite arcs of Campaign 2 is the pirates arc, because the characters are asking themselves such deliciously heavy questions about their place in the world following Molly's death. I wanted to explore those facets of these characters. 

I've also always found it so interesting that Travis said Fjord would have left to find the third orb if the Wildmother hadn't come through for him. 

Caleb seeks an impossible magic for selfish aims, but he does it because he loves his parents. Fjord would make a deal with the devil for power, but he does it because he equates power with agency, and he wants the ability to protect himself and others. Caleb had a taste of that power, but it soured when he used it for the wrong reasons. Fjord is tasting it now, and can't imagine ever letting it go.

Related Works

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The initial pitch of Blood Moon explicitly referred to Caleb as a "Frankensteinien" character. Pervasive in that book is the desire for a domestic life, in which love, happiness, and security are enclosed. Frankenstein loses his mother, and then loses everything else as a consequence of the actions of his grief and uncertainty. What if Caleb's desire to undo what he did to his parents outweighed everything else?

Blood Moon borrows heavily from the magic in The Raven Tower, where one can literally speak something into existence. The idea of a world where "if you say something, it must become true, or you die trying" is extremely evocative and has stayed with me. It was a beautiful way to explore how grief can change the world.

If I can be honest here for a moment, I actually no longer remember why I have The Magicians listed as an inspiration for the fic. I started Blood Moon 3+ years ago and read The Magicians shortly afterwards, and I've since forgotten everything about that book except for what it made me feel: a despair that was hard to look in the eye.

Themes

These are phrased like high school essay questions because I couldn't think of a better way to present them. These are some of the questions that I asked myself while writing:

"With great power comes great responsibility …" Perhaps the defining question of the entire story. How is the question of duty explored in the fic? What do different characters feel responsible for and how do those responsibilities compete? How would each character answer the question "What do we owe to one another?"

Magic is intention. In this world, anybody can do magic. How is the magical presented in relation to the mundane? How much agency do the characters have? What kinds of choices do different characters make? How much does magic change their perception of the world? 

The knowing is part of the price. Caleb and Fjord are both characters who don't know who they are or don't fully understand what made them. Initially, Fjord is resistant to the idea of learning more about his teacher at all. Vulnerability, he understands, is something that can only be given when you have power. What role do alter egos and second identities and our strange other selves play in this fic?

Life and death are the greatest changes of all. Caleb is determined to bring back his parents at any cost. Fjord is determined to live at any cost. Both of our lead characters have other forces calling for their dues. How are death and grief explored in this fic? How about ideas of rebirth and change? 

I am nothing like I was. I cannot teach you; I cannot protect you. The story of Blood Moon is the story of what happens when Fjord goes looking for a teacher. In fact, many of the primary relationships in this fic are a mentorship or potential mentorship between a teacher and a student. What role does learning and teaching play in interpersonal relationships? How do different characters challenge these categories?

Home is where the heart is. The residences of several prominent magicians feature heavily in the fic as their seats of power. What role does "home" play in Caleb and Fjord's lives? How do they imagine, think of, and build their homes? What happens when someone's home is destroyed or otherwise absent? 

Return. What is Fjord's relationship with the sea?

Misc. Notes

The enduring image of the fic that still lives rent free in my head is the burning house. Caleb's childhood house goes up in flames -> Isharnai's house goes up in flames -> the manor goes up in flames, and each time the axis of the world shifts just a little bit.

If you read and enjoyed the fic, please know that you have my eternal thanks. It means a lot to me.

And of course:

[dodgerkedavra]

my 2023 year in review: completed works edition

I got tagged by @oknowkiss and feel VERY presumptuous tagging anyone else LOL but here's all the stuff I did in 2023, less a couple secret/unrevealed fics!

Completed Fics

February

Good for You || Drarry || 4.5k || E

Draco has only ever wanted to be a very good boy. He has no intention of blurting that out to Harry Potter at pub night.

April

Now I Know In Part || Drarry || 39.8k || E

Harry Potter is the savior of the Wizarding World. Draco Malfoy is a reformed Death Eater turned Ministry Curse-Breaker. Five years after the War, they're brought together by another mysterious curse. Only this time, Harry's the one who needs saving. More specifically, he needs Draco. They have one month to break the curse, and the clock is ticking.

May

If You Miss It, Try Again || Drarry || 23.9k || E

The healers promised Draco he wouldn't get pregnant a second time. They were wrong. And this time, he's pregnant with his best friend and roommate Harry Potter's baby. Nine months is all he has to figure it out.

June

In the Presence of My Enemy || Drarry || 41.1k || E

All Harry knows is that Sectumsempra is for enemies. He doesn’t know that it will bind him to Draco Malfoy, for better or worse, ‘til death do them part. Only one of them will survive, and they’re running out of time to choose.

A Mist That Appears (For a Little Time) || Drarry || 22.6k || E

“Give me November, and I’ll teach you to be happy. There’s only one condition. You must swear on your magic that you won’t fall in love with me.” Harry’s so tired. His whole body hurts. If Malfoy can teach him how to be happy, then... “Okay.” Harry is working himself to death. Draco only has November to help him. Falling in love is strictly against the rules.

July

A Page with No Space || Drarry || 0 words, Enchanted Journals || M

In a desperate bid to get Malfoy to talk to him, Harry Potter slips him an enchanted notebook during sixth year. Five years later, he finally gets an answer.

I Swear I'll Keep You With Me || Drarry || 3.5k || E

Harry Potter doesn't mean to drop the Snitch in Malfoy Manor. In order to get it back, he makes an Unbreakable Vow to keep Draco Malfoy with him. It's the chandelier's fault, really.

August

Lover, Where Do You Live? || Drarry || 38.5k || E

Harry Potter has been running away since the War, disappearing into his job as a freelance curse-breaker. Work is his life. Home doesn't exist. He's about to disappear again when he runs into Death Eater-turned-Healer Draco Malfoy. It's supposed to be a one-night-stand. They're not supposed to pine for each other. Harry's not supposed to sleep with Draco a second time. Or a third. Or a fourth. But when a nasty curse sends Harry back into Draco's arms, he might be forced to admit that home's been waiting for him all along... Or: Harry wants to go home. Draco wants to be a home. It's hard to say it out loud.

September

Starlight in the Void || Drarry || 40.4k || E

An overgrown cottage in an unassuming seaside village is the perfect place for Harry Potter’s fresh start. Harry gets two weeks of peace before he hears rumors of a mysterious hermit wizard who lives in a stone tower in the woods. He’s dismayed to discover it’s none other than Draco Malfoy. He’s even more dismayed to find that his life is once again in danger, and only Malfoy can save him.

Angel, Can't You See? || Drarry, Pansmione || 15.6k || E

Harry Potter has been missing for two and a half years when the Wizengamot passes a Marriage Law during an emergency session in the dead of night. When morning comes, Hermione Granger finds herself assigned to none other than Draco Malfoy. It’s hideously unjust, but simple: she must stay at Malfoy Manor for seventy-two hours, after which she and Draco will be married in a Ministry-supervised ceremony. Hermione stays at the Manor for seventy-two hours. As for the rest of the Ministry’s plan…

October

Fall on the Earth || Drarry || 15.3k || E

Harry Potter hates being separated from Draco Malfoy. Not because he's in love with him, for Merlin's sake! Because they're Auror Partners. One time is all it takes for Draco to be attacked with an illicit potion. Until it wears off, Harry's job is taking care of his partner. Harry thinks the effects of the potion can't possibly be as serious as Robards says. He thinks wrong.

November

Nemeses with Benefits || Drarry || 0 Words/Socmed || M

Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter don't like each other. It's just a convenient arrangement.

The Scent of Soft Rains || Drarry || 20k || E

For a single moment in the middle of being burned alive by dragonfire, the heat so intense it feels freezing and the pain so vast it’s the size of the sky, Harry is relieved. He won’t have to wonder what it’s like anymore.

December

I Was Late (You Were Early) || Drarry || 12.1k || E

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy make a pact that if they’re both still single on New Year’s Day in ten years’ time, they’ll get married. It’s a long ten years.

So that was at least a couple stories in 2023!!

[klcthebookworm]

WIP Progress report

Half the year is done and I have been busy.

January 2024 & June 2024: Trigun: Three of a Kind -- I have finished my edits and it is with my beta reader.

February 2024: Cookbook -- this project is mostly me consolidating collecting recipes into a Scrivener cookbook project. It only gets worked on when I have nothing else to do. February had vacation to Universal Studios and uploads to Ao3, but I got caught up in writing what I call ad posts for DUF and Tumblr and forgot that there are still six old stories and thirteen fanmixes to upload. Oops.

March 2024: Biker Mice From Mars: Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness -- finished the first draft.

March 2024: Biker Mice From Mars: Evil Jack: Till Death Do We Part -- finished the first draft.

April 2024: Strix: Forget the Sun -- still writing the first draft.

May 2024: Star Wars: Rescue the Farmboy: Mission on Mimban -- finished my edits and it is with my beta reader.

July 2024: BookWorm's Library update -- this one has turned into some behind the scenes changes to make things easier for me in the future when I really didn't have stories ready to be published. But I did find the FanFiction Garret files, so I can add that section with the next update.

August 2024: Finished my edits on Evil Jack: Till Death Do You Part and it's with my beta reader now. Tweaked the future stories order in the Wars Are Won By Those Who Dare series. But my edits on Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness ended up having to taking a new course in the second draft. I forgot about complications in the story itself because I was so busy setting up future payoffs.

This is my third year focusing (as best I can) on one project a month before jumping to a new one, and I am starting to see results in so many projects. Getting the Library's website updated with new material is a huge one, along with getting back to old fandoms. Plans for the rest of the year:

September 2024: back to writing Strix: Forget the Sun

October 2024: finish the edits on Rescue the Farmboy: Mission on Mimban and start posting it.

November 2024: finish the edits on Trigun: Three of a Kind and start posting it.

December 2024: back to updating the BookWorm's Library and I should have stories ready to go on it by then.

I hope the next four months are productive for you too.

[scotianostra]

On July 12th 1698 a small fleet of five ships set out for the Isthmus of Darien in Panama carrying Scotland's hopes of founding a new empire on board.

Some have said: 'The Darien venture was the most ambitious colonial scheme attempted in the 17th century…The Scots were the first to realise the strategic importance of the area..." Whilst others claimed: "They were plain daft to try… It was disaster. They never had a chance." T'is for you to decide!

William Paterson, a Scot who's other major claim to fame was the foundation of the Bank of England, was born in Tinwald in Dumfriesshire in 1658. He made his first fortune through international trade, travelling extensively throughout the America's and West Indies. Upon his return to his native Scotland, Paterson sought to make his second fortune with a scheme of epic proportion.

His plan was to create a link between east and west, which could command the trade of the two great oceans of the world, the Pacific and Atlantic. In 1693, he helped to set up the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies in Edinburgh to establish an transshipment port on the Isthmus of Darien (the narrow neck of land separating North and South America now known as Panama). It was claimed that the company would prosper through foreign trade and promoted Darien as a remote spot where Scots could settle.

The original directors of the Company of Scotland were Scottish and English in equal numbers, with the risk investment capital being shared half from the English and Dutch, and the other half from the Scots. However, under pressure from the East India Company, afraid of losing their trade monopoly, the English Parliament withdrew its support for the scheme at the last minute, forcing the English and Dutch to withdraw and leaving the Scots as sole investors.

There were no shortage of takers though, as thousands of many Scots invested money in the expedition, to the tune of approximately £500,000 - about half of the national capital available. Almost every Scot who had £5 to spare invested in the Darien scheme. Thousands more volunteered to travel on board the five ships that had been chartered to carry the pioneers to their new home where Scots could settle, including famine driven Highlanders and soldiers discharged following the Glencoe Massacre.

But, who had actually been out to see this Promised Land, this remote spot where Scots could settle? Well not Paterson apparently! The pioneers had wrongly believed, on the basis of sightings by sailors and pirates, that Darien offered them a colony where entrepreneurs could establish trading links with the world and bring prestige and prosperity to their country. And so it was with much fanfare and excitement that the ships sailed from Leith harbour on 12 July 1698 with 1,200 people on board.

It was however, a depleted and less excited group of pioneers that arrived on the mosquito-infested scrap of land known as Darien on 30th October 1698. Many were already sick and others were quarrelling as power struggles arose among the elected councillors.

They struggled ashore and renamed the land Caledonia, with its capital New Edinburgh. The first task was to dig graves for the dead pioneers, which included Paterson's wife. The situation grew worse because of a lack of food and attacks from hostile Spaniards.

The natives in the area took pity on the Scots, bringing them gifts of fruit and fish. Seven months after arriving, 400 Scots were dead. The rest were emaciated and yellow with fever. They decided to abandon the scheme.

Sadly, news did not travel quickly in the 17th century. Six more ships set sail from Leith in November 1699 loaded with a further 1,300 excited pioneers, all blissfully ignorant about the fate of the earlier settlers. Whoever said that bad news travels fast was obviously not a Scot as a third fleet of five ships left Leith shortly after.

Only one ship returned out of the total of sixteen that had originally sailed. Only a handful survived the return journey. Scotland had paid a terrible price with more than two thousand lives lost. Together with the loss of the £500,000 investment the Scottish economy was all but bankrupted.

I found out about a proposed film a few years ago that was going to tell the full story of the debacle, sadly it does not seen to be any further forward, and like the Darien Scheme itself, looks doomed, the last post on their web page reflected that he/ they were having trouble coming up with a name for the film!

[aventurineswife]

Sorry to hear about the hate you received in your school days 😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏

But damn, f it, gonna make this public (without using the actual legal names lol maybe just the initial) cuz i swear this was a wild ride

So a little context on me : i was bullied my entire time in middle school. And no my situation at home wasnt that much better.

A little context on the highschool too : for many years it was a vocational school before sort of expanding to have philology as well. My class was the third generation of philology.

As i said, it happened in my freshman year, it was some time in late october or early november. We were few in class, and we had math that day (obligatory for 9th and 10th grade. cant remember if i had 2 of em back to back that day), and so the teacher asked us if we minded if she brought a senior class (constructions, mostly guys) in to work on some math for their finals, and we didnt.I just minded my own business, reading from a book and eating a lollipop.

At some point i got up to throw the lollipop stick in the trash can at the back of the classroom (i was sitting that day somewhere in the middle) and thats when i hear one of the guys say loud "thats your wife!"I turn my head and one guy (not the one crushing on me, probably the one who shouted) was staring at me, and i was veeery confused. I just returned to my seat and after that, once the seniors left our classroom, my girl classmate told me one of the senior guys (B) is crushing on me. I looked at her like "girl, you pulling my leg or what?" because :

1. I am NOT conventionally attractive, i am at best average when it comes to my face. In rest, ya got an awkward trash panda, couch potato situation going on.

2. I wasnt going to believe for a second, even a small millisecond that it was real. I mean, it hadnt been long since i graduated middle school for crying outloud. That bullying put me more on the survival mode than ever

And so, for the following few months, once in a while I'd pass by those seniors (small high school ><) in the halls and they'd call out "B's wife" every time. Allegedly, the guy who was crushing on me was shy, thats why he wasnt around to talk with me or ask me out, so his friends decided to be the support gallery 😬😬😬😬

I didnt care that he had a car (as if that would woo me), that he was a soccer player, if he's a nice person, he was....i think id sound like a hypocrite if i say average looking, but wasnt a out of a teen's magazine with the face either. But he wasnt my type. And oh, smoker, which big no-no for me since im unfortunately a second hand smoker.

ONE OF HIS BUDDIES EVEN GAVE ME HIS NUMBER (allegedly). Course i didnt call it wtf.

All came to an end in May. Until 11th grade, we had a small shop within the high school from where we bought snacks, coffee, water. And that day we also had fruits, bananas and oranges. B happened to be there when i went over and he asked me for some change, i refused. And when he asked if i wanted a banana (at the time i wasnt big fan of em) i dunno why i slightly raised my voice when i refused. Maybe it was my defensiveness on high still, and he got upset. Maybe it was my tone too, dunno if he thought i thought of the mature connotation for the banana, but all i know is that after that it ended anyway.

Was i a little douchey? Maybe, but i cant blame myself much when i had to just....accept the bullying in middle school and be on high alert for the following years. Luckly i wasnt bullied in high school at all.Havent seen the guy since.

Probably moved after he graduated. But if i do, and he asks me what the hell was up with me at the time, ill just be honest on that.

-Smooch Anon 💋

Don't worry, I had those going since kindergarten because of looks and later because I was a teacher's child 😭 (never had actual friends growing up so I never knew what actual friendship was like without being taken advantage of lol)

Okay, anyways!

Wow, that's a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences, and I’m glad you felt comfortable sharing it. First off, you’re so valid for feeling the way you did during all of that. 😔 Being bullied in middle school really does a number on your self-esteem and how you approach situations, and it sounds like you were just in survival mode for a long time. Nobody should have to go through that, and it's perfectly understandable that you would be defensive and skeptical when someone showed interest in you, especially after all the crap you’d been through. 💖

It sounds like B was shy, and his friends kind of pushed him to act on the crush, but it also seems like he wasn’t super upfront or clear with you. I can understand why that would be super confusing, especially if you weren’t feeling the vibe and weren’t into the whole situation. And that banana incident? Honestly, it’s just a little awkward, and I don’t think it makes you a “douche” at all. You were protecting yourself, and that's totally understandable. 🫂 Sometimes, our past experiences make us react in ways we don’t even realize.

It also sounds like you’ve done a lot of growing since then. You’re aware of how your past shaped your reactions, and that’s a huge step. If you ever do run into him again and he asks about it, being honest about your past makes sense. People don’t always understand what others have gone through, so giving him the real story could lead to some clarity and maybe even a chance for closure.

You’re not obligated to explain yourself, but being real is always powerful, especially when it comes to situations like this. You’re not a "bad person" for your reactions—just someone who’s had to cope with some tough situations. If you ever find yourself questioning anything in the future, trust your instincts. You’ve got this! 🙌💖

[jules-has-notes]

2017 VoicePlay fall activities — go, go, go ’til you ho-ho-ho

The last few months of the year are usually a busy time for singers, and this year was no exception for VoicePlay. Once they had wrapped up their summer projects, they rolled right on.

.

And they're off

The boys leaped into autumn by heading north once more for shows in NYC and Reading, PA.

They also threw their hats in the ring for a Hostess snack cake giveaway. (They didn't win, but that's okay. Some of the fans always made sure to keep them well supplied with sugar anyway.)

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Back home, it was time to start rehearsing for their third and final year of residency at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. They also needed to prep for their upcoming trip to the west coast, and film their next music video. Eli did manage to sneak in a bro brunch with their old friend, Jeremy James, though.

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A little West Coast swing

For the third weekend in October, the guys embarked on a fast-paced trip to Los Angeles. They crammed a concert and three video shoots into just three days.

They kicked things off with a Saturday night show in Palos Verdes (and teased the locals a bit by calling it by the translated name "Green Sticks").

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On Sunday, they packed in two music video shoots. They started with one of their two Christmas tunes for the year and new collaborator Shoshana Bean. Then they hopped over to reunite with Kurt Hugo Schneider for a little Broadway music.

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Monday was time to get silly and messy with the pocket.watch ladies and some Taylor Swift.

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Keep it going

When they flew home, the boys were met by Rachel Potter once again for their second Christmas song of the year.

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Merry Hallowee-mas

All the preparation the guys had been doing for the upcoming holiday season didn't mean that they would ever neglect spooky season. After a few days of rest, sound guy Paul Kaleka and J.None kicked off the weekend by winning Indaba Music's Spooky Jams contest with a song called "Ghosts and Goblins".

VoicePlay released their video for "What's This?" from The Nightmare Before Christmas on the day before Halloween, and used it as a segue into their new holiday EP, "Warm Up", which they announced at the beginning of November.

The tracks are a combination of revamped tunes from the previous year with J.None's vocals added into the mix, this year's three new offerings, and one more new song that received a video during the following holiday season.

Note that J.None is credited as a member of the group, not a featured guest.

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One more spin

Just over a week after they'd gotten home, the boys headed out of town again for a student workshop and a concert at Western Illinois University.

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Off to the races

One week after that, it was time to kick off their MVMCP schedule in the Magic Kingdom.

With sixteen shows per week for the rest of the year, it would be reasonable to think that job would be their sole focus. However, persuing a career in the performing arts isn't usually a path for sensible folks. There were still plenty of other engagements to keep them busy. For the second night of the residency, VoicePlay handed the reins to their backup guys and scooted up to Ohio.

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But wait, there's more

The reason for their visit to Dayton was headlining the Kettering National A Cappella Festival. The trip there didn't go nearly as smoothly as they would've liked.

Once they actually reached their destination, though, the concert went off without a hitch, and the audience had a grand time.

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The next weekend, they took a drive down to Avon Park for a show at South Florida State College. Because it was close to home, Kathy and Geoff decided to bring little William along for the first time.

Uncle Earl always seems to end up holding the babies in group photos. 😁

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Having the week of Thanksgiving free from their Disney World duties didn't mean that they just kicked back and relaxed. First they hopped on the middle leg of a Disney Magic cruise for a three-day jaunt to The Bahamas and back.

Then on the evening of Thanksgiving itself, they gathered up Erik Winger and scooted down to the southeast coast to perform at the annual tree lighting ceremony for the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

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On another day off from MVMCP in early December, the PattyCake guys teamed up with their friends at Entertainment Central to film a very beachy Christmas romp for their Atlantic City Boys group in Cocoa Beach. The final "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" / "Here Comes Santa Claus" mashup video was originally posted to Michael Evans's channel a week later, then reposted to the group's channel a year and a half after that.

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That weekend, Winger joined VoicePlay for a two-show day at Mariner Church in Sping Hill, FL.

important preparations — ear plugs and power naps

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When Rockapella came to town on their holiday tour near the end of the month, Layne and Cyndi took little Doris to see some of their pals.

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J.None spent both the weekend before his birthday and New Year's Eve rocking out at local shows with Paradigm Party Band.

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That's all, folks

With the year coming to an end, the VoicePlay guys finally took the chance to relax, spend time with loved ones, and prepare for the coming months. But those are tales for another post.

[meerkatp]

Just thinking about what the timeline in your darkwing story.

First: LP dating Sal eventually broke up

Second: Taurus Bulba involvement to which Drake got hurt and he and LP became a couple and I assume marriage afterwords with Gosalyn being adopted.

Third: Meeting Jim Starling as Negaduck

Now I'm curious when Jim broke Taurus out from prison like is it before or after he met up with LP and Drake. I also wonder about clone story. There's alot I'm looking forward from you as your small comics are interesting and exciting to read.

Thank you so much! I'm glad so many people like my Gay duck comics you guys don't know how much this means to me. (TTωTT)

Jim was the one who broke Bulba out in the first place. He found out about the ramrod, and used it and Bulba to bring some Darkwing villains back permanently, and was chased out by said villains before Bulba could get his hands on him. By the time Jim actually meets Drake and LP (since "dying"), Bulba's been dead for months.

But I do have a timeline that' (mostly) post DT17 i's basically:

April 2019:

DT17 finalie

May:

LP meets Sal (This Duckburg life)

Sal asks LP out

Either late June or early-mid July:

Jim breaks Bulba out of prison

LP and Sal break up, Bulba encounter, Drake and LP get engaged, Bulba reveals the truth about Dr. Waddlemeyer, Bulba dies & Drake is hospitalized, Drake and LP decide to adopt Gosalyn (yes this pretty much all happens in one day

Scrooge insists they live in the manor as Drake recovers

Late July or early August depending on when the final Bulba encounter happened

Mallard-McQuacks move to 537 Avian Way

The Muddlefoots

August:

Meet the rest of the McQuack family

September:

The Sputtersparks move in next door

October:

Drake and Launchpad get married

November:

Loopey and Morgana get married

Jim

March:

Bruno

Jim and Bruno get together shortly after that. Then at some point Herb finds out Drake has been Darkwing all along, a event I don't want to spoil yet (but have hinted at), Bruno breaks up with Jim and switches sides.

Then time after that Tia comes back and gets together with Bruno and they eventually leave Earth together.

Been feeling like the story would end at Bruno and Tia's wedding because shit goes down then. (If I actually write that far is another story. OTL)

The dates are subject to change but that's basically the gist of it. Unfortunately my head's too scatterbrained to post/ write anything in order. ><' I really wish there was a place where I could post them and keep them in order besides a folder in Paint Shop Pro. ||||""OTL

[bronzecats]

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada: Background

There really isn't a lot of information out there about Thanksgiving in Canada, so it's harder to tie it directly to a colonial narrative. An often mentioned pre cursor is the 1606 L'Ordre le Bon Temps (Order of Good Cheer), and various festivals of thanksgiving celebrated by several different Indigenous communities. The date of colonial Thanksgiving in Canada has varied over the years

Here's a couple of excerpts from the Canadian Encyclopedia:

In 1606, in an attempt to prevent the kind of scurvy epidemic that had decimated the settlement at Île Ste. Croix in the winter of 1604–05, Samuel de Champlain founded a series of rotating feasts at Port Royal called the Ordre de Bon Temps (“Order of Good Cheer”). Local Mi'kmaq families were also invited. The first feast was held on 14 November 1606 to celebrate the return of Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt from an expedition. Having attended the festivities, Marc Lescarbot remarked that they consisted of “a feast, a discharge of musketry, and as much noise as could be made by some fifty men, joined by a few Indians, whose families served as spectators.” .... The first national Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated in the Province of Canada in 1859. It was organized at the behest of leaders of the Protestant clergy, who appropriated the holiday of American Thanksgiving, which was first observed in 1777 and established as a national day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” in 1789. In Canada, the holiday was intended for the “public and solemn” recognition of God’s mercies. As historian Peter Stevens has noted, some citizens “objected to this government request, saying it blurred the distinction between church and state that was so important to many Canadians.” The first Thanksgiving after Confederation was observed on 5 April 1872. A national civic holiday rather than a religious one, it was held to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from an illness. Thanksgiving was first observed as an annual event in Canada on 6 November 1879. The date for each of the following years, as well as a unifying theme for which to give thanks (usually concerning the harvest, though anniversaries related to the British monarchy were also common), was determined annually by Parliament. The holiday occurred as late in the year as 6 December and even coincided several times with American Thanksgiving. The most popular date to observe Thanksgiving was the third Monday in October, when the fall weather is generally still amenable to outdoor activities. ... ... It was not until 31 January 1957 that Parliament proclaimed the observance of the second Monday in October as “a day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.” E.C. Drury, the former "Farmer-Premier" of Ontario, lamented later that “the farmers’ own holiday has been stolen by the towns” to give them a long weekend when the weather was better. Thanksgiving is an official statutory holiday in all provinces and territories except Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. It is called Action de grâce in Quebec and is celebrated to a much lesser extent there than in the rest of the country, given the holiday’s Protestant origins and Anglo-nationalist associations.