#would get it if it was when i was in canada but nope its been doing this even in socal

[solemntitty]

for whatever reason weather.com keeps on putting the units in as Celsius as opposed to Frankenstein and i keep on being like pls. i am in america. use the freedom units i am begging you what the hell does 17 even MEAN

[starlit-crossing]

Lost in Foster (Working Title) Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Flying Solo

---

Danny had lost track of the time quickly after beginning to fly, his stress ebbing away with the landscape that spend by. He tried to focus on the grass, the roads, the horizon, anything but what had just transpired. Every time his mind wondered; he would be reminded that he needed to not feel. His friends' face as he took off — nope, not thinking about it. How worried Jazz would be — what a really cool tree I just passed. His parents’ confusion and not getting to say goodbye to anyone — that is a lot of white vans up a head. Wait… Danny stopped midair above a state highway. Similar to a police barricade, white vans, jeeps, and motorcycles were stationed in the middle of the street. Guys in White were stopping the passing cars, scanning them, then letting vehicles through the state border. Lines were beginning to form and angry honks floating up to him. This isn't good… Danny fished for his burner phone, feeling for the metal at the bottom of his backpack. Digging it out, the clock read 12:45. He had left Casper high during lunch, which had been around 11:30, and he had left Amity around 11:40. Good to know it takes less than an hour for the Goons in White to make a move. He floated closer to the cars to see if anyone had a Wi-Fi spot open. I should've grabbed the Fenton GPS from the emergency OPS center, finally a Wi-Fi signal popped up under the name __Not_The_FBI__. Danny choked on a laugh as he pulled open his map app. He was going to need to avoid every joke and pun on this trip, or he was a dead man. Well, a deader man… wait! Bad brain! He yelled at himself. He had to be less than a five-minute flight from Chicago. Zooming in, he looked for a train station or a ferry… and there was a train station used for hauling cargo from the US into Canada.

“Perfect!” Danny exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air, only to hit something metal. Turning, Danny watched as a pristine white drone steadied itself in the air. Its camera focusing on him.

“Shit.” Danny turned to watch as the men below froze, then look to the sky. Spotting him immediately, he just waved as they began to take aim. Turning invisible and speeding away as round after round of ecto blasts lit up the sky. Nice going Fenton, he berated himself flying towards Chicago; I have two things I can't do: express emotion and use powers publicly. I've already done both! Like he thought it hadn't taken long to reach the station, gravely rails and signs directing conductors were sprawled throughout. He found an empty car, checked for any passerby, and phased inside. A flash of light leaking through the cracks as he returned to his human self. The darkened car was cold, with metal walls and doors. The floor was a kind of embossed metal, a crisscross pattern embellished the sheet metal.

“I should've brought a book or something.” he laughed tiredly to himself… “Damn it!” Danny yelled, banging his head on the car wall. It's probably best if I just sleep, I'll be over the state border by the time I wake up. He thought to himself, settling into a corner. Propping his backpack to use as a pillow, the cold had no effect on him as he drifted to sleep.

---

It had been a little over an hour since Danny had gone on the run. Sam and Tucker had decided to skip what was left of school and head straight home. It would be difficult to catch up with him, but they had to at least try, and every second that passed was a second wasted. They didn't have anything in mind for Danny being tracked so easily, but they would figure something out. They had to.

When Sam got home, her house was surrounded by GIW agents. Her parents stood at the door listening to a panicked Jack and Maddie. As she pushed her way to the front, she was able to make out some of what Danny's parents were saying.

“Please! Just let us make sure Phantom didn't leave anything here. Anything could be a clue to where he took Danny!” Maddie cried, Jack stood by her as she pleaded, an arm around her shoulder. Her parents shared a pained look as they tried to decide what to do.

“Maddie, we know your situation with ghosts is important. To your career and with your family,” her mother started softly, remaining in her polite and cheery tone. “But we can't risk involving Sammikins more than your son already has.”

“Not to mention when we let you search our home earlier during that wild goose chase! Left a large mess that our house cleaner had to pick up.” Her father chimed in, annoyed.

“We understand that, but we need every clue we can! Sam!” Jack shouted, seeing her as she entered the path leading to the door.

“Sammy get inside! You don't need to be pestered by agents as well.” Her dad called, ushering her inside the large house.

“Same, please! Have you heard anything from Danny? Is he with Tucker?” Maddie called, fighting the door as her mother tried to close it. Sam tried to calm down, closing her eyes and slowing her breath. Key word being tried.

“No! I haven't and neither has Tucker! So just leave the two of us alone and don't you dare try storming his house too!” she hollered, shoving the door fully closed. She sighed back sliding against the door.

“That's right Sammikins! Just because they risked their family with ghosts doesn't mean they can risk ours!” Her mother cheered.

“And sorry, Sammy, the house cleaner couldn't get to the second floor today, so your room's still a mess.” Her dad added.

“It's fine, dad. I'll clean it myself. Can I… Can I just be alone for a bit? Stressful day and all.” Sam mumbled, making her way upstairs.

“Of course, sweetie!” they answered, leaving Sam with herself. Once her parents were out of sight, she ran up the stairs. As she entered her room, she looked at the damage caused by the aforementioned goose chase. It looked like a storm had blown through, her bed and desk had their contents thrown about. Anything related to Danny had been pulled out. Ignoring the mess, she pulled over a chair to her closet and felt for the backpack taped to its ceiling. Once down she poured out its contents mentally checking everything was still there. Her clothes? Check. Money? Check. A letter? Sam pulled out the simple envelope that made an appearance in her bag. It was addressed to her, the whole thing crisp and clean. Inside a piece of notebook paper full of Danny's handwriting, nothing looked rushed, and it seemed he had prepared these in advance.

*Ring* *Ring*

Tucker’s face lit up her phone's lock screen, she answered the video call while reading the letter.

“Sam! Did you get home safe? I heard the GIW were swarming your house. Did you find a letter?”

He blurted, the room behind him burring as he moved.

“I'm fine, and I did. Did you get one too? Why would Danny write these?” She flipped the page to see if there was more, a hint to what he was thinking.

“I did, that was why I called you. Does yours say the same thing. Well, maybe not the exact same.” He rambled, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Shut up, Tuck! He wants us to stay in Amity? To abandon him and protect the town that barely cares he's here?” She exclaimed. Tucker nodded along from the camera.

“I know right? He's our best friend, we can't just let him be on the run!” Tucker ranted, “Can we? I mean, I know where he's coming from. We can't really trust his parents or the GIW to keep ghosts out. Valerie can handle her own, but she still hates ghosts. It will be hard for her to leave the neutral ones alone.”

“I don't know, Tuck, Danny even said we could tell Valerie his secret if things got out of hand and became too much for us and Jazz. I don't think he plans on coming home, at least not anytime soon.” she contemplated; there had to be something they could do. “What about other heroes?”

“What? What would they do?” Tucker asked.

“I'm not sure, I know we don't really keep up with stuff outside of Amity, but the Justice whatever works with the government, right? We could tell them our local hero is being unjustly hunted.” Sam suggested pacing the room.

“Sam, what will they find when they look into Phantom? That he's a wanted criminal, robbing banks, and threatening mayors? The media doesn't shine Danny in a good light.” He countered.

“But those can be explained, the GIW have files on Freakshow.”

“Didn't Danny wipe his memories with the Reality gauntlet? They couldn't get the whole truth, or they would learn his brain has been messed with through magic or martians.” They went back and forth.

“Then what do you propose we do? We can't track him down without others noticing.” Sam huffed in defeat.

“We'll just have to do what he asked of us. We'll watch over the town, if Valerie gets out of hand, we'll offer our help first. Say we helped Phantom with ghosts, Danny included. We can say Danny is protecting Phantom even now, and it will buy us some time to see if she can handle Danny's secret.” Tuck finished.

“She trusts Danielle, right? We might be able to convince her.” A moment hung in the air between the two friends. The reality settling in that they may never see their friend again. “Where is Danielle? She might get caught in the crossfire of this, being a clone and all.” Sam wondered.

“She's in Italy last I checked, I'm glad I gave her one of my old phones before she left the US.” Tucker answered.

“That's good… Which of us is telling Jazz?"

---

The train started to move shortly after Danny fell asleep. Four hours passed before Danny's body forced him awake, ghost hunting had ruined his sleep. He could hear Jazz's voice in his head talking about the importance of sleep for teens today. He checked the burner for the time and saw the numbers 6:05 glowing back at him. Pulling open the map he saw he had made it to Indiana, finally.

“Time to get moving, I guess.” As he spoke, he focused on keeping his voice even. The events of earlier, still fresh in his mind. The sound of the car's rolling wheels echoed in the empty car as he stood. Stretching to pop his back. He stuck his head invisibly through the train door, seeing the cargo station grow closer. Bringing his head back in, he readied to slip off the train. Steadying himself as the train arrived, opening the door, and running through the train yard as fast as he could without getting caught. It had been easier than expected, no one cared, as the teen bolted through the gravel-filled rails with ease. Once outside, he went searching for food. A mini mart was on the corner and a King Burger across the street. He couldn't risk lingering, so he made way for the minimart. The convenience store felt dated with white walls and neon signs, the floor was black and gray checkered tiles. Grabbing some water bottles, bags of jerky, and some premade sandwiches. The many sweets and freezy drinks were tempting, but the longer the food could last, the better. The place was deserted, only the clerk scrolling on his phone could witness he was ever there. After finishing his resource gathering, Danny went on the hunt for a gray hound bus stop, it would be the easiest way to get around without drawing too much attention. Looking for the longest possible route to the East Coast, he was left with two options: Gotham or Metropolis. Both had international ports and superheroes that protected them. He had always meant to look into other heroes more, find some inspiration or role models for hero work, but with ghosts constantly attacking the town and homework, he just didn't have time. Mr. Lancer tried to keep class interesting by referencing the things happening on the global news. Now if he could only remember what he had said about the heroes protecting the cities. Danny had actually perked up when Lancer mentioned that one was an alien with super hearing and other abilities. Aside from that, all he could remember was their names, Batman and Superman. I'm feeling a lot better about my hero name. He would have to give Amity News a break about Invis-O-Bill. Between the two, he was pretty sure Superman was the alien. Sam had done a report on meta-human rights and had gotten very passionate when she discovered that they didn't reference the ecto acts whatsoever. She had been so sure that someone would shed light on the act, accounting it to being unknown meta-humans being unjustly removed of their rights. A point she got stuck on was that Batman had all but banned metas from Gotham. Stating they should seek sanctuary elsewhere due to the antics of his villains. It had something to do with gas, scarecrows, and clowns? So, he could either go to the city where no powers were allowed, or the city protected by a super-hearing alien. The GIW might expect him to go to an alien for sympathy or to overshadow him in a power grab. Gotham seemed like the safer choice, even with the high amounts of criminal activity they seemed to have. He would be able to fight off most thugs without causing serious damage, humans can't normally through a guy through a brick wall like ghosts can. No one would question him being alone and sneaking around, he'd use his powers to get on a boat for Europe and keep a low profile while he searched for Danielle. He'd fill her in on what was going on, send a message to Sam and Tucker that he was safe, and wait to hear what was happening in Amity. So, Danny waited in line and got his ticket for Gotham. The bus was crowded full of people trying to do the same as him; to take a bus as far from one's old life as possible. He was able to grab a seat towards the back, settling into the stained fabric seats. His backpack between himself and the wall of the bus window. Settling in for the longest stretch of his journey out of the country.

Hello and welcome again! I hope everyone is enjoying the story. It’s been very exciting getting to see everyone’s comments and enjoyment for the fic. Don’t worry about the lack of Bat family, I am getting their as fast as I can. I wanted to revisit Amity a little bit to wrap up a few loose ends. I’m not sure at what point in the DP timeline I am placing this, but it will most likely either be prefinal of the show or post A Glitch in Time. Two very different time periods but both work with the general DC timeline I am using. As for the Bat family I’m more familiar with the characters themselves than the canon timeline. So, I’ll primarily be referring to the Batman: Family Adventures for the family and Young Justice for world events such as meta-humans.

I spent a lot of my time working on this listening to the Epic: Underworld Saga musical concept and got stuck on the song No Longer You. It’s so good and feels like it could fit Danny in some aspects if you go for a post A Glitch in Time ghost king Danny. Might draw something if I got time.

See you next week, byee!

Master post - Chapter 2 Prev. <<< Next >>>

[variousqueerthings]

according to letterboxd i've watched 261 films this year (not counting un-logged films and the couple of weeks left to go)

so despite being tripped up in my plans by suddenly speedrunning doctor who these last couple of months, it's not been a bad year on the whole:

watched my first horror exploitation films -- "cannibal holocaust" and "last house on the left." I cannot say this genre will ever be a favourite, but there is a fascination to the uncomfortable feeling of realism in both of these

overall I watched much less horror this year, partially because I spent october travelling, so didn't do my usual one-per-day themed watch. out of these "lair of the white worm," (generally want to go down more of a ken russell rabbithole next year) "ravenous," (the best cannibal film that nobody's ever seen) and "nightbreed" (the other clive barker directed, which, listen, it may have flaws but it doesn't I tell you, this is a perfect movie!!!) stood out the most, but was also positively surprised by both "return of the living dead" (which, yes, was schlock, but very enjoyable schlock) and "the ritual" (I was expecting to like the ritual, but not for it to feel incredibly personal somehow -- the underrated of the two horrors I know of about english-speaking tourists with trauma trying to recover in the swedish wilderness, by far my favourite!)

also, finally watched the original "the exorcist" which... argh, you know when people say "this thing is really good" and you go sureeeee whatever, it's ruined by the hype and the way you talk about it makes me think I'm not gonna like it, and then you watch it and it's really good dammit!

also, i was convinced I watched "nope" last year, but it may be this year. I watched it three times this year, and I didn't log it last, so that means I get to go ohhhhh "nope" is just a movie of all time, it deserves the future cult status it's gonna have, I've been yelling about it with @le-red-queen because finally finally someone I know has also watched it why does it feel like my friends are sleeping on this film????

also! "prey"!!!!! ohhhhh the future of horror looks bright! my favourite predator film, including the first one. it made my brain buzz, it was beautiful, it's incredibly blunt statement that the predator is barely a threat compared to rapidly expanding colonialism, the lead's journey is stellar and painful and punch-the-air and... great film

I got to spend a lot of january watching a film festival that centred on movies by indigenous people "from Turtle Island and around the world" (as it says on the website -- definitely and understandably mainly around america and canada). favourite of these was "honey moccasin" a fascinating little comedy movie that maybe predictably hooked me because it also had a queer focus within its portrayal of community

also at a local queer film festival, got to see "wildhood" a movie about a gay multiethnic mi’kmaw teen, who goes on a roadtrip looking for his mother -- think this is probably one that would be difficult to find otherwise, so youknow... check out local film festivals you never know what you'll see!

have gone on several rambles about "great freedom" and "joyland," movies that I watched relatively close together that have basically haunted me all year, acting as comparisons to nearly everything else I've seen -- think they've put ideas about queer stories in my head that are exemplified in a lot of queer writing and avant garde film-making, but often isn't seen on such a big scale, budget and quality-wise (this not to say the small-budget films are less worthy, it was just a bit heady to get to see these two and be blown over by their largeness). also something about a film that takes place in post-wwii germany and a film that takes place in modern-day pakistan feeling like they belong together to me. they're thematic, philosophical, political kin

got to go deeper into todd haynes, with "safe" and "poison" (yes yes we're super late to the todd haynes dive, but sometimes you just want to rewatch velvet goldmine a million times forever, so it takes you awhile to get to his other greatest hits). very excited to watch his latest film, sad i can't see it in theatres

watched quite a few queer documentaries, including "lotus sports club" (about a football club in indonesia run by a trans man, that provides a safe place to lesbians and trans boys), "you don't know dick" (interviews with trans men in the 90s), rose von praunheim's "transexual menace" (a sprawling, seemingly random depiction of trans people in the US -- a million amazing portraits), and "kokomo city" (a documentary about black trans women sex workers, directed by d smith, who is herself a black trans woman, music producer, excellent writer -- the way this movie is edited is so Vivid and you can tell there's so much freedom to really say things than in work that isn't community led. the philosophy, the politics, chatting while in the bath, that familiarity, that openness!)

in more classic musical news, got to see "the court jester" (only mildly a musical), "on the town" and its thematic successor "it's always fair weather," (gene kelly on rollerskates), and fiddler on the roof (finally) -- enjoyed all of them! shockingly low on musicals this year, but I intend to get inspired by @fabiansociety's list for the upcoming one

a few surprises for me were "streets of fire," which I've become mildly obsessed with, for being simply The Coolest Film you never watched as a kid (baby willem dafoe biker gang leader + music written by the guy who wrote for meatloaf and fleetwood mac??) it's just a straightup good time and also did this thing of writing a male role, casting a woman in it, and accidentally giving us a butch lesbian (with a line to make it seem like she had a boyfriend one time, but like... that doesn't take away her butch cred),

and also scorsese's "kundun," which I had no idea what to make of, because it didn't feel like a scorsese film at all. I think I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with scorsese in that I think his movies are frequently gorgeous, but his focus is almost always to the left of the people that interest me (that is, everyone around the white guys with guns who yell a lot). kundun is about the dalai lama and it is. very very anti-violence in its depiction of the invasion of tibet, because the POV is a pacifist who's shielded from seeing the violence, so the three scenes that briefly depict it are all the more shocking. and like... scorsese seems to have been coming at this movie from the perspective of education/plea for the freeing of tibet? which, yay, but... unexpected movie, that is all. also they speak english, although the actors are tibetan, including the grand nephew of the dalai lama portraying the dalai lama (I think this movie shouldn't be in english, but that is very cool). strange film, definitely watched a bootleg dvd copy with a completely wack aspect ratio that I couldn't format on the screen, but sometimes that's how you've gotta see something

a few classics. saw "jeanne dielman" for the first time, then utterly failed to describe it for everyone I talked about it with. I feel like saying "three hour long movie about a woman's repetitive life that is slowly, but surely, about to explode" is... idk, maybe it's going too much into detail. pointing out the static camera, the near-lack of dialogue, the scenes that simply consist of her sitting, and people instinctively go "oh that's a gimmick." but I also think if one can herald something like "orphee" or anything bergman did or "stalker," then this is not so off-putting (I found stalker to be a lot harder to focus on actually, which surprised me considering its subject matter). I know a lot smarter people than me have pointed out that what may truly be disturbing to people is the fact that we're following a life in such detail that isn't considered a valuable/interesting life to follow, especially not for so long. and that is... well that is just our internalised sexism. it's a good movie

this turned out quite long, but wanted to sit with some of these movies for a bit. I'd rec all of them, depending on personal preference and limitations

[jacobsneed]

15 questions tag

last tag I'll catch up on for today because my sister is telling me to hop on gta asdfghj- big thanks to @socially-awkward-skeleton for tagging me! :DD Again, I'm low on spoons/not sure who to tag so if you see this, then you are now tagged, my friends! &lt;;33

1. Are you named after anyone?

No idea who my first name comes from, but I have a considerable number of grandfather's names as middle names that I'm very proud of :)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday lol

3. Do you have kids?

Nope

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I think I do? Though I'm starting to think its not the same as neurotypical sarcasm does that even make sense lmao????

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

As a kid I used to play soccer obsessively up until I got injured playing in military camp! I'm pretty decent when it comes to shooting, and I'd love to do something with that or archery, maybe hunting, but it's pricey

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Visual details or manner of speaking when comfortable

7. eye colour?

Very dark brown

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Why not both? I definitely prefer something scary lol

9. Any special talents?

I doubt it's healthy lmao, but I have this kind of work mindset I can sometimes get into, I call it "shark mode" and basically people in my life have told me how they watch me sit in one place for up to 15 hours at a time glued to a screen just working on whatever project my autistic brain deems most important lol. I love when I shift into shark mode and I always knock my own socks off afterwards :DD

10. Where were you born?

Eastern Canada currently living in BC though, omg hi!

11. what are your hobbies?

At the moment I've really been gaming a lot, so I'd say that's my main hobby haha, other than that I enjoy art, easing my way back into music, I've been getting more into film lately, another thing I've been enjoying is studying history (currently in a deep dive on Serbia!), I guess I would include learning as a hobby :) I also really like collecting, organizing/sorting, and I'm getting back into cooking

12. Do you have any pets?

I got 3! :)

13.  How tall are you?

I'm personally super insecure, so I'll just say I'm far shorter than the average

14. Favourite subject in school?

English, Bio, and Psych

15. Dream job?

I wanted to be a defence attorney or an embalmer/cremationist

[kscriba]

15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

Thank you for the tag @treason-and-plot!

Are you named after anyone? I was named after my grandmother, who had to change her name during the cold war because Natasha was a touch too Russian for certain individuals

When was the last time you cried? Likely just before my last period lol As I get older I've also been getting fun new PMS symptoms including extreme depression, which freaks me out until I check my period app and go "Not a mental health crisis, just my body trying its best" and wait it out a few days

Do you have kids? Nope! Still a little ways from that

Do you use sarcasm a lot? I try not to use it online, with friends from out west, or with ESL speakers, but my coworkers & family are fluent in dry sarcasm (which I dearly missed living out west & in Japan) so it's the main way we communicate with each other at this point

What sports do you play/have you played? I've tried just about every sport, with soccer being my past and present passion.

What’s the first thing you notice about other people? Their facial expression. As an unfriendly introvert, I'll approach a stranger smiling at me and avoid strangers who aren't. I'm actually pretty unobservant regarding any features or appearance and would make a terrible witness

Scary movies or happy endings? Always happy endings. I never watch scary movies :P

Any special talents? Turning my tongue upside down

Where were you born? Ontario, Canada

What are your hobbies? Writing, gaming, soccer, reading, studying Japanese, making video games

Do you have any pets? My cat and three family pets (cat and two dogs)

How Tall Are You: 5'6"/172 cm

Fave subject in school? Literary arts

Dream job? Winter author and summer hobby farmer

Eye colour? Blue

I think most of my moots have been tagged at this point but even if you're not a mutual please give it a go and feel free to tag me ♥

[slavicprincess1966]

15 questions for 15 moots!!!!! <3

tysm for the tag kate @theshoutpolicyoftruth <<<33

1: are you named after anyone? nope!! my mom just really really liked the name ashley. she told me she actually really would have liked to name me jessica but her sister beat her to it while she had her kids first lol!!!

2. when was the last time you cried? i could be wrong, but as best as i can remember, probably at my last confession, which was june 2.

3. do you have kids? BRUH IM 16 WHAT DO YOU EXPECT lol but when i do hopefully come along an amazing husband i would like to possibly have 1 kid! for a boy, i’d name him cristian. idk any cool girl names yet lolz.

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? it depends on the person and how silly i get

5. what sports do you play/have played? man i have gone at it my entire life!!! id consider dance a sport; i do polish folklore/trad dance right now and have been doing it for the past 5 years! started with ballet as a little girlie, then gymnastics, swimming, soccer, & ice skating, and after all i found that dance is my thing

6. what's the first thing you notice about people? totally how one presents oneself, and how similar i am to them. if you’re devout catholic or polish then i’d automatically think “YOURE SO COOLLLL”

7. what's your eye color? brown but i become edward cullen when the sun hits them just right

8. scary movies or happy endings? happy ending movieeeessss

9. any special talents? my art ofc! my mom also tells me that from what she sees, i am pretty advanced in english. i also pick up newly assigned guitar pieces quickly <3

10. where were you born? the gta (canada)

11. what are your hobbies? art, dance, daydreaming (about dave <3 ), singing when no ones around (with the exception of my mom, ive got an insane morrissey impression and she can confirm haha) and collecting cds, missionary work, and leadership at my catholic girls youth group

12. do you have pets? doggie!!!!!

13. how tall are you? i think i am like 5’7 now

14. favourite subject in school? visual arts & religion! (can i consider friday morning Mass as a subject too?!? yes its the sacrifice of the Mass but its also a time where i can listen and learn more especially during the liturgy of the word)

15. dream job? working in the law of child advocacy or perhaps even doing something on behalf of the crown attorney! i also wanna keep art as my side job and make pieces in my free time. when i grow up if it does happen i think my biggest and most valuable and rewarding job would be being a mom, though. it seems so faith deepening in a way to me! i would really love to cultivate a lifestyle where i can balance both work and homemaking. <3

this was so fun to do!!!! okay so basically my blog is actually pretty small and i dont think i even happen to have like near 15 mutuals but it is ok. in fact i share moots with the lovely that tagged me and u beat me to tagging most of them haha!! but whoever wants some silly little fun questions can totally copy paste this and share their answrs!!!!! i love learning about everyone here so if u find this on ur dash go ahead <3 God bless

[silvanoir]

recently watched horror

No spoilers for anything character-related. 

NOPE (movie)- Finally saw this the other week. Held off for a long time because the 2 things I heard about it were “its gory” and “its a movie about how bad the audience is for wanting to watch movies” and having watched it... that’s not it at all.  1) it’s not gory, its BLOODY.  Gore to me means guts spilling out and limbs ripped off.  There is, at one point, a whole house’s worth of blood, and sounds of violence off-screen, but no real gore.  2) It’s critical of the entertainment industry and “spectacle”, but I’d more say the theme is the desire to be seen and the horror of being seen.

The Last of Us (tv) (1st 3 episodes)- I did not play the game, but have seen screencaps and gifs of it, so had a vague idea of what it was about (middle-aged man and teenage girl navigating through the mushroom apocalypse) but had no idea so much of the show so far would take place in Massachusetts!  I’ve been to that museum!  The stairs ARE creaky! There were shoulder-to-shoulder crowds at Fanueil Hall in the early 2000s, but not actual zombies, just tourists lol.   Episodes 3-  those are the wrong pine trees!  I think these scenes were filmed in Canada, not Mass.  Not to say there can’t be those kinds of evergreens here and there but they are artificially planted... the actual forest would have white pines and swamp cedars (and plenty of oaks, birches, and maples mixed in).

That’s at least 3 kinds of fungi (cordyceps, mycelium, shelf mushrooms) combined in the show that make up the infection, none of which are major concerns to human health in the real world.  There are fungi that increase their chances of infecting humans the hotter the climate gets, but its not cordyceps, you only have to worry about that if you’re an ant.  https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/index.html .   Candida is the one you’ve got to worry about in the real world... that’s what destroyed my mother’s kidneys, blood, and brain and even when they got the infection out after trying again and again at 3 different hospitals, she was never the same, left her ill and suffering from dementia, and she eventually died.  So yes be afraid of fungal infections, but you’re not going to grow side-of-trees mushrooms out of your face anytime soon.

[broken-lycan]

tagged by @terryfphanatics​!! thank you :D

What book are you currently reading?

Maritime Murder by Steve Vernon It’s not quite what I thought it would be heading in but it is good either way. It’s about a bunch of murders that happened in coastal towns in canada between somewhere in the 1700s to the early 1900s. none of them (so far) actually happen at sea.

What's your favourite movie you saw in a cinema this year?

I haven’t gone to the cinema in a bunch of years. the last film I saw in cinema was either thor ragnarok or the last of the hobbit films.

What do you usually wear?

At home sweatpants and a jumper (plus some layers underneath cause I like to be comfy). out and about, pants and depending on the weather a tshirt, longsleeve, jumper or a combination of those, layering is your friend. and I like wearing my super cool steampunk-ish coat, its about ankle long and I love it. it makes me feel cool.

How tall are you?

173cm. which I think is 5′8?

What's your star sign?

Leo

Do you share your birthday with a celebrity or historical event?

Not to my knowledge

Do you go by your name or a nickname?

irl I go by my name, its only five letters long to begin with and it cant really be shortened. online I go by a few names, brokenfannibal, broken-lycan and Fenn have been/are online names. I’ve been thinking about putting Lucian in my bio as a name, cause thats a strong contender for when I at some point get my name legally changed.

Did you grow up to be what you wanted to be as a child?

In some ways yes. As a child I always loved people who dressed alternative (punk, goth, grunge, emo etc) and now I dress like that!!! :D child me would like that.

Are you in a relationship? Who is your crush if not?

not in a relationship and dont have a crush

What's something you're good at versus something you're bad at?

I’m good at creative things generally, mainly writing and drawing. I cant keep even the most simple of rhythms steady for the life of me. I’ve never been good at that.

Dogs or cats?

It’s gotta be cats. I like cats more than dogs, plus with dogs for me its more like... appreciation from a distance. dogs can be very loud and very hyperactive. and I have a cat who I love very much so maybe I’m a little biased.

What's something you'd like to create content for?

hmmm.... whatever takes my fancy at the moment really. I want to write more broadchurch fics. but thats inevitably gonna happen.

What's something you're currently obsessed with?

which blorbo rotates around my head right now? xD ray levine from stay close is a likely candidate.

What's something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

its too early to say for this year (2023) but for 2022 it was that I had hoped to get an apprenticeship spot at one of the zoos I applied at. I even did internships there but nope. didnt get accepted at any of them.

What's a hidden talent of yours?

I dont think I really have one? my craftiness maybe? thats not sth that comes up a lot.

Are you religious?

no

What's something you wish to have at this moment?

my cat in my lap? xD does that count?

tagging (no pressure): @hurtslikeyourmouth @some-thrilling-heroics @out-grid @look-man-my-onions-are-hutching @made-in-rivendell

[purplesurveys]

1879

1. Do you enjoy rhododendrons? Why did I think this was a shape? Anyway, I just looked this up and they're very pretty for sure! They *kind of* remind me of peonies, which are my favorite.

2. Have you ever met someone who supports Nazism? I haven't met anyone irl but I've come across brainrotted people on Facebook who've tried to pull off stupid Nazi shit. Filipinos are great at making stuff go viral though lmao so afaik those people have since been suspended.

3. If you’ve ever been to another country, what was the best thing you did there? The obvious answer is going to Thailand to see BTS' Suga in concert. Apart from that, the best thing I've ever done was have local sushi in Japan. I didn't even go to a fancy fine dining restaurant – it was this random diner-like spot we found at a nondescript block at 4 PM. And yet it was the best sushi platter I've ever had.

4. Which is your favorite print: Plaid, animal, stripes, spots, other? I like the look of stripes the most, but overall I'd still avoid print.

5. Have you ever owned a cell phone for over a year? If so, was it still working well? I've never owned a cellphone for less than a year...so, yes. Mine is still working well, but the battery is well under its capacity since I've always had a bad habit of letting it play videos all night long.

6. What’s the worst sickness you’ve ever had? Food poisoning has always been terrible to me. My stint with Covid was also pretty rough. Managed to avoid it for three years, then once it caught up to me it certainly did a great job transforming me into a corpse for a week.

7. What do you enjoy more: Fairs or circuses? Fairs.

8. Is your favorite animal something you can have as a pet? Dogs yes, elephants nope.

9. Are you good at gardening? No, never tried it.

10. What was the last classic novel you read? Did you enjoy it? I started Around the World in Eighty Days but never got around to finishing it. It was nice; I just never had the time to read the whole thing.

11. Do you think you would actually read any of the epic poems, such as Beowulf or The Iliad? We took up both of those – Beowulf for sure, Iliad I'm almost certain we did, if I'm remembering correctly. Learning them both was a fun experience but I wasn't passionate enough to put like 105% into analyzing them lol if that makes sense. I just wanted to do well enough to pass.

12. Are you the type of person who feels guilty after eating junk food? I don't feel guilty but I will feel gross because the oiliness kicks in so fast, lol.

13. Tell me about a time when you felt like you had no real friends: I was in 6th grade, everyone was obsessed with the latest trends and had a Blackberry and were hanging out at Eastwood on the weekend and had a solid set of friends. At that point Angela started finding new friends too and was adjusting so much better than I ever would have at the time; my two next closest friends migrated to Canada and New Zealand in rapid succession; and the only friend I had was super unstable and wasn't exactly the most well-behaved nor the teacher's favorite. I had a shit life at home and my mom was in her peak rage phase...idk. It was a year where I didn't talk very much.

14. Have you ever felt betrayed by someone? If so, what did they do to make you feel that way? Sure, it's happened. Just stuff I don't feel like getting into.

15. Which is better: Xbox 360 or PS3? Or are you someone who doesn’t care? I don't care and don't think of them in terms of which one is better - but in my family we've always had Playstations.

16. Have you gotten registered to vote yet? I registered when I wasn't even 18 yet, haha. I was very excited to be able to vote.

17. What do you like best about your favorite actor? How about favorite actress? I don't have a favorite actor. As for Kate Winslet, girl just knocks it out of the park in everything she's ever acted in. She's just so good at playing roles of unconventional, deeply troubled characters, digging into that character's psyche and creating a personality for it that will be memorably Hers. I'll allllways always always love her.

18. Tell me how you’re feeling in another language: Pagod.

19. Would you rather drink water all day or Coca Cola all day? Water.

20. Name three movies which have a soundtrack you really love: I don't really pay attention to movie OSTs tbh.

21. Do you think Gatorade tastes refreshing or just gross? Haven't had Gatorade in yearsssssssss.

22. What’s the scariest video game you’ve ever played? Not sure. I don't get spooked much by video games.

23. Do either of your parents get angry over small things? My mom does, 100%.

24. What is the most dramatic TV show that you watch? Grey's Anatomy has to be up there, lmao. Queen of Tears was also such a rollercoaster of a watch.

25. Do you still watch VHS tapes? Nope.

26. Have you ever visited one of the states that doesn’t have sales tax? Was it a nice change? I've never been to the States.

27. Have you ever had Dutch Brothers’ coffee? Nope.

28. What are your grandparents like? Are they nice or mean? They are very kind, very loving people – my grandparents on my dad's side are not very verbally expressive when it comes to love, but they definitely show it and they are very sweet in doing so; like my grandma offering to massage my shoulders and braid my hair, and my grandpa making me his signature snacks and meals.

My grandma on my mom's side is far more expressive; she'll call everyday to check on us, say I love you, hug us...but then again we grew up with her so that's probably why it's easier for her to do these things with us. Both are, understandably given their generation, very traditional and having them consider more modern ways of thinking is Actually impossible. LGBT+ anything is always gonna be wrong, divorce is wrong, abortion is wrong, I can't go out wearing shorts, I should find a man who will treat me well, Jesus is the way the truth the life blahblahblahblah...

29. Do you own any pet fish? What kind of fish are they? Nope.

30. Do you have a turntable and vinyls that you regularly play? I do not. I've always wanted one, but I don't think I'd be able to sustain it as a hobby.

31. What is the most irritating thing that a boyfriend or girlfriend has ever done to you? Gaslighting. :)

32. Have you ever thrown up from being so nervous? What was happening that made you so nervous? Nah, but I've cried from nerves. We were having org elections and I was up for a vice-presidential position and it was going to be my first miting de avance...so I ended up having a quick lil breakdown of sorts.

33. Would you rather be uncomfortable but fashionable or comfortable but unfashionable? Uncomfortable but fashionable. It's nice to look cute, at least for me lol. As much as possible I try to balance both, but yeah.

34. When was the last time you took your pet to the vet? What was wrong with it? There was nothing wrong with them; I just needed to get them anti-tick meds because it's required at the dog hotel we were having them board in last week.

35. Have you ever known someone who was in an abusive relationship? Yuh.

36. If you smoke/drink/do drugs, do you feel insulted when someone tells you that it’s bad for you? Well, no, because it's true.

37. Do you like skiing or snowboarding? Have never done either.

38. Do you find government buildings dreary and uncomfortable? Some of them are, but the others are beautifully-made – like our post office and our national museums :)

39. Name the last horror story you read. If you can’t remember any, name the last horror movie you saw. Feng Shui. Hahahaha

40. What happened the last time you were embarrassed? Drew was telling me frankly to get new glasses because he saw mine had a crack.

[brothalynchhung]

2023 overview part 2

since when was there a text limit?

anywho lolla was so much even if i was alone

chicago food slapped the city was so much fun and yeah just enjoy being in america

the record stores 🫡

that kokoroko story omg the fact that i went to the same places as new jeans just a few days apart 😭 but still that store was my 80s dreams

BUT YEAH I SAW NEW JEANS AND TXT LIVE

JID RHCP DESTROY LONELY A BOOGIE BAEBADOOBEE KENDRICK AGAIN

so much fun honestly the vibes of an american music festival r unmatched

loved summer so much

then i went back to toronto and just waited for the torment to be over cuz i just wanted to get the fuck out of there

seriously chilling w that bitch nd her weird ass bf was hell

literally toronto was the worst place i went to this year.. lol

anyways its over and never happening again

now i know forsure im never going back i HAVE to make it somewhere else

ANYWAYS i left canada then came back around sept and had to deal w moving out

left my old isolated place

gunna miss that view tho lol and my old gym / salon but othat than thaat... BYE

then moved in w nada which is going okay i guess whatever

im in a weird limbo state in my life rn -_- after an amazing few months of travelling idk what the hell going on

i quickly got a job LOL ofc but i kinda got into it/entered it not rlly knowing what the fawk was happening in my life like uh yeah i guess okay lets just do this cuz i need to sell my furniture and put it somewhere and i need a visa

legit its just for the visa until i figure out where i wanna go -_- bUTTT

i havent had much time to even think about that or my future cuz...

of that stupid ass discord. .. group -_-

look its not even the group idc about them like yeah nice weirdos woo whatelse is new

but that stupid ass day i decided to go to the korean restaurant.. -_-

like i was doing so well man but then my eyes set on fire

im still figuring it out but whatever idk

like work was good tbh it doesnt even FEEL like work cuz yeah tbh after that hell job i just dont care about labor anymore like nah im NEVER putting my whole pussy into a job ever again im putting myself first always now so this current job just doing feel like shit

actually its kinda helping me get my mind off this bitch

idk man i met that bitch and now i cant stop thinking about him

blah blah typically me shit i obsess over someone and daydream crazy about them idk

hes cute tho ig i think hes better than all those other bitches i been w

OH ANOTHER THING THO I FINALLY BROKE MY 2 ALMOST 3 YEAR SPELL

thank god 😩

i mean it didnt go the way i would have wanted to..

i move too fast -_- and i think that was the problem

but after that spell broke i thought i would be done w it but nope

im crazy and started to get depressed

idk what i want or if im just using this bitch as a distraction from work/figuring out life

idk what i want bc obv this bitch isint anything special hes just kinda cute? but whatever HES NOT GL

so many red flags but im acting like a bull

brrr whatever the biggest this is just selling that fucking ass furniture

anyways the whole end of this year was just the new job, this bitch and me going crazy

the new job is fun the ppl are nice the client is annoying but its manageable thank god we got wfh but yeah even in office isint bad the ppl r nice which is the best part

the partying.. lol girl -_- i need to slow it down i cant keep on getting lit BECAUSE HONESTLY whats ruining me is the drinking

maybe if that bitch didnt exist in my life i would be fine and have control but jeesuss its like im trying to forget my current situation through him then try to forget him through partying and bullshit -________-

god please send me gl .. or whatever

or maybe i just need to act normal and stop being fucking crazy over a bitch i barely know that will do nothing for me and go back to focusing on getting shit done and FORWARD with my life

yeah -_-

anyways end of the year partying wooo work friends woo this weird discord chat group wooo delusions wooo

gym movies books learning japanese learning music theory (which i rlly need to get back to...) videos skateboarding art basically always encompasses my years

i just need to put myself out there more idk i need to get out of my head and start to do more

which is were im at perfectly idk why i had to go so crazy from oct-dec but whatever i think its over now

i cant suffer forever

anyways this was a long ass busy crazy year with so much travel beginnings and endings moving cutting off and meeting new people... im so so so grateful despite the emotional breakdowns and work stress and this bitch stress im sooo happy i think this was such a fun year and yeah we need ups and downs..

pluto in aquarius eh? so shit about to get crazier... nice -_-

i just want to make videos do my website idk FIGURE OUT WHERE I WANT TO LIVE sell my furniture and yeah ofc read read read movies movies movies be HEALTHY create more and realign my brain w my goals after this dumb bitch entered my life ugh (im doing it to myself fr) anddd idk what else make friends that are like me and MOVE FORWARD

remember self CONTINUE!! CONTINUE!!!

see u next year and hey future self if ur reading this i love you u can do it U SURVIVED THIS YEAR U CAN DO IT

[inwintersolitude]

- July 17th 2023 -

What's on your to-do list for today? Not much. Just some housework - I need to load/run the dishwasher, vacuum, and get caught up on my expense tracking spreadsheet.

Do you ever watch movies or TV in bed? Do you use a laptop or do you have a TV? Nope.

What's your favourite thing to cook for house guests? Creamy Tuscan chicken, or penne pasta with roasted zucchini and tomato sauce.

What sort of music did you grow up listening to? Did your parents have a big influence on your music taste today? My mom is a classical pianist so I grew up listening to mostly classical, and also some jazz because my parents took a liking to it when we lived in the New Orleans area in the early 90s. And my dad likes classic prog rock so I listened to a bit of that as well. Classical and classic prog/psychedelic rock are still some of my favorite genres.

Do you remember your dreams? Usually.

Are you at home right now? Yep. I'm in the downstairs bedroom that we use as a bird room. I have a mini portable/collapsible desk that I set up when I want to bring my laptop in here from my study and chill with my birds.

When was the last time it rained where you live? About 10 minutes ago. A thunderstorm just passed through.

Do you think you have a diverse vocabulary? Yes, I'd say so.

Have you ever eaten pawpaw? I've had papaya (I've read that some parts of the world call that pawpaw, I'm not sure if that's what you meant), but I've never eaten what people in the U.S./Canada call pawpaw, that's a different type of tree fruit that's really obscure and not usually cultivated/eaten.

What was the last art or crafts project you worked on? Macro nature photography.

Do you know anyone who's been bitten by a snake? Nope, not that I know of.

What's a slang word or term that's specific to your neck of the woods? For me, in Australia, I would say "old mate" or "frothing" :D Ope! It's the most Midwestern word ever lol. It's an exclamation of mild surprise, and in some uses it's also kind of politely apologetic. Sort of like a mashup of ''oops'' and ''woah!'' and ''pardon me.'' Like if I accidentally bumped into someone I'd say ''Ope, sorry, I didn't see you there!'' Or if I had misplaced something and then suddenly found it I'd say ''Ope, there it is!''

Do you know how to ice skate? When was the last time you went, if ever? Barely. I think the last time I went was in 2008-ish? I vaguely remember going to my university's ice area with some friends but I can't remember if I joined them in skating or not. If not, then the last time actually skated was at my 10th birthday party.

Dogs or cats? You must pick one! I honestly can't decide! So much of it depends on the individual animal and its temperament. I like well-behaved and calm dogs more than most cats, but I like most cats more than neurotic/needy/high-strung dogs.

Are there any animals or creatures that scare you? Just spiders and centipedes. And scorpions but I've never seen one in real life.

Do you like watermelon? Yes I love watermelon.

Is your backyard or outdoor year tidy or messy? It's tidy, except for the garden hose in the back yard that's just kind of laying there rather than on a reel.

Have you ever played organised team sports, like in a league? Yep, all throughout my childhood. I played soccer from ages 5-10, and softball from ages 5-13.

What are you insecure about? My teeth, sort of. My tooth enamel didn't develop properly, it was a side effect of antibiotics I had to be on as a baby, because of a birth defect that caused frequent kidney/bladder infections. I want to get veneers but I need to get my TMJ issues and slight overbite fixed first. I had orthodontics when I was growing up but the orthodontist failed to address my malocclusion and made it worse.

Okay, what are you secure about then? Who I am. My personality and sense of self.

What's your favourite kind of puzzle? Sudoku puzzles, or nonogram puzzles.

Do you ever use the bathroom with the door open? Yep. I usually only use the en suite bathroom in my bedroom (so that I can keep the downstairs guest bathroom cleaner for longer), so it's no biggie if I keep the door open.

When was the last time you took an elevator, and where were you? A few months ago, at my doctor's office.

What last made you feel sad? Seeing my Granddad deal with dementia. And seeing how it affects my Granny.

Have you ever received a gift hamper? What did it contain? I have, but it's been so long since I got one of those that I don't remember what was in it.

Are you using a phone, laptop, desktop or tablet right now? Maybe something else entirely? Laptop.

What sort of movies do you tend to watch? I don't watch movies super often, but I like science fiction, psychological thrillers, and historical dramas.

What colours are you wearing today? Navy blue, black, and white.

How often do you use your microwave? What did you last put in it? Not very often, maybe like once a week? I think the last thing I put in there were some of the leftovers that I brought back from dinner at my parent's house last Wednesday.

Who's the last person you messaged and what did you say? My husband. I sent ''You're sweet 🥰"

[kayleezra]

15 QUESTIONS

Thanks for the tag @writer-darling💚💚💚

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope, but my mom wanted my name to be Abigail but hated the idea of people calling me Abby so... that's now my middle name.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Last night, I saw this stupid sad TikTok about a daughter talking to her dad who has dementia and doesn't remember her and he said that he had the best daughters a father could ask for 😭

3. Do you have kids?

Absolutely not, I don't think you could pay me enough money to be either! (why are kids sticky all the time?!?!)

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

My guy... my mouth gets me in trouble 99% of the time alright, I don't just use it, I abuse it.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Kinda cheesy but their smile and demeanour, even from a stranger you can tell a lot about how they're doing in that moment by their smile (or lack thereof) and demeanour.

6. What’s your eye colour?

Blue 🧿👃🧿 (that's me looking at you, I'm an avid part of the bully-blue-eyes community)

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies easy, I usually find happy endings too cheesy and I prefer emotional torture and angst 😂

8. Any special talents?

Nada, umm... oh well I can move/wiggle my ears and will move my ears back if things are too loud like a dog lol

9. Where were you born?

Winnipeg, MB, Canada, please don't call it 'Winterpeg', we get it it's cold here!

10: What are your hobbies?

Oof, I have a revolving door of hobbies but I enjoy writing (duh) and reading and whenever I can some sort of art, I usually just do graphite/ink sketches.

11. Have you any pets?

Yes! And they're my world! There's Lexi who's a 10 y/o boxer mastiff, and her best friend Karma, a 4y/o chihuahua pom mix.

12: What sports do you play/have you played?

Well... I did gymnastic one year, then did cheer the next. I played volleyball for a couple years, and have been an avid swimmer since I was tiny. Oh and archery if you count it! (Don't be fooled I'm not athletic)

13: How tall are you?

Max 5'2", maybe 5'1" (my drivers license says I'm 4'10" tho lmao)

14. Favourite subject in school?

It was math!

15. Dream job?

Another oof, I think *dream* job would be a writer, I'd love to spend my days getting lost in my words. However, I don't think its a plausible/ sustainable career FOR ME (others absolutely). As for what I CAN do given the track I'm on... I have no clue and that terrifies me 😀

NPT: @faithiegirl01

[madchild-dennis]

Now Episode 4:

You know if they didn't push them so hard, they would be the glue that help make that monarch relevant. But they pushed and pushed till they pushed them out. (Their loss). Now watch God push them out too 🤣🤣

Awww I'm glad she was happy and calm

I definitely remember watching the wedding and the guests arrive. Oh yea I was surprised there was a black pastor. It definitely felt more spicy and less bland.

Oh YEA THE GOSPEL CHOIR!!!

I definitely space out after they reach the alter until the pastor, and the Gospel CHOIR of course.

Oh wait I think I didn't watch ALL of it just the walks and guests and and the highlights. Timezone difference I guess. But I think I'd be working. To can catch it.

Yea MEGHAN was PERFECT for tha family in EVERY WAY! She was what would make them relevant. But SIGH!!!!

Oh my heart. I didn't know about that fire. Especially knowing the fact that there were complaints ignored that caused so many lives lost and lives displaced. Sigh. 😢😣

Oh sounds VERY FAMILIAR!!!

They are threatened so they try to box you in or make you irrelevant. Did it with Diana who did NOT have a husband beside her to fight with and for her and now M but she has H. I wonder if that's where my parents GOT their rule book. No wait that sounds like if its not the royals who they got it from it must be the TRUE MASTERMIND (he isn't even a mastermind just a copy and paster and think it'll work again) behind it: THE DEVIL. The devil isn't even that smart to do something new when trying to whisper in these people ear about trying to take down someone. Like NOT ONE CREATIVE BONE 🙄😑

Bruh I remember when it happened an Di saw the articles and the ones showing the ridiculousness.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 bruh the DEVIL IS NOT EVEN CHANGE THE WORDING...They dubbed her the Antichrist or a version of it too? 🤣🤣🤣. The DEVIL is so NOT creative. Bruh and these people who let the Devil use them are SOOOOO CLUELESS. My gosh man.

Yea we saw it too.

😢☹️😟💔

I love Doria man 😢

Awww don't worry Harry we forgive you and you should too. I bet if they fought from inside then there would have been more problems.

I agree Harry. TAKE THEM THE FUCK ON!!! FIGHT THEM!!!

Nope they didn't care to stop it.

I wanna hear this, BECAUSE I REMEMBER hearing about a feud over and over again about the brothers and their wifes. Especially,

I want friends like that 🥲😢...sigh

Awww I remember the tabloids reveal she was in NYC for the baby shower. Sigh. Awww. They completely shattered such a beautiful thing.

Awww

Awww H looks so happy. About his baby boy.

Yes, normal people WAIT until the parents are READY. I remember reading articles commending it though. Because of health or how comfortable the mothers are or not are right after birth. But I also get it from in the ancient days. Because they wanted to SEE that the Monarch is still fine. That the new heirs were born healthy and the wife aren't lying to the King or the royals lying to the masses. You know how they were were like especially Edward VIII chopping off heads and fighting for the throne 🙄.

Oh yea I remember that 🙄🤦🏾‍♀️. Sigh.

Yesss he's HER baby.

Awww. The nanny seems so FUN.

Awww look at Archie

Awww I love the nanny.

He's so cute. Cute lil Archie.

*applause* ok Maya Angelou

Oh yea the first time we saw Archie in public.

Oh yea I remember this. The interview we all see it. And how relieved that someone was asking if she was ok. We all saw it in Canada 😢😭

Yea we saw it. #WELOVEYOUMEGHAN

I remember this.

Now with everything I feel it even more than just being a new mom. Because of EVERYTHING she was going through PLUS being a NEW mom. 😭😢

Yea tabloids were NOT speaking for us. The masses.

😅 I love the song/instrumental at the credits...YOU DON'T OWN ME!!!

[newluddite]

Smoke and mirrors and bad math.

There has been a mini scandal about wood pellets. In British Columbia we cut down trees. Mostly to make boards for building stuff. They like to say its for houses and useful needed things. One useful needed thing is wood pallets to strap stuff to for handling for shipping in trucks. A lot of trees go into that. Very often when they are worn out they are shredded and made into pellets for fuel.

When you cut up boards the shavings and sawdust is usable for crap wood sheets called MDF and pellets for fuel. That is where the idea for pellet fuel is from. Turn waste into something useful. Otherwise they burned it years ago.

You can buy funky wood stoves that burn pellets with automatic feeders for your home. It started out modestly.

Now clever scammers in the UK convinced the government that burning wood waste for fuel to make electricity is carbon neutral or sustainable or anyway a good thing. Not only have they convinced the UK government to let them do it, they got HUGE subsidies to help them do it.

The company is called DRAX. That IS the name of the villain in one of the less good James Bond movies. Oh and they are a villainous lot. They sell the idea of converting waste to energy, but they bought some operations in BC and cut down forests to turn them directly into pellets and shipped them across the planet to make electricity.

All that takes power and fuel and has its own emissions and leaves out the useful products step.

Drax runs the biggest power station in the UK. They say they are so green!

Errr nope not true. Not even a bit.

A few years ago I worked on a proposal for flue gas scrubbers to clean the exhaust from such a plant to be built in Denmark. When I got the details I thought; "who the fuck thinks this is a good idea?" The exhaust gasses are dirty and corrosive and scrubbers are critical to make it not cause serious health issues apart from carbon emissions. We make scrubbers.

But I could not get my head around it. Who would believe this nonsense?

Really basically a tree in our area takes 80 to 100 years to grow. A nice tree is about 10 cubic meters in volume. In dried pellettized form that weighs 6000 kg and contains 110 giga joules of energy. A joule is a Watt per second.

At 30% efficiency that makes 3 Megawatt hours of power in that tree. A medium size thermal plant is say 500 MW capacity. So that one tree will fuel it for 20 minutes. You take something that grows in 80 years and burn it in 20 minutes. Another way to look at it is 80 years worth of atmospheric carbon absorption is put back in the air in 20 minutes. Yes it came from the air but carbon neutrality must take time into account. You are emitting it 2.1 million times faster than it was collected.

Look at it this way. Coal is carbon ranging from almost 100% to a bit less. It comes from ancient peat deposits from wet lands formed millions of years ago. They were buried and compressed and cooked a bit until they were coal. It too came out of the atmosphere, just a very long time ago.

If you want to be neutral you have to take stuff out at the same or greater rate than you put it back into the atmosphere. Rate means time.

So once again fast talking con-artists sell the gullible on a bad idea.

"Figures don't lie, but liars can figure."

[x3kristax3]

Part 15

It's been 6 months since I moved out here and everything has been going so smoothly. I've kind of missed the convenience of the city but as Im getting ready to go get a Christmas tree for the apartment i find myself so happy to be surrounded by the friends I have.

Richy has warmed his way back into my heart and were all out finding the perfect tree. I hear my phone ring and its Ashley.

"Hey girl" i say "hey Dan I think this is the one me"

"Hey what you doing right now?" She asks

"Christmas tree shopping why?"

"I think you should turn around" she says

I turn around and shes standing there i throw my phone in my pocket and run up to her. "How did you find me?"

"A little bird told me" she says

I turn around and catch Jake and Jessy looking and smiling.

"How long you in town?"  I ask

"Well thats the thing I got a one way ticket. Right now my job is remote so its perfect for the holidays" 

"I thought you werre going to canada to see your parents"

"Oh i did but i didn't want to stay so i decided to reach out and come out here" 

"Well lets get your bags in Jake's jeep and get you a hot coco" i say as i turn around and Dan is marking my tree with the tag. "Jake can i have your keys?" I ask

He heads this way "ill help you. I need a refill anyways of hot coco" he says wrapping his arm around me

"Seriously can you two get any cuter?" Says Ashley

Jessy runs up "oh don't tempt them"

"Oh I know ive seen the pictures on IG. Oh by the way who's that guy at the bar with you?"

I roll my eyes "no no no" i say "not that one nope"

Jessy laughs "oh come on Krista he deserves what you have"

"Jessy no."

"Come on you know he's my type" ashley says 

"Yeah your bad boy type. That never ends well for you. We end those relationships either passed out from a food coma or alcohol so no" i say as we put her bags in Jakes car

"Maybe not this one" she says

"Jessy help me on this one. You know what to say to get girls away from him"

"Actually I'm not gonna this time. He's been doing really good since you started helping him and he deserves to be happy"

"Fine but don't say I didn't warn you. His name is Phil, he's my boss and the owner. He is 100% your typical bad boy I don't work tonight but maybe we can go for some drinks"

"Sounds perfect" she says we all go grab another hot coco and find the rest of the group i introduce ashley to the rest of them and we finish the trees and them all loaded on the truck to be delivered.

Her and I are sitting in the kitchen of my place. "Ash you need to know something."

"What is it Kris" she says looking at me as she drinks the hot drink

"When i moved out here Phil did try and shoot his shot with me. Obviously things with Jake were already strong but i dont think he go over thst rejection"

"Thanks im use to that being your best friend. You always attract them they shoot their shot and then i try" 

"Haha that is true. I swear though i wish i could find you a guy like Jake. He's perfect i swear."

"He treats you like the queen you are and you deserve but he seems to keep you in check which is what you exactly need"

"YES! I knew you would get it. You know my crazy side. Not gonna lie just before he asked me to be his girlfriend he got a little pulled back and i got worried I was gonna lose him but everything worked out" i say as i see my keys and look at the one he gave me. I notice something new on it and pick it up.

"What is it?" Ash says

"This is the keychain he gave me with his house key. Ive used it so many times but this is the first time ive seen this on it" i look at it and its a little heart charm attached

"Has he had your keys recently?"

Yeah last week when i was working and we got a ton of snow and i asked him to drive my mustang and i drove his jeep cause i didn't want to wreck it. My keys haven't been used since cause he's been taking me until we can get me vehicle thats good for snow"

"Well lets go check your mustang in the garage"

We head out there and on the dashboard is a box with a heart on it with a note attached

I instantly grab it and open the letter

Well you either found this on your own or I told you on christmas about this. So merry Christmas babe

"Hmmm i wonder whats inside the box" says Ashley 

I open it up and inside is another key but no note

" um i gotta call him"

Calls jake but he doesn't answer so I calls Jessy

"Hey is jake still dropping you all off?"

"Yeah hes just about to drop me off why?" She says

"Put him on the phone please"

"Everything okay?" Jake says

"Yes and no…. I found the gift in the mustang but im confused. There isn't anything more"

"Well you will have to wait or figure it out on your own" he says as he hangs up

"Well i guess no bar tonight cause now i wanna know what this is too" 

"Open your trunk maybe?"

I open the trunk and inside is a box with a key opening. I open it up and inside is another letter

I quickly realized your gonna need something for winter in Duskwopd besides the Mustang so if you can get over to Rogers, Richy knows what to do with this key

As a key falls out of the note

I call Richy

"Hey Krista"

"Im on a puzzle mission…. You at the garage?"

"Nope but i cant be everything okay with the Mustang?"

"Yeah but can you come pick me up and take me there i cant get out of the garage and your suppose to know what to do with this key"

"Yeah give me a bit"

All of a sudden a group message comes through

Jake she knows says Richy

Well now I know something is really up. You better be on your way to me and Jake better head to the garage i text back

Jake calls me "your too dang good at these puzzles you know?" Ill come get you and ashley and take you guys there. Richy will meet us there"

"Good cause i wanna know what this key is too"

Jake pulls up to the garage with ashley and I and Richy is already there. I show Richy the key and he smiles as he tells us to follow him. He walks inside to the shop to the far end bay door where theres an SUV with a bow on it

"Merry early Christmas" says Jake as he kiss my cheek

"Your joking right?" Says Ashley as im just frozen

"Nope when she made the decision to move out here we all started putting the money together as we could to get this. I put the most so they said its only fair i give it to her."

I open the driver side door and sit in it and start crying as i do i see something sparkly ib the middle area. Jake opens the passenger side door and grabs it real fast.

"What was that?" I say

"Something you have to wait for i wasn't expecting you to find this so fast so i hid another gift in it" he smiles

Ashley sees him put a ring in his pocket as im looking at the car she walks up to him. "As her longest best friend i need to know what that was" she says

Jake laughs "nah cause if you know she will know and that has to wait for Christmas"

"Tell me just yes or no then to a question"

Jake agrees

"Are you planning to propose?"

"No" says Jake

Ashley backs away not pushing her luck. She opens the backseat and climbs in. "I think it's time we hit up that bar" 

Jake pops his head in "i don't think thats a good idea with the storm rolling in"

"Well then i guess we all just go to my place including Phil for a movie and drinking night" i say as i send a group text movie and drinks at my place tonight as i hit send Phil calls me

"Hey i was just about to text you" i say

"Krista can you come to the bar i need help getting out some customers so i can close it down before this storm rolls in"

"Okay if after you stop at my place for movies and drinks with everyone including a friend from out of town and you pay me double"

"Deal. Drive safe but see you soon"

I hang up i look at Jake "meet me at my place and grab some pizza" i say handing him some cash

"Where you going?" He asks

"Phil needs my help at the bar then I'll be there. I'll be safe I promise you"

"I rather send ashley and richy to your place and join you. These roads are getting bad."

"You're not gonna let me do anything else huh?"

"Nope"

"Fine" i take the cash back and hand Ashley my house key "grab some pizzas and stuff with Richy we will call you when where on the way"

"Awh man okay" she says wanting to meet Phil

[idontgiveaflyinggrayson69]

Life As We Know It | Part 3

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove​ @dylancozzys @matbarzyy​ @notaccurateornice​ @hockeywocs​ @ggggmoneyyyy​ @great-puck-work​ @calgarycanuck​ @toplinetommy​ @fiveholegoal​ @itrocksmysocks​ @joelsfarabee​ @shawnsreputation​ @iangiemae​ @gravyoverall @newlibrary @stlbluesbrat​ @c-tangerine​ @yzas-stuff​ @canadianheaters​ @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @jeylia-haj​ @roopehintz​ @dreamsndior​ @bestestbenn @2manytabsopen​ [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 6k

Warnings: None. 

Comments: The moment a lot of you have been waiting for… Please let me know what you think! xx

(c) nat g. 2021 // do not repost, do not claim as your own

Anthony has had a few bad days.

Placing 6th at the World Juniors back in 2016. Being a healthy scratch for Team Canada in 2018. Losing in the Conference Finals to the eventual Cup Champions just last year. They were all up there.

But none of them compared to the morning he had to tell his mother he had a baby.

Originally, Tess had given him his privacy as she cared for Sorel, which wasn’t hard because she was asleep for most of it. But, as Anthony’s French got quicker and more desperate, she moved to sit beside him on the couch to offer emotional support.

The conversation went on forever and eventually Sorel woke up and Tess was forced from her best friend’s side to care for her and by the time she had finished changing and feeding her, Anthony was off the phone with his head in his hands.

“I know what will make you feel better,” Tess whispered with a light laugh and Anthony lifted his head, a smile working its way onto his lips as he saw Sorel.

“Yeah,” he breathed before taking her. “She can make everything better, can’t she?”

Tess hummed and sat down next to them. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked after a few minutes.

“Nope,” he replied, popping the ‘p.’ Tess nodded and didn’t push him. She didn’t have to understand French to know that it hadn’t gone well, and she could relate. If she had to tell her mom she was pregnant… She couldn’t imagine how that conversation would go and Anthony was dropping that he had a baby, not going to have one. Really, Tess did feel for Mrs Beauvillier.

She gave Anthony a reassuring pat on the thigh before getting up to put something together for lunch and realized that one of them was going to have to do groceries pretty soon. She grabbed a notepad out of the drawer and started a short list of things to get off the top of her head and pinned it to the fridge before making some quick wraps for lunch.

She ate her wrap before carrying Anthony’s over to the living room and sitting it on the coffee table. “Thank you,” he whispered and gently passed her Sorel to eat.

After lunch, they put on the TV and had a random show on low while they focused on Sorel, who eventually fell back asleep on her dad’s chest, making Tess’s heart ache with love.

By midafternoon, some of the nursery stuff she had ordered (and expedited) showed up, so they ended up spending the rest of the afternoon putting the nursery together, building and arranging the furniture, hanging and folding the clothes, and hanging cute wall decor to cover the bare cream walls.

When it was all said and done, Tess even grabbed Duckie, pressing one last kiss to the top of the Duck’s head before putting it in the crib.

The hospital also ended up calling and it became official, she really was Sorel Willow Beauvillier.

Sorel still slept in the portable crib in his room that night because he wasn’t ready to let her go.

By the time Friday night rolled around, Anthony was much more settled into his new role as a dad and he couldn’t be happier. It didn’t matter that he had to get up a couple times in the night or how loudly she cried, looking into her eyes, holding her in his arms, she was always going to be worth it.

Friday night, he and Tess ended up on the couch watching the Skill Competition part of the All Star weekend. With all the craziness of the last couple of days, he really enjoyed how routine it was to sit on the couch with Tess and watch hockey. Both of them laughed at some of the fails of the players and cheering Mat on at whatever he was doing. And speaking of Mat…

“You’re going to have to tell the team and soon,” Tess said when they did a close up on him. Anthony groaned and rested his head back against the couch and Tess laughed lightly. “It can’t be worse than having to tell your mom.”

Anthony tightened his lips and looked over at her. “That is true. Nothing could be worse than that call.” Tess laughed and reached over to give him a loving shove and Anthony shoved her back as they watched the rest of the save streak.

Neither of them were surprised when Mat went on to repeat as fastest skater, even if the rest of the sports world was. Anthony watched Mat skate more than anyone and Tess had seen him skate in person much more than the average person, so they knew just how fast he really was.

Anthony didn’t last long after the Skill Competition came to an end. He was still getting used to the newborn routine and the constant getting up in the night left him exhausted. He tried to stay up and enjoy a Friday night with his best friend like they had done so many times before, but his eyes kept drooping, so he bid Tess farewell and went to bed. Tess flipped through the channels for a bit before resigning that she should probably go to bed too and cleaned up a bit before heading to bed.

They watched the All Star Game on Saturday, both disappointed that the Metro didn’t win, but it wasn’t the end of the world, and the Central was stacked with all the Avs that they couldn’t really be mad that they won.

Their Sunday morning was good, him and Tess had found a rhythm for caring for Sorel, and she spent her first night in her own room, which Anthony wasn’t overly thrilled about, but he understood that it had to happen. And he was going to have to go on the road soon, so they both had to get used to not being in the same space.

Didn’t mean he didn’t hate it.

It was Sunday afternoon andTess and Anthony were in the living room with Sorel, Anthony holding Duckie above her while he and Tess laughed when there was a knock at the door. The smile slipped from Tess’s lips as she looked over at Anthony, but he shared her confused expression. He shrugged before he put Duckie down and got up to answer the door.

In hindsight, he probably should have expected this.

“Whattup, bro?” Mat said as soon as the door opened. “Haven’t shave yet this week, I see,” he laughed, pointing out the obvious stubble Anthony had going on since he hadn’t shaved since Sorel was born.

“Barzy,” he breathed, having no idea how this was about to go. He knew that Mat was coming back from All Star weekend this morning so he should have expected that he would show up at his door, especially since he hadn’t really been answering his phone, too busy with Sorel and all.

Mat didn’t wait to be invited in, just pushed his way through. Sorel started to fuss, so Tess pulled her to her chest and stood up, turning to face Mat just as he kicked off his shoes and he froze in his tracks as Anthony closed the door behind him with a cringe.

Whatever was about to happen, he was sure could have been done better.

“Um,” he said slowly, his eyes locked on the baby in Tess’s arms. “When did you have a baby, Tessa?”

“I didn’t,” she said, looking over Mat’s shoulder at Anthony.

“She’s mine,” he whispered from behind Mat, making Mat turn sharply, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

“When did you have a baby?!” He shouted, apologizing when Tessa shushes him. “I go to fucking Sunrise for three days…”

“Remember how I missed the last practice?” Anthony replied, rubbing the back of his neck before walking around Mat and Tessa to go to the kitchen.

Mat followed him, hot on his heels, “YOU HAD HER BEFORE I LEFT AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?!”

Sorel fussed more in Tess’s arms at Mat’s voice and she shushed Mat again as she rocked her, trying to best to keep her from crying, but he didn’t acknowledge her as he waited expectantly for Anthony’s response.

“I didn’t even tell my mom, Barzy,” Anthony told him as he grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge, more to have something to do than anything else. Mat grabbed the bottle from Anthony’s hands and put it on the counter before pulling his best friend in for a hug.

“You should have told me,” Mat whispered as he held him.

Anthony froze, clearly not expecting that from Mat, but he gave his friend a pat on the back before pulling back. “Thanks,” he said with a small laugh.

“I’m VERY upset that you didn’t tell me, like, crazy upset, but I’m happy for you. And now you have to tell me everything. Okay, not everything because I don’t need to know how the baby happened, but yo—” Mat started, but Anthony cut him off.

“Got it! Thank you, Mat,” Anthony said, giving him a pointed look and Mat held his hands up in surrender before turning around and walking towards Tess.

“So, who do we have here?” He asked, looking down at Sorel in Tess’s arms, her blue eyes looking up at Tess. Tess smiled at him and looked over at Anthony.

“Sorel,” he told Mat.

“Well, hello, Sorel,” Mat said in a soft voice. “Can I?” Tess hummed and helped move her into Mat’s arms and he walked over to the couch to take a seat. “This is real, right?” He asked after a moment, looking up at Anthony. “You’re not fucking with me, right?”

Anthony rolled his eyes, “why would I pretend to have a baby to mess with you?”

“Fair,” Mat replied. “And she does have your eyes.” Anthony might have missed the soft smile on Tess’s face, but Mat didn’t.

“Yeah,” Anthony breathed and moved to sit next to him on the couch.

“So, you gonna spill?” Mat asked and Anthony sighed, but started from the top. He had been on the phone with his mom for over an hour, but it only took him a few minutes for him to run through what happen and Mat to nod with acceptance. Telling Mat was much easier than telling his mom.

But then again, Mat had already seen Sorel, and she was in his arms, so it wasn’t like he could argue about it and shame and worry him about everything.

“I still wish you told me,” he whispered looking down at Sorel who had fallen asleep in his arms. “I would have brought something for her, now she’s going to hate me because uncle Mat didn’t pull through.”

“I promise, she won’t hold it against you,” Tess told him and Mat gave her a soft smile.

“The guys are gonna flip their shit, you know that right?” Mat said, looking back over at Anthony.

“Why do you think I didn’t tell them yet?” He replied and Mat laughed.

“You should tell them before practice on Wednesday so we can actually focus on getting back at it before the game Thursday. Give them time to process this, you know? It’s not every day that one of the single guys just rolls up with a whole ass child,” Mat said with a chuckle. He knew that he was holding Sorel in his arms, but it still didn’t really feel real, that his best friend had a baby.

“Yeah,” Anthony agreed. “I will.”

Mat looked over at Tess and she nodded, “I promise to make him tell them.”

“Thank you,” Mat replied before looking back at Anthony. “So, how has the whole dad thing been? Or are you papa? Père?”

“All?” He replied and Mat shrugged before Anthony continued. “I mean, it’s been fine. I mean, I wouldn’t say I’ve been bad but…” He looked over at Tess. “If Tessa wasn’t here, I don’t think I could do it.”

Tess gave him a soft smile back and Mat shook his head at how oblivious his best friend really was. “I’m glad you have someone looking out for you,” Mat told Sorel.

“Yeah,” Anthony whispered, a soft look in his eyes. “Me too.” Mat restrained a smile as he glanced over at Tess before back down at Sorel.

Mat ended up staying for the rest of the afternoon, both because he didn’t want to leave Sorel and because he had no where more exciting to be. When dinner time rolled around, Mat offered to go pick something up and Anthony and Tess weren’t about to say no to that, so after Mat ran out, the three of them ended up having Chipotle for dinner.

When Mat finally decided to head out, he pulled Anthony in for another tight up, clapping his shoulder tightly as he told his friend again how happy he was and “you got this dad thing, Beau. I’m just know it.”

“Thank you,” Anthony breathed, pulling back from the hug. “It means a lot.”

Mat gave him a soft smile and gave his shoulder another squeeze before slipping out, leaving Anthony and Tess alone once again.

Half an hour later he got a text from Mat reminding him to tell the team, making him groan and turn his phone on do not disturb. That was tomorrow’s problem.

And sure enough, the next morning as he was sipping his coffee, his hair still messy from sleep, Tess reminded him that he had to tell the team.

“How would you suggest I do that?” He asked after he groaned.

Tess shrugged, “I don’t know, Beau. Don’t you guys have a group chat? Can’t you post a message like ‘hey guys I have some big news to share with you guys and I hope you don’t freak out about it’?”

Anthony nodded, “you might be on to something.”

Tess hummed with a soft smile, “just ripped the bandaid off, Anthony. The more you draw it out and think about it, the worse it’s going to feel. Just get it over with and let everyone process and then it’s one less thing to worry about.”

Anthony’s expression softened as he looked at Tess. “When did you get so wise?”

Tess rolled her eyes, “while you were busy barking in interviews.”

Anthony threw his head back with a laugh that made butterflies erupt in Tess’s chest. She would never be tired of listening to his laugh.

“Breakfast and then I’ll tell them, okay?” Tess nodded with approval before taking a sip of her coffee. Anthony followed suit, finishing his cup of coffee before making breakfast.

When Sorel woke up after they were done eating, Anthony started for the nursery, but Tess gave him a pointed look. “I got her. You tell your teammates.”

Anthony gave Tess a glare but she didn’t waver as she walked past him and into the nursery, leaving Anthony to grab his phone.

He opened the group chat and stared at the last couple of messages, which were a string of memes and emojis about Barzy winning Fastest Skater again. Anxiety crawled through his chest as he thought what to say, but his thumbs didn’t move. He didn’t know how many minutes he sat there debating his words, but eventually he took a deep breath and typed out the words Tess said earlier: Hey guys I have some big news to share with you guys and I hope you don’t freak out about it.

He wasn’t surprised when Anders was the first to answer, Everything okay, Beau?

Yeah, it’s nothing bad, he sent back before hitting the picture option and scrolled through his recent pictures until he found one of the pictures Tess took of him with Sorel on his chest. He smiled at his phone and added the picture before typing,I know it’s really sudden (trust me, I know) but this is my daughter, Sorel.

He took a shaky breath, his heart racing in his chest before pressing send. He put his phone on do not disturb and put it face down on the couch to give him a breather.

Tess came out of the nursery with Sorel in her arms. “Let me,” Anthony said, standing up to take her. “Please.” Tess gave him an unsure look and he sighed, “I told the group chat and I’ll check the replies in a minute I just… Please.”

She nodded and gently handed him his daughter and his shoulders instantly relaxed as he sat on the couch while she made a bottle. She waited for him to hand Sorel back to her which he did after a few minutes and she started to feed her while Anthony picked up his phone again, cursing when he saw 43 new messages.

Leeber: Are you serious?

Leeber: Anthony did you seriously have a baby?

Marty: WTF

Zeeker: WHAT????????

Barzy: I know right! You leave the guy alone for THREE DAYS and he has a child

Pager: Struggling to wrap my head around this, but such a sweet name for a precious angel

Marty: Hey wait a minute

Dobber: Who did you knock up

Ebs: Um congrats Beau? But wtf a little heads up would have been nice

Ebs: Who did you knock up tho like for real

Zeeker: I’m seriously like so happy for you, Beau! Plz let me know if you need any tips!!! We are here for you!!

Barzy: DILF energy

Scotty: The child had a child?????

Bails: Please tell me someone is helping you with her and you aren’t doing this on your own

Barzy: Oh he has someone 😘

Nelly: Does Beau have a secret girlfriend that I don’t know about?

Barzy: Baby with his ex, Tessa is helping him 😘

Ebs: Oh

Leeber: Interesting…

Bails: Thank fuck

Ledds: I have a headache reading all this

Clutter: Thank fuck I’m not the only one thinking that

And the messages just kept going with more rolling in as he read them.

Anthony put his phone on the coffee table, watching, but not reading, as more messages rolled into the chat and rubbed his temples. He gave it a moment before picking his phone up again.

Beau: Mom isn’t in the picture. I didn’t know until she was born and I couldn’t give her up

Leeber: We’re here for you, Beau. Whatever you need

Dobber: DILF 😈

Barzy: Total DILF 😘

Anthony groaned and turned his phone off before turning to Tess and Sorel to take his daughter because everything was right when she was in his arms.

When he went to bed that night, he ended up scrolling through the rest of the messages and did his best to explain what happened and answer the questions and thanked the guys who already had kids for the advice they gave.

Still, for the first time in his life, he dreaded having to go to practice on Wednesday.

Tuesday was chill. The rest of the nursery things Tessa had ordered came in, and they put it together and organized everything and his spare junk room had really turned into a real nursery. It looked like it had been planned all along and not thrown together after the fact. Tessa, for one, was super proud of how it turned out.

Sometimes, late at night when she couldn’t sleep or when she didn’t want to do an assignment or when she got home after seeing a baby at the grocery store, she’d open Pinterest and look at all the cute nurseries and imagine what hers would look like. She was always a fan of the simple nurseries, the whites and the greys with just a touch of colour for an accent. And looking at Sorel’s nursery… It was everything she always wanted for her own baby.

She tried not to let it get to her.

“We need to talk,” Anthony said as they sat down on the couch with their warmed up lasagna they were calling dinner for tonight.

“About?” Tess whispered, her heart picking up.

“What I’m going to do when I’m not here,” he replied. “I have practice tomorrow and next week I have a three game roadie.”

“Oh,” Tess replied, the anxiety dying out of her chest. She took a deep breath and shoveled a forkful of lasagna into her mouth. “I don’t think that’s really a problem,” she said after she swallowed.

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking over at her.

“I mean,” she replied, meeting his gaze. “You have me. I’ll just stay here while you’re gone and take care of her, it isn’t that hard.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tess gave him a weak smile, “you’re not asking, Beau. I’m offering. Shockingly, I kinda really like kids.”

“Still,” he whispered. “She’s not your baby.”

Tess forced herself not to recoil as his words stung her worse than a swarm of bees. She took a shallow breath through her nose to force air into her lungs before stabbing her fork into her lasagna and shoveling a big piece into her mouth just so she wouldn’t have to reply.

“She’s not,” Tess said after she swallowed. “But I’m your best friend, I love her, and unlike you, I’m not being paid millions of dollars to go play hockey across the continent. Really, I’m not being paid at all because I’m a substitute on a good day. I don’t have a second job because I never know when I’m going to be called in, so I’m the perfect person so stay and take care of her.” If there was a bit of bite to her voice, Anthony didn’t mention it.

“I’d pay you,” he said after a few moments.

Tess shook her head with a laugh and looked over at him. “Pay for the groceries and all the chocolate fudge ice cream I want and we’ll call it even. After all, I am staying in the apartment you’re paying rent for.”

Anthony opened his mouth to argue but Tess gave him a pointed look so he nodded, “deal. Thank you.”

Tess nodded with a smile, “like I said, I’m your best friend and I’m here for you.”

After he finished his lasagna, Anthony asked, “what happens if you get called in while I’m gone?”

“I say no,” Tess replied. “Or I just take my name out of the sub rotation.”

Tessa,” he whispered. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

Yeah, it would suck. She wouldn’t be considered for a full-time placement if she took her name out of the sub rotation and then she wouldn’t make enough money to move out which means living at home longer. But things were never simple or easy.

“You’re not asking me to,” she whispered before getting up to bring her plate to the sink. 


Things were heavy between them after that, but neither of them mentioned it. They did the dishes and gave Sorel a bath and got her ready for bed before Tess headed for the guest bath to take a shower herself.

The next time she saw Anthony, it was when she was making herself a cup of tea before bed. “She down?” She asked softly and Anthony nodded. She hummed and added another couple items to the grocery list stuck to the fridge.

“I’ll swing by the store after practice tomorrow,” he told her.

“Sounds good,” she said with a nod.

Anthony’s lips gave a sad twitch, but he didn’t press. He gave her another nod and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge before wishing her goodnight and slipping back into his room.

Tess leaned against the counter with a sigh before picking up her cup of tea and heading back to her room where she opened Netflix to watch a couple episodes of Friends before going to bed.

They were fine.

Anthony had a really hard time leaving Sorel for practice the next morning.

Growing up, Anthony had never been late to a single practice. He was always the first one up and the one begging his parents to go quicker so they could get to the rink earlier. It didn’t matter that practice never started any earlier, that he wasn’t allowed on the ice any earlier, he just wanted to be there so badly.

When he started major junior and even with Team Canada, he was never late to a single practice, never so much as thought about not going to practice. Even now that he was in the NHL, he was always on the ice for the option skates because he wanted to be there. There was nowhere he felt more like himself than in the arena and on the ice. Yet, looking at his tiny daughter in Tess’s arms, he didn’t know how to could walk out that door.

He had no idea how his teammates did it every day.

“Go,” Tess said, more forcefully than before. “You’re dragging this out. Just go. Walk out the door and get into the elevator then into your car and go. We’ll be just fine and still here when you come back.”

“But—" He tried, but Tess gave him a pointed look.

Anthony took a deep breath and stepped forwards to softly kiss Sorel’s head before stepping back and slipping his shoes on. He glanced back at his girls before taking another breath and opening the door.

He’s never hated having to go to practice, but right now, he hated nothing more.

Despite the fact that he dragged his feet, Anthony wasn’t the last guy to show up for practice. He was halfway to the door when Ebs came up beside him and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Anthony took a sharp breath through his nose and Ebs started laughing.

“You seriously have a kid?” Ebs asked as they walked into the arena.

“Eight days old,” Anthony replied and Jordan gripped his shoulder to make him face him as they came to a stop in the entry of the arena.

“You’re really doing this, huh?” He asked softly and Anthony nodded. Jordan held his gaze for another moment before nodding and giving his shoulder a clap. “I’m happy for you. Please let me or Lauren know if there’s anything we can do to help.”

Anthony nodded with a smile, “thanks.” Jordan smiled back before nodding towards the locker room. Anthony followed him to the locker room and insisted that Jordan go in first. Jordan rolled his eyes, but walked in first and Anthony did his best to hide behind his teammate. But that worked for exactly zero seconds.

The locker room fell quiet once they realized Anthony showed up. The silence was deafening and he made a gesture with his hand and made his way to his stall to get ready for practice.

It’s Bails that broke the silence. “So, are you going to show us more baby pictures?”

The tension died out of the room as Anthony laughed and fished his phone out of his pocket, suddenly very happy he made an album on his phone for Sorel. He clicked the first picture and held his phone out to Josh. The guys gathered around to look at the pictures and his phone got passed around while he got dressed for practice.

“She’s beautiful,” Nelly said as he handed Anthony his phone back.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “She is.”

“How’d you come up with the name?” Noah asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice name. It’s just… different?”

“It’s the name of his hometown,” Barzy piped in and Marty whipped his head over at Anthony.

“You absolute fucker!”

Anthony ducked his head with a cringe. “Yeah… Thanks for the idea, Marty.”

Anthony had to play against Marty exactly three times in his career and he’s eternally grateful that it was only three times because Matt Martin isn’t a player anyone wants to be on the wrong side of. His reputation precedes him in the best or worst way, depending on who you ask. Either way, you know him and everything he’s capable of doing.

He’s lucky that during the only three games he played with Marty not on his team, he was a rookie and never on the wrong side of him. But he was on the wrong side of Matt Martin right now as he got a glare from the hardest hitter in the league.

“So two of us named our daughters after our hometown? Great! It just went from cute and unique to a brand!” He ranted and a couple of the guys rolled their eyes.  

“It’s a cute ‘brand’,” Barzy said.

And Anders added, “I don’t think it’s a brand.”

Marty muttered something under his breath, but the rest of the room moved on as they continued to get ready for practice.

Considering they were all talking about Anthony’s newfound fatherhood, they were late to get on the ice and Trotz made his way into the locker room to see what the hold up was.

“It’s my fault, coach, I’m sorry,” Anthony said, owning up to it. It was his life that made them late so they shouldn’t all be punished for it.

“That’s not really true,” Anders explained and Trotz looked over at him as everyone finished up getting their equipment on. “He had a baby over the break so we all got caught up asking questions and offering advice.”

If Trotz was surprised, he didn’t show it. “Congrats, Beau,” he said before turning to the rest of the room. “Now hustle and get your asses on the ice.”

There was a chorus of various agreements and apologies and Trotz walked out with a nod, leaving them to finish getting dressed. It wasn’t long until they were all making their way to the ice, Beau getting more than a few stick taps on his ass.

Anthony was skating around the rink like everyone else when Trotz came up beside him to give him a stick tap. “You’re not getting any special treatment from me just because you’re a new dad and exhausted, Beau,” Trotz said with a smile and Anthony laughed.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, coach,” he replied.

Trotz laughed and gave him another tap before skating away and blowing the whistle to start practice.

Anthony was certainly more exhausted after practice than he normally was, but he couldn’t tell if that was because of Sorel or because it was his first practice in over a week. Either way, all he really wanted to do was shower and go home and take a nap.

If he hit rested his head against the steering wheel with a groan when he got to his car and remembered that he promised Tess he’d go to the store, well, no one had to know.

He didn’t have a fun time wheeling a cart up and down the aisles getting everything Tess had written on the list and anything that stuck out to him for pre-game meals for the coming week, but he got it done, and he called that a win.

When he came home, bags of groceries in hand, Tess had Sorel in her arms as she moved around the kitchen, swaying softly as she talked to the her.

Anthony smiled as he closed the door behind him, gently setting the bags by the door so he could get his shoes off before bringing them to the kitchen. “Good practice?” She asked as he started to put things away.

Anthony shook his head with a laugh, “long practice. God, I feel like a zombie I’m so exhausted. But yeah, it was good.”

“Guys were good?” She pressed and he hummed.

“Nosy mostly. Lots of questions, but I expected that. Ebs and Leeber were really nice. I know they both just want to help and if I need anything, they’re there for me.”

Tess smiled and walked over to run her free hand down his arm. “I’m really glad to hear it went well and you have the guys in your corner. You should seriously sit down with one or both of them, or Bails or whoever. One of the dads, you know? Pick their brains and get some advice from them. Could be really useful considering they know exactly what it’s like to have to leave their kids for days on end with roadies.”

Anthony nodded, though he couldn’t stop the sad twitch of his lips as he looked at Sorel in her arms, reminded that soon he was going to have to leave her for real. That it wouldn’t just be a few hours and he got to come home and be with her, no, it would be days away in hotels in other cities and no Sorel.

He hated it.

“Yeah,” he breathed. “Probably right. Like always,” he tacked on, trying to lighten the mood.

Tess could see through it, but she let it slide. “Always am, aren’t I?”

Anthony laughed and nodded before going back to putting away the groceries and Tess made her way to the living room.

When he was done, Anthony flopped down on the couch. “How was she?”

“Fine,” Tess replied. “A sweet little angel.” Anthony smiled and looked down at her in Tess’s arms. “Come on,” she whispered, causing Anthony to pull his eyes up to hers. “Take her.”

Anthony’s smile widened and he stood up to shrug his shirt off before taking Sorel from Tess and sitting back down on the couch. Tess smiled at the two of them before getting up to make herself a cup of tea.

He made use of the space and laid down on the couch with Sorel resting on his chest, his hand resting on her butt. Tess smiled at them as she waited for the water to boil for her tea. When it was done, she added a splash of milk and a teaspoon of sugar before heading back to the living room and curling up on the armchair.

Anthony didn’t mean to fall asleep, he really didn’t. He just wanted to rest a bit after practice and spend some time with Sorel since he missed her and hated that he wasn’t there for her. But resting on the couch with her tiny warm body on his chest… he was just so happy that he ended up falling asleep.

Tess watched them with a soft smile and she couldn’t help herself as she pulled her phone out and snapped a few pictures of the two of them. They both looked so peaceful and all she wanted to do was set the picture as her background so she could always feel the warmth she felt in her chest.

But that would be weird.

Her lips twitched sadly and she tucked her phone back into her pocket before looking back over at them and took a sip of her tea. Tessa finished her tea as she sat there and watched them before getting up to clean the kitchen. Anything to keep her mind busy.

Anthony was out like a light and Tess managed to clean the kitchen and prepare dinner before Sorel started fussing and woke Anthony up. He took care of her while Tess cooked and he even had time to read her one of the books that Tess had ordered.

He picked Z is for Zamboni which he thought was adorable and sat down on the couch to read it to her. Tess all but melted as she stood in the kitchen and listened to him read to her. He was the perfect man, so sweet and loving, and the beautiful little baby. They were absolutely perfect and watching him read to her was everything Tessa had ever wanted.

But they weren’t hers.