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battle-of-alberta · 8 months

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Hi and welcome to this thing that's sort of a prequel to the timeline I'm working on. The working title is Alberta Story, but as you can see I kind of changed directions midway through as I thought about it more, I figured if I was getting frustrated then surely Ed was also getting frustrated with it so I turned it over to him to express that, haha. I wrote the first half of this last fall and stewed on it for about a year and decided, screw it, I don't know where I'm going with this but I will slap on a few more panels and figure it out as I go.

This might be the closest thing to a reboot of the BoAB main storyline for a while. I wanted to do something that gave a cursory outline of Canadian / Albertan history for people who are new to it, but of course it runs the risk of repeating every narrative Canada / Alberta have about themselves and that's quite frustrating, to be honest! Particularly when you are trying to write characters who lived through a great chunk of it.

I was trying to think about where to "start" the story of Alberta, particularly after reading Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta. A lot of the tongue in cheek ahistorical assigning of Albertan-ness to even protozoic life rubbed me the wrong way even though I found it an interesting narrative, so I wanted to illustrate the difficulty of "beginning".

Additionally: I really find it frustrating in the Hetalia fandom when people kind of take Himaruya's approach and suggest the colonized personifications almost predate colonization somehow, like they were "always there", or the approach that they are direct descendants of some ambiguous ancestral "Native America" that mysteriously no longer exists. At the same time, I sort of understand how it also happens with the narratives we construct ourselves, in textbooks and museums, that have long illustrated "pre-history" (Indigenous history) as opposed to "history" (the "Real" history of Euro-Canadians). It's a cultural underpinning that needs to be undone.

I don't make any ambitious claims to produce real, decolonizing work, I realize there's this big gap in this universe I'm building that acknowledges municipal personifications and only vaguely gestures at the idea of others and there's a myriad of issues with that, but it's a place that I as a euro-canadian myself am starting with and I hope to continue learning and growing from here.

"Here" is summed up as: isn't it crazy that a company that was just gifted 1/12th of the surface of the Earth not only predates the idea of this country and its cities but also still exists and is just a place you end up in at the mall now?

More detailed explanation of each panel follows.

Diver's Claw: Several stories in different First Nations cosmologies reference the Creator or another figure making a flood that covered the whole earth, where a survivor (Wisakedjek in Cree/Ojibwe stories, Na'pi in Blackfoot, etc) sends down a succession of animals to the bottom of the waters to retrieve a piece of the old earth, which they can then use to create anew.

Mounds of Earth: When the Northwest Mounted Police were sent out west from Canada after purchasing the territories (including Alberta) from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870, they marked the border along what would become the 49th parallel between Canada and the United States with piles of dirt.

Descent from the Stars: This is supposed to be a depiction of Manitou Asiniy, also known as the Manitou Stone or Creator's Stone, a meteorite that has spiritual significance to many Indigenous peoples. As I write this, he (as a sacred being, he is referred to with these pronouns) is currently in the custody of the Royal Alberta Museum which has recently agreed to return him to the site where he was originally taken from near Hardisty in 1866. Currently, the gallery is open for worship and ceremony until it is time to repatriate him.

Bodies liquified in coral: this is NOT a scientific illustration, haha. The idea is that a lot of Albertan identity comes from about 400 million years ago in the Devonian period. At the time, a big chunk of "Alberta" was covered by ocean. The organisms lived, died, and over time became crushed by sediment layered over them. Coral has a lot of holes perfect for holding this sludge and fossilizes nicely here, and it is this layer of Earth's long history that speculators are looking for when drilling for oil.

Lips to a book: Alberta joined Confederation on September 1st, 1905, which our last premier tried to commemorate with a holiday that no one showed up to. Back at the turn of the century however, it was a massive party attended by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier and the Governor General, a position in Canadian parliament that represents the King or Queen of England. Govenor General Grey (his grandpa was the Earl Grey the tea was named for, I believe) was the one who kissed the bible at this inauguration.

Prince: The prince here is Prince Rupert, who Rupert's Land was named for, and the king in question is Charles II of England (yes, the Restoration and Great Fire of London party guy from the Stuart era). Rupert's Land centred on Hudson's Bay and made up over 40% of what is now considered Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company was granted the charter to all this territory - if they found the Northwest Passage while they were at the business of acquiring beaver or otter pelts, it was certainly a bonus.

The rest is fairly self explanatory, I hope. Like I said, I felt like I was falling into the trap of the same old story of pioneers and exploration that has been absolutely done to death in Canadian history, and I didn't have anything particularly new to say about it that would maintain this storybook level of accessibility so I just. Stopped! Shifted gears! haha. Still, I think the fur trade is a very important piece to the puzzle that often gets either a bit overhyped or glossed over in favour of railroads in Canadian history and almost entirely ignored and forgotten in American history, and it makes sense to start there, particularly for Ed who has a lot of Complicated Feelings about it.

Enjoy! Maybe one day I will figure out part two.

#historical hetalia #hetalia oc #hws oc #aph oc #projectcanada cities #pc: edmonton #hapo art #digital art #clip studio paint #edward murphy #i wanted to have this comic take place at city center #BUT THE BAY IS GONE!!!!!!#so southgate it is i suppose #since it is close by a certain trail to a certain other city

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rabbitcruiser · 6 months

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The Convention of 1818 was signed between the United States and the United Kingdom on October 20, 1818, which settles the Canada–United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.

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deadpresidents · 9 months

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Exactly 100 years ago, President Warren Gamaliel Harding escaped the sweltering summer weather and increasingly dark political climate of Washington, D.C. to embark upon a lengthy cross-country trip through parts of the American West still relatively unaccustomed to frequent visits by the nation’s Chief Executive. Billed as a “Voyage of Understanding”, Harding’s trip was seen as a prelude to his potential campaign for re-election the following year, and an opportunity to put some literal and figurative distance between the President and the rumors of rampant corruption swirling around some of Harding’s friends and closest aides from Ohio, as well as several Cabinet members — rumors eventually proven to be true, resulting in indictments, convictions, prison sentences, and even suicides. As President Harding prepared for his Western tour, he could feel the heat as the scandals plaguing his Administration began to reach a boiling point. Speaking privately to the famous journalist and editor William Allen White, Harding said of the Presidency, “My God, this is a hell of a job! I have no trouble with my enemies…But my damn friends, they’re the ones that keep me walking the floor nights.”

Harding’s planned 15,000-mile Voyage of Understanding began on June 20, 1923. Traveling aboard the private Pullman railroad car Superb, the 57-year-old President left Washington, D.C. accompanied by First Lady Florence Harding, Speaker of the House of Representatives Frederick H. Gillett, new Interior Secretary Hubert Work, and a large retinue of aides, friends and their families, doctors, Secret Service agents, and members of the press. Work had become Secretary of the Interior a few months earlier when the previous Secretary, Albert B. Fall, became the “fall guy” for the Teapot Dome scandal. For his role in the scandal, Fall was later convicted of accepting bribes — the first former Cabinet member in American history to serve time in prison for crimes committed while in office. At later points along the journey, Harding’s party was also joined by Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace (father of future Vice President Henry A. Wallace) and Secretary of Commerce (and future President) Herbert Hoover.

The last week of June 1923 was spent traveling through the Mountain West — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park. The beginning of July saw the Presidential party in the Northwest and celebrating Independence Day in Portland, Oregon before boarding the USS Henderson in Tacoma, Washington on July 5, 1923 to sail to Alaska. One of the expected highlights of the Voyage of Understanding was the northernmost leg of the trip, as Harding became the first incumbent President of the United States to visit Alaska and Canada. The Territory of Alaska had been purchased for the United States by Secretary of State William Seward in 1867 when Warren G. Harding was two years old, and at the time of Harding’s visit, Alaska was still 35 years from being admitted to the Union as the 49th state. But the President spent nearly the entire month of July traveling through the state, mixing public appearances with private recreation and sightseeing. On July 15, 1923, Harding hammered a golden spike in Nenana, Alaska to officially complete the Alaska Railroad. And ten days later, the President crossed into Canada, fishing on the Campbell River in British Columbia on July 25th and then making an official visit the following day in Vancouver, where he was greeted by one of the largest crowds of his voyage — estimated at over 40,000 people — and where he also squeezed in a round of golf at the exclusive Shaughnessy Golf Club.

The President returned to American soil on July 27th, arriving in Seattle and making several speeches in a busy six-hour period — first to Camp Fire Girls at Volunteer Park, then to nearly 30,000 Boy Scouts at Woodland Park, and finishing the day addressing over 30,000 people at what is now Husky Stadium at the University of Washington where he predicted statehood for Alaska, where he had spent most of the month. After making a brief appearance that evening at the Seattle Press Club, Harding boarded his train that night to travel to Portland, Oregon.

But something was not right. The President seemed to be exhausted, perhaps from the grueling trip through geography much wilder than Harding’s native Ohio or swampy Washington, D.C. Despite his exciting journey through Alaska and the energetic welcome provided by the Canadian people, Harding was clearly wiped out by the time he reached British Columbia. The President did head to the country club while in Vancouver, but he was so tired that after six holes of golf his foursome skipped directly to the eighteenth hole, seemingly completing the round without tipping off the press that Harding couldn’t play the entire course.

From the White House, nine days before embarking upon his Voyage of Understanding, Harding wrote a quick note to Solicitor General James M. Beck who had wished the President a safe journey on his upcoming trip. Thanking Beck, Harding wrote, “I shall try to remember not to overdo (it) in crossing the continent.” And, on June 14, 1923, six days before leaving, President Harding wrote a short letter to a young girl from Hartford, Connecticut named Vivian Little, who had recently sent the President a four-leaf clover as a good luck charm. “Thank you so much for the four-leaf clover which you were so good as to press and send to me,” the President wrote. “I hope it will bring me good luck and that it will bring you still more of the same.”

However, any luck that President Warren G. Harding still had seemed to be running out. Ill and exhausted after leaving Vancouver, Harding tried to rest aboard the USS Henderson as it sailed to Seattle in the early morning hours of July 27. At some point around 3 AM, Harding and the other passengers aboard the Henderson were jolted awake as the ship crashed into the USS Zeilin, an American destroyer accompanying the Presidential party while they traveled through the foggy Puget Sound. This was not the first mishap of the Voyage of Understanding. While traveling through Colorado early in the trip, three people from the President’s party had been killed in a car accident. And now, after a few weeks in Alaska where Harding was able to at least temporarily forget about his Administration’s many troubles, the President was not only sick and tired but two of his Navy’s ships had just smashed into each other almost as soon as he had returned to the continental United States. While the USS Zeilin was badly damaged in the collision, the USS Henderson was not and there were apparently no major injuries on either vessel. But when the President’s valet, Major Arthur Brooks, came to Harding’s stateroom aboard the Henderson to inform him that the captain was calling for all hands on deck, he found the depressed President lying on his bed with his face buried in his hands. “I hope the boat sinks,” President Harding quietly muttered.

It was just hours later that Harding made his whirlwind tour through Seattle, putting on a brave face at his public appearances, but clearly not feeling well. While he was never considered a brilliant orator like Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Harrison, or his immediate predecessor, Woodrow Wilson, Harding was a strong speaker and excellent communicator who had a unique ability to connect with audiences, but he was obviously — and unusually — halting and confused while speaking in Seattle on July 27th. As he boarded his train at Seattle’s King Street Station that night, Harding was examined by his doctor and by Interior Secretary Hubert Work, who had once been a physician, and they decided to cancel the next several days of planned activities. Instead of stopping in Portland and then visiting Yosemite National Park, the Presidential party was ordered to proceed directly to San Francisco where Harding could rest before giving a speech on the radio planned for July 31st which was expected to be heard by over 5 million people.

Despite the four-leaf clover that had been sent to him by Vivian Little before his Voyage of Understanding, Warren Gamaliel Harding’s luck seemed to be running out. And, as his train sped through Oregon en route to San Francisco’s Palace Hotel on July 28, 1923, President Harding was also running out of time.

#History #Presidents #Warren G. Harding #President Harding #Death of Warren G. Harding #100 Years Ago #100th Anniversary #Centennial #Presidential History #Voyage of Understanding #Politics #Political History #Harding Administration #Presidential Deaths #Teapot Dome #Presidential Scandals #Presidential Corruption #Political Scandals #Political Corruption

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villainessprefect · 1 year

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title: Dancing Around the Rules

summary: The upcoming unbirthday party is special and requires a certain rule to be followed. So, you ask Riddle for help.

ship: Riddle x gn!reader

word count: 1,964

note: there's 800+ rules and I’m making up my own for fic purposes

Read on AO3!

"Is it really necessary to dance at the next unbirthday party?"

"Of course it is. Rule #453: "For the 49th unbirthday party of the year, guests must dance with a partner at least once before the party ends." There will be no exceptions to this rule. It's a rarity to reach this many unbirthday parties and we need it to be celebrated as intended."

You're not surprised by the odd rule. At this point, you nearly expect to hear a rule for everything under the sun and moon. What does surprise you is how many unbirthday parties have been held in such a short amount of time. And, you'd have to agree with him on the matter. If this unbirthday party had a specific rule then it wouldn't hurt to follow it, especially since it added a little flair to the usual scene.

Not that the past ones were dull, heavens no! Every party was a blast and you were grateful to be invited to each one. Dining with Trey's perfectly crafted food, photobombing Cater's selfies, beating your best friends at croquet, and spending tea time with Riddle. What more could you ask for?

You would definitely be attending the next unbirthday party, regardless of your dancing skills. Yet, the thought of having to dance with someone makes you nervous. You can already hear Ace's teasing if you step on your partner's foot.

(Maybe he should be your partner and you could unintentionally step on him whenever he opens his mouth. Just a thought. A tempting one.)

"What if...someone doesn't know how to dance?"

You doubt you could get out of it. Sure, Riddle allowed you to break a few rules here and there. You weren't from his dorm despite how often you were seen in Heartslabyul. And you did your best to follow the more common ones whenever you could, but it's impossible to remember all the rules. It's amazing how Riddle knew them all by heart.

"Nonsense. Everyone should know how to," Riddle states. He pauses before wearing a worrisome look. "Although, I don't quite understand the latest dances. Cater would know more about those."

You smile and hold back a chuckle. It's hard not to imagine one of the boys doing one of the latest dance trends. This next party is definitely going to be...interesting.

"I dislike the thought of changing the rules, but if I could I'd like to add that the dance should be formal." He emphasizes the last word. He's already dreading the fact of what he may have to see at the party.

"What kind of formal dance are you planning to do?" You ask, curious.

"The waltz."

"You know how to waltz?"

"Yes. Mother taught me when I was young."

Your eyes sparkle upon hearing his answer. In a fit of excitement, you push yourself up from your seat. Your gaze is fixated on Riddle, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Can you teach me? I'll be your partner for the party!"

He blinks, startled by the sudden outburst. It takes a moment for him to gather himself. He clears his throat and glances at the clock hanging on the wall.

It's late. Unlike most in this school, Riddle hates staying up past midnight. And the clock is ticking. It doesn't help that it's already past his curfew. Oh, if only his mother knew about the rules he'd been breaking...

But when he looks at you, he finds it terribly hard to say no. If he were, he knows that you would lose that shine in your eyes. That twinkling brightness that he simply adored. To see a despondent haze instead? No. He simply couldn't have it.

"V-Very well, Prefect," he breathes. "There is still time until the party. While I won't expect a perfect dance if you are to be the Queen's partner you will perform as a King should." His cheeks flare up after realizing what he said. Before he could take back the implication, you'd already snatched his hand in between yours.

"Thank you! I promise that I'll do my best to be a good King!"

The fact that you parrot being his King only makes his face flush a deep red. He turns his gaze elsewhere and tries his best to ignore the harsh beating in his chest. It doesn't hurt and it spreads an unfamiliar warmth throughout his body. He can't tell if he's loosening up or tense now.

To distract himself and the funny feeling, he puts a hand at your back while the other links with your hand, holding it away from you both.

A bright smile graces your face. Your free hand goes to rest on his arm. You let your fingers lightly tap against his, feeling the smoothness of his knuckles. You hadn't realized just how small his hands are compared to yours. Nor how short he is. Well, you know he's short, but standing so close to him and looking down at him just feels odd. The way he holds himself with such assertiveness makes him seem taller. He always holds his head high and proud, never a doubt in his mind about what he does.

"The most important rule for a dance is to never look at your feet. Eyes are to be kept up, remaining on your partner."

You nod. You take one last glance at your footing, wanting to imitate his stance before your gaze meets with his. He does the same, inspecting your posture and position before his eyes lock onto yours. A tint of red colors his cheeks once more.

"Follow my command. I'll lead."

And so, the dance begins. It's kept simple—one step followed by another. Riddle explains the timing and the necessity of starting off by doing the box step. Once the basics are perfected, then you could do the more intensive steps.

As you dance, you focus on Riddle. It's hard to look elsewhere when he's practically shining. With the way he speaks, instructs you with a stern yet soft tone, and how he makes sure his touch is gentle yet firm. He doesn't bark at you whenever you mess up, only asking you to repeat the action to fix your mistake. When you intentionally do a misstep or try to play around, he pouts. He weakly threatens to end this dancing session but doesn't live up to it.

"You're picking up on this fast," he says as you circle around. He stopped muttering out the timing for you a few rounds ago.

"Thanks," you respond. "I don't think I'm cut out for dancing, but...I've always adored watching others do it. Especially the fancier ones." You let out a sigh.

It may have been a secret wish of yours to find a partner to pull off one of those dances with. Seeing couples move in sync, breathing as if they were one, practically reading each other's minds- it was beautiful. And you dreamed of doing the same. To dance around a fancy ballroom, to spin and glide around the dance floor.

But those dreams could never be obtained, at least not in your home world. Funny how it could be in this one. Or at least this is a start.

"I think you're cut out for it," he replies, voice barely above a whisper as he attempts to praise you. "You're not a natural, but you're better at this compared to when I first started."

"R-Really?"

Your heart flutters in your chest. To hear this come from Riddle makes your heart leap for joy. You give his hand a tight squeeze and consider twirling him around if you wouldn't lose your head for doing so.

"It's thanks to your help though. You're a good teacher. Ah-!" You come to a sudden stop, recalling your original reasoning for meeting him. You needed help with an assignment and asked for his assistance. You claimed not to take up his time and you finally noticed that you took more than you should.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know how late it was..." You tear your hand away from his shoulder and loosen your grasp with your other. Slowly, your hand slips out from his. "Your curfew!"

A gasp escapes you, realizing just how much wrong you've done to him. Perhaps you really will lose your head tonight! Not that it would affect you, but having one of those collars hang around your neck didn't exactly seem pleasant.

In your panic, you don't notice the frown that had fallen upon his face. Your parting from his had left him cold. You'd brought him such a delicate warmth and then stolen it back within an instant. He wants to reach out for your hand and take it once more. But he doesn't know how.

"Prefect."

He calls for your attention, more sternly. Now you really feel like you've done something wrong. A whine escapes you before a thought hits you. He must be reminding you of a rule! But which one? You can feel that one is just begging to be followed. Think. Think. Think.

Oh!

"Thank you for the lesson, Riddle," you say with a slight bow.

You aren't too sure how to go about this. The Queen's rules are strange and one imperfect action could cost your head. But you might as well do what you can while the rule is fresh in your mind. At least, you hope it's the right one.

Treating him like a Queen, you get down onto one knee. You let your hand slip back into his and pull it towards you. Soft lips press against his skin. They brush against the same knuckles you enjoyed feeling earlier.

"P-Prefect?!"

You blink and release his hand, looking up at him.

"Was that incorrect?" You ask, worried. His face was red once more. You couldn't tell if it was from anger or something else. You feared it was the former and decided to prepare yourself for the worst outcome.

But that collar never appears around your neck. It never would.

"No," he breathes, calm. "That is...correct. I simply wasn't expecting you to know what rule #512 is. "If you dance with the Queen after midnight, you must kiss her hand as the final act"."

"I knew it!" You jumped to your feet, cheerfully as if you had learned you got full marks on a test. Then a pause. "There's...no other rule I'm forgetting, is there? I'd hate to break one after all you've done for me."

"There isn't. You're fine with the rules. But, how do you know that one?"

As far as he knows, Trey would be the only one to have an inkling of the majority of the rules in this kingdom. And for you, an outsider, to know this one? It's...surprising.

You wear a sheepish smile as you scratch the back of your head.

"I've just...wanted to learn the rules." For you, you silently add. That addition makes your cheeks flare. Even if you hadn't uttered those words, it feels as if you confessed them aloud. "A-Anyway! I should let you go. The Queen needs his sleep."

You're quick to thank him and gather your things. Everything is shoved into your bag as you nearly race to the door. You find yourself hesitating, not wanting to leave just yet.

"Can we continue tomorrow?" You ask, hopeful.

Riddle looks at you from his position. His gaze had been lingering on the hand you'd gently kissed. His mind had gone into a haze, unable to think clearly. If anyone else were to call for him, he wouldn't have heard them. You were filling his thoughts far too much.

"Lessons start promptly after lunch. I hope to see you then, Prefect."

#twisted wonderland #riddle rosehearts #twisted wonderland x reader #riddle rosehearts x reader #gn reader #twst x reader #twst #riddle rosehearts x you #heartslabyul

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