Topher Lydon

My Granny used to say You have two hopes. Bob Hope and No Hope, and one of them is dead.

i mean, there is only one man those two boys TRULY fear. And with damn good reason, he is going to tear strips off them when he gets his hands on them.

Cripplingly so. The cost of Occupation on this scale coming out of Covid, utterly ruinous to the economy. One candidate to blame for starting it, another to blame for bungling it. And one very angry population looking for an adult in the room.

Shorter, blonder, and FAR FAR FAR more terrifying

It's not their Dad they're worried about.

Make way for the Kyle-Daddy :: chuckles and dies laughing ::

Uncle Peter, being Uncle Peter, and showing Ned the truth of things.

"He took me to *his* home," Peter corrected, the distinction vital. "It went from there. He fed me. He gave me a room—*my* room. He didn't adopt me on paper. The world doesn't have a form for what he did. He just… claimed me. I was his. End of story. I tested him, Ned. God, I tested him that first year. I was angry, I was vicious, I stole, I broke things. I screamed that he wasn't my father, trying to make him prove what I already knew—that he would throw me away like everyone else." Peter leaned forward now, closing the space between them, his gaze intent. "He never flinched. Not once. He’d just stand there in his ridiculous tie and glasses, looking like a confused professor, and he’d wait for me to finish. Then he’d say, ‘Are you quite done? Good. Your turn to take out the garbage. Just like that, it was my turn.’" A tear traced a clean path through the dust on Peter’s cheek. He didn't wipe it away. "You think the King of the North is some mythical warlord on a poster? That’s the armor, Ned. The suit he wears so the winter doesn’t kill the people he loves. The man underneath is a dork who forgets to charge his phone and does crossword puzzles when he’s nervous. He is stubborn, and he worries too much, and he loves with a ferocity that is literally terrifying."

Peter's default is Angry, he responds to being afraid with anger, he responds to being flirted with by getting angry... he's just... amusingly... a little explosive mushroom of rage. And we love him for it

These are mostly the kid brothers of the cast from Carter's army, the rumour mill might spin, and you do see it. Jesse for example making comments about Coach Highmore... it's there... just no one's really aware of it. Carter's army was set in 1995, Shadow is set in 2001

It's not a secret, it's Canadian School Policy, relationship status's are not discussed with students, it's to prevent a whole heap of trouble. There are very strict rules about what can and can't be discussed with Students, and a teacher's sexuality is kind of one of them. Politics is next, a teacher in Canada is not allowed to answer questions on what political party they support, for example.

Peter's a lot tougher than he was. Just scared, and coming/recently out himself. He's dealing with his stuff, he's got Will to help him. And Andrew's not far away, keeping an eye open. Coach Highmore is more central to this story than Will is, each one guiding their protege's.

odd, I must have mis-tagged Buckshot. hmmm will have to correct that

I like to think they both won a round each there. But Kyle's line blew Finn's expectations and assumptions apart.

One Grady/Harding duel as promised @Seraph28

Chapter Ten: Stick Figures The Siege The Tim Hortons parking lot at 11:03 PM was a stage lit by the buzzing, sickly fluorescence of the sign and the jaundiced glow of sodium-vapor lamps. It was a cathedral of emptiness, of frozen oil stains and the ghostly scent of yesterday’s coffee. The only parishioners were Kyle’s sensible red Civic and Finn, a shadow leaning against the cold brick wall beside the drive-thru menu, a gargoyle in a battered leather jacket. Inside, through the

Give Bobby a chapter or two, he's not standing idly by, there's a chapter all about his fury at the way his coach is treated by Jesse. And his brother. Bobby's quiet not a big character in the book, but he's right behind his brother, and squarely protecting Peter, if attention isn't drawn to it often.

He's someone you will love, I promise, but not in this book. His perspective of this book is contained in Captain vs Goofball, which is the first of the Second Generation books.

I know, Kamala Harris's laugh is a thing of legend

West is a direct descendant of Theo, they share... mannerisms, dedication, and a lot of traits. The Harding farm is the same farm from Buckshot, and the characters are the same from the prologue and epilogue of that book. West is, one of the best characters I wrote, and this is considered to be the best of the early Carter books, it was also the second to last one written. It evlolved out of Carter's Recourse, where I had to stop writing that book to go back and write this one. I needed the back story that this book provides. And go easy on poor Jason Jensen, you will learn why in later books. He's going through stuff off camera that will get explained.

This book deals with a Fictionalized version of the 2023-2024 Election Cycle. Biden, Trump, Harris and Vance are present, but are at times exaggerated for effect. Both the Democrats and the Republicans get equal flak, and I try to be fair as I can be with a fictionalized scenario. Let's keep the Real world politics to one side as we focus on the caricatures of the people involved. Remember, the Annexation of Canada and the Events of Carter's Throne have significantly changed the political map of North America. William Carter, the King of the North, significantly alters the Presidential Race, causing complications to both parties, all of the Candidates. Will is neither Republican, nor a Democrat, as his history shows, as an MP he was quite liberal, but as a PM he was staunchly Centrist. So let's not arm ourselves and get into camps. And Vote Carter 2024!

Yep, Fourteen is not exactly the smartest age. The next chapter is Andrew's.