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stingandsnoutbindery · 1 year

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Advent Anthology by @pacific-rimbaud

A Compilation of PR's one-shot entries for DHr Advent, years 2020-2022.

Fandom: Harry Potter

Relationship: Draco Malfoy x Hermione Granger

Art by the wonderful @chestercompany

My binderary baby and second fanbinding project.

read below the cut for the process and other binding deets.

Quick Specs

20,015 words | 179 pages | Quarto (1/4 of Letter)

Technique: Flatback bradel Title & Body Font: Libre Baskerville (in various style emphasis)

Fics included:

Les Pelerins (10k; 2020 entry)

I'm Never Lonely When I'm With You (5k; 2021 entry)

On The Virtues of Inexhaustible Burning (5k; 2022 entry)

Pac is the type I could trust to write anything and I know I'll absolutely love. Her advent fics, in particular, I especially adore. The writing is very visceral and I will not admit how many times I've reread these.

On The Book

I had not intended to bind any book/s for @renegadepublishing's binderary because of my hectic schedule, however FOMO won over and this book was born. It was a relatively quick design and typeset (I really do better under pressure lol). I wish I could say the same for when I started the actual binding though. This is the 8th book I’ve bound and I had expected it to go relatively smoothly, but this book fought me every step of the way and I'll indulge in expressing my distress on this post.

First, the print place I go to messed up my typeset, thus me having to travel back home to use our old crappy inkjet (that took 3 hours to print). And because said printer is crappy, I had to use 100gsm short grain to minimize show-through, and well, you can imagine how stick straight the pages are. Second, I made the case too small (I worked on the book after a toxic 12 hour lab day and was not in the right state) and instead of redoing the covers, I re-trimmed and repainted the fore edge (at cost of my lovely margins ..wails). Third & last, the vinyl refused! to stick to the cover and I proper burnt the HTV as well as my finger on my iron. In the book's defense, it was my first time using leather paper and I forgot to test their chemistry.

On The Bind

Everything else went swimmingly, aforementioned shit aside. I tried not to make this book scream Christmas and leaned into a more subtle theme through color choices. I finally got to use this lovely red leather paper from Itoya, which my parents bought me during their trip in Japan. Many thanks to @celestial-sphere-press for helping me out with the shops to visit!

The design cover was made on Illustrator. The words are actually the fic prompts which I arranged in concentric circles, inspired by the arrangement of the advent candles in our local church from years back. I have no idea what paper my print place used, but it has some nice pulp to it.

As I said, I melted the HTV and certain parts refused to stick, so I peeled all of it off, except for the spine title (which miraculously stuck) and used my foil quill pen instead. I used an off-brand one and it's really good!

I also did this sort of strip across the edge which I learned is called a "river" as Nic @bindsbymunchkin called it. The side near the spine though, looked asymmetrically empty, so I added the foiling. And as this is an anthology, the punctuations was a design choice to convey the start and end and pauses in-between stories (and mostly because they just look fancy lol).

Like my last bind, the edges are gold which is comprised of an undercoat of diluted dark gray Sakura acrylic paint and many layers of Liquitex iridescent gold acrylic ink.

Endbands are made with alternating colors of cream, gray, and gold DMC cotton threads, however I'm learning I don't very much like how sewn endbands look on small flatbacks.

The endpapers are my fave. I had already tipped in plain cream cardstock but then I was like: this book needs MARBLED PAPER! so I ripped off the one I had stuck and replaced it. It's actually not real marbled paper HAHA. I sourced it from this site, printed it on some heavy paper, and oh my god I believe the universe really meant for me to find this pattern because it coincidentally matched the colors of the endbands!!

On The Typeset

I wanted to keep things cohesive but also give each story its own character. Libre Baskerville was a lovely typeface to do that on.

From left to right: Les Pelerins, I'm Never Lonely When I'm With You, On The Virtues of Inexhaustible Burning

For Les Pelerins, I wanted to mimic the silhouette of the establishments in Montmartre, hence the varying heights of the letters. If I wasn’t on a time crunch, I would’ve spent more time editing the headers but alas this is what we get. INLWIWY is more straightforward– a pinecone, which was a recurring theme in the story. And I think OTVOIB is my favorite. I drew tiny gold cracks onto the coal rock which is a significant element in the story. It still gives me that stomach flip whenever I reread it (iykyk).

#sting and snout bindery #buzzing books #z’s biblioteca #fanbinding #bookbinding #binderary2023 #dramione #pacificrimbaud #dhr advent 2022 #dhr fic #ficbinding #dhr advent

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copperbadge · 2 years

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Hello! I finished reading Fete about 12 hours ago and I wanted to ask if there is any chance you would consider at some point writing genuine fanfic for the Shivadhverse, once you finish the stories you have planned? By which I mean things that don't belong in the actual novel because they don't necessarily serve the plot, and aren't long enough to be their own thing within your planned series of books, but that we fannish types would enjoy because they're sweet or funny (or steamy, if you'd consider higher rated stuff). I did read the first short story in the original AO3 post and the Duke of the Orange bit, and that's essentially what I mean -- just wondering if there is any more of that to come. I think the book as you wrote it told the story exactly as "completely" as a piece of fiction should, but in true fandom style I'm also not quite ready to be done with Eddie and Gregory's romance (I'm sure I will feel the same about Jes and Michaelis but I'm not that far yet). I just desperately want more fluff and shenanigans about those two being in love 💕

I'm so glad you enjoyed Fete! I hope you have fun with Infinite Jes and LATT, too :)

It's an interesting question to answer because there's two aspects to consider. The first is simply "Are there going to be more short stories" -- things that fit into the universe but aren't either supporting the storyline of a novel directly or novels in themselves. There are a handful more of those that you'll reach as you keep reading, and I do plan to put out a book of short stories when I have enough. Beyond the idea of more short stories, if you just want News Of Gregory And Eddie, that does definitely exist in the second and third books -- we see them developing their relationship and figuring out their life together. While I'm conceptually designing the second set of three books around non-royals (Caleb the musician, Georgie the bodyguard, Simon the chef) they're all royal-adjacent, so we'll still be following along with the lives of the royals.

But there is a second aspect, which is the idea of writing a story that not only doesn't fit into the canon neatly but might be divergent from it, like an AU or something that would mess up later canon if inserted. I'm less likely to do that simply because I enjoy expanding on what I've already done, and if I want something to exist within the narrative I simply make it canon. I think of Neil Gaiman being asked if he writes fanfic of his work, and him replying "Well, if I write it, I can just publish it." So I'm more likely to write something that could be considered fanfic but which ends up being labeled and printed as a short story, because it's my world and I can say what does and doesn't get published as canon.

Even if I were to write something on the porny side, it's not like erotica never gets published. Initially I had considered adding in some porn to Fete and publishing two versions, one with and one without, but I find writing sex scenes kind of exhausting these days, so I decided as long as I was doing this mainly to entertain myself, I wouldn't do anything that felt like work. :D I definitely do think about the kinds of sex the various people in the universe have, like for example I know that Gregory enjoys the fact that Eddie can significantly manhandle him. But the actual written prose version of those ideas is less likely to ever exist than simply stories about their lives.

But yeah -- I'm definitely not abandoning the storylines of the initial characters just because I'm writing other stories. There is a certain level of mirroring; the Eurovision story is also about Michaelis and Jes's developing relationship, the California story is also about Gregory and Eddie becoming dads, and Simon's story will have a strong underplot about Jerry and Alanna's marital misadventures. (This is all predicated on them getting written but between my love of this universe and my new medication it's looking pretty likely!)

#shivadhverse

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studioninilong · 8 months

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The Type of Art You Support

I am an artist influenced by many things. Let's just say 'life' in general. So the Visual Art you are Supporting is a result of those inspirations. I have other artistic gifts that will be showcased here but for now we will focus on the Visual Art.

My STYLE is somewhere's between comicbook, manhua, & semi real. It can be suggestive but my pieces here are always SFW.

Each Illustration has a story that goes with it...so hopefully you'll get to know the story as you view, recieve, print, or hang each piece. I have a minor in creative writing so there's poems, scripts, and such with each uploaded piece.

Don't let AI fool you, Actual Illustration takes a long time to produce, hence why I'm even setting up this Patreon.

Each MAJOR piece (like the one above) takes about 24-50 hours to complete. Which I can do in a week if I do not have other obligations. So the goal of this Patreon is to do art WEEK IN/ WEEK OUT so you get a full plate of art every month.

--------------During Launch--------------------

Round One: FIRST 108 PATRONs get BOTH or your choice of one of these!

Art Card Series.

Primo: I'm designing a board game. Well it's already designed, I'm just working out the kinks and visuals in order to put it into full production. Sooo, I'm releasing artcards of the play-pieces that will ONLY be available here.

Segundo: I figured some ARMYs would appreciate my Planetary (134340) Series in artcard form rather than the GIANT %(&! 24x24 pieces going up in Esty. Sooo, they are now a part of ROUND 1 for free Launch materials.

I ship these out once you become a patron. Well I sign them and number them first, then pop them in the mail!

Round Two: The FIRST 224 PATRONS receive a LOTUS ENAMEL PIN

So Studio.Nini's emblem is a cross inside of a lotus. Ask me what it means later cuz there's a long drawn out story and it involves Martial Arts. Anywho, getting Lotus Pins made...in Studio.Nini's colour palette and gold...cuz i like gold.

When the second round begins...you new folk AAAAAANNNNND the First Round folk get Pins shipped out to you, if you're still an active patron.

Round Three: The FIRST 613 PATRONS receive a sticker variety pack (3ea)...because I like stickers, and you better like them too, HA. (Ok if you haven't figured it out by now...this space is lighthearted. I'm a pro at what I do...but I enjoy having fun with friends...........and you better enjoy it also or you're going to have an AWFUL time here, HA!)

When the third round begins, OG peeps get the Launch freebies from before AND these sticker packs.

....and as a special incentive....If you pledged IMMORTAL throughout the run of all rounds....you can ask me for a commission...............and it's yours. No Holds Barred.

INTERACTIVITY

Voting on which Lady Dragon piece I do next is where our online interaction begins. I'll be posting three (3) to choose from and you can vote on which gets done next. Hopefully we'll have fun with that process since I will also be streaming the PAINTING PROCESS with you.

https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/74302843/e922453260c7424d9ddc21e18b2772c1/eyJ3Ijo4MjB9/1.png?token-time=1695772800&token-hash=5qFFjVatRgxERL4z3kEnc7V9kZX6Ezx9ft6KzFU7NjM%3D

The MINOR pieces appearing on this site take anywhere from 4-12 hours. Those are like the character pieces above or landscapes, cityscapes...conceptual pieces.

FREEBIES

Milestone and monthly giveaways like Stickers, pins, journals, and of course...

ARTCARDS:

Well I only do one type of fan art, really. Bangtan Sonyeondan art. And boy do I have alot of it done. So for those who are ARMY you get extra art love. These artcard freebies are only in physical form...so you'll get artcards (4x6 / 6x9) in the mail if you want those freebies each month.

So, I do hope you enjoy the space. I'm constantly beautifying it to make you all feel welcome!

And thank you again for your support!

#patreon #bts #btsfanart #illustration #original character #original art #poetry #artists on tumblr

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seventhrounder · 3 years

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I went thru my folder with old hockey magazines I had saved from around 2011 to 2015 and came across this one and thought it could be a fun to make a post about now in hindsight.

This is Jääkiekko magazine from May 2012, they always have a section of "99 questions with ..." and in this issue they interviewed Teräväinen.

I’ve translated the questions I found interesting under the cut! It ended up being about half of the interview. (*) are my additions.

On the cover "seuraava superjokeri" means the next super joker, he played for Helsingin Jokerit so it's a word play from that. Under, on the blue print it says: "The 17-year-old forward will become a first round draft pick in the summer. The natural goal scorer can dominate in SM-Liiga as soon as next season."

In the 2nd photo the headline and lead paragraph goes:

"A post with dents* - A year ago Teuvo Teräväinen was known only within a small number of hockey insiders. Few passers-by recognize him now either but after a flashy rookie season the Jokerit sensation is on the radar of every NHL team and is a strong contender to become a first round draft pick. Next season with Jokerit the talented second line center will be one of the main talking points in the SM-Liiga."

(*references the net Teräväinen had in his backyard and into which he practiced his shooting)

3. You've been described as a magician, top scorer, wunderkind and a prodigy. What do you think of these descriptions?

TT: Heh, those are some descriptions yeah. What can I really say? Don't really wanna comment on them much.

4. How nervous are you about the Draft?

TT: I try not to be nervous as best as I can. In a way I don't have anything to be nervous about since I don't care which team picks me or at what number I go.

6. Which is stressing you more, English interviews or physical tests?

TT: Maybe both. Bench press (laughs) and English interviews can be tough.

12. How far along have you planned your career with, for example, your parents or your agent?

TT: Haven't really planned things with others but I've thought about them myself. I try to go step by step and not jump too far ahead.

14. How does it feel to be so young with all the star players in Jokerit?

TT: How to say it? I haven't felt like I was young but a part of the team instead. The team's been very good with me and they haven't been looking down at me like: "oh he's young". It's been fun to play in an experienced team.

15. Is there a generational gap between players?

TT: You can see the age difference, older players look older but we're all childish, at least with our topics.

17. What does a 17-year-old do in the sauna nights of the team?

TT: I actually haven't been in any yet. I've always been at national team's camps or something.

19. Did you get the number you wanted?

TT: I did, yeah. I could've taken #18 but Semir (Ben-Amor) has it. But i'm happy with #86, it's good.

23. What are your strengths as a player?

TT: Offensive play and with that playing with the puck, passing, IQ, power play and skill, just the usual skill - skill with hands.

24. And weaknesses?

TT: They are to do with defensive play, strength and physicality. Battles and such but I think I took a step forward last season. That's a good thing.

25. Have you ever been "pressed into a mold" or has your playing style gotten to develop naturally?

TT: As a kid the play was mostly offensive/attacking, I didn't have to think about playing defence. Up until 15 years old, I got to attack pretty freely. Playing defence became more important when I started to play in A-juniors a couple seasons ago.

26. On a scale from 1 to 10 how determined are you?

TT: Maybe 8, feels like an 8.

32. What kind of role are you planning to take with Jokerit next season?

TT: I think a pretty big one. I try to be a top player and not just take others' example but give others example myself too. So that someone in the team can take something out of the way I do things on the ice and off the ice.

35. If you could pick anyone, who would be your car driver?

TT: Nico Manelius for sure. He's been my driver this season. I've had others too, like Riku Hahl but he's not nearly at the same level. Nico’s clearly the best.

36. What are the most important qualifications to be a good driver?

TT: The car is obviously important. Hahl's car is totally awful, he takes a lot of heat for it from the guys too. I wouldn't dare driving with him. Manelius is a steady performer, never lets you down.

38. What sports did you play as a 10-year-old?

TT: Hockey and floorball, probably football (soccer) during the summers at the time too.

42. When did you decide to focus only on hockey?

TT: So when I stopped playing other sports? Three years ago, before that floorball was kind of a side thing, I played a couple of games in the regular season and playoffs.

45. Do you follow floorball or other sports? Go to games?

TT: I don't go to games but I like to watch floorball on TV, it's an interesting sport. Sometimes I watch football too but I don't follow it much. Feels like they never score there.

47. Have you ever played with a wooden stick?

TT: As a kid I did play with a wooden stick.

49. You won the hockey players' golf tournament last summer even though there were more experienced players too. Are you good with all stick games?

TT: Well, I've been pretty good in all of them. I've played golf for a long time and still play it.

50. How is your swing?

TT: Pretty bold, kind of a hockey swing. I don't really care where the ball goes - as long as it goes far.

52. What do you think of off-ice training?

TT: Let's just say it's more stupid than being on the ice but you still gotta do it to be better on the ice.

56. Which word describes your professional relationship (with his coach, Tomek Valtonen), tranquil or colorful?

TT: Colorful of course. At times we're joking around, other times it's more serious but the relationship is really good.

57. Coaching you has been described in many words: good, bad, worse. What are they?

TT: Heh, well... I won't tell them here. He (Tomek) keeps the discipline during practices but sometimes when things haven't gone to a plan I've had to jump on an exercise bike in the middle of a practice.

58. What have been the reasons?

TT: I'll quote Tomek: "when I haven't been present".

59. Have you ever tried to turn the resistance of the bike to zero?

TT: (Laughs) Of course I have and sometimes I've even succeeded.

60. Describe your diet in three words?

TT: Greasy, healthy and good!

64. Your first name is not common for people your age. How did your parents come up with it?

TT: I actually don't even know. Maybe they didn't want a usual Ville*....

(*very common name for men of all ages in Finland)

66. Which of these is the most important: skill, unexpectedness or courage?

TT: Skill!

68. Your longest video game stint?

TT: Six hours, at least. I've played a lot of War of Duty lately.

72. The dumbest thing that has made you upset in hockey?

TT: Probably if I didn't get an assist on a goal even though I should have. Or even worse is if I score and they mark it down for someone else.

79. Have you had any concussions?

TT: I haven't had any, I've managed to always dodge them.*

(*ouch, tho it's good the recent one is his only as far as i remember)

84. In 2011 Team Finland finished in the 5th place at the U-18 tournament. Why only as 5th?

TT: Because we lost to Team Russia in the quarter final, just as well we could have won that game too.

89. You didn't get to be on the ice to accept the SM-Liiga bronze medal (because of the U-18's). When and where did you get it?

TT: I actually still haven't received it, I don't know where it is.

93. What is the population of Helsinki?

TT: There's like 5 million people in Finland so maybe around 500k in Helsinki? (to be exact 596k) Did i really get it right...?

94. Who's the mayor of Helsinki?

TT: I don't know, I barely know the president.

95. Do you think the municipalities in the capital city area should merge?

TT: Luckily I don't have to decide but they probably shouldn't.

96. What do you check first in the news paper?

TT: The sports section.

97. Your favorite tv show?

TT: Putous* was pretty good, I liked a lot of the characters. The grandma was pretty good.

(*Finnish live improvisation comedy/sketch show (there are still new seasons, the latest just finished). Every actor comes up with a humor character with a catchy phrase and one of them wins. "The grandma" is Marja Tyrni and I just got such flashbacks from typing this sentence.)

98. Last book you read?

TT: I don't read many books. The last book was a study book, a Finnish book. I wrote an essay on Tiki (Esa) Tikkanen's biography. An eventful book, great career and a lot of chirps.

99. Who should we ask the 99 questions next?

TT: Riku Hahl could have good stories, he's also seen a lot of the world.

#teuvo teräväinen #teuvo teravainen #carolina hurricanes #canes #hockey #nhl #mp #i knew i had this mag but i thought it was from 2014 and post draft #i really didn't rmbr i've been following turbo for this many years???#good on 16yo me for spending 8 euros on this tho that was excellent thinking

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thingsmk1120sayz · 5 years

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This day in hockey history, June 5th 1945, Andre Lacroix was born in Lauzon, Quebec. Lacroix is the WHA's all time leading scorer with 251 goals and 547 assists for 798 points in 551 games.

Lacroix was the last of 14 children in his family, and to this day his parents still live in the house in Lauzon, Quebec where he was born. He started playing hockey at the age of 12—late by Canadian standards—and he learned quickly to make every shot on goal count. "My father was an oil deliveryman and never made more than $75 or $80 a week," says Lacroix. "A hockey stick in those days cost one dollar, so I was always afraid to take a slap shot for fear that I might break my stick. You don't break many sticks with a wrist shot. My father used to use tape and nails to hold the sticks together so they would last for a long time."

When he was 18 Lacroix went to Peterborough, Ontario to play junior hockey, leading the Ontario Hockey Association in scoring the first year (1963) and narrowly missing the title the second. He scored 119 points the first year (45 goals and 74 assists) and 120 points the second year (40 goals and 80 assists). His career totals in 97 games were 85 goals and 154 assists for 239 points - the best of any Pete in franchise history.

In both years, he was named the league’s most outstanding player winning the Red Tilson Trophy as MVP, once beating out Bobby Orr of the Oshawa Generals.. He won the scoring race in ’65-66 playing on a line with Mickey Redmond and Danny Grant, both future NHL 50 goal scorers.

But Lacroix spoke not a word of English when he arrived in Peterborough, and he found few people in Ontario who spoke French.

"I used to hang around a bowling alley in Peterborough because the people there knew I didn't speak the language and they were very nice to me," he says. "I decided I wasn't going to sit in my room for two years and stare at the walls, so at night when I came home from practice I would write down 25 or 30 verbs in English and study them. I figured if I could learn the verbs, the rest would follow." Lacroix also lugged around a pocket dictionary, and by his second year in Peterborough he spoke passable English. His English now is impeccable, except for his use of Canada's rhetorical "eh?"

It's incredible that Lacroix went undrafted after such an outstanding junior career. So he turned pro in 1966 with the minor league Quebec Aces where he played for two seasons.

ndre Lacroix only spent one and a half seasons in Quebec, but he was so popular that he was sometimes called "the King of Quebec City." The home crowds at Le Colisée de Québec adored Lacroix's puckhandling and passing wizardry.

When the newly created Philadelphia Flyers purchased the Aces as its farm team on May 8, 1967, the club also acquired the player's NHL rights. Although Lacroix did not crack coach Keith Allen's roster at the start of the 1967-68 season, the Flyers took notice of Lacroix's play with the Aces. It would've been hard not to, as Lacroix had racked up 87 points (41 goals, 46 assists) in just 54 games. He was brought up to the NHL by the Philadelphia Flyers, a first year expansion team.

Lacroix scored on his NHL debut for the Flyers on Feb. 21, 1968, pouncing on a turnover against the Penguins and going to his backhand, one of 79 NHL goals he scored. In 18 games with Philadelphia, Lacroix had six goals and eight assists and helped the Flyers capture first place in the six-club expansion division. He followed that with 24-, 22- and 20-goal seasons for the Flyers, who were not known as the Broad St. Bullies in those days, but his playing style—finesse, not muscle—never endeared him to Philadelphia coaches.

"I know what magic Lacroix can flash with the puck," said Vic Stasiuk, who coached Lacroix in Philadelphia for one season. "The thing is, his magic doesn't work against certain clubs, particularly those that employ a tight checking game. When they do this, all too often Andrè can't play his normal game." Also, Stasiuk had a younger center on his roster named Bobby Clarke, and by the end of the 1970-71 season Lacroix was seeing only spot duty.

Two significant things happened to Lacroix while he was still playing for the Flyers. First, part of the roof of the Philadelphia Spectrum blew off in a windstorm in 1968. Then Flyers President Bill Putnam told Lacroix, "As long as I'm in this chair, you'll be with the Flyers." Brimming with confidence and feeling secure, Lacroix bought a house that year in Delaware County, Pa. and planned to settle down with his new bride Suzanne. But in a matter of months Putnam departed the Flyers' organization, somebody else sat in his chair, and Lacroix was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks at the beginning of the 1971-72 season.

"That was the start of our real-estate ventures," says Suzanne. "We decided to keep the Philadelphia house, which was a good move psychologically. My son calls it his 'blue house' because it has blue carpeting."

Lacroix spent a miserable season in Chicago, scoring only 11 points and writhing most of the season at the end of the bench. He also had to suffer the outrageous barbs of snippy Chicago Coach Billy Reay, who called the 5'8", 175-pound Lacroix "the first small French-Canadian center I've ever seen who can't skate." Quite understandably, when the WHA was born in 1972, Lacroix leaped at the opportunity to join it.

The Quebec Nordiques originally owned the WHA rights to Lacroix but traded them to the Miami Screaming Eagles, Unfortunately, the Miami franchise succumbed before it ever left the ground. Lacroix was subsequently peddled to the Philadelphia Blazers—his third team in a matter of days—and his travels were really just beginning.

Philadelphia owner Bernard Brown gave Lacroix a five-year contract at double the $30,000 he was making in Chicago and then obligingly threw in a fistful of incentive clauses with bonuses for scoring. Lacroix has always negotiated his own contracts and he has shown a remarkable sense of his market value and a shrewdness for fine-print language. By finessing the scoring bonuses from Brown, Lacroix earned himself an extra $20,000 after leading WHA scorers with 50 goals and 74 assists that first season.

"During the past six years I've signed three five-year contracts and one six-year contract," says Lacroix, "and I've never been traded in that time. I've also made it a rule that I don't sign a new contract until the old one has been settled. I've never been shortchanged a single dollar in the WHA." Moreover, as franchises collapsed all about him, Lacroix never failed to come out of the mess with a new contract for more money. Of course, it is difficult to say how many of Lacroix' teams faltered partly because they could not meet his salary.

In any case, the paycheck that Lacroix now receives from the Whalers is covered by funds from the Whalers, the league, Ray Kroc, Ronald McDonald, you name it. "To tell the truth," says Lacroix, "I don't know who pays what or where the money comes from. But every two weeks the money comes, and I don't ask questions."

Nobody was asking many questions during that first boisterous year of the WHA and, naturally, mistakes were made—and millions of dollars were lost. Says Lacroix, "I probably could have owned a franchise those first couple of years. A lot of the owners thought the way to increase attendance was to go out and hire a bunch of goons, which showed how little they really knew about hockey. The wise owners signed the Bobby Hulls and Gordie Howes, and that brought people in for a while. Now the owners are finally learning that they have to bring along the young players from the juniors."

In his own hilarious way Bernard Brown, the Philadelphia trucking magnate who owned the Blazers, was an exemplary WHA first-year owner. "The first time Brown met with our general manager," says Lacroix, "he said he wanted all of the players to report for work at nine in the morning and stay until five each night. He expected us to practice for a while, work around the building for a bit, then practice some more. All he knew was that his truck drivers worked from nine to five, and he couldn't understand why he was paying us all that money to work for two or three hours a day."

When Brown, who also had Derek Sanderson under contract for $2.7 million, lost interest in that sort of goldbricking after the 1972-73 season, he sold his team to buyers in Vancouver. Lacroix, however, became a free agent because of a clause in all his contracts that permits him to refuse to play for a Canadian team. The agreement, he says, is strictly for business convenience. At any rate, instead of going to Vancouver, Lacroix was on his way to the New York Raiders, who became the New York Golden Blades while Lacroix was en route.

The gold paint was barely dry on the blades of the Blades' skates when it became apparent there was going to be trouble. Playing in Madison Square Garden was one of the league's big goals, but when it finally happened it was a colossal bummer. "You could hear people talking all the way across the arena," recalls Suzanne Lacroix. "The Garden was great, but 4,000 people in a building that seats 17,500 was depressing."

Meanwhile, Lacroix had signed a new five-year contract with the Golden Blades, purchased a new home in West Orange, N.J. and begun filling it with furniture. By October the team was in bankruptcy court, and Lacroix had his new house up for sale.

The league abruptly moved the Golden Blades to the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill, N.J., called them the New Jersey Knights and asked the players if they would use their own sticks and whatever equipment they could scrounge up until the cash-flow problems eased up. None of the Blades' uniforms, pads or sticks could be moved down from New York without running the risk of having the Knights' gate receipts, such as they were, attached by creditors. "And we were the first big league team New Jersey had ever had," says Suzanne. "At least we called ourselves big league."

"There was no dressing room in the Cherry Hill arena big enough for the visiting teams to use," recalls Lacroix, "so they had to dress at their hotels when they played us. To see Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe climbing off a bus, in the snow, with all their equipment on, made you feel 25 years behind the times."

Which, as it turned out, was right about where the New Jersey Knights were. They finished 32 games out of first place that 1973-74 season, and by the opening of the following season the team had been moved again, this time to San Diego. By the end of the Mariners'—and Lacroix'—second season, in 1976, owner Joe Schwartz was unable to meet the team payroll. For the final month of the schedule and throughout the Avco Cup playoffs the San Diego players competed without pay. "During the off-season, the league had to make up one schedule with San Diego in, one with San Diego out," says Lacroix. "No one knew if there would be a San Diego for the 1976-77 season."

Then Kroc, the McDonald's hamburger tycoon who also owns the San Diego Padres, decided that, after all, a puck looked pretty much like a Quarter-Pounder. He bought the Mariners and signed Lacroix to a new, guaranteed contract for six years and more than $1 million. Lacroix settled comfortably into the Southern California way of life, cruising around in a dune buggy and a van, and his children, Andrè Jr. and Chantal, adopted a cocker spaniel which they named Marina, after the team.

"The first two years we were in San Diego," says Lacroix, "we rented a place because we didn't know how long the team would last. But when Kroc came along, we bought a house with a Jacuzzi and a pool and started looking for schools for the kids. Eight months after I signed the papers on the house, we had to put it up for sale."

When Kroc scuttled the Mariners after the 1976-77 season, Lacroix once again went franchise shopping. "I chose Houston because the Aeros had been around for six years, and I thought that with their new building [the Summit] they would be included in any merger with the NHL. We decided to have a house built for us in Houston. So, of course, at Christmas the team almost went under. When I heard that the team might fold, I didn't even blink. My attitude was, 'So what?' I had tried to choose teams that had a good chance to stay in the league, and that obviously didn't work. So I decided that whatever was going to happen, well, let it happen."

To everyone's surprise, Kenneth Schnitzer, who owned the Summit, came to the rescue. He bought the Aeros and managed to keep them afloat for the remainder of the 1977-78 season. The family's new home was completed last March. By July, though, the Aeros had folded, and the Lacroix house, barely occupied, was up for sale.

Schnitzer eventually sold the Houston players to Winnipeg, meaning that Lacroix was once more a free agent. After consulting with his lawyer, he signed with the Whalers. "They have the most stable organization in the league, eh?" says Lacroix wryly.

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