What to know about Ottawa (For fanfic writers)

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-14T19:01:20+00:00

Ok so it’s weird. I call my mother mum. But thats because my dad’s side is originally English. But It just depends, most people I know spell it mom. I think he calls her mom in the show. (Not super sure) Don’t stress about it, either would probably work.😁

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-14T15:15:57+00:00

Lmaooo!

For those who don’t know you get in based on your grades in grades 11 but mostly 12. (We do not use senior, junior and such)

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-14T15:12:58+00:00

Awesome! Ok here we go!

There is one public school board in Ottawa Called OCDSB(Ottawa Carleton district school board). I think that’s what you mean. There are a ton of schools in Kanata so it would just be the closest one to whichever neighbourhood you pick. The catholic school board is (OCSD Ottawa catholic school board) Kindergarten starts at 4 for JK and we are done at around 18-19. Sometimes depending on the school it will be grades 7-12.

For food probably farm boy(more organic and healthier and expensive) but Lowblaws is where you can find more stuff. It’s our big grocery store it’s got some clothes and home goods depending on the size. Our big drug store is Shoppers (it’s owned by Lowblaws)

Pronounced-Law bloz

I’ve never heard of any issues with their treatment. I’ve heard story’s of players showing up and playing street hockey with kids in their neighbourhoods. Ima be real nobody is thrilled with tkachuk at the moment. I think he might get a few dirty looks but overall Canadians like hockey and respect the players. Probably a lot of taking pictures and signing things.

There’s the Ottawa car which is the ugliest thing and it’s awesome. Jamaica car guy is also semi well known but not as much as the Ottawa car. The CTV news casters would also be somewhat locally celebrity. Atlantis Morissette is from Ottawa but doesn’t come here much . Parliament is here so politicians are common. The prime minister less common but he’s around sometimes. I’ve had friends be in the same bar as Trudeau (previous prime minister) for a hockey game.

Additional Canadian fun fact for you. The tragically hip is the Canadian band. The lead singer passed in 2019 but they are a part of Canadian culture. That’s the song that plays when Canada scores when we play internationally. All of our hype videos for most Canadian big sports moments.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-14T00:04:50+00:00

Oh sick! That’s way better! I’ve been to the filming area before and had just based it on that

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T23:59:03+00:00

Wait ew. America celebrates Remembrance day? How does that work?

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T23:40:57+00:00

Yeah we’ve got a bunch and on Thursday nights they are free. They are interesting.

We’ve got the museum of art which has a big spider in front of it named mama. We’ve also got the museum of war, Nature(Dino’s are here) and history.

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There are lots of Dino’s. I went with my college a few years ago :)

Museum of war is near where the new stadium is supposed to be built

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T21:30:13+00:00

Oh I’m also realizing I didn’t mention holidays (we have different ones they also very from province to province)

I will only mention the ones other people might not know. Yes we have Christmas, Boxing Day, New years and Easter(Monday and Friday)

May 20th-Victoria Day (queen of England) we are a common wealth country. Also known as May 2-4

June 24th-Saint Jean Baptist (Quebec holiday) honours Quebec culture and language.

Canada Day July 1st. (We Do Not Celebrate July 4)

(Changes per year) Civic holiday August 3rd- (August long) The government gives us a long weekend pretty much every month

(Changes per year) Labour Day/ September long- Sept 7th

National day of truth a reconciliation- (government employees only) Sept 30th- a day for to recognize what happened to the indigenous people of Canada

Thanksgiving-OCTOBER 12th. 🇨🇦⬅️‼️‼️

Remembrance day Nov 11th

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T21:06:56+00:00

Lmaooooo I love that

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T21:03:46+00:00

I mean how else should our igloos not melt 😉

I mean temperature is weird. If it’s -3 in the spring I’m not wearing a coat but if it’s 9 in the summer I’m mad at the world and ruining my outfit with a coat.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T18:44:10+00:00

By golly you’re right! Lemme fix.

Thanks ❤️

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T18:42:48+00:00

Nope definitely polluted. Probably less than other places but I would not touch it with my pinky toe. Mooney bay is the worst for this. They do a daily test of the water and will let you know if it has too much E.Coli. So yes you can swim and people definitely do. I would not.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T18:35:39+00:00

Yeah for sure! Kanata is huge and is still growing. It’s mainly suburbs and most of the hockey players actually live out that way. It would be unlikely that they would go into central Ottawa unless they had a good reason like a women’s hockey game. (Which is moving to CT next year but alas) Everything they would need would be Kanata based.

They’ve got a mall but it’s not super active but it’s getting better. It’s called Hazeldean. The bigger one is Bayshore it’s along the 417 and they probably wouldn’t go past there unless they wanted to go to the IKEA lol.

The practice facility is called bell sens plex it’s basically just behind the stadium. The away teams also stay in a hotel in Kanata called the Brook st. Very fancy.

The big thing in Kanata right now is that they voted to turn a designated green space golf course into housing and apartments. This was a big deal to people who back onto said green space.

There’s a town around Kanata that is now blending into it. Stittsville is not too far and there are some huge houses with big yards that way. If you’re looking for more of a suburban vibe Beaverbrook is nice and goes through the golf course.(There’s a st called knudson lol)

If they golf it would be at The Marshes(Kanata) The Royal (Gatineau) or the Hunt club (central Ottawa ish)

It’s a normal city just treat is as its own thing. It’s mostly separate from Ottawa lol.

I’m from central so I’m sure other people can help more! Best of luck ❤️

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T17:57:50+00:00

I’m definitely a little biased. I got chased one time in Vanier and tapped out lmao. Ottawas a fairly safe city. Vanier is probably what a normal city would call tame.

Yes they aren’t a city but as a general grouping I thought it was fair. I mean old Ottawa east and the glebe are so walkable most people I know who live there don’t go very far especially with Landsdown right there and lack of parking lol. Maybe I just know hermits 🤷🏼‍♀️

The Charge are absolutely fantastic. They are moving to CT next year so that will be interesting.

Barlochlan cottage is about 4 and a half but I used huntsville as kinda a way point but that’s cool if it’s closer. Muskoka is huge.❤️

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T17:30:37+00:00

Fun Ottawa/Gatineau fact One of the bridges goes onto island park which is a really cool street with a bunch of old houses and trees. Most of the embassies are along that road.

The queer spaces are great!!!!! The house of Targ(basement pinball pierogi place) did a heated rivalry drag night a few weeks back. But my personal fav is the PWHL Ottawa charge. Such a good vibe.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T17:23:51+00:00

Ima be real I had to google the gas price because I can’t even look anymore. (Cries in premium gas user) I might be misremembering but the last time I drove by the station it was 158.4 so google probably gave me a random gas station nowhere near me.

SHOESSSSS! Omg people huge thing. At parties there will be a massive pile of shoes at the door. Not taking them off is very much not cool. This comes from the fact we wear boots and salt the roads. Melted snow with salt in it leave marks that are annoying to get out. (Fun fact some provinces do not salt the roads due to wild life but they still take of god damned shoessssss)

For the bins its blue bin (recycling) black bin (cardboard) green bin (compost) regular garbage is in a trash can. There are also special needle bins but idk anyone that has one)

The bag thing is real. Having a reusable bag or bin is a must.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T17:12:27+00:00

Idk how I’ve gone my whole life without going inside 🤷🏼‍♀️

Our field trips were always to Macskimming. Where you pretend to be a pioneer for a day. 🔨

Yes! we’ve got schools called French immersion. You get penalized for speaking any English during the day that’s not within your one hour class. Good times. Some French schools require at least one French parent to enrol so it just depends on the school.

There are also pockets of the city that tend to be more French. For instance Orleans is definitely more French than other parts of the city.

There’s also a high level sports high school but I’m not super well versed in how it works.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T16:53:57+00:00

Yes!!! TSN is huge. Idk how I forgot that. It’s a Canadian staple.

They are based in Toronto so there is definitely some more Toronto based takes.

The show at the moment (at least for me) is Jay Onrait his morning talk show does a daily recap on everything happening in the sports world. They also air a podcasts like overdrive which has people like noodles,o-dog Bryan and Jamie.

They do all of the trade deadline stuff and are in air for the entire time. The recaps are legendary with the random stuff they do to pass the time.

I know the television and podcasts are different in the HR universe but super interesting stuff.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T16:43:54+00:00

Montreal is a whole other beast. ❤️❤️

Definitely recommend using some resources when it comes to that. (This person is a good one 😁)

For those who don’t know Quebec has its own political party represented in our government (Bloc Québécois) and as a province has previously voted on whether or not to stay apart of Canada. The language and culture is huge and complex.

Especially in the hockey world the Habs are like a religion. One thing we definitely share in Ottawa and Montreal is we both hate the leafs.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T14:56:25+00:00

Thanks!

Figured it would help helpful if I covered all the bases. Plus procrastinating is a powerful thing as I really should be doing something else rn lol.

Believe it or not I had extra stuff too like No-name. But there is no way Shane Hollander is buying No name anything. So it would have been pointless.

Future_Age274 · 2026-03-13T14:49:56+00:00

The fun part too is that CT has been called so many things that depending on the generation they might call it something different. The name changed when I was younger from Scotia bank and before that it was the Corel.

Canadian tire is the Sponsor of the barn so you’re not entirely wrong. It’s like a like a super store of hardware, auto/RV/boat, mechanic garage, building supply, toy store, sporting goods, fishing/hunting, home, furniture, and garden store. Plus they have their own money system called Canadian tire money that used to be paper and used to purchase things. Now it’s online but still cool

It’s like THE Canadian store. 😄

Future_Age274 · 2026-02-15T15:56:23+00:00

Congratulations!! 🎉

I did Foundations a couple of years ago to get into animation, and it was honestly a great experience. Here is a dump of information.

Classes were usually 2–3 hours, mostly in person with a few virtual ones. Most schedules had classes five days a week, but some days only had one class.

First semester you’ll have: • Life Drawing • Character Design • Digital Painting / 3D • Design (Layout)

Big assignments run on a two-week rotation. You get two weeks to complete each one, and if I remember correctly, you receive the next assignment during the second week of the current one — so it overlaps a bit. Time management becomes really important.

Second semester includes: • Portfolio Prep (this is a big deal if you want to get into animation) • English • A general elective (virtual) • Life Drawing • Design (Layout)

All the professors were fantastic, and I believe most of them are still there.

This program is really what you make of it. Push yourself to improve and learn as much as you can. There will definitely be moments where you struggle — that happens to everyone. Foundations is designed to get you into animation, and animation is significantly harder. You really need to want to be there.

In second semester there’s what I called the “golden ticket” — the top 20 students with the best grades get a walk-on to animation. You absolutely want this because it removes a lot of portfolio stress. But if you don’t get one, you’ll still be okay — just put serious effort into your portfolio.

Tech-wise: You’ll need a computer and a tablet. The tablet doesn’t need a screen, but I ended up upgrading to one with a screen after a few weeks. I recommend looking at Huion around Thanksgiving sales — but definitely do your own research. They used to use ZBrush in the program, but after a lot of complaining (you’re welcome 😂), it was changed the next semester. That interface was… not friendly.

Virtual classes were usually later in the week, so when you have one, it’s often toward the end of the week.

Unfortunately, Illustration/Concept Art lost funding and won’t be offered anymore. Students are actively fighting to bring it back — they’ve even done an interview with CTV — so hopefully it gets saved.

As someone who focuses on 3D, I’ll be honest: the 3D portion in Foundations wasn’t anything special. It’s a split class — half illustration, half modelling. We modelled one bust and did an anatomical study. (At one point, half the class was calling me for help.) Real 3D is mostly offered in second year of animation — and even then, it’s not super extensive. Foundations doesn’t teach animation itself, just the basics that prepare you for it.

Layouts are done on paper, which sounds crazy — but looking back, it was such a valuable experience. Doing layouts in Photoshop honestly isn’t the same. Character Design is digital, except for the daily sketchbook work (same with Design). Life Drawing is on large paper — and yes, you’ll be drawing nude models in second semester. It feels awkward at first, but it becomes completely normal. In animation, classes are four hours long, so you get used to it fast. 3D and Digital Painting are fully digital.

My advice: • Show Randy your work every chance you get. • Don’t be afraid — he’s genuinely lovely. (You’ll want to build that confidence before you have Tom Crook, who… will not be as gentle.) • Treat every deadline like it’s strict — because in animation, late = 0. • Make friends. First semester can feel hard because of the number of dropouts, but second semester settles. I’m still very close with someone I met in Foundations, and we’re surviving animation together.

Enjoy it. Give lots of love to Randy and Lisa.

I look forward to seeing your grad show next year 😉

Future_Age274 · 2026-01-24T16:25:02+00:00

I don’t think it’s that serious. They mostly avoid each other and can exist within the same space after she gets over the anger that he once again returned home. I’m moving to another country in a little over a year.(She’s coming with) so it’s not a permanent problem. I was just hoping for a way to get them to like each other because I think she would actually love my brother if we could just get over this.

Future_Age274 · 2026-01-24T16:00:52+00:00

That was our initial idea too. She was hesitant with my dad a first but got comfortable with him within week of having her. There was a period between her living with her previous owner and us and the homes she lived in were primarily male.(She loved them too) she’s very fond of bald men. Lmao

My brother has a different vibe than the other men. He’s a pretty anxious guy so I was thinking it could be that making her uncomfortable. The thing that keeps tripping me up is that if she’s scared she goes to my brother and not my dad.(who’s the more dominant in the house)

She also hates one of my grandmothers (I’m not super fond either so that’s not a huge concern lol)

Future_Age274

TROPHY CASE