#athletic wear canada

[activewearmanufacturer]

Wearing Activewear At The Office: How To Make The Impossible Possible

Who says you cant wear activewear at work? To know how to achieve the perfect formal activewear look, start reading the blog!, click on https://www.activewearmanufacturer.com/wearing-activewear-at-the-office-how-to-make-the-impossible-possible/

[coxblogs]

This Is Exactly How You Can Dress Up Your Leggings For An Occasion!

Do you want to know how to style your leggings? Read the blog to find out the best ways to elevate your look!

[dalekuda1]

Best Designer Gay Pride Clothing Shop in Canada

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[missroy33]

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[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Daft Punk - Around the World 1997

"Around the World" is a song by French electronic music duo Daft Punk. It was released in April 1997 as the second single from their debut studio album, Homework. The song became a major club hit globally and reached number one on the dance charts in Canada, Spain, the UK, and the US. It also peaked at number one in Iceland and Italy. The song's lyrics solely consist of the words "around the world", repeated on loop for a total of 144 times (80 on the radio edit). In October 2011, NME placed it at number 21 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". "Around the World" was featured in one episode of first season of MTV animated series Daria. It was also used in the video games Dance Central 3, NBA 2K13 and the trailers for Ubisoft E3 2007 Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.

Michel Gondry's music video for the song features five groups of characters on a platform representing a vinyl record: four robots walking around in a circle; four tall athletes wearing tracksuits with small prosthetic heads walking up and down stairs; four women dressed like synchronized swimmers moving up and down another set of stairs; four skeletons dancing in the center of the platform; and four mummies dancing in time with the song's drum pattern. This is meant to be a visual representation of the song; each group of characters represents a different instrument. According to Gondry's notes, the robots represent the singing voice; the physicality and small-minded rapidity of the athletes symbolizes the ascending/descending bass guitar; the femininity of the disco girls represents the high-pitched keyboard; the skeletons dance to the guitar line; and the mummies represent the drum machine.

"Around the World" was Gondry's first attempt at bringing organized dancing to his music videos. "I was sick to see choreography being mistreated in videos like filler with fast cutting and fast editing, really shallow. I don't think choreography should be shot in close-ups." The sequence, initially developed by Gondry, was further expanded and streamlined by choreographer Blanca Li.

The music video won Best Dance Video at the International Dance Music Awards, and was nominated for Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Video Awards, and nominated for International Viewer's Choice - MTV Europe at the MTV Video Music Awards. The song was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the Grammy Awards.

"Around the World" received a total of 81,7% yes votes!

[intheupside]

addressing the boys in the locker room and living his ted lasso dreams

also there’s an athletic article about it:

“It was a roller coaster,” Crosby told The Athletic of the game, shaking his head and smiling. “I feel like there’s been a lot more eyeballs, a lot more attention on this team.”

Crosby, wearing Canada’s red home kit, watched one of the more thrilling games of Copa America. Canada took an early lead thanks to Jacob Shaffelburg, who not only comes from the same province as Crosby, Nova Scotia, but is just the second men’s national team player from the province. Canada’s very own ‘Maritime Messi’.

Venezuela tied the game thanks to captain Salomon Rondon’s long-range chip in the 64th minute but Canada looked composed through penalties and midfielder Ismael Kone scored the winning spot-kick.

And not long after Canada entered their locker room to continue celebrating, Crosby joined them.

“Crosby said it was an ‘Unbelievable Canadian moment,’” defender Alistair Johnston said. “He said ‘The penalties were insane’ and something that he couldn’t even imagine doing.”

Crosby then singled out what midfielder Jonathan Osorio called the “guts of the group” to step up and score in penalties. “They look like a real tight-knit group,” Crosby said.

Crosby’s visit to Canada’s dressing-room soon began trickling out on social media but it wasn’t planned. Crosby said that every summer he and a group of teammates from his days playing junior hockey for Rimouski Oceanic in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League organize a trip together. This year, once Canada qualified for the quarterfinal, they made the decision to travel south to Arlington.

It was only in the hours leading up to the game that a mutual friend of one of the Canadian players extended an invite to Crosby to come into the dressing room.

As he made his way around the room, Canadian players beamed. Osorio said Crosby nabbed Shaffelburg’s jersey postgame.

“I got to see a Nova Scotia legend,” Shaffelburg said. “I’ve always looked up to (Crosby). To meet him was unbelievable.”

Crosby then encouraged the team for the future and reminded them how proud they have made Canadians.

“His words mean a lot,” goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau said. “But it’s an example of how we are slowly changing things for our country.”

Crosby then posed for a photo with the entire team. He’s no stranger to winning over the hearts of an entire country, having scored arguably the most important goal in Canadian sports history to win the 2010 Olympic gold medal over the United States.

And Crosby understands what so many others are coming to learn as well: This Canadian team is becoming a truly special one.

“The way they reacted after (Venezuela’s tying goal) — it’s a tough goal to give up, but they kept coming,” Crosby said when asked what makes this team special.

Canada is no stranger to having heroes visit the team: Famed astronaut Chris Hadfield joined them for a pre-game speech before their 2022 World Cup opener.

But Crosby’s star status is as radiant as they come in Canada. For generations, Canada’s national team was looked at as an afterthought. Qualifying for the World Cup began to change the perception of the team at home. Yet what they have lacked as of late are results against top teams to earn more fans.

That’s changing, and Crosby isn’t just witness to it. Against Venezuela, he was part of it. “With the games that they’ve put together, they’re only going to get more and more (attention). It’s fun to see. They deserve it. It seems like they’re a really great group of guys,” Crosby said.

This Canadian team is tasked not just with winning matches as they’ve done under new head coach Jesse Marsch; they also understand it’s their responsibility to continue to grow a game that might enjoy heavy participation among children but still falls behind hockey in terms of national popularity.

“What a legend to have on our side,” Marsch said of Crosby. “This is important for us in 2026 (at the World Cup with Canada hosting alongside the U.S. and Mecico). We want to feel the power of the entire nation.”

Now, the team is looking at Crosby’s endorsement as another example of their own star in Canada growing brighter.

“You can tell how much it means to the team that we are taking that next step in Canadian pop culture,” Johnston said. “You could see that we’re reaching a bigger crowd than just the football mad crowd. We’re inspiring a lot of people.”

Canada’s next chance to inspire will undoubtedly be their most difficult test yet: A semifinal against world champions Argentina.

As difficult a test as it might be, Canadian players all agree they believe more people than ever will be watching their team. And that includes Crosby.

[clothingmanufacturer]

Why Are Active Pants The Perfect Training Companion For You? – Gym Leggings

In this day and age, where fitness is prioritized, activewear has become a must-have in every wardrobe. As the name implies, active pants are clothing that is specifically intended to meet all of your exercise demands.

[sunsetkerr]

JESSIE'S BABY | j. fleming

summary: a brief introduction to 'baby' and her relationship with jessie

pairing: fem!reader x jessie fleming

notes: first piece for baby!!!!!!!! she's so much fun and I can't wait to write more for her and jessie, because she is just a joy. big sorority girl on campus, our queen, our leader, our baby.

jessie never thought that she would get entangled with a sorority girl

but... spoiler!!! then you came along

jessie majored in materials engineering and environmental science

right she considered herself a total nerd in that retrospect

but she just finds it all so interesting!!!

so one day she meets a girl in one of her classes who is a sister of one of the UCLA sororities

her name is nina

they hit it off, it's great

jessie has finally made a close friend at college

so after a few months of them being friends, jessie is finally invited to the sorority house for a party

and she is NOT having it

she doesn't like to party

she doesn't like to hold eye contact for more than five seconds

and she hates talking to strangers

but after lots of begging

jessie admits defeat and comes along

she spent hours getting ready and deciding on what she should wear in front of a bunch of sorority girls

something pink? or is that too cliche

she ended up going with the first outfit she tried on

a UCLA athletics t-shirt and some jeans 

shes so insecure and not loving life

jessie has to hype herself up to even leave her dorm room and travel 

and then when she gets there and sees people everywhere she calls Nina low-key freaking out

like please come get me im too scared to come inside alone vibes

nina comes out with a gaggle of other girls following her

jessie is still on edge but feeling more calm as she meets all of these girls she was with

they seemed nice enough and they instantly invited her inside to play beer pong with them

they head inside and jessie realises that it was 10x more crazy inside than it was on the front lawn

she is shoving her way through the crowd as politely as she can without losing the group of girls in front of her

but jessie eventually is cut off by a guy chasing his friend with a beer and loses the group

shes left alone in this big sorority house with no idea where she is

jessie gets out her phone to try and call Nina again, but before she can a voice interrupts

"I love your jeans!"

she looks up and came face to face with the closest thing she thinks she will ever see to a god

you were standing there, a pink dress on to match the decor and your hair and makeup done perfectly

jessie is at a stand still

she doesn't know what to do or what to say

completely taken back by you

"I was looking at buying a similar pair last week, where did you get yours from?"

you finally look up at meet her eyes, and jessie didn't think she could fall more in love with someone

but she did

she finally managed to stutter out 'th-they're from a store in Canada.. encircled, I think"

and then you respond with some long-winded sentence about how you've never been to canda but would have always loved to

and about your jeans

and about her jeans and how much you like them

and about the party and if she's enjoying it

jessie's glad that you take the reins on the conversation because she was still too busy trying to recollect herself after making eye contact with you

she doesn't know how it happens

and maybe it's because you're so outgoing you don't even notice how awkward she's being

but you spend the entire night together

jessie ends up telling you that she knows nina

you tell her that nina just happens to be your roommate

you talk about her degree, she asks about yours

she finally works up the courage to say that she likes your dress

the look on your face was so genuine people could have thought that you have never been complemented before

you really were so beautiful, the most radiant person she had ever seen

jessie watched in awe the entire night as you floated around the house, dragging her along in tow

you never failed to introduce her to anyone

"this is my new friend, jessie" "jessie's from Canada" "jessie is on the soccer team, she's really good too" 

the way you complemented her even though you had never even seen her on the pitch made her heart flutter

you ended up inviting jessie to crash in your dorm at the end of the night

but she got too shy, saying she was happy to walk back to her dorm

so you walked back with her

you were the most fearless person that she had ever met

so ready to talk to anyone about anything

too friendly for your own good

too kind and too beautiful

it was almost unfair really

you both became fast friends after that night

you took jessie's phone one night and put your number in it

you texted every day since

the first soccer game that she played after meeting you, you were there in the stands cheering her on

possibly one of the loudest people there

you managed to get everyone chanting for jessie after she scored in the second half

you had this natural affinity for talking to people and making connections

she envied you in that retrospect

you were convinced that jessie had the same effect on people

she just didn't believe you really

you both would spend time studying talking in the library together

back and forth between each others dorm rooms

your sisters joked that jessie would need to pledge if she kept spending so much time at the sorority

jessie knew that she liked girls, had never ever told anyone about it

it was her biggest secret

but she knew that she loved you

you were so different to any other girl that she had laid eyes on

you made existing easier

jessie’s teammates started to notice the difference in her too

she had never been a loud or cocky teammate

but since you started coming to games she found that little bit of extra faith in herself

she scored more, played better and showed off a little more

they chalked it up to you bringing her out of her shell

people were confused by your friendship at first

future sorority president best friends with a engineering major???? unheard of really

but it soon became clear that you guys were a package deal

you were invited to a party? Jessie was coming

jessie had a bonfire with her teammates? it was assumed that you would be bringing marshmallows to toast come sunset

you both were rarely seen without the other

and that became your new normal

you had never spoken to jessie about any guys that you were interested in, but had never mentioned any girls either

so she wasn't sure for ages what your sexuality was

but when you organised a pride parade on campus and showed up with two little flags painted on your cheeks- she finally got that confirmation.

and it was as you painted two little flags of her own colours onto her face that she went for it

jessie fleming kissed you

little shy awkward nerdy jessie just came out and kissed you

I mean.. you weren't complaining

afterwards she was an apologetic mess

"oh my god, I'm so sorry" "that was so not okay of me" "I totally crossed a boundary there" "I am so so sorry" "I'll go"

but when you grabbed her face and told her to "shut up, fleming" and kissed her again it was like everything just kinda made sense?

jessie had never been more content in her life

no goal, or win, or trophy could ever top that first kiss with you

you were her baby, completely untouchable

[dreamauri]

♪ — 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗢𝗬 lando norris x fem! lifegaurd! reader (fluff) “. . . you have to watch a drivers mess around, get hurt, then let him make it up to you.”

( my master list | more of lando norris ) ( requests | taglist )

They rented out the hotel's pool, and like idiots on fifty cups of coffee were swimming around trying to hit each other with pool noodles and swimming boards. You could only walk around the pool bored out of your mind watching the boys, it was already so late into the night and you were tired.

You've recognized them long ago, being the athletes your brothers watch race cars every other weekend. What they were doing in Canada? You didn't know. Why were they messing around in your pool? You did not know. You couldn't care less. You just watched and made sure they didn't drown each other.

"Oh shit. Ok ok, stop." One was quick to surrender, his pool noodle being stolen. "My legs cramping!" He complained trying to tread and keep his head above water. Here we go, you sighed throwing your rescue tube in his direction which he quickly grabbed on.

Once you slipped in, you swam calmly towards him. "Don't grab me." You warned moving behind him and putting your hands under his armpits carrying him back. The other boys laughed as they watched, whistling and cheering for him. Lando could only blush with an extremely nervous smile.

He was whispering to the other drivers about how cute you were before and now that he was this close to you he felt his brain short circuit. Once you reached the edge, you held him there hopping out before pulling him out.

Holly hell you were strong. Carlos and Charles swam near him wiggling their eyebrows suggesting-ly at him. The British boy could only flip them off, prompting a loud laugh coming from Max in the background. Pulling the boy away from the edge of the pool you sat beside him with one leg behind his back.

"It's just the cramp?" You asked. Boy was swooning in his head over your voice. You were attractive and beautiful- "You okay?" You broke him out of his thoughts frowning. "Y—yeah I—i just—" He stutterd over his words making your frown deepen. "Did you hit your head?"

"No!" He cleared his throat. "Sorry. No, I'm fine. It's just the leg cramp, yes." You nodded hesitantly, turning your head back to the pool to watch the other boys. Charles and Carlos were quick to pretend you weren't watching with Max and Daniel chasing each other.

"You'll be able to compete on Sunday with that, yeah?" You asked not looking at him. "Sorry?" "You are the race car drivers, no? My brothers watch your races." You explained. "Y—yeah I'll be fine." "Why are you stuttering so much? Are you cold?" You sighed looking at the time.

"Yes." he lied through his teeth. He couldn't take his eyes of you, not for a second as you got up and got him a towel, wrapping it around him before sitting back down with your leg supporting his back. "Thank you for not letting me drown. I owe you one" He broke the silence after a few moments making you shrug. "It's my job."

"I still owe you one. I insist." He tried again making you turn to look at him quietly. "If you insist."

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"You like it?" Lando asked as walked under an umbrella with you through the pitlane showing you the track. "It's pretty." You nodded rubbing your hands in your kangaroo pockets to try and stimulate some warmth.

"So what are you doing today?" You asked not really sure how the sport works. "It's qualifying today, we set our fastest times one laps. The faster you are, the higher up on the grid you start tomorrow, the actual race." You hummed in understandment nodding. "Makes sense yeah."

Lando was glad you hadn't noticed his lingering eyes on you, 'cause he practically hasn't looked away since you stepped under his umbrella with him. The only thing that bothered him was the colours you were wearing.

"Why don't we go back to the motor home and I'll get you McLaren merch." "Sure." And sure enough, you wore the orange themed shirt with the number four on your back. "You look way better in orange." He swooned smiling brightly.

"You hungry?" Once again, you were in the cafeteria eating a fruit salad you managed to get your hands on. "Oh, look at that." Pausing with your eating you looked out the window to find out what the boy was gesturing to only to find nothing. Felling a hand take yours, you looked back to see Lando lifting your hand up quickly to his mouth eating the strawberry off your fork with a smile.

"Hey!" You pulled back your fork once you realized what just happened. The boy only giggled at you in victory. In an act of revence you took a blueberry from his bowl eating it with a 'hmph'.

"Where's the umbrella?" You asked once you were ready to return to the garage for quali. "There is no umbrella!" Lando shoute taking your hand and dragging you through the heavy rain. You quickly ran, trying to match his pace with your already soaked shoes and now wet clothes as well.

"You're crazy." You nudged his chest once you finally arrived in the safety of the garage. 'crazy in love with you.' he though to himself smiling brightly. He's never smiled so much in a day, his team knew so. Mans was crushing hard.

"Here." He offered you his spare shirt which he had worn under his race suit. You gently took the spare looking in his eyes, a soft smile covering your face once you touched the soft fabric. "Thank you lando." "I'll see you at Parc Ferme yeah?" "Yeah." You nodded smiling.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Pretty cool, right?" Lando walked along side you, sneaking out of the track through some sort of back door to his car. "What's your address, I'll drop you off home." "Eh, don't worry about that, I cant take the bus from the hotel." "In this weather? No way." He looked at you, not giving you a choice. You only sighed as you typed the destination in the GPS.

That was only the start of a very fun car ride, pumped with music and screaming lyrics. You didn't want to get out when you finally arrived, but lando placed the paddock pass in your hand kissing your cheek. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"Really? And What do I get in return? Supporting you through your race weekend." "A kiss?" "Tell you what, you get podium tomorrow and I'll give you a kiss."

landonorris

liked by pieregasly carlossainz55 and 10M others landonorris winner winner chicken dinner

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[106allibi]

dive into you ; MARK LEE

pairing: swimmer!mark x sportsreporter!reader

genres: fluff fluff fluff!!, slight childhood friends to lovers?

disclaimers: mark and yn are so awkward and shy it's kinda painful

wc: 4.1k

a/n: my friend had requested for a bonus scene inspired by the pole vaulter who went to kiss his girlfriend after breaking the world record and I folded in half and ended up writing a whole ass part 2 so expect a part 2 🤗 also feedback is so so greatly appreciated!

you wiped your clammy hands on your cotton pencil skirt and tugged at the collar of your blazer for the nth time. you were feeling unbelievably stuffy in your formal wear, but you couldn't complain when you were given the privilege of free front row seats to one of the world's biggest sports events, more specifically, the swimming category of the event.

being a sports reporter for one of the mainstream news channels in south korea meant that you were sent to these international events and the task of bringing the victories (and losses) of your home-grown athletes back home. having been in the job for just over 2 years now, you've seen your fair share of matches and become acquainted with quite a few local and international athletes from various after parties and social gatherings, but this time round there was a new face on lane two.

you didn't expect to know every athlete in the world, not when you were still considered relatively new to the field, but your eyes couldn't help but travel to lane two, who seemed to be doing extraordinarily for an athlete you didn't recognise. maybe it was the comically blown up maple leaf on the top of his swimming cap, or the way his entire demeanor changed as he pulled his goggles down to his eyes. there was something about the air around him that drew you in even though you were there for the korean swimmers.

you couldn't help but applaud him along with the rest of the crowd as he swam up to the edge of the pool shortly after the second contestant. he was in third place, and you couldn't help but be amazed even though you weren't normally all that interested in swimming.

"absolutely phenomenal, did you know this is his debut event? I wonder where canada was keeping such a gem" one of your friends, who was a reporter for china, leaned over and commented, both your eyes never leaving the lanes. you finally got a front view of mr canada's face when the big screen panned over from another competitor, with his timing, ranking, and most importantly, his name showing up on the screen. "mark lee, third place." the serious, stone-cold gaze he held was now broken by the cutest shy smile you've ever seen as he swam over to the other lanes to congratulate them and receive his own for literally placing third on his debut event.

great, another athlete to add to my list of cute athletes.

your thoughts were interrupted by your colleague, who you now realised was waving frantically at you from the side of the pool while you were in a trance (read: mesmerised by mark), and that was your cue to leave the stands and do your job.

you bowed and congratulated your athlete once again for his gold medal as the cameras stopped rolling. as your team of camera men moved around you, transporting equipment and packing up, you felt something bump into your shoulder. something wet. you jumped at the damp sensation, whipping around to apologise to who you assumed was one of the swimmers, yet you were only met with the face of your newest addition to top 10 cutest athletes ever.

"oh my goodness, i’m so sorry-"

"no wait, um..."

mr canada, or mark lee, bronze medalist on literally his debut event, scratched the back of his head awkwardly. droplets of water dripped from the ends of his black hair like icicles as he held the towel around his bare chest with one hand.

"I saw you staring at me from the stands earlier."

you blinked at him as you felt heat creep up into your cheeks from embarrassment. when did he even find the time to catch you ogling at him?

"I just wanted to ask, do you perhaps... remember me?"

now you were blinking at him in confusion, your head tilting as your mind flipped through every sports-related memory. maybe team canada had brought him to an event before, maybe he had visited korea for a training session.

"oh if you could remind me where we met, I might have a more vivid recollection!"

you chirped shamelessly, forcing a polite smile onto your face. being a reporter, you’ve been in this situation far too many times, you knew how to save yourself! Mark cleared his throat, his eyes looking everywhere but at you.

"oh uh...sejeong middle."

"huh!?"

your confusion had escaped your lips faster than you thought as you clapped a hand over your mouth to stop your exclaims from embarrassing you even further. you expected him to name a country, an event, maybe even a person, but not your middle school.

"we were partners for PE, remember?"

your eyebrows furrowed as you pulled up a hazy memory of you back in Sejeong middle, with your PE teacher, Mr Jung, making you and your partner run laps around the field for forgetting to lock the gymnasium storeroom the day before. your partner, who you had to drag by the arm to complete the final lap, was a small, scrawny kid who was a whole head shorter than you, and had chubby cheeks that made his head seem rounder than it already was from his bowl cut.

"lee…minhyung?"

you blurted out from the memory and watched as mark's eyes lit up. he nodded like an excited puppy and started bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"that's me!"

you knew minhyung had migrated overseas later that year, but you didn't know he had gone to canada, or even started swimming.

your eyes subconsciously traveled the length of his body, from his slicked back, pitch black hair you traced the features he had grown handsomely into; his high cheekbones that were hiding behind his baby fats and his boyish smile that was still reminiscent of the lee minhyung you remembered. his stick-like arms were now defined biceps that flexed underneath his skin whenever he crossed his arms. and now you even had to look up to speak to him.

"you look so…different.”

red crept into his cheeks as you trailed off. he cleared his throat nervously again.

"um, if you don't have any plans after this, team canada is throwing an after party later tonight and I'd love to have you there. of course, that is if you want to!"

he completed anxiously, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. you nodded blankly, still trying to process the fact that your ex-middle school classmate was now an international-competing swimmer, and a bronze medalist for crying out loud, and also the embarrassing fact that you had unintentionally ogled over your ex-middle school classmate.

both of you exchanged contacts, with mark promising to pick you up from your hotel. light pink dusted his cheeks as the offer left his lips, his eyes looking at you expectantly for some confirmation. for some reason, your heart skipped a beat, quickly nodding in hopes that he didn't notice the way your body stiffened or the way your breathing changed. it wasn't the first time a guy picked you up, in fact your colleagues, regardless of gender, did that all the time when it was convenient. he was just being a gentleman, and you were just being weird (and painfully single), you told yourself.

“okay, um, see you later!” was all you managed to blurt before scrambling away.

you had changed out of your blazer and skirt into a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. you stepped out of your hotel lobby and instantly regretted not choosing the sweater as the breeze tickled your arms and permeated the thin fabric draped around your torso. you hugged yourself, rocking back and forth as you waited for mark to arrive.

mark. you weren't sure if you could get used to calling him mark.

lee minhyung was all you had known him as.

the little boy, significantly shorter and smaller than the other boys in class, who always got picked on for his thick, owl-framed glasses that always slid down the bridge of his nose, his comically gigantic school bag, and of course his metal spider-man lunch box.

the little boy who was always on chalkboard cleaning duty, which you soon realised was one of the ways he was picked on as the boys just loved to see him struggle to clean the top.

the little boy who didn’t know how to stand up for himself, and that infuriated little you, who had a bad habit of being painfully straightforward. you suddenly remembered your argument with his bullies that had sent you and the bullies to the principal’s office, where you continued to fight in front of the principal herself.

your trip down memory lane was cut short when the said boy arrived, his lips stretching into a smile when he saw you waiting for him.

his eyes traveled to the way your upper body curled as the breeze blew again and, without a word, immediately slid his team canada windbreaker off his shoulders and wrapped them around yours, exposing his bare (and broad) shoulders and the black tank top that hid under his windbreaker.

“wait- minhyung- I'm alright-”

“you get cold easily, don't you?”

your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. had you mentioned it to him before? he seemed to read your mind as he quickly added,

“oh it’s just that, you often wore a cardigan to school so i assumed…”

you did, and you were speechless because you couldn't believe that he remembered something as insignificant as that after all these years, when you could barely recognise his face earlier. your ears burned and you couldn't tell if you were touched by his gesture, embarrassed that you couldn’t recognise him, or the fact that his bare biceps were now staring at you (you always had a thing for biceps.)

you quickly looked away before he could catch you staring.

“let's get going, shall we.”

you always thought you were pretty social for an introvert, or you were at least skilled at looking social, but all the confidence in your social skills went out the window when you entered the hotel suite.

all eyes had turned to you and mark as soon as the door swung open. you had no idea you were even late for the gathering, but you must've been considering that almost all the canadian athletes were already present.

you suddenly felt small under their gazes. you squeezed the hem of mark’s oversized jacket for some comfort.

“oh my god, mark brought a girl.”

a voice piped up as the entire room erupted into ‘ooos’.

you were sure they were teasing mark, but you couldn't help but feel like you were being teased too. your hand stretched out for a small wave and you squeaked out a “hello”.

“it’s not like that guys, and you're scaring her.”

you had been conversing in korean with mark the entire time, but it hadn't occurred to you how hot his accent would be while speaking english. and you hoped it had never occurred to you because now you couldn’t get his voice out of your head.

“this is y/n, she works for team south korea, but she's an old friend from middle school.”

the athletes swiftly came up to greet you and shake your hand as you struggled to keep up with the names. you had planned to stick to mark, but the plan flew out the window when some of them dragged you for a drink with them on the couch.

“by the way, how come you're wearing markie's jacket?”

a female gymnast you already forgot the name of asked, her and a few other athletes leaning closer to get the gossip.

you would've laughed at the cute nickname they gave mark if they weren't implying that there was something going on between the both of you.

“oh uh, I get cold easily and he must've noticed. mark has always been a sweet boy!”

you ended off your reply with a forced laugh. you attempted to address him in the most casual, nonchalant tone you could muster to convince them that you felt nothing for each other.

but in reality, you were feeling… a lot. nostalgic at the reunion, awe for how far he has come, and unexplainably shy around him.

as time passed, you could feel your energy seeping out of you. another polite laughter and ingenuine ‘really?’ and you knew you’d be out. gossip and chatter grew softer around you as you sunk deeper into the couch in exhaustion, your brain automatically drowning out the conversations while you fiddled with the tab of the beer can with your thumb. you still made it a point to look up from time to time, just enough in order to come off as not rude.

but mark, who had been observing you ever since you were dragged away from his side, noticed the way you rubbed your hands against your lap, the way your lips curled into corporate smiles and let out strategic laughs he knew weren't genuine, and the way your cheeks didn’t quite reach your eyes when you smiled. it could’ve fooled everyone, but definitely not mark.

mark, who has had the biggest crush on you ever since you stood up for him against those bullies. and that crush lingered in the back of his mind unresolved and unrequited even as he moved across the globe.

“hey y/n, could I have my jacket back?”

you snapped out of your daze, your attention now on him as you let out an ‘of course’ and stood up almost too quickly to slide yourself out of his jacket, too eager to escape the suffocating, superficial conversations. you immediately missed the warmth of his jacket.

and his smell.

your cheeks flushed at that thought. his jacket smelled like a vanilla-scented candle; sweet, familiar, comforting.

and that was what Mark was in this very room; the sole candle burning brightly, bringing you warmth in this cold, winter-esque room.

he met you halfway across the living room, not even bothering to stretch out his hand to take his jacket when he dipped his head so that his lips were at your ear-level. his breath sent goosebumps up the back of your neck as he spoke, his voice low.

“wanna leave?”

your eyes widened as his head lifted to look at you. not just at you, into you. his eyes seemed to search yours and once it did, it held you in its grasp relentlessly. it was magnetic. for an entire second, you lost yourself in his eyes, and the longer you looked at him, you felt your exhaustion and fatigue dissipate.

you would’ve said no. you would’ve smiled and shook your head and lied that you were perfectly fine. but today, you just couldn't help it. maybe it was the familiarity of an old friend, or the way his eyes seemed to already know your answer, because strangely, you felt like you could be honest around him. you gave him the slightest nod, still unsure if you were being an inconvenience to him, but the small smile that followed quelled any doubts you had.

“hey guys, it's getting late and y/n has work tomorrow so she'll be taking her leave.”

he announced on your behalf definitively. you gathered the remainder of your social battery to force out friendly goodbyes and see you agains (you really didn't know if you wanted to) as mark guided you out of the room with two hands firmly planted on your shoulders.

as the door clicked shut behind the two of you, the initial confidence you had to be honest with him was immediately replaced with a sense of guilt. you worried that you had ruined the mood of the party, the party that he out of everyone should be enjoying. it was his debut, and an extraordinary debut for that matter, and probably his first after party as a debuted athlete with his dear teammates, and you were taking up way too much of his time.

“hey, um, I can head back by myself.”

you stopped in your tracks, folding his windbreaker neatly in your arms and passing it to him.

“you should enjoy your after party, I'll text you when I reach back if that'll reassure you-”

“no.”

you blinked at his interruption. his eyes seemed to widen at his own assertion.

“I mean, no, it's no big deal. they'll be fine without me.”

“but-”

“y/n.”

the way your name rolled off his tongue so softly, so sweetly, had your next word lodged in your throat.

“to be honest i…i only invited you ‘cause i wanted to spend time with you. can we spend some time together? just us two.”

he eyes had suddenly found interest in the hotel carpet as he spoke in a quiet voice. you couldn't find a polite response, or any response at all for that matter, because your heart was beating too fast for your lungs to keep up. you only had enough breath to stand there and stare at him.

with your lips sealed shut, you nodded, squeaking out the only ‘okay’ your lungs would allow you to. he looked up and smiled. you could get used to that smile.

the two of you strolled back to your hotel, which was thankfully not a long walk away, catching up on the years and time lost. upon mark’s insisting, you had reworn his windbreaker (you almost want to buy it off him). you had learnt that mark took up swimming as a co-curricular in high school and fell in love with the sport.

“and, to be honest…”

he trailed off. you tilted your head in curiosity, prompting him to finish his sentence.

“i decided when I moved that I'd pick up a sport. as much as I hated the bullying, I hated it more that I couldn't protect myself. i really wanted to get stronger now that i was on my own. you always jumped to my rescue and that made me fall for you, but-“

your feet stopped moving, and mark seemed to understand why as you gaped at him, his words reverberating off the walls of your mind. he let out a nervous chuckle, his hand automatically rubbing the back of his neck.

“oh I thought I was really obvious. why do you think I requested to be your PE partner?”

“I just thought you…didn't have any other friends…”

“ouch.”

mark clutched his chest jokingly with a small chuckle. a beat too long of silence ensued between the two of you before you decided to break it.

“but…you don’t like me anymore, right?”

you didn’t know if you wanted to hear his answer or not. you didn’t know if you even could, considering how loud your heart was beating in your ears. in fact you almost felt embarrassed for even asking that question.

of course he didn’t like you anymore, it’s been quite literally years since the two of you talked, and you've changed since then. you were most definitely bolder at the age of 13, when all you cared about was bossing your classmates around and sucking up to your teacher (which earned you your role as class chairperson). life after middle school had taught you to hold your tongue and your thoughts. corporate had taught you not to speak unless spoken to, to bow your head to your superiors and nod meekly if you wanted next month's pay.

you weren't the protector mark knew you as, in fact you felt like the opposite. you went from the lion to the lamb in the years you were apart and you were ashamed at how lame you had become. how disappointed would he be to learn about the you now?

while you were lost in your thoughts, you hadn't noticed him inching towards you.

“the way you feel about me will determine my answer.”

he answered softly. you weren't dense. you knew what his words implied.

“minhyung, I'm…really not the same person you liked in middle school.”

you breathed out, your heart hammering against your chest as you awaited his disappointment.

“I know.”

“then what else is there to like about me-”

“I don't know.”

you felt your heart sink at his answer. maybe, deep down, you had secretly expected a legitimate answer. maybe you had hoped to be proven wrong. but mark wasn't finished.

“I don't know. it's been years since we've spoken, since we've met, yet my heart still beats the same, fast-paced rhythm that leaves me breathless when I look at you. when I saw you in the stands, and I'm not kidding when I say this, my legs turned to jelly and I almost slipped back into the pool. thank god you didn’t see that- you didn’t right?”

you let out a small laugh at his silly question, gosh just how cute could he be? he mirrored your expression, letting out a small chuckle of relief. his eyes softened at the sight of your laughter, internally cheering that his stupidity had somehow managed to release some tension in your features. his fingers reached to touch yours gingerly, testing the waters to see if you'd recoil, and your lack of reaction and expectant eyes gave him the green light to hold more of you. his hold on your pinky was almost phantom, as if any sudden movement would cause a fracture.

“i know you've changed, but so have I. I don't know if we'll work, but could we try anyway?”

he looked at you in anticipation. this was your cue to speak. the line preceding yours. but like an unrehearsed substitute, your mind failed to form your line. what was your line even supposed to be? you wanted to say yes and no and maybe and you're crazy and I'm crazy. but all you managed to say was

“friends?”

you cracked a shy smile as you buried yourself deeper into his windbreaker, and he seemed to get your message. you weren't sure if you could date mark just yet, you were never one to jump into a relationship, but you knew a small part of you didn’t really mind dating him.

mark released a breath he didn't know he was holding. at least you didn't reject him, was what he thought. he smiled and nodded reassuringly.

“friends.”

though, with the way your ears turned red and the way your eyes sparkled when you looked at him, mark didn’t need a psychic to tell him that your friendship wouldn't last very long.

“minhyung! someone is here to see you!”

his teammate hollered from the pool side, wiggling his eyebrows as he gestured to something behind him. nobody called him minhyung, and he would never allow anyone to call him minhyung, except for you.

mark pulled his goggles off his head and looked up at the stands. god, he had never jumped out of the pool so quickly.

without bothering to grab the towel his friend was holding at him, he ran up the steps of the stands, almost slipping on the steps as he yelped, grabbing onto the railings. he looked up sheepishly, watching you cross your arms with a quirked eyebrow. he knew he was supposed to be embarrassed, but my goodness you just looked so. damn. cute. in the denim jacket he thought he had lost and the white polo cap he had mailed to you a few months ago. and that little frown on your face from watching him make an absolute fool out of himself in front of you, he thought he would have folded right there and then.

”mark lee minhyung don’t you dare-“

before you could even complete your threat, he threw himself onto you, wrapping his wet arms around your torso and pulling you in. he buried his dripping hair in your neck as you cringed at the dampness soaking through your shirt. you groaned, your hands come up to his bare chest to push him away, only earning an even tighter hug, literally trapping you in his arms.

”i miss you too, minhyung, but you’re getting me all wet.”

“dude i actually hate you. but i hate long distance more.”

he huffed, his breath tickling your skin. you chuckled, bringing up a hand to run through the back of his wet hair as the other wrapped around his shoulder. you pulled his face away from your neck, tip toeing to place a soft peck on the lips you missed so much. mark’s lips chased yours as you pulled away, a natural pout forming on his lips as your warmth slowly dissipated, his eyes practically begging for another. you giggled, placing one last kiss on his cheek to soothe him.

“enough, pretty boy. before I have to report my own scandal.”

mark rested his forehead against yours with a sigh, your presence filling him with comfort.

“you know, y/n, I think you're a much better swimmer than me with how you dived straight into my heart.”

“oh my god, shut up."

“you love me though.”

you rolled your eyes, unable to fight the small smile from creeping onto your face. he was right, though. you did, and you think you will for a long, long, time.

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[unhetalia]

I wanted to do those posts about how we imagine each characters' features, then realised there were so many characters I wanted to do them for! Decided to start it off with the NA sibs.

America:

Baby faced. Soft, delicate features and slightly rounded cheeks, which makes his pouting very effective. Long eyelashes, big eyes. America The Beautiful is real and he is a menace. Physically 19-20, but his IDs claim he's older.

He's 182cm/5'11.

His hair is a light golden blonde, and skin has a natural medium tan. His eyes most closely match A17 blue. Because of his skin, I imagine America is often considered mixed race by humans.

Despite America's constant preoccupation with his weight, he isn't overweight. He doesn't have abs, and his stomach is soft - but it's flat. Most of his physical activity comes from being energetic and curious - he does a lot of hiking with Canada and Mexico, and he bikes everywhere because he secretly can't drive, so while he's physically fit, it doesn't translate to a superhero body, to his endless disappointment. Though he has incredibly strong legs on top of his insurmountable strength.

America l o v e s colours. He tends to buy all of his clothing second-hand, so his fashion can mostly be described as 'eclectic'. He is not known for being fashionable among the other Nations.

Canada:

He and America don't actually look very alike, and Canada thinks its more proximity that has people mistaking him for his brother all the time. Canada doesn't have America's baby face, and stopped getting what he wanted through pouting long ago. He has a sharp jawline and can be described as strikingly handsome, when people bother to look. He has the same long lashes and big eyes as his brother and are physically the same age.

He's two inches taller than his brother (6'1), but he slouches so much that they look the same height. He has a few suits for world meetings, but all off the rack. France despairs, but knows better than to buy him anything.

His hair and skin have a cooler undertone - his hair is lighter than America's and his skin is pale. His eyes most closely match A60, and looks purple in certain lights in the same way Elizabeth Taylor's did, but it is actually blue. He also doesn't actually need glasses, and wears them only because his brother had refused to wear his own unless he also had them, years and years ago. He's too used to it now, and it has sentimental value.

Canada is an avid hockey player, hiker and all around fitness buff, and his body secretly reflects that, underneath all the layers. He's broader in the shoulders and waist than America, and more muscular, to his brother's endless, ENDLESS bitterness. He's also very disciplined with his eating, and follows an athlete's diet. He REALLY cares about Hockey, guys.

HOCKEY JERSEYS. LAYERS. LOUNGEWEAR. He has the wardrobe of a typical sportsmad lad. Waterproof steel-toed boots, something he and Australia both extol the virtues of. He likes whites, greys, browns and lights blues.

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

I have to start this one with the sad news that the hero who saved others by stopping the terrorist yesterday, despite being stabbed in several places (including in the neck), has passed away. His name was Uri Moyal, he was 51 years old, he leaves behind a wife and three kids. Yesterday, the number of wounded was still not fully clear, today it's confirmed that in addition to Uri, the terrorist managed to injure 2 more people. In the pic below you can see Uri holding up a lifetime achievement award. At his funeral today, his daughter Sapir mourned him: "Thank you for being a dad, who was also a teacher for life. There is no one who knew you and didn't fall in love with you."

The German press has reported (so far I've only managed to find this English source) that this week, the antisemitic, genocidal slogan "From the river to the sea" has been found painted in Arabic on the site of the 1972 kidnapping and massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists. I'll point out that recently, the grandson of one of the murdered athletes was attacked (he had several bones in his face broken) in Berlin by an Arab anti-Israel activist.

A terrorist attack was prevented from happening, when two Palestinians, carrying a big knife and a sword, were arrested on their way to a Jewish community in the middle of the night. They're currently being questioned.

After Canada and Sweden, now Australia has also announced that it will renew its funding of UNRWA. I may sound like a broken record, but this is morally broken. They KNOW that UN agency is complicit in countless crimes of helping anti-Jewish hate and violence, the IDF evidence uncovered thanks to the war are just the tip of the iceberg when we're actually talking about decades of complicity, and resuming the funding without any changes, without even an investigation into this being completed, means these countries don't even care about looking as if they care about Jewish and Israeli lives. It's beyond ccontemptible. So. Canada, Sweden and now Australia, whenever these countries' heads tell you that they care about human rights, know that this includes, "but not for Jews."

And because I mentioned the long, long complicity of UNRWA (and many in charge of or dealing with it), here's the CEO of the NGO UN Watch explaining it better than most can, because they have been working for years on calling attention to the wrongdoing of UNRWA:

There's this common lie spread by the anti-Israel crowd, that everything was just peachy between Jews and Muslim in the Middle East, until Zionism came along. This is a blatant erasure of repeated discrimination, persecution, forced conversions, expulsions and massacres perpetrated against Jews living in Muslim majority countries for centuries. The ethnic cleansing of the entire Middle East of Jews (other than in Israel) is only the climax of that long history of antisemitism under Muslim rule, exactly like the Holocaust is just the climax of the long history of antisemitism under Christian European rule. And yesterday, I came across another reminder.

I was listening to an interview with Rabbi Abraham Cooper, an American rabbi, about the discrimination he had recently suffered during a trip to Saudi Arabia. I'd read the headlines, but hearing him tell it in his own words (in amazing Hebrew, might I add) really drove it home. He was heading a US delegation meant to inspect the state of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, when he gets a phone call from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, telling him that the Saudis have laws which must be respected, and which dictate that no one but "the members of our religion" (meaning, Muslims) can walk around publicly displaying signs of their religious identity. In other words, Rabbi Cooper was told to remove his kippah (the head cover religious Jews wear). Rabbi Cooper asked the official on the phone, whether he was sure, and tried arguing against this decision. When the demand was reaffirmed, Rabbi Cooper responded that he wouldn't take off his kippah for the Soviets decades ago, and he wouldn't be taking it off for the Saudis, either. That meant he had to leave, and so the delegation had to end its visit. This isn't a small incident of anti-Jewish discrimination in the 1930's, in an Arab country where no one would even bat an eye at that. This is a Saudi official, speaking to an American Jew, in 2024, during an official visit, meant to check the state of religious freedom in that country, while Saudi Arabia is doing its best to present a more tolerant, modern and progressive image for the world. And this still happened. There is a long tradition of antisemitism in the Middle East, it doesn't simply disappear even when Jews were forced to, and the attempts to deny it with the excuse of "But Zionism!" are antisemitic, too.

This is Hadar Gadol.

He's an Israeli author, a practitioner of alternative medicine, and as a reservist, he serves as a casualty officer (an army official who lets a family know that their loved one was killed in combat, in Israel a casualty officer also continues to work with and support the family after the initial notification, kind of like a social worker appointed by the army). In January, IDF soldier Mark Kononovich was killed. A few weeks ago, as party of taking care of the family, Hadar took Mark's dad Alex on a tour of the last army post where Mark and the friends who died with him had slept. In the middle of that, Hadar got a heart attack. Alex happens to be a doctor, he recognized the signs, administered some first aid, and made sure Hadar would be taken to the hospital to receive the treatment he needed. This is Hadar after being released from the hospital, visiting Alex to thank him (you can also see Mark's younger brother in the pic):

During this visit, Alex told Hadar, "You took our case as very close to you, you felt it like we do, very close to the heart." I have no doubt their bond is gonna be there for years to come. Hadar is actually not the first Israeli casualty officer I've heard of, who collapsed and was in need of hospitalization since Oct 7, just the latest. I think that in a way says something about how acutely Israelis feel the pain of the massacre, whether we personally lost someone or not.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)