#national ace day 2023

[crunchy-soup222]

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread    

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come

YA contemporary about a depressed girl at uni, who finds out an asteroid is heading to earth just as she’s planning to end her life

she ends up back at her parent’s house with her roommate and best friend she’s in love with to wait out the final 9 days

switches between flashbacks and the present

[raideo]

🦀 time for crab 🦀

today i summoned 22 crabs! i caught 3 💰 of them. i became friends with 14 🌼 of them. 7 fell in love with me 💙

group picture!!!

🦀💙🦀💙🦀💙🦀💙🦀💙🦀💙🦀💙🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀🌼🦀💰💰💰

[svt-nari]

basics:

birth name: hwang nari (황나리)

english name: julie hwang

nicknames: nabiran, nabi, riri, maknae noona, eternal nabi, seventeen's yeobo, the forever teenager, kpop's bestie, nation's passion, pledis' girls last survivor

birth date: 1996/05/30

birth place: jeju-si, jeju island, south korea

residence: yongsam-gu, seoul, south korea

nationality: korean

languages: korean (100%), japanese (90%), chinese (70%), english (70%)

blood type: O+

family: mom, dad, older brother and younger brother

sexuality: pansexual

physical traits:

faceclaim: seola / kim hyunjung (wjsn)

height: 165cm

weight: 45kg

tattoos: five (both arms, right rib, left wrist and nape)

piercings: 5 (each ear)

career:

stage name: nari (나리)

positions: main vocalist, lead dancer, visual, face of the group

representative emoji: 🦋

group: seventeen (세븐틴)

debut date: 2015/05/26

debut album: 17 Carat

solo debut date: 2023/05/25

debut album: 꽃 'kkoch' (flower)

social media:

instagram: @ mynabiran

weverse: 피는 리~ 🪷 'blooming ri~'

trivia:

— along with coups, she's the member who has the longest training period in seventeen. she started training at sm and was supposed to debut with f(x) but didn't due to her age, then, she traded to pledis right after, still in 2009.

— she was actually supposed to debut in a girl group that still didn't have any plans to happen, but, pledis saw a lot of potential in her and decided to put her on Seventeen TV for her to get along with the audience and the members. she quickly got accepted and became a sweetheart to everyone who met her.

— she's the 4th oldest member in the group, she's the oldest 1996 liner and one of the aces of the group. anything you put her to do she will ace it perfectly without any obstacles.

— nari's number one nickname, used by almost everyone who knows her, is nabi. since she loves to make friends and is easily outgoing, the members started calling her that, which quickly spread around and now everyone calls her that.

— she was literally everywhere in 2018/19 due to a famous fancam of her dancing to exo's love shot during an award show. her talent and visuals stood out to a lot of people, and her fanbase triplicated due to it. she gained the nation's passion nickname due to this masterpiece.

— nari is close to all of the boys, especially the younger ones whom she loves to spoil and give attention to. she tends a lot to seungcheol too, since she knows how hard he works and how little he cares for himself. she's known to be seventeen's mom along with jeonghan, in which fans make jokes about them fighting over the title.

— nari's biggest fear nowadays is the day seungcheol and jeonghan enlist for the army. she's really not prepared for this, and she's been dreading the subject ever since the year started. fans make sure to try and not mention it too much because they know she goes through social media quite a lot.

— during their trainee days, nari used to go out of her way of school just to drop the younger ones at their own school, most of the times she would arrive late for her own classes, but she says it was worth it.

— she has one of the highest iqs in kpop, she's really smart, but sometimes she just forgets it and acts like the stupidest person on earth — which may seem like it but it isn't purposeful.

— she's openly pansexual, which made her receive a lot of backlash in which was quickly turned down due to a lot of people standing up for her. nari is really grateful for them and never forgets to thank them whenever she has to give a speech or something.

— she's also known to be hybe's groups mom. she loves to say that she adopted enhypen, newjeans, lesserafim and txt. she's also really close to fromis_9 members and says that jiheon is her adopted baby.

— even though she's not a part of the performance team, nari practically begged to go to i-land with her members. she was so happy that she was allowed to go that you could see it just by her face. nari says that, on that day, she knew that ni-ki, jungwon and sunoo were going to be a part of her babies.

— nari's also an actress, she has been in some k-dramas and movies. her members love to tease her because of it and whenever one of her new dramas gets released, get prepared for a weverse thunderstorm of posts teasing her.

— she has a dog, who lived in the apartment she used to share with wonwoo and mingyu. now, she moved out to her own apartment in yongsam-gu and also adopted a cat.

— her number one hobby is cheating on games with jeonghan.

— she's currently in a relationship with a male idol, people now that she's taken but they don't know who it is because of her members exposure of her life that she doesn't really care.

all rights reserved © svt-nari, 2023

[applbottmjeens]

Nikita Viktorovich Zakhaev

AKA: Kita, Niki, The Right Eye, The "Charming One", The Leader, "The Cocky Brat", Gemini-1, "Just a kid" (Kate Laswell, MW3)

Age:

16-17 (Modern Warfare 2, 2022)

18 (Modern Warfare 3, 2023)

30s (Call of Duty: Aces AU)

Blood type: AB

Eye color: Blue

Height: 5'11

Nationality: Russian

Ethnicity: Slavic (Russian, Partially Chechen)

Languages Spoken: English, Russian, Arabic

Religion: Russian Orthodox

Marital Status: Single

Faceclaim: Ernest Klimko + Yuri Pleskun + Other References

Family:

Imran Zakhaev - Paternal grandfather (deceased)

Viktor Zakhaev - Father (deceased)

Yulia Zakhaeva - Step-Mother (unknown)

Oksana Makarova - Mother (unknown, presumed deceased)

Vladimir Makarov - Maternal Uncle, Mentor (unknown)

Nikolay "Kolya" Zakhaev - Brother (alive)

-

Affiliates:

KONNI GROUP, ULTRANATIONALISTS, SSO (formerly)

Nikolaj and Nikita Zakhaev were born through the extramarital affair of Viktor Zakhaev and Oksana Makarova, the older sister of Konni Group commander and ultranationalist leader Vladimir Makarov in 2005. Although their legitimacy was a point of contention through the family, Viktor's involvement with their childhood was somewhat minimal, leaving their uncle as their father figure and influence.

Oksana didn't want her children to follow in the family business, but hoped that they'd have a place in the new world order her younger brother aspired to create out of the ashes of the western world.

Both boys attended relatively good schools and lived their lives publicly under the "Makarov" surname, only dropping it when they were old enough to join the movement, and have their legitimacy acknowledged by their grandfather before his death in his will.

Both Kita and Kolya received informal training under their uncle and their family friend, Yuri. It was Kolya who was the more "naturally talented" and gifted of the two. Makarov encouraged Kolya to nurture his sadistic and ruthless tendencies, and had Nikita keep his more fragile brother's mind from breaking.

When working together, they are a threat almost equivalent to Makarov himself, perfect extensions of his power in the form of two young lieutenants. Should anything happen to him, they will carry on what he started.

Kita was a troublemaker and heartbreaker in his youth, popular amongst his peers and always involving his more introverted and sensitive twin. He was a massive momma's boy and will lash out at anyone speaking ill will of her- even his own father and stepmother.

He enjoyed sneaking vapes and cigarettes and skating when he was younger, with his favorite game being Sonic growing up, often fighting with Kolya over who got to play next.

Everything this young charlatan does is with a grin and a wit, ale to coax answers out of someone without the other even knowing (in comparison to Kolya, who prefers the direct approach of "torture until they talk.)

All in all he fears one day he will lose Kolya to the whims of Perseus and their uncle's plans- whatever it may be...

[usafphantom2]

Northrop Grumman releases new photo of B-21 Raider, after receiving prestigious award from Aviation Week magazine

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/21/2024 - 22:28in Military

Northrop Grumman Corporation received the Aviation Week Grand Laureate Award in the defense category for its role as the main contractor in the delivery of the B-21 Raider to the United States Air Force. Aviation Week announced the Grand Laureate winners at its 66ª annual Laureate award in Washington, D.C.

"On behalf of the entire B-21 Raider national team, Northrop Grumman is honored to receive this prestigious award," said Tom Jones, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems. "The Grand Laureate represents the pioneering spirit, innovative technology and pioneering approach to contract management that gave life to the world's first sixth-generation aircraft."

In the fall of 2023, the U.S. Air Force confirmed that the first B-21 test vehicle had entered a flight test, followed by a low-rate initial production premium. The aircraft is currently undergoing a robust flight test campaign run by the B-21 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Base in California. The program continues to meet all technical, schedule and accessibility requirements of the Department of Defense on its way to operational capacity.

Developed with the next generation of stealth technology, advanced network capabilities and open systems architecture, the B-21 Raider will serve as the backbone of the U.S. bomber fleet. Capable of carrying conventional and nuclear loads, the B-21 will be one of the most effective aircraft in the sky, with the ability to use a wide combination of isolated and direct attack ammunition.

“This bomber will be able to defend our country with new weapons that have not yet been invented,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin when the B-21 was launched in the spring of 2023. "Even the most sophisticated anti-aircraft systems will have difficulty detecting the B-21." The Raider is also "multifunctional," says Austin. "He can do anything."

Details about the progress of the program were only made available in pieces from the beginning, because the myth of secrecy surrounds the project. Only a few scattered observers recorded the start of the first flight on November 10, 2023, which took the Raider prototype from its place of origin in Palmdale to Edwards Air Base for posterity. Since that day, things have been calm in relation to the B-21. The manufacturer and the U.S. Air Force remained silent about the status of the flight tests. All that is confirmed is that they are happening and that they are obviously on schedule.

Tags: Military AviationB-21 RaiderNorthrop GrummanUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[louisupdates]

FITFWT23: OUTRO SONGS

NORTH AMERICA

26 May - Mohegan Sun Arena, UNCASVILLE CT: The Best, by Tina Turner

27 May - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, GUILFORD NH: This Charming Man, by The Smiths

29 May - Place Bell, LAVAL QC: Downtown, by Petula Clark

30 May - Budweiser Stage, TORONTO ON: Summer of 69, by Bryan Adams

1 Jun - Blossom Music Center, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH: Bittersweet Symphony, by Verve

2 Jun - Michigan Lottery Amphitheater, STERLING HEIGHTS, MI: Chasing Rainbows, by Shed Seven

3 Jun - The Icon Festival Stage, CINCINNATI: All These Things That I’ve Done, by The Killers

6 Jun - Kemba Live! Outdoor, COLUMBUS OH: The One I Love, by REM

7 Jun - TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, INDIANAPOLIS: Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Joy Division

9 Jun - Saint Louis Music Park, SAINT LOUIS: Johnny B. Goode, by Chuck Berry

10 Jun - Starlight Theatre, KANSAS CITY MO: Moondance, by Van Morrison

13 Jun - BMO Pavilion, MILWAUKEE: I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash

15 Jun - Huntington Bank Pavilion, CHICAGO: September, by Earth, Wind, and Fire

16 Jun - The Armory, MINNEAPOLIS: Nothing Compares 2 U, by Sinéad O’Connor

17 Jun - Harrah’s Stir Cove, COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA: Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've?) by Buzzcocks

19 Jun - Denny Sanford Premiere Center, SIOUX FALLS, SD: American Pie, by Don McLean

21 Jun - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, MORRISON, CO 😪

24 Jun - Wamu Theater, SEATTLE: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, by The Smiths

26 Jun - Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Center, VANCOUVER BC: King Of Pain, by The Police

27 Jun - Mcmenamins Edgefield Concerts, TROUTDALE OR: Always On My Mind, by Elvis Presley

29 Jun - The Greek Theatre, BERKELEY CA: Never Tear Us Apart, by INXS

30 Jun - The Hollywood Bowl, LOS ANGELES: California Love by 2Pac ft Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman

1 Jul - The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, LAS VEGAS: Human, by The Killers

3 Jul - Arizona Financial Theatre, PHOENIX: Liberator, by Spear of Destiny

6 Jul - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, IRVING TX: Hello, I Love You, by The Doors

7 Jul - Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, AUSTIN TX: Teenage Dirtbag, by Wheatus

8 Jul - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, THE WOODLANDS TX: Walking On The Moon, by The Police

11 Jul - St. Augustine Amphitheatre, ST. AUGUSTINE FL: Every Breath You Take, by The Police

13 Jul - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, HOLLYWOOD FL: Your Song, by Elton John

14 Jul - Yuengling Center, TAMPA FL: Hit Me With Your Best Shot, by Pat Benatar

15 Jul - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park, ATLANTA: You Can’t Always Get What You Want, by The Rolling Stones

18 Jul - Ascend Amphitheater, NASHVILLE: Hold Back The Rain, by Duran Duran

19 Jul - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre, CHARLOTTE NC: Perfect Day, by Lou Reed

21 Jul - Red Hat Amphitheater, RALEIGH NC: Moondance, by Van Morrison

22 Jul - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD: Easy, by The Commodores

24 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: More Than A Feeling, by Boston

25 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: Here Comes Your Man, by The Pixies

27 Jul - TD Pavilion at the Mann, PHILADELPHIA: Nothing Compares 2 U, by Sinead O’Connor

28 Jul - Stone Pony Summer Stage, ASBURY PARK NJ: Dancing In The Dark, by Bruce Springsteen

29 Jul - Forrest Hills Stadium, NEW YORK: We Are The Champions, by Queen

Away From Home Festival 2023

19 Aug - Parco BussolaDomani, Lido di Camaiore: We Are The Champions, by Queen

EUROPE

29 Aug - Barclays Arena, HAMBURG: Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Joy Division

31 Aug - Royal Arena, COPENHAGEN: Under Pressure, by Queen and David Bowie

1 Sep - Spektrum, OSLO: Wake Me Up When September Ends, by Green Day

2 Sep - Hovet, STOCKHOLM: Seven Nation Army, by White Stripes

4 Sep - Ice Hall, HELSINKI: Always On My Mind, by Elvis

5 Sep - Saku Arena, TAILLINN: All Star, by Smash Mouth

7 Sep - Arena Riga, RIGA: Thuderstruck, by AC/DC

8 Sep - Zalgiris Arena, KAUNAS: Can’t Help Falling In Love, by Elvis [Zouis this day]

10 Sep - Tauron Arena, KRAKOW: Lust For Life, by Iggy Pop

11 Sep - Atlas Arena, ŁÓDŹ: Blitzkreig Bop, by the Ramones

13 Sep - Wiener Stadhalle D, VIENNA: Supersonic, by Oasis

14 Sep - Stozice Arena, LJUBLJANA: Smile Like You Meant It, by The Killers

15 Sep - Budapest Arena, BUDAPEST: Helicopter, by Bloc Party

17 Sep - Arenele Romane, BUCHAREST: My Hero, by Foo Fighters

18 Sep - Arena Armeets, SOFIA: Bombtrack, by Rage Against The Machine

20 Sep - Petras Theater, ATHENS: Go With The Flow, by Queens of the Stone Age

1 Oct - Bilbao Arena Miribilla, BILBAO (VIZCAYA): Where Is My Mind, by The Pixies

3 Oct - Altice Arena, LISBON: Farewell To The Fairground, by White Lies

5 Oct - Wizink Center, MADRID: Munich, by Editors

6 Oct - Palau Sant Jordi, BARCELONA: One Armed Scissor, by At the Drive-In

8 Oct - Pala Alpitur, TURIN: Are You Gonna Go My Way, by Lenny Kravitz

9 Oct - Unipol Arena, BOLOGNA: Helicopter, by Bloc Party

11 Oct - Rockhal, ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE: Where Is My Mind, by The Pixies

12 Oct - Sportspaleis, ANTWERP: My God Is The Sun, by Queens Of The Stone Age [very self-aware choice]

14 Oct - Accor Arena, PARIS : Bubbles, by Biffy Clyro

15 Oct - Ziggo Dome, AMSTERDAM: Song 2, by Blur

17 Oct - Lanxess Arena, COLOGNE: Can't Stand Me Now, by The Libertines

19 Oct - O2 Arena, PRAGUE: Are You Gonna Be My Girl, by Jet

20 Oct - Mercedes Benz Arena, BERLIN: Friday I’m In Love, by The Cure

22 Oct - Olympiahalle, MUNICH: Praise You, by Fatboy Slim

23 Oct - Hallenstadion, ZURICH: Last Nite, by The Strokes

8 Nov - 3Arena, DUBLIN: These Are The Days, by Inhaler

10 Nov - Utilita Arena, SHEFFIELD: Mr. Brightside, by The Killers

11 Nov - AO Arena, MANCHESTER: This Charming Man, by The Smiths

12 Nov - Ovo Hydro, GLASGOW: Gloria, by The Snuts

14 Nov - Brighton Center, BRIGHTON: I Wanna Be Sedated, by Ramones

15 Nov - International Arena, CARDIFF: 20th Century Boy, by T-Rex

17 Nov - The O2, LONDON: Can’t Stand Me Now, by The Libertines

18 Nov - Resorts World Arena, BIRMINGHAM: Till The End Of The Road, by Boyz II Men

You can also find the list at this Twitter account: ltwtoutros.

[irenewsky]

Anime I watched in 2023 (Part 2)

If you came here from the part 1, I thank you and I appreciate you. Now, this part of the list will include some shows I wanted highlight and some extras. Okay, that's it. Let's go!

Some of my older lists:

My favourite animes (Old. Tells of my tastes back in, like, 2018-2020 or something. Updated list coming once I get around to it)

Feel good anime Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Blue Lock

Yoichi Isagi is a member of his high school’s soccer team and during one of their important games, he makes a decision that costs their team a chance of going to the nationals. Bitter and disappointed, Isagi returns home only to find a letter from the Japan Football Union waiting for him. He has been chosen to be a candidate for a new projects called ”Blue Lock”. The competition is tough and ruthless. Who will make it through to the end?

24 episodes - sports

Everyone and their mother watched this one for sure. I might hate irl soccer due to finding it extremely boring (sorry irl soccer fans), but this one I really liked due to it making the sport actually interesting for me. I gotta also say that I found their eyes kinda unsettling when they entered their ”monster modes” (I can not say that with a straight face lol) but other than that, the animation was quite good.

Moriarty the Patriot

In the late 19th century Britain, William James Moriarty and his accomplices with nobles’ blood on their hands work together on a grand plan to bring down the system that favours aristocracy. A mathematician by day and a crime consultant by night, William James Moriarty is about to meet his match - one gentleman called Sherlock Holmes.

24 episodes and 2 OVAs - drama, thriller, mystery

Love me some more victorian era Sherlock Holmes shenanigans. I was so late to this one but it was still so worth the watch (and the read. The manga is just *chef’s kiss*)

*Mastermind by Taylor Swift playing in the distance* Honestly, imagine meeting you soulmate (platonic or otherwise) and them being on the completely other side of law from you. The drama of it all. (Yes, I’m very normal about these two)

Dr. Stone (Season 3 + Nanami Ryuusui Extra)

Over 3700 years ago, a mysterious beam of light enveloped every human into a layer of stone. To stay conscious, Ishigami Senku started to count seconds from the moment he was petrified. When he manages to break free from the stone in the spring of the year 5738, the human civilisation as he knew it had already disappeared. What will happen from now on? What will happen to rest of the petrified people? Are there others who have depetrified?

3 seasons + Nanami Ryuusui extra - action, adventure, comedy, drama, sci-fi, shonen

You will find this anime/manga on my updated favourites list, I’m warning you in advance.

I love, love, love this anime so much. It follows the manga so well and yes, I do recommend the manga for anyone interested. It’s really, really good and didn’t let me down unlike some others have. Also, it’s so refreshing to have a main character who is actively very much uninterested in sex and romance. How aro and ace of him (personal headcanon, no need to fight me for it)

BRB gonna go make myself a Gen Asagiri cosplay. My favourite scheming gremlin.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl!

Tomo is a high school girl with a crush on her long time bestfriend, a boy named Junichiro. She tries to confess to him but unfortunately she has been placed into the friendzone from where it seems almost impossible to escape from. With Tomo being very tomboyish and physically strong, it’s just hard for Junichiro to see her as a girl. Will she get out of the friendzone? Maybe she should get some help from her other friends…

13 episodes - romance, comedy

I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did. ’Childhood bestfriends to lovers’ trope with a healthy sprinkling of pining, chaos and ridiculousness. Delicious.

Romantic Killer

Anzu, a high school girl obsessed with video games, cats and chocolate and fully uninterested in romance, gets assigned a wizard that is going to do everything in their power to create the perfect love life for her. Anzu, however, is having none of it. Game on, you stupid wizard!

12 episodes - comedy, romace, supernatural

I kind of have a lot to say about this one, so buckle up. As an aroace person (who also, coincidentally, loves cats, chocolate and video games) I found the premise a bit annoying at first. I do love, well, love, but it pissed me off that romance was treated as an ”end all, be all” kind of thing and everything else as irrelevant rubbish. Trying to force someone into a relationship via magical means felt wrong. You could say I’m reading too much into this and yes, maybe I am, seeing as the premise was a ”to counteract the low birth rates” gag, but I’m also entitled to my own opinion and critiquing hetero- and amatonormativity.

Regardless, I ended up actually quite liking the anime as it progressed. The backstories for the characters were interesting and I found myself really loving Anzu’s headstrong personality. She doesn’t let the wizard push her around and stands her ground quite often. I really appreciated that. Also the humour in the show did make me laugh quite often, which is always a plus. That being said, I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to whack the wizard around the ears. Annoying little thing, that one is.

Sasaki and Miyano

Yoshikazu Miyano, the schools resident BL loving student, meets his senpai named Shuumei Sasaki after he saves Miyano’s classmate from being bullied. This chance encounter and Miyano accidentally revealing his interest towards BL bring the two together and from that day onwards Sasaki is stuck to him like glue.

13 episodes and an OVA - Romance (BL), drama

My VPN worked its ass off when I read this manga on some shady ass website lmao. I just had to know what happens after the point where the anime ends.

Very sweet. Do recommend.

The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting

Kirishima Toru works for the Sakuragi family. One day the head of the yakuza crime family summons him and tasks him with the duty of taking care of his daughter, Yaeka. How will this ”demon of Sakuragi” handle his new responsibility of watching over her?

12 episodes - comedy

This filled the hole in my heart that Spy x Family ending left at the time. Really heartwarming and I loved the bonds the characters in this show had.

The Salaryman’s Club

Shiratori Mikoto is really good at badminton. That is until an incident in the Interhigh leaves him unable to play how he wants to. Things start to change when he gets a job at Sunlight Beverages and joins their weak and amateurish badminton team.

12 episodes - sports

I saw no one talk about this??? Anyway, I liked this one. A lot. There might a little bias on my side since I actually practiced badminton when I was younger, but I think I would have liked this regardless! The characters had nice dynamics and liked the aspect of ’salarymen by day, badminton players by night’. Have you even lived if you haven’t experienced the highs and lows of corporate world badminton?

And finally, we have a few honorable mentions without descriptions, only vibes and opinions:

Latest season of Tokyo Revengers (Chifuyu truly is the bestest of boys, the homiest of homies. I also read the manga in its entirety. That one I have… a lot of opinions about, not all of them good)

Our Dating Story: the Experienced You and the Inexperienced Me (this one was just okay for me. I actually don’t know if I ever finished it… Well, I’m gonna have to accept the fact that I’m just not someone who enjoys the ’established relationship’ trope…)

Trigun Stampede (I’m not usually scifi kind of person but this one I really enjoyed!)

Komi Can’t Communicate (Not much to say about this one. It was very nice and I particularly liked the way Tadano almost seemed like he was able to read minds hahaha)

The latest season of Demon Slayer (Honestly, a little disappointed. It felt simultaniously very slow and very fast. Also, kinda boring compared to the last arcs. Still decent tho)

Spy x Family (Ah, Spy Family, my beloved. I liked this one a lot)

Chainsaw Man (Gotta admit, I was a little traumatized by the episode 7. I have never wanted to crawl out of my own skin more while watching anime, than I did while watching that episode. The skipping and pausing I had to do with that one… Damn. Other than that one episode, I liked this one enough to finish it)

My Dress-Up Darling (mixed feelings about this one. I just wanted a nice anime about cosplay and sewing and ended up getting fanservice and sexualization of minors. I’m in my mid to late 20s, I don’t need that shit. Just feels weird and wrong. I did finish it, albeit I did skip all the fanservicey scenes)

[cherryc1nnam0n]

Thank you for calling...

Chapter 3: "It's him again"

Main Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter summary: In a boring day Eddie calls, but he doesn't sound okay...

Another day at work, the email you received alerted you Code Green, that meant that you could go up to 10 minutes without a call, making you all bored and left to talk with your workmates

"So... How's life?" You asked Amy who rubbed her face and sighed tiredly

"It's alright, just tired, I wanna go home"

"It's not even 8 am..."

"Damn it..."

You slouched back on your spinny chair, watching the TV that played with no sound, a shitty Adam Sandler movie playing, one of him being a demon? That's weird stuff

"I don't understand that movie and they already played it yesterday" you said to yourself

Amy looked at you tiredly and then hid in her blanket, since the AC is so cold you are allowed to have those in there, since it's not actually a bank but a call center, you spun on the chair a few times and then put on your headphones again

"I feel like I might die here" you said over exaggerating

"You won't die" Luke said "You're just too bored so you feel like you want to die"

"Oh wow that is so smart Luke, how did I not think that?"

He winked playfully at you and you groaned

"I wanna throw myself off a bridg-Good morning and thank you for calling National Bank, my name is Y/n, who do I have the pleasure of assisting?"

"I wanna know my balance"

"More than happy to tell you that, may I please know your name?"

"Albert Hudson"

"Thank you Mr. Hudson, your balance is 12,345.19"

"Alright thanks"

"Anything else I could-nope I'll just go fuck myself then" you said when the man hung up

Cx hung up while offering further assistance, rude

You slouched again, back to waiting 15 minutes more

Now you were on the bottom of the que, had to wait until everyone else had a call and then it was your turn, until some person called and needed something or just wanted to yell at you

Soon your workmates had calls and you were still waiting until

Customer: Edward Munson SNN: xxxxxxxxx HIGH RISK AUTHENTICATED

It's him again!

"Good morning and thank you for calling National Bank, my name is Y/n, who I have the pleasure of assisting today?"

"Hi sweetheart, it's me Eddie Munson again, remember me?"

"Of course I do Eddie, how are you?" You asked politely

"I'm doing great, so I was uhm, charged 15 dollars due to being overdrawn, is there anyway you could help me out? I really needed to pay for food"

You heard the struggle in his voice, so you checked for notes that said if he had gotten any fees lately

03/19/2023 Customer fee reversal up to $70 per year

No one has given him any fees, so I can do it

"Oh I'm so sorry to hear that, but of course I can help you!"

"Thanks sweetheart"

"While I'm doing this, is there anything else I could help you with?"

"Uhm yeah I don't want statements mailed to me, can we please change that? I heard they also have fees"

Yeah this fucking bank charges even for breathing

"Yeah it's just politics"

"Shitty politics"

You're right

"So I just reversed you the $15, and I'm going to change the option into paperless okay?"

"Sounds good"

"Great, anything else I could do for you?"

"I believe that's all sweetheart, thank you so much"

"You're welcome, and just before you leave I wanted to tell you that you could receive an email with a survey and I would appreciate any feedback, you know my name and thank you for being a valuable customer for National Bank, have a nice day"

"You too honey, bye bye"

"Bye"

Damn, no flirting, no comments, is he okay?

You were left worried all day for the poor Munson boy...

~•~

Taglist: @bbyhargrove @mystars123 @tiannamortis @kjaxm @eddiethesexy @kickstart-myheart-sixx

[ultimateaclrecovery]

Checking in on my 2023 goals!

23 things for 2023

1. buy 1 horse

Done!! Bought Luna!!!

2. Knit a pair of socks

I knit a sock, that I finished today. But I mostly decided I wanted to knit other things instead so this is fine

3. Three camping trips

went to mt of the holy cross, and New Mexico for two camping nights, plus a day hike in winter park. So technically no but pretty close!

4. Plant four pumpkins

…..no. I bought seeds and did nothing and I don’t feel that bad about it

5. Handstand (five fingers) press

Lol no. Did nothing for it. Never made a plan and so did not achieve

6. Kill side yard weeds (because weeds are the devil 666)

Success? I paid a Gardner to pull them all so yes! Feels like a failure because I didn’t really deal with them or the yard in general, but they are all gone now.

7. Go to Loyola social justice meeting (7th heaven)

I went to a meeting! And baked cookies for an event. (And then never went back oops)

8. Mail 8 letters to mates - birthday cards probably

Success! (Rebecca birthday, Sarah birthday, Clare get well card, Callie birthday, Alison birthday, clare birthday, Callie wedding, clare kt recipe card)

9. Research 9 hours of getting a cat (9 lives)

Decided a horse was enough so stopped researching 🤷‍♀️[ read complete guide to adopting a cat 3 hours]

10. Do ten full pull ups

Total yes, in a row like intended absolutely not. I can do like 2.5 in a row. Made haphazard progress, but now I have a pull up bar so hoping for better next year!

11. Buy 11 things off of my to buy eventually list

Success! This was easy and I did it! (air fryer, air mattress, nice soap dispensers, office mat, thermometer, fire extinguisher, white tank top, little plates, shower cleaner, plastic drain pipes, sheet pan organizer, bonus: back door light bulb, rainbow flag and holder, more bras)

12. Go on 12 dates

Success! I thought this would be really hard but then I just got my boyfriend by like February and it ended up being the easiest ny resolution ever. He even asked me out to start.

13. Run a half marathon 13.1 miles

Success! (Okay this was a gimme because I signed up for it and had a training plan in 2022 but still)

14. Hike a fourteener

Success! mt of the holy cross and it was terrifying and very long but we did it!

15. Read 30 (15x2) books

I read 27 and have three in various states of completion. I kind of wanted to power this one thru but it wouldn’t have been fun and then what’s the point. This one is hard because I abandoned so so many books this year. Like I made it at least one chapter into like 40 and a couple half way thru. So close but no cigar but I refuse to read things that aren’t fun just to hit a goal so I feel fine about it.

16. Host 8 things

Hosted 3, organized a couple others so partial credit. I would like to do better in the future. ( galentines, whimsy brunch, birthday, organized brunch at watercourse, organized lake day)

17. Go out dancing (must be more dancing than drinking, dance class counts.)(dancing queen only 17)

Nope. But also that’s fine.

18. Upgrade phone and deal with all photos. Upload belize to fb and save others. Data management

Mostly. I got an external storage for Christmas so I can finish when I get home. So solid partial credit. (uploaded some. Upgraded phone plus new battery, still need to get data off of it) emmapictures2222_2@gmail.com emmapictures2222@gmail.com

19. General contractor for house cracks plus install air conditioner

Success. Installed ac. Got the cracks looked at once and they were fine and then they got worse and now I’m getting foundation work done. So success I guess.

20. Get 20 layout ds

… I did not count. I def got some but probably not 20 so partial credit. (4 from leiout)

21. Go to frisbee Masters regionals

Success! Another bit of gimme but we went and qualified to nationals!)

22. Buy purple navel jewelry (I’m feeling 22)

Success! (And I love it)

23. volunteer for 23 hours

No and I feel bad about it. I need to find something to volunteer with. I feel like I should have the time/be able to make time but it also feels like I never have time and also never want to. But I think it’s important.

So overall full success on 11 of the goals, happy partial on 5, annoyed partial on 2, abandoned 4 and failed my last one and feel bad about it.

But overall pretty good success!

[aerbendr]

˖𓍢ִ✩˚. intro to aerbendr!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ˖𓍢ִ✧˚. hello everyone! i'm arin (she/her), a self-taught artist and writer based in jakarta, indonesia. the content i post here mostly focuses on things surrounding original characters and storylines, yumejoshi content and personas (self-shipping), and other fanmade content. overall, this blog is very much just for fun and isn't meant to be all that deep despite the visual ocean theme for the blog :) ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ˖𓍢ִ✧˚. this introductory post will provide many specific and detailed information, but if you're just looking for a general overview feel free to check out my carrd at https://theoceanghost.carrd.co

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ˖𓍢ִ✧˚. about me! name: arin, also responds to irina or nita age: 18 (as of 2023, annually updated on bio) dni: basic dni criteria & refer to carrd for more information pronouns & gender: she/her/hers, cis female orientation: demisexual & biromantic nationality: indonesian (born & raised in jakarta) languages spoken: indonesian (native), english (fluent), currently self-learning mandarin chinese, japanese, and arabic. can read & type in hangeul (korean alphabet) with understanding of basic phrases miscellaneous information: currently a semi-gap year undergraduate college student making a transit in law, looking to switch majors to psychology. diagnosed with inattentive adhd at 16. ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ˖𓍢ִ✧˚. fandom list! most active (is not permanent in any way, can and will change): honkai star rail, genshin impact, dai gyakuten saiban (the great ace attorney: chronicles) other fandoms: kimetsu no yaiba (demon slayer), kuroshitsuji (black butler), castlevania (netflix), obey me!, ikémen vampire other interests: horror, cryptozoology, foreign languages, mystery, urban thriller, classical literature, history & historical fiction, mythology from various cultures (and tbh cultural stuff in general), dark academia ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ˖𓍢ִ✧˚. currently looking for! fellow oc creators (both original storylines and fandom-based oc universes are welcome!), fellow self-shippers to form a welcoming, warm & accepting community with, and cool people with an affinity surrounding the dark academia life. i'd love to have some more friends who i can ask about classic and/or gothic literature, as well as horror/mystery/thriller book recommendations to! talks and discussions are more than welcome + kindly speak up and educate me at any time if i've done something wrong!

nice to meet you, and thank you for your attention *ੈ✩‧₊˚

[eventuallyaugust]

hyunseol (txt) profile and facts (updated!)

hyunseol (휸설) is south korean soloist and a member of the six-member group txt under hybe (formerly big hit entertainment). she debuted solo in --- 2022 with the mini album “hyacinth avenue”.

stage name: seol (설)

birth name: oh hyunseol (오휸설)

english name: azrael oh (previous: reese oh)

position: —

face claim: oh haewon (nmixx)

birthday: january 3, 1999

zodiac sign: capricorn

chinese zodiac: hare/rabbit

height: 180.34 cm (5’11″)

weight: 67 kg (148 lbs)

blood type: o+

mbti type: istp-t (her previous result was estp)

representative emoticon: 🐨

nationality: korean

instagram: soyseol

fandom name: seolmate

spotify playlist: txt seolace

hyunseol 's facts:

– hyunseol was born in incheon, south korea but moved to the us when she was four and moved back to seoul, south korea when she was thirteen.

– family: parents, uncle, two aunts, grandparents, cousins, niece

– she confirmed that she is a younger cousin of exo's oh sehun. (vlive)

– she attended incheon nonhyeon high school.

– hyunseol was the 1st member to be revealed on january 10, 2019.

– her representative animal is owl. (questioning film)

– her representative flower is purple hyacinth. (questioning film)

– at the end of her question film, the morse code translates to “future”.

– she can speak korean, english, japanese, and spanish. she also said that she is trying to learn other languages like french. (vlive)

– her introduction video surpassed 1 million views within the first 24 hours, along with her member yeonjun.

– she auditioned in big hit because her friends double dared her to do it and got accepted several weeks after. (vlive)

– her training period is 4 years and a half.

– she is the oldest of the group, older than yeonjun by a few months.

– her favorite fruits are bananas, avocados, and oranges.

– she has a fanbase ever since her reveal.

– her fandom name is "seolmates".

– on her birthdays, she sang songs as a gift to moas and her fans. songs list: 2020 - magic!'s 'rude'; 2021 - 5sos's 'ghost of you'; 2022 - d.o.'s 'rose (eng ver)'; 2023 - ricky montgomery's 'mr. loverman'

– hyunseol says she doesn’t have a particular hobby, but according to beomgyu, she is often seen crocheting and doodling in the dorm.

– she is a former jyp entertainment trainee.

– her past time is writing lyrics and solving mind games. (spotify k-pop quiz)

– hyunseol excels at games, especially video games. (talk x today ep.1)

–her favorite number is 8. she talks about how she always get lucky with that number. she also said that's her number she chose to put in her track team shirt. (talk x today ep.2)

– hyunseol has been a great observant of people's emotions and body languages, according to her members. (talk x today ep.1) 

– hyunseol has a nickname given by members: “ace” because the ace of different cards are always seen in her room. (talk x today ep.3) 

– hyunseol used to play for a track team in high school and won several competitions. (talk x today ep.3) 

— hyunseol said that she was popular in her previous school and received so many confession and love letters she bough another locker for her admirers to fill, instead of the locker she's using for studying. (vlive)

– according to yeonjun, hyunseol is the reason that the production added the morse code in crown's intro. (vlive)

– she said that she decided to leave her position blank because it's best to keep moas on the edge of their seats and experiment with music. (vlive)

– according to hyunseol, yeonjun is more of a fake maknae than she is despite being older than him.

– hyunseol said she learned the sign language because of her deaf grandmother. (fansign 150319)  

– according to huening kai, hyunseol often accompanies him whenever he wants to buy plushies. (fansign 150319) 

- she is afraid of the heights (fansign 150319)

– hyunseol shared that she always give flowers to everyone in her school, no matter who they are in valentines day. (talk x today ep.2) 

– she learned how to speak spanish due her aunt's spanish partner. (vlive)

– she is often called a walking calculator in her previous school. (idol room) 

– according to yeonjun, she has a high alcohol tolerance and will still be sober even there are already several bottles that have been consumed. (vlive) 

– she got interested in cooking and became the designated cook in the dorm. she also said that if she wasn't an idol, she would be a chef. (spotify k-pop quiz)

- she officially changed her name from reese oh to azrael oh since the previous name is registered in the us and she wants to change it for a fresh start. (idol room)

– her favorite colors are sage green, pink, beige (fansign  150319), and sea blue. (spotify k-pop quiz) 

– she was a special mc in music bank with lee chaemin.

– she has a total of 9 tattoos over the years; an ace of clubs on the side of her index finger on her left hand, a small lotus flower on her back between her shoulders, an infinity symbol at the back of her left ear, a compass on her left wrist, a paper crane on her forearm, a heartbeat on her collarbone, a crown below her belly button, arm bands on her right bicep, and an orion constellation on her left hip (ig live, 2024)

– she got involved in dating rumours with aespa's karina and lesserafim's yunjin in which none of them has been confirmed. she also got involved in a dating rumor with viviz' umji and bighit immediately addressed the rumor as false.

– hyunseol's ideal type: she says her ideal type is someone who loves her as much as she loves them, doesn't afraid to speak their mind, and someone will treat her right. (vlive) 

show more hyunseol fun facts…

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

(A Follow-Up to This Post [A report from NPR, 20 December 2023])

6 February, 2024 by Robert L. Santos, Director, U.S. Census Bureau

Excerpt:

Disability Content

In a Federal Register notice posted in October 2023, we proposed changing the ACS questions on disability to a set of questions based on the Washington Group Short Set (WG-SS) on functioning. That proposal would have aligned us with international standards from the United Nations and advances in measuring disability. The Census Bureau received more than 12,000 comments in response to the Federal Register notice outlining all of the proposed changes to the ACS. The comments can be found at regulations.gov. The majority of them expressed concerns with the proposed changes to the disability questions. 

Themes we saw in the comments included:

Desire for more comprehensive public engagement.

Concern that the existing and proposed questions do not measure more or all types of disabilities.

Concern regarding a break in the data series if the questions changed, including difficulties comparing data on disability pre-2025 with 2025 and beyond, and a gap in availability of 5-year data products featuring lower-level geography until 2030.

Requests for and questions about having multiple estimates that reflect the graded response categories in the WG-SS questions. The response categories include: no difficulty, some difficulty, a lot of difficulty and cannot do at all.

Concern that the proposed use of the international standard cutoff for disability that does not include people reporting “some difficulty,” would decrease the estimate of people living with disabilities.

A question change could potentially impact program funding and services.

Next Steps: More Feedback and Engagement

Before the Census Bureau submits the final proposal for the 2025 ACS content for OMB’s approval, it will offer another opportunity for the public to provide feedback. As mentioned above, in spring 2024, the Census Bureau will publish a 30-day Federal Register notice summarizing the proposed 2025 ACS content, which will not include any changes to the existing disability questions. The Census Bureau will then review the feedback and submit the final proposed content for OMB review and approval.  

The Census Bureau also wants to engage further with the public on the disability topic specifically. A significant theme in the Federal Register notice comments is a desire for more comprehensive engagement. In the spirit of a whole-of-government approach, the Census Bureau, NCHS, OMB and other federal partners are working together to make that happen.

Moreover, this spring, the Census Bureau, NCHS and OMB plan to convene a meeting with federal agency disability stakeholders, disability community representatives, data users, researchers and disability advocates. The purpose is to discuss data needs and data uses surrounding the topic of disability. More details on the meeting will be provided soon. 

Finally, I’d like to note we embrace continuous improvement. Going forward, the Census Bureau will recommend the ICSP-SACS consider revisions to the protocols to enhance collaboration with data users and other stakeholders at the beginning of, and during, the ACS content change process.

[end of excerpt]

Sigh... I was hoping for a more concrete date for the next comment period than "Spring," because I don't want to miss the deadline...

In the meantime, I'll be reading through the rest of the blog post for the reasoning behind the proposal to change how Disability stats are collected, so I can better formulate my response when the next public comment period comes up.

[redwineconversation]

Ellie Carpenter The Australian Article (June 30, 2023)

I'll be honest, I was - and to be frank, still am - in two minds about posting this, because I feel there are certain passages which invite nutcases to harass Carpenter and/or van de Donk, and I don't want to be responsible for enabling that kind of behavior.

On the flip side, there's also interesting facts / stories in here, and I think it provides an insight on a player that if we are still being honest with each other, we don't really know that much about.

Blah blah not associated with The Australian, if OL Comms wanted to chip in for my AC bill whom am I to say no to that, etc etc.

ELLIE CARPENTER THE AUSTRALIAN ARTICLE

It's the biggest game of her life but Ellie Carpenter is being carried off on a stretcher. The replay is a sickening sight, causing groans among the 32,000-strong crowd. Her left knee has buckled beneath her, leaving the 22-year-old thumping the ground in agony. Her Women's Champions League final is over and maybe so much more.

Waves of pain from her ruptured ACL make it hard for the young Australian to think clearly as she is lifted off the field after only 13 minutes playing for her club Lyon against Barcelona in Turin on May 21 last year. And yet, at this moment, she is focusing harder than she has ever thought possible. The girl from Cowra, the former child prodigy of Australian soccer, wipes the tears from her eyes and stares straight up at the sky as if in a trance.

"Count," she tells herself as her stretcher makes its way out of the stadium to the applause of the sympathetic crowd. "Count the months."

"I was thinking, 'Oh shit, what month is it?' Carpenter recalls. "It's usually a 12-month recovery [from an ACL injury] and I needed to count the months until I could play again. So in my head I was going like 'June, July, August' and then I'm like 'YES, YES, YES, I'll make it. I'll recover in time for our World Cup."

Almost exactly 12 months later Carpenter, now 23, bounces into a cafe in central Lyon, France, with her blonde hair in a bun, wearing a T-shirt and shorts and a grin on her face. It's a wet spring day, but the sun is shining again for Carpenter after a horror year. She is back on the field, playing again for Olympique Lyonnais, the best women's team in the world. Off the field, she is happy and in love. She has bought a house just outside Lyon with her partner and teammate, Danielle van de Donk, one of the best footballers on the planet, who also plays for the Netherlands national team.

Across the English Channel, the superstar captain of the Australian Matildas, Sam Kerr, is kicking goals and doing backflips for her club Chelsea. For Carpenter, who is as important to the Matildas' backline as Kerr is to the forward line, the stars are finally aligning for Australia's tilt at the biggest women's sporting event, the FIFA Women's World Cup. "I don't think I'll realise how big it's going to be until I walk out for that first game," she says, cradling a hot chocolate. "We have a team that could do something really special, we have great players who are in form and we are playing in front of our home crowds. It's gonna be massive. I think we have a really good chance but I don't want to jinx myself," she says, tapping the table for good luck.

If the rapid-fire ticket sales are any guide, Carpenter may be underestimating the reception that awaits her and the Matildas.

The World Cup, to run from July 20 to August 20, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, will see an estimated 83,000 watch Australia's opening match against Ireland at Sydney's Accor Stadium - more than double the Matildas' previous high attendance of 36,000. The opening match was moved from the 42,5000-seat Sydney Football Stadium to the 83,000-seat Stadium Australia (known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes) to meet the surging demand for tickets. At least 15 million people are expected to attend the games in Australia and New Zealand with an estimated worldwide audience of two billion. FIFA predicts the World Cup will encourage up to 400,000 girls to take up soccer in Australia.

"It's crazy now, women's football," says Carpenter. "I've seen it go from here to here," she says, moving her hands towards the sky.

Marketing surveys show the Matildas have overtaken the men's Wallabies rugby union in popularity, something that would once have seemed unthinkable for a team that only formed in 1978 and for years had to play on substandard ovals. The small crowds that came to watch them play in those days were mostly family and friends.

"it's incredible to see where this team has come from to be one of our biggest sporting brands ... so many players have paved the way for this moment," says Heather Garriock, who played 130 games for the Matildas between 1999 and 2011.

For years Matildas players were paid a pittance, having to hold down second jobs while playing for the national team. In the early days one player recalled how a teammate called the coach before an international match to say she would be late because her shift at Woolies didn't finish until 530pm. In the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Matildas were so desperate to secure sponsorship and public support that 12 of them posed naked for a calendar to get attention. Fast forward to today and the Matildas are a household name, and Kerr is arguably the most recognizable Australian sports star in the world. In May, wearing a sharp black suit, she carried the Australian flag into Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles II.

But it will take more than Kerr's soccer royalty of the Matildas to realise their dream of winning a home World Cup.

On a cold spring evening in London on the eve of the coronation, Kerr is playing to script, slamming the winning goal for her team Chelsea against Liverpool with just minutes to go. As she leaves the ground I ask her what she thinks about having Carpenter back with the Matildas for the World Cup. "Ellie is one of the best players in the world," says Kerr, who described Carpenter as "irreplaceable" when she injured her ACL last year. "We've missed her and she's a great personality to have on the team... I'm feeling good, I'm feeling excited [about the World Cup]."

A few days later, Carpenter is sprinting up the right wing, weaving the ball around her teammates during morning training near the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium on the outskirts of Lyon. It is just over two months since she made her comeback from her injury and the previous weekend she was one of the team's best players in their 3-0 win over Dijon.

She calls out to her teammates in French and jokes with them in French, but if she makes a mistake on the field, the word "shit" rings out across the ground in an Aussie twang.

Her bilingual world in Lyon, a French foodie capital crammed with UNESCO World Heritage sites, is a reminder of just how many lives Carpenter has squeezed into her 23 years. "It all started here," she says, pointing to a tattoo on her ankle that shows the outline of Cowra, her hometown of 12,500 people in the Central West of NSW. "it's one main street, two sets of traffic lights, a place where we knew everyone and everyone knew the Carpenters."

Looking back, Carpenter's unlikely rise from the streets of Cowra to international soccer star was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because she lived the real-life sporting fairy-tale. This was the tell in which a determined young country girl becomes a prodigy of the game, shattering every barrier in her path to find herself playing for Australia at the age of just 15 and then at the age of 16 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the youngest ever female footballer in the world to compete in an Olympics.

The curse was that she was so good, so early, that she was a kid playing among adults, being thrust into the spotlight aead of her time, before she was ready and before she had the to grow up. "I hated it sometimes," she says. "I was always the youngest. People would say, oh, you're the youngest ever Olympian or you're the youngest ever to score a goal, the youngest thing, the youngest that. I was playing with people who were 10 or 15 years older than me and you had to mature very quickly. It was hard with the pressure, the spotlight, the critics... I wasn't prepared for that at the time."

"I've been in the public eye since I was 15 and now people think I'm 30 but I'm still just 23, one of the youngest on the team."

Belinda Carpenter still scratches her head about how her daughter fell in love with soccer. "She was highly energetic, she never sat still but she did all sports - a bit of athletic, AFL, soccer, cricket, even triathlon, cheerleading and trapeze," she says. Belinda and her then husband Scott, who were Physical Education teachers in Cowra, encouraged Carpenter and he older brother Jeremy to dabble in any activity that took their fancy. "Ellie also did ballet, so she would play football in the morning and then go to ballet with muddy knees under those pink stockings," Belinda recalls.

"I think I always knew I would be a sportsperson, because ever since I could walk I was running," says Carpenter. "I think I could have done any sport really because I was also good at swimming and athletics. I was a tomboy. I didn't really have a normal childhood. I never went to parties like other girls, I just wanted to play sports."

She played soccer from an early age but her path as a serious player began by accident when, at the age of about seven, she watched her brother Jeremy train with the NSW country soccer team. "I was just on the sidelines waiting for him, juggling the ball on my own, when the coach came up and said that I could join their next session. I was the only girl and the boys were much older than me. I don't remember this but apparently I was like, really good, smashing all the boys."

Belinda and Scott decided to give both Ellie and Jeremy the chance to compete in competitions across the state. This required a brutal schedule of long drives for training and games. "Honestly I can't believe they did that for me," Carpenter says. "From Cowra we used to drive to Canberra every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which was more than two hours there and back, and then sometimes we would play in Sydney which was four hours there and back on the same day. I would spend so much time in the car, doing my homework or making up quizzes and things just to pass the time."

By the time Carpenter was 12, it was clear that she had natural talent but could no longer be nurtured from Cowra. So Belinda quit her job and moved with both the children to Sydney so they could attend Westfield Sports High School in Sydney's west, which had a specialist sports program.

It was a big school in a big city, a culture shock for a country girl. "It was a huge change, I became this small fish in a big sea," she says. Not long afterwards, her parents divorced, a time which she describes as difficult and sad.

The following year, aged 13, Carpenter went to watch the Matildas play in Sydney. "I think there was a maximum of 1000 people there but I watched the national team play and I was like 'Oh, sick, I want to be that.' Then two years later, I was on that team. It was crazy."

Carpenter's precocious talent turned heads in the soccer world at that time, and things unfolded quickly. She broke into the "Mini-Matildas" under-17 team at the age of 14, and when she turned 15 signed her first professional contract with the then W-League club Western Sydney Wanderers. The coach was so impressed with her that she didn't even need to trial for the team.

Carpenter's ambition was such that although she began her career as a midfielder, she volunteered to be a defender when the Mini-Matildas said they needed defenders only because she didn't want to be cut from the squad. "I was like, I want to be in the team so I will play wherever."

In March 2016, when she was still just 15, Carpenter made her debut for the senior Matildas, playing in a 9-0 victory over Vietnam.

Not long afterwards, she was playing for Australia in the Rio Olympics, the first of the strong of "youngest ever" firsts that she would soon tire of. "Obviously I was so young - I think I was the youngest in that team by five years," she recalls. "So I guess I was kind of on my own. Some players were 30 years old and some of them were a bit like 'Who is this 15-year-old who has come into the team?' and some people don't want you there because you might take their spot. So some didn't like me being there, but you've just gotta keep going."

After the Rio Olympics, Heather Garriock, who was then coaching, says that she noticed that the 16-year-old Carpenter was struggling. "I could see she wasn't doing well with the massive comedown after the hype of the Olympic Games. So, you know, I just put my arm around her - and since then I've always put my arm around and taken her under my wing. She just wanted to be the best and to get better every day.

"She is so driven to win and yet she's got such a nice nature, a humble kind of girl who will always give you her time."

Carpenter says she was forced to grow up quickly, but with the help of people like Garriock she eventually found her rhythm and adapted to the ever-growing public glare of being a Matilda. "I think it took me a couple of years, until I was about 17, to come out as Ellie," she says.

In Year 10 Carpenter dropped out of school to pursue her dream of being a full-time footballer. "She wasn't at school very much anyway," says Belinda of her daughter's busy soccer schedule. "I just told her, 'Go do it, because if it fails and you don't get to where you want to go in soccer, we will go back and figure out the education route'."

When Carpenter was 17 she was pursued by the US National Women's Soccer League team Portland Thorns, in Oregon on the US west coast. She signed with them but, in those days, women were not allowed to play until they turned 18. The club was so keen for her to play that she signed a contract literally on her 18th birthday, and played the following week, racking up yet another series of "youngest evers." "That's why I was the youngest ever player and the youngest ever person to score a goal in the NWSL at that stage," she says.

Carpenter says life in the US was a shock "because it was so different to Australia." Belinda recalls that her daughter would often FaceTime her during dinner just to have a companion to speak with. "Until she found her feet I would often hang out with her on the phone while she was having dinner at a restaurant or something when she didn't really know anybody.

"Even though Ellie is really outgoing, with a wicked sense of humor, I think she is also a bit guarded about who she lets in."

Even so, Carpenter says she enjoyed her two years in Portland where she regularly played in front of crowds of 20,000. By this stage she had become a fixture of the Matildas team, playing in the 2019 World Cup in France where they made it to the round of 16 and then the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where the Matildas made it to the semi-finals.

By the time she turned 20, Carpenter was being pursued by the strongest women's team in the world, Olympique Lyonnais. She recalls the moment she learned that Lyon wanted to recruit her. "I was like, 'Are you serious?' It was Lyon and I was like, 'Are you sure they want me?' I mean, if Lyon calls, you go to them wherever you re because they are the best in the world." This is no exaggeration - the team has won eight Champions League finals in the past 12 years, including give in a row between 2015 and 2020.

But Carpenter's arrival in 2020 wasn't so easy. "It was the time of the COVID pandemic so the city was shut. I didn't know anyone, and I didn't know French," she says. So she began her life anew yet again, throwing herself into French lessons and making friends at her new club. She impressed local fans by trying to speak French at press conferences, albeit with an Aussie twang. She also fell in love with Lyon itself. "I love it, it's beautiful - not as nice as Sydney but it's still beautiful." As soon as she arrived, she also saw why her new team kept winning championships. The fitness, the training, the skills were next-level, even for Carpenter. "She called me up and said, 'Um, Mum, these players are really, really good," recalls Belinda. Initially she found it hard to break into her new team, and she won her first European Championship with Lyon in 2020 without taking to the field when she was on the team as an unused sub.

"I don't think many people understand what it really takes to be a football player," says Carpenter's teammate and partner Danielle van de Donk. "You win trophies and everyone thinks it is a high but no one really knows about the lows." Van de Donk, who has been going out with Carpenter for about two years, says she has the rare ability to lift the team's morale singlehandedly. "She is the most energetic person I know, she is very, very positive, and off the pitch she just brings a different kind of energy to the room - even when she was injured the coaches were saying to her, 'Bring your energy to the team, we need it,'" says van de Donk. "She is already a star but she is just going to get bigger and bigger. She is only 23."

Van de Donk says she's attracted to Carpenter because they are "similar people in life", adding "It's kind of wild, she is from Australia, I'm from the Netherlands, and we are buying a house in Lyon - it's very cool."

After that tricky start at Lyon, Carpenter became a regular in the team - until the 13-minute mark of last year's Champions League final. "It was just sickening to watch her go down," recalls Belinda, who was watching the game live in the middle of the night from her home in Wamberal on the NSW Central Coast. "I actually said when I watched it, 'She does not go down and she does not stay down'."

Carpenter's injury came in two parts. The first came when she was tackling an opponent near the corner post and her left knee twisted in the tackle. Carpenter hobbled off in obvious pain. But she was desperate to come back on, and tested the injured knee in front of the team's medical staff. "I remember being on the sideline and they were testing me and I was like, 'Is it strong, can you feel my ACL?' And they were like, 'Yeah I think it's fine, so you want to go back on?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, it's the Championship Final.' So I ran back on and then I was like 'Oh, something's not right'."

Back in Wamberal, Belinda was horrified to see her daughter run back onto the pitch. "We were like, 'No, no, no, don't do it," she recalls.

Moments after returning to the field Carpenter moved to intercept a long pass. But as soon as she changed direction her knee gave way completely, severing her ACL and sending her to the ground.

Van de Donk, who was watching from the sidelines as a substitute, had torn her own ACL as a teenager and knew what lay ahead. "I saw her go down and instantly I knew it was wrong," she recalls. "It was horrible to watch."

But once Carpenter counted the months and realised she could still potentially play in the World Cup in Australia, her mood lifted. Lyon won the match 3-1, giving Carpenter her second championship and yet another first as the only Australian to win two Champions League medals. After the match, despite having her injured leg in a splint, Carpenter joined her teammates in the celebrations on the field, swimming precariously on her crutches and then hopping on her one good leg as she held up the Champions League cup. She then flew back to Lyon with the team and continued the celebrations. "I was in so much pain, so I just took lots of painkillers but then we went to a restaurant and partied in Lyon drinking champagne until 5am."

The next morning Carpenter woke with a hangover to the bad news she had feared. She needed a full knee reconstruction and would be out of the game for up to a year. Recalls Belinda: "The first thing she said to me on the phone was, 'I'm getting an operation, I'm going to get better and I'm going to play in the World Cup.' It was all about the World Cup."

That has been Carpenter's singular goal ever since. In those early months after her injury when she could not run, she followed her rehab plan like it was Holy Writ - long hours in the gym keeping the muscles working followed by swimming, physio, massage and the hardest of all: patience.

"I had to learn a lot about patience because I am impatient," she says. "When I was finally able to take my first jump again I actually cried with happiness." At times Carpenter wondered whether she would be the same player when she returned, but mostly she says she kept her mental demons at bay.

"It was a long journey for her and she was a bit insecure in the beginning, she struggled for about three weeks," says van de Donk. "But after that she was OK, she just powered through - and now I think she's much stronger than she was." Carpenter, for her part, puts a gloss on the whole saga, saying she believes it gave her a much-needed break from the game she'd been playing almost non-step since she was a child.

Today, Carpenter's football routine is very full-time. She goes into the club from around 9am to 4pm most days to do a mixture of training, gym recovery and sponsorship. Then she plays on weekends, often traveling. She works with a nutritionist and also a psychologist. She estimated she gets one day properly off each month. Such is the profile of the team in Lyon that she now gets recognised in the street, and after three years here she says she is now fluent in French.

"Ellie has always known the path that she wanted and she has just followed it completely. That is pretty incredible for a 23-year-old," says former Matildas player Garriock. "She is already one of the world's best players and her energy and leadership are crucial for the World Cup. She has achieved things at 23 that others wouldn't achieve in their whole career. I have no doubt that she will be the captain of the Matildas in the future. She has all the leadership qualities and the big game experience."

Carpenter is now on the home stretch of her quest, hoping to stay in form and avoid injury until the World Cup begins in three weeks.

Although she loves playing for Lyon, she says there's nothing like going home to play with the Matildas. "It's like going back to your family." she says with a grin. "We've all known each other for years. Everyone is so close, We can all laugh at ourselves and we look after each other. It's such a good, strong group. I don't know how to explain it but I have a special passion when I play for the Matildas, it's unique. For me, this World Cup is the top of the top it's probably the best thing I will ever experience."

So how far can Carpenter and the Matildas go in this World Cup?

"We've never seen an Australian team like this," says Garriock. "This core of players like Ellie Carpenter, Sam Kerr and Caitlin Ford have played together in World Cups and big tournaments since they were 16 years old. They are in their prime and this is their moment. It is written for them."

[eretzyisrael]

“This is not a battle of good versus evil,” Ramzi Kassem wrote in an op-ed that appeared on September 17, 2001. “The perpetrators were probably not driven to their actions by some intrinsic evil or inherent hatred of the good United States.”

He went on to argue that the Al Qaeda attack a week earlier was the result of the “resentment these terrorists felt towards the United States” as a result of “our country’s policies.”

Two decades later, Kassem, now a CUNY law professor and prominent terror lawyer, claimed in a Washington Post op-ed that, “since 9/11, the government has consistently used the law to enable, operationalize and justify the violence it has deployed against Muslims.”

And that, “the legacy of 9/11 ought to be recounted primarily through the stories of Muslims the world over who have largely paid the price of American power and prosperity.”

Next year, Ramzi Kassem was named by the Biden administration as a Senior Policy Advisor for Immigration at the White House Domestic Policy Council.

A Syrian national who grew up in Lebanon, Iraq and other Islamic terror states, arriving in this country to attend college and spread terrorist propaganda before becoming a terror lawyer, Kassem seems like a national security risk rather than a White House Policy Council adviser.

Ramzi Kassem had boasted of having “held the record for the longest delayed security clearance in the Guantánamo setting”, but even that does not seem to have dissuaded the Biden administration from bringing him on board.

While some leave behind the extremist views of their college years, Ramzi Kassem instead built a career around them, becoming a noted terrorist lawyer whose Gitmo inmate clients included Ahmed al-Darbi, an Al Qaeda terrorist and the brother-in-law of one of the hijackers who flew a plane into the Pentagon, and who was himself a key figure in the bombing of an oil tanker.

Some lawyers represent paying clients, but Kassem, like many terror lawyers, worked pro-bono, and his advocacy echoed his pre-existing support for Islamic terrorism.

In his columns, as in his activism, Ramzi Kassem repeatedly justified terrorism as a reaction to its victims. “Terrorism is but one of many reactions to oppression and dispossession and not their cause.”

While at Columbia University, Kassem co-founded Turath, an association of Muslim students, and then Qanun at Columbia Law. A fellow student described these hateful groups as having brought “under the guidance of Mr. Kassem… speakers to this campus that support violence against American and Israeli civilians… defended the genocidal program of Hamas.”

The Columbia letter noted that, “one speaker, disavowed by many of America’s pro-Palestinian activists, prior to being invited to Columbia, had said that Jews exist only to ‘dip their matzahs in the blood of Palestinian children.’”

This antisemitic blood libel didn’t seem to have interfered with Kassem’s career prospects.

Kassem’s college obsession with Jews extended even to condemning Columbia’s dining hall for serving “Israeli Wrap” sandwiches and demanding that the name be changed to the “more inclusive” Middle-Eastern Wrap. But not all of Kassem’s hostility to Jews was non-violent.

In his own columns for the university paper, Kassem boasted of throwing stones at Israel.

“On a sunny day in early August, I headed down to the Lebanese-Israeli border at Fatima’s Gate with busloads of Palestinian adolescents from the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, and we threw some stones,” he described. “Lebanese civilians, young and old, were playfully going through the motions… Having lived through my fair share of Israeli bombardments, raids, and sieges, I figured I might as well partake in the festivities.”

Even more violent acts of antisemitic murder found a ready defense.

“Some Palestinians resort to terrorism for many of the same reasons that people from various backgrounds have in the past: namely, despair and much endured suffering,” Kassem argued. “One must ask oneself how and why a human being was pushed to the limit and saw no way out of a situation short of blowing himself or herself up.”

These defenses of Islamic terrorism came within the larger context of calls to eliminate Israel and accusations of ethnic cleansing, while blaming Islamic violence against Jews, even before the creation of Israel, on its Jewish victims.

Kassem was named a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow, a project of a foundation by Soros’ brother, notorious for its cultivation of political extremists hostile to America and its values, and worked with the Center for Constitutional Rights, a former Communist organization.

After law school, Ramzi Kassem founded Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) at CUNY to provide free legal aid to Muslims accused of terrorism.

The City University of New York had become notorious for its antisemitic atmosphere and Kassem signed on to a letter in defense of antisemitic Islamist activism alongside known hate groups and terrorist support organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine, Al-Awda, Within Our Lifetime, and Samidoun: designated by Israel as a terrorist organization.

The letter accused Jews of using antisemitism to “repress activism and harass and threaten Palestinian students and Muslim students”.

Across the decades, Kassem’s college advocacy against Jews had come full circle from student to professor. And his war against this country has taken him from Gitmo to Washington D.C.

The Biden administration chose to elevate a vocal advocate for Islamic terrorists as a Senior Policy Advisor for Immigration at the White House Domestic Policy Council at a time when there are grave concerns about the penetration of terrorists through the unguarded southern border.

The Biden administration claims that it wants to protect the homeland and that it supports Israel. Putting Ramzi Kassem on its Domestic Policy Council shows those assertions to be lies. Its Policy Council includes a man who advocated for Gitmo terrorists and threw rocks at Israel.

Ramzi Kassem’s presence on driving the immigration agenda at the White House Domestic Policy Council is hard evidence that the Biden administration is putting the rights of Muslim terrorists ahead of the safety and welfare of Americans.

The White House Domestic Policy Council coordinates and develops the Biden agenda. Including a vocal activist against national security will have consequences. And the Biden administration will not be able to play innocent when one of the Islamic terrorists it allows into the country kills Americans.

This article was originally published in World Israel News and can be viewed here.

[applbottmjeens]

4:44

- The BelleGraves Fanfic Archive

I'm a part-time lover, and I'm never there I find it hard to believe you don't want it to end I'll be changing my tune when you walk in the room I'll be fixing the look on my face I'm gonna get close to you, give my loving to you At least until you're going away And I know that I'm not good I'm never gonna treat you like I should

WARNING: GENERAL DEPICTIONS OF NOT THE BEST RELATIONSHIP EVER. LOTS OF ANGST. I DO NOT WRITE PHILLIP GRAVES WITH GRACE OR MERCY. THIS GUY KINDA SUCKS.

(fanfiction organized in order of occurance)

MW2 (2022-2023)

National Anthem (18+) | I'm never gonna treat you / I'm never gonna treat you like I should

West Coast Youth | I said, "Don't embarrass me, " instead of "Be mine" / That was my proposal for us to go steady - Coming Soon

Help Me to Breathe | Letting you down every day / Why do I keep on running away?

Can you See Me Using Everything to Hold Back? | I harassed you out in Paris / "Please come back to Rome, " you make it home

I wrote your name a hundred times ... (TW: Suicidal Thoughts) | Your eyes leave with the soul that your body once housed / And you stare blankly into space

MW3 (2023-Onward)

American Taste | I suck at love, I think I need a do-over / I will be emotionally available if I invited you over / I stew over, "What if you over my shit?"

Predecessor and Progeny | I never wanted another woman to know / Something about me that you didn't know - Coming Soon

Tommy Graves | And if my children knew / I don't even know what I would do / If they ain't look at me the same / I would prob'ly die with all the shame - Coming Soon

Trial and Error | I apologize to all the women whom I toyed with your emotions

COD: ACES ♤ (Pseudo-canon)

Namesake | My heart breaks for the day I have to explain my mistakes / And the mask goes away - Coming Soon