#Taken May 26th 2021

[aimeedaisies]

✨ 15 days of Princess Anne ✨

August is Princess Anne’s birth month and her 73rd birthday is on the 15th so until then we will look at her fascinating life, one photo for every year!

The 2020s

2020 1. 2. 3. A series of three photos, taken by John Swannell to celebrate Princess Anne’s 70th birthday!

4. Princess Anne photographed at Gatcombe Park with a pony for Australian Women’s Weekly ahead of her 70th birthday.

2021 1. Princess Anne and Sir Tim cheering on Scotland from home today as they played England for the Calcutta Cup on 6th February 2021

2. Princess Anne leading the funeral procession behind Prince Philip’s coffin at Windsor Castle on 17th April 2021

3. Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence marking Armed Forces Day at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas on 26th June 2021

4. Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne visiting The Children’s Wood Project in Glasgow on 30th June 2021

2022 1. Princess Anne and her husband Sir Tim Laurence attend an event in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 12th April 2022

2. Princess Anne and The Duchess of Cambridge arriving at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives headquarters on 27th April 2022

3. Princess Anne curtsies to the coffin of her mother Queen Elizabeth II as it arrives at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on 11th September 2022

4. Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence during their visit to the Falkland Islands in November 2022

2023 1. Princess Anne sending heart eyes to her husband as they visit New Zealand in February 2023.

2. Princess Anne arriving at Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6th May 2023.

3. Princess Anne attending day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on 20th June 2023.

4. Princess Anne at the opening of the CHIO Aachen in Germany, on 27th June 2023.

#annie 🥺 #she was so strong through ‘21 and ‘22 😭 #my heart #the photo of her curtsying to her mothers coffins still breaks me now #but it’s so poignant that’s why I’ve included it #princess anne #princess royal #15 days of anne

[fallloverfic]

Nimona, the 2011-14 webcomic by ND Stevenson, turned into a graphic novel published on May 12, 2015, and adapted into a full cast audiobook on October 4, 2016, has been adapted into an animated movie!

The movie premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France on June 14, 2023. Netflix released a teaser trailer on May 18, 2023, a clip on June 8, 2023, a full trailer on June 14, 2023, another big clip on June 21, 2023, more footage on June 22, 2023, and another big clip on June 27, 2023. The movie released in select theaters starting on June 23.

The movie released on June 30, 2023 on Netflix for streaming! You can also view the movie for free, legally, on YouTube, until February 26th, 2024. Netflix also released a free-to-read digital-only multimedia 358-page artbook for the movie.

For simplified background, Disney cancelled the movie in 2021, but on April 11, 2022, it was announced that Annapurna would produce the movie, DNEG would animate it, and Netflix would distribute it for streaming sometime in 2023. I'm seeing a lot of confusion out there, so I'll make a summary of what else we know. I also keep the Nimona movie fanwiki page up to date with more info as it releases. Other good places to get news: ND Stevenson's twitter, his Tumblr, his personal site, the savenimona twitter, and the movie page on Netflix. While managing the fanwiki I found that Wikipedia's reference articles for the movie were kind of terrible and often quoted things not being said in the articles being quoted, even in their archive versions, so I would stick with first-hand accounts where possible, particularly what's coming from folks working on the movie and the companies making it. Below is a more detailed summary of info.

Nimona by ND Stevenson began life as a school project while Nate was in college. He was a tumblrite and posted the first pages on Tumblr on December 14, 2011. On June 19, 2012, he began publishing the webcomic in full on its own site. Sometime before November 2012, it was contracted for publication as a graphic novel after completion. The webcomic ended on September 30, 2014, and was released as a single graphic novel in entirety on May 12, 2015. It has currently been translated into 16 languages. Nate adapted it into a full cast audiobook that released on October 4, 2016 (you can hear a preview and purchase it via the link above). The graphic novel and audiobook are still available for purchase.

Apologies for maybe getting studio names wrong, some have changed over time. Anyway: the movie rights for Nimona were acquired by 20th Century Fox Animation in June 2015, to be produced by Blue Sky Studios. In June 2017, Fox scheduled the movie to be released on February 14, 2020. Patrick Osbourne was brought on as director, and it was planned to have the movie in the style of Paperman (Osbourne was animation supervisor of Paperman (2012), and went on to direct Feast (2015), which used the same style). After Disney acquired 20th Century Animation (as it was later called), the movie was delayed to March 5, 2021. There was reportedly pushback for queer stuff in the movie. Blue Sky is publicly stated to have shutdown due to the pandemic and money issues, which isn't relevant here, and I would be careful spreading rumors it was for other reasons. A lot of "successful" US companies shut down studios and departments en masse for other very dumb reasons, particularly in recent years, sometimes just because they aren't making as much money as their parent/shareholders wants them to and cutting salaries makes your profits look better to shareholders. The important part is: Blue Sky was being shut down, and Disney officially cancelled the movie in February 2021.

At some point around the cancellation, a video compilation of early release footage and sculpts seemingly from someone involved in the movie's production was released online. It was later taken down, but put back up by iO9 after the Annapurna, DNEG, Netflix production was announced.

After Disney shuttered Blue Sky, according to Variety, the Nimona crew, "led by former Blue Sky co-presidents Andrew Millstein and Robert Baird, shopped the animatic around town. The film caught the attention of Annapurna CEO Megan Ellison, who was familiar with the film and had been tracking the project. “I think anyone who has ever felt misunderstood or like an outsider will connect with N.D. Stevenson’s story like I did,” she said in press material for the film. “When I watched the storyboard reels I immediately fell in love with it. Nothing about it felt conventional or built off market research. It’s bold and mischievous and full of love. Nimona has such a powerful voice.”

Annapurna stepped in and signed up Millstein and Baird as executive producers. They created Shapeshifter Films so the team could finish “Nimona,” and subsequently joined the company, forming Annapurna Animation.

DNEG Animation was hired in the spring of 2021 to help with the animation, becoming collaborators on the film."

On April 11, 2022, it was announced that the film would be produced by Annapurna, animated by DNEG, and distributed by Netflix. Netflix also shared the first summary:

"A Knight is framed for a crime he didn't commit and the only person who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a shape-shifting teen who might also be a monster he's sworn to kill. Set in a techno-medieval world unlike anything animation has tackled before, this is a story about the labels we assign to people and the shapeshifter who refuses to be defined by anyone."

Between Netflix's posts and DNEG's Nimona page, as well as folks involved with the film talking about it, and new info released after the Annecy Film Festival announcement, we knew it would release in Summer 2023. Netflix released a primary cast article with images of what the characters look like from Netflix (be warned, both are very spoilery).

What is also interesting about the cast listings is that Ballister's last name was changed from Blackheart to Boldheart.

Sources for Business Insider said that Blue Sky's work would be incorporated into the film somehow. The second production seemingly wasn't started from scratch, and members of the Blue Sky production stayed on to work on the project. This makes sense, given the art was quite similar to what was in that footage released around the film's cancellation in 2021. DNEG crew have stated repeatedly, though, that although they did have a lot of material from the Blue Sky production, they had to make a lot of things from the ground up.

Quane released an official shot from the film on January 4, 2023:

It was announced that the movie would premiere on June 14, 2023, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. (Post on Annecy's site, post on DNEG's site)

Two new stills were also released on April 25, 2023, with the Annecy Film Festival announcement:

On May 10, 2023, Netflix posted a new image for the movie:

The May 10 article also had a new movie summary:

"When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem — who also happens to be a shape-shifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona’s the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc — for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to… just wreak serious havoc.   

Directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, Nimona is an epic tale about finding friendship in the most surprising situations and accepting yourself and others for who they are."

Netflix released another still on May 17, 2023. On May 18, they released their teaser, the movie's first poster, and the announcement of the June 30, 2023 general streaming release date!

Netflix also added a new preview image to the Nimona page on the app, featuring Ballister and Ambrosius facing off behind Nimona.

And Netflix started selling Nimona plushies! Amazon (and possibly other vendors) are also selling shirts/jackets with official movie art!

Netflix released more footage of the movie on May 24, 2023! (it's around 6:31 in the video).

Empire magazine released another still for the movie on June 7, 2023, as well as an article in their June 8, 2023 issue.

Variety released a new still on June 11, 2023.

Netflix released a new poster on Jun 13, 2023!

More stills were released in an Entertainment Weekly article on June 14, 2023. And Netflix released even more. More teasers were put up on the Netflix app (though these are quite spoilery, so I'd advise avoiding them). The cast and crew did press tours throughout June 2023.

Again, the Nimona movie fanwiki page has more detailed info on all this.

#Nimona #NIMONA #ND Stevenson #animated films #2023 animated films #Nimona film #Nimona film information post #Nate Stevenson #Nimona webcomic #Nimona graphic novel #Nimona movie #Ballister Blackheart #Ballister Boldheart #Ambrosius Goldenloin

[littlefoxwithadagger]

Zee's 2023 Reads

Stats:

Books read ˋ°•*⁀➷ 62

Books DNFed ˋ°•*⁀➷ 9

Five-star reads ˋ°•*⁀➷ 23

Note: ☆ counts as a half star, since there isn’t a half star emoji

I tried not to tag any books I didn’t like because I don’t like to hate on books in their fandom tags, so if I accidentally tagged something I have a bad review, please tell me 😭

This list is chaos and I defintely ripped into some of these books because I hated them. Be warned. (I’m sorry ACOTAR fans. Maybe don’t read this if that’s your favorite book series. I didn’t hate them, but I certainly had quite a few criticisms.)

Also, if you see the reviews start to get way longer in October, that’s because I started this post in October, so everything I read after that was reviewed immediately after reading.

↳ March (2)

Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard

March 3rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this by request of my aunt (it's her favorite book series) and honestly it was just kinda boring and not my taste...not to mention the ending REALLY pissed me off. The whole powers thing was kinda cool, but the dystopian main plot was kind of generic? Which is fine, but this was kind of bland for a first book. Will not be finishing the series.

Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard

March 10th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

This is the sequel to Red Queen, and frankly I think I read about three chapters of it before I DNFed. The main reason I DNFed this was because of the ending of the first book. I won’t go into detail about it because it spoils the end of the first book, but after my favorite character was taken away from me, I couldn’t finish this series.

Overall, I think this series had great potential but bad execution. I may try to read it again in the new year just to give the entire series a proper, full review, but at the time that I read this, I wasn’t into reading much at all and therefore couldn’t read a book just to say I’d read it.

↳ May (7)

Les Misérables - Victor Hugo

May 5th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

By far my favorite classic thanks to my mom encouraging me to read it. Loads of beautiful prose and a compelling plot line. I especially liked how he wove a bunch of stories that seemed not at all connected into one. Jean Valjean was a very complicated character, and I enjoyed following his story as it progressed. It felt very full-circle, even if the ending was a bit sad. The author took us all over France, and I felt very immersed in the world even though there was no visual for it. I also appreciated seeing the side characters grow over the length of the story. There were quite a few side characters who got a full arc despite not needing it. I'll probably reread this someday, just not now.

Flip the Script - Lyla Lee

May 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a cute sapphic love story between two teenage actresses starring together in a Korean drama. Fun fact - I didn't realize it was sapphic for a good while and was confused why sexuality was a hot topic in the book. Whoops! Cute anyways, and the plotline kept me interested.

The Selection - Kiera Cass

May 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This was my first reread of the year! I read this book back in 2021 originally by request of a friend. Rereading it was a bit of a let-down. I found the main girl annoying at times and overall the plot just kinda felt...meh. I will say that I was a bit disappointed that Maxon was the main guy at first because I really loved Aspen, but I think Maxon grew on me quite a bit more towards the end of this book. It was also easier for me to love him on the reread because I’d followed the full story already, so I think I appreciated his character more on this read than I did on the first read. I'm also not huge into dystopian, so that did kill my enjoyment of this a bit.

The Elite - Kiera Cass

May 27th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To continue my Selection reread, I read this. This book was better than the first one, though some of it was just very boring if I'm remembering correctly. It was nice to have a smaller group of girls and get to see them getting to know each other better, and this alone made the book more enjoyable than the last. I think the political tension upped a bit in this book, which I didn’t really like, but it did lead to quite a few great scenes between America and Maxon.

The One - Kiera Cass

May 28th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To complete the Selection reread, I read this. This was by far the best book in the trilogy. It was fun and full of action, and Maxon and America finally got themselves together. There was a great love confession from Maxon at the very end which will forever have my heart. Five stars just for making me swoon honestly. There were a few things that frustrated me in this book, such as the fact that America and Maxon still didn’t seem to trust each other for a lot of this book, but that’s their problem, not mine. I definitely enjoyed the scene where America saw Maxon’s scars for the first time. It was a very sweet scene, and I love emotional vulnerability between characters. 💔

Honorable mention - The Heir - Kiera Cass

May 29th, ⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book sucked to put it frankly. I recall enjoying it the first time I read it, but upon reread I found the main character entirely unbearable (making America look like a saint) and I think I made it about ten pages before deciding it wasn't worth the reread. I wish I didn't own this book.

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood

May 29th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was what really got me back into reading, and I'd been wanting to read it for months after hearing about it all over the internet. I gave it four stars at the time because I cringed a bit at the number of times the main girl referred to the main guy as "big" or something of the sort but overall found it enjoyable. Honestly, I'd probably rate this lower if I re-read it, but I'm not going to bother testing that theory. It got me back into picking up books, and that's what matters.

↳ June (9)

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

June 10th, ⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book...was disappointing. This was the first book I bought from the store without reading it first because the internet had me so convinced I'd enjoy it. I didn't. I found myself so bored I didn't bother reading past page 100 before I returned the book to the store. I don't really have much to say about it other than it was boring, honestly. Feyre also annoyed me a decent bit.

The Romantics - Leah Konen

June 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book had the same problem as ACOTAR, only far worse. This book felt like it had absolutely no substance, and I read at least half of it. The entire book was narrated by the entity of Love, and all of the characters we got introduced to were only ever surface-level. I felt like I was watching a bunch of strangers interact with each other. Perhaps it was just that young teenage romance isn’t really my cup of tea, but I found the plot entirely uninteresting.

Once Upon a Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

June 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My babyyyyyyyyyy <3 My bread and butter, the reason I got into fantasy books. Definitely not as compelling as the second book, but compelling nonetheless. Jacks and Evangeline have insane tension and it was overall just great. I absolutely loved the whole kisses deal, though I’ll admit this book was NOT what I thought it was. When I picked it up, I was expecting Jacks to be an actual prince, and I was quite surprised to find that he was more of a demigod. Either way, it was a great book, and if you love romantacy, I’d recommend this for SURELY. (I’m biased, can’t you tell? This is a OUBAH blog, after all.)

The Ballad of Never After - Stephanie Garber

June 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'd give this book six stars if I could. This entire book was just pining and drama, and I live for it. Not to mention...the Hollow? Yes. Yes, yes yes. Everything about this book, yes. The curses in this book were completely crazy, and I felt like we got a lot more world building in this book. The entire world felt a lot more complete in this book, and we really got to start to piece together Jacks’s backstory. Lovely.

One True Loves - Elise Bryant

June 21st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm pretty sure I actually read this book last year, but it got put into my book tracker in July so I'm leaving it here. This was a cutsey little romance about a girl who goes on a cruise in Europe. I don't remember much about it, but I remember loving the two main characters and the realtionship they had with each other.

Happily Ever Afters - Elise Bryant

June 21st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pretty sure this is the book before One True Loves? They're in the same series, I know that. This was a cutsey little book about a baker guy and a writer girl who ended up at the same high school. Absolutely loved the character growth the main character had over the course of the book.

In Order to Live - Yeonmi Park

June 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a biography written by a woman who escaped North Korea. It was truly an amazing read, and this is the one book I cried while reading this year! I would definitely recommend this to anyone because it is extremely informative while also being very immersive.

Caraval - Stephanie Garber

June 27th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back to Stephaine Garber! Honestly, I started reading this series for Jacks, but the first book is something entirely on its own. I absolutely loved Julian and Scarlett, and I'll be rereading this again soon. The book very much immersed the reader, and I felt like I was a player in Caraval myself. There was so much fun to be had in this book, and honestly it could just be read as a stand-alone.

Legendary - Stephanie Garber

June 31st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I drove all the way to the other side of town to get this book, that's how good the first one was. This book was less enjoyable than the first, but the plot was extremely compelling. Sadly, I’m not a huge fan of Tella, so I struggled to immerse myself in this book the way I got immersed in Caraval.

↳ July (11)

(Was I ok in July? How many books is this, Zee?)

Finale - Stephanie Garber

July 1st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jacks. That's about all I have to say about this book.

Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice - Annika Sharma

July 2nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not sure why, but I decided to dump $16? $17? on this when I went to Barnes and Noble with a friend, so I had to finish it. There was a tad too much sexual tension and not enough romance between the main characters for my taste, but it was a good book. I especially enjoyed that the author did so much with her own culture in the book. Both of the characters learned the importance of truly connecting with someone over the course of the book, and I thought it was lovely.

The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas

July 2nd, ⭐️⭐️, DNF

This book was...something. I - yet again - purchased a book without reading it first. Learned my lesson this time. I have honestly no idea what this book is about because I read only fifty pages of it and there was...too much of her referring to him as "big" and "tall". I get it. He's tall and wide. Can we please discuss why you hate him? I'd love to know, really. Perhaps this book is for you if you like extreme sexualization of tall, buff men, but it’s not for me.

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

July 6th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Queen. Puzzles and drama galore, and I love the boys. That's really all I have to say about this. I LOVE puzzles so this book was a big hit with me. Avery is a little genius and I appreciate it, and I also loved getting to see her adapt to her new life.

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

July 9th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This read is courtesy of my bestie. She had not finished the series when she recommended it. Still hasn't. (Nani, this is a plea for you to finish it.) I don't recall much of the book, honestly, but the plot was good enough for me to rate it four and a half stars, so...?

The Wicked King - Holly Black

July 11th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Cardan and Jude...on the couch...with- ahem. I mean what. What was this book about? Also I love the way Cardan speaks. He’s very formally-spoken and I love that for him.

The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black

July 11th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

yESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. This entire book. The ENDING??? Insane. How do I not remember any of the plot of these books besides the end of this one? We'll never know.

Skin of the Sea - Natasha Bowen

July 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book was probably pretty great. I personally found the introduction to the plot a bit dragging and it lost my interest because of this, but it sounded like it would eventually be a good and intriguing plot. I may eventually pick this back up, but currently there are other books I am actually excited to read, so for now this will be only a DNF.

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong

July 17th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️, DNF

Ahem...this was actually a great book, despite the DNF and star rating. I DNFed this book because it was too gorey, but I'm currently attempting to finish it. The writing is beautiful and the characters are very compelling. The tension between the main characters is lovely. I'm hoping to give this five stars when I finally finish it.

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

July 18th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Delicious. A heist, six morally grey characters, lots of fighting and tension - both romantic and plot-wise. Absolutely ate up the characters' backstories. I love a good trauamtic backstory. I was reading fanfics about this book before I even finished reading it, that's how good the character building was. (Sadly I got a ton of the plot spoiled for me between this book and the next because I decided to join the online fandom before finishing the books. I will NOT make that mistake again.)

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories - Holly Black

July 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A goofy short read about Cardan. I love him. That's it.

(Zee said no reading during birthday month apparently? Was I spending too much time being lovesick over my coworker? We'll never know.)

↳ September (6)

The Forgetting - Sharon Cameron

September 1st, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book surprised me. I had no idea what it was about going into it, and I was entirely surprised. Apparently it's dystopian? Sci-fi? Who knew? (not me) Anyways, I loved the two main characters, and the plot was extremely creative. This is definitely going to be a re-read next year. Sadly, the sequel was not about this pair of characters, so I didn’t end up reading it.

Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

September 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, this is a funny story. I put in a request at the library for this book in July, having about zero clue what it was about beyond dragons. I was intrigued, of course, because I LOVE dragons. By the time I got my hands on the book, I'd heard many reviews about how awful the book was. I was convinced I'd hate it, but of course, I had to read it because I waited TWO MONTHS for it. It took a few pages for me to be interested, but it was a VERY good book. I love Xaden. I will kiss him on the head. This got four stars because those smut scenes GAGGED me (and not in a good way), but I have since read worse smut, so perhaps this will be a five-star someday. The smut was truly something, though. I sat on the couch and sobbed from laughter while reading them.

The Stolen Heir - Holly Black

September 16th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was...gorey, honestly. But other than that, a great read. Both main characters are very compelling, and I adore Oak. Sweetest boy. I can't wait to read the second book. It really took us a lot farther into the world of Elfhame, and I appreciated the book for that.

Lightlark - Alex Aster

September 16th, ☆, DNF

I truly wish I could just say "No." and move on with this list, but this book was probably the worst book I've ever read. I read three pages and was so extremely confused that I couldn't continue. To confuse me that awfully in the first three pages of a book is a feat, I'll give her that. I would not recommend this book to anyone, and generally I believe that everything has an audience. I'm sorry if you're a fan of this book, but I just...can't.

Fireworks - Alice Lin

September 20th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cute book about a girl and her childhood best friend turned Kpop star when they finally reunite at age 18. Soooo much romantic tension, and I loved how the book dealt with mental health. I hope these two live happily ever after.

Reread - Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

September 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yes, I reread it a week after I read it. Sue me. It was a good book. I’ll be rereading it again when my holiday edition shows up.

↳ October (8)

Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli

October 5th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is going on the list of cutesy sapphic books that make me cry. Absolutely loved the way the realtionship between the two main characters developed, and I thought it did a good job about commenting on what it means to be queer. Also, arguably the best college friend group ever in this book. I'm jealous.

When You Wish Upon a Lantern - Gloria Chao

October 6th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was ok. It was cute, but I found it slightly boring. I will say it was very good for a first-person dual POV book, which I usually hate and refuse to read.

Assistant to the Villain - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

October 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a funny read, because I expected to hate read it, but it had me kicking and screaming, especially the ending. I was so insanely upset when I realized it was a trilogy (mostly because the ending was absolutely jarring and I didn’t expect it to end on a cliffhanger), but at the same time I'm glad this isn't the last we'll see of these characters. I love books where the villains are villains because they felt like that was all they could be. I love. Beyond all of this, I simply enjoyed to see all the characters interact with each other, and I felt like the author did a good job of humanizing all the characters. Not to mention Kingsley. He’s arguably my favorite character despite having no real lines in the book.

The Hawthorne Legacy - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

October 15th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Puzzles, Hawthorne boys, and...strip bowling (I forgot about this scene until a coworker told me she didn't read the book because there was stripping in it. I laughed.) Anyways I loved Jameson and Avery in this book and that's about all I have to say.

The Final Gambit - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

October 18th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok I’m going to be completely honest this book was one huge blur and it almost felt disconnected from the rest of the series. Don’t get me wrong, it was GREAT, but it was like complete whiplash while simultaneously tying up all the loose ends we had in the last two books. Also *spoilers* but JamesonAvery endgame YAYYYYYY.

Reread - Once Upon a Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

October 19th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I reread this in preparation for the third book and it took me a month to read. Idk man.

Reread - The Ballad of Never After - Stephanie Garber

October 23rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good soup. Send me to the Hollow, please.

A Curse for True Love - Stephanie Garber

October 24th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*ahem* drum roll please… 🥁🥁🥁 …LOVELY!! Evajacks kiss. This is all I wanted. Also his dimples. And Archer. And- Ok enough about that. To actually review this book, I think it was a great wrap-up of the series. The book had an amazing vibe, and I loved how the first half of the book felt shrouded in mystery since we spent the majority of the time in Evangeline’s head. I read this entire book in one five-hour sitting, completely skipping all the homework I had to do that night just so I could read this IMMEDIATELY. It was totally worth it. I also just loved seeing Jacks as the tortured man I always knew he was. Yes bby be so tortured. Now kiss.

↳ November (8)

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas

November 3rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was...a book. It had potential to be a great book in the first 100 pages, but somewhere along the way it got kind of insane. Honestly, I feel like it should've been two books. It was over 600 pages and yet I found most of the scenes were a bit too short. Also, there were too many location changes, and this book is where the bad smut truly is. I couldn't even read the smut scenes...I can usually tolerate them. (Is it clear I don't like smut?). The first half of the book set up this lovely dynamic between Rhys and Feyre that I loved and showed me this new, fun world of the Night Court. I only wish that I’d enjoyed the second half of the book as much as I did the first. The second half didn’t get enough development and kind of just all ran together, which sucked. I would’ve given this four stars if the second half had had better pacing.

Honorable mention - The Queen of Nothing - Holly Black

November 8th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*cough* *cough* ahem. I reread like half this book for the scenes between Cardan and Jude…especially a specific scene in chapter 21 (if you know you know) and also the ending <3 yes queen get your ma-

Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros

November 12th , ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(I just finished this book right before I started typing this so excuse my screaming) BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. HANDS DOWN. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ENDING AND I LOVE YOU REBECCA YARROS. If you like fantasy, I’d recommend this book. (Also rep for the messed up joints girlies 🙏🏼) I love Xaden and Violet sm.

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong

November 14th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was very good. Great prose, amazing characters, original plot. I only didn’t give it five stars because I personally felt just a bit disconnected from the story. I didn’t really feel all that stressed by the plot, though this may have been because I only had four hours to read the book. Overall, it was a great book and I’ll be reading the sequel when I have time. (Also, coming off the Iron Flame high does make this book a bit less fascinating.)

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

November 15th, ��️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After four months, I finally bring myself to finish this. A masterpiece. I didn’t want to leave this world, and yet I finally had to. The entire crew has my heart, and that ending broke me. I wanted so badly to simply not read it and make sure it didn’t happen, but here we are. Our gang all got their not-quite-happily-ever-after, and this may or may not have been the only book to make me cry ever. (That’s not true, but I can’t remember which other book I cried at. Perhaps it was my own.) Five stars. I will be returning to this duology someday to reabsorb the masterpiece that it is.

Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things - Maya Prasad

November 22nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was pretty good. The sisters had a cute relationship and the inn was fun. The book was split into four parts - one for each sister - and personally I enjoyed the first two the best. The third one was also pretty cute, but the last one…I didn’t connect with the character as well, and her plot seemed to drag. I actually stopped reading like 3 pages before the end because the plot was basically over like 20 pages before and it was just focusing on side characters. I think I’m just not a huge fan of slice of life in book form, so if you like that, then this book is for you. I have the sequel sitting on my shelf, but I might just take it back to the library at this point.

A Court of Wings and Ruin - Sarah J. Maas

November 23rd, ⭐️⭐️

This book was way too long, to put it bluntly. I considered DNFing it a number of times, and the plot just seemed to drag on. I don’t understand what Maas has against question marks, either. I can’t tell you how many times I read a question in here that ended with a period. I’m not sure whether it was supposed to emphasize tone or what she was trying to do, but it was extremely irritating and distracting. I didn’t notice this happening in the other two books, but maybe I just missed it. The only reason I finished this book was so that I could read ACOSF with full context because I do love Cassian and Nesta, but otherwise I probably would’ve DNFed about 2/3 of the way in. The fandom wasn’t kidding when they said ACOMAF was the best book in the series. I’m only glad I finished this because of the Nessian scene we got at the end 💔 my heart cried.

A Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J. Maas

November 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

To my surprise and delight, this book has question marks!!! Yayyy!!! To start this review off, I’ll begin by saying - Sarah finally got a decent review out of me. I really enjoyed this book except for a few small details. Now, that may just be because I love Cassian and Nesta, but I consider it a win that she wrote two characters that I LOVE.

That being said, this book made me dislike Rhysand even more than I already did. I’m not sure what it is about him, but I find him a bit intolerable. I won’t dwell on this point, but I found him especially irritating in relation to the Feyre B-plot. Oof. That in combination with the ridiculous number of smut scenes made me knock this down a star. I was fine with them at first, but then it just became too much. Google says there were only 7 smut scenes in the book, but I swear there were more. This is just a personal gripe and nothing against the book or its readers, but it certainly downgraded my enjoyment of it.

Beyond that, I really loved the tension between Cassian and Nesta, and I also enjoyed seeing the two of them work through their issues. They’re extremely sweet and I love them. One thing though - Sarah, why did you tease a mating ceremony for like three pages and then we don’t even get to see it??? Miss ma’am at the very least I wanted to see Cassian being all sweet as they consummated the mating or whatever. But instead we get another scene of someone crying over Feyre’s painting??? COME ON!!! This will probably be the only time I’ll rate an SJM book over 3 stars.

↳ December (11)

The Brothers Hawthorne - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

December 2nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To start this off, I was completely thrilled to read a book about the boys. Don’t get me wrong, I love Avery, but the three youngest Hawthorne brothers have always piqued my interest more. I honestly didn’t think a book in this series could be better than the others, but there was something about this book that was even more incredible than the trilogy. This book was even better than I thought it would be. I expected to enjoy Jameson’s part of the story even more than Grayson’s part, but I actually found myself enjoying getting to know Grayson quite a bit more. (Don’t get me wrong, I loved Jameson’s part of the story, but this book made me love Gray a lot more.). I’d give this book six stars if I could. Absolutely lovely and completely compelling read, and I love all the new characters we’re introduced to. I do hope that someday we get a book about Xander and Nash, but for now, this will quench my Hawthorne thirst. I definitely have a new favorite Hawthorne though (sorry Jameson). I will kiss Gray-

The Half-Life of Love - Brianna Bourne

December 9th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Uh so to put it simply. I hated this book (in the best way possible). I don’t know why I read this. I knew how it would end from the start, but it intrigued me enough that I read it anyways!!?? Haha. I sobbed at the ending. I never want to think about this book again. I loved the characters but I hated the plot. That’s it. (I will also say this book dealt HEAVILY with death and was very heavy so. Yeah. Be warned.) Update after a week of processing: I actually loved this book a lot, but it broke my heart. I loved the character development that Flint went through over the course of the book, and it absolutely broke me that that was the end. I may change my star rating for this before I officially post this, but for now it stays at 3 for hurting me.

Fireborne - Rosaria Munda

December 16th, ⭐️⭐️☆, DNF

This book was…odd, to say the least. It had potential, but something about the world building felt off to me. Perhaps it’s just not my vibe. My main gripe with it has to be the characters’ names. Some of them had very modern names, some of them had very old names, and some of them only went by extremely weird nicknames. The names alone took me out of the immersion of the world, because every time I’d finally get into it, I’d read a name and go oh, yeah, this is a book. It took me about a week to decide to DNF this, but after reading so many books I genuinely enjoyed, I just couldn’t force myself to finish it.

Greymist Fair - Francesca Zappia

December 16th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the season. I saw the cover at the library and was like oh, yeah, that’ll be a good read. I didn’t even read the summary. Turns out, I was so right. The book kind of has similar vibes to the tales of The Brothers Grimm, but oddly I didn’t find any of this story very creepy. It was dark and a bit gory, but I thoroughly enjoyed the progression of the story. I wouldn’t say this was a five-star read, but I really enjoyed this book. It’s a collection of stories about Greymist Fair that weave together very beautifully, and I absolutely love the atmosphere this book created. Come to find out after I read it, it’s classified as a horror book? I would’ve probably said it was more paranormal fiction, but alas. This was not a horror book to me. I should know, I hate horror. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes morally twisted fantasy books - especially classic fae stories. This book gave me similar vibes to those.

The Matzah Ball - Jean Meltzer

December 22nd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

This book was so much fun. I think I read it in 3.5 hours. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, because honestly it’s one of the four Christmas (this book wasn’t technically Christmas but based on certain themes I think you could categorize it that way) books I impulsively rented from the library, but I loved it. The main girl had a chronic illness, and as someone who struggles physically myself, I really enjoyed reading about a main character going through the mental struggles of such a thing. This book gave silly Hallmark movie vibes, but it was completely enjoyable. The main guy was extremely sweet albeit a bumbling idiot, and I actually didn’t mind the major misunderstanding trope that carried this plot. I also really enjoyed reading a book that included lots of Jewish culture. It felt like home. There were a few aspects of this book I found a bit childish for a book about two people who were nearly thirty, but I guess different people enjoy different things. It was a fun, quick read if you’re looking for something with a holiday theme.

These Hollow Vows - Lexi Ryan

December 23rd, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

I’m not really sure why, but I started reading this in October and couldn’t get into it. A couple pages in and I was HOOKED. I love me a book about Fae realms. (At least, the original Fae. ACOTAR was too far from the source material for me to enjoy it, sadly.) This book has all the mystery and wonder of the Fae lands while being extremely simple to read and understand. I LOVED the plot progression, and the plot twists were predictable in a roundabout way where you could sort of guess them, but they still surprised you. The ending made me scream in both an angry and excited way. I totally saw the ending coming, but it still pissed me off!

I can’t wait to read the next book, but sadly I must wait until I return from vacation. I would DEFINITELY recommend this if you like fae books, especially if you enjoyed The Cruel Prince. The only reason I didn’t give this book five stars is that I felt the side characters were all a bit underdeveloped. I’m not sure if this was on purpose since the book is from the main character’s point of view, but I felt like I didn’t even know the love interests well enough to actually make a good judgement of either of them. I did, according to the ending, end up pegging both of their true characters correctly, but I still felt they were underdeveloped for how much time they spent in the book.

Honorable mention - The Queen of the Tearling - Erika Johansen

December 24rd, unrated, DNF

I tried to read this book about ten different times before I had to return it to the library, but it just isn’t my cup of tea. It didn’t capture my attention in the twenty pages I read, and I don’t think I can follow the character on her journey. It’s very sad, because I truly love a learned royalty plot, but I couldn’t do it. Perhaps I will pick it up again someday, but I don’t plan on it being anytime in the near future.

Defy the Night - Brigid Kemmerer

December 25th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok, this one surprised me. I picked this book up at the library back in the summer, but I realized it was dual POV, and at that point I just couldn’t handle reading that, so I returned the book. I picked it up again on Christmas because my grandma bought me a kindle and I really wanted to try it, but the options at my library that were immediately available were limited. I’m so glad I gave it a second chance, because I loved it. This book had everything I love in a fantasy novel. There were so many twists I didn’t see coming, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book made me enjoy a wholly political plot, and I love that for it. Usually, I’m not a huge fan of political plots, but I loved the way this one developed. The romance was absolutely adorable as well, and it made me so happy I decided to give this book a second chance. As it stands, I will probably be reading the sequel tomorrow, and I am very excited, although I’m a bit upset the third book isn’t out until January! I was so happy to give another book five stars this month, because with how it was going, I didn’t think I would be.

Defend the Dawn - Brigid Kemmerer

December 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Hah. This book. True to my word, I finished it the day after Defy the Night. I’ll be honest, this book was slightly disappointing after how amazing the first book was, but I’ll let it slide solely because we got to know a new and amazing character. Besides that, this book did BOUNDS of character work. We got to know more and more about our main characters, and they all learned to overcome their stubbornness in this book. One thing I really loved about this book is that we got to see more about how close the brothers are. I feel like I don’t read many books where boys are very close to each other, especially not in a royalty setting, so it was refreshing to read a book where two brothers rule the throne united instead of going to war over it.

I was a bit disappointed that they spent the majority of the book on a ship, but because of the development that happened in the ship both character-wise and plot-wise, I can’t necessarily complain. For one, we got away from Allisander in this book, and I really had no character in this book more than him (yet). I’m very excited to read the last book when it comes out, though I wish I could read it right now. This series is truly worth the hype it had when I first discovered it, and I can’t wait to see where the relationships go in the next book.

The Lost Sisters - Holly Black

December 26th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Truth be told, this was a whole lot shorter than I thought it would be. It was essentially a letter from Taryn to Jude about the events of the first book. I found it to be a very interesting character study, honestly, and it showed us a bit more about Cardan too. I would recommend reading this if you’ve read The Cruel Prince series.

These Twisted Bonds - Lexi Ryan

December 29th, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh my gosh this book did more than I could’ve ever imagined it would. This book gave me all the character development the first book was lacking, and the way the plot developed was insanely amazing. I absolutely love Finn, and the way he calls Abriella Princess just absolutely melts me. The world got extremely fleshed out in this book, and I really enjoyed seeing how this author put her own twist on the world of the Fae. I also, oddly, really liked how the spice was done in this book. It was there but it mostly lacked detail and description, which is how I like my spice. I want a vague idea and nothing more! 😆 Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and it will probably be my last book of the year. I think it was a great conclusion to this year’s reading, and I’m glad I ended the year on a high note.

If you read this far, thanks for sticking around! For 2024, I will be doing monthly wrap-ups, so don’t expect another post like this…unless I decide to do a yearly wrap-up after my monthly ones are done…

If you have any recommendations to start my year off, tell me! I currently am planning on reading the Percy Jackson series, but that’s the only thing I’m really looking forward to reading

#the selection #ouabh #tbona #acftl #Caraval #the cruel prince #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #tcp #the stolen heir #the inheritance games #the hawthorne legacy #the final gambit #these violent delights #six of crows #crooked kingdom #fourth wing #iron flame #these hollow vows #defy the night #z.txt

[bizarrequazar]

2022 Candy Year In Review

As a way to cap off the year, I thought it would be nice to go over all the LLD candy from 2022! There were a ton of little ones (read: kadians, matching clothing, possible hickies, sunset photos, etc.), so this will just be focusing on the larger notable ones. They’re all dated and in chronological order, because I’m me.

Remember to take these with a grain of salt. Enjoy~

January 23rd → Gong Jun’s studio Weibo posted his 2021 year in review video, completely leaving out August despite him having had two livestreams, a song release, and a reality show air during that month.

January 29th → Gong Jun posted a commercial for KFC to his Douyin where he rips dates off a calender that has 1 and 5 missing. (No one talks about this one but it’s one of my favourites. 🥺💕)

February 14th → Gong Jun posted a commercial to his Weibo at 11:29, then posted two photos of himself to Weibo at 13:14 (kadian for “forever”), then posted the same to his Instagram at 13:15, using the kadians to make the sequence “Gong Jun forever Zhang Zhehan”. The photos had been taken at Xiao Yu Hill in Qingdao at almost the exact location that Zhehan had taken photos at in 2018.

His Weibo post had the caption “Happy Valentine’s Day [11 husky emojis]”, the same caption he had used in 2021. Some people noted that “Zhang Zhehan” is eleven letters long, and interpreted the use of the same caption as a way of saying that nothing has changed.

March 5 → Gong Jun posted a vlog with Nancy Mulligan by Ed Sheeran as one of the BGM, a song about a couple eloping during the Northern Ireland conflict. Fans found that one of the top comments on the song on Netease is “When China allows homosexuals to get married, I will play this song at our wedding,” and the song has widely been adopted by the gay community for its message of marrying and growing old together despite societal rules.

April 26th → (Purely rumor, take with a full spoon of salt.) Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan were supposedly seen together at the entrance to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Beijing. Reportedly they saw someone take photos and Zhehan stepped forward to pay the person off, only for Gong Jun to stop him and say to the photographer, “Do whatever you want.” The following day was Zhehan’s lunar birthday.

May 6th → (Instagram cw) Guo Yunfei, the casting director and actor of Duan Pengju from Word of Honor, posted a photo of himself making the LLD handsign with the caption, “I hope the ‘waves’ (浪花, langhua) like it. I know what happened recently, but what can I say or do? … I hope everyone can be sincere and kind, have a safe future, and live up to your friendship.” This was the day after the Instagram was deactivated.

May 11th → Zhehan’s birthday. The post count on Gong Jun’s Weibo went up by two despite nothing new appearing, indicating that he had posted privately.

May 17th → (Again, purely rumor.) Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan were supposedly seen together near Liangma Bridge in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. According to this one, Gong Jun asked the fans who photographed them to delete the photos and they willingly complied.

May 20th → Kangshifu released a mini-movie for 520 starring Gong Jun and an actress who looked strikingly like Zhang Zhehan, including a scene where she wore an outfit almost identical to one Zhehan wore during his 2021 birthday concert. The film included drawn illustrations of the two lead characters, one of which was found to have been directly traced from a photo of Zhehan from the Word of Honor concert. One of the lines included on the teasers leading up to the release was “I didn’t hide you away properly. It’s apparent in every drawing of mine.”

May 23rd → Gong Jun posted photos from a photoshoot for L’Officiel magazine to his Weibo—completely innocuous until people discovered that the caption, “✈✈✈～​​ ”, auto-translated to “对对～​​ 我爱你～ ​​ (Yes yes~ I love you~)” in the international app. This was later confirmed to have been an intentional Easter egg. Interpret it as you will~

June 9th → Gong Jun posted cooking photos from when he had been visiting his family during the previous month. It was noticed that there was one more set of chopsticks than there should have been if it was only his family. As well, it can be seen that Gong Jun was cooking the cilantro separately from the rest of the dish—Zhehan is known to not like cilantro. June 9th is May 11th on the lunar calendar.

(There were so many little things throughout May and June, you could tell Gong Jun was giving Xie and co. the middle finger. A thread I made of all the ones I’m aware of can be found [here].)

August 1st → (slight knives in this one) BEAST posted an article to their WeChat about their Qixi product line, in which they included the lines “Remembering that we couldn’t spend the previous Qixi together as we were at different places I even secretly childishly cried, and was angry at him. He promised that he’ll give me a surprise next Qixi.” and “Love is separated by the mountains and seas / The mountains and seas can be flattened”. The latter was written on a banner Zhehan had recieved from a fan during the Word of Honor concert; Qixi 2021 was August 14th.

September 5th → VogueFilm released an interview Gong Jun had done with them where he talked about his morning routine, wherein he said, “If you have a problem with your knees, don’t do running, cycling, etc. Even though they seem easy, if you don’t master the technique well, it will actually affect your knees” Photos of his food included a jianbing, which a few weeks earlier he had said his “ahyi” made for him, as well as eggs prepared in a way unique to Jiangxi.

October 14th to 20th → Gong Jun stopped having an umbrella shield him from photographers while going to work and took full advantage of it by wearing clothing associated with Zhehan for the next several days. Details can be found in my post for that week, look for the 🍬 emojis.

November 2nd → During a livestream for Hsu Fu Chi, Gong Jun mentioned multiple of his other endorsements and at one point walked off set to grab his LockNLock thermos, which he then drank from on camera for exactly five seconds while the host was made to wait. On the same day, his studio posted a douyin with the song 隆里电丝 by 盛宇DamnShine, which includes the lines “Some people will become your friends / or your zhiji / Some people will fight with you to the end / as long as you're happy (开心就好)”

November 17th → A photo from 2021 that Gong Jun’s studio posted as part of his time train series included a blurred out red and blue smear that was possibly a photo from the Word of Honor concert being used as his phone’s wallpaper.

November 28th → Gong Jun posted a photo of a handwritten note saying that he wouldn’t be doing a birthday livestream the following day. Something that was possibly his hexagon ring appears to have been deliberately placed behind a glass of water in the photo.

December 17th → Gong Jun posted travel photos from Yunnan, which included two photos of a figure from behind wearing a hoodie that completely covers his head. There is debate over whether this person was really Gong Jun, especially as the shoulders seem to match Zhang Zhehan’s stature.

What’s your own favourite candy from the year? If I didn’t include it here, please feel welcome to add it as a reply or reblog! 🍬🍬🍬

#Gong Jun #Zhang Zhehan #junzhe #my gj posts #my zzh posts #the stars and moon shine together

[dontlikeadam]

Taylor/ Matty Timeline

My Personal little timeline I kept is below.

Obviously no harm or shade is meant to anyone in this timeline. I always thought they would be an epic love story, so it's something I made a little hobby out of watching. It has been a fascinating puzzle and given the fact they both love some easter eggs, it's been a fun puzzle.

If anything is incorrect, let me know. It been a work in progress for a long time, so some may be off a touch.

This ends around October of last year. When we could comfortably assume things were DONE DONE.

I may add additional items for items that happened during SATVB that may have been linked to Taylor.

I may also try to add a post on some song break downs and cross overs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

End of 2013 - Taylor asked The 1975 to tour with her

-------

November 2014 - Matty wears the 1989 Tee in Milwaukee 

November 19th 2014- Selena, Taylor and friends go to LA show - Taylor and Matty make video for Kitty  

November 2014 - Taylor Wears 1975 Shirt 

November 24th 2014 - Matty dedicates Robbers to Taylor 

November 26th 2014 - Matty wears 1989 shirt again

November 28th, 2014 - Taylor goes to 1975 show in Chattanooga - Rumor 

November 29th, 2014 - Matty says he cant kiss a fan because he is taken 

12/2/14 - Denise retweets pics of Taylor and Adam

12/4/14 - Taylor and Karlie go to 1975 show in NYC - Matty dedicates Fallingforyou to Taylor

12/6/14 - Matty has a breakdown in Boston, later saying “there was girl stuff, family stuff, financial stuff, drug stuff” 

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1/16/2015- Matty shoots down dating rumors

2/15/15 - Matty and Taylor hang out at Brit Awards - Night she meets Calvin - The night the song "Question?" refers to?

2015 - Halsey?

2015 - Gabriella?

December 2015 - Matty talks about reaching out to Taylor to ask her to be in a music video (Love me) as a cut out 

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March 2016 - Matty says his relationship with Taylor is a flirtation

October 2016 - Joe and Taylor start dating 

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November/December 2017 - Matty Rehab 

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August 2019 - Matty and Gabriella Broke Up (Dated 2015-2019?) 

September 2019- Multiple times Matty mentions Taylor and wanting to write with her etc. 

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January 2020 - Matty and Twigs first spotted together 

February 12th 2020 - Matty sees Taylor at NME awards

Cardigan written right after?

February 12th 2020 - Matty and Twigs go public

February 2020 - Gabbriette was at the 1975 show in England

October 2020 or sooner - Gabbriette and Levi started Dating

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2021 - Matty starts working with Jack on “Being Funny”

November 2021- Taylor and Jack start working on Midnights 

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June 2022 - Matty and Twigs Split 

August 9th 2022 - Matty mentions Taylor listening to the new album 

September - November - Matty making fun of the idea that he had worked with Taylor at all on midnights multiple times. Matty denying it. 

October 14th 2022 - Chicken Shop Date. Matty says Amelia is in her "Slut" era.

November 27th 2022 - Matty says he and Taylor worked together on Midnights 

December 2022- Tumblr, Dr. Martens Taylor Swift

December 2022- Charlotte D’Alessio

----------------------

2023

January - Question? Added to the pre-show 1975 set list 

January 12th – Taylor plays with 1975 in London

February - Matty was said to be in LA with Meredith 

February - Matty also said to be at the recording studio with Taylor 

February 8th - Matty speech mentions long-distance relationships

March 13th - Cava Interview and SNL

March 15th - Matty seen with Ana Salazar 

March 22nd ish - “About You” added to the playlist before Taylors show 

March - Sometime in March/April- Split with Meredith - Around March 29th?

April 4th - Matty hugging himself.

April 5th - "I'm filled with love"

April 6th - "The kissing Era is over"

April 7th - Matty follows Taylor on IG and likes Taylors post 

April 8th 2023 - Split with Joe is released on Mattys Birthday

April 8th - Matty says he is so happy and in love in Perth, Australia show. I'm getting better and I'm feeling happy. Sang, I Want it that way. TIWIWYB

April 10th - Matty deactivates his social media - says the era of being a fucking asshole is over. Matty says, “Hey, I love you” on stage at the camera during About You. "Ive had enough. I perform all the time. I can't perform off a stage anymore" "Lucky for some, unlucky for others, I'm feeling pretty good"

April 11th - "I just can't perform off stage anymore"

April 12th - "Im never gonna love again" ahhh you will

April 13th - DM says she got a tip that Matty and Taylor are dating 

April 14th - Matty saying “About You” worked, accidentally before “fallingforyou” which he says did not work. The show where the guys change the setlist to "cum". "They are trying to cheer me up"

April 14th - “I love you” during about you again. After says “fuck yeah, I win” Sydney 

April 16th - “yeah you will” before Happiness 

April 19th - “ fucking hell, It takes a bit to get here, but its worth it” and “true story” before “Me and You Together Song” 

"Life is messy, I'm very messy" Perth

April 21st - Auckland - "I don't like being famous" speech. "I'm sorry I wasn't trying to offend anybody"

April 24th - Matty spoke about “she’s American” and where he sees people listening to it. Manchester, Tokyo and Pennsylvania 

May 3rd– The Sun says Matty and Taylor are Madly in Love, but its early on. Matty Mouths "I love you" and draws a "t" and a gives a kiss.

May 4th - Matty Mouths I Love You to Taylor on stage in the Phillipines, Says “I have something real to tell you” before Me and You Together song. Matty holds up "4" like "4th drink in my hand" She showed me what love is and I am acting like I know myself.

May 5th - Matty shows up in Nashville and Taylor mouths the same things to Matty

May 6th and 7th - Matty seen in Nashville with Taylor, Matty at Starbucks

May 11th - NYC Date with Jack 

May 13th - Matty at Philly show with Taylors Dad and Jaime (played “This Love”) 

May 14th - Played “Hey Stephen” as a “special request” a song Matty had stated is one of his favorites

May 15th- Matty and Taylor Leave Recording Studio Party Together from Electric Lady 

May 18th - Matty and Taylor seen kissing at Zero Bond 

May 18th - Matty sneaking into Taylors Apt with the Lovers Hat

May 20th - Played Question? after saying she has never been happier is all aspects of her life. Gillette. 

May 22nd - Matty dropped Taylor off at Electric Lady studio

May 24th - Matty and Taylor leave the studio separate 

May 27th - The Sun says Matty and Taylor are moving in together  

May 27th - Radio 1 Big Weekend – Matty seemed OK, Is it all a bit? :Is it sincere? Will he ever address it? All of these questions and more will be ignored in the next hour". Labcoat

June 2nd - Taylor in Chicago, Plays all breakup or songs of loss for Chicago secret songs

“I wish you would”, “The Lakes”

June 2nd – Matty kissed security guard in Denmark

June 3rd - Taylor Chicago Songs - “You all over me”, “I don’t want to live forever” (crying saying at “I wonder if I dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life”

June 3rd – Warsaw – Matty talking about being under a microscope

June 4th - Taylor sang "Hits different", "The Moment I Knew"

June 5th - “break up” released - “There is no drama, and who knows what could happen again”.  “They’ve been friends for years and are still friends”

June 6th - Vienna. Played 102

June 7th - Matty's "Sorry" in Dublin

June 9th-10th - Taylor seen crying in her car after Detroit show

June 11th - Matty reactivates his IG 

June 20th – Patricia stated peanut was created in England. Mentions of maybe Taylor and Matty being together around London and near where peanut was made

June 23rd - Luxembourg –-Matty mentions "I’m a pawn"

June 24th – Glastonbury – Matty hanging out – Rina calling him out

July 1st – Stockholm – Mentions Jet Lag?, mentions Taylor during speaking about using the Catwalk

July 2nd - Finsbury - Matty Crying/ Sobbing. Mentions Bleachers as his best friends. Speech: "Wow, okay. I need to put a belt on... it’s gonna ruin the outfit, it’s gonna make it very wedding".

July 4th - Taylor posted SINGLE SUMMER photo on IG 

July 5th - Rekindled rumors shot down

July 7th - Madrid - Someone asked for a robbers kiss and Matty said “I can’t” 

July 8th - Travis went to Taylors KC Show

July 9th - TRNSMT- Matty coming out of the trash can 

July 12th - Paris Shows -- "I'm totally sober. I'm trying to be good to my body"--- "It didn't work"- before falling for you

July 14th - Taylor Takes “About You” off set list 

July 16th - Portugal

July 18th - Singapore - Matty mentions Taylor during the simpler times.

July 19th - Matty talking about how fans should expect a 6 month spiral. "If you see me sliding over the next 6 months... I appreciate it, but just don't worry about it" Before Change of Heart

July 22nd - Malaysia 

July 23rd - Matty follows Gabbriette on IG and likes a photo 

Matty Flies to LA 

July 24th- Matty Gets into Fender Bender in LA. The car crash.

July 26th – Travis says he tried to give Taylor his number

July 28th - Matty back on IG 

July 29th - Matty back on Twitter

July 29th – Taylor wore KC shirt under her black jacket in IG post 

August 2nd - G picture on Levi IG 

August 4th - Lollapalooza

August 2023- Gabbriette and Levi Still together 

August 6th - Hawaii - Waikiki Shell - Meredith is Back, Rumor He was messaging a lot of girls and Meredith is who responded. Tweet from Charlotte saying "I will listen to your music, but I will not answer your call"

Hawaii all Week 

August 16th - Matty and Meredith Nobu Date 

August 23rd - Taylor wears the Beatles Shirt 

August 26th - Reading Show where Matty looked extremely happy 

August 28th - Taylor wears the Beatles Shirt Again

August 28th ish - G and Levi together at brand party

August 30th - Picture of Matty and Meredith in LA at Grocery 

September 4th - Taylor posted Griffs song Vertigo

September 5th - Matty and G in NYC 

September 7th ish - Levi Posted a Cheetah print rug saying - always a Cheetah

September 8th - G and Matty for Pink Party

September 11th - Information added to Gabbriette Wikipedia

September 13th - Matty and G and band in Vegas 

September 16th - Midtown Music In Atlanta - "I cant kiss anyone I have a girlfriend"

September 24th Taylor Shows up at Travis Game 

September 28th - "Is he OK? Is it all a bit? Is it all an extended bit" in San Jose.

October 2nd - Hollywood Bowl. Billie Eilish

October 5th - Denver. "I was never OK"

October 8th - Matty and G “moving in together" article

October 10th? - "This is what happens when you get a nervous breakdown and loads of money at the same time"

October 12th - "I haven't been very well" before when we are together. New Orleans

October 17th - Miami "Guilt verse Shame speech and talking about his therapist".

October 20th- Charlotte. "This part of the show used to be a bit about me having a mental breakdown. But I am doing better now, so we took it out." - Before When We Are Together

October 22rd - Nashville, Sang M+YTS

October 23rd - "You really dont get what our love was like, because that was a special love, that was a special thing. Don't be stupid. Get over it" St. Louis, Before Somebody Else

November 7th - "This bit came from a conversation where people said 'hey, maybe you want to go to therapy and apologize to people. I was like nah, I got a better idea" Before BMM- Newark

November 8th - "Men don't like apologizing. They would rather get their dick out made of silicone" Saying M+YTS is in his top 5 favorite songs. Before M+YTS - Baltimore

November 17th 2023 - Talking about how M+YTS is an objectively happy song, before playing it.

November 20th - London Ontario - Matty leaving the stage. Speech about struggling with being famous. Says he feels more like a writer than a performer in his day to day life. - Before Its not Living

------

Feburary 14th - Valentines Day - What's the most romantic 1975 song? Inside your mind? Arguably and then play M+YTS

March 1st - "Haven't done smack in coming up on five years"

March 5th - "I'm 35, I'm not doing the little dance dance"

[wivendev]

Zombie Slashout: Created on Oct 30th, 2021

A 2 year old game thats gone through so many changes, here is a small timeline :)

Oct 30th 2021: Creation

Zombie Shootout, yes, SHOOTout, started as any game on Wiven, a simple sky! This screenshot was taken on the first ever Wiven project, before even the prototype! It consisted of the base skybox and a single cloud.

Oct 31st 2021: Early Development

Zombie shootout now consisted of a red sky, many dead trees, a castle in the center, and a spawning mechanic that let zombies appear around the map. They would just sit there, and just by existing, depleted your castles health. Your job was to find them hiding and blast them with a paintball gun. I only know it was a paintball gun because of the sound that is made whenever you click. Once dead, you couldn't play again within the game itself, you had to leave and return to reset it all!

May 09th 2022: Figuring it out

This is a screenshot from the project "Wiven 4.01". It depicts many towers, trees, a castle, and a gun ripped straight from DOOM. The zombies still remained still. After this, ZS wasn't touched on again for a LONG while.

Oct 19th 2021: The Demo

The Wiven Demo was released with a new and reimagined version of Zombie Shootout! Having its own gun asset this time! In this version, (which is public), Zombies spawn on one side of the map, and move towards the castle! Only damaging it when close enough! Another change was its icon! To show a screenshot instead of a drawn image. The description was also edited.

November 26th 2023: Modern day

Zombie SLASHout, now with a new name, takes a whole 180 on its presentation and gameplay! Now having healing kits, powerups that send you into a frenzy, and a sharpening station! Thats right, a SHARPENING STATION! You use a sword now! Why? Well while revamping ZS to modern standards, I noticed that another game, Aliens Invade, was just too similar! So I decided to switch it up, and make Zombie Shootout out melee based! Hence its new name.

It makes better sense to change ZS than Aliens Invade, because why would you fight aliens with a sword instead of a rocket launcher?

That concludes this history lesson, thanks for reading, and have a great night!

#wiven #old roblox #devlog #roblox #nostalgic #scratch #scratch.mit.edu #roblox nostalgia

[theweekinarrowfic]

The Year in Arrow Fic, 2022

This is my fourth year providing some statistics on Arrow fanfiction on AO3 (see 2019, 2020, and 2021).  

My data are based on monthly scrapes of recent unlocked fics tagged Arrow. The totals differ from a hand count of fics on AO3 because, on the one hand, my scraping tool does not capture locked fics (yet), but on the other hand, I have fics that were posted or updated in 2022 but have since been deleted. 

Note that this year I used a third party scraper through January 30th, after which it was taken offline, and then began scraping using my own Python code as of August 26th.  So, I will have missed some fics that were posted and then removed from February-August.

The 1,074 fics published in 2022 represent a 38% decrease from 2021, continuing a downward trend since the show ended.

I hand code several variables for each fic, including a 9-category relationship variable, a freeform relationship variable where I can go into more detail, and a 4-category fic type field.

By Ship:   Looking at relationship type, Olicity is the most ficced relationship of the four specific relationships I track, at 17% of all fics for the year (down from 19% in 2021). Lauriver makes of 5% of 2022 fics, down from 7% last year.  Olivarry makes up 4% of 2022 fics, down from 5% last year.  Dinahsiren is down from 3% to 0.65%.

I categorized 45% of 2022 fics into the “Other Arrow Ships” category (which includes gen), up from 42% in 2021.  Fics tagged Arrow that aren’t primarily about Arrow held steady at 20%, although my new category “Completely Non-Arrow” increased from 5% to 6%, and “Non-Arrow” (focuses on other shows/characters but either Arrow is referenced in the summary or Arrow characters are listed in the tags) decreased from 15% to 14%.  Finally, fics in a language other than English increased from 4% to 8%.

More statistics under the cut!

The “Other Arrow Ships” category is quite diverse--the 478 fics have 255 different entries in the freeform field.  The most ficced relationship within that category is Avalance, making up about 5% of the category.  As in previous years, the majority of the most ficced relationships involve Sara and/or Oliver.  This is also the place for gen fic, and here Oliver-centric makes the top 10 “relationships” within Other Arrow Ships.

By Format:  For fics tagged Arrow in 2022, 53% were multichapters (566), 41% were one-shots (441), 5% were one-shot collections (52), and 1% were single-universe collections (15).   [That last type are fics like Pieces of Always, where the story doesn’t necessarily flow from one chapter to the next, but all chapters are in the same universe.]  Compared to 2021, there were slightly more multichapters and slightly fewer one shots (51% and 43% in 2021).

Looking at format by ship category, non-Arrow fics were least likely to be one-shots, and Dinahsiren, foreign language fics, and “non-fic” fics were most likely to be one-shots in 2022.

As always, grad school training demands I must offer some caveats.

I hand code category and format myself; in an academic research project, each fic would be coded by multiple coders working independently who would discuss and resolve discrepancies.  I code based on the summary and tags alone, so fics with minimal information may be categorized inaccurately.  Also, these statistics are for unlocked fics on AO3 only.  It’s possible that locked fics and fics published on other platforms would show different patterns.  (I’ve seen instructions online for how to scrape while logged in, so sometime when I have time I’ll work on that.)  It’s also possible that I have missed fics, particularly with the gap in the beginning part of the year while I was figuring out a new scraping method.

As always, I hope you found this interesting and inspiring to go out and create in 2023!

#arrow

[technologylawyersinvietnam]

How Non-voting Depositary Receipt Work in Vietnam?

How Non-voting Depositary Receipt Work?

Decree No. 60/2015/ND-CP (Decree 60) amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 58/2012/ND-CP issued by the Government on May 26th, 2015 has lifted foreign ownership limit of the public enterprises (with conditions) and permitted enterprises operating in all sectors and areas without restriction on foreign ownership to self-set out limits of foreign ownership.

                                  Finance Dispute Law Firm in Vietnam

Although the Government has been facilitating foreign investor investing in the Vietnam stock market as well as Vietnam enterprises whom raise capital, the foreign investors still faced a number of challenges. The Decree 60 has taken effect since September 1st, 2015, but most public companies did not lift their foreign ownership limit over 51%. One of the reasons is that, the enterprises with 51% foreign ownership shall meet the statutory conditions and therefore have to follow the investment procedures applicable to foreign investors in accordance with the Law on Investment, Law on Securities and other guiding legislations. Having said that, Vietnam enterprises with over 51% foreign ownership shall be treated as foreign investor. These requirements shall significantly impact on business plans and procedures that an enterprise must comply and restrict them from doing business in some sectors. Accordingly, the daily purchase and sale of shares by foreign investors around the threshold of 51% of the charter capital makes it difficult to determine the legal status of an enterprise.

In order to facilitate the attraction of foreign capital inflows, the Government has been reviewing acceptance of non-voting depositary receipt (NVDR). The promulgation of the Enterprise Law 2020 effective from January 1st, 2021, initially recognized NVDR. Ordinary shares used as underlying assets to issue NVDR are called as underlying ordinary shares. Non-voting depository receipts have interest and obligations proportional to the underlying ordinary shares, excepting for voting rights. NVDR is a negotiable financial instrument issued by a third party which is a subsidiary of the Stock Exchange (Issuing Organization). The Issuing Organization will then hand over to investors all financial benefits attached stocks such as dividends, rights offering. This is a solution from other country that helps foreign investors to invest in public enterprises, even they such enterprises reached limit boundary of foreign ownership. NVDR can be converted into ordinary shares in case the public company has not yet reached foreign ownership limit.

ANT Lawyers - a Law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or service request, please contact us via email [email protected], or call us [phone].

#finance dispute law firm in Vietnam #How Non-voting Depositary Receipt Work?

[recuteification]

I was diagnosed with POTS December 26th 2021, but I have been experiencing symptoms since I was about 10 years old. A recent blood test showed I have active Epstein Bar virus. Epstein Bar virus is pretty much Mono, about 90% of the population encounters the virus strand and is either unaffected or gets sick with mono and then better and it’s over. However, the virus stays within your body in a dormant mode and never leaves/can’t be gotten rid of. So I thought I’d share my journey of treatment for getting my active Epstein Bar back into dormant mode.

NOTE: this is what my doctor prescribed for me personally, this treatment may not work for everyone and you should talk to your own doctor before starting any medications or supplements.

If I have given you this protocol, your labs indicate that you are experiencing a reactivation of EBV. As mentioned above, this protocol is not a “cure” as the virus will always be present in your system. However, these treatments are designed to dramatically lower the virus activity and your symptoms. You will likely need to follow some of the protocol long term and be ready to re-initiate the full protocol during times of stress, trauma, or severe illness, which is when the virus can become active again.

Phase 1 (2 weeks)

1. Valacylovir 500mg once/day

a. This is a prescription antiviral that has good evidence at treating chronic EBV, but must be taken for a year.

2. Monolaurin 300 mg once/day.

a. Monolaurin is a derivative of coconut which has been found to be very effective as an anti-viral against EBV.

b. Some people experience worsening of their symptoms with high dose monolaurin due to the “die off” effect that it can induce, which is why we do a gradual increase in dose.

3. Olivir (Olive Leaf from DaVinci Labs) – 500mg/day

a. Olive leaf is a powerful anti-viral which has been shown to be effective against EBV.

b. Olive leaves must be picked at an early stage, so the brand on this one is very important for it to be most effective.

4. Elderberry syrup- 1 tsp twice/day.

a. Elderberry is a potent anti-viral and will help to strengthen the immune system.

5. Multivitamin containing the following: (Thorne, ONE, or Men’s/Women’s Nutrients by Pure Encapsulations are all pre-approved brands)

a. Methylated B-vitamins

i. Both vitamins B12 (methylcobalamin and/or adenosylcobalamin) and folate (5-methyltetrahydrofolate) help to strengthen the central nervous and endocrine systems. They are also essential to energy and mood, two areas that most sufferers from chronic EBV could use support in.

b. Zinc

i. Zinc strengthens the immune system and protects the thyroid from EBV.

c. Selenium

i. Selenium is essential for proper thyroid hormone conversion and for central nervous system health.

ii. Selenium should be taken as a supplement and not gotten through foods like brazil nuts due to the high arginine content of nuts.

6. Maitake/Reishi/Shiitake (M/R/S)- 1 cap twice/day.

a. These mushrooms are incredibly potent against EBV.

b. You can also incorporate these mushrooms into your food when/where available.

Phase 2 (4 weeks)

1. Continue with valacylovir.

2. Continue with monolaurin, but increase the dose to 300 mg twice/day.

3. Continue with olive leaf, but increase to 1000mg/day

4. Continue with elderberry, but decrease the dose to 1 tsp once/day.

5. Continue with the multivitamin

6. Continue with M/R/S at 1 cap twice/day.

Phase 3 (6 weeks)

1. Continue with the valacylovir.

2. Continue with monolaurin, but increase the dose to 300 mg 3x/day.

3. Continue with olive leaf, but increase to 1000mg 2x/day.

4. Can stop the elderberry.

5. Continue with the multivitamin

6. Continue with M/R/S, but reduce the dose to 1 cap once/day.

Phase 4 (lifetime)

1. Continue with the valacylovir for a total of 1 year.

2. Stop the monolaurin, but keep on hand should your symptoms return.

3. Stop the olive leaf, but keep on hand should your symptoms return or for any other viral illness (cold/flu/sinus infection).

4. Keep the elderberry on hand for any return of symptoms. It can also be used for any viral illness (cold/flu) so it’s a good one to keep around.

5. Continue with the multivitamin

6. Stop the M/R/S but keep on hand for any return of symptoms or acute viral illness.

Foods to support EBV healing:

These are foods that you can incorporate into your diet often to help your body heal from the damage that EBV has done.

• Wild blueberries: help restore the central nervous system and flush EBV neurotoxins out of the liver.

• Celery: strengthens hydrochloric acid in the gut and provides mineral salts to the central nervous system.

• Sprouts: high in zinc and selenium to strengthen the immune system against EBV.

• Asparagus: cleanses the liver and spleen; strengthens the pancreas.

• Spinach: creates an alkaline environment in the body and provides highly absorbable micronutrients to the nervous system.

• Cilantro: removes heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which are favored foods of EBV.

• Parsley: removes high levels of copper and aluminum, which feed EBV.

• Coconut oil: antiviral and acts as an anti-inflammatory.

• Garlic: antiviral and antibacterial that defends against EBV.

• Ginger: helps with nutrient assimilation and relieves GI spasms associated with EBV.

• Raspberries: rich in antioxidants to remove free radicals from the organs and bloodstream.

• Lettuce: stimulates peristaltic action in the intestinal tract and helps cleanse EBV from the liver.

• Papayas: restore the central nervous system; strengthen and rebuild hydrochloric acid in the gut.

• Apricots: immune system rebuilders that also strengthen the blood.

• Pomegranates: help detox and cleanse the blood as well as the lymphatic system.

• Grapefruit: rich source of bioflavonoids and calcium to support the immune system and flush toxins out of the body.

• Kale: high in specific alkaloids that protect against viruses such as EBV.

• Sweet potatoes: help cleanse and detox the liver from EBV byproducts and toxins.

• Cucumbers: strengthen the adrenals and kidneys and flush neurotoxins out of the bloodstream.

• Fennel: contains strong antiviral compounds to fight off EBV.

Additionally, I would like you to add castor oil packs within your capacity to your routine.

I have attached a document about this specifically.

Perform Castor oil packs as often as possible (ideally once per day, in the evening), but at least 3-4 times per week. See handout provided.

Essentially, apply castor oil (there is a roll on form which I like by Heritage Store brand) to the entire abdomen, and rest with a warm pack for 15 minutes to support absorption of castor oil into the abdomen. This supports healthy lymphatic flow to and from the spleen, helps with liver function and digestion overall which favors all aspects of health.

#pots #EBV #Epstein bar virus #chronic illness #dysautonomia #health #virus

[aria-nook-violet]

Custom plushies of my favorites villagers: Marlo, who was made by CustomPlushGifts, and Jay made by SoftPlushtoysStudio. Both users were commisioned on Etsy and did an amazing job. I'm happily surprised how well they fit in together.

Now I want you guys to be in a story that I shared back in the TBT forums as it is full of interesting coincidences and adds to the “magic” behind these plushies. I added that to the section down below.

It all started on the week before the Marlo plush arrived in the year of 2022 as I had already commissioned the Jay plush way back in 2021.

This was the week between 11th and 16th of July and before Jay’s birthday which is in 17th of July. During this time I received an update on the Marlo’s plush order that it would arrive at my house soon after a long wait since I ordered the plush all the way back in May.

I said the following:

Basically in the post I said it would be a very cute coincidence if the Marlo plush arrived either at 16th or 18th of July as it would be right around Jay’s birthday and in a way Marlo would arrive just in time to celebrate it.

Guess what? XD Marlo arrived on the 18th of July! As you can see in the pictures below. Jay’s birthday taken from the wiki and then a screenshot below of the website I ordered with the date it arrived at my house. “Entrega prevista” it’s portuguese and it basically means when the order arrived at my address. So Marlo’s plush arrived a day after Jay’s birthday (17th was a sunday so there was no way the plush would arrive on that day).

Now for the other coincidence let’s go back to 2021 when I ordered the Jay plush. Take a look at the pictures below. The Jay plush arrived on the 25th of June and when it’s Marlo birthday? That’s right! On the 26th of June!

It’s real cute coincidence that in 2021 the Jay plush arrived at my house one day before Marlo’s birthday date and in 2022 the Marlo plush arrived one day after Jay’s birthday date.

These two keep being connected either in my game or in real life XD It’s gotten to a point that is about time I share their bond with the world through social media. I just have to do it. I don’t know if I should be happy or creeped out by all this. Next thing I know the plushes will come to life no? I’m joking!

Anyway I will start posting about Marlo and Jay’s friendship so you all can better understand why I like them so much.

#animal crossing #animal crossing new horizons #ac jay #jay #marlo #ac marlo #jay x marlo #etsy #etsy order #custom plush #animal crossing plush #cancer #june #july #coincidence #story time #new horizons

[we-eternal-rp]

☄ 𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗨𝗘 𝟭𝟬𝟵. →    ❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐄 ❞

☄ →  magnetic island events; may !

MAGNETIC ISLANDS’ FOOD DRIVE

the 14th of this month is stamp out hunger food drive day, and as always the community of magnetic island is running a food drive. this will have been mentioned on notice boards and such, is an annual event, long time residents may already be gathering up non-perishable donations.     →  more details will be posted as this is a future mini event.

FOSTERING CREATIVE BEGINNINGS!

this month is national creative beginnings month, there will be fun events around the island such as author readings at the library of muses and books & crannies, a pop-up art exhibition, a community painting project at kick flip park, as well as some family friendly creative events geared to raise money for charities and give all a chance to begin a new creative hobby.     →  more details will be posted as this is a future mini event.

☄ →  magnetic island birthdays; may !

TAURUS   — 3rd may + arielle weaver aka. ARIADNE / @criadne​​ (24!)

GEMINI   — 25th may + aaliyah brooks aka. AMPHITRITE / @secstorms​​ (27!)

☄ →  showing @ pythia’s drive in!

rabbit proof fence (2002) — tells the true story of three aboriginal girls who are forcibly taken from their families in 1931 to be trained as domestic servants as part of an official government policy. they make a daring escape and embark on an epic 1,500 mile journey to get back home, following the rabbit-proof fence that bisects the australian continent.     ☄ + our australian film of the month, in honour of national day of healing.

don’t look up (2021) — an astronomy grad student and her professor make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. the problem: it's on a direct collision course with earth. the other problem? no one really seems to care.

carol (2015) — therese belivet spots the beautiful, elegant carol perusing the doll displays in a 1950s manhattan department store, the two women develop a fast bond that becomes a love with complicated consequences.     ☄ + our lgbti+ film of the month!

resident evil (2002) — a commando team must break into the hive, a vast underground genetics laboratory operated by the powerful umbrella corporation. there, an unknown event believed to have been caused by the lab’s supercomputer the red queen, resulting in the near-immediate deaths of the lab's personnel and lockdown of the hive.     ☄ + our anniversary film of the month! (20th anniversary)

encanto (2021) — the madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of colombia in a charmed place called the encanto. the magic of the encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift -- every child except mirabel. however, she soon may be the madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the encanto is now in danger.     ☄ + showing in 3D!

☄ →  dates of note for the island; may !

                             + MONTH WIDE !     — national barbecue month, australians have always loved a good barbie — why not come down to trident park and make use of our free public barbecues!     — national creative beginnings month, several events will be happening island wide!     — national pet month, discounted checkups for pets at little wallaby vet clinic, the first and third weekend will have a no-adoption fee event at the little wallaby animal shelter and check out the local stores for cute pet-themed treats!

                             + AUSTRALIAN DATE OF NOTE !      — 26TH ! national day of healing — an exceedingly important day that’s been observed since 1998, it’s an event that’s designed to remember the mistreatment of australia’s indigenous peoples as a part of the ongoing reconciliation between themselves and the settler population & on this day the torres strait islander and the aboriginal flags are flown quite predominantly, most schools and those with flagpoles on their residence or business will fly one or the other, or both.

                      + MARK YOUR CALENDARS !

3RD ! paranormal day — this day encourages people to share their paranormal experiences with other people, commemorate it by visiting the supposedly haunted or spiritual heavy places, or even watch a scary movie.

8TH ! mothers day — a day to celebrate and thank the mothering individuals in your life; bring your loved one and an attached coupon to either cedar & stone or cygnus restaurant for a special mothers day desert.

12TH ! international nurses day — a day to mark the contributions made to society by nurses all over the world and to honour them, if you know a nurse make sure to tell them how much they are appreciated!

14TH ! stamp out hunger food drive day — of the best ways to observe this day is by getting involved and donate to the cause. see island events for the magnetic island food drive details.

16TH ! honour our LGBT+ elders day — a day to fly the rainbow flag, to don your colours or have a moment of silence to celebrate and honour those who paved the way.

16TH ! national piercing day — come to mad villain tattoo for a piercing and only pay for the cost of the piercing; jewellery and a mini bottle of aftercare spray included.

21ST ! learn to swim day — come to salacia’s aqua center and enjoy the inflatable obstacle course, attend one of the free swimming 101 classes... and all little swimmers 12 and under enter free all day!

28TH ! burger day — who doesn’t love a good burger? stop on by the white island hotel and try their restaurants’ variety of burgers... with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options too!

31ST ! national smile day — compliment a stranger, ask your barista how their day is, say ‘hi’ to those you pass on the street... do something to make yourself and someone else smile!

#eternal! news

[scienceacumen]

This image of Perseverance’s backshell and parachute was collected from an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters) by the NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight on Mars on April 19, 2022.

The parachute and cone-shaped backshell protected the rover during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface on Feb. 18, 2021. Engineers working on the Mars Sample Return program requested images be taken of the components from an aerial perspective because they may provide insight into the components’ performance during the rover’s entry, descent, and landing.

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

#news #outer space #universo #astronomy #space science #marsrover #space photography #space exploration #spaceship #deep space nine #final space #spacecraft

[fictionfromafar]

Rodolfo Walsh’s Last Case by Elsa Drucaroff

Rodolfo Walsh’s Last Case

By Elsa Drucaroff

Translated by Slava Faybysh

Corylus Books

Publication Date: 5 March 2024

Other than through crime fiction novels written by authors in the country, I really know very little about the oppressive Argentinian military dictatorship that ruthlessly suppressed all opposition, or "subversives" as they are referred to in this story. As the book begins two Montoneros, members of the Argentine left-wing Peronist group are on a mission. In perhaps a contrast to expectations their act is theft on behalf of the citizens rather than terrorism, yet it isn't long before more brutal developments are brought to the reader's attention. A shoot out has taken place at a suspected hide out for the Montoneros. Broadcast via Montevideo as the Argentine radio is censored, the news is unclear - either four men and a woman have been killed, or the men are dead and the woman has been captured by the security forces. This is devastating news for Rodolfo Walsh, a journalist and writer who is also head of intelligence for the Montoneros. His 26th year old daughter is the missing woman.

Rodolfo Walsh was a real historical figure and his novel "A Letter to My Friends" was the basis for this novel by Elsa Drucaroff who while researching the history of the time, imagined the circumstances that followed the disappearance of Victoria Walsh. With little reliable information available from his own sources, Walsh has to cross the divide in order to contact Colonel König from the Argentine army in order to attempt to establish the truth.

While conflict is the key theme of this novel, it is far more than simply that between the military junta and the rebels. Walsh has to inform his daughter's mother that Victoria is missing and this brings ahead the reasons for their separation. While a good deal of Argentines may feel sympathetic to the aims of the Montoneros, this does not mean that they personally feel the need to be personally involved as Walsh and his daughter have been. Ideal life or ideology? Elsewhere, another agent has previously had to choose between the cause and love and only when it is nearly too late does he realise what he has missed out on.

The dividing lines are never simplistic. Within the Montoneros there is great debate as to whether they should continue their militant actions, try to negotiate a political settlement or a combination of both, while Colonel König is far less extreme than his leader General Oddone. Yet just sometimes within each human, there is something that polar opposites can recognise within the other. Perhap something recognisable in us all...

Naturally the story does have a predetermined outcome based within history while also giving further lasting legacy to Rodolfo and Victoria Welsh. Perhaps it's importantly it's also a very thought-provoking story which has an enduring relevance and resonance.

Many thanks to Corylus Books for an advance copy of this book and to Ewa Sherman for inclusion on the blog tour. Please check out the other reviews as shown below.

About the author

Elsa Drucaroff was born and raised in Buenos Aires. She is the author of four novels and two short story collections, in addition to being a prolific essayist. She has published numerous articles on Argentine literature, literary criticism and feminism. Her work has been widely translated, but Rodolfo Walsh’s Last Case is Elsa Drucaroff’s first novel to be translated into English.

About the translator

Slava Faybysh lives in Chicago and is an up-and-coming translator from two languages: Spanish and Russian into English. His translations have been published in the New England Review, History Magazine, Asymptote Journal, Latin American Literature Today, and Another Chicago Magazine, among others. His translation of Leopoldo Bonafulla’s anarchist memoir The July Revolution: Barcelona 1909 was published by AK Press in 2021.

#crime fiction #crimeintranslation #novels in translation #crime fiction in translation #latinamericancrimefiction #historical fiction

[omcmedicalblog]

Switzerland Authorised Representative - OMC Medical Limited

Manufacturer Responsibility

Ensuring medical devices are placed on the market is in accordance with the requirement of the medical device ordinance.

Affixing the conformity mark and carrying out clinical evaluation according to Article 61 EU MDR.

Keep technical documentation, declaration of conformity & any other certificates updated.

At the request of a competent authority, the manufacturer should submit the technical documentation as per List Annexes II and III EU-MDR.

Manufacturers must have at least one person in their organisation responsible for compliance with the regulations.

A manufacturer based outside Switzerland must appoint an authorised representative.

EUDAMED Registration, UDI

Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between EU and Switzerland: Possible situations

MRA updated before 26th May 2021

Depending on the terms of MRA, this situation will exempt the manufacturer from EU member states from the Swiss Authorized Representative(AR) requirement. European AR will be accepted as same as Swiss ARs and vice versa. Manufacturers outside the EU and Switzerland will still need to appoint EU AR or Swiss AR.

MRA updated after 26th May 2021

This situation will require manufacturers from the EU and outside of the EU to appoint a Swiss AR. Between 26th May 2021 and the MRA update, Switzerland will be considered a third country for the EU during the transition period. MedDo will need to get updated suitable to the situation. Depending on the MRA status between the EU and Switzerland and the manufacturer’s location, the manufacturer has to decide if they should appoint a Swiss AR.

Switzerland Authorised Representative

A Swiss authorized representative(Swiss AR) is a legal person appointed by a manufacturer established outside of Switzerland to place the products on the Swiss market.

A written mandate/letter designating an authorised representative for a medical device manufacturer is mandatory.

The manufacturer can appoint only a single Authorised representative in Switzerland.

According to the Swiss ordinance on medical devices, the authorized representative is responsible for any product defects. AR is jointly and severally liable for product defects with the manufacturer.

Role of Authorised Representative

Verify that the declaration of conformity and technical documentation has been drawn up and, where applicable, that an appropriate conformity assessment procedure has been carried out by the manufacturer.

Keep available a copy of the technical documentation, the declaration of conformity and, if applicable, a copy of the relevant certificate, including any amendments and supplements, at the disposal of competent authorities for the period.

Comply with the registration obligations and verify that the manufacturer has complied with the registration obligations.

In response to a request from a competent authority, provide that competent authority with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of a device, in an official Union language determined by the member state concerned.

Forward to the manufacturer any request by a competent authority of the member state in which the authorised representative has its registered place of business for samples, or access to a device and verify that the competent authority receives the samples or is given access to the device.

Cooperate with the competent authorities on any preventive or corrective action taken to eliminate or, if that is not possible, mitigate the risks posed by devices.

Immediately inform the manufacturer about complaints and reports from healthcare professionals, patients and users about suspected incidents related to a device for which they have been designated.

Terminate the mandate if the manufacturer acts contrary to its obligations under this regulation.

Registration in EUDAMED

Eudamed is the European Databank on Medical Devices. It’s a secure, web-based portal developed by the European Commission to implement.

The system is a collection of databases and electronic systems. It will function as a registration system, a collaborative system, a notification system, and a dissemination system (open to the public) and will be interoperable.

Register at here: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eudamed/landing-page#/

EUDAMED is structured around 6 interconnected electronic systems and a public website:

❑ Actors registration (Economic Operators) ❑ UDI/Devices registration ❑ Notified Bodies and Certificates ❑ Clinical Investigations and performance studies ❑ Vigilance and post-market surveillance ❑ Market Surveillance

Information in EUDAMED

Depending on the applicable directive, Eudamed2 contains data a) On registration of manufacturers, authorised representatives, and devices b) Declaration of conformity c) Justification of the classification according to annex IX d) A copy of the ISO certificate/Proof of QMS e) Relating to certificates issued, modified, supplemented, suspended, withdrawn, or refused f) Obtained in accordance with the Medical DeviceVigilance System g) Information on clinical investigations

Product Information

The product information includes the labelling and the instructions for use.

Must be written in the three official languages German, French, and Italian.

Users are provided with additional information on request to be submitted in one of the official languages.

The notice for products exclusively for demonstration and exhibition purposes should be present.

Misleading or contradicting information about the intended use, safety and performance of a product is prohibited.

The latest update for Manufacturers in the EU & Swiss

EU Manufacturer exporting to Swiss: Need to appoint Swiss AR, update the labelling for MDR products & follow third country requirements

Timeline to appoint Swiss AR:

http://omcmedical.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Untitled-2.png

Swiss Manufacturer Exporting to EU:

For MDR regulated devices & class I devices: Follow third country requirements from 26th May 2021.

For MDD certified devices: No third country requirements, they will be regulated under MRA, free access to EU market as before until May 2024.

These requirements are subject to change depending on the MRA between the EU and Switzerland.

How we assist you with this process?

Act as your Swiss Authorised Representative

MedDO compliance

EUDAMED registration

Product information translations in German, French, Italian language

EU MDR, IVDR gap analysis

Originally Published at: https://omcmedical.com/switzerland-authorised-representative/

[businesslawyersinvietnam]

How Non-voting Depositary Receipt Work in Vietnam?

How Non-voting Depositary Receipt Work?

Decree No. 60/2015/ND-CP (Decree 60) amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 58/2012/ND-CP issued by the Government on May 26th, 2015 has lifted foreign ownership limit of the public enterprises (with conditions) and permitted enterprises operating in all sectors and areas without restriction on foreign ownership to self-set out limits of foreign ownership.

                         Finance Dispute Law Firm in Vietnam

Although the Government has been facilitating foreign investor investing in the Vietnam stock market as well as Vietnam enterprises whom raise capital, the foreign investors still faced a number of challenges. The Decree 60 has taken effect since September 1st, 2015, but most public companies did not lift their foreign ownership limit over 51%. One of the reasons is that, the enterprises with 51% foreign ownership shall meet the statutory conditions and therefore have to follow the investment procedures applicable to foreign investors in accordance with the Law on Investment, Law on Securities and other guiding legislations. Having said that, Vietnam enterprises with over 51% foreign ownership shall be treated as foreign investor. These requirements shall significantly impact on business plans and procedures that an enterprise must comply and restrict them from doing business in some sectors. Accordingly, the daily purchase and sale of shares by foreign investors around the threshold of 51% of the charter capital makes it difficult to determine the legal status of an enterprise.

In order to facilitate the attraction of foreign capital inflows, the Government has been reviewing acceptance of non-voting depositary receipt (NVDR). The promulgation of the Enterprise Law 2020 effective from January 1st, 2021, initially recognized NVDR. Ordinary shares used as underlying assets to issue NVDR are called as underlying ordinary shares. Non-voting depository receipts have interest and obligations proportional to the underlying ordinary shares, excepting for voting rights. NVDR is a negotiable financial instrument issued by a third party which is a subsidiary of the Stock Exchange (Issuing Organization). The Issuing Organization will then hand over to investors all financial benefits attached stocks such as dividends, rights offering. This is a solution from other country that helps foreign investors to invest in public enterprises, even they such enterprises reached limit boundary of foreign ownership. NVDR can be converted into ordinary shares in case the public company has not yet reached foreign ownership limit.

ANT Lawyers - a Law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or service request, please contact us via email [email protected], or call us [phone].

Source ANTLawyers: https://antlawyers.vn/library/how-non-voting-depositary-receipt-work.html

#finance dispute law firm in Vietnam #Non-voting Depositary Receipt

[districofcolumbiaprelawland-blog]

Former Member of Bay Area Rap Group Has Been Sentenced to 21 Years for Allegedly Killing His Acquaintance

By Tehya Thompson, Howard University Class of 2025

May 26, 2023

Bay Area rap group, SOB X RBE, undoubtedly made an impact on the California rap industry between the years of 2016 and 2019. They had hit songs like “Anti” and “Lane Changing” that held a special place in the memories of Gen-Z youth from California around those years. Additionally, they were even featured on the soundtrack for the Black Panther movie. Their song, “Paramedic!” that they did with Grammy award-winning rapper, Kendrick Lamar, went platinum in 2020. Unfortunately, the arrest of one of their members, Lul G, whose real name is George Harris, left a stain on the group’s reputation and no matter how hard they worked, they couldn’t make a full recovery. Harris had just been signed to Def Jam during the time of his arrest, but has seemingly been dropped from the label. Def Jam hasn’t made any comment regarding Harris’ status with the label, however his picture and information is no longer on the website.

On September 21st, 2019, Harris was arrested in Clark County, Nevada, for the alleged murder of 26 year-old Rashied Flowers, known affiliate of said rap group, in Fairfield, California on July 24th, 2019. Flowers, Harris, and others were gathered at a house to shoot a music video, when they took a brief pause to hold a dice game. During said dice game, things escalated between Harris and Flowers, and that’s when Harris allegedly fired the gunshot. Harris was allegedly under the influence of both drugs, specifically cocaine, and alcohol during the time of the incident. Harris allegedly began crying and apologizing after having shot Flowers, and Flowers was taken to a nearby hospital where he eventually died due to blood loss.

Originally, Harris was charged with first degree murder and had pleaded not guilty. On June 26th, 2020, Harris’ then lawyer - Claire J. White - petitioned Judge Carlos R. Gutierrez of the Solano County Superior Court for a competency report, allegedly stating that Harris may not have been able to fully understand court proceedings or aid in his own defense. Judge Gutierrez suspended the criminal proceedings against Harris and granted the competency examination to White on July 1st, 2020. However, after Harris was examined by a mental health professional, Judge Gutierrez reinstated the criminal proceedings against him on August 28th, 2020, as Harris was deemed competent. 

Harris’ alleged first degree murder charge would’ve given him a sentence of at least 25 years to life. Given that he has a criminal history, had been on probation since he was 17, and admittedly used a firearm, he most likely would’ve had charges added and been sentenced to more than that.  In fact, according to FADER [4], Harris could have received a 50 years’ sentence. Harris’ current team of lawyers, Deputy Public Defenders Denisse Tanasa and Maxamino A. Fuentes were able to get him a plea deal where if he agreed to plead no contest to voluntary manslaughter, his sentence would be reduced and he’d avoid a jury trial. Harris agreed, and within the past few days, Harris was officially sentenced to 21 years in state prison.

______________________________________________________________

Bammer, R. (2021, April     6). Prelim hearing date reset for     Vallejo rapper, 22, charged with 2019 murder. The Vacaville Reporter.     https://www.thereporter.com/2021/04/05/prelim-hearing-date-reset-for-vallejo-rapper-22-charged-with-2019-murder/    

Bammer, R. (2022, April 27). October trial set for Vallejo rapper,     23, charged with a 2019 murder. The Vacaville Reporter.     https://www.thereporter.com/2022/04/26/october-trial-set-for-vallejo-rapper-23-charged-with-a-2019-murder/    

Bammer, R. (2023, March 3). Vallejo rapper pleads to voluntary     manslaughter for 2019 shooting, gets 21 years. The Vacaville Reporter.     https://www.thereporter.com/2023/03/02/vallejo-rapper-pleads-to-voluntary-manslaughter-for-2019-shooting-gets-21-years/    

Darville, J. (2023, May 25). Lul G (ex-SOB X rbe) receives 21-year     prison sentence. The FADER.     https://www.thefader.com/2023/05/25/lul-g-ex-sob-x-rbe-receives-21-year-prison-sentence    

Espinoza, J. (2023, March 21). Former SOB X RBE rapper Lul G to     receive 21-year sentence over fatal shooting (update). Complex.     https://www.complex.com/music/former-sob-x-rbe-member-lul-g-sentenced-2019-fatal-shooting    

Galindo, T. (2023, May 25). Former Kendrick Lamar collaborator Lul     G receives 21-year prison sentence. American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/former-kendrick-lamar-collaborator-lul-g-receives-21-year-prison-sentence/    

Grow, K. (2023, May 25).     Lul G, former member of SOB X Rbe,     sentenced to 21 years in prison. Rolling Stone.     https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lul-g-george-harris-21-years-in-prison-sentence-1234742305/