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mewhenimanangel · 8 days

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reporting live, paige bueckers

— synopsis. you meet paige when you’re assigned to report on the uconn v. iowa game.

notes ౨ৎ: i’ve never wrote for a real person before it feels so strange…but there’s like no fics on here i had to take matters into my own hands.

also yes im rewriting history to make uconn win!

you checked yourself out in the mirror, fixing your outfit - low rise black work pants with a white button down that showed a small sliver of your stomach with black sling back heels.

you tossed your hair around to fix it making sure it was in perfect shape. after all, your job was pretty dependent on looks.

you worked as a reporter for the city's top news agency and tonight you would be attending the uconn versus iowa women's basketball game.

you were also pretty active on social media and managed to make some money that way, you were more than grateful for your lifestyle.

you called your friend, devon , to make sure she was on her way to get you knowing you absolutely could not be late tonight.

she answered the phone and you sighed a breath of relief when it sounded like she was in fact on her way.

"hey girll, are you excited for tonight? pretty big story" she said, bustling city noise behind her.

"yeah i'm excited to interview uconn after they beat iowa's ass" you smirked when you heard her gasp on the other side. "they so will not! my girlfriend caitlin's gonna pull through"

"nah, paige buckets got that easily" you scoffed as you packed your bag, ready to head downstairs out of your apartment.

your bosses had assigned you to tonight's game and hooked you up with two court-side tickets for you and a guest, along with the camera crew.

you of course had to invite your best friend to go with you.

you stepped outside the building and watched as her car pulled up outside.

"ugh i can't believe i get to see caitlin clark up close" devon squealed as you got yourself situated in the car. "ugh be calm, you literally have a boyfriend." you joked. "okay and?" she laughed as she drove off.

once you were at the stadium, you and devon met at with your crew as you found your seats inside.

the game wasn't due to start for another fourty or so minutes but it was already packed inside.

you were glad women's basketball was finally getting the recognition it deserved after you and your mom had been fans of it almost your whole life. you even played a little bit in high school.

you and devon got snacks before sitting down and getting yourselves comfortable.

it didn't feel long until the players came out and the game was started. aliyah and hailey jump started the game before kk threw the ball back at paige.

the game was a close one and you made sure to follow it closely. throughout the game you did side interviews with other players and people attending the game, which was all just leading up to the end of game interviews.

it was the final quarter and you made sure to pay close attention.

it all came down to the last few seconds when paige threw the ball off caitlin's back to catch it again and land the ball in the net, giving uconn the winning score!

you and your crew sat up as you turned your reporter accent on "there you have it folks, uconn has won this round and will advance to the final game against south carolina. what an amazing job tonight by these wonderful ladies on both teams. win or lose, it was a great watch and i'm cheering for everyone's next move."

once you were sure the cameras were off you turned around to devon and threw your hands in the air.

"bitch i told you! i tolddd you paige had this game" you squealed. "ughhh you're so annoying why are you always right" she groaned.

a few minutes later you popped some mouthwash melts and fixed your makeup before you were to interview paige.

your hands were sweating like crazy. you never wanted to come off as an insane fan girl but you were obsessed with paige.

your cameraman followed you as you walked over to paige and she turned around. "hi" she smiled and shook your hand. "hi, are you ready?" you asked her. "yeah" she smiled. you gave your cameraman a thumbs up as he turned the camera on.

you turned to paige, who was already staring at you and you took a deep breath. you're usually never nervous to interview people but god the way she was looking at you.

her eyes were trained on yours and she had a little smirk on her face, her face was glistening from the tiring game she just played and she licked her lips waiting for you to ask your first question.

you cleared your throat "i'm here with paige bueckers, who just made the winning move in the highly anticipated iowa versus uconn game! tell me paige, how did it feel to take the winning shot?" you turned the microphone to her.

she rubbed her chin "ah it was really nerve racking to be honest i mean. i could feel my team counting on me and i knew i really had to pull through and get us out on top" she answered, eyes focusing back on you.

"yeah but that was a tough shot wasn't it?" you watched her eyes drop down to scan you before meeting yours again. "yeah but i knew i could make it in for sure"

"right, bueckers get buckets i don't know what to tell y'all" you joked to the camera. paige laughed.

"yeah for sure but i really owe it all to my team" she continued before kk came up behind her. "yupppppp WE GOING TO THE TITLE GAME" she threw her arms around you and paige and the threw of you jumped in excitement before running to find her other teammates.

you laughed it off before continuing for the camera "well there you have it, paige it was lovely to talk to you. congratulations on the winning game! make sure those of you at home tune in to the final game taking place in just a few days." you signed off the camera before your crew stopped filming.

you turned to paige and dropped the reporter voice. "it was nice to meet you by the way" you smiled. "i could say the same" her eyes never left yours and you bit your cheek to hide a smile.

"well i should let you go celebrate, congratulations, have a good night!" you said, beginning to walk away.

"bye it was nice to meet you" she said before you fully walked away.

you walked over to devon who was waiting on the side. "i know damn well your heart is racing"

"shut up" you smirked.

#nia writes ࿐#paige bueckers x reader #paige bueckers #paige buckets #uconn huskies #uconn wbb #uconn women’s basketball #nika muhl #kk arnold #bueckers get buckets

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terastalungrad · 1 month

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Sometimes, you’re a comedian with a touring show to promote, so you do an interview with a regional newspaper.

I think that’d be the funniest possible time to reveal a big scoop, wouldn’t it?

Stewart Lee is currently touring, and to promote his Yeovil performance, gave an interview to Blackmore Vale Magazine. According to Wikipedia, the Blackmore Vale is an area of north Dorset, south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire. According to the comedian Jake Baker, the magazine would cover his school sports day as he grew up in Dorset. That’s the level of news you’d expect.

The questions are friendly and easy, from a journalist clearly familiar with Lee’s work and history.

The first question is about the show’s angle. Lee describes the nature of the show, and here’s an excerpt:

So it looks like stand-up, and sounds like stand-up, but it’s actually a kind of character piece about a desperate person who’s frightened and trying to organise the world in a way that puts them in control. And I guess you could argue that’s what a lot of stand-ups are doing anyway. Ricky Gervais to me looks like a very frightened man. He’s frightened of transgender people coming after him, the act is a defensive wall.

Fun! This is a Ricky Gervais hate blog, so it’s nice to see a sudden, unexpected attack in an unrelated promotional interview.

Lee mentions Gervais again in response to question four.

Sometimes I become bitter and think ‘I get all this good press, why can’t I get 10 million quid for a TV special like Ricky Gervais?’ But on the other hand, I wouldn’t want that audience, it wouldn’t allow me to be better.

And then again to question eight, where Lee explains why he spends six months running new shows in the relatively small Leicester Square Theatre (as opposed to arena comics who might do 10 warmup shows followed by 60 tour dates).

You can still run it like a club gig, you can interact with people in real time. Also, you wouldn’t get better at the show because you wouldn’t have done it as many times. You can see this with an act like Gervais. Those shows have not been run in, they’re not fluid, they’re a succession of inflexible statements that would snap like twigs if the pressure of an unforeseen event was applied to them.

The journalist finally addresses this head on. It really is worth reading the entire article - there’s a lot more than I’m quoting, including an interesting story about Sean Lock:

But here are my favourite bits:

[Gervais] still kind of copies me though, which is the weird thing. There’s still a lot of cadences of what I do but they’re used in the service of evil. In Star Wars, he’s Darth Vader and he’s taken the force, which is me, and used it for evil purposes. He was a fanboy, he was actually the booker at University of London and used to book me and Sean Lock all the time. And when he became famous for the Office, he wrote an hour-long act that was so indebted to us it was awkward. [...] If he’d come up through the circuit that would have been rubbed off him because you find your own voice doing club gigs. It took me two years of gigging five nights a week to come through the mesh of things I liked. But he didn’t have that experience in the same way. [...] Funnily enough, in his first show there were bits I’d never recorded that he’d do almost verbatim. He’d clearly remembered them. I went to see him at the Bloomsbury – on his invitation actually – with my then girlfriend and she was very concerned for me. I’d given up at that point due to lack of interest, and she was concerned for what it felt like to see my act being done to hundreds of people, it was quite weird. On the other hand, that sort of did make me think I don’t want it to be consumed into someone else’s vocabulary. And also, I think because he had a residual sense of guilt, he would always credit me in interviews as being an influence – that helped me in 2004 to get the audience back.

This is, to my knowledge, the first time Lee’s ever claimed that Gervais stole his material. He’s certainly talked about Gervais clearly taking influence from him (though in the past, he downplayed this compared to the account given in this interview).

It’s a pretty big thing to accuse a comic of stealing material. That’s a big taboo. I reckon this is partly because Lee wants to discourage fans of Gervais from coming to the show.

Anyway, let’s finish by quoting the end of the interview:

It must be strange to have that level of financial remuneration and those audience figures but not really a single good review. And I expect what that does for you is create a cognitive dissonance where you have to manufacture a worldview by which the whole world is wrong and you’re right. Which can’t necessarily be very good for your mental health, although I expect the money’s nice.

#stewart lee #ricky gervais #tagging my hate

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cheriladycl01 · 3 months

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Surrounded by Ice - Kimi Raikkonen x FigureSkater! Reader

Plot: The Iceman just surrounds himself with Ice in every aspect of his life

A/N: Just a short little Kimi drabble, more exciting stuff coming soon, just been swamped with Uni!

Credit to summerblueringo for the GIF

"How does it feel to bring home a gold medal for your country, again?" the interviewer asks and a big grin appears on your face.

"I mean, i love the sport and I've worked hard to get where I am. I think this year there were many other contestants who also deserved gold and everyone who took part today were amazing!" you keep smiling, it had been a really amazing set for you today. You'd even broke some records while here.

"And now what is your plan?" they ask holding the mic closer to you.

"Well my husband is waiting for me, just over there. So i think he wants to give me his congratulations" you say pointing out our stoic looking husband who was waiting in the background, keeping to himself watching the world go past.

"Ah yes, Kimi Raikkonen! The Ice Man, who arguably married Queen of the Ice" he jokes making you laugh a little. You had heard similar jokes many times since you'd married Kimi.

"Yes, obviously being here in South Korea for the Winter Olympics has been amazing, and I'll be sure to train hard for 2022 but now I'm needed to go support my lovely lovely husband in his fast cars" you exclaim, knowing that the Australian Grand Prix was round the corner.

"Ah yes, it's looking like a good season for Ferrari! And we can tell from your outfit today they already have your support"

"My support is for whatever team my husband is in, so Ferrari have had my support since Kimi has raced with them!"

You left the interview thanking your team before finding Kimi waiting for you quietly.

"Home?" you ask and he nods silently grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the arena.

"You were fantastic today!" he smiles, holding you and pulling you into a kiss.

"Yeah? You liked the new twist i did?" you ask, your routine today being one of the hardest you'd ever done. You mascara had infact started to run, from the sweat building on your forehead throughout the day.

"I like everything you do"

You guys both went back to the hotel, packing up all of your gear that had been here for the past month you'd stayed in Korea for. Once you were sure you hadn't left anything behind you made your way to the airport.

Kimi now only had a month until Australia, his personal trainer had come with you to Korea to help him train while he was out there supporting you.

Now, you'd train while you were travelling with Kimi. Finding ice while on the road with him was always difficult, but finding places to just work out and keep your fitness up was never hard as you'd train alongside Kimi. It was one of the ways to spend extra time with him during the season when he was most busy.

In the free month before Australia you started your research on where you could go in Melbourne to skate, you found somewhere that Kimi was happy with you going too as it wasn't too far from the hotel you'd be staying in or the race track for if anything went wrong.

"Will you watch me on the Sunday though?" he'd asked you as you were both lying in bed the night before you were due to fly to Australia.

"When have I ever not?" you ask, turning over in bed to look at him.

"Hmmm, I can for sure think of one time..." he smirks looking over you.

"If your talking about China, almost 10 years ago that doesn't even count!" you laugh, poking his cheek a little.

Your husband never failed to amaze you, his striking blue eyes and his soft blonde hair was what initially drew you in. But it was your first interaction with him that made you fall for him fully.

It was the Autumn of 2008 and you were 22 and you had just won your second Gold Medal in China, you'd stayed there for the months after the games as they left the Beijing Olympic Park open and it seemed like a good place to stay and to train.

You managed to get tickets to other sporting events in the months you stayed there such as Snow Boarding, Golf but the best one was when the Chinese Grand Prix came about.

You were active on the socials you had back then, and so it wasn't hard for Sauber BMW to reach out to you and give you a guest pass.

You'd been walking round the paddock, just investigating when you'd bumped right into the Finnish Ferrari driver. He had just stared at you while holding a tight grip on your wrist so you didn't fall over.

You remember him asking if you were okay, and some other questions that you hadn't heard fully as your brain had gone foggy at the sound of his soft, yet deep voice.

It was a little embarrassing, when he'd tried to speak Finnish to you, and then decided on English, but with no reply he was left stumped and awkwardly standing there.

He'd soon left after that but you were on each other's minds for the whole day. You tried to keep up conversations with the BMW drivers Robert and Nick but your mind kept drifting the the Finnish Driver for Ferrari.

He found you after the race, and just stared at you for a while before you made the first move speaking to him. And the rest was history.

You spent the next 5 years together as partners, it was convenient for someone like Kimi who raced all through the year apart from summer and winter to end up with someone in a sport who only competed for a month in the summer and winter. It meant that they also still got a break with each other.

After 5 years, Kimi let the big question unload and now you'd been married for 5 years.

"Of course, my love! You know that!" you smile, pulling him closer to you. You tuck yourself into his surprisingly warm embrace, considering his nickname was 'Iceman' he was the warmest person you'd ever had the privilege of meeting.

"I was thinking ..." he breathes, his voice a little higher and whiny than normal.

"Mmmmm, you don't do that often?" you tease, a hand running up and down his back.

"Well, I'm the ice man, your the Ice Queen... i was thinking maybe it's time we have an Ice Baby?" he whispers in the softest most unsure tone you'd ever heard.

"You think now's a good time?" you ask, and thinking about it... it was. You yourself had two years before the next Olympics in 2020, and Kimi was at a point in his career where he could leave and live comfortably if he needed and wanted to.

"I haven't told you this, but they want the Sauber kid in my spot. I'll be going to Alpha Romeo next year. I feel like I've done what i can and I've had my time in the sport... and we aren't getting any younger. Especially me..." he jokes, being 44 now.

"Mmmmmm I think now is the perfect time" you smile.

Flash forward to the Austin Grand Prix and you were 6 months pregnant. You'd already announced it and so many people were excited for you and Kimi, through the season he had loads of interviews. All against his will of course but people saw a different side to him when he talked about you and the soon to be baby.

It was a great race for Kimi in Austin, he pulled through with his first win of the season, valuable points that helped contribute towards his position in the drivers standings.

"So Kimi, first win of the season today! How are you feeling?" an interviewer asks, he was sat in a panel with some of the other drivers in a debrief.

"It was good to get a win, this season has been tough. We've had an interesting year with veteran drivers like myself, Seb, Fernando and Lewis being pushed by newer or younger drivers who are proving to be good competition like Charles, Max and Pierre" he answers.

"There have been rumors that you wont be here with us next season?" he pushes and Kimi roles his eyes.

"If I'm not it's not an issue... racing is my hobby that i get paid to do. I'll leave when i want to" he admits without letting anything slip that Ferrari wouldn't want to come public knowledge.

"Lets move on to you Lewis..."

And for the rest of the interview all he could think of was coming back to you.

Once your daughter was born in January before the start of the 2019 season and Kimi moving to Alfa Romeo everyone on the grid wanted to meet her. So of course, you were obligated to come to Australia for pre-season testing. Your 3 month old being so intrigued at the busy rush of everything around her.

She was a fan and driver fav around. Everyone had a picture with her and introduced themselves as her uncle and that they would look after her. People like Lewis, Seb and Charles all came with little gifts for her, Seb even had someone make her a custom team Ferrari top so she could fit in with her father and her Uncle Sebastian.

"Today was amazing!" you sighed as you leaned into your husband who currently held your daughter against his bare chest.

"Mmmm, I think you should both take a break though, at least until Summer break and join me afterwards" he smiles, knowing that the heavy time change from Monaco to Australia wasn't good for your or the baby.

"Well, I may as well come to Bahrain with you... its on the way back. But I will leave after that" you smile, pulling him in for a kiss.

"I love you, thank you for giving me this life" he smiles looking between you and his daughter.

"I wouldn't have it any of way" you grin.

Taglist:

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#f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 x you #formula 1 #formula one #formula one fanfiction #kimi raikkonen #kimi räikkönen #kimi raikkonen x reader #kimi raikkonen one shot #kimi raikkonen x you #kimi raikkonen imagine

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reasonsforhope · 2 months

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"[There is] fantastic news for species conservation after new populations of the gorgeous ‘Skywalker’ gibbon, known to science for only 6 years, were recently found living in the politically chaotic nation of Myanmar.

Also called the hoolock gibbon, this dainty vocalist was first described in 2017 living in the extreme south of China on a mountain in Yunnan. Classified as Endangered by the IUCN, the population was estimated to number a paltry 150 individuals, but others were believed to live in Myanmar.

Even before the recent military junta usurped the president and plunged the country into civil war, Myanmar [was a difficult place to conduct field studies, especially extensive or ongoing ones, due to ongoing conflict.]

[Although they are] now in open revolt against the military junta, [the Myanmar states of Shan and Kachin] were nevertheless destinations for an intrepid team of scientists from the Nature Conservation Society Myanmar, Fauna & Flora International–Myanmar Programme, the IUCN’s ape specialist group, and field researchers from universities in England, China, and the US.

Together, they conducted acoustic surveys, collected non-invasive DNA sampling, and took photographs for morphological identification at six sites in Kachin State and three sites in Shan State. With the help of the Myanmar conservationists, the team also interviewed locals dwelling in rural forested areas, small conservation programs, and timber companies about the frequency of sightings and the hunting pressure.

Population estimates of unknown quality and scientific rigor conducted in 2013 suggested there might be 65,000 hoolock gibbons in Myanmar, but the matter became much more complicated after the classification of the Skywalker gibbon as a separate species from the eastern hoolock gibbon—where before they were confused as the same.

“We were able to genetically identify 44 new groups of Skywalker gibbons in Myanmar,” said senior author Tierra Smiley Evans, research faculty at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and contributing author. “This is a huge resource and success story for Myanmar.”

These gibbons sing to each other at dawn for around 22 minutes, and consume 36 different plant species; choosing fruit first, and flowers later. They seldom sleep in the same tree two nights in a row to avoid predation, and can’t swim so are often confined to territories by river systems.

The team that discovered them in China in 2017 loved Star Wars, and called them tianxing which is Chinese pinyin for “heaven movement;” a nod not only to their favorite sci-fi franchise, but also to China’s ancient history. In the famous Book of Change [aka the I Ching] of the Zhou Dynasty [1046 BCE to 265 BCE], a divination poem refers to gibbons specifically, and uses tianxing as a verb to describe their movements.

The interviews were a source of great data for the scientists. For starters, nearly all individuals in both the Kachin and Shan states could identify a Skywalker gibbon by sight and by playback of its singing, lending the exercise a good degree of reliability...

“Biologists did not believe Skywalker gibbons could live in the small remaining patches in Southern Shan State before we started this project,” Pyae Phyo Aung, executive director of Nature Conservation Society Myanmar, told the UC Davis press.

“I am delighted with our field team members who have done an excellent job, within a short period of time, building community trust for further conservation actions. This area is degraded forest. It is really important for Myanmar and China to consider extending conservation approaches for the Skywalker gibbon to this new geographic area.”

Nearly 32,000 square kilometers, or around 8 million acres of forestland in Eastern Myanmar are suitable gibbon habitat, and while existing forest reserves like Paung Taung and Mae Nei Laung are quite large, they remain unprotected. For this reason, the survey team recommended they remain considered ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List until habitat protections improve."

-via Good News Network, February 21, 2024

#gibbon #apes #primates #myanmar #endangered species #china #zoology #conservation biology #conservation news #primatology #good news #hope

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butterflydm · 1 month

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more WoT s3 spec - what we know vs what we're guessing at

I've been poking at what we know about s3 vs what we can reasonably guess, so I wanted to break that down a bit.

So there are a few things we know just about the structure of how the show has worked so far: we know they shoot in blocks of two episodes each and that each of those blocks is going to have the same director for both episodes. Because of this info, we can make some guesses at where specific episodes may land. We also have some casting info (wotseries.com being a great resource here).

They tend to have a major reveal in the fourth episode - Nynaeve being incredibly powerful in the One Power in 1x04; Selene being Lanfear in 2x04.

What we know for certain:

Rhuidean & the Waste will appear (Rand & Egwene's storyline).

Tanchico will appear (Nynaeve & Elayne's storyline).

The Two Rivers will appear (Perrin's storyline).

Rand and Perrin will each get focus episodes akin to Nynaeve having "What Might Be" and Egwene having "Eyes Without Pity" in s2.

We have four episode titles: "To Race The Shadow"; "A Glimpse of Crimson"; "Goldeneyes"; and "He Who Comes With The Dawn".

Sea Folk are confirmed for S3.

Potential leaks include:

Mat, Min, and Thom all being part of Nynaeve & Elayne's storyline in Tanchico. Big change for Mat & Min, but matches canon for Thom. And since show-onlys have only seen Thom with Mat and Rand, it would make sense to use Mat to re-introduce us to him.

Reports of the actresses reported to be playing Morgase and Elaida seen at a castle which is almost certainly in Caemlyn (Andoran banners spotted), most likely for the first or second episode due to the timing.

An actress playing Maigran (one of the Aiel from the Rhuidean glass columns sequence) is listed under the director who is being used for eps 3 and 4.

An actress has been cast to play an older version of Latra and I really like @wheeloftimeofficial's idea that we'll see her as the ancient Aes Sedai who establishes Rhuidean in the glass column memories, especially since the younger actress also has s3 listed on her CV.

We have (unofficially) confirmed castings for Faile & Galad.

Hints we've gotten from interviews & bts info:

In an interview filmed before the actors' strike, Daniel mentions Lan having some really good relationship scenes with Nynaeve, so we know that there's interaction between those characters before their plotlines separate, implying that we will not begin with everyone already all off on their separate journeys, like they were in 2x01.

Also from Daniel, it's implied that there are training scenes between Lan and Rand (could happen at any point, since Lan is likely to be in Rand's storyline the entire season).

From what Josha has said, the show will be pivoting to a more familial relationship between Egwene and Rand next season (which matches the book timing).

Rafe made a point of mentioning that Elayne healing Rand was to flag to the audience that this was a relationship to pay attention to (which implies we'll get at least some movement on that relationship in s3).

Josha also says that there is "way more togetherness" for Two Rivers' characters in s3 than in s2.

In an unrelated interview on screenrant, Rima Te Waita (Sheriam) mentioned that she will not be in s3 but, if s4 is greenlit, she will be in s4.

Josha and Ayoola posted some cute instas of each other after finishing up the South Africa shooting stint near Cape Town, which might be a hint towards our potential AviRand interactions (could also just be the actors being cute!).

Guesses based on book & show knowledge:

It seems likely to me that Gawyn & Galad will be introduced in the same episode as Morgase and Elaida, which I am tentatively going to guess will be episode 2.

I think that Verin, Alanna & their Warders are going to be getting out of Cairhien as quickly as possible. And that they are pretty conveniently set up to head to their TSR storyline.

I am pretty torn about when the coup will happen! I feel like it happening this season feels pretty much a lock because there really isn't any more "White Tower storyline" until the coup happens, and they do already have the set made. But it could either happen pretty early on or fairly late in the season. Maybe episode five? That lets us meet Elaida in episode 2, gives her and possibly Gawyn & Galad time to get to the White Tower, maybe we get some scenes of her politicking in the WT in episode 4, with the trigger being pulled in episode 5 or 6. But another possibility is that the coup happens right away, while all those Sisters are still in Cairhien and we see Liandrin take the lead on something like stilling Siuan and Leane, which would put the White Tower in chaos before Elaida even arrives. There are at least two Black Ajah Sisters in Cairhien, after all, and Liandrin likes to act extra-judicially, and she might want to try to make sure that Siuan is taken care of before anyone has a chance to out her (Liandrin) as Black Ajah. But there is also a chance that it might happen in the finale, so that we can parallel Moiraine & Siuan's 'downfalls'. So really this one is a wildcard for me. It isn't really directly tied to any other specific events in TSR, so it can happen whenever.

We will get the glass columns in episode 3 or 4. In the books, it happened as soon as Rand landed in the Waste, basically, but the show could potentially do Cold Rocks Hold first, depending on how Rand is getting to the Waste. I used to lean towards it happening in ep3, but after learning the leak about Mat being in Tanchico, it made me wonder about ep4, maybe, as that could potentially lead to Mat going through the doorways (just speculation with zero leaks or spoilers to back it up but I like it a lot lol) from Tanchico to Rhuidean either at the end of ep4 or the start of ep5, leaving Nynaeve & Elayne's storyline and going to Rand & Egwene's.

I do keep thinking about Josha saying that the Two Rivers' kids would have "way more togetherness" than in s3, which seems difficult if they all separate by or after ep2 and then don't reunite the entire season. I guess technically it would be true because they don't reunite in s2 until the final moments of 2x08 but feels somewhat underwhelming to mention, lol.

I do still suspect that we're getting Lanfear & Moiraine with the doorway at the end of the season.

So, a tentative outline. Now we leave behind the more solid leaks and knowledge and enter into the wild speculations. Please check out @markantonys' recent post too, she's got some fun speculations!

3x01: To Race the Shadow

"Way more togetherness" between the Two Rivers group than in s2, so says Josha. This is also where we have to be getting the Lan & Nynaeve romantic scenes that Daniel keeps hyping up, lol.

Moiraine and Rand are going to be arguing about his next plans.

Something will happen that makes them realize that Something Is Up in Tanchico -- this might be a first Dream from Egwene that leads them in the direction of the museum? Which also leads to her talking to Amys, which is why she decides to go with Rand instead of going with Nynaeve & Elayne. The big question for me is if they are going to Tanchico because of Liandrin or if they go for other reasons and then run into Liandrin also being there to get the same thing that they're getting.

Now Mat may go into a doorway here as speculated by @markantonys (the room of curiosities) but for this specific outline, I'm going to say that he doesn't, and instead he chooses to go with Elayne & Nynaeve because he's running away from Rand (after the Stabbening). This pulls in something that Mat tries to do a lot in the books but gives him a new motivation that fits his show character.

I think Lanfear is going to warn Rand about the rest of the Forsaken being free but potentially also send Liandrin to Tanchico to try to get the, uh, plot token for her potential use in the future (a girl needs a back-up plan).

Lanfear talking to Rand might be another thing that Rand and Moiraine argue about.

Rand and Egwene are going to have their official 'break-up' and then we'll see their more platonic relationship develop over the course of the season. I also feel like we have to have at least a scene or two with Rand and Elayne to establish them feeling Some Kind of Way about each other, to build on that moment from 2x08.

3x02: A Glimpse of Crimson

Good episode title for a Red Ajah & Andor episode!

I'm going to guess that Rand & co are going to be stopping in Caemlyn (my feelings are similar to @markantonys about us potentially getting a garden introduction between Egwene & Gawyn here, and then having Rand & Egwene meet Elaida & Morgase (and Galad?). Elaida will have her Foretelling about Rand and freak herself out.

Our group hears the rumors about the Two Rivers, and Perrin decides to go investigate. The question is how is Rand going to get to the Waste from Caemlyn? I don't feel like they would introduce Portal Stones as a one-off if they haven't done it before, so I think there's a chance that Loial might go with Rand instead of Perrin, as Perrin doesn't need to go through the Ways to get to the Two Rivers (of course, then they would need to change how the battle resolves in 3x07).

(alternatively: there's always the Lanfear express, I guess, lol)

This could also be when Elayne, Nynaeve, & Mat arrive in Tanchico, and their introduction to the city is our B plot. I don't think they would throw all the plots at them at once and I feel like just introducing Thom first would be a good start for the first episodes in Tanchico.

3x03: Unknown

Rand & co arrive in the Waste, but I'm going to send them to Cold Rocks Hold for now, instead of straight to Rhuidean. This gives Rand and Aviendha time to bond, Rand and Moiraine time to fight, Rand and Lan time to train together, and gives the audience a chance to get to know the Aiel culture in a bit more of a relaxed setting. Then we get an attack by Shadowspawn and Rand gets the reminder that the other Forsaken have been let free and don't share Ishamael and Lanfear's feelings about him.

Another plot will be in Tanchico, involving Nynaeve, Elayne, and Mat investigating, running into Min and/or Egeanin or Tuon taking Egeanin's role. This may be where we get our early encounters with Moghedien (she Compels one or more of our characters to spill the beans to her about their plans) and potentially where she reveals herself to Liandrin & co as one of the Chosen and takes control of their group after playing servant for part of the episode.

We also have Perrin & co arriving in the Two Rivers and getting the lay of the land. This could be a fairly emotional episode for Perrin, due to memories of Laila's death. Maybe when Perrin says goodbye to Laila (putting his ring on her grave/memorial?) and potentially our first sighting of Faile.

3x04: Unknown

Rand goes to Rhuidean and into the glass columns. This is the main plot of the episode and Rand's focus episode of the season.

We get the history of the Aiel here, and learn about Rand's ancestors.

Subplot: Aviendha is told that she is destined to be a Wise One (maybe she accidentally channeled during the fight at Cold Rocks Hold?) and deals with idea that she has to leave behind being a Maiden.

Our Tanchico B-plot leads to Mat entering through the twisted doorway in the museum, For Reasons, and getting his prophecies. Maybe this same plotline leads to Elayne and Nynaeve finding dream ter'angreal, and to Tuon/Egeanin realizing that Elayne and Nynaeve are channelers, and potentially learns that all sul'dam are, and then leaves our main plotline at this time.

3x05: Unknown

When Rand leaves the glass columns, he finds Mat hanging on the tree outside, and saves his life (we've gotten a few different pieces of foreshadowing about Mat being hanged, so I feel like it will happen at some point). Mat says he was just in Tanchico.

We catch up with Perrin in the Two Rivers, with him learning to move past his grief as he gets to know Faile.

Because we've already done Cold Rocks Hold, this means that Rand & co can go straight to Alcair Dal at this point.

Aviendha and Rand bond over their lives being dictated by being able to use the One Power and not having any choices about their future.

On the way to Alcair Dal, we meet the traders, who are hiding Lanfear and Asmodean in their ranks, and Lanfear sees that Rand is getting closer to Aviendha and Does Not Approve.

Nynaeve and Elayne worry about where Mat has disappeared to and experiment with the dream ter'angreal that they recently discovered in the museum (might only be one: the twisted stone ring, so that channeling isn't needed for it), and run into Birgitte in the dream. She gives them a warning but they realize that this is the same place that Egwene was talking about in 3x01 and are excited that they might be able to communicate with her.

3x06: Unknown

Another journey into TAR for Nynaeve (maybe a successful contact with Egwene?), and she encounters Birgitte again, but Moghedien too, and this leads to Birgitte getting ripped out of TAR and bonded by Elayne to save her life.

Moiraine tells Rand that he needs to go to Tear, to fulfill more of the prophecies, but Rand is resistant.

The Two Rivers ramps up for the battle.

This would also be a good spot for the coup, imo.

3x07: Goldeneyes

The Battle of the Two Rivers. Potentially Perrin's focus episode as well, as he comes into his own as a leader. I think that it would be good to push any confirmed Perrin/Faile romance forward into the future, so they will still just have some vibes for now.

We get some pieces moving into place for the other storylines: Rand arrives at Alcair Dal; Nynaeve and Elayne make plans to return to the museum.

3x08: He Who Comes With The Dawn

Desperate to get through to Rand and worrying that he is focusing on the Aiel instead of being the Dragon Reborn, Moiraine went back to Rhuidean to try to use the doorway, as when Mat talked about his experiences there, she recognized what he was talking about and wants answers of her own.

Rand announces himself at Alcair Dal, drawing the attention of Lanfear, who makes her pitch to him that We Could Rule Together, worrying that she's losing her hold over him after seeing him getting closer to Aviendha. She tells him about Asmodean and about him potentially teaching Rand so that he can reach his potential.

Inside the doorway, Moiraine gets answers that she doesn't like about Rand and Lanfear (sort of merging her going into the doorway in Tear with her going into the silver rings).

On the Tanchico side of things, we have our big Tanchico encounter between Nynaeve and Moghedien, which results in Nynaeve breaking her block. Nynaeve and Elayne escape Tanchico on a Sea Folk ship, heading towards Tear, potentially bringing Min & Thom along with them.

After talking with Lanfear, Rand is let out of his 'bubble' at Alcair Dal as Couladin declares that HE is the Car'a'carn and he will prove it by leading the Aiel to conquer the wetlands (setting up s4 to be a combo of TFoH/LoC, with a hint of TDR with the destination being Tear instead of Cairhien). Rand realizes that the fake dragons on Couladin's arms were put there by Asmodean and goes after him -- Asmodean Skims back to Rhuidean and he and Rand battle, and Lanfear arrives, puts the block on Asmodean and offers him up as a teacher to Rand. Moiraine takes advantage of Lanfear's focus on Rand to yeet both of them into the doorway while channeling, based on the knowledge that she learned inside, melting the doorway. We see in the Tanchico storyline that the other doorway melts at the same time, leaving them no exit.

And I agree with @markantonys that possibly the most effective stinger would be the reveal that Tuon is the DotNM, but if there is no Tuon in this season, we could have it be a Forsaken (Sammael) setting up shop in Tear, to set the scene for the upcoming season.

It is a lot more cliffhanger-y than our previous season finales and I'm sure that my thoughts on it will change as we get closer and learn more spoilers, but that is my wild speculation for this specific week!

#wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot book spoilers #the fires of heaven #wot speculation #wot s3 speculation

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matan4il · 2 months

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Update post:

The International Court of Justice has rejected the request of South Africa to stop any future Israeli military activity in Rafah. The provisional measures that were given less than a month ago still stand, and the ICJ determined for now, they're enough, while also saying Israel does have to comply with them (I think it's funny to say Israel has to do something it was already doing, but okay).

After Israeli Minister of Defense presented the names of, and info on, 12 UNRWA workers who were a part of the Hamas massacre, he also shared that at least 30 more UNRWA workers were personally involved in assissting the massacre or participating in post-massacre terrorist activity (such as kidnapping living or murdered Israelis, keeping the hostages imprisoned, or moving them from one hiding place to another). You can find more info on the extensive ties of UNRWA workers with Palestinian terrorist organizations in my UNRWA tag.

In continuation to this, a video was published showing an UNRWA worker, called Faisal Ali Musalam Naami, with the help of another Hamas terrorist, kidnapping the body of a murdered Israeli to Gaza. Israel has indicated that Naami was a social worker, and was eliminated by the IDF on Oct 16. BTW, I saw the vid first airing on Israeli TV before they realized they hadn't blurred the body. I can't even explain what it was like watching it, something about seeing the sagging limbs being dragged just made the whole thing even more inhumane, so the impact is different than if you only watch the blurred vid, as much as I know it was done to preserve the dignity of that murdered man, and as much as I agree with that.

youtube

I mentioned the other day that the IDF has arrested at least 60 terrorists from among the people coming out of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. This number has now been updated to 100 terrorists. Among them, the Palestinian reporters have claimed that the Nasser hospital director was arrested as well, but the IDF has denied this. In comparison, the IDF announced it officially on Nov 23 when it did arrest the director of the Shifa hospital director due to his collaboration with Hamas.

In addition to IDF soldiers finding a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf among the possessions of a Hamas terrorist in Gaza, we have now been presented with another antisemitic conspircay book found there. This time, it's a book called (in Arabic) 'End of the Jews' and it was written by Hamas' co-founder, who is also the former Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority.

The book's cover is described as showing "swords and daggers piercing through Stars of David, and Jews drowning in blood."

As antisemitism continues to rise all around the world, at the same time that people deny its very nature, the Jewish Book Council has launched an initiative to track down antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish authors, both those who are pro-Israel and those who are accused of it in spite of being silent about the Jewish state, or targeting the Jewish visitors at book events.

In Israel's northern community of Margaliot, a chicken coop was attacked by Hezbollah fire, and an entire flock was killed. In an interview, the coop owner said he doesn't believe the place can be restored. The on going attacks by Hamas on Israel's southern agricultural communities, and by Hezbollah on Israel's northern ones, when taken together, is a real threat to the food security of all 9.8 million Israeli citizens.

This is 35 years old Matan Lior.

He provided the sound, illumination and electricity infrastructure at the Nova music festival. Because of his job there, he was among the last to leave the scene, guiding others to evacuate. When they found his corpse, it was in a car, bending over another women, trying to protect her with his own body. May his memory be a blessing.

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

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merrymorningofmay · 1 year

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came across two recent articles about the struggles of ukrainian farmers in the deoccupied south: one in the nyt, one in a ukrainian news outlet, the ukrainian reporter who wrote the latter was also a fixer for the nyt guys who made the former, the two articles use the same photos, feature interviews with the same people, all that.

the nyt one boils down to “ukrainian farmers are having it hard because the fields are mined, that sucks a lot”, and the ukrainian one is more along the lines of “ukrainian farmers are having it fucking hard because the fields are mined or razed down, the grain they planned to sow this year has rotted away due to warehouse damage and because the farmers couldn’t have transferred it somewhere else under constant bombing, and most of the harvest and the farmers’ equipment has been straight up stolen by russians, so now they have nothing to mortgage to get a loan from a bank and survive as a business. that sucks a lot”

just kind of a reminder that however closely and proactively you follow the ukraine news, unless you actually know ukrainian, you will still be getting the tip of the iceberg

#mari rambles

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paulgrossaddict · 17 days

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DS 30 BELOW

Interview with Paul Gross and David Marciano by Doctor Squee

Paul Gross

youtube

David Marciano

youtube

And there are also interviews with Paul Haggis and Jay Semko

youtube

@ds30below

#due south #due south interview #benton fraser #ray vecchio #paul gross #paulgross #david marciano #doctor squee #ds30below #Youtube

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dreamii-krybaby · 6 months

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Theory on Nori’s actual personality

Ok but what if it’s revealed that Nori isn’t necessarily malicious or evil or satan’s spawn, like specifically during her time at the labs and camps.

Like yes I know she seems to be enjoying herself after the core collapse thanks to the pictures in EP4 and at the interview shown in EP6 despite Alice going berserk and smashing her own head and Yeva hurting and terrified. Not only her body language but also the fact she is resting her arm on one of the sentinels as if they were mere pets gives her almost disney villian vibes

Because to me she could be somewhat similar to N. She is a beacon of positivy, it may be simply her personality or a developed coping mechanism

It could be that her chill and cool vibes are astonishing. So it’s not that she doesn’t care or anything, she simply isn’t aware of the gravity of the situation or takes things easy.

Plus the fact that the goddam sentinels are so chill around her that even one of them lets Nori put her arm on top of them can maybe be seen as the sentinels not perceiving Nori as a threat, and more as a companion, maybe even as a friend.

Her EP6 appearance may be a red herring or is purposely made so we draw the wrong conclusion.

Bc most of her bad actions where when she was under the influence of the AS:

- Like before the core collapse happened we clearly saw in EP6 that Nori was fully possessed bc of her yellow eyes. And we in the footage you can see drones or even human limbs scattered around her, so all of that was when she was possessed.

- after the core collapse she shows to be quite friendly, it could be that she doesn’t remember a lot after her possession. Unlike Yeva who probably was still processing everything.

Tho tbh I can cut her some slack if she indeed was happy after the humans perished after the core collapse. Since you know, she was experimented and probably witnessed a lot of fucked up shit.

- When Alice mentioned that she left them to die, she also later added she had yellow eyes, again, Nori was possessed at that time. Alice probably didn’t know that the one who probably left them to die was the AS, not Nori

- Now this more of an assumption, but the fact that in Nori’s closet Khan kept boxes and boxes of “happy family memories” it probably meant their relationship was pretty good.

- And things only went south when Nori started to get visions(?). Also she constantly told Khan to build doors against the coming sky demons. Clearly she was trying to protect herself, Uzi and Khan, and probably the rest of the colony (which also included Yeva, which would go against the interpretation that Nori didn’t care much for Yeva). Also remember, it was Khan who wasn’t there for Nori, she needed him, she tried to warn him.

-Its also worth mentioning that Yeva might have not been harmed by Nori during the interview shown at EP6. Bc first there is no sharp object that could potentially be used against Yeva. (Wait now that I think about it, there is a JCJenson pen, and if u remember the pilot, that pen could have actually been used to cause Yeva’s injury but it seems to be lacking oil stains)

And its a higher possibility that Alice could have done it, as it seems she has gone berserk and drew with her own oil on the walls and is clawing at the wall, and maybeee she also used Yeva’s oil to draw.

Also Nori couldn’t have used the AS directly on Yeva due to both having the AS. And a interpretation made by @capnsaltsquid said that Yeva’s eye got damaged by the AS itself, it fucking blew up, due to her body not being very “compatible” with the AS. (Yeva my poor gal :( )

Again I think it all depends on interpretation.

Now does this mean she is a pure holy saint? No. Murder Drones is a show where most ppl aren’t really a saint. Yes..probably not even my gal Yeva. But Nori could be that at the end she wasn’t evil or smth. She could have a similar situation to Cyn.

Now personally would enjoy if she actually started off as antagonist or even villian when she got the AS at the labs and had to unfortunately learn the hard way about the dangers of the AS later. Wouldn’t mind at all if she occasionally showed moments of villainy.

And me being me, how about devil’s advocate?

Maybe she was indeed a son of a bitch at her time at the labs maybe she was happy after the destruction she caused after the core collapse.

What if Nori actually planned to get possessed? What if the AS offered her freedom by getting rid of the humans. Bc the AS drawing below her shown on the EP6 footage surrounded by body remains gives me “summoning the local Eldritch god inside of my body to do silly stuff” vibes

For all we know the AS could have given her a sense of control, power, and superiority and for a lab rat surrounded by robo-raptors and other, more aggressive lab rats, that must have felt amazing.

Also it would be nice to have a villian who fully embraces the AS, even for only a period of time.

Before you say we have Doll, I don’t think so, well partially:

-She immediately feels sorry for Uzi upon learning she also has the AS, and she promised her to help her once she finds what she is looking for.

-She also calls the AS a “sickness” via Tessa’s comment on EP6.

-A lot of ppl and myself included infer that what Doll is looking for is a cure for the AS

-Even if she uses the AS a lot more than Uzi I think Doll is simply taking advantage of it while she has it, its the only ready available tool she has. But I don’t think she necessarily likes having it. Plus Doll has more control over her body over the AS unlike Uzi.

So I would love for Nori at the beginning to embrace the AS, that loves it. Sees it as a blessing rather than a sickness. That feels a rush of control when using it.

Or we could go the more, chill route, she uses it more due to carelessness and ignorance.

And perhaps for her later go “Well maybe I don’t want this thing anymore”

But realistically from what I gathered, I see her someone who is chill, open, easy going, sociable and perhaps, careless.

Tho am begging on my knees for her to be a morally grey sassy lady.

#murder drones #murder drones nori #nori murder drones #nori doorman murder drones #murder drones nori doorman #nori doorman #murder drones theory

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sayruq · 4 hours

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Reuters: Gaza hospital staff questioned by ICC war crimes prosecutors, sources say

Prosecutors from the International Criminal Court have interviewed staff from Gaza's two biggest hospitals, two sources told Reuters, the first confirmation that ICC investigators were speaking to medics about possible crimes in the Gaza Strip. The sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, told Reuters ICC investigators had taken testimony from staff who had worked in the main hospital in Gaza City in the north of the enclave, Al Shifa, and the main hospital in Khan Younis in the south, Nasser. The sources declined to provide more details, citing concerns about the safety of potential witnesses.One of the sources said that events surrounding the hospitals could become part of the investigation by the ICC, which hears criminal cases against individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression. The ICC's office of the prosecutor refused to comment on operational matters in ongoing investigations citing the need to ensure the safety of victims and witnesses. The ICC has said it is investigating both sides in the conflict, including both the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza. During the conflict, the two main Gaza hospitals have both been high profile Israeli targets - surrounded, besieged and stormed by Israeli forces who accused Hamas militants of using them for military purposes, which Hamas and medical staff deny. In recent days, Palestinian officials have also demanded investigations after hundreds of bodies were exhumed in mass graves at Nasser. The two sources were not able to say whether such graves formed part of any questioning.

#yemen #jerusalem #tel aviv #current events #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #news on gaza #palestine news #news update #war news #war on gaza #icc #international criminal court #gaza genocide #genocide

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workersolidarity · 17 days

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[ 📹 On the morning of the third day of Eid al-Fitr, during the call for morning prayers, the Israeli occupation army shelled the minaret of the Al-Qassam Mosque, sending a message to Palestinians that nothing will remain sacred under the watch of the Zionist entity. 📸 Photos from the dozens of civilian martyred after an Israeli airstrike targeted the Tabatibi family home in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip on Friday.]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🕌 💥 🚨

ISRAELI OCCUPATION INTENSIFIES STRIKES IN GAZA, PALESTINIAN FAMILIES SLAUGHTERED ON DAY 189 OF GENOCIDE

On the 189th day of "Israel's" special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed of total of 8 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 89 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 120 others have been wounded over the previous 24-hours.

The Ministry of Health of Gaza added that, while a number of Palestinians were taken to local hospitals, the bodies of many victims remain trapped under the rubble or scattered in the roads, with local paramedic and civil defense crews unable to reach the sites of bombings due to the continued strikes of the Israeli occupation army.

In an interview with Hebrew newspaper Maariv, former Israeli Minister of Justice, Haim Ramon, said that the war in Gaza has ended in a "strategic defeat."

The statement was made in response to a question about whether the war in Gaza has been concluded, Ramon answered by saying, “Unfortunately, yes. Unfortunately, there is a tactical victory, but there is also a strategic defeat. We did not achieve any of the goals set by the government."

“The ground maneuver (attack) started in the wrong way, and only moved heavily to the north of Gaza Strip," Ramon said, adding that, “We transferred a million and a half refugees to the south, and now we will not go to Rafah (south) because there are a million and a half. It is not an American problem, it is our problem in how we deal with them.”

Ramon went on to emphasize that “Six months ago we went to this war and there was one thing, which was the collapse of Hamas militarily. They (the army) dealt it severe blows, but it is still standing on its feet.”

“The goal was to eliminate civilian Hamas, which controls humanitarian aid,” considering that “it is impossible for Hamas to collapse without temporary civilian rule.”

“We were also unable to bring down civilian Hamas. We said that there would be military pressure, and the pressure would lead to the release of the hostages, and this did not happen either, and the goals of the war were not achieved after six months, and at this time, we are in great trouble.”

Meanwhile, on the third day of Eid al-Fitr, the endless slaughter of innocent Palestinian families continued overnight on Thursday, and again after dawn on Friday, with renewed Israeli strikes on various sectors of the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, at least one civilian was killed, and several others wounded, after a Zionist airstrike targeted multiple sites north of the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip. Casualties were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Local sources said the strike occured when Israeli occupation warplanes bombed a school sheltering displaced Palestinian families, which killed a civilian and wounded a number of others, while occupation aircraft conducted several air raids in other areas of the Camp, while also shelling various neighborhoods with artillery and completely destroying several buildings.

And on Friday morning, in the latest horrific, Zionist criminal atrocity, Israeli occupation fighter jets launched a strike on the residential home of the Tabatibi family, in the Sidra area of the al-Daraj neighborhood, in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in the martyrdom of more than 25 Palestinian civilians, 29 by some accounts, and wounding dozens of others.

Zionist quadcopter drones also fired missiles or dropped ordinance on at least three Palestinian residences in the Al-Zaytoun, Al-Shujaiya and Al-Rimal neighborhoods of Gaza City, resulting in a number of casualties among civilians.

Elsewhere, local civil defense crews say they recovered the decomposing corpses of at least 13 martyrs from the Al-Balad and Al-Amal neighborhoods of the Khan Yunis governate, in the southern Gaza Strip, after the IOF withdrew from the area in recent days.

Meanwhile, in another atrocity, several casualties were transported to Al-Awdah Hospital in the Al-Nuseirat Camp after an Israeli quadcopter drone opened fire on civilians, while an occupation airstrike targeting a residential home in the Jabalia Refugee Camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, killed a Palestinian police officer along with his son, with occupation artillery forces also targeting police officers involved in the coordination of aid in Gaza.

Further, a Palestinian journalist, Ahmed Al-Lawh, was moderately wounded in Israeli artillery shelling that targeted a group of reporters north of the Nuseirat Camp.

Intense clashes continue to take place between forces with the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation army in the Al-Mughraqa area, as well as to the north of the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip.

At the same time, Israeli occupation forces fired smoke bombs towards the Malaysian school, north of the Nuseirat Camp, while heavy Israeli shelling continues to target in the vicinity of the refugee camp.

As a result of "Israel's" ongoing special genocide operation, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen once again, now exceeding 33'634 Palestinians killed, including over 14'500 children and 9'500 women, while another 76'214 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression against Gaza, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

April 12th, 2024

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@WorkerSolidarityNews

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justinspoliticalcorner · 12 days

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Rowaida Abdelaziz at HuffPost:

Earlier this month, the University of Southern California announced that Asna Tabassum would be the Class of 2024′s valedictorian, with a 3.98 GPA and in recognition of her community service and leadership skills. She is graduating with a major in biomedical engineering and a minor in resistance to genocide.

But on Monday, USC canceled the speech. In an announcement dated Monday, Provost Andrew Guzman said the “intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East” has “created substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement.” “After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement. While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety,” he wrote. “This decision has nothing to do with freedom of speech. There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement. The issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period.” The school did not elaborate further. Reached for comment, the provost’s office directed HuffPost to Guzman’s statement.

Tabassum, in an interview with HuffPost, questioned the university’s reasoning and told HuffPost she felt disappointed and let down by USC. “I am surprised that my own university – my home for four years – has abandoned me,” she said. In a statement published on Monday, Tabassum said that she was not aware of any specific threats against her or the university, and that during a meeting last Sunday, administrators told her that “the University had the resources to take appropriate safety measures for my valedictory speech, but that they would not be doing so since increased security protections is not what the University wants to ’present as an image.’” “Security and safety is also my concern. That’s consistent with my commitment to human equality and human rights. I don’t think that they’re mutually exclusive at all,” Tabassum told HuffPost. She noted that notable figures including former President Barack Obama, rap star Travis Scott and right-wing speaker Milo Yiannopoulos have all been able to visit campus grounds. [...]

A slew of universities have struggled to address students’ protests of the bombing campaign by Israeli forces in Gaza that has killed more than 33,000. In the last few months, schools have dealt with rising cases of antisemitism and Islamophobia, the deactivation of student-activist groups, suspension of staff, cases of doxxing and harassment and even reports of physical violence. This week, Columbia University’s president is set to testify at a congressional hearing about campus safety, four months after a similar hearing resulted in the resignation of two Ivy League presidents. And the Department of Education launched a series of investigations last November into several universities where students have reported antisemitic or Islamophobic incidents. Tabassum said she was denied a chance to let others see someone like her give a high-profile speech ― a South Asian hijab-wearing Muslim, someone “representative of communities and of the masses of people who never saw the institution made for them,” she told HuffPost. “I wanted to offer the hope that ... we can succeed [at] institutions like USC.”

[...] According to USC’s Annenberg Media, some students and alumni said Tabassum’s social media activity ― which includes a link to a pro-Palestinian page ― was antisemitic. Guzman, however, wrote that this decision was made “based on various criteria ― which did not include social media presence.” Since the university’s decision, Tabassum said she’s been overwhelmed by messages of both support and hate. People from her elementary school who she hasn’t spoken to in a decade reached out. Others have taken to Instagram to speculate about her ethnic background and her political views, and to applauded the university’s decision to revoke her invitation.

The USC's asinine decision rescinding Valedictorian Asna Tabassum's chance to make a speech is craven cowardice to Islamophobia and Israel Apartheid apologia all because of her support for Palestine.

See Also:

The Guardian: Backlash as USC cancels valedictorian’s speech over support for Palestine

#USC #University of Southern California #Asna Tabassum #Palestine #Islamophobia #Israel/Hamas War #Ceasefire NOW Protests #Israel/Hamas War Protests #Israel Apartheid #Cancel Culture

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manawari · 7 months

Text

Five things I hate about you ( & one thing I like about you)

When Jong-in met his band members for the first time, he had different opinions.

Lim Tae-gyu was an unemployed man who got recognized due to an agent hearing his voice at the karaoke to release some stress. He looked rather reserved, but when Jong-in witnessed him speak, Tae-gyu had a crooked grin on his face and quickly cracked a joke. Jong-in was amused, then when he heard him sing, Tae-gyu's vocals were able to reach high notes and synchronized well with Byung-gyu's.

Min Byung-gyu was an average guy who was found from his acoustic covers in his social media page. Jong-in considered that Byung-gyu was a kind and friendly person, who got along well with everyone. He also wrote songs, which made Jong-in to become impressed at the things Byung-gyu could do.

Sung Jin-woo was the youngest member of the group. He got dragged by his family to the auditions to test his talent, and miraculously, he got accepted. Jin-woo was the quietest one, always putting up a stern look, and at first, he only responded in short sentences. But as the more he spent rehearsals with the rest of the members, he had grown comfortable and Jong-in discovered that Jin-woo was that one person who liked to joke around too, as well as messing around that made their manager, Jin-chul, get headaches.

And then there was Baek Yoon-ho.

Before going to the building, Jong-in was about to get on the cab when someone butted in and shut the door. He ended up being the last member to arrive at the studio. And not only that — he also recognized the person who stopped him from getting on that cab earlier.

What Jong-in did? He confronted him.

"Hey! Aren't you the idiot who pushed me away and shoved the door in front of me?!" Jong-in seethed.

Yoon-ho just blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Do you remember seeing a cab to get to the KHA building?"

"Yeah."

"And did you see there was also a person in front of the backseat door? Yeah, person was me."

"That was you? I was in a hurry, so I didn't notice."

Jong-in decided that Yoon-ho was his least favorite person in ARISE.

There were many things Jong-in had become frustrated at Yoon-ho, be it leaving the toilet open, how they always bumped at each other, and a lot more. But one of the common reasons why Jong-in disliked Yoon-ho a lot was the awful smell reeking from his body every time he returned from the gym.

In ARISE, only three people who took frequent visits at the gym: Tae-gyu, Jin-woo, and Yoon-ho. Tae-gyu used to be a tennis athlete, but since he must maintain shape, he'd go to the gym and workout. Jin-woo always had a strong physique and besides using dancing as an exercise, he still had to carry weights every now and then. The two didn't smell a lot, but if it was Yoon-ho, Jong-in felt like he was suffocating.

Yoon-ho had the largest build among the five of them. It was no surprise that fans would scream once it was his turn to perform, as well as dancing that flexed his muscles, which the fashion designers had chosen to make him wear sleeveless shirts or turtlenecks to increase the attention. After all, ARISE had to maintain its high rank in the charts of the music industry in South Korea.

Jong-in knew it, yes, but only when Yoon-ho was far from him.

When the show was over, Tae-gyu practically kicked the door open and stretched his arms above his head as he made his way to the bean bag where he plopped down face first. The rest were exhausted as well, especially when they had to keep smiling throughout the whole interview.

Jong-in sat on the sofa and took off his glasses to close his eyes, leaning further on the headrest. He could use a bit of a nap before heading to the shower. . . But that was until a heavy weight sat right next to him, radiating a particular smell that made his stomach twist..

"Eurgh." Jong-in wrinkled his nose in disgust at Yoon-ho. "Why did you sit here? You stink!"

"What did you just say?" Yoon-ho flashed him a glare. "Cut me some slack, Choi. I'm tired as you are."

"You could've gone to the floor!" Jong-in gritted his teeth. "Or much better, hit the shower!"

"Isn't showering while being exhausted bad for one's health? I don't want to catch a fever afterward."

"Actually, showering while still exhausted doesn't give you fever," Byung-gyu, who was the one on the floor, piped up. "In other words, have a cool down for two minutes or when the sweating stops as it will bring better effects."

Jong-in rolled his eyes at Yoon-ho's earlier statement. "What an idiot."

"You know, if I'm not so tired right now, I could've punched your pretty face."

"You know that's not allowed," smirked Jong-in. "What would fans think if one member shows up with a black eye? Don't give our manager any more stress, kitty."

Yoon-ho scoffed. "Fine. How about this— you hit the shower first and then I'll go once you're done?"

"Deal!" Jong-in got up and strode to the bathroom of the dorm.

About a few moments later, Jong-in was now refreshed. His fatigue was washed away and his energy was restored. He got out of the bathroom with a towel over his hips and a cotton shirt, Jong-in scrubbed his drenched hair with a shorter towel, then he made his way to the table to grab his pair of glasses and put them on.

"Alright, it's your turn, you—" Jong-in paused his sentence.

Yoon-ho, who was supposed to take a shower after him, was snoring on the couch; Jin-woo, Byung-gyu, and Tae-gyu were all passed out as well, still clad on the clothes they wore in the stage. Now, Jong-in was the only one who was awake and cleaned up.

The red-haired member stared at the situation with a dumbfounded expression. It wasn't long until his blood began to boil. Yoon-ho didn't even hold for a little longer for Jong-in to get out of the shower — which had taken only less than ten minutes as far as he could tell.

He decided to approach Yoon-ho and shake him awake, only then to receive one eye opening, but was closed after a second. Yoon-ho shifted to the other side of the couch, facing Jin-woo, who remained dormant amidst the snoring that was close to his ear.

Jong-in groaned. He gave up and left the room.

Second— Jong-in hated how strong Yoon-ho was.

Sure, Yoon-ho had always been seen as muscular and liked to go to the gym a lot, but what frustrated Jong-in the most was that Yoon-ho had zero control of his strength. One time, during one of their live performances, Yoon-ho had accidentally ripped Jin-woo's shirt and it caused the entire stadium to go wild whilst Jong-in could only see Jin-woo die from the inside.

It made Jong-in feel glad that he wasn't dancing next to Yoon-ho. Otherwise, he'd be punching the daylights out of him.

Tae-gyu became a victim as well. But instead of getting his shirt torn, Yoon-ho accidentally used too much strength when he nudged him while laughing. Tae-gyu fell of his stool.

It made Jong-in feel glad he was not near Yoon-ho.

And then when Byung-gyu asked Yoon-ho to open his can of soda, the drink ended up attacking Byung-gyu's face in just a single flick.

It made Jong-in feel glad that he was not used to asking for help.

Yoon-ho wasn't genuinely apologetic for his actions. He couldn't even blame himself for being too strong and not having control over it. And that was another thing Jong-in hated. If Yoon-ho was not being too careful enough, he would cause more mess, and he didn't think he'd be able to hold himself back even if they were in the middle of practice.

"Five, six, seven, eight!" Jin-woo exclaimed as the song began.

The five of them faced the mirror, dancing to the song the band had released a week ago, and afterward, a music video would be filmed with the choreography. Jin-woo barely had a break due to creating the steps since the rest had no expertise in such a skill like his; thus, they would have to follow him.

Jong-in was not much of a dancer, though he managed to adapt the talent. His physique was enough to do smooth dances and synchronized to the music. ARISE had members with different heights and shapes, especially with Yoon-ho being the tallest and Byung-gyu being the shortest, but altogether, they worked in harmony.

Their positions changed. Jong-in stepped forward while Tae-gyu took his place in the back. Unbeknownst to him, Yoon-ho was close by, yet Jong-in chose to concentrate on his reflection, his steps, and the song. Then, he began to walk backward while swaying his arms across his chest as strong as the beat; Yoon-ho moved to his front until he had taken his previous place. Unfortunately, they bumped into each other and Jong-in lost his balance.

The next thing he knew, he saw an outstretched hand and Jong-in's incoming fall was stopped. Yoon-ho held onto the collar of his shirt.

Their eyes met. Then, Yoon-ho asked. "Are you okay?"

Jong-in was about to reply when—

*fwip!*

His back met the floor. If that couldn't get any worse. . .

Jong-in earned a hole on his shirt. The other piece of the fabric, however, was in Yoon-ho's hand.

"You idiot! You could've just let me fall instead!" Jong-in hissed.

"Well, in my defense— you could've moved back quickly." Yoon-ho shrugged. "At least I attempted to save your ass."

"Ass your face!"

Jin-woo groaned. "Can't we get back to practice already? Save the arguments for later. Jin-chul needs this to be done in four days."

"Four days?!" Tae-gyu's jaw dropped.

Jin-woo scoffed. "I tried convincing him to adjust, but then he hit me up with 'do you think my reports can be adjusted too? No'."

"Oh kill me now," Tae-gyu grumbled.

The members continued practicing, with Jong-in having to dance with a portion of his chest exposed. Apparently, none of them were able to keep a straight face and focus because they were trying, and failing, to hold back their chortle.

Tae-gyu was the first one to break apart from the practice and had collapsed on the floor, laughing on top of his lungs. Jin-woo wheezed. Byung-gyu was holding his stomach from all the laughing. Yoon-ho was the last to burst out as well.

Jong-in didn't know which person he'd murder first.

The obvious choice would be Yoon-ho, but given how physically strong he was, Jong-in would likely have no match against him. If anything, Yoon-ho would end up mocking him to his very core.

Third—

"Baek Yoon-ho! Look over here!"

"So hot!!"

"Your rapping sounds so amazing!"

"Yoon-ho! Marry me!"

. . . Yoon-ho always outshone him.

Being one of the two main rappers, Jong-in felt like he had to fight to get the crowd focus on him. Sure, he had a lot of fans, but it annoyed him how the audience often cheered for Yoon-ho, screaming his name more than his. It was supposed to be the both of them since they performed in sync most of the time.

Jong-in was not jealous. He just wanted things to be fair between them.

Apparently, the fans seemed to be more attracted to Yoon-ho, whose skin was exposed most of the time because the designers had agreed to make his costume a bit different from the rest.

"How about you switch Yoon-ho's verses with mine?"

"Yoon-ho can't do high notes, Jong-in. It won't work."

"Okay, how about this one?"

"If we do that, Yoon-ho wouldn't have anything to rap in the chorus."

"Who cares? He still have other verses to sing."

Byung-gyu groaned. "Trust me, Jong-in. This is the final draft. Our manager will be needing us to record it ASAP."

"Damn it," Jong-in grumbled. "Fine. Let's have it your way then."

"Thank God!" Byung-gyu sighed in relief. "But don't worry! You two are going to have a duet next month and both of you are gonna have equal parts!"

"How's that supposed not to make me worry?!"

A duet? That was even worse. Jong-in didn't know whose idea was it, either Byung-gyu or Jin-chul, but either way, he hated that those two had joined hands and who knew what else they got in store for him and Yoon-ho.

Later on, Jong-in found himself at the grocery store with Yoon-ho. Tae-gyu was out to practice archery, Jin-woo was too busy playing games, and Byung-gyu was talking with the recording team on how will the song would go, so no one else was left with restocking. He and Yoon-ho wore their masks and luckily, they weren't recognized yet.

The list turned out to be longer than he thought, considering that the rest had wanted a specific product and had no time to buy. Jong-in was about to rebuke when they handed him money. At least he wouldn't have to spend more of his budget. . .

They got to the counter afterward, which was then they got recognized. The cashier's lifeless expression lit up and jumped at the sight of the two ARISE members doing grocery. Jong-in put up a kind smile behind his mask and dipped his head in greeting. The cashier began to ramble incoherently as she tapped the barcodes of the products, he and Yoon-ho just chuckled even though they couldn't understand her words.

Once all of the purchased products were inside of the bags, Jong-in grabbed two of them and left the remaining bags for Yoon-ho to carry. Then, the cashier spoke;

"Can I take a picture?"

Jong-in quickly shook his head. "I'm sorry, but—"

"Sure!" Yoon-ho said.

"Wha—" Jong-in flashed him a sharp look. "Yoon-ho, aren't we supposed to go back? We got some things to do."

Yoon-ho scoffed. "A simple picture won't hurt, fire hazard. If you don't want to, then fine."

Jong-in was about to protest, yet closed his mouth and sighed and walked over to join the picture session. Yoon-ho pulled down his mask to present his broad grin. Jong-in, on the other hand, just held up his peace sign while the cashier brought her phone for the three of them. She snapped a phone and giggled at the shot.

"Thank you very much!" The cashier said. "You guys light up my day."

"I'm glad." Yoon-ho smiled.

"I hope you have a nice day, miss!" Jong-in said to the cashier. He turned to his companion. "You. Get these bags already."

"Easy! Sheesh." Yoon-ho rolled his eyes and glanced at the woman. "He's the crankiest member in ARISE, so don't mind him. There is the reason why we often associate him with fire."

"Let's go, furball!"

Jong-in got out of the store and headed to the black car that was parked in the empty lot next to the establishment. He pulled the backseat door open to place the two plastic bags inside. Jong-in closed the door, yet paused midway when he noticed that nobody was following him.

Where did that idiot go?

He walked away to search for Yoon-ho. He found him at the grocery store still. However, Yoon-ho had been caught up on the fans asking him for photos and having a small chat with him. Jong-in couldn't believe it. Yoon-ho chose the incongruous time to meddle with fans instead of fulfilling his errands.

Not wanting to ruin both of their reputations, Jong-in just stood with fury in his soul. He would stay like that until Yoon-ho was done and met his gaze where the whole message was already in his eyes.

Fourth.

Not once Jong-in wanted to be near a sleeping Yoon-ho. Never.

When the whole band decided to sleep in the same room, it was not as good as they all thought. It was worse. That was the moment Jong-in learned that Yoon-ho snored like a truck.

He was not the only one suffering though. Tae-gyu was also enduring the noises and Byung-gyu had to pull his blanket away from Jin-woo, who had stolen it while asleep. Jin-woo snored too, but not as loud as Yoon-ho, and if anything, Jong-in got Jin-woo's foot near his cheek while Tae-gyu and Byung-gyu had his leg sprawled across their chests.

Jong-in considered himself as the unluckiest. He was literally laying next to Yoon-ho, of all people.

Since then, there were no longer sleepovers.

But that didn't mean Jong-in would have to no longer hear those awful snores. After a long day at the events, when the whole band was tired, Jong-in leaned further on his seat and plugged in his earphones to his ears to listen to some music. He leaned his head against the window and waited for drowsiness to close his eyes.

And there hadn't been past three minutes when he heard a rumbling noise.

Jong-in increased the volume to block it, but even if it was in its full limit, he could still hear the snores from the back. Yoon-ho was sitting right behind him. On the other hand, the rest were already asleep, at least from Jong-in's perspective. So, he plucked his earphones out and stood up from his seat to make his way over to Yoon-ho.

At first, he placed his right hand on his hip, glaring at him in disapproval. Then he spoke. "Hey! Wake up, you furball!"

Yoon-ho's eyelids cracked open. He stared at the red-haired bluntly. "What now?"

"Easy with the snoring, would you? I'm trying to sleep!"

"Then put on some earphones or something. Don't disturb someone's sleep."

"You're the one who's being a nuisance here."

"Get used to it already."

"Shut up!"

"Oi!" Jin-chul snapped from the front of the van. "Keep it down!"

"I'm just trying to scold Yoon-ho from snoring too much, Mr. Woo," said Jong-in to the band's manager. "Aren't you getting bothered by it?"

"I get bothered by your arguments more, Jong-in."

Jong-in groaned and returns to his seat. He plops down and glances at the window. Sooner or later, Yoon-ho would snore again and there was no way for him to get some shut-eye now.

Fifth.

"Faster! Faster, Byung-gyu! Is that how you run?!"

"I'm at my limit, hyung! I can't handle running at this maximum speed!"

"Don't touch the handles! That's cheating!"

"Gah!"

"Just think that you're running for your life!"

"Running for my life for nothing!"

Jong-in swallowed upon watching Yoon-ho trying to "encourage" Byung-gyu, who was beginning to become exhausted at the treadmill which was at 13.7 speed. Meanwhile, Tae-gyu was busy with pulling the bar in the wall mount and Jin-woo was hauling the barbell gradually in each hand. Jong-in was just sitting on the bench with everyone's bags.

"Hey, Jong-in! Are you just gonna stay there?"

He turned to Tae-gyu. "Uh. . . Yeah. I'm just keeping your bags safe."

"Dude, we're the only ones here. I don't think a ghost will steal them either."

"Coco might mess with these bags."

"Uhm, Coco is over there."

The dog was at the corner, happily chewing on the toys Byung-gyu had brought along since Jin-chul was not available to watch over the canine.

Urgh. . .

"Come on! Here, try this one." Tae-gyu got up from the equipment and gestured to the now empty spot. "All you have to do is pull!"

"You're saying like it's easy," Jong-in grumbled as he reluctantly got up from the bench.

He sat on Tae-gyu's previous spot and reached his hands up to the leather bar. Jong-in curled his fingers around it and pursed his lips in concentration. He started to tug down the bar, which exerted a portion of his strength as he held his breath. His biceps twitched. Unlike Tae-gyu, who managed to pull down in front of his chest, Jong-in barely reached his shoulders and was already panting.

"This. . . " His chest heaved. "I can't take it anymore!"

"It's been barely a minute since you sat there." Tae-gyu deadpanned.

"How do you even pull these things?!"

"Maybe those are not your type. Try lifting these ones instead." Jin-woo offered a barbell to Jong-in. "It's not as heavy as you think."

Jong-in wrinkled his nose. "Pass. That single barbell is heavier than a bag of ice."

"You haven't even carried a bag of ice."

"I did. Using my imagination."

"What's going on here?" Yoon-ho stepped into the scene. "I gave Byung-gyu a break after listening to his complaints."

"Is he still alive?"

"Still breathing."

"Welp! I have to go and check on Byung-gyu!" Jong-in let go of the bar and left the spot.

He was about to walk past Yoon-ho when a broad hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. His stomach twisted. Jong-in looked at the corner of his eye and saw the mischievous glint in Yoon-ho's irises.

"Are you trying to workout?" He asked.

"Uh. . . No." Jong-in answered. "Tae-gyu just forced me to."

"It seems like you need a bit of help."

"Haha— no!"

"Come on, you wouldn't know completely unless you try! You're the only one here who hasn't broken a sweat yet."

"Gross."

"Oh, wow! Get off your high horse and let me help you enhance those muscles up!" Yoon-ho threw his arms over Jong-in's shoulders. Jong-in fought against his grip, yet made no escape.

"Get your hands off me, you fool! Urgh, I can smell your armpits!" Jong-in protested.

Yoon-ho rolled his eyes. "Quit being dramatic. Try doing twenty push-ups and then I'll leave you alone."

"Twenty?! If I die, I'm gonna—"

"Kill me? Haunt me in my sleep? Yeah, I memorized every damn threat of yours, Choi."

As Jong-in was proceeded to be dragged, he looked pleadingly at Tae-gyu and Jin-woo, who both just snickered at him. Byung-gyu, however, was too exhausted to bat an eye on a friend who was about to suffer under Yoon-ho's intense training session.

When Yoon-ho wanted everyone to be in healthy shapes, Jong-in just wished he'd exclude him. He had been slender figured since he was a young boy. It was not his fault that he could never get buffed as Yoon-ho.

He wondered what sin he had committed to suffer from working out. . .

Other times, Jong-in hated Yoon-ho. But other times, Jong-in actually liked Yoon-ho's company. Were they enemies? No. Were they rivals? Kinda. Were they friends? A little.

They were frenemies.

Even the fans knew it. They found Yoon-ho and Jong-in's onscreen bickering entertaining even though it made the rest of the members to endure the situation, including Jin-chul, who had been watching behind the stage. And sometimes, Jong-in and Yoon-ho openly expressed how they were supportive of each other as much as the whole band was to one another.

Even if Jong-in wouldn't want to admit it completely, he was glad that Yoon-ho was around. Yoon-ho always encouraged everyone to stay in shape and was willing to help for someone in need, especially when his strength was needed. Besides Jin-woo, Yoon-ho was the one who could cook for the whole band, given how the rest were not as skilled as him and Jin-woo.

Byung-gyu could only make food when it was ramen, Tae-gyu only knew how to reheat leftovers, and heavens help Jong-in when touching the stove. Yoon-ho had mocked him for his lack of cooking skills because he was raised in a rich family, Jong-in yelled back at him even though it was partially true.

With a father who was the CEO of a bank company and a mother being a co-owner of a publishing house, Jong-in was definitely born with a silver spoon. He had nannies growing up who could make him any dish he wanted. And back when he was living at the hotel, Jong-in would just order room service and sandwiches were few of the food he could make, which didn't involve switching the stove on.

Yoon-ho, on the other hand, was the exact opposite and had been living in his apartment with no roommate and his family being in the United States, so he had to rely on himself in terms of necessities. He knew how to do his own laundry, wash the dishes, fix appliances, and make food for himself.

Jong-in envied him. Jong-in admired him.

Yoon-ho's omelettes were probably his favorite. Jong-in couldn't get enough of the taste and the juiciness when Yoon-ho had added ground beef on the inside. Yoon-ho was usually in charge of breakfast since Jin-woo always woke up an hour after him if there was no agenda for the day.

"Oh! What's that smell?" Tae-gyu said. He stretched his arms above his head and craned his neck sideways. "Is Yoon-ho cooking?"

"Who else?" Byung-gyu yawned. "Hey, hyung! What's for breakfast?"

"Why don't you fools see it for yourselves?" Yoon-ho replied. His back was turned since he was still busy with cooking whatever was in the pan.

On the table was four plates containing an omelette over a rice and the condiments stood in the center for anyone who wished to add on their omelette. Tae-gyu, Jin-woo, Byung-gyu, and Jong-in made their way to the stools to grab their plates; however, there were no other utensils for them.

Tae-gyu turned to the youngest member. "Jin-woo, mind if you grab us chopsticks? And glasses too."

"Why me?" Jin-woo flashed him a glare. "You do it."

"You're the one who's sitting in the corner of the counter here."

Jin-woo groaned and got down from the stool to go to the drawers and took four pairs of steel chopsticks to hand them each to the rest.

"Ahem!" Tae-gyu feigned clearing his throat, then grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Didn't I say glasses too?"

Jin-woo's glare deepened and grumbled something as he turned around to the cupboards.

Jong-in got his chopsticks into the right position in his fingers and was about to dig in when his omelette was taken away by none other than Yoon-ho. His eyebrows furrowed and shot him a sharp look. "Why did you just—"

"This one has onions. You don't like onions, right?" Yoon-ho said. "I made one that doesn't have those and replaced it with chopped lettuce instead."

"Oh," Jong-in's infuriation subsided. "Thanks."

Yoon-ho switched their plates and handed Jong-in the right one, which turned out to be the only omelette in the table to have a different ingredient. Jong-in finally started eating his breakfast, tearing the omelette apart and mixing it with the yellow rice. He brought it to his mouth and his stomach almost growled in satisfaction.

Even though he hardly mentioned the food he disliked, Yoon-ho still remembered just like other details in their band.

There was a reason why the rest preferred him to buy groceries. Yoon-ho knew what his friends wanted and would just ask for their money instead of a list. He was quick to memorize the smallest details even if dance steps were not included in his mind.

"Roll call. Tae-gyu?"

"Here!"

"Byung-gyu?"

"Here, Mr. Woo!"

"Jin-woo?"

"Yes!"

"Jong-in?"

"Here."

"And. . . Yoon-ho?" Jin-chul looked up from the paper he was holding. "Is he here?"

The four looked around and realized Yoon-ho was not in the studio yet. Jin-chul sighed. "Did someone remind him that there's an interview today?"

"I did. But I guess he just got stuck in traffic." Byung-gyu shrugged. "He didn't use a motorcycle this time."

"Then can somebody please—"

"I'm here, Manager Woo!" Yoon-ho finally appeared in the scene. He was in his suit just like the rest, but then he was holding a plastic bag in his hand. "Sorry to keep you all waiting. I was in the parking lot when I saw a juice stand next to the entrance and thought I should buy one for each of you all."

"How thoughtful," Jin-chul remarked. He checked his watch. "Well, since it's only 1:30 and the show is starting by 1:35, you guys should get refreshed."

"Catch!"

Jin-chul looked up and caught a can of juice in his hand. It was cold and had a lemon flavor. He turned to Yoon-ho. "Uh— thank you, Yoon-ho."

"Bet you thought I hadn't bought one for ya?" Yoon-ho smirked. "You're welcome, manager!"

Jin-chul shook his head and opened his drink. The rest got their own, preferably their favorite flavors. Jong-in received his in a tangerine flavor. He let out a smile at that, Yoon-ho must've noticed his expression and just grinned and chattered with Byung-gyu.

Among the five of them, Yoon-ho was the most thoughtful. Even when he was out, if something reminded him of his band members, he would get it and included his manager if Jin-chul was around.

Jong-in liked that about him.

Unselfish and down-to-earth. Yoon-ho never took his fame at heart.

#first fic of the sl boyband au!#i decided to finish this one first since i already knew the start and finish #the next one is probably jinhae or minlee #solo leveling #solo leveling boyband au: arise #choi jong in #baek yoon ho #choibaek #sl fics by rei

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