#chip recap 2023
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Hello! Wellcome to my sort of 2023 recap!
ID in ALT text
shockingly i drew more zukos then sokkas this year.... which is weird to me personally? although... i did have a sudden 'i have no clue how to draw zuko?!?!?" moment this year.
oh also..uh... i was wondering if i drew egnouth faces to make them 'turn around' and well...
kind of?
#atla#chip recap 2023#zuko#sokka#jet#aang#yue#bato#hakoda#katara#kya#iroh#izumi#chit sang#still wild i drew more zuko then sokka...#well i am not counting the conzept doodles...#the turn arounds are silly hahah
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my art summary for this year!! My artstyle has improved so much over the past year and this image only makes that fact clearer lol
also I find it funny how half the drawings in the second half of the year are candie (I can’t help it she is my silly girl :3), and that you can also clearly see when my friends got me into phighting
original template can be found here!!
#art summary#art summary 2023#art recap#eyestrain#tw eyestrain#cw eyestrain#eyestrain tw#eyestrain cw#<- since some of the drawings here had eyestrain tws on their original posts#rubys art#I am NOT tagging that many fandoms#but I am tagging all of the ocs. fuck you#oc: lovely chip cookie#oc: 3gssweep#oc: candie#oc: honi#oc: sundae#yeah. :3
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she looks like fun || theodore nott x fem!reader
synopsis: new years eve party, based on she looks like fun by arctic monkey. part 2 to she's thunderstorms :)
ela’s note: ignore the fact that it takes place on new years eve and we are half way into january LMAOOO. i wanted to use this song cause it was fitting and my friend suggested it :c
warnings: use of y/n, mentions of smoking, oblivious friends to lovers, cursing, mentions of drinking/alcohol, kissing, confessing, kinda cringe? lazy ending (again), mentions of parties, bad attempt at writing british people.
word count: 1.5k
・��・
7 months, 30 weeks, 212 days, and a couple hours and a few seconds was how long ago you and theo met.
"aye, mate! ready for the party?" mattheo walked out of the bathroom, towel hanging low on his hips while steam flowed out of the shower.
you were throwing a new years eve party for the students at hogwarts who didn't go back home. mattheo and theo were getting ready.
theo's friends had long known about his new liking towards you, if you could call it that.
after the party in may, the two of you became close friends, finding time to study together, hang out, do projects in classes, and more. because of your guys' new memories and stories, he found himself falling for you even more day after day.
"course i am." theo said, scrolling mindlessly on instagram. your 2023 recap post came up on his feed. first, it was a picture of a sunrise, then one of a cheeseburger you had in italy or some other romantic-looking place. swiping more, he saw pictures of you and your friends, your achievements of that year, you with animals, and finally you snowboarding.
he even made the cut with a secretly taken picture of him staring at a thunderstorm with a blunt in his hand from the night you two met.
mattheo quickly got dressed and polished himself up before the two boys walked to the gryffindor common room.
the party hadn't started yet, but theo and a few other slytherin boys were helping you set up final details.
"hey guys!" you greeted mattheo and theo.
enzo was already helping, and draco and blaise went home to their families so it was just the three for now.
theo felt weak in the knees when he saw you. you were all glammed up for the new year, with your hair done nice and a silky emerald green dress to match the color of 2024.
you wore shoes that were much more elegant than the ones you usually wear, but they were still comfortable to dance and be in.
"you look stunning." theo said without much thought, simply just admiring you.
"thank you." you blushed, face heating up under his gaze. what theo didn't know was how you felt the same.
the times he glanced at you from across the room, the times he laughed at all your bad and funny jokes, the times he did little things for you like holding the door open, all those times did not go unnoticed.
he loved you, and the feeling was mutual.
"what can we help with?" mattheo smiled after a few beats of you and theo smiling each other.
"you can help lorenzo, i asked him to put out the snacks and drinks." you pointed to the other boy, who was putting his heart and soul into a cracker and cheese charcuterie board. mattheo went to him, and began pouring different chips into different bowls.
"and you," you focused your attention back to theo, "you can help me put up streamers."
theo smiled and followed you to the staircase, where golden streamers were put up half-way.
"i'll give you 20 galleons if y/l/n and nott get together tonight," enzo grinned at mattheo.
"i doubt it, they're both too shy to actually tell each other about their feelings." mattheo shook his head. "you know i'm always up for a bet though."
everyone saw it. the professors, your friends, even the paintings and ghosts of hogwarts. they all saw the way you and theo looked at each other, the way you two are always together. they've heard both of you talking about one another like you were desperately in love.
they also knew how oblivious the two of you were. how one of you could yell "i love you," in the other's face and brush it off like nothing.
the 4 of you finished the setup at 8:32, the perfect time as the party started at 9. people already started piling in and chatting with each other.
at 11 pm, you poured yourself a tropical drink, and you got onto the dance floor quickly with your friends and a smile on your face.
30 minutes later, theo was alone, watching you subtly from afar. mattheo was finding a girl to kiss for the new year, and enzo was with his girlfriend he met at the party in may, which actually turned out to be one of your best friends. the italian was debating whether or not to go for a smoke break again.
he decided why not, and went to a hallway empty enough. he cracked open the window and sat on the floor.
he pulled out his only blunt and lighter, but before he could even spark the steel box, your voice interrupted yet again.
"you have to stop running from my parties to smoke some weed," you smiled and set your drink on the windowsill before taking a seat in from of theo.
"and you have to stop showing up to my smoke breaks unexpectedly." he scoffed lightheartedly before putting the lighter and blunt next to your drink.
"but you love it when i do that." you frowned jokingly. "do you have another one?"
"no," he sighed, "i should stop smoking so much this new year." he said.
"maybe." you shrugged. "are you having fun?" you questioned, tracing shapes on your knee.
"i always have fun at your parties," he said, "you're lots of fun."
"i'm flattered." you smiled, "did mattheo and enzo ditch you?" you questioned. you saw enzo and mattheo inside, so you could only jump to conclusions.
"not necessarily ditched." he said, "riddle is flirting around and berkshire is with his girlfriend."
"they're cute!" you said, "they're almost at 6 months, right?"
"i think so," theo shrugged. "they're really a good match."
"i wish i had a match like that." you said, "they're so great together, they have each other's humor, they're both loyal and secure, they let each other live their own lives and be independent, they're fun to be around, just like the perfect couple."
theo bit his tongue. he couldn't tell you, he couldn't have you knowing how he felt.
you couldn't know about how you made his day. you couldn't know how your smile or gaze alone made his heart flutter. you couldn't know about how he loved your guys' cloudy day hang outs. you couldn't know how he thought about you every waking second. hell, even when he slept, he dreamt of you. you couldn't know about how he loved sharing every whimsical thought that entered his mind with you. you couldn't know about how much fun he had with you, talking shit about people who did you two dirty and being dickheads. you couldn't know.
"i think we'd be a perfect couple."
shit.
"what?" you were taken aback in the best way possible.
"i meant-" he tried explaining, but just like a cheesy romcom, your best friend, enzo's girlfriend ran outside for you.
"it's agora hills!" she said, taking your hand and pulling you into the room.
theo was speechless, it happened so quick, and your reaction was not promising whatsoever.
he almost started panicking, but he had to clear the air. the secret was out, and even though it might end the friendship, you had to know.
he entered the common room, searching for you in the crowded room. he saw mattheo with some slytherin girl, and enzo was talking to some guys in ravenclaw.
he ignored them and kept looking for you.
the same way he's looked for you his whole life.
agora hills stopped and a minute timer came on, people started cheering and it was evident. 1 minute until the new year.
he finally found you after you emerged from the crowd, you were so happy he was tall enough for you to easily scout him out.
"y/n, let me explain." theo pleaded.
"no need, theo." you smiled.
"30 seconds!" someone said in the crowd.
"i've liked you for so long. since you approached me in may, i was interested in you. i've been falling for you everyday since then. these past 7 months were so fun, and i know it'll fuck our friendship up, but i can't miss this opportunity." he yapped, rushing.
20 seconds.
you smiled, your heart becoming warm after he confessed after nearly half a year of waiting. "theo, i like you too." you said.
"10!"
theo blinked at you, not processing the information.
"9!"
"can i kiss you?" you asked.
"8!"
"what?" he asked back, caught so off guard since he was fully ready to be rejected.
"7!"
"can i kiss you, idiot!?" you smiled again, knowing he thought he was dreaming.
"6!"
the question you asked finally registered in his brain.
"5!"
"..are you sure?" he questioned.
"4!"
"yes, im sure, theo!" your grin grew wider.
"3!"
he smiled from ear to ear, heart fluttering when he realized this was real. you felt the same way.
"2!"
you both leaned in, eager to make you two official.
"1! happy new year!"
and you two kissed. sparks flew and it could be compared to magic.
the two of you pulled away after a few moments, and smiled.
"woah."
・❥・
reblogs, likes, and replies are ALWAYS appreciated <3
dni if you support pro-life, racism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, sexism or anything along those lines!
#theodore nott x fem!reader#theodore nott x y/n#theodore nott x you#theo nott x reader#theodore nott x reader#theodore nott imagine#theodore nott#theo nott x y/n#theo nott x fem!reader#theo nott x you#slytherin boys x fem!reader#slytherin boys x you#slytherin boys x reader#slytherin boys#theo nott
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Recap- morning of day 6 12/10/2023 correct as 10:00
official numbers
Israel
1300 dead
3300 injured
100-200 held by various groups. Hamas claims for a 100, the Jihad claims for 30
340000 displaced Israelis
Gaza
1200 dead
5700 injured
190000 displaced (Amnesty)
1500 dead Hamas operatives (according to the IDF this is the body count that was found withing Israeli borders)
Major events and important facts
several hundreds of tons of explosive have been dropped on Gaza- there is no official new number, but from my calculation, over 2000 targets were hit. There is nonstop bombing of Gaza. Anyone in the command chain of Hamas is targeted
Israeli authorities have publicly told Gazians to flee to Egypt for their safety. there are reports that Hamas is ordering citizens to stay around places that are known to be marked to be bombed. Egypt shown displeasure with the idea that they will have to take the fleeing Gazians in, and told Israel off for telling the Gazians to flee to Egypt. The Rafah Border Crossing is being opened and closed periodically due to Egypt and Israeli actions.
Gazians are struggling to get people out of the rubble- therefore numbers are probably bigger.
still no official number of captured Hamas operatives.
Estimations of missing people due to the Saturday attacks are around 250.
Israeli counts (including kidnapped) include foreign citizens and Palestinians that are Israeli residence/citizens. unknown at the moment about foreign casualties inside of Gaza. there are foreign citizens in Gaza.
Israel shut both electricity and water to Gaza, Egypt is being talked with in order to arrange humanitarian aid. There are talks of airdropped supplies. The UN took a stand against the siege and are pressuring Israel to tone down the attacks and allow humanitarian aid.
Hamas reported that at least 4 prisoners were killed as a result of the bombing- I don’t have confirmation of more.
Hamas issued Monday night a warning that if Israel will not stop attacking, they will start killing captives- no new information in the matter. Hamas posted a video where they claim to have released an Israeli woman and her 2 children. I am working to verify it.
Northen Israel situation is messy. The Jihad and Hezbollah on one side and the IDF on the other are attacking each other with gunfire and missile fire were exchanged. A missile launcher that was directed toward Israel was found and dismantled by Lebanon’s army. Yesterday there were warnings of a few unmanned drones that crossed the border into Israel. There are definite tension there.
Syria is apparently trying to stay out of it.
there are still regular attempts to enter Israel by Hamas operatives, most are killed immediately. Unconfirmed reports from social media claim that Gazians that try to flee are presumed as Hamas operatives and are shot. No official confirmation by any side.
The west bank is getting more and more tense. Settlers are using the opportunity to attack Palestinian civilians; Hamas supporters are encouraging Palestinian youth to preform attacks; there confrontations between the IDF and Palestinians in the Palestinian and mixed cities.
In the past Few days Israeli and Palestinian groups have been arranging a community peacekeeping groups to help protect each other from extremists.
Yesterday evening Israel has declared a unified war cabinet with several opposition members. Israeli coalition members were met with anger and disdain by the Israeli public, blaming them for the situation.
Ben Gvir tries to incite a civil war.
The hostages are treated as bargaining chips by both sides.
#israel#palestine#ישראל#iron swords#al aqsa storm#donate#gaza#Hamas#Islamic Jihad#i/p#the israeli palestinian conflict#hezbollah#12/10/2023
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Eggtober Recap and Masterpost 2023
Untitled Egg Poem
Egg Yolk
Splattered in a chipped bowl,
Limitless potential
Broken like the dawn.
Scared of wasted sunrise,
Scared of loving white lies,
Yearning,
Wanting to breathe free.
Prison within a prison,
Living without living,
I am spinning, toiling, burning,
Breaking, sifting, praying, learning,
Nothing blooming
Nothing growing
Tears.
Crackling insanity,
A song that boils within me
A rhythm
Setting me in stone.
And I'll claw in
Like dandelions,
Vines, like yeast and mold
I'll make a mark one day, you'll see.
Rooted, I'll grow my thorns,
It's not my fault for being born,
Sorry if
My laughter is too loud.
I'll make a reverie
of mechanical monotony
No more apologies
Just me.
Insects and wriggling larvae,
Eggshell like lead paint chips,
Star dust doesn't choose its shape.
Pigment from wilted roses,
blood spilled by mistake,
I refuse to ever break.
Not again.
Eggtober is over. We did it~
The poem doesn't really speak to a current state of mind. Just a pattern of maladaptive thinking I grew up having, being the weird kid. People like the rough edges a lot more when you grow up, I've found. Makes you interesting. Or maybe it's just easier to find your people when you're unapologetically strange online. And I like that Eggtober sort of embraces that. It's not a super serious Inktober challenge. Just a bunch of weird people drawing weird eggs. And I mean that in the best way.
People expect there to be a "why" a lot. "Why eggs?" And sometimes there is a why. Sometimes I draw eggs to express something or to symbolize something. But sometimes there is no why. Sometimes it's just because an egg is easy or fun or comfortable. Sometimes an egg just feels right. Sometimes it's just to make something. Doesn't have to be poetic or meaningful. Sometimes you just draw an egg, and that's all it is.
And I think a lot of discomfort around art is that everyone expects there to be a why, and if you don't have a why, then your art doesn't deserve to be seen. "Why do you like gorey stuff, kinky stuff, weird stuff? If you can't explain, I'm choosing to believe you're a freak and should be disallowed from creating." And I'm lucky, I think, to not be that popular. I don't get asked these sorts of things. But I see it happen to other people. And sometimes I get it. An answer to the why pacifies. I get uneasy with horror the same as everyone and I pacify it by reading the wiki and learning the secrets and understanding the why. But I think we need to get more comfy making up our own why, or get comfy with the knowledge that sometimes there isn't a why. Sometimes the little brain goblin decides there is no why. They just like the weird little eggs. And that's okay. And I think the reason we make up for other peoples' "why" should maybe stop being "because they're a weird little freak that likes degenerate things." Because yeah, maybe they are. But it's not a bad thing. And the world is a lot more interesting when we accept that we don't always know the why. And the why isn't always as simple as that.
I dunno. I'm rambling a bit. But I'm grateful to everyone that showed up and participated and shared and liked and just... enjoyed existing where the thing happening was lots of eggs and the "why" was just "why not?"
Hoping every one of you has a nice glass of your preferred warm beverage and stays nice and toasty for the rest of the year. (Shout out to the southern hemisphere folks if there are any. May you guys have an iced beverage of your choice and stay nice and cool for the rest of the year.)
Lots of thoughts about Eggtober 2023 and no good way to articulate them, but suffice it to say that having a loose amount of structure like this is very good on my garbage ADHD brain.
If anything in the collage catches your fancy, here's the posts in order from the top left to the bottom right. May the rest of 2023 be sweet. I can't wait to see everyone again next year! And don't eat too much Halloween Candy at once, even if it is those yummy gummy fried egg candies.
Eggtober 2023 Posts in Order:
(Unfortunately I didn't learn about the speedpaint feature until day 6 😢)
Eggtober 1st: Fried Egg on Green
Eggtober 2nd: Lemon Fried Egg (Both Versions)
Eggtober 3rd: Fried Egg Cake
Eggtober 4th: Poached Eggs and Asparagus Hollandaise
Eggtober 5th: Sheet Pan Fried Eggs
Eggtober 6th: Raw Egg (Both Versions)
Eggtober 7th: Painted Egg
Eggtober 8th: Rice Crispy Eggs
Eggtober 9th: Chocolate Souffle
Eggtober 10th: Hot and Sour Soup
Eggtober 11th: Flan
Eggtober 12th: Fried Eggs and Bacon
Eggtober 13th: Ramen Eggs
Eggtober 14th: Tiger Skin Egg
Eggtober 15th: Fried Egg with Berries
Eggtober 16th: Cheesy Baked Cream Eggs
Eggtober 17th: Mushroom Quiche
Eggtober 18th: Cipriani Cake
Eggtober 19th: Pavlova with Strawberry Jam
Eggtober 20th: Deviled Egg
Eggtober 21st: Hard-boiled Egg and Mayo
Eggtober 22nd: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese
Eggtober 23rd: Omurice
Eggtober 24th: Shrimp Fried Rice
Eggtober 25th: Uovo in Raviolo
Eggtober 26th: Image of Fried Egg on Jack-o-lantern.
Eggtober 27th: Tea Egg
Eggtober Eggtober 28th: Monster Eggs
Eggtober 29th: Korean Egg Bread
Eggtober 30th: Fried Egg on Magenta in the Stlye of @quezify
Eggtober 31st: Fried Egg on Burger
Eggtober 31st Bonus: Egg Creature from SNOBBISM
Special thanks to my bae, @actualaster for the love and support, @hannikka for the encouraging words, @lady-quen for the ongoing collab, and @quezify for being the best host. Love you all! I am putting the King Sized Reese's and KitKat candy bars in your metaphorical Halloween bags.
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2023 recap:
TERV PUPPY 2K2SOMETHING ACQUIRED!
Kermit's Field Champion (AKC) title acquired!
Kermit's Novice Containers (UKC and AKC), and Novice Interior and Exterior (AKC) acquired!
Kermit's Certificate of Hunting - Rats (AWTA) acquired!
Kermit's health testing (Embark, OFA, INCOC, CERF) done.
Our ratting group was on TV, which was cool.
Lure opped for lure coursing and oval racing for the first time.
Went to the UKC Western Classic in Washington for the first time.
Struggled with my health for most of the year but I finally switched doctors and now we're getting to the bottom of it. Still waiting on some test results.
I handled three of my friend's dogs to Reserve Champion, Best Puppy in Show, and Best in Show at a UKC sighthound specialty. I'm very proud of that because it shows that I really leveled up my confo handling.
2023 was a rough year, but some positive things did happen. Kermit has really come into his own as a solidly dependable partner, and Zaku is probably the best puppy that I have personally handled.
My goals for 2024 include getting Kermit's Excellent nosework titles, maaaaaybe getting our NW1, ratting and rabbiting more of course, and I really want to go out coon hunting with my friend. For Zaku I want to chip away at his UKC CH, continue various sports foundations and manners reminders, and get him out on pack walks finally.
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August '23 SteveTony Fics Recap
Ayo, whassup YouTube. It's ya Boy. Cars to the O-N Ian. BACK at it again with the SteveTony fanfiction. You already KNOW what's about to go down. . .
But before that, here's a word from our sponsor ➡️
Word! Now, onto the fanfics, featuring our favourite blond/brunet duo. No, not that one. The OTHER one. Yeah, that one. Let's GOOOOOO ➡️
Your Mans wrote a total of SEX fanfics this month. Your Mans wrote a total of 36942 words. Haha 69.
That is pretty crazie! And telling of your Mans emotional state. Which is to say: get a life. And another hobby. Now BACK to the video.
Fanfics (in chronolgo chronsol ciacal chrongologic edit prev out @ editor chgrasonlogical order):
"I Can See Clearly Now The Blindfold's Gone" | 3,577 Words | M | 1 Aug
"Then, without further ado, I'd like to offer my sincere congratulations to the two of you for winning the all-expenses paid date."
"What?" Steve straightens.
"Pass." Tony says at the same moment.
(A.K.A. Modern, No Powers AU where Steve and Tony go on everyone's favourite internet shitshow, "The Button".)
For the prompt fill: blind date au
If I had to rate this fic I would SMASH THAT BUTTON !!!!!
"Just Wanna Feel Your Touch (When It's Cold)" | 1,339 words | M | 16 Aug
Steve's got a press conference to deal with but he's more worried about Tony's cold hands.
Stony Bingo 2023 Round 2: "Rescue Me"
If I had to rate this fic I would rate it!
"'Cause It's You and Me (and All of the People)" | 8,945 words | T | 19 Ugh
Steve and Tony discover that they're soulmates in their senior year of high school. As they wrestle with this realisation and try to build out a genuine relationship in the backdrop of high school nonsense and college admissions stress, they're met with a ridiculous number of hurdles in the form of every friend in their circle recruiting them as "fake dates".
(A.K.A. the high school soulmates AU where they keep getting pulled into fake dating schemes for other people, told in a chatlog / texting format)
Stony Bingo 2023 Round 2: "WTF"
Just a day ago I had to go back and fix some GIFs that had disappeared. So if I had to rate this fic I wouldn't.
"We Just Keep Going" | 1,829 words | M | 23 Aug
A coda to "Here I Am & Here You Are" where Steve and Tony go and visit the Chip 'n Dale duo in New Orleans.
(A.K.A. Established relationship, banter-y nonsense.)
The only fic that isn't trying to be a FOB lyric w/ the length of its title. So, this fic, if I had to rate it I would rate as oim just a nocch in yewr bedpowst. . . but yewr juust a loine in a sowng!!!!!!
"Must Admit I'm Out of Bright" | 2,606 words | T | 25 Aug
Steve's got a handful of bullets in his abdomen and Stark's looking at him all funny.
Stony Bingo 2023 Round 2: "Pain"
If I had to rate this fic I wouldn't but I would desecRATE it and if I had to desecrate it I would desecrate it w/
youtube
Are you still here? Yeah?! 😲😲 Please like, comment and subscribe! 🙏Make sure you hit that post notifications bell so that you can type "first" in the comments! 1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣
"The Remarkable People Initiative & The Zugzwang Dilemma" | Chapters 8 & 9 (aka the FINAL CHAPTERS. Yes this fic is DONE! FINALLY!)
Chapter 8: "Pawn to Queen, Promotion Forseen" | 5,594 words | E | 9 Aug
Chapter 9: "Rematch?" | 13,052 words (don't @ me I tried to plan this shit out and it did not WORK. planning is a SHAM. or maybe I am. either way. don't @ me!!!) | E | 31 Aug
Steve Rogers and Tony Stark first met as promising candidates of The Remarkable People Initiative when they were children.
Twenty-four years later, Tony shows up at Steve's doorstep.
(The Mysterious Benedict Society AU.)
If I had to rate this fic I would uhhh ok come on. Someone else make the bad joke this time. I can't carry this whole goddamn video.
& that's all we have for you today! Tune in next month to hear all about the myriad situations I put our favourite boiz in! There will be many situations and many ships. Perhaps even a situationship 👀 NO SPOILERS! This is, after all, an MCU ship 😜
Finally, due to mounting pressure from *reads smudged ink on hand* budgetary cuts & the economy, here's another word from our sponsor! ➡️
Word!
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8 YEARS
Last year, I wrote my first yearly recap after having been inspired by a tradition set by the wonderful @unioncolours each year. That recap contained an array of fics and thoughts and inspirations after the insane year for me that was 2022. It was a huge year for me in terms of many things. Shortly after my last recap, I got a master’s degree and officially became an engineer, something that honestly spurred on my creative drive. While studying for that degree, I had my coolest year of writing in a while: as you know from the last recap, if you read it, I wrote 9/10, Love Means Nothing (which, yes, will be finished in time, don’t worry), and most importantly, I wrote Strangers.
Most importantly, I say, because the entirety of 2023 would ultimately hinge upon what Strangers began. But that is something we’ll come to in time.
Be warned, this will be long, but if you'd like to read about my last year, please do keep reading below :)
Before we begin with the majority of this essay, I wanna give a shoutout to the lost soul of the year that is Traditions. It wasn’t long and it wasn’t hugely exciting, but it kickstarted this year in terms of fic posting, even if only on Tumblr, and it was a cute one. I always love a little challenge like those from a gift exchange, and it’s always nice to give a gift. I hope it was nice to read, too!
But, starting on the meaty stuff, I think it’s important that I address the two constants throughout the history of this blog. The first, which comes as no surprise to any, is ShikaTema: the most important ship to ever exist, to me, and the heart of some of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had throughout my fandom life. The second constant is a topic explored in a lot of Shikamaru-based content across the fandom and one that I will never tire of.
That second constant is chess.
The game of chess is something very special to me. The first day I met my partner, we played chess against one another for hours (and I lost - the only time he’s beaten me, actually). My best friend, who introduced us that day, gave me a rook keyring that I have kept on my house keys ever since, whether I’ve lived in my home town, another city, or now even in another country entirely. My favourite musical - one of the things I connect to my father best with - centres around chess, its politics, and its capacity for obsession. And probably the most important fic on this blog to date obviously takes its name from the game.
I have no doubt that most people who follow me, especially those of you here on Tumblr, discovered my writing as a result of Chess, either by reading it or maybe through the incredible art which that fic was lucky enough to receive. It was so special and personal to me to write, and while it’s certainly no longer my best work as an author, I’m still immensely proud and pleased with how it resonated with people. I think, so far, it is the most beloved thing I’ve written, at least to others.
But something that always bothered me about Chess was how little chess there actually was in it. Sure, there were a couple of scenes where chess was played, but there was more flower arranging and fish and chips than there was time sitting across a chessboard. It felt almost like a wasted opportunity to write about Shikamaru being a chess whizz and doing next to nothing with the skill. I couldn’t let the idea die. In many of my older stories — Tumblr-only stories — Shikamaru plays chess (or shogi) or inspires Shikadai or Temari to do the same. But nowadays, it feels like it has all been leading up to right now and to the monster that 2023 has birthed.
When I came to write Strangers in 2022, an idea came to me as just a little easter egg. That idea was that, in the Strangers universe, Temari’s husband would be a world-class chess player, and she, too, would have an equally worldwide job. It sort of naturally followed that Temari, too, could be a chess player; what she might lack in terms of natural strategic prowess, she more than makes up for in drive and ruthlessness, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about chess players in my life, it’s that they hate to lose. Temari 101, methinks. As I made my way through writing Strangers, that fact nipped at my brain tirelessly until, before I knew it, I had a 30k outline and, by association, a goal for what 2023 would be for me as a writer.
2023 would be the year of Grandmaster.
I’ve always been more of a character writer than a plot writer. I think perhaps that’s one of the reasons I’m drawn to writing AUs over canon works; to me, while writing, it’s more interesting to explore how an existing character would behave in a totally alien environment to their canon one, and Grandmaster is this year’s attempt at that.
I mention this because, while I call Grandmaster (GM) a ShikaTema fic, it is, first and foremost, a fic about Temari. Shikamaru is there — of course, he is — and he plays a crucial role in so many of the elements of her life within the story. But the story is unequivocally hers. We see what Temari sees, focus on what Temari focuses on, suffer through Temari’s delusions of her own self-importance, and feel the weight of the expectations put upon her. It’s an exploration of the weight of ambition that’s not necessarily your own, and it has gutted me to write more than Chess ever did.
I don’t have enough delusion of my own self-importance to yet write and publish an essay on this story, why I’ve written it, and how it feels to write it, but there are a few points that I have to voice in this yearly reflection because they’re so crucial to my last year as a writer and online.
You will hear me sing the praises of my friend Bex to the ends of the Earth. While we share a name, we have very different approaches to writing, and we often tell quite different stories, but she is truly responsible for inspiring me to write Temari-centric stories. 100%. If you are reading this and somehow haven't read what I truly consider to be the greatest ShikaTema fic of all time (no one cries for unknown soldiers), follow that link, read it right now, and then come back a changed individual. And you will be changed, I promise, because it changed me on an almost chemical level with its power. Everything you write, Bex, has that power, and it is extraordinary and frankly terrifying in the most incredible way.
I had already started GM by the time you began releasing When I am Gorgeous, but holy fuck, if that didn’t spur me on. The character growth and arcs in those stories are something to behold and something I strive for. With that in mind, the first point of this writing reflection is a thank you to Bex specifically, without whom I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun writing as I’ve had this last year, and I wouldn’t be sitting where I’m sitting as I write this. So thank you - a hundred times over and more. I am honoured to share a corner of the internet (and a name) with you, my ‘rival’. Thank you.
The second point is another thank you. This time to @clumsydragon28, who is again a dear friend and without whom GM wouldn’t be what it is. From support in DMs to insane and phenomenal essay-like analysis in comment sections, you are outrageously inspiring to em and others and there aren’t words for my gratitude for that. But, as you already know, there are elements of GM and what is to come after GM that exist only because of you and your own beautiful writing and stories. I will refrain from spoiling the joys of the latter chapters of Plié — another absolute must-read where the love and joy of an art form ooze from every word and captivate you with their wholesomeness and beauty — but it helped me find the missing piece at the end of GM that lets me tie it up with a bow, and ultimately set into motion the fic that will follow. I can’t thank you enough, truly, but thank you.
Having thanked those who frankly made it happen, I’ll get on with the writing-specific stuff. No spoilers, but it will be a little self-indulgent so bear with me.
I’ll start with something kind of trivial. GM is my first real time writing OCs in a fanfic as more than a passing reference. It doesn’t have many because I like to bring in canon characters where applicable. But sometimes that’s not viable, and I’m not about to force some character into a hole they don’t fit into because I hate when other people do that, so Danya and Mischa kind of had to happen. And I’ve had a really fun time writing them. It’s not uploaded yet, but there’s a chapter coming soon that’s quite focused around Mischa, and I think it’s some of my best writing in the whole story, and so GM has kind of gotten me over my fear of OCs. Nobody’s complained about their existence, and they’ve made the story more complete. A lesson learned, for sure.
Secondly, it’s no secret that I really like Rasa. Do I think he’s a wanker? Yes. Do I think hating him for what happened canonically is valid? Also, yes. Do I think that there’s nuance to his character that is often disregarded or forgotten? Absolutely. And, as a result of that, do I think he’s criminally underutilised in fics? Fuck yeah, I do.
So GM has a lot of Rasa. More than I initially intended when I began writing it, actually. He’s there pretty much all the time — if he’s not in the scene, he’s probably influencing what’s going on in it either directly or via years of impressionable behaviours. And it’s been really interesting to write that. Challenging, for sure, because I have to keep in line with all the relationships set out in Strangers and realistically make them come to a head where they do. And challenging in the sense that it doesn’t feel good to write some of the things that Rasa has to say in this story.
There have been a few times in my 8 years as a fanfic author where I’ve written something and actually felt violently emotional after having done so, but GM has given me a fair few of those moments, specifically as a result of Rasa. I won’t say which moments they are, partly because the expectation of how one is ‘supposed’ to feel consuming anything takes away the authenticity, I feel, but I wonder if when people read his dialogue in certain chapters — some already up, and some soon to come — they will feel the same as I did writing them. It’s an interesting thought I’ve never had the opportunity or time to really consider until GM, and one I am sure I will consider more going forward.
Speaking of Rasa and the link in relationships, I don’t know if I’ve even officially said in this recap that GM is the prequel to Strangers. I’ve never written a prequel before, but it’s a unique experience. It’s like working from the end to the beginning; it feels wrong and yet makes perfect sense. Keeping the sibling relationships in line with Strangers is really fun, honestly. Writing that fic, I had little opportunity to just write the three of them having fun or being loving in traditional ways, and I had zero opportunity to utilise Yashamaru.
Writing this fic, Yashamaru has been everywhere, and he has become one of my most beloved characters.
I have nothing else to say on that, I just wanted to give it it’s own line. He’s played a big part of warming my hear this year, and I love him.
Finally, I feel like this fic has really brought out the introspective beast within me. Introspection has always been my forte, but it’s really taken the reins this time. In some ways, I’m quite annoyed with myself for it and for being word and long-winded. I’ve always had the biggest respect for those who can say what they want to say concisely, and I have never been one of those people.
That’s the goal for the 9th year of notquitejiraiya, for sure, and I plan to do so with a fic in the same universe as has captivated me these last 2 years, this time with the focus on Shikadai. Shikadai will be a new challenge for me, too, especially a grown up Shikadai, and I'm excited to try and tell his story, concisely and without even half the discontentment present in both GM and Strangers lol. We deserve some cheerfulness and range here at NQJ Ltd.
But at the same time, I’m proud of the way I write and the way I express myself and the characters within my story. I think I’m quite good at following a train of thought in a realistic way — not quite to the level of my idol, Mr Alex Garland, but I’ve time to learn — and by being Temari-centric, GM has let me into Temari’s head and let me run havoc her thoughts. I’ve received multiple comments on GM about how it’s somewhat frustrating not to have Shikamaru’s point of view, and while I get why: no thanks.
This is Temari’s story. There will be some moments we see through other’s eyes, certainly, but I’m of the opinion that if we saw both sides of GM, it would be far more frustrating. This story will span ten years and for me, it’s an exercise in writing someone piecing together parts of their life during that time into something worth living and figuring things out as they go. In life, while you might get to hear what the people around you think from what they say and how they act, you don’t get the privilege of seeing inside their heads. Neither does Temari, and by association, neither do you. I hope it pays off in the end; I’ll be proud regardless.
But enough about Becks the writer. Something pretty insane happened for Becks the human being last month, something that she’s not completely over. I live in Finland now. I’m learning Finnish, and I’m on Master’s degree number 2 (yes, I am addicted to learning, do not judge me). I have, frankly, no time to write, but am I going to do it anyway? Of course I am. I can’t stop myself, even if I tried. Not to mention, the pressure of my first MSc gave me Strangers, and I’m not going to resist if the 2nd brings on something equally fun.
Another constant this year for Becks the human, that I am certain my friends must be sick and tired of, is The Brothers Karamazov. I bought myself that book as a treat for finishing my exams in 2022 and have been slowly chugging through it for the last year. I’m sure it comes as no surprise with my wordy introspective tendencies that I love a classic, and I think it’s quite fun that I’ve somewhat accidentally aligned reading this particular classic alongside falling into the Bungo Stray Dogs fandom and, even more fun, aligned with writing GM. Two wildly different stories of trios of Russian siblings. These trios – they follow me around, I swear! But jokes aside, I have only 98 pages left of this almost 1000 page beast, and it feels like the end of an era. Never in my life have I seen characters as humans more effectively, and never have I felt more inspired to make sure the characters that I write appear human, too.
But like I say, being wordy is my weakness. The evidence is in this almost 3k ramble alone. There are so many more things I could say, and maybe once I’ve finished GM and it’s all published and tied up with a bow, I might share those thoughts, too.
But for now, I must say thank you to the 8th notquitejiraiya year for being so memorable, despite my blog and my ao3 page having ‘little’ to show for it by way of variety. The 9th year will be a good one, I’m sure, and I enter it with incredible friends — authors and otherwise — and the will (of fire) to improve.
And become more concise. That’s job no1.
Thank you all for playing a part in the last 8 years, whether we’re close or we’ve never spoken. Your time means the world, and I hope you have an incredible day / night / life.
Becks x
#8 years#holy mother of#how has it been 8 years#thanks for sticking around#heres to hoping year 9 is a banger
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monthly wrap-up :: may 2023
Welcome to smth I’m gonna try this month: a wrap-up! I’ll be giving you all a lil recap of the fics I’ve read & written over the last month and hopefully this will get me to actually chip away at my TBR and get y’all on some non-Loki/Tom stories that I occasionally do read 🫡
Everything under the cut
Loki x Reader
Don't Be Shy by @lokisgoodgirl
The way that shy Loki being nervous about not satisfying Agent Y/N has me running around in circles in my living room I can't 🫠🫡
Hostile F*cks: Public Relations by @lokisgoodgirl
A perfect epilogue to this series that was a masterclass of holding your emotions hostage and giving the best payoff. And the fencing pants got a return cameo?? This had me giggling and squeeing and the second the fencing pants came out to play…running laps once again 🫠
An Interesting Theory by @infinitystoner
Completely obsessed with the dynamic between Loki & Reader in this piece. And the ending with Loki deciding that he needs more "data" to "confirm the hypothesis"? I see you, Mischief 😏🫠
The Prince is Dead by @lokisgoodgirl
The beginning had me all teary eyed and ready to fight; the end had me filled with hope and chortling at the tasteful dick joke. LGG really do be a master at holding our emotions hostage with a satisfying payoff at the end 🥹 I live in fear thinking what she could be capable of if she ups and decides to make a piece of just pure angst 😳👀
A Gentlemen's Agreement by @lokisgoodgirl
This had me having some good reminiscing moments of back when I was a Steve girly for a few months in 2015 and also deciding that Bucky's a second simp subject. Distant second, but a second nonetheless. The fact that there's even a second got me doing the Blinking Man at myself--
She is Beauty, She is Grace, She Will Stab You in the Face by @clandestineloki
The adorable dynamic between them when he caught her and saved her from tripping?? Her singing Hamilton without a care in the world? Their whole exchange in the jet after she offed 3 henchmen for hurting her mans?? I love them, your honor.
A Lesson on Behaving by @multifandom-worlds
Reader edging Loki and "suffering" the consequences? With a brief cameo from besties Nat & Wanda trying (and failing hilariously because Reader tried to go and get a snack) to hide her from said consequences? Sign me up and don't expect to be able to contact me for the next few hours because I need to recover from the smut 🥵🫠
Tom Hiddleston x Reader
Under Your Spell by @holdmytesseract
A Model AU where Reader's a photographer and she's been hired to do an underwear shoot for Calvin Klein…and Tom's tatted and pierced and--and--*melts on the spot* 🫠 Head empty all thots…that is all 😮💨
Bucky Barnes x Reader
shouldn't have gone by @imyourbratzdoll
This had me clutching at my heart going "why would he do this to Reader what the hell"…like no joke I needed a good few mins to start breathing right and not in the fun I just read toe curling smut way. I mean in the "If I try now I might start crying" way 🥲
Ari Levinson x Reader
Like a Broken Record by @howdoyousleep3
Ari with a plus size reader making her feel so empowered & beautiful in bed? The “I’m keeping you” vibe?! This had me 100% completely deceased when I read it while I was out doing groceries (bc y’all know me I should know better than to read smut in public but I never do and I might never will lol).
self-conscious ask by @imyourbratzdoll
This one hit me so close to home and honestly where can I get a boyfriend like this I would very much appreciate one 🥺💖
Give Me One More by @saiyanprincessswanie
This character + this trope = Ally dead in the water. Thank you and goodnight I am not available for comment at this time 🫡
Natasha Romanoff x Reader
Fall Kiss by @animnerd
Besties becoming lovers after months apart and having some fluffy wholesome fun on a pile of leaves before having their first kiss? Lemme melt in my spot real quick aaaaaa
Clark Kent/Superman x Reader
It Got Worse by @hannibals-favourite-meal
Clark being a soft lil simp for his fiance while her brother Bruce has a hilarious mix of "I'm happy their happy" and "Why did I ever set them up" is such an adorable dynamic and I need more 🥹
Loki x Reader
rules of conduct: the checkout queue
Thomas Sharpe x Reader
the final Lady Sharpe part 2: a risky endeavor
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Least Haunted Character Recap: Consent Fetishist "Rassy."
This Friday (12/22/23) Least Haunted will release its 4th annual fully dramatized Holiday Special: Consent Fetishist Rassy's 100% Consensual Christmas Extravaganza!
But some of you who are unfamiliar with The Least Haunted Podcast might be a bit confused as to what the hell is going on, or who the hell "Consent Fetishist Rassy" is? So We have prepared this Helpful little character bio/recap to bring you up to speed.
This will include all appearances of Rassy in both Halloween and Holiday specials. It will gloss some of the non special appearances for completion. But you really should listen to the show, because they get mentioned rather frequently. Are you ready? You have to say "Yes" first! Those are the rules...
NAME: Rassy
ALIASES: Consent Fetishist Rassy, Consent Fetishist Elmo, Tickle You Elmo, Dr. Funninstuffed phd
AGE: (as of 2023) -7 is from a nullified future timeline/parallel universe. will would have been manufactured ca, 2030.
HEIGHT: 2.5 ft, .762 meters
WEIGHT: Surprisingly more than you would suspect
GENDER: Whatever you want them to be
ORIENTATION: Pansexual Polyamourous
PRONOUNS: They/Them
First, we need to talk about The Backwards Carousel of Time!
The Backwards Carousel of Time was introduced in Episode 04: The Clownening, and is a mechanical device later revealed to have been built by Cody using specs from the internet, and parts kluged together from a Tiger Electronics X-Men handheld game from the 90's, and a Tickle Me Elmo doll. It allows for Cody and Garth to travel through time to observe events discussed in the podcast a la "The Ghost of Christmas Present."
The Carousel SHOULD not allow for interaction between the observed and the observers... It is used primarily as a narrative device to keep things interesting.
All of this changed however in Episode 44: OOPS! All Christmas! Which served as the show's second Holiday Special.
In this holiday special Cody has added some modifications to the Backwards Carousel of Time that would allow for travel to the future and not just the past, and he wants to show them to Garth. Unfortunately a spilled holiday themed beverage causes a malfunction which transports the two to an alternate future in which The War on Christmas was decisively and brutally won by Christmas. Now every day is Christmas, and all culture and economy are yuletide based.
It is revealed that the carousel doesn't actually travel through time, and it never has! Instead it creates a small pocket dimension that operates much like the Holodeck from Star Trek. However this time due to the spilled drink malfunction the simulated people within the pocket dimension can see and interact with Cody and Garth.
In order to escape back to their rightful time/dimension Cody and Garth must team up with a cadre of militant Santa Clauses who are waging a guerrilla campaign to overthrow the fascist holiday state and return balance to all holidays with the true meaning of Christmas.
To repair the carousel they need a chip from a Tickle Me Elmo equivalent, which in this timeline is called "Tickle You Elmo!" (The doll with no sense of personal space!), and it just so happens to be the must have toy of the season. Also, Tickle You Elmo is a fully autonomous AI animatronic toy now.
Working with the Santa's they successfully steal the toy in a heist, use the parts to repair the carousel and return home. Unfortunately in the process the carousel is destroyed, AND the Tickle You Elmo came back to reality with Cody and Garth!
Using quick thinking, the duo lock the pesty robot in a room with the broken Backwards Carousel of Time with instructions to "Fix it."
That is where Tickle You Elmo is left...
That is until, Episode 50: The Garth Moon Hoax!
In this regular episode of the podcast, it is revealed that not only has Tickle You Elmo completed repairs on the Backwards Carousel of Time, but due to some deep soul searching and self exploration Tickle You Elmo has learned the value of consensual interactions, and in fact now consent is their kink. Thus they are rebranded as Consent Fetishist Elmo!
Tracking Coyotes...
[PICTURE REDACTED/CLASSIFIED]
Around this time Consent Fetishist Elmo was sent to help Patreon Monster Squadron member, and wildlife biologist, @thebibarbarian in their research regarding Coyotes. Consent Fetishist Elmo officially became The Bibarbarian's research assistant, and along the way got alarmingly good at shooting a tranquilizer gun. A skill that would have been much more troubling if developed at a past point in their life. Also, a skill that translates into a general proficiency in long-guns...
Episode 65: Helldoodle!
In this, the third Halloween Special, Cody and Garth accidentally open a portal to Hell by playing a Three Men and A Baby Breakfast Cereal premium collector's 45 rpm vinyl backwards.
The resulting portal allows a number of Demons to come through into our plain of existence. One such Demon, Malacoda gets renamed Garth-Two and aides Cody and Garth in closing the portal and returning the other Demons to Hell. Garth-Two sticks around to become another recurring character.
Consent Fetishist Elmo show's up at the end to tranquilize a coyote and announce that they have returned from their time as a research assistant.
At the end of the special it is implied the Garth-Two tries to eat Consent Fetishist Elmo. In the process one of Consent Fetishist Elmo's eyes is damaged. It is later revealed through dialogue in regular episodes that the duo of Garth-Two and Consent Fetishist Elmo have actually become close friends, and that the two have embarked on a roadtrip through The American Southwest together.
Episode 91: Bottleeen!
In the fourth Least Haunted Halloween Special it is revealed that Consent Fetishist Elmo and Garth-Two have returned from their Thelma and Louise style voyage of self discovery. Also In order to escape the lawyers of "Big PBS" and The Children's Television Workshop, Consent Fetishist Elmo has adopted a new moniker!
Since Elmo it a nickname based on the name Erasmus, they have adapted a new variant of Erasmus and now go by, Consent Fetishist Rassy
In the episode Rassy shoots a fake Cody (a bottleganger) in the head sniper style in order to save Garth from being trapped in a small bottle-episode dimension. Although that part may not be completely canonical... You'll just have to listen to that episode to find out!
Which brings us up to speed with this year's holiday special, Consent Fetishist Rassy's 100% Consensual Christmas Extravaganza! Which premiers FRIDAY DECEMBER 22ND wherever podcasts can be heard, as well as on www.leasthaunted.com.
Who would have thought that a small independent artisanal podcast about paranormal skepticism would develop such a complex and intricate backstory and canonical universe? Eat yer hearts out Marvel!
p.s. You should also probably be aware that in the parlance of The Least Haunted Podcast, the term "Notes" can refer to weed. That might be helpful to know in the special as well.
#leasthaunted#podcast#youtube#funny#podcasts#comedy#radio play#holiday special#backstory#world building
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June Monthly Recap:
Between getting sick and being on vacation, I didn't read very consistently this month, or really read things that weren't cozy mysteries (which tend to feel more like snacks to me, and therefore are easier to pick up). Which does mean that I pretty much completely neglected my goals - not a great month for me all round. I did finish listening to Night Watch, though, which was absolutely amazing! I totally get why everyone loves it.
Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton: 3.5/5
The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis: 3.5/5
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett: 5/5
Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers: 4.25/5
A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison: 3/5
Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates: 4/5
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers: 4.25/5
Bewitched, Bothered and Biscotti by Bailey Cates: 4/5
Charms and Chocolate Chips by Bailey Cates: 3.75/5
Some Enchanted Eclair by Bailey Cates: 3.5/5
Magic and Macaroons by Bailey Cates: 3.25/5
Spells and Scones by Bailey Cates: 3/5
And my (not-)progress on my goals:
23 in 2023: 14 [+1]
Read 100 books: 102/100 [+12]
Translated works: 1 [+0]
Physical TBR: 10 [+0]
Top of TBR: 3 [+0]
Books in Spanish: 0
Read 40% AOC: 19.6% [-2.5%] (DEEPER SIGH)
Discworld Books: 2 [+1]
Series: 16 started vs. 23 caught up/finished [+1/+1]
Storygraph recs: 2 | avg. 3.25/5 [+1]
Indigenous authors: 1 [+0]
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Camille Abily OL Night Systems Interview (October 24, 2023)
Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; @OL Comms there's another heatwave and it's still PSL season so really whichever one you wanna chip in for is fine with me; be a stan, get banned xoxo; OL Night Systems translations is a genuine cause for sleep paralysis but it's also how you get cool insights as a team - a moral dilemma if there ever was such a thing; y'all know the speech by now.
Jules > your club's "journalist".
I know Le Sommer and Dumornay have done OL Night Systems interviews this season but I really can't emphasize enough how time consuming these are to translate, so the order for the translations of OL Night Systems is directly related to whom I feel most like doing.
In which Camille Abily takes shots at the WSL and the D1 Arkema play-offs, contemplates the roster, and contemplates the UWCL draw. Pour yourself a decent glass of wine and sit down while the adults have a good and proper football chat.
You could play stupid games and win stupid prizes. Or, in the alternative - explain why a team is the way they are. As I like to say - just tell me why your eyes change, we can talk about the rest later.
To know this team is to understand them. This is how you get to that.
CAMILLE ABILY OL NIGHT SYSTEMS INTERVIEW
[Show introduction]
Jules: We're playing Drake music because we like it. As we told you yesterday, we haven't talked a lot about women's football recently because of scheduling. But now we're going to talk about it a lot because we have a really special guest, I guess I should say a really special regular. Welcome, Michael. How are you doing, Michael?
Michael: Hi, Jules. Hello to everybody. And hello to our special guest.
Jules: Our special guest, you've obviously seen her on the social media accounts for Lyon Feminin or OLPlay. It's Camille Abily who is with us. First of all, thank you, Camille, for having accepted the invitation.
Abily: Good evening. It was a pleasure.
Jules: We see you every three, four months on OLPlay but it's always nice to see you. We do a little recap each time, a progress report on how the season is going. So we're going to look back at the start of the season.
Abily: So we're discussing hindsight.
Jules: There'll be some good things. You'll see. Here's what is coming up: we already won a trophy, but we know we want to win everything when you're Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, there was the Trophee des Championnes won on September 10; we'll be talking about the almost perfect start to the season, we'll explain to why we said "almost"; the changes within the team; changes in status; the competition between the players who are in form; and especially, the objectives for the season. But before we get into all that, I found out we have something in common, Camille. We both play paddle tennis. We also don't have something in common: you lose in paddle tennis.
Abily: It depends on who you're playing against.
Jules: Exactly.
Abily: Jeanne [Lyon Fem's social media admin] told you that, that's not very nice.
Jules: I will never disclose my sources. But indeed -
Abily: Look, we played a session of paddle tennis this morning. It was my second time playing. First of all, I had a lot of fun doing it even if I didn't win. I didn't win, I didn't say I lost. I just didn't win. It was fun. Honestly it was really cool.
Jules: It was the second time playing with the players, I imagine?
Abily: Yeah, of course. We have very few players. We only have four players at the moment because it's the international break. So some stayed behind for rehab, notably Ada [Hegerberg] and Perle [Morroni]. We played with Maro[zsan], who plays really well, and Laura [Benkarth]. They both enjoy paddle tennis, it was cool.
Jules: You were talking about it being a particular situation since it was the break. It's already the second international break after maybe a month and a half of competition. How do you handle it? Because it must be complicated. There was the first day of the league, the Trophee des Championnes, then the break right after. Then we play three, four more games, another break.
Abily: It's complicated. After, we don't have a choice. It's complicated especially because the players have to play so much. They don't really have time to recover. For us, the advantage of having the few players who stay behind, we can give them proper recovery time but also keep them focused on the field, when you have four players, that's difficult. We have to do different activities, like we did this morning. And that allows us to switch things up a bit.
Jules: This paddle tennis activity, you couldn't have done it with the usual team and all of the players.
Abily: It would have been more complicated. But we could do it for team bonding, for example. But there's work involved as well. It's true that when we play, there's a lot of running involved, and that's nice. And it does allow us to do a different activity, change things up a bit.
Jules: As soon as you've had it a bit more practice at tennis paddle, we'll play against each other.
Abily: We'll see what happens. But you'll see, I'll get my revenge. Play against me, we'll see if you win.
Jules: Okay. We'll set something up.
Abily: Are we talking about football, Jules?
Jules: Paddle tennis, paddle tennis. I'm going to launch PaddlePlay. It's much easier for me. We were talking about the international break. There are a lot of them who left the Groupama Training Center, Michael. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it's between - I'm going to say between 10 and 15, I'm not going to take any risks.
Michael: Yeah, a lot of players were called up to their national teams. So as Camille [Abily] said, there were only four players at the Groupama Training Center for this international break. I imagine it's a little bit difficult to get into the rhythm of things, especially as we know there is a big, big game coming up after the international break.
Abily: Yeah, it's difficult. For the last international break, we had the U-17 boys come train with us. But as it's also school break, they were on break as well, so we couldn't have them this week. That's why we decided to do other activities. And tomorrow - tomorrow, Thursday, Friday, we'll do work on the pitch, try to work per position.
Jules: And last year, the international breaks were cursed for you with the injuries to Griedge M'Bock and Ada Hegerberg. Here things went well for you during the first international break, we hope that the same will happen this time.
Abily: Yeah, we almost have the whole team available. Obviously there's still the longterm injuries like with Delphine Cascarino, but otherwise we have the whole team available. And we hope they will be in - they're back - I hope they will return in good physical health. I finally managed to get that out. In good physical health. Especially since we're playing Paris FC right after, as you said.
Jules: Yes, it'll be the big clash. We'll have the opportunity to talk about it later when we talk about the schedule and the results of the international players a little later. But first let's talk about the start to the season. One of the objectives has already been accomplished, it's the Trophee des Championnes, Michael, on September 10 against our favorite enemy, Paris Saint-Germain.
Michael: Exactly, it's a trophy. We're going to watch the highlights right now of the first trophy, the Trophee des Championnes. It was on September 10, Jules, as you pointed out, against Paris Saint-Germain. A 2-0 win with goals from Melchie Dumornay in her first official game with Olympique Lyonnais, and a second goal by Eugenie Le Sommer in the 67th minute. I imagine, Camille, that that first game, right at the beginning of the season, it's always a little strange. Trophee des Championnes, there's a trophy at play, the teams are immediately competing against each other.
Abily: Yeah. It was difficult because they [the players] came back from the World Cup really late, we didn't have a lot of time - but that goes for both teams - to prepare for this game. But it's important from the start of the season to show our supremacy, we can say. We know the season is going to be very complicated but even mentally just showing to Paris [Saint-Germain] that we're going to show up, that's really important.
Michael: Yeah. And it was a game that Lyon controlled pretty well, 2-0. The games are often pretty close, but you were in control pretty much all game. I saw the statistics, 25 shots for Olympique Lyonnais, it was a good showing from the beginning of the season.
Abily: Yeah, it was important. As we said, often the games are really close. We managed it pretty well. It's true that second goal was a bit lucky. Eugenie [Le Sommer] was opportunistic. But it allows us to manage the load a little better. It's really important that Paris [Saint-Germain] doesn't think they can beat us.
Jules: And it's also the third Trophee des Championnes. The third won against Paris Saint-Germain. There was a second clash a few weeks later, if we can say that, in the second day of the league. Another win. You said that it was important to remind them from the beginning of the season that "this is Lyon", as the saying goes.
Abily: Yeah, exactly. That being said, that was a trophy. In the league, with the playoffs, and I'm sure we'll talk about that, it changes things completely. But in any case for us, for our confidence, for the team dynamics, it's important to win there.
Jules: It's interesting that you brought up the playoffs. It's rare to have a Lyon - Paris Saint-Germain or a Paris Saint-Germain- Lyon so early in the season. Before it was the unofficial final in the league. Now there's this new formula with the playoffs. Are the clashes against Paris Saint-Germain still important, or does it become more of a game like any other?
Abily: No, it's always going to be important because it's a big game, it's the type of game we like to play. However, there's much less pressure. We can say as much as we like that, but because of the playoffs, even though Paris lost they can still be champions. But before in the league, if you lost just one of your head-to-head clashes, it could make things much more complicated.
Jules: Exactly. And with this win so early in the season, the direct rival is the other club based in the capital, Michael. We didn't have time to do this in depth yesterday but it's not Paris Saint-Germain who is hot on our heels.
Michael: No, it's Paris FC. We'll see it right now with the ranking. Paris FC have also won all of their matches, five wins in five games. 15 points and a nice goal differential as well, they're +17. We're still first with +19, but it's true that this year, Camille, with this early win against Paris Saint-Germain, it's Paris FC who is right behind us.
Abily: Yeah, and Paris FC is having a really good start to the season. I think everyone knows their results in the Champions League. They shone against Arsenal, against Wolfsburg.
Jules: Semi-finalist and finalist last year.
Abily: Exactly.
Michael: Did those wins surprise you? They were against two big teams who are used to the Champions League.
Abily: Not with Arsenal, no, because that was predictable. That being said Paris FC had more time to prepare, Arsenal had some players in the World Cup, they started the preseason really quickly. So it was a bit more complicated. But I wasn't really surprised. However against Wolfsburg, I was pleasantly surprised. When you look at their start of the season and how they're playing, it's really, really high quality football. So that's why the game coming up in two weeks for us is going to be really important.
Jules: We know that typically the most important game is against Paris Saint-Germain. Paris FC was part of the group of clubs behind, like Reims, Fleury, Montpellier. Is it surprising - well maybe not to be second, five wins out of five maybe. But are you surprised that their start of the season is that good?
Abily: No. They're a hard working team. They're really - well without putting down the others down, the three teams who are really ahead are Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Paris FC. I think that Montpellier and Fleury have already dropped points against small teams. So it's really that trio who will be fighting for first place. So it will be important to finish first, because we know the second place team will play the third placed team. So that could be a really important semifinal.
Jules: For the moment we have a six point lead over Paris Saint-Germain, but Paris Saint-Germain has a game in hand because of that incident with fireworks in the game against Reims. There was a similar incident in the men's game, now it's affecting women's football as well. You were talking about the playoffs. Eugenie Le Sommer was on the show a few weeks ago. She told us that it didn't really change anything for her, the goal is to be first at the end of the regular season because as you said, it's usually easier to play the fourth placed team than the second or third.
Abily: That's for sure. It doesn't change things that much for us, but that being said, Eugenie [Le Sommer] is a competitor. She wants to win everything. However, it's obvious that it's a different system. We won't be allowed to make any mistakes [in the playoffs]. It's true that playing the fourth ranked team at home always helps. But what surprises me the most is that it's done over 90 minutes. There's no extra time, it will go straight to penalties. So it doesn't leave - we know that in football, it's difficult. It's not always the best team who wins. So there can be surprises. Now it will be up to us to prepare the best that we can, manage them - win, too - but manage them the best that we can.
Jules: Normally that should work out. But does it mean that if Lyon doesn't finish first at the end of the season, would that be considered as a failure or, since there are the playoffs and that "catch-up", I'm going to put that in quotes, it's all good?
Abily: It's all good. It's acceptable. What's important is to win at the end, even if of course we want to finish first. As I said, we can finish first in the league then lose in the playoffs, we don't score, you lose on penalties, there's a penalty in the last minute. There's - we've been there before [controversial loss against Chelsea in the UWCL]. But things can happen, whereas in a [regular] league -
Jules: It's a bit of a Russian roulette.
Abily: Exactly. Usually in league play, it's always the best team who wins. When there are playoffs, that can be different. But we're lucky to have a really good team, there's a lot of quality, and we'll need to prepare properly. After, it's the type of game as players we like.
Jules: Do you like this playoffs system, that we haven't yet - that we're going to discover.
Abily: No, because there's too much uncertainty. And what it bothers me the most is the qualification for the Champions League. You can finish first in the regular season, you play the fourth placed team, for whatever reason you don't win the game, they can be in the Champions League and not you. You can be Olympique Lyonnais and not play in the Champions League. Now of course we don't think like that, because we can win and we're competitors, obviously, but it's a reality. So it's not a system I like the most, however where I get it, it's in terms of the appeal for the league. For us it's a disadvantage, however for the league it's an advantage because everything gets put back in play. Everything is put back in play, and I think it will be more difficult for teams to be champions like Lyon has done.
Jules: That's the point of view of Camille Abily, the coach. What is the point of view of Camille Abily, the player, on the playoffs?
Abily: It's similar. It's similar. After, there's the excitement for the playoffs, because there's the adrenaline rush for those types of games. So obviously I would like to play in a final.
Jules: I know you're not going to tell us everything because you're focused on the game against Paris FC. We've already said it's an important game. It's right after the international break. Is that not the worse moment to play Paris FC?
Abily: Yeah, it's never - we always get our players back really late after the international break. There are players who were on the other side of the world. There we have a bit of luck, I would say, with the Chilean National Team and the Australian National Team. We released the players early in order to get them back early. That will allow us to have Ellie [Carpenter] and Christiane [Endler] back a little earlier, because sometimes we only get them back on a Friday and there's a game on Sunday. So we know it's not easy. But it's true it's not the best time to play Paris FC.
Jules: Especially as up until now the calendar was pretty light, you were playing every week, sometimes there was even a bit more time in between because of the international break. Now, as of the month of November, there will be the UWCL, which we will talk about in a bit. Now you're going to be playing every three days. It's not going to be the same thing.
Abily: Yeah. But we also have the team to be able to do it. We have a lot of quality players. Sometimes there are some frustrated players, they're not playing a lot, they're not getting a lot of minutes. And I get them, that's normal, they all want to play. But here we really will need everybody, that's why it's important to have the team that we have.
Jules: We're going to talk about this team and managing game time. But we're going to stay on the almost perfect start to the season. It's what we said in the preview. Why almost? Everything is going well so far, nothing but wins, a trophy.
Abily: We conceded a goal.
Jules: She knows. We have high expectations.
Abily: So do we.
Jules: We both have to be. Michael, we have a statistic. We conceded a goal. We could say, "ah, it's okay." It is okay, because it had been a while since we conceded a goal.
Michael: Exactly. 480 minutes since Olympique Lyonnais Feminin had conceded a goal. We'll see it on the screen. That's why we said almost perfect, because one goal conceded. The last goal we conceded, it was also against Reims, it was May 27th, 2023. And it was a goal from Melchie Dumornay, who is now playing for Olympique Lyonnais. 480 minutes without conceding a goal. Now you did end up conceding, but it's a flattering statistic for your team.
Abily: Yeah, we were still frustrated though. And I think the players were as well, because they wanted their clean sheet record to last as long as possible. Especially as it was a goal we could have avoided. That made it even more frustrating. So yeah. But now, we still won, so we're satisfied. But it's true we would have liked to have a clean sheet a little bit longer.
Jules: I remember, you came on the show last February. Everything had been going well in January. There was a new formation, the 4-4-2 diamond. You hadn't conceded a goal. You said you had a goal, it was to do clean sheets for the rest of the season.
Abily: I jinxed it. It was my fault. We're going to play Paris FC soon, what are you getting at?
Jules: I didn't say anything. But jokes aside it's obviously something you're interested in. Everyone is always interested in the team's offense, you've been scoring a ton since the start of the season. But only have conceded one goal, it's pretty impressive.
Abily: Yeah, of course. But after when we look at the quality of the team, obviously we don't want to concede any goals. We want to leave as little chances as possible to the opponents. And it's important to put forward this defensive solidarity.
Jules: We also had Simon Pouplin on the show, he's the goalkeeper coach and also in charge of free kicks. We asked him how he handled the cases of Christiane Endler and Laura Benkarth, who sometimes don't really have a lot to do over the course of 90 minutes, same as with the defenders. So how do you keep them motivated and tell them, well a little bit like we saw against Reims, it just takes one ball, one minor error, and it can be super costly.
Abily: Yeah. That's the top level, and that's where you be super concentrated, and stay focused throughout the entire game even if you don't see the ball very often. That being said Chris[tiane Endler] is a bit more used to it, because she's been here for a few seasons. Laura, it's her start with us, she's maybe not used to having so little to do. But those are margins of progression for her.
Jules: We'll talk a bit more about Laura Benkarth and the other arrivals. It's a good opportunity to talk about the changes to the team. There were some modifications, shall we say, to the team's roster. There were quite a few departures, a few arrivals. Well going to go into detail about all that and do a recap. Michael, do you want to start us off with the players who left?
Michael: Yes. We saw a lot of changes this summer at Olympique Lyonnais Feminin. We'll talk about the departures first, with the departures of Janice Cayman, Signe Bruun, Catarina Macario, Amandine Henry, Emma Holmgren and Alyssa Paljevic. All those departures, I imagine it was a lot of change at once, even if there were two goalkeepers on that list. It's still players that you have to replace.
Abily: Yeah of course. They were also really quality players, we know that. Now, some were at the end of their contract, they wanted to experience something else. Others, it was just the end of a cycle at Lyon. It's also - it's really important that both parties want to stay.
Jules: A common agreement.
Abily: That's it. That's the most important thing. Now there were also players who wanted more playing time. Last year, we had a lot of players who were injured at the start of the season As such, when everyone came back, some players really didn't get much playing time. That caused them a lot of frustration, they wanted to go play elsewhere. So that's also why they wanted to leave.
Jules: Speaking of players who had playing time at the beginning of the season and then when players started coming back didn't get as much, it's the case of Ines Benyahia, who went out on loan. She isn't the only one. Some players - well, one player - crossed the channel.
Michael: Yes, we're going to see it on the chart we prepared. Two players went out on loan for Olympique Lyonnais. Melvine Malard went out on loan to Manchester United and Ines Benyahia who went to Le Havre. I imagine those are two players who you count on but who wouldn't necessarily get a lot of playing time.
Abily: They are two young players. For Melvine, she's a bit older, she had a season with us a couple of years ago where she was starting a lot, she was really important for the team. Last year it was a bit more difficult for her. There's a lot of competition. I think for her to get going again, it was important for her to regain confidence elsewhere. And that's going really well for her, because she is scoring for Manchester [United], she's been the deciding factor on several occasions. So I think it will be good for her. And as I said, she's a young player who is under contract with us, she needs to progress more to come back stronger.
Michael: Ines?
Abily: And for Ines? For Ines, with her case, she's much younger. She's really part of the future [is she though...] and it's important for her to experience the D1 Arkema, to be an important and major player in a team, because we know that when you're young and a midfielder, there's a lot of competition here at Lyon. It would have been difficult to give her the playing time she deserved.
Michael: How does it work when players go out on loan? Do you watch every game, do you follow everything? Do you have discussion with the other coaches?
Abily: It's more Theo, Theo Rivrin, the assistant coach, who has relations with them and discussions with the opposing staff. Now Ines, she's in the D1 Arkema, so it's easier to follow her. We see a lot of her games. I have to follow the English league, and we saw Melvine in the games against PSG. If I'm not mistaken they just played against Tottenham and she scored there, I think they won 5-0.
Jules: Why did you choose to send Melvine out on loan to England rather than in D1 Arkema?
Abily: That was more her. It was the player's choice. On our side, we didn't want to strengthen a direct competitor. In France there weren't a lot of clubs - Melvine is still an international player who has shown a lot of things. It's not like a young player, like Ines, who just arrived. So it was good for her to see other things. And as I said, mentally it will be good for her to see another work method.
Jules: That being said, what had worked in previous years, it's the case of Vicki Becho, she went out on loan to Reims and came back as a transformed player. It was a loan that was really beneficial for her and for you as well in the mid- and long-term.
Abily: Completely. And I hope it will be the same thing with Ines. Vicki, when she went out on loan, it did her a lot of good. We saw a completely different Vicki afterwards.
Jules: Is that what you quickly tell the young players on the team - I'm thinking of Ines Benyahia, but there's also Alice Sombath who is a bit more settled in with the first team, Alice Marques, Liana Joseph. Is that something you bring up to them yourself "hey, why don't you try and get some experience out on loan" or if they want to push themselves and try to beat the competition, then go for it?
Abily: We try to be as honest as possible and we try to see what the possibility of playing time is. That's what interests us, their progression. If we think that they can progress with us and have playing time, then they have to stay with us, obviously. They're with us on a daily basis, we can really work with them. However, last year, Ines was already with us daily, she had a little bit of playing time, but she deserved even more because she is really a quality player. But we couldn't give it to her because we have a lot of players, and other players were in front of her. So it was time for her to go [on loan], and then next year, maybe after some changes in the roster, she'll be able to install herself a bit more [Lyon doesn't have any midfielders up in 2024 so curious on how that will work]. That's also how we work with the young players.
Michael: I imagine that for Melvine and Ines, who already had a good resume - I don't think it's the case at Olympique Lyonnais, but I imagine that for the younger players, the fact that the third division exists and that we have a team in D3, it allows you to give young players some playing time and eventually move up.
Abily: Exactly. Exactly. It's super important to have that team - it's our second team in the third division - because it's those players, it's the U-19s like Liana Joseph, Alice Marques - so if you look at it, they're training daily with the best players in the pro team, and the weekend they can go play in the D3. It's top. It's really top.
Jules: It's a new thing, the D3. Michael told me it started this season. Before the young players, or "reserve" players I could say, they were playing in the R1 or with the U-19s, and that's not best for you. I know that a lot really wanted the creation of this D3. It works out for you.
Abily: Oh yeah, yeah. It was really something Olympique Lyonnais was pushing for. If it had happened, it's because we had been pushing for it for a while, and the fact that the former president, Jean-Michel Aulas, is now at the federation, that helped a lot as well to have that team in D3. It was really something we had been pushing for. And now they can play against more senior players in a national league, and that's interesting for them.
Jules: Do you follow the games in the D3?
Abily: Yeah, of course. Of course. We try to follow along, but we're often playing the same day. But in any case we watch [the games], and we do an analysis at the end of the game.
Jules: Who handles the transitions between the D3 and the D1? Do you make the calls, is it -
Abily: It's Theo [Rivrin]. It's always Theo. Theo does everything. I'm joking but Theo really has that role with the players out on loan and the young players, so he's the one in permanent contact with the academy, his contact there varies depending on what he is after. And we often see each other - well Sonia [Bompastor] used to be Director of the Academy, so she obviously has that relationship with the academy. We often interact.
Jules: We've been talking about the departures, permanent departures, departures on loan. But there were also some arrivals. Three arrivals this summer, well, two plus one, because one was made official in January.
Michael: Yes, one was made official in January, as you said. It was Melchie Dumornay, who came from Stade de Reims. But there were two more arrivals, Laura Benkarth, the backup goalkeeper for Olympique Lyonnais, and the big transfer of the summer, that was Kadidiatou Diani, who came from PSG. How did the players adapt? We saw very quickly for Diani and Dumornay, for example, they were immediately starting in the Trophee des Championnes last September.
Abily: Yeah, well, Melchie Dumornay, Kadidiatou Diani, those are world class players, it must be said. They're part of the best players in the world. So those were two big, big arrivals. Regarding Laura [Benkarth], it was a really nice surprise. In my eyes, she's a really, really top level goalkeeper and we're really happy to have her with us, because we know that if for some reason Chris[tiane Endler] is injured, we have a goalkeeper capable of replacing her. So we had a transfer season with few players but there were really really big players, and we're really satisfied.
Jules: I was going to say that. We saw six departures, they were all at the end of their contract, departures on loan as well. Only three arrivals. I imagine that was a choice based on what you've said. Was it to give the academy players playing time or was the roster enough as it was?
Abily: Both. A little bit of both, a little bit of both because as I said, we had a lot of injuries about a year and a half ago, so obviously -
Jules: There was that game against Arsenal where there was basically an entire team missing.
Abily: Jules likes to bring up bad memories. He really likes to get those digs in.
Jules: Would you prefer talking about that or paddle tennis?
Abily: Paddle tennis. I don't care about what happened in paddle tennis. Losing 5-1 to Arsenal, I do care about that. Anyway - I lost my train of thought.
Jules: There were a lot of injuries.
Abily: There were a lot of injuries, we had a team with 28, 29 players under contract, which is a lot, especially as we knew we had a 2006 generation coming up who had a huge amount of potential, so we wanted to make sure there were spots for them, it's important for us to give them the opportunities to express themselves [I say this as a longtime fan of Alice Marques: no, it's not], have them train with us on a daily basis, and why not try and get some minutes.
Jules: We saw some of the young players play in the preseason, I'm thinking of Liana Joseph who you know quite well, Michael, since you've commented some of her games with the U-19s.
Michael: Yes, I've seen her a lot with the U-19s. But when you see Julie Swierot, Maeline Mendy as well, there's a lot of young players with a bright future ahead of them.
Abily: With a lot of potential. As I was saying before, we're lucky to have top quality players. That's why it's important to open the door for them. We need to find the middle ground. We have a team with a lot of experienced players, huge talent, but to have those young players who have the opportunity to come train and try and get some minutes, that's important.
Jules: You've heard it here first. You have to start when you are seven.
Michael: How does it go with the group then? I imagine the older players must help the younger players a lot. I imagine that's really, really good for them.
Abily: Oh yeah, it's great. We've talked about the three you mentioned, there's also Sangare, she's training - she's a central defender and she's in practice next to Wendie Renard, Griedge M'Bock, Vanessa Gilles.
Jules: There are worse out there. There are worse role models.
Abily: It's exceptional for them.
Jules: I'm not going to name my role models.
Abily: As I was saying, it's exceptional for them. The older players. the more experienced ones, they're top, because they really try to install the team's values, because that's important, but also to give them a lot of guidance on the pitch.
Jules: But it's important to talk about the academy, because we talked about it a lot with the men's team, but not a lot on the women's side. There are quite a few products, if I can say that, which are coming out of the academy. And as you said, the fact that Sonia [Bompastor] was the Director of the Academy, that helps and that aids that transition. We've talked about the arrivals, we're going to see what it looks like on film. We're going to start with Melchie Dumornay, who came on the show with two trophies - Trophee des Championnes and Player of the Game - and a third trophy, herself. Those were her words, I'm just paraphrasing Melchie Dumornay.
Michael: And we're going to watch Melchie Dumornay's highlights since the beginning of the season. Melchie Dumornay, who started four times this season, scoring twice and three assists. She's already a deciding factor, she adapted extremely fast.
Abily: Yeah, yeah. She's a world class player as I've said. So when you understand football it's easy to adapt to the great players around you. She's a simple girl who wants to learn, which is important because you can't forget she's a really young player as well. So it's gone really, really well.
Michael: She was already performing miracles with Reims. We said it earlier, she was the one who scored the last goal against Olympique Lyonnais, and we see it now, she's really decisive in every game, she really has a capability of eliminating players, her speed really makes a difference.
Abily: Yeah. Her mobility is impressive, she has both power and technical qualities. And she's able to play in different positions, so it's super for us in the staff.
Jules: And she already has an understanding with Eugenie Le Sommer, with her two assists in the derby against ASSE. You were talking about how polyvalent she is, it's just part of Melchie Dumornay's qualities. You recruited her in January, she finished the season with Stade de Reims. How long were you following Melchie?
Abily: Well she had already been with us in the academy. So that's to say it's been a while. She already came to train with Lyon what, five, six years ago maybe. So we had already been following her. But we couldn't do anything because she was too young, she wasn't 18 yet.
Jules: She went back to Haiti.
Abily: Exactly. I followed the U-20s in England in 2018 where she was already exceptional, people were already talking about her and the club had already been following her for a while. And to be honest she's a super, super recruit.
Jules: And you said, Michael said it as well, she adapted super quickly. You can see it with her statistics. You almost get the impression when she's on the field that it's just a game for her. Everything is so easy. She's young, she's 20 years old, same age as Rayan Cherki, but there's an almost carefree aspect to Melchie. Even when she came onto the show, she was enjoying herself. There's no pressure, everything is cool, everything just washes off her. She's nice, Melchie Dumornay.
Abily: The type of carefree that comes with youth. But she's someone who works very hard, who has high expectations for herself. Even if you get that impression from her, she can get very frustrated when she isn't managing to do something on the pitch. We talk about it, sometimes too much, she's very demanding of herself. Unfortunately mistakes happen in football, that's part of football. She has to be able to mentally accept that in order to come back stronger.
Jules: So she's a laidback perfectionist.
Abily: Very laidback off the field, but she can get very frustrated on the field when her performances aren't working out for her.
Jules: The other star recruit this summer, Michael said it, it was the transfer of the summer. It was the case of Kadidiatou Diani who left Paris Saint-Germain to join Olympique Lyonnais. The adaption was a bit more complicated, we're going to put it down as because of the World Cup. But if you look at the statistics, it's going really well.
Michael: Yes, statistically it's going very well for Kadidiatou Diani. Five games played since the start of the league, one goal and three assists. She's also - maybe not yet at full potential but she's already one of the difference makers and is doing a lot of damage.
Abily: Yeah. As I said, Kadi[diatou Diani], it's exceptional that we got her. She had a season last year with PSG which was extraordinary, she kept PSG alive the whole season.
Jules: She was PSG's attacking force, simple as that.
Abily: Exactly. Now it's true that with us, there was an adaption period as well, because it's not the same system, she's playing against teams with a lower block, Paris [Saint-Germain] played more in counter. So it's different. However, I think - and we saw it especially against Reims - we got back a Kadi who was back in form. There was the hangover from the World Cup, physically she wasn't at her best, which is normal. Now it's what we tell them, the most important thing is to be ready now. It's important now but what matters is what is coming next. We're happy to have Kadi back at that level and it must be said, Kadi is really a deciding factor. Three assists, one goal, it's already some nice stats.
Michael: How did the transfer go down? Did you, with Sonia, did you talk to her directly? How did it go?
Abily: Yes, we had her a little bit on the phone. Kadi and I know each other well, we played together on the French National Team and she would be right next to me in the lineup, so I could annoy her a ton. But I called her, we looked back on all that. I still annoy her sometimes.
Jules: It's okay, she signed with us, that doesn't matter now.
Abily: It's all good, it's all good. But it's true we talked a little bit, but we knew she is a world class player. We think she can still progress, and she can still bring a lot of things to Lyon.
Michael: Was it easy for her to integrate the group? I imagine that she knows a lot of the players, both because of the French National Team and because of the D1 Arkema. Did she integrate the group well?
Abily: Yeah, of course. It's easy, she already has all of her national teammates with her and she got along really well with them. It's true that in the beginning it must have been a bit strange, when you come from PSG it's always a bit particular. I think she has integrated the team really well. She's also back with Perle Morroni, who she got along with really well at Paris [Saint-Germain]. So it's going really well.
Jules: You were talking about the World Cup effect with maybe a physical aspect because she played a lot with the French National Team. We said that it was the transfer of the summer. Wasn't there a bit of pressure for Kadidiatou Diani?
Abily: I don't know. I don't think she's really the type to put pressure on herself, Kadi. She's really someone calm -
Jules: Maybe not put pressure, but maybe there was pressure surrounding her. There was a media storm, I've never heard people talk about a transfer as much as they did Kadidatiou Diani's this summer.
Abily: Yeah, even if I think she processed it well. Beyond that, I would say it was more of a physical setback than anything in the mental aspect. But yeah, as I was saying, she's getting better and better, and we're really happy.
Jules: Indeed, Kadidiatou Diani is going to do us a lot of good. She hurt us - I'm going to stop myself there.
Abily: We haven't lost a lot of games, but each time Jules brings up games we've lost.
Jules: It's like that, I'm here to heckle you. Camille, we're going to stay with the recruits. Laura Benkarth arrived. She was in a bit of a difficult situation. She didn't speak any French but she has been taking lessons and she is improving, we can tell. How does that work, the integration of a backup? Because I imagine that when she came in, you didn't give her any false hope, Cristiane [Endler] was the starter.
Abily: Yeah, of course. After, Simon [goalkeeping coach] would be able to answer this better because he talked with her before and works with her daily, but what I will say is that Laura has an exceptional mentality. She's learning French very quickly. We're lucky to have Maro[zsan] and Sara [Dabritz] who are German as well, they help her a lot with the integration. And we can see, she's a really top person, calm, and she wanted to integrate with the group immediately. Laura had the advantage of coming in at the start of preseason. Since the players were coming back one at a time, she really had the time to get to know everyone a little bit. Because when you come in and there's the entire group, it's harder. That was the positive thing about the World Cup, she was able to integrate the group progressively.
Jules: And the status of backup, she accepted it pretty easily? Even if she has played already, there were the game when Christiane Endler was out on international duty. And you rotate a lot as well, we'll see it later, so she will get playing time.
Abily: Of course she will get playing time. Not really to the detriment of Chris[tiane Endler] but because we know we need to prepare her in case there is a problem. Chris could have gotten a red card, could have gotten injured. So it's important to keep her focused. There is a hierarchy with the goalkeepers, so obviously they know that. But I think there's a good relationship with Chris and also with Laurine - umm, Feerine. Feerine Belhadj, who is also our third goalkeeper and who is a really good goalkeeper and that's top.
Jules: You were speaking about a turnover with the goalkeepers. We're going to look at the turnover since the beginning of the season with the number of players used. There aren't a lot of surprises there, Michael.
Michael: No, not a lot of surprises but a lot of players used. There's a stacked roster. And we use the players. There's names like Christiane Endler, Selma Bacha, Perle Morroni, but then you have younger players like Alice Sombath. You rotate a lot. There's a stacked roster and you make the most of it.
Abily: I think it''s important to have everyone involved. There will be periods where we don't rotate as much because your "main 11" need to actually play. But we're lucky to have lots and lots of quality on the team. The main 11 isn't always easy to find, because a lot of them deserve to play. Unfortunately, as we sometimes tell them, we can only put 11 players on the field. So there are choices to be made. But we know we can count on the entire team and we have a lot of quality.
Jules: The advantage is that it's a turnover that's chosen and wanted. There aren't really any injuries at the moment. So what is it? Are there tests? Is it load and/or ego management? Which philosophy is it?
Abily: A little bit of everything, honestly. There's a bit of everything in that your game management is about avoiding injuries. That's the most important thing. There are players who play a lot with their national teams, when they come back - we were really scarred by all the injuries we had in the past. So our objective - as an example, Wendie [Renard] didn't play this weekend. She had been playing a lot, it was clear she needed a rest, she had been playing so much since the beginning of the season.
Jules: The international break is coming up.
Abily: The international break is coming up. We know she is going to play 2x90 minutes with the French National Team, and then we have a lot of games scheduled. So it was the only moment - and if we know we can do it, it's because we know we have the quality behind. We have Griedge M'Bock, Vanessa Gilles. You could have even done it with Alice Sombath, who in this case played on the right. We have the quality. So already you have load management. Then you obviously have things you want to see, even if you won, there are things - the main team isn't the best yet, there's still choices to be made. And that's why as well we want to see certain players at certain times.
Jules: And you also have players who can play in different positions. We talked about Melchie Dumornay, who can play on the wings or in a central role, same thing with Kadidiatou Diani, with Selma Bacha who can play as a left back or left winger. So this is more of a test period for you then.
Abily: When we have them play in different positions?
Jules: Yes.
Abily: Yes, a little bit. That being said, Selma, we saw what she was doing with the French National Team, so we know she is capable of playing there [left winger]. We have Perle Morroni in defense as well, who is doing really well. Perle deserves to play, Selma deserves to play, so it does allow us to test both of them together. What we don't want them to think is that it's one of the other. That's not the case. And I don't know if we will talk about it later, but it's like when Eugenie Le Sommer performs well, if Ada [Hegerberg] performs well - the two can play together. What we want is to have the best players to create the best team possible. If in the best eleven there are Perle and Selma, then they will play together.
Jules: Is the starting eleven flexible depending on the opposition or do you have your idea as the staff and that's final?
Abily: No, on the whole we have our firm belief within the staff. That being said, we'll make the decision more based on the space the opposition is leaving us, which we will need to exploit, to give us indications on the game. For the opposition as well, it's where we can hit them the hardest. But on the whole we won't change.
Jules: Right now you've been playing in a 4-3-3 formation since the beginning of the season. There was an experiment with a 4-4-2 diamond in the middle of last season which worked out, here you went back to the 4-3-3. Is it set in stone or can we imagine it will change with the return from injuries? I'm thinking of Delphine Cascarino.
Abily: When - to be sincere, when we changed formations, it was because of the players we had available. What's important is to put the players in the best position possible. When we went to the 4-4-2 diamond formation, we had a lot of midfielders who were performing really well, and we didn't want to pass over those players because they were playing well and deserved to play. For the offense, we had more injured players so it was a little bit harder. So it's mainly for that. Now, we've been playing in a 4-4-3, but there's also a 3-5-2, there's the 4-4-2 diamond. There's a lot of interesting formations and we have the players to be able to do them.
Jules: Problems only a rich team can understand, as we like to say. Staying with players playing in different positions, Alice Sombath played this weekend as a right back. Her natural position is a center back, but there's stiff competition, there's Griedge M'Bock, Wendie Renard, Vanessa Gilles. Could it be an actual solution to have Alice Sombath as a backup for Ellie Carpenter? Janice Cayman left and you didn't buy any right backs.
Abily: Yes. She already did it last season, I don't know if you remember. Alice played a fair amount of times on the right side. We knew that with Alice, we wouldn't have a lot of worries with the defense. Now obviously she doesn't bring the same offensive threat as Ellie Carpenter, because she doesn't have the same qualities. But in any case it's one of the possibilities. And Griedge M'Bock has also played sometimes in that position, because we don't have any pure right backs [other than Carpenter]. However we do have two center backs who can play there. And I like a little bit - well it's in our head at least - Vicki Becho, even if she really doesn't like it. We've already done it on certain plays, she could always help out if we need to be very offensive-minded.
Jules: Doubling as a winger then.
Abily: Yeah. When we're really high up, I think she can bring something as well.
Jules: You were talking about the offensive aspect with Alice Sombath. She scored this weekend, didn't she Michael?
Michael: She did score. She celebrated her 20th birthday on October 16th. She scored her first goal in the D1 Arkema, it was her 30th appearance, which is something, and she scored her first goal. Well you were talking about her being less of an offensive aspect than Ellie [Carpenter], but she is still capable of scoring.
Abily: [laughs] Yes, of course. That being said her vision for the goal was exceptional. She saw the goalkeeper completely anticipated the cross so she decided to take a shot. It was a good play. But it's true that she has less power, she's less capable of doing overlapping runs. But as I said, she has other qualities and she is a player we're working with a lot because she can improve so much more.
Jules: Alice Sombath is also a huge Disney movies fan. I'm not going to tell you why I know that but you'll find out very soon. We were talking about the competition within the team, there's competition in one position, one area, and that's the attack. Michael, I said that when Eugenie [Le Sommer] came on the show that it might be the best offensive line I've seen at Lyon. I'm going to ask you the same question, Camille. I'll give you a second to think back on all of Lyon's offensive lines.
Abily: That's what I was trying to do. I have to think about it.
Jules: There's a lot to think about. Here's the list for this year. Seven players for three spots, Michael.
Michael: Yes, seven players for three spots if we're playing in a 4-3-3. There is Eugenie Le Sommer, Ada Hegerberg, Kadidiatou Diani, Melchie Dumornay, Delphine Cascarino, Vicki Becho and Liana Joseph. Since the start of the season it's been Diani, Dumornay and Le Sommer who have started more, but when you look at the bench and you see Hegerberg, Cascarino when she returns from injury, Vicki Becho, and Liana Joseph who is coming up as well. Those are good problems to have, I imagine.
Abily: No, yeah, it's true that it's truly an exceptional attack. Now Delphine [Cascarino] is unfortunately still injured and isn't available, but when we add Delphine to that offensive line, choices will have to be made. It's true that Ada was a little bit injured so the three who have played - who have performed well especially, because we got a Eugenie Le Sommer who is on an incredible run and is more than performing well. And as I said, we had two top recruits, be it Melchie [Dumornay] and Diani, so yeah, it's a really, really good offensive line.
Jules: And when I ask you the controversial question - well it's not really controversial - is this not one of the best offensive lines in the history of Olympique lyonnais Feminin? You who have played for a bit longer than I have.
Abily: [scoffs disapprovingly at being called old] In terms of the numbers and the team, yes. That being said, I think there was a period with Lotta Schelin, Lara Dickenmann, Elodie Thomis as well. That was really top level as well.
Jules: Was there as many [top attacking players] though?
Abily: There weren't as many. There weren't as many, and that's why I said that in terms of the team, then yes [it's the best].
Jules: Was there as much flexibility as well? Because here we have players who can play a little bit anyway.
Abily: Yes, because Melchie [Dumornay] can play in the midfield as well, she does it a lot with the Haiti National Team. She was originally a midfielder at the academy. Eugenie has also played as a 9 1/2, she can do that as a player. So yeah. With that much adaptability, we really have an incredible offense.
Jules: When you look at those seven, we could have also added Amel Majri if we wanted to be selfish. You've been in a 4-3-3 since the start with two true wingers, is that the best formation for that list?
Abily: It depends. No. Because if we're talking about Ada [Hegerberg], when she gets all of her fitness back, because we're being careful with Ada, we're slowly bringing her back. So we know that if Eugenie keeps this up, then we have two central attackers, they're both world class. So we'll see. As I said, we're not dismissing any possibility. The most important thing is that they perform well and that they are in the best positions.
Michael: In any case, I wouldn't like to be in their place. When you look at the list, to only have to choose three names.
Abily: What about ours? Do you think it's easy?
Michael: Exactly. I wouldn't want to be in your place.
Abily: Sorry, I thought you meant you wouldn't want to be in the player's position.
Michael: Choosing between those seven players, well, choosing three out of those seven, it's complicated. Well here you just said that Ada is lacking match fitness and coming back from injury, but putting Ada Hegerberg on the bench, putting players like that on the bench, I can't imagine that it's easy. Tough choices but only one a rich team can have to make.
Abily: It's not easy. We know at Lyon, and they know this really well as well, it's competitive, this is a quality club, we have objectives. We said it before, the calendar is going to have a lot of games and a lot of important games. So we will need everything. Now of course there will be moments - I was a player, I know what's like, you're frustrated because you didn't play a game - but when you have the chance to play, you need to perform well, and that will allow you to play more. But we have a lot of players for sure.
Jules: We said there are seven players in that position but really there are six for the moment because of Delphine Cascarino. You said she's rehabbing. How is she doing? We last saw her last season against Paris Saint-Germain, she missed the World Cup. So there was the injury and then having to miss the World Cup. Did she have a setback, is it going well, where is she at with her rehab?
Abily: No, it's going well. I think mentally she is very, very strong. It's true that she's very positive, she can feel the progress being made. I sometimes ask her "are you okay? it isn't taking too long?" And she tells me "no, it's okay, it's going pretty quickly." So that's cool because sometimes there is that longing for the pitch. And we count on Delphine enormously, she's a player who - and I keep saying this - is a world class player. We have a lot of world class players, both in our offense but also in our midfield and defense. There are choices to be made there as well.
Jules: Lindsey Horan, Damaris, Sara Dabritz. It's pretty good.
Abily: There are a lot. There's a lot of great players and we're eager for her [Cascarino's] return. It's going well.
Jules: Another special case, it's that of Vicki Becho. We were talking earlier about players who went out on loan, she was on loan at Reims, that went well. She came back, but now she has a different status. She's no longer the "young" Vicki Becho. Now she's Vicki Becho, international player. Vicki Becho, who took part in the World Cup. We don't manage her the same way.
Abily: Who performed well at the World Cup. That's what changed. It's true that Vicki participated in the World Cup but she also played and performed well. After, Vicki, we talked about it with her so we can talk about it here. She's a player who each time she comes on is very important and very decisive, and is good when she comes on as a substitute. She still needs a bit of time to be consistent throughout a game. The games where she has started, I've been less satisfied with her performance. But -
Jules: She's often used as a sub.
Abily: She often comes on as a sub, yes. Because each time she comes on she performs well. But it's true that she's a really good player with a lot of qualities, and is capable - it's important that now she processes the World Cup, and keeps improving.
Michael: Were you surprised by her performance at the World Cup?
Abily: Surprised? Yes and no, because I see her daily. And remember last season when we played in the 4-4-2 diamond, she was often in front with the two forwards. And she was really good there.
Jules: It worked really well.
Abily: It worked really well even if she had the tendency to drift out wide on the right. But it worked really well. Not surprised, because she had a really good season last year. Where I was pleasantly surprised was that Herve Renard, the first substitutions he made was always her. He had other players on the bench, Clara Mateo, Amel Majri, which meant that she was performing really well with the French National Team. That's where her status changed for me, because she went from "I'm playing from time to time" to "I'm always coming on [with the National Team]". That's where it happened.
Jules: We're not making things up, the numbers speak for themselves. She was the 12th player used by Herve Renard, 12th player used by Sonia Bompastor as well. We're going to move on to some more individual cases. We looked at the attacking line, with one player whom you had already brought up -
Abily: We have a good communications department, they told me which subjects we would be discussing on the show.
Jules: It was a compliment.
Abily: I was just happy it wasn't a dig for once.
Michael: One player who has been performing really well, who performed really well during the World Cup as well, that's Eugenie Le Sommer. We'll see it with the highlights since the beginning of the season, Eugenie Le Sommer, it's five games played, five league goals and one assist. She turned back time.
Abily: Yeah. She's exceptional really. I'm happy for her first of all, because there were some difficult moments for her last year. We talked about it, she wasn't getting as much playing time, it was a little bit more difficult. But it really shows her mental strength and all her qualities. We all know Eugenie and how good she is, she got her confidence back. The World Cup did her an enormous amount of good. She came back in the same form she was in at the World Cup, she's scoring some great goals, that's important as well.
Michael: I imagine that her return to the French National Team gave her a boost, which explains why today she is back to her best.
Jules: We really see a before and after.
Abily: I would say she rekindled her passion. It's really that. She always believed, but it was difficult. Of course she loves the club, but she had objectives with the French National Team. When it ended the way it did, that was difficult. But now it's as if she rekindled something inside of her, and it's top because she's performing so well with us.
Jules: Because statistically, it's going so well. We can see she is building off her performance at the World Cup. But even on her face, in her body language, we can see she is a player with the weight off her shoulders. When you are talking about having turned back time, it's a little bit that as well, I feel like. The light is back in her eyes. The passion is back for Eugenie Le Sommer. And that works out fine for us since she can't stop scoring.
Abily: Exactly.
Michael: We saw her goal against Reims. I just want to point out that against Reims, that was her 300th game in D1 Arkema. She had done 35 with Stade Briochin, she has played in 265 games with Olympique Lyonnais. And another status, 222 goals in D1 Arkema.
Abily: It's not bad.
Michael: It's Eugenie Le Sommer.
Abily: She's an attacker. We can see it, she's capable of scoring with her right foot, with her left foot, headers even though she's not very tall. She has a really good aerial game, very good timing. Very complete player. And full of confidence. So really firing at the moment.
Jules: 300th game in D1 Arkema, and soon the objective of 300 goals. It seems crazy that's achievable. 300 goals. Now we know now that it's a possibility, but when you say you could score 300 goals with Olympique Lyonnais, that's Messi, that's Maradona, that's Ronaldo. It's -
Abily: It's enormous. But she has the quality to do it.
Jules: But does that mean that the main competition for Eugenie Le Sommer is Ada Hegerberg?
Abily: If we stay in that formation, yes.
Jules: If we stay in that formation. But in any case the two central attackers who are No. 1 and I guess 1(b), I don't know how to classify it, it's either Eugenie Le Sommer or Ada Hegerberg. Indeed I really wouldn't want to be in your shoes. We know all about choices at OLPlay, it's between Ivan, Michael, and myself. I feel the producer might not be under the same amount as pressure as Camille. We're going to drop down to the midfield now. You said there is also stiff competition there. We're going to talk about the American player who is performing well and is even scoring as well. It's getting a bit complicated, she has everything going for her, Lindsey Horan.
Michael: Yeah, she has everything going for her since she arrived. It's clear that she has established herself in Lyon's midfield. And since the start of the league, it's four games played and four goals. She is getting 100 percent marks as well. And she's simply shining in the midfield.
Abily: Yeah, she makes - when she's performing well, she makes the team better. She's really the driving force behind the team and is capable of making the team play better. When we play badly it's often because Lindsey isn't playing well. Ever since she arrived - I said it the day she arrived, she immediately made the team better. She makes the players around her better. So we're really happy to have her and that she maintains that level.
Jules: There's also a certain stability in the midfield. We know that Lindsey is often a starter, along with Damaris and Danielle van de Donk. They're basically the core, just like the three in front of them. Last week we were talking with Timothee Piron, who comments the women's games, and he used the term "driving force". He also used it to describe Damaris who was really good in the derby [against ASSE]. It's a bit like three similar profiles but complimentary profiles as well. I don't know if you get what I'm saying.
Abily: Ummm -
Jules: Say yes, that will make me happy.
Abily: I see what you mean about complimentary but I don't see the similar in profile, not really.
Jules: Okay maybe less Damaris, that's a bit more difficult, but more for -
Abily: They have different qualities. They have different qualities. It's true that Damaris is really a DM whose role in the team is really important, because she's the first to launch something but also has to stop a lot of the attacks from the opponents since we have a really high block. She is often really well positioned. After, for Lindsey and Danielle -
Jules: I was talking more about Lindsey and Danielle, Sara [Dabritz]. More those profiles.
Abily: Yeah. Lindsey, Sara, Maro[zsan], Danielle. Those are players who have more of a similar profile with different qualities. And there are a lot of choices that have to be made because there's so much talent. There's two German internationals, Lindsey is an American international, and Danielle is an international Dutch player. So lots and lots of quality. But we know at Lyon there has to be competition. Since the start of the season it's been more Lindsey and Danielle who have had more of the playing time. We'll see later on. We aren't closing the door on anybody. If someone is performing well then it pushes the level of the team up even more.
Michael: Circling back to Lindsey, you were talking about her level on the field. But in the locker room I feel she is also someone who really has a leadership role. And since her arrival she has really integrated well with the group, and brings an enormous amount of experience.
Abily: Of course, a lot of experience. She has won the World Cup, she performed really well with the national team. So obviously when those players come into the locker room, they have to bring that experience with them. So yeah. And when you are a technical leader on the field, then it's important to be a leader in the locker room as well.
Jules: You were talking about the World Cup being a factor. Lindsey's World Cup didn't go particularly well. How did she feel about it? Did she say "forget about it, we're starting a new season" or is it still in the back of her mind, because it was really seen as a failure over there?
Abily: It was hard. It was especially hard because she is the captain of that team, and it was the first time she was captain in an official competition. So she really considered it as a failure on her part. So it was hard, we talked about it. Now she is lucky because the club season started really quickly after that, the club has a lot of objectives, we talked about the Trophee des Championnes. So you have to know when you're a player and there's a failure, the best way to get over a failure to keep working and move forward. And to have short term objectives as well, with your club that's important, but also with your national team as well. There's still the Olympic Games in 2024. So it's important for her to perform well and immediately switch over.
Jules: And when we're going to drop back even more and talk about the defense. We've talked about the only goal conceded this season. We're going to talk about one central defender who is playing extremely well at the moment and is also scoring goals, that's Vanessa Gilles.
Michael: Yes, Vanessa Gilles, who also since her arrival last year, who came in to cover for Griedge M'Bock's huge injury. Since the start of the season, it's four league games, two goals. She also experienced a failure at the World Cup with her country. Unfortunately - well watching those clips, I get the impression that she's already moved on to other things.
Abily: Yes, as I said, it was difficult, the return was difficult. Luckily they had some vacation time so they could really disconnect, clear their heads and come back mentally fresh. Because that's what's the most difficult. But yeah, it's true that Vanessa, she's also a great recruit we got. It's not easy to find cover while Griedge M'Bock is injured. She did it really, really well. And now it's up to Griedge to get her old level back because Vanessa has established her place [in the starting 11].
Michael: And when you see Wendie Renard and Vanessa Gilles, who are our center backs, and who score so many goals, it's extraordinary.
Abily: Yeah, we're lucky. We have two really top level center backs. Their aerial play is exceptional. And it's true we often thought of Wendie, but Vanessa, we can see she can be decisive as well. And there's a lot to be happy about.
Jules: From what we understand by listening to you, it's that the starting pair is Wendie and Vanessa.
Abily: As things stand right now, yes. But I think Griedge knows that. She's coming back, she had her first 90 minutes. She still needs match fitness. However, Griedge is an exceptional player. When Griedge is at her best level she's amongst the best center backs in the world. But when you've been out for more than year, you need a little bit of time. And as I said, we're going to have a lot of games coming up, so she will be getting playing time. So she will get her rhythm and her level back. And that's what we want, that she gets back to her level as fast as possible.
Michael: I imagine that when you have three players like that for two spots, three players as talented as they are. It's like with your offense, it's nice to have to make those kind of choices.
Abily: Yeah, of course. After, we can - if all three deserve to play, there's a 3-5-2 which exists, there's different systems. And it depends on how they are performing at that moment. After, you also need stability. The players need a system which they're used to playing in, because what's really important is that we're performing well as a team.
Jules: We're going to talk about objectives now. We've done the recap on the almost perfect start of the season. And amongst the objectives there is obviously the Champions League. There was the elimination last year after the quest to regain the title in 2021-2022. And a few days ago the draw came out, we're in probably the easiest group. We're going to go over it with Michael. It would have been complicated to have an easier group than this one.
Michael: Yes, it's true that we were very lucky with the draw with this group composed of Olympique Lyonnais, Slavia Prague, St Polten and SK Brann. Is it a group where we should have wished for another team closer to our level so it would be a bit more challenging and prepare the players a bit better for the quarter finals? How do you feel about it?
Abily: As soon as Paris FC knocked Arsenal and Wolfsburg, that meant that already in Pot 2, we couldn't play Paris, the other only big team left is Real Madrid and then Rosengaard. By getting Slavia Prague, we got the easiest team in Pot 2. After, we haven't yet studied all the teams, Prague we know a little bit, St Polten is improving, and the Norwegian team, Brann, we'll have to see. Now we're not going to complain, we'd rather have this group than a Group of Death especially as I said we're going to be playing a lot of games. It's going to be important to perform well.
Michael: Yes, it's what we were saying with Jules earlier. Last year we struggled to qualify, we had that -
Jules: It's okay, the group from last year has already been knocked out. I don't mean to bring up bad memories. But we qualified, so that's good.
Abily: Yeah, it was hard.
Jules: So you prefer the group we have this year to what we had last year where it came down to the last day?
Abily: It all depends on how you look at it. As a coach, of course I know this group is easier, as a competitor we have a greater chance of qualifying with this one than the one last year. However in terms of attraction for women's football but also for us in terms of marketing, of course Arsenal, Lyon, Juve is more interesting than Brann and St Polten.
Jules: But in terms of preparation. Do you think - do you prepare as well for the quarterfinals when you're with Arsenal and Juventus than when you're with - in all due respect - the other teams?
Abily: No, for sure. I want to wait and see, because I don't want to speak too soon. We have to play them first and after we've played the games then we can talk about whether there really is a difference. Women's football is evolving in every country. But I hope that we will finish first, and the advantage of finishing first is that you play the second. So your quarterfinal could be more accessible, though once again as you saw with Arsenal, we were up against Chelsea in the quarters. So it's more difficult.
Jules: But when you look at the other pots with the other French teams, Michael, those are really the Groups of Death, especially - maybe Paris Saint-Germain's group is worse.
Michael: Yes, Paris Saint-Germain, who is with Bayern Munich, AS Roma and Ajax. That's a really competitive group and it's not going to be a simple task for the Parisian team.
Abily: No. Especially because I think AS Roma is a really interesting team, we saw it in the past, even though I do think PSG will make it out of the group. But it will be more difficult.
Michael: To come back to our group, there's one thing which is interesting, it's that Ada who will see her sister again and will return to Norway. I imagine that's pretty nice for her.
Abily: Yeah, it's funny because when we were talking about it the night before, I said "I hope we won't have to go to Norway when it's cold and snowing." And I think we're going December 21, December 22, I forget which one. December 21 I think. It's right before the break as well, so Hegerberg was like "well at least I don't have to fly home." That's the only positive.
Jules: We'll need to bring proper clothing.
Abily: Exactly.
Michael: There will be a lot of travel involved with this group.
Abily: Indeed, indeed. And after - as I was saying, for sure on paper it's an easy group, but after - we haven't studied all the teams yet, we'll do it during the international break - and it will be interesting to see the level, how it has improved, because we can see it. Paris FC in principle wasn't favorite at all, managed to eliminate both Arsenal and Wolfsburg. So we still need to take this group seriously.
Michael: You brought up Paris FC. When we see three French teams out of the 16 European teams, the country most represented is France. I imagine that's nice to see.
Abily: I'm so happy. Sincerely, I'm super happy because everyone is talking about the English league, blah blah, Spanish league. It's all we hear about, even when it comes to recruiting players. "Ah but blah blah." But in the mean time, the only country with three teams in it is us. Of course there is a ton of progress to be made in the league, but we can see there is quality in France. And what Paris FC did, as I said, it's exceptional.
Jules: I said that there could be three French teams in the quarterfinals. Do you think so as well? Paris FC's group is Chelsea, Real Madrid and Hacken. They're in Pot 4, Paris FC.
Abily: Yes, it's normal that they're in a group that difficult. But - well, Chelsea could be difficult, even if they did beat Arsenal and Wolfsburg. But however against Real Madrid and Hacken, I think that's doable.
Michael: It's true that when you look at the group, you could say it's complicated for Paris FC. But after having eliminated Wolfsburg, last year's finalist, and Arsenal, semi-finalist, you could really say anything is possible. And we could potentially have three French teams in the quarterfinals.
Abily: After, the hardest thing is for that kind of team, they're not used to having to play every three days. Whether their team - and that's something we will find out - whether they will have a roster capable of playing every three days, I don't know.
Jules: You're playing Paris FC right before the first day of the UWCL, so there wouldn't be that impact yet. And if Lyon goes all the way, which we hope they do, then we can thank Paris FC for taken care of the nuisance.
Abily: We can thank them enormously. As I said, they - when we saw the draw and the pots, knowing that we can't play a French team, the biggest team left was PSG. So they eliminated two favorites in the competition. It's exceptional what they did.
Jules: So really quickly. The objective is the D1 Arkema with these playoffs, the UWCL, and the Coupe de France. That will come a little bit later. This is a bit of a traditional question, but is the objective to win all four titles? There's already one down, only three left.
Abily: Of course. We know that when you're at Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, be it as a player or part of the staff, we know the objectives are to win everything. That's it. Last year it was difficult in the Champions League because the manner in which we were eliminated was difficult, but we have to take our revenge this year.
Jules: We hope to get our revenge this year. In any case, thank you, Camille, for having come on the show. Thank you, Michael. We'll see you tomorrow.
Abily: Always a pleasure.
#all good love stories start in the rain#Camille abily#god I need a glass of wine#and by glass i do mean bottle#if you think this takes forever to read try being the one translating it
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Sept. 2023 Apple iPhone Event
This year we are expecting the biggest change of all to be the transition from the Lightning port to USB-C ports on all iPhones and some iPhone accessories. The Pro models will see thinner bezels, a titanium frame, and the replacement of the mute switch for a new action button.
Let’s get started!!
Starters
Starting off with a typical video showcasing how Apple’s hardware improves lives, health and people’s connection to each other
Showing actual stories of people who’s lives have been saved by Apple Watch and iPhone features
Bets they show the people saved by the satellite feature during the Maui fires?
And right over to Tim Cook who confirms this event will revolve around iPhone and Apple Watch
Oh but first we’re starting with…
The Mac?
Recapping the introduction of 15" MacBook Air and Mac Pro earlier this year
macOS Sonoma launching on 9/26
Oh also mentioning the Vision Pro which still doesn’t have a launch date other than early next year
And that’s it I guess for Mac? Random.
Apple Watch
OH ITS pink
Oh HAND GESTURES TO CONTROL IT
SERIES 9
New S9 chip with faster CPU and GPU (this is the first actual big chip upgrade for the Watch since the Series 6)
Still sticking to 18 hours of battery life
Siri now processes requests on the Watch instead of relying on the Phone
Siri can also reference your health data for you on the Watch. Think “Siri, how long did I sleep last night?”
(Also reminder that Apple is removing the “hey” in “hey, siri”)
Watch can now more precisely tell you where your iPhone is using a new ultra wide band chip
Media suggestions pop up on the Watch when you approach a Homepod
Display is 2x as bright as the Series 8 and can get even darker for when you’re in environments like a theater
Double Tap
Series 9 can now recognize hand gestures to control the watch
Double-Tap controls the main button in apps. You can double tap your fingers together to answer or end a call. Scroll through widgets. Snooze an alarm.
It sounds like a small feature but actually expands the amount of time you can use the watch exponentially
Double-tap available next month
Series 9 Aluminum available in Pink, Starlight, Midnight, Silver and Product Red
Stainless Steel available in Gold, Silver, and Grahite
Starts at $399 for Aluminum model
Pre-Order starts Today, Available on 9/22
Environmentality
Environmental goals updatge. Starting with a cute video of Mother nature, played by the wonderful Octavia Spencer, visiting Apple Park and everyone (including Tim Cook) being very nervous.
Apple states they’re eliminating all plastic in their packaging by the end of next year.
No more leather in iPhone cases
Operating on 100% clean electricity in offices, data centers and stores
Y’all should watch this video once its uploaded just because the acting by Octavia is hilarious (2030 Status | Mother Nature | Apple - YouTube)
Net zero climate impact from Apple by 2030
Tim Cook and Octavia Spencer staring each other down for 30 seconds was not on my bingo card for today
Sport Loop is now 80% recycled materials
Apple will match 100% expected energy use of Series 9 with investments in clean energy projects
Series 9 packaging is 100& fiber based and smaller packaging so they can ship more with less effort
Claiming the Series 9 is apple’s first “carbon neutral” product
Apple no longer using leather in ANY of their products, starting today
New material called FineWoven that feels “suede-like”
Even Hermes is launching new environmentally friendly bands
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Also getting Double Tap feature
Display now goes up to 3000 nits, 1000 more than the Series 9
Very minor improvements across the board for this one
I think they mainly just needed to add the new chip and call it a day
Ultra 2 is 95% recycled titanium
Ultra 2 starts at $799
Pre-Orders available today; Available 9/22
All new models are carbon neutral depending on what band you get
iPhone 15
Dynamic Island makes its debut on the base model
6.1 and 6.7” OLED displays
Display can go up to 1600 nits of brightness for HDR Photos and videos, or 2000 nits in direct sunlight
Available in pink, yellow, green, blue and black
Now has c urved aluminm edges instead of the sharp edges of the 13 & 14 models
Has “ceramic shield” which is tougher than any smartphone glass so its built to last longer
100% recycled cobalt in the battery
They haven’t shown the bottom yet… it’d be hilarious if they just don’t tell people about the change in charging port
iPhone 15 Camera
New camera is 48mp. This was previously limited to the pro models last year.
Depending on the mode, it will be adjusted to 24mp
Pixels also allow for a 2x telephoto optical zoom option with 12mp resolution
Portrait mode getting improved colors and better performance in low light
If the camera detects a person or animal, it’ll automatically capture the data for a portrait photo without you switching modes. You can choose to make the photo portrait later on.
You can also switch the portrait photos subject after the photo is taken
Improved Night Mode & Smart HDR as well
iPhone 15 is getting the A16 chip, the chip used in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro; but with only 2 cores instead of last year’s 4 for the Pro
Battery size increased from last year but no specifics
OH TIME TO TALK ABOUT “CONNECTIVITY”
2nd Gen Ultra Wideband chip so it can connect to other devices that are farther away and make it easier to find your friends in crowded places
Better noise cancellation on phone calls so your voice stands out
Emergency SOS Satellite now available in 16 countries
Now adding Roadside Assistance via Satellite, partnering with AAA; free for AAA members
TIME TO TALK CABLES hehehehehe
Confirmed: iPhone 15 has USB-C
Earpods and AirPods Pro 2 also updated with USB-C
Confirming FineWoven iPhone and AirTag cases going on sale now to replace Leather accessories
iPhone 15 starts at $799; 15 Plus starts at $899
Pre-Orders start Friday 9/15; Available on 9/22
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro now made out of titanium and Action button also confirmed
Lol “the most pro iphone we’ve ever created”
Titanium means these are the lightest pro models ever
New countoured edges and thinnest borders of an iPhone
Dimensions of phone smaller with the same display sizes as the 14 Pro models
“Toughest glass based materials in the industry”
Available in white, black, blue and “natural”
New architecture inside makes the device more repairable
Action Button
Still ring/silent switch by default but you can reprogram it to do things like open the camera, turn on the flashlight, start voice memos, etc.
A17 Pro Chip
The first 3nm chip in the industry
First iphone with USB-C speeds of 10gbps
They can do ray tracing on a phone now…
Kinda crazy to me how they always talk about how good gaming is on a battery driven iphone chip and they’ve made absolutely zero push to make gaming a bigger feature of the Apple TV
iPhone 15 Pro Camera
Camera time babbbyyyyy
Bigger 48 MP sensor to enable better low light performance
“equivalent of 7 camera lenses in your pocket”
Reduced lens flare (finally)
You can now choose a default lens size, including 24 mm, 28 mm and 35 mm focal lengths
2x better low light performance
Nightmode and Smart HDR seeing big improvements
15 Pro Max now gets 5x optical zoom; regular 15 Pro still at 3x optical zoom
Periscope lens utilized for the first time in Pro Plus to achieve that better zoom
USB-C allows faster transfer speeds and the ability to shoot video directly to an external device
The 15 Pro can record spatial video that you can then view only on your Apple Vision Pro… lol
New 6TB and 12TB iCloud plans announced to store more high quality photos and videos (at $29.99 and $59.99 per month, respectively)
iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 for 128gb
iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1199 for 256gb
Pre-Orders start on Friday; Available on 9/22
Takeaways
That's a wrap on this event and rumors are saying it was Apple's last one of the year! If they do have anything else in store (there's a possible iPad Air refresh in the works or more devices with USB-C) it'll most likely just be done via press release.
For those following the rumor mill, there wasn't much surprising in this event except for maybe some of the camera specs. But if you're reading this you probably heard it all for the first time.
So now the question is, is upgrading worth it?
If you have any of last year's phones or watches my answer is short and sweet: No.
If you have older devices, the answer gets murkier. The iPhone 13 line from 2021 still holds up well against this lineup, but chances are you're noticing your battery doesn't hold up as long as it used to. The watch upgrades this year could be significant too depending on how old your model is.
Also chances are, there are no features on the Pro models of the iPhone or the Watch Ultra that you need. If you want to save money, chances are you won't notice much of a difference other than slightly better battery and display. A normal iPhone 15 model will last you a few years if you take care of it
Personally, I will not follow my own advice and will be upgrading my phone. I do it every year so please don't think this is anything special. I'll be getting the iPhone Pro Max in Blue with the base 256gb storage.
The watch is less of a sure fire thing. I think people tend to believe that I upgrade all of my Apple products often but the reality is I only splurge on a phone upgrade every year. My Watch is a Series 5 from 2019, my iPad is a 2018 iPad Pro and my laptop is a 2012 15" Retina Macbook Pro.
Four year seems like a decent amount of time between upgrades though and my watch's battery doesn't last as long as it used to so we'll see. If I do upgrade, it'll be the smaller silver stainless steel model.
OK. I think that's all. Let me know what questions or comments you have. Interested to see everyone's thoughts this year!!
You can view the whole keynote from today below or a quick video recap from Apple as well.
Tour of new iPhones: A Guided Tour of iPhone 15 & iPhone 15 Pro | Apple - YouTube
Full Keynote: Apple Event - September 12 - YouTube
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Babe! I‘m so confused… I was away from social media for 2 days cause I thought everything was calm and now I come back to this mess… so I get that Alpine announced Piastri after Alonso left for AM and Piastri basically gave them the finger… but why is everybody talking about Zak Brown and McLaren and Dan 🤯 I am confusion 😵💫😂
To recap:
Start of racing season: AM wants to know if Seb will stick with the team. Seb stalls negotiations
AM starts courting Fernando (and others, allegedly) to replace Seb
McLaren (Zak Brown) starts side-eying Dan and having major buyer's regret
McLaren starts offering various drivers the option to race for them and replace Dan.
Alex Palou (from IndyCar) takes up Zak's offer. There's no official contract. Chip Ganassi says that Alex has a contract with them. Alex says he doesn't. Lawsuit ensues.
Sebastian Vettel makes up his mind and announces his retirement.
AM starts wooing Fernando harder because they now need a driver.
Fernando has a spat with Otmar and Alpine over Esteban being given preferential treatment. Packs his shit up and heads over to AM to sign a contract.
In the last 48 hours:
Otmar finds this out from Aston Martin's press release. He panics, contacts Fernando but Fernando sends him to voicemail.
Otmar panics some more, remembers they have a junior they've been stringing along for a bit and calls up said kid's agent, Mark Webber, to tell him that Oscar will be driving for Alpine next year.
Mark leaves Otmar on read.
Zak (allegedly) approaches Oscar for Daniel's seat.
Alpine panics, posts on social media that Oscar will be driving for them in 2023.
Oscar says he won't.
Mark Webber is sleeping all throughout this.
Alpine confirms they have no actual contract signed.
Mark Webber is seen in London chatting away with Zak. Sus timing 👀
And I think that's all for today?
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Annual Award Ceremony
Hello Everyone - happy Skin Deep Day - and welcome to the first annual Chipped Cup Awards.
Continuing the long and beloved tradition, the Chipped Cup Awards celebrates the Rumbelle fandom as we recognize our writers and artists for their hard work and dedication to their crafts that provide us all with so many wonderful hours of entertainment and joy.
Over the next several hours, the winners of the 2023 Chipped Cup Awards in 58 categories will be announced individually, followed by a post that will recap all 58 of those creators that we - the Rumbelle Fandom - have chosen to honor as the recipients of our many and varied ‘best of’ all things Rumbelle.
It was quite the challenge this year to decide between all of the superb nominees - ALL of whom deserve the highest accolades and recognition for their contributions to a fandom that has survived, and continues to see new members joining our community, many years after Once Upon a Time aired its last episode. If you’re one of those new Rumbellers, welcome! We are happy you are here.
So… without further ado, sit back… relax… and enjoy the 2023 Chipped Cup Awards.
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State of the Conlang, November 2023
WHY DO I KEEP DOING THESE LATE. YALL GOTTA START KEEPING ME IN LINE OKAY??? SOMEONE YELL INTO MY INBOX WHEN IM DUMB AND FORGET TO DO THESE.
(in my defense the 3rd was the day of my ochem exam this week so i was completely dead inside when i got home)
Anywayyyyyy look below the cut for this months recap, its pretty sparse ngl bc yknow. College. Organic chemistry is still my nemesis. But there's some new stuff!
What got done:
updated pronouns, including possessive/genitive pronouns
colors! hooray
chipped away at Null Composure, hopefully will have another update out soon.
A lot of little grammar things (that I might make some quick posts abt after this): participles, indirect object relative pronouns, different ways to make nouns based on verbs
What needs doing (lifted directly from Septermber lol):
more of Null Composure
finish and post "transl. from Eliksni" lines
begin work on conversational Eliksni
choose most common verbs that will have irregular conjugation
number glyphs
organize lexicon spreadsheet better for public use
mythic past tense
add IPA transcriptions to lexicon sheet
make audio clips of me speaking Eliksni
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