#Nigerian newspapers

[premimtimes]

2023: Step down as Atiku’s running mate, Edwin Clark tells Okowa

Elder statesman and former federal commissioner for information, Edwin Clark, has urged Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State to step down as the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2023 general election. Mr Clark said this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday. He said that Mr Okowa’s running as the PDP vice presidential candidate, was contrary to the…

[wisdomwils]

SYNCHRONIZED TRIO: Brothers Beyond Borders.

[ausetkmt]

[m-ultraarticles]

Nigerian Newspaper Headlines, Naija News For Friday, 19th May 2023

Nigerian Newspaper Headlines and Naija News for Friday, 19th May 2023, have been compiled below by News Online Nigeria Reporter. NewsOnline has compiled Naija News headlines from Top Nigerian newspapersthis means that the latest Naija news, top newspaper headlinesand happenings in Nigeria today can be accessed on this page. Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines And Naija News For Friday, 19th May…

[fictionadventurer]

I saw a page of a local newspaper from 1911 with an article that was like, "Guess what, guys? That Spanish nobleman is still in prison! And he still hasn't found anyone to take that chest of gold off his hands! Apparently in Spain, they're under the impression that our town has an unusually high population of suckers."

I'm just weirdly delighted to know that the Nigerian prince scam is so much older than I thought.

[fiercynn]

black & palestinian solidarities

if you support black liberation but are unsure of your stance on palestinian resistance, here’s a reminder that they are deeply intertwined. after the 1917 balfour declaration by the british government announcing the first support for a zionist state in palestine,  zionism and israeli occupation of palestine have followed similar ideologies and practices to white supremacist settler colonial projects, so solidarity between black and palestinian communities has grown over time, seeing each other as fellow anti-imperialist and anti-racist struggles. (if you get a paywall for any of the sources below, try searching them in google scholar.)

palestinians have been inspired by and shown support for black liberationist struggles as early as the 1930s, when arabic-language newspapers in palestine wrote about the struggle by black folks in the united states and framed it as anti-colonial, as well as opposing the 1935 invasion by fascist italy of ethiopia, the only independent black african state at the time. palestinian support for black struggles grew in the 1960s with the emergence of newly-independent african states, the development of black and third world internationalisms, and the civil rights movement in the united states. palestinian writers have expressed this solidarity too: palestinian activist samih al-qasim showed his admiration for congolese independence leader patrice lumumba in a poem about him, while palestinian poet mahmoud darwish’s “letters to a negro” essays spoke directly to black folks in the united states about shared struggles.

afro-palestinians have a rich history of freedom fighting against israeli apartheid, where they face oppression at the intersections of their black and palestinian identities. some families trace their roots back hundreds of years, while others came to jerusalem in the nineteenth century from chad, sudan, nigeria, and senegal after performing the hajj (the islamic pilgrimage to mecca) and settled down. still others came to palestine in the 1940s specifically to join the arab liberation army, where they fought against israel’s ethnic cleansing of palestinians during the 1948 nakba (“catastrophe”). afro-palestinian freedom fighter fatima bernawi, who was of nigerian, palestinian, and jordanian descent, became, in 1967, the first palestinian woman to be organize an operation against israel, and subsequently the first palestinian woman to be imprisoned by israel. the history of afro-palestinian resistance continues today: even as the small afro-palestinian community in jerusalem is highly-surveilled, over-policed, disproportionately incarcerated, and subjected to racist violence, they continue to organize and fight for palestinian liberation.

black revolutionaries and leaders in the united states have supported the palestinian struggle for decades, with a ramp-up since the 1960s. malcolm x became a huge opponent of zionism after traveling to southwest asia and north africa (SWANA), publishing “zionist logic” in 1964, and becoming one of the first black leaders from the united states to meet with the newly formed palestine liberation organization. the black panther party and the third world women’s alliance, a revolutionary socialist organization for women of color, also supported palestinian resistance in the 1970s. writers like maya angelou, june jordan, and james baldwin have long spoken out for palestinians. dr. angela davis (who received support from palestinian political prisoners when she was incarcerated) has made black and palestinian solidarity a key piece of her work. and many, many more black leaders and revolutionaries in the united states have supported palestinian freedom.

while israel has long courted relationships with the african union and its members, there has been ongoing tension between them since at least the 1970s, when all but four african states (malawi, lesotho, swaziland, and mauritius) cut off diplomatic ties with israel after the 1973 october war. while many of those diplomatic relationships were reestablished in subsequent decades, they remain rocky, and earlier this year, the african union booted an israeli diplomat from their annual summit in addis ababa, ethiopia, and issued a draft declaration on the situation in palestine and the middle east that expressed “full support for the palestinian people in their legitimate struggle against the israeli occupation”, naming israeli settlements as illegal and calling for boycotts and sanctions with israel. grassroots organizations like africa 4 palestine have also been key in the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement.

in south africa, comparisons between israel and south african apartheid have been prevalent since the 1990s and early 2000s. israel historically allied with apartheid-era south africa, while palestinians opposed south african apartheid, leading nelson mandela to support the palestinian liberation organization as "fighting for the right of self-determination"; over the years his statements have been joined by fellow black african freedom fighters like nozizwe madlala-routledge and desmond tutu. post-apartheid south africa has continued to be a strong ally to palestine, calling for israel to be declared “apartheid state”.

black and palestinian solidarities have continued into the 21st century. palestinian people raised money to send to survivors of hurricane katrina in the united states in 2005 (which disproportionately harmed black communities in new orleans and the gulf of mexico) and the devastating earthquake in haiti in 2010. in the past decade, the global black lives matter struggle has brought new emphasis to shared struggles. prison and police abolitionists have long noted the deadly exchange which brings together police, ICE, border patrol, and FBI agents from the united states to train with soldiers, police, and border agents from israel. palestinian freedom fighters supported the 2014 uprising in ferguson in the united states, and shared strategies for resisting state violence. over a thousand black leaders signed onto the 2015 black solidarity statement with palestine. the murder of george floyd by american cops in 2020 has sparked further allyship, including black lives matter protests in palestine, with organizations like the dream defenders making connections between palestinian and black activists.

this is just a short summary that i came up because i've been researching black and asian solidarities recently so i had some sources on hand; there's obviously so much more that i haven't covered, so please feel free to reblog with further additions to this history!

[celticcrossanon]

This Megan and Harry “Road Show” is just that… pretenders playacting parts as if they are being part of a royal family. It is not and they are not…it is actually kind of a joke performance. Lets see, we have women’s luncheons with about 30 women (a tight shot by misan makes it appear bigger, but there look to be 8 tables with 4 women at each one, and a pathetic speech reiterated for the 40th time by Vajj Scratch. Public Performances by them in school yards, with children lined up to stare at them, as there was no applause, no one knows who Vajj Scratch was waving at as no one was waving back. A set up in a hospital, seemingly staged with healthy men and all new pj’s, sheets, no apparent injuries , no I V’s, no medical records at the end of the bed, no water on tables and no nurses in view and very very clean. Back to the school yard with about 12 Sussex’s Squads (they were part of the Sussex entourage of 19 persons) you know who they are they are all wearing the same fabric print on their dresses and no hair covers as Nigerian women were). Finale, when the famous “3 chiefs” or chefs (extras from a movie) promote migraine to a faraway princess! Yikes…that and a nickel will get you the tube train in london. One article says she had a meeting with WHO, she did not. The women were the board and Director of the Nigerian World Trade Organization, not WHO (World Health Organization). It sounded like The Moderator they introduced has a Netflix deal. They were mentioned in 1 newspaper on the first day they were there, and never again positively after that. However, her indiscreet, inappropriate, and slutty clothing for a trip to a mostly muslim country was a fail based on the way most of them looked at her. The point of dressing like that is unknown, unless it was simply to insult them. Someone clued her in and she wore clothing covering her arms and no slits in the skirt on the final day, and of course her usual search for a Diana look alike outfit for the last day and the 19 hour trip home, which must have smelled like very dated, Stinko, laundry hamper of teenagers.Sounds like the trip was a bust, and she must have known it, based on the way she got off the plane to the waiting car…alone. The news that was on the front page of most papers was not about the trip, that was all marred, by the press revealing they were in arrears on the filing payment of their Archwell paperwork for last years. She must have been P O’d when it was all washed away with that one headline.

*

Hi Nonny,

The Nigerian trip was a failure, and due to social media everyone knows it. The reactions of the Nigerians to the disrespectful behaviour of Harry and Meghan has made itself known. The tricks they played with camera angles etc are the same ones they used on the Oceania Tour to make it seem as if they were popular. They weren’t that popular than and they are definitely not popular now. Rumour says that Meghan was fuming over the news of Archewell being released at the end of their trip, especially as it made the mainstream news and their trip did not. So much for being relevant and bringing attention to anything besides themselves.

[the-empress-7]

I have seen the behind the scenes pictures, there were no crowds in Nigeria either. Which is crazy considering how heavily populated Abuja and Lagos are. All the articles about her getting mobbed are literally staged using six sugars. Pathetic.

Nigerian press didn’t bite their tongue either, they were saying that only the first day and only in one (from 7) newspaper the Nigerian press mentioned them, the rest is like they weren’t there. They also said that the people weren’t excited either, because they didn’t go to have a glimpse of them pursue their hotel or the places they were. As anon said, they can say whatever they want but nobody cared, just only the people who were invited to the events.

This is also another thing a real royal tour have, the possibility to have crowds, because the governments make lots of publicity of the visit, si people can know where to go. But even with that, considering how his sugars swear how popular they are, I wold expect more than their 10 sugars

It was a busy weekend last weekend (you know Mother’s Day) but I managed to peek at the Nigerian Twitter top 30 trend charts. They trended for a hot minute the first day and that’s all she wrote. Even her bots didn’t come through for her.

Btw they leaked the itinerary a couple days ahead hoping to generate interest and that was totally a bust.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

AFP abused its position with the fact checking of Sen. Oluremi Tinubu discourse by u/EleFacCafele

AFP abused its position with the fact checking of Sen. Oluremi Tinubu discourse AFP, namely Agence France Presse, is the official News Agency of the French state. Many European countries have official News Agencies, to broadcast home and world news and comments, some related to that country but not only. Their news are often presented through the lens of the official positions of that country regarding these events. France has AFP, Germany has Deutsche Welle, Italy has ANSA, Russia has TASS and so on. They are all state news agencies which present news as seen by those states. There is always elements of propaganda in them in the way news are presented.. As a journalist, I used their News to create the International News section of the newspaper where I worked, and read along lines how certain events are perceived.So I was pretty shocked that AFP fact checked the opinion of  Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, the First of Nigeria and mentioned Sidley Twin. The First Lady (FL) expressed an opinion on Hollywood actresses exhibiting themselves barely clothed or better said, almost naked. FL did not specifically mentioned MM, the claim that Megsy was not targeted is factually correct if taken out of the context of Megsy's wardrobe in Nigeria. Put in the context of the visit the story looks a bit different. But I won't discuss this topic but the AFP fact checking of Nigeria's FL discourse.A piece of news can and should be fact checked for accuracy and correctness. But AFP checked an opinion of a person who is not French citizen, nor has anything to do with France and its politics. The opinion of a non-French person, an African personality, which had the right to express an opinion regarding events in her country. The AFP fact check was completely out of order and also plainly racist. AFP had no business to check the opinion of the Nigerian First Lady who had nothing do with France or French politics. AFP had the duty to report it as news, not to fact check it and make public its findings. This was a real act of abuse coming from a state News Agency. And post colonial arrogance and racism too.Ps edited for clarification post link: https://ift.tt/oEKdmZp author: EleFacCafele submitted: June 02, 2024 at 07:36PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[head-post]

Burkina Faso, Niger ban French TV show for “stigmatising” African women

Burkina Faso and Niger have banned a French TV show for “stigmatising” African women and for being “contrary to the values and customs” of the two states, African Media reported.

The move is in line with recent moves by these countries – former colonial possessions of France – to ban several French media outlets.

A statement from the Nigerian military administration’s High Council of Communications said French broadcaster Canal+ had been ordered to “no longer broadcast or rebroadcast” the third season of the series “The Bachelor.”

The show is “stigmatising for African women, does not protect young people and is contrary to the country’s values and customs,” the statement said. Niger ordered the ban on Wednesday.

Last December, Burkina Faso launched a TV channel in Burkina Faso that only broadcasts programmes in local national languages. The new TV channel Rtb3 broadcasts in 12 languages.

In early December, Burkina Faso’s government banned the distribution of French newspaper Le Monde in the country. The decision follows the November 29 publication of an article headlined “Propaganda rages in Burkina after jihadist attack on Djibo.”

Read more HERE

[beardedmrbean]

A soldier sacked by the Nigerian military after she accused some senior officers of rape and sexual harassment has released a video condemning her treatment.

Ex-private Ruth Ogunleye made the allegations via her TikTok account in January, saying she had suffered immensely as a result of her ordeal at the hands of a general and two colonels.

Her allegations caused widespread outrage in Nigeria and prompted the women's minister to discuss the case with the army chief.

After an investigation, the army dismissed her allegations and said the soldier had been discharged on medical grounds as she suffers from a condition that makes her vulnerable, without giving further details.

Ms Ogunleye has now released a second video on TikTok, in which she calls for the investigation to be made public and describes how she was raped and given an injection by those she accused.

“Firstly I want to thank [army spokesman] General Onyema Nwachukwu for posting me on all social media platforms, newspapers, it shows how powerful I am," she said.

“January 9th 2024, I came on social media to complain of how I was harassed, of how I was raped and how I was injected and put inside a casket.

“How I had a gun pointed at me, was handcuffed and kept inside an office for some days.

“I want to beg the Nigerian army to post the outcome of the investigation on all social media platforms, so that the world would know what transpired,” she noted.

The outcome of the investigation was revealed by Gen Nwachukwu on Tuesday evening.

"Upon receipt of her complaint, the Nigerian Army referred the matter to the Military Police for a thorough investigation. The investigation concluded that Colonel IB Abdulkareem did not commit the alleged offences," he said.

He said Ms Ogunleye had been discharged after refusing to get medical treatment from either the National Hospital in the capital, Abuja, or the Nigerian Army.

He went on to accuse her of propagating "false narratives against Colonel Abdulkareem and other senior officers [and] using online platforms to engage in cyberbullying and defamation".

However, women's rights activists have called for an independent investigation.

"The army is known for not wanting to wash its dirty linen in public," Hadiza Ado, founder of Women and Children Initiative, told the BBC.

“If the army investigation are saying she had a medical condition which affects her, then for how long was she in the service with that condition, why coming out to say it now that she was dismissed?” she asked.

[m-ultraarticles]

Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Tuesday, 16th May, 2023

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 16th May 2023 The United States Government on Monday disclosed that it had taken steps to impose visa restrictions on some Nigerians for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 general elections. Naija News reports that this was made known in a statement by the Secretary…

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Just because you don’t hear about something, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Because tragically, too often, boys and men suffer in darkness.

There is perhaps no better example of this than the horrific actions of Boko Haram, and the countless boys and men they have taken, without trace, and to very little outrage.

For it is not just the education of women and girls that the group are implacably against, Boko Haram are against all Western education, for all people, including men and boys.

For years they demonstrated this through enacting unspeakable war crimes onto innocent Nigerian men and boys, often releasing women and girls, and for years they were ignored by a disinterested world.

Boys disappeared. Men were killed. Nobody said anything.

And certainly nobody especially important.

Then things changed in April 2014, when nearly 300 Nigerian girls were taken, and the world woke up to what was going on.

Celebrities marched the red carpets, political leaders spoke up, Michelle Obama fought for justice, god damn, we had China and America working together for once.

#bringbackourgirls rang out, as it should, and the much awaited outrage and long overdue horror finally took flight.

Most of the girls were saved, and the world went about its business as usual…

The following three years saw not 300 boys taken, or 500… but 10,000, and as before, silence reined supreme.

So who will speak for these forgotten boys?

Who will bring back all Nigeria’s children?

~

Study: https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/20829/4320

Patterns in Making Victims’ Gender Visible or Invisible in News Media Reporting of Boko Haram’s Massacres and Kidnappings

Boko Haram, a terrorist group based in Nigeria, has systematically conducted gender- based mass kidnappings and killings throughout its history, and these gendered crimes have included both male and female victims. This research examined newspaper articles on Boko Haram’s gendered crimes reported from July 2013 to February 2021, with a focus on the relative visibility of the gender of the victims. The genders of male and female abductees were clearly identified; however, the gender of male massacre victims was relatively invisible irrespective of whether they were men or boys. A failure to report the gendered nature of the massacres may contribute to lower awareness and, thus, reduced security resourcing needed to address such severe human rights violations.

--

The name Boko Haram can be loosely translated as “Western education is sin” (Sergie & Johnson, 2014, para. 4). The group has strongly advocated radical social and educational reforms throughout Nigeria (Bello, 2021), aiming at eliminating all Western influences and replacing Western education and standards with “undiluted” Islamic laws and procedures that are identical to Sharia. Boko Haram might have deemed offensive any consideration of improving women’s empowerment through education instead of seeing it as a key issue of human rights and development. Thus, in April 2014, the group gained international notice and notoriety for the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls and the subsequent #BringBackOurGirls campaign promoted by the then First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. The crime garnered international outrage and support to seek the return of the girls, of which at the time of publishing, 90 were still missing (Lewis, 2023). Boko Haram also used female kidnapping and suicide bombers as part of its strategy to increase its media coverage (Zenn & Pearson, 2014).

The gendered nature of Boko Haram’s tactics was used before and after the Chibok kidnapping. Boko Haram has committed gender-selective kidnappings and executions against adults and children throughout much of its history. This insurgent group is believed to have kidnapped up to an estimated 10,000 boys and men to be forcibly conscripted or enslaved (Hinshaw & Parkinson, 2016; Topol, 2017) and kidnapped hundreds of women and girls for pressured conversions to Islam, to marry Boko Haram combatants, to be used for sexual and domestic enslavement, or to be used for tactical strategy (Amnesty International, 2015; Omilusi, 2015; Zenn & Pearson, 2014). While Boko Haram has also engaged in bombings where the killing has been more indiscriminate or done based on religion or engagement in secular education, a significant portion of the abductions and killings were gender based.

Academic literature to date has addressed Boko Haram’s gendered crimes with an almost exclusive focus on women, girls, and children. Barkindo, Gudaku, and Wesley (2013) report on Boko Haram’s violence against Christian women and girls, defining gender-based violence as that conducted by males or male institutions against women and girls, thus definitionally excluding recognition of boys and men as victims. Pereira (2018) and Zenn and Pearson (2014) directed their attention to female victims of Boko Haram’s violence and briefly mentioned that insurgent violence is also directed toward men and boys. Pogoson and Saleh (2019) focused on female vulnerability to violence in Nigeria and argued that Nigeria’s security forces needed to prioritize the protection of women from violence. When discussing Boko Haram’s and al Shabaab’s1 tactics, Matfess (2020) omitted any mention of men and boy victims and compared the violence toward women with violence against civilians, thus comparing female gender identity with noncombatant identities. A report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2015) on Boko Haram mostly excluded recognizing men and boys as victims of this gender-based violence while also acknowledging in other parts that men and boys were specifically targeted to be murdered or kidnapped. Likewise, Boukhars (2020) identified Boko Haram’s gendered crimes as being solely about the kidnappings of women and girls. In an edited book titled Boko Haram and International Law (Iyi & Strydom, 2018), a section containing three chapters focused on the welfare of girls and women in the conflict while the entire book mentioned the word “boys” a total of three times in reference to incidents of their victimization. The Boko Haram academic gendered victim discourse and analysis relates almost exclusively to females and tends to exclude males. To date, there appears little attention and acknowledgment of the civilian male victims in the literature or discourse.

==

"Male privilege" is when nobody noticed or cares that you're dead or missing.

[lboogie1906]

Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka “Emeka” Odumegwu-Ojukwu (November 4, 1933 – November 26, 2011) was a Nigerian military officer, statesman, and politician who served as the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria in 1966 and the leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra (1967-70). He was active as a politician (1983-2011).

He started his secondary school education at CMS Grammar School, Lagos aged 10. He transferred to King’s College, Lagos in 1944 where he was involved in a controversy leading to his brief imprisonment for assaulting a British teacher who put down a student strike action that he was a part of. This event generated widespread coverage in local newspapers. At 13, his father sent him to the UK to continue his education, first at Epsom College and at Lincoln College, Oxford University, where he earned an MA in History. He returned to colonial Nigeria in 1956.

He joined the civil service in Eastern Nigeria as an Administrative Officer at Udi. In 1957, after two years of working with the colonial civil service and seeking to break away from his father’s influence over his civil service career, he left and joined the military enlisting as an NCO in Zaria.

From Zaria, he proceeded first, to the Royal West African Frontier Force Training School in Teshie, Ghana, and next, to Eaton Hall where he received his commission in March 1958 as a 2nd Lieutenant.

He was one of the first and few university graduates to receive an army commission. He attended the Infantry School in Warminster and the Small Arms School in Hythe. He was assigned to the Army’s Fifth Battalion in Kaduna.

The Nigerian Military Forces had 250 officers and only 15 were Nigerians. There were 6,400 other ranks, of which 336 were British. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1964 and posted to Kano, where he was in charge of the 5th Battalion of the Nigerian Army. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[celticcrossanon]

Hahahahaha! During H&M's faux royal trip to Nigeria, King Charles announced that he will be the next royal patron of Queen Elizabeth's Commonwealth Trust. Your royal reading could very well be correct: Charles may finally be fed up with Harry's conduct. I hope that is the case. :)

Anon absolutely no one is giving a shit about that. Harkles are ruining the commonwealth. These countries will remain part of commonwealth because they love what being members brings to them but showing nothing but disrespect to royals in the same time. This is thanks to them. And chuck is only watching and allowing them do that

Hi Nonny,

I appreciated the original nonny, telling me about the royal patron for the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, as otherwise I would not have known. It is significant in that it is an indicator of how the BRF is currently treating Harry, plus it is nice that the trust got a decent patron from the royals this time.

I don't see the Harkles as ruining the Commonwealth - yet. There is more going on here than appears on the surface, I know that - lots of political stuff to which I am not privy - and I can not even start to guess at how that will turn out as I have no idea what is going on politically. The Harkles may be 'useful idiots' to people with a political agenda of their own, but I don't see them as ruining the Commonwealth. Annoying everyone who sees the Harkles for what they are - yes. Destroying the Commonwealth of Nations single-handedly - no.

The British Ambassador to Nigeria made a statement that was in the Nigerian newspapers and it stated, quite plainly, that this is not a royal tour and that Harry and Meghan do not represent The King in any way. If, after that statement, various people decide to treat the Harkles as if they were royalty, that is on them and no one else (and for what it is worth, I think this trip is not polished enough or dignified enough to even approach being a pseudo-royal tour).

Nigeria is a republic. If they choose to show disrespect to the BRF, that is a) on the government and b) their right to do so.

The media is calling this a royal tour for clickbait purposes. They are writing sugary articles about it because Meghan and Harry have paid them to do so. The media is a whore selling themselves to the highest bidder. Do not mistake what they say for news - it is opinions designed to outrage others and create media storms of their own design. The sooner we can all see through them, the better.

Edited to add in bits.

[sayheykid]

*banging pots and pans* TELL ME ABOUT YOUR OCS!!!

you don't have to twist my arm! my story is mostly focused on friendship and growing up through the lens of college athletics (my fake university and fake surrounding small town are characters in and of themselves)

the central storyline focuses on the baseball team, and several people on/around it. here are the ones you MUST know:

charlie: irish/italian guy from boston and it's obvious from everything about him. captain of the team, de facto dad. he is so so very tired and he acts like shepherding 35 guys is the biggest burden in the world but he would die for any of them and they all know it. he literally cannot turn off being the oldest brother no matter how hard he tries, and holds himself to unreal strict standards, whether that's in baseball, outside responsibility, his family or the numerous handyman projects he's taken on to keep his college house from falling apart. he's a right handed starting pitcher who still believes starters should throw 200 innings a year. he's also more in love with his girlfriend than any human being has been in love with anyone else ever.

ramón: he is both the most and least chill person you've ever met. lanky sidearm lefty pitcher who was born to be a bullpen personality and forced to start. he's loud and colorful and knows everybody. (those who don't know him know of him) he has the best hair on the team and is the designated dj. he does not seek out responsibility to the extent charlie does, but is a competent and respected alternate captain. functional disaster bi

tyler: first string catcher and the babiest boy in the world. i love him so much, he follows charlie around like a lost duckling and has been adopted as charlie's little brother/son. people know he's smart (mechanical engineer baby!!!) but don't realize the depth of his personality because he's pretty shy and it takes a while to get his sense of humor to shine through. he cannot grow a beard under any circumstances. only baseball player in history to be taller than his listed roster height. don't judge that he's from ohio, he couldn't help it.

jake: he's a center fielder and everyone knows it. shows off on the field but is very down to earth in every other aspect of his life. extremely suave and charismatic with a dazzling smile. probably the most involved in extracurriculars of anyone on the team, and should probably be president some day (dude you can't be athletic and smart and musical and handsome and a genuinely good guy. leave some for the rest of us). nigerian and has two moms<3 he was also the kid that took the bite out of the nerf football growing up sorry

sam: charlie's younger sister and captain of the women's hockey team in her own right. she's extremely fiery both on and off the ice, and can sometimes be a bit brash. when it comes down to it though, she's one of the most compartmentalized and action-oriented in an emergency. she grew up as the only girl with two competitive older brothers (ben is between charlie and sam) and the experience was absolutely formative. she takes everything as a challenge, and is more of a frat bro than many of the actual fraternity brothers at their university. all three siblings have adhd.

ellie: love of my life!! charlie's girlfriend and sam's best friend though it's hard not to love her, no matter who you are. she is definitely the even keel in the friend group - very patient and compassionate, and balances a lot of the different personality types at play. she's also the only non athlete, but is unequivocally an equal member of their dynamic. she once gave tyler a buzzcut (at his request) because she's the only one who could be trusted with the clippers. she's just very graceful and poised and the boys would be lost without her, charlie most of all. with that said, she has her own life and own priorities and is quite successful as editor of her college newspaper.

other notes:

charlie and ramón are the oldest, jake is a year below them, and tyler sam and ellie are all in the next year, one below jake and two below charlie and ramón

the four boys all live together in a house off campus (they have one more roommate but he's not as important to the story)

there is literally so much lore i am vibrating trying to cut more than 60 pages for charlie ALONE down to a paragraph. i didn't even get into my worldbuilding which is its own thing. i have brain worms i'm happy to share at any moment.

Thank you for asking! I'm glad my kids are getting out into the world