#western new york flash

[dweemeister]

July 19, 2023

By Naaman Zhou

(The New Yorker) — Last winter, on a cold pitch in London, Liverpool’s women’s team played Chelsea, which was on a seventeen-game unbeaten streak and has lately been one of the dominant teams in English women’s soccer. It was the fourth round of the F.A. Cup, a knockout competition known for the occasional surprise. Liverpool scored twice—but Chelsea had Samantha Kerr. In the thirty-second minute, the twenty-nine-year-old striker received a pass from her teammate Niamh Charles, mid-run, raised a foot near the height of her shoulder, and pummelled the ball left to right into the top corner of the goal. Shortly after halftime, she scored again, off a quick pass, after stepping into a blind spot behind a Liverpool defender. Later, the ball came her way in the air. She jumped, the neck muscles turned, the ball fell in. When the game ended, the score was Liverpool 2, Kerr 3. “It was almost a given, wasn’t it?” a commentator murmured, before it was through.

Afterward, Kerr hugged her teammates and exchanged the customary back pats. Game-changing goals are routine for her—they seem to define the entire season for others. Like all of soccer’s great strikers, Kerr has a full menu of ways to score; commentators like to call it a knack, or an eye for goal. But, with Kerr, it’s all about motion. “Next time you watch her play, see who makes the first movements,” Emma Hayes, her coach at Chelsea, once said. “It’s always Sam.” Carli Lloyd, a two-time World Cup winner with the U.S. team, told me, “She’s a sniper in front of the goal. She will hover, and she will find a way.” Between 2017 and 2022, Kerr was the top scorer in every league she played in, across the highest tiers of Australia, the United States, and England—sometimes simultaneously. It has been nearly four years since she last played a game in the National Women’s Soccer League, in the U.S., but she is still the league’s all-time top scorer, with more goals than Alex Morgan or Megan Rapinoe.

Kerr is also the captain and star player of the national team of Australia, which, along with New Zealand, is hosting the Women’s World Cup. Australia has never advanced further than the quarterfinals. The reigning champion and world No. 1 is the United States. Spain has the best player in the world, the midfielder Alexia Putellas. England won the Euros, and Canada won the gold medal in the Olympics, where Australia finished fourth. Still, in the past few months, the Australian team, known as the Matildas, has beaten or matched several of the world’s best squads. Its second-best player, the defender Ellie Carpenter, is back from a nearly yearlong injury. And there will be a home-field advantage. “I think there’s tremendous pressure,” Lloyd, who will cover this year’s tournament as an analyst for Fox Sports, told me. “If they don’t go far in this World Cup, it’s going to be deemed as a failure.”

[calciopics]

Born on this day: Christine Sinclair (12.06.1983)

[ruth-odyssey]

༺✩༻ Lovers rock

newt scamander x fem!reader

wc. 1017 

summary: you find a strange creature in the streets of New York.

tw. fem!reader, reader lives with Queenie and Tina but they aren't siblings, newt being a cutie patootie, set in 1926. Had to bust out my copy of fantastic beast to make sure things were accurate to write this

a/n. I watched the movie yesterday and my cat seemed really interested in Pickett so I kinda started thinking about newt and I wrote this :)

btw requests are open!

The rain had caught you by surprise. Completely soaked, you took refuge under the canopy of a nearby shop, silently cursing yourself for not bridging an umbrella. Seems like I'll have to wait, too many no-maj around…. Maybe I could find a quiet place and apparate? Looking around, you find a small alley, deserted and perfect for you to finally get home without dealing with the rain. You quickly make your way to it, already looking forward to getting home.

You turn around, making sure no one will see you apparate, when a flash of green catches your eyes. Looking down, a small twig? Or maybe a couple stems? Seems to be moving around. You knit your eyebrow, crouching to get a better look at whatever it was. To your surprise, it turns out to be some sort of creature. No bigger than your hand, the only way you could describe it was a flat-faced stick figure made of bark and twigs. It turned around, finally noticing you, small brown eyes taking you in. You both stare at each other for a bit before you decide to reach out a hand, intrigued by the small creature. “Hey there little guy.” You try to keep your voice soft not to scare it, which seems to work. The creature looks at you, as if it was deciding whether or not you had good intention and it slowly makes its way to your outreached hand, climbing in. You smile, slowly getting up. It then proceeds to climb onto your shoulder, making itself at home in the outer pocket of your coat. 

—————————————

“Queenie, Tina you’ll never guess what I just found!” You enter your shared apartment, closing the door behind you, your smile fades, making room for a confused look, taking it to the two men at the dinner table. You look at Tina, raising an eyebrow in silent question. Queenie smiles “Oh (y/n/n) you’re here! This is Jacob and this is Mr. Scamander!” She says, pointing at the two guests. The one with dark hair and a mustache – which you assume is Jacob — gives you a nod, and you offer him a smile, eyes turning to the other man. He’s already looking at you, his gaze immediately averting yours when you make eye contact. “Mhm, hi?” you offer them a small wave and a smile, still unsure what two men are doing in the small apartment. You remove your coat, making sure the little creature you found earlier is on your shoulder before sitting down at the dinner table. Your eyes roam around the table as you open your mouth to ask some sort of explanation from your roommates. “Pickett!” Your eyes found Newt’s. “Sorry?” His eyes are fixated on your shoulder, at the stop you assume the small creature is perched on. He glances at you, then at your shoulder again. “He must have fallen from my pocket I apologize” He stammers, avoiding your eyes. You turn your head, catching a glimpse of Pickett on your shoulder. “Oh that's fine no worries.” You turn back to look at Newt. “What… What is he?” He clears his throat, sitting up straighter. “Pickett is a bowtruckle, they are a protector of trees, native to western England, southern Germany and Scandinavia…” he pauses, blinking once, twice and glancing at you. You smile and look at Pickett who’s now on the dinner table, looking around. “I would’ve never guessed he was from so far away…but it does explain why I've never seen one of those.” You look at Newt. “He’s adorable.” At that, he flushes red to his ears, earning a chuckle from Jacob and a smile from Queenie, who most definitely just peered into his brain. 

—————————————

As it turns out,  Mr. Scamander – or Newt as he insisted you call him – was a magizoologist, and had just finished a year of field research to write a book on magical creatures in order to teach the wizarding world how to protect – and eventually understands – them. The man had picked your interest, his british accent and shy, nerdy demeanor impossible to resist – at least in your opinion – which seems to please Queenie beyond words, considering how many times she’s glanced between the two of you, only to smile or let out a small giggle – one similar to a high school girl talking about her crush. 

—————————————

You had spent the night asking Newt various questions about his voyage and discoveries, quietly sipping your wine, occasionally stopping his rambling with questions and comments. The clock struck 12 when you decided to call it a night. As much as you enjoyed the conversation, your eyes were screaming for some rest and having to work at 7 meant you need all the rest you can get. “Good night Pickett.” you say waving at the adorable bowtruckle still perched on Newt’s shoulder. “Good night Newt.” His eyes find yours and he mumbles something that sounds like “Good night y/n.” You smile and place a small peck on his cheek before turning around and entering your room. Closing the door, you let out a breath and turn around, finding yourself face-to-face with Queenie. “Merlin’s beard- Queenie! You scared me!” She smiles, looking a little too happy with herself. “He also thinks you’re cute” She says beaming – the prospect of you and Newt mutual attraction resulting in something clearly the highlight of her day. “Really?” you ask, not quite believing you somehow cough the attention of the man. “Oh yes, don't worry – she points at the door – you’ve got him positively stunned!” She squeals, delighted. 

BONUS:

One second he felt your soft lips against his cheek, the next you were gone, the door closing behind you. Newt gapes, too stunned to do anything but stand there, speechless. He finally snaps out of it when he feels Pickett grab onto his hair, visibly confused by the wizard’s attitude. He turns around, not quite believing what just happened, as he reaches his room, glances at the bowtruckle, who’s still on his shoulder. “Not a word about this Pickett, not a word.”

[iinsertblognamee]

hello new york

summary ― sam gets signed to play for the western new york flash team

pairing ― sam kerr x reader

warning/s ― fluff, mentions of injury

masterlist

Not even two days after arriving back home from Cyprus did your world completely flip. 

Sam had been offered a sport in the Western New York Flash team playing in the National’s Women Soccer League. It was a big deal and you knew she had to take it - even if it meant leaving the country for the first time without you. 

Logically you both knew you would be able to come over and visit, as well as play in the Asian World Cup in a few months. But this was different to last time, this wasn’t just on the other side of the country, it was the other side of the world. 

Bags were packed within the week and after the win against Brazil in Brisbane when it was time to fly home, you went one way and Sam went another. 

You never got used to Sam not being around, but you got the hang of long-distance fast enough. You both had block-out times every day where you would both be contactable. You had all her games in the calendar, ready to watch them regardless of the time over here. 

It felt a lot longer than a month before you saw each other again. It was hard seeing each other for the first time and not being able to hide away, training for the Women’s World Cup taking over. Thankfully you were given the nights in your shared hotel to make up for lost time. 

The games were rough, your ankle playing up in the second game causing you to sub off halfway through the game. You watched on the sideline as your team won 3 - 1 to Jordan. Turns out your ankle was now placed as a stress fracture, being benched for the rest of the World Cup. It sucked, sitting there watching the girls go out and play but you knew (from last time) not to push yourself and let it heal properly. 

After many talks with your physio, you were given the all-clear for air travel, deciding to use your break to head back over to New York with Sam. Tickets were booked (although you had to change Sam’s booking so that you two could be together on the flight over, which she didn’t know about) the excitement of your plan helped you through the annoyance of not being able to play. 

The World Cup ended as fast as it came, the team saying their goodbyes as they all started making their way to wherever they were heading. It had taken Sam three seconds to realise what exactly she was looking at when you handed her the tickets and passports. Her arms wrapped around you as she spun you around. 

“You’re coming with me? To New York?” you nodded your head in response, laughter leaving both your lips and she brought you in for a kiss. 

“God, I love you so so much”. 

After a meeting with your physio, Sam asked every question under the sun to ensure it was okay for you to come and all the information she would need over there, you were off. You held Sam’s hand through lift off, taking her mind off the flight by telling her stories she had missed while being away. 

The flight was hard on your body, the pressure of the plane as well as not being able to move around and use it caused your ankle to swell up. Sam massaged it as best as she could, asking for ice to create an ice pack for you and when you cried, she brought your head into her neck, rubbing your back trying to soothe you in any way possible. 

You managed to pass out during the 7th and 8th hour on the flight, your armrest between you and Sam up, so you could lay on her without either of you being stabbed. Sam continued to watch your face, looking for any sign of discomfort as she played with your hair. The lady who was sitting in the aisle seat kept looking over at the pair of you, Sam waited for the comments to start, she didn’t care what this lady had to say. Her girlfriend was in pain. 

“You two make a lovely couple” 

Sam almost missed it the way she whispered it, being mindful of you asleep in her lap. Sam looked up at the lady to see a small smile on her face. 

“Thank you” 

She throws her hand in the air to say no need to thank me before adding “You two remind me of me and my husband, back when we were young” 

Sam smiles in response, looking back down to you, pushing the hair that had fallen off your forehead. A few seconds pass, Sam thinking the lady was uninterested anymore, as she looked back up. 

“Is she the one?” a small glint in the lady’s eye causing Sam to let out a small laugh, nodding her head. 

“Yeah, she’s the one”.

[jmdbjk]

Episode 1: The Beginning

Beyond the Star, produced by HYBE Media Studio

Opens with a flashback of Namjoon explaining their belief in the concept of how any art, any genre of art, can change the world.

This opening footage was recorded during a press conference for CONNECT, BTS.

A good explanation of what CONNECT, BTS appeared on DAZED, January 14, 2020.

It was a huge wide-ranging global art project to link visual art to music art. This is one of the installations in New York City:

Then we see scenes of them arriving at Incheon Airport in February 2020.

In February 2020, they were about to embark on the MOTS world tour. They were really pushing into the western market, especially the United States. They were headed to the States to start promoting on the talk show circuit and for magazine interviews. Western media was all over BTS. The public relations hype for their tour was huge. It was going to be HUGE. BTS was HUGE. At this point in the documentary we see english speaking fans trying to buy tickets for this tour.

This was the beginning of the year that would be their magnum opus. 

Leading the docu-series with this reminds everyone what was supposed to happen and the impact they hoped to make here in the United States, to ride the wave of their success as far as they could go until they had to stop. Keep in mind they did not have any full English songs yet. 

As far as they knew, this would be the end as we knew it, the end of Chapter 1. We all know what was to follow the MOTS tour even though no one wanted to speak about it: Enlistment. Jin would enlist December 2020 even though rumblings of a potential military exemption were beginning to buzz.

This period of time and after was when MANY MORE became fans of BTS. MOTS:7 was a record-breaking album. They were riding HIGH.

The scene of them being told the MOTS tour was cancelled is gut-wrenching. It makes me think of the content they filmed that day (March 8, 2020 a music show?)

and I wonder at what point during the day they were told. Jimin and Hobi did a Vlive:

There are scenes of MOTS cancellation day in 2020 Memories, but not THIS scene of them being told the tour was cancelled. 

Then we jump forward to scenes of the members on the beach in LA (end of 2021) recalling their feelings and thoughts about the previous (almost) two years (the pandemic), reflecting on themselves. They had to overcome frustration, and change and adapt to reality. 

Some of them were able to do that easier than the others. We know Jimin had a rough time, and it was challenging for Jin, Tae and Yoongi. Namjoon and Hobi worked on music. Yoongi wondered what was the point of even releasing music at all.

Jungkook says even though they were sad, something good came of it, they realized how much singing and dancing – performing – meant to them and how it superseded everything else.

Jimin says he and Namjoon spoke about how they needed to organize their thoughts over the years pertaining to the reasons they are doing what they do, how they feel and what they want to do, perhaps in order to help them sort through the pandemic aftermath and to serve as sort of an outline of how to proceed... it is sort of how the rest of this documentary series unfolds: the past, the present, the future.

Namjoon begins sharing thoughts of how he felt in the beginning and we flash back to 2013 debut. And the rest say their thoughts about how they began. This is a good way for newer fans to understand how they began: hearing their words as mature adults reminiscing about their roots and their start. 

We’ve heard the general story of how they began with RM first and the rap line was assembled, then the vocal line was added with Jimin being the last to make the team. Bang PD recalls how impressed he was with Namjoon and knew this was someone special. 

I’m positive there were opinions, decisions and choices made that we will never know because we weren’t there witnessing the moments. Whatever those decisions were, some probably forgotten in time or only known by a few involved in the process, however it happened, these seven individuals were settled upon and the team was created. The rest is history. 

No one had an inkling of how much they would change the idol and kpop industry from what they then knew it to be.

Preparing for debut: one of the things Jungkook says is they expected hardships back then but looking back now, if he tried to do that now, he couldn’t do it, but back then, it was a given. Yoongi said they spent every moment in the practice room when they weren’t eating or sleeping… up all night practicing, so much stress and pressure amongst seven young passionate young men trying to make a good debut.…you can see the stress and fatigue on their faces.

Through all of that they reveal how hard they worked and how deep their commitment is. They felt it was important to convey this deep personal connection to each other they developed and how strong their bond is.

The events might be repetitive for people who’ve been Army since the beginning or since before 2020, but for the benefit of newer fans, presenting their story like this in the words of each member is important. 

The author of the book Beyond the Story, Myung Seok Kang, explains how much of an underdog BTS was in the beginning. They were from a small, barely making it company and had the audacity to win Best New Artist in 2013 at the Melon Music Awards. 

Hearing them state how they felt during that debut year, their young minds trying to process what was happening, thrust into society at such a young age, seeing their friends still being students, they had to reconcile within themselves that their lives were so different.

Jungkook (our now giant global pop star) said he remembers how small he felt hearing another really good singer in his in-ears as they prepared for a performance.

Watching them struggle to come up with the melody for Danger, working on it as a team from Jungkook, to Namjoon, to Yoongi, note by note… at such a young age and then not experiencing the expected success or gains after they had done that with the previous song… they thought this would be the end for them. All they wanted was to win first place at a music show…. CAN YOU IMAGINE?? The team was wavering.

Newer fans need to be aware of this struggle.

All of this led to them writing the album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, the real start of their rise to stardom. They finally bagged that 1st place music show win with I Need U. The win gave them the confidence they needed to push forward and they kept winning with each song after that. Seeing their confidence grow after each win is exhilarating.

This album is the turning point in their career, the launch pad, so-to-speak.

And the song, Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life) is the thread connecting Chapter 1 to Chapter 2 and beyond. We will have a Most Beautiful Moment in Life 10th Anniversary in 2025. This docu-series is the bridge between what was then, now and what is … yet to come.

Review of Episode 2 next…

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

i keep thinking about ocelot takarazuka i dont really see the influence like he just looks like a middle age guy with masc features manner and fashion so what do you think the artist actually meant? there's nothing feminine about ocelot like how does the "is that a man or woman" thing play in here cause i don't see it. He's not like raiden or raikov. He's just a guy 🧍‍♂️so how does the all female theatre thing apply

Hello Anon! Full, immediate disclosure, this answer is messy and disjointed. I probably don't even answer the question your asking end of the day, but I'll try my best.

I believe this is the post you're wondering about?

As I said in this earlier post I'm not a Japanese speaker, so I have to go on interpretation, and what has been offered by the translations available. I can't help but think there is going to be some sort of nuance missing as a result, but I'll do my best.

To start, I think you and I might have a slightly different view on masculine and feminine-to me the two concepts are pretty interchangeable, but I do understand where you're (probably, I don't know you personally after all) are coming from and that, no, Ocelot doesn't have many traditional 'feminine' characteristics.

You'll note that in the original post, Shinkawa refers to getting inspiration from the idea of 'women in their 40's (the age Ocelot almost is in MGSV)' and 'long, flashing eyelashes'. (My interpretation here is that by this, he means in the way long eyelashes that are considered sexy have an eye-catching flow to them. Sort of like how we can say 'fluttering lashes'. Intended to draw a person's gaze in, and command their presence).

Doing some cursory research tells me that the Takarazuka Revue (because Takarazuka is also a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.) is an all-female musical troupe located within that same city. Started in 1913, by Ichizō Kobayashi.

(I also got distracted by this version that is a performance of Casino Royale, so there's that)

Anyway, ahem.

"Kobayashi believed that it was the ideal spot to open an attraction of some kind that would boost train ticket sales and draw more business to Takarazuka. Since Western song and dance shows were becoming more popular and Kobayashi considered the kabuki theater to be old and elitist."

Throughout the article, there is also this;

"Takarazuka has had a profound influence on the history of anime and manga, especially shōjo manga.[27][28] Osamu Tezuka, a highly influential manga creator, grew up in the town of Takarazuka. His mother knew many of the Takarazuka actresses, and as a child he knew them and watched many of their performances"

I can assume that the performances have a lot of influence on media, and it's not uncommon for MGS to take inspiration. There could be an entire article on the things MGS takes inspiration from, even outside the most obvious like Escape from New York, character model bases, etc.

Cycling back to the original point, (there is also a video that exact post comes from, but I don't have the link on hand, on YouTube *no translations). I think that it's entirely possible Shinkawa took 'loose' inspiration, or a little more. I can see why and how he might've based Ocelot's look on the idea. (Loose shirt, tight pants, scarf open neck). But there is also the element of which Takarazuka is a performance, more than anything.

It's acting. Playing. Something Ocelot does all the time. Half of his time on screen, he's putting on some kind of performance. While this is something he does the least in MGSV, that never fully changes 100%. (And after all, he's also hypnotized for most of the plot). So there's a counter argument to be had that this is one of his greatest performances pre-MGS4. But that's a different post.

Ocelot presents/is masculine. But, he has longer eyelashes, his clothes are a little more 'free' than the standard military garb when he's allowed to choose his own outfit. (Again this is specifically MGSV Ocelot, though there's something to be said about his chosen attire being such a sharp 3 piece later on).

At the end of the day, maybe a way you can look at it is to say that, Shinkawa looked to Takarazuka when designing MGSV Ocelot to give him a sort of 'flow' to his looks. He was attracted to the idea of taking elements from Takarazuka, because Ocelot is a performer, and he sees some possibility for feminine additions in his looks *or* might've thought it more 'fitting' than Kabuki.

But again, I don't know if we see fully masculine and feminine the same way, (and maybe Shinkawa personally associates long eyelashes with sexy women; or women made up to look like men but with longer lashes) I can't know for sure myself. I think you would need a native or very good Japanese speaker to interpret it fully.

If I was to offer you a personal opinion-I can see it. I can see where there's a draw that one might have with the look, and where Shinkawa might've gotten said inspiration. But I am not entirely certain how to put that into words either? My perspective isn't going to be 1-to-1 of yours either.

Maybe someone else can interpret all this better than me, I definitely feel as if I've not done this justice at all. Because at the end of the day, I don't see a hard divide in masculine and feminine in Ocelot, but I think that you, Anon, see him as 100% masculine. But again, I can't speak for you and I am not sure.

[mariacallous]

Earlier this week, I started a 3,000km, two-day journey back from the other end of Europe, where I witnessed Ukrainian resilience against Russian terror in the besieged city of Kharkiv. A university lecturer told me that from a 12th storey balcony in a north-eastern suburb she had actually seen the flashes of missiles taking off from launchpads just across the frontier, in the Russian city of Belgorod. An S-300 missile can reach Kharkiv from Belgorod in about 30 seconds, so you have no time to hide. If it’s not a missile, it’s a glide bomb launched from a Russian warplane – and so, day after day, death rains indifferently down.

After more than 900 days of the largest war in Europe since 1945, Ukraine is approaching a perilous moment of truth. The Ukrainian David has courage and innovation, but the Russian Goliath has ruthlessness and mass. In an underground location in Kharkiv, I was shown highly sophisticated, novel military uses of IT and drones. With its Cossack-style innovation, the country has developed more than 200 different kinds of drone.

A joke has it that two Ukrainian activists meet for a drink:

“How’s your drone company doing?”

“Great, thanks, but how did you know I have one?”

“Of course you do!”

I find the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers constantly humbling, but they are being ground down by the sheer scale of Russia’s assault and the Kremlin’s willingness to use its own citizens as cannon fodder. Vladimir Putin has just ordered an increase of the Russian military on active service to a target figure of 1.5 million. “It’s all about the numbers,” a senior Ukrainian military intelligence officer told me. Ukraine’s daring incursion into the Kursk region of Russia has given a psychological boost, but opinions are sharply divided about its strategic wisdom.

In the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, there’s a real danger of a Russian breakthrough if Putin’s forces take the logistical hub of Pokrovsk. Ukrainians are exhausted. Trauma lurks just beneath the surface. Several times I saw the eyes of tough soldiers grow damp when they mentioned their fallen comrades. About half the country’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed. This winter will be cruel. Meanwhile, the west continues to hesitate and hold back, fearful of escalation – led (if that’s the word) in this regard by the US president, Joe Biden.

Seeing all this, Ukrainian leaders are making a new pitch. Having for two years talked only of total victory, defined as recovering all the country’s territory in the frontiers of 1991, including Crimea and Donbas, they now speak of reaching a position where Ukraine can negotiate from strength. Unlike many in the west, however, they understand that the only way to get there is to turn the tide on the battlefield: to knock Goliath sharply back on his heels, if not his arse. The insight is crucial. A central Asian leader who knows Putin well was asked by a western interlocutor whether the Russian president will negotiate. Yes, came the prompt reply, “when his generals tell him he’s losing”.

That’s what the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had in mind when he told the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference in Kyiv last week that we need “a gamechanger to make Russia make peace”. As the UN general assembly meets in New York next week, Zelenskyy will personally present his plan to Biden. Top of the list is getting American permission to use western missiles – including British Storm Shadow missiles, which have US targeting technology – to strike more of the sites in Russia from which attacks originate. Many lives could have been saved if this had been given sooner. The head of the Kharkiv regional administration told me that in the few months since Biden – faced with a new Russian offensive towards Kharkiv this May – finally allowed limited strikes on targets across the nearby frontier, the number of S-300 missile attacks on Ukraine’s second largest city has declined. (The air-launched glide bombs, however, have not yet been impeded.)

We don’t know all the details of the Zelenskyy plan, but besides those deep strikes it will probably include a request for sustained funding, after this year’s long delayed US congressional vote of $61bn runs out; tightened sanctions on Russia and its Chinese and Indian enablers, plus the use of frozen Russian assets held in the west for Ukrainian reconstruction; and a bold bid for the shield of Nato membership to cover the roughly four-fifths of Ukraine’s sovereign territory that Kyiv actually controls.

There are two problems with this plan. First, Biden’s entire track record suggests he is likely to give only a fraction of what Zelenskyy asks. There’s a fierce argument inside his administration about the deep strikes. Future funding would depend on Congress. He has certainly not committed to Nato membership for any part of Ukraine. Incrementalism for fear of escalation has been a hallmark of the entire handling of the war by this president and his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. As a Ukrainian friend nicely put it, “Ukrainians are triggered by Sullivan’s ‘escalation management’.” What odds that the old man’s approach will change dramatically now, in the twilight of his presidency?

Second, even if the US and its allies did all of this, would it produce such an effect that Putin’s generals would “tell him he’s losing”? How exactly would that be achieved? Perhaps by targeting Russia’s own energy infrastructure? Understandably, top Ukrainian officials are keeping stumm on the military details of their plans, but well-informed defence analysts wonder how much they can realistically do in the next months. At the YES conference, Col Pavlo Palisa, the commander of Ukraine’s elite 93rd brigade, spoke of the “tyranny of time”. At the frontline you need to move super fast to hit five key enemy targets as they appear, but by the time the necessary weapons and permissions come through, it’s too late and “there are now 50 targets”. At the pace the US-led west is moving, time is on Russia’s side. And, needless to say, Putin is waiting for Donald Trump to be reelected US president on 5 November.

All the more reason for the vice-president, Kamala Harris, who will inherit this major geopolitical challenge if she becomes president, and all those European allies who understand what is at stake, to urge Biden to leap over his own shadow and make the potentially gamechanging moves now. This may be the last chance to enable Ukraine to achieve something that can plausibly be called victory, which is the precondition for a lasting peace. Otherwise, Kyiv will probably be forced to sue for a cessation of hostilities sometime next year, negotiating from a position of weakness. That would not be peace, just a pause before another round of war. In Ukraine, there would be despair and fury; in the Kremlin, rejoicing; and in the rest of the world, most consequentially of all, swirling contempt for the weakness of the west.

[spamsmcgee]

Premiere Date

Yuki and Y/N miss out on the LA premiere of Scream 6, they get sent the movie though so they could still watch it early. part 1

“It’s starting”

Jenna’s text message popped up across the top of your iPad as you cast the movie from the iPad to the hotel room TV.

You slid into the bed next to Yuki, fully laid down on his side and taking up more room than he should.

“I should do more stuff like this,” Yuki says as the opening scene was starting, opening with a shot of a phone ringing on a table.

“We should do a western,”

Yuki’s eyes light up as he rolls over, practically on top of you.

“Yes, yes I want to” he laughs.

You nudge him off of you, pushing his attention back to the movie, before he makes you miss the entire opening scene. Your scene.

It plays out perfectly, better than you’d expect. What with him having next to zero acting experience.

He played the charming teaching assistant well.

“I’m sorry you have the wrong number,” his voice came from the hotel surround sound, as the scene placed him in a New York apartment. His thumb hovered over the end call button, a split second of hesitation.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Pierre Gasly’s voice shifted, changing to that iconic ghostface sound, “Jay Tanaka, was it?”

The realization crept onto his face, starting with his now wide eyes that darted towards his desk, a copy of Gale Weathers’ Woodsboro Murders sat amongst paperwork and a barely closed laptop.

“Funny, who is this?” He moved the phone back up to his ear, “did Professor Bridges put you up to this?”

“Oh no, no that old bastard wouldn’t know the first thing about a prank call, would he?”

Yuki’s arms wrap themselves around your waist, pulling you back against him.

“Yeah, screw that,” he hung the phone up, only for it to ring again. Same number as before. It went ignored.

He continued getting ready to go out, carrying his still ringing phone with him as he made it outside onto the street.

A new number flashed across his screen, his professor. That call he’d answer.

“You wouldn’t believe what’s going on,”

“Oh I would”

That wide eyed realization made it across his face as he turned to make a break for his professor’s apartment.

“Don’t do that” the voice on the other line warned.

Yuki sat up, watching as the kill scene started. A menacing “I warned you” as ghostface appeared behind him and the struggle started.

“yknow there’s something about Ghostface to me,” you pulled your knees to your chest, equally engrossed in the scene in front of the two of you.

“it’s the mask”

“and the voice,” you added, nodding along to Yuki’s comment.

The two of you high fived ad the title card crept into the screen, said high five ending in you holding each others hands.

“You did great Yuki,” you said, leaning towards him as the rest of the movie started, moving on to your own death scene. Notably less elaborate, but significantly more gruesome than Yuki’s.

“I think you enjoyed stabbing me too much,” he moved his arm around your shoulders, pulling you in closer to him, “the bruises didn’t go away for weeks.”

your laugh echoed in the quiet hotel room, over the low volume of the movie playing for you. Your laugh caught on, Yuki joined in for a split second.

The two of you settled down for the rest of the movie, shooting a text to Jenna every once in a while to gush about a scene or shot of here.

[betterbooktitles]

On looking older than I am:

By the time I was a teenager, I’d fully accepted my early adulthood. When I wasn’t playing a sport or acting in a play, my number one hobby was taking a John Updike book (sorry) to a coffee shop. I frequented a place within walking distance of my house in Cleveland called Talkies. I sat at the front bar with my book and ate a second lunch at 3 PM. I talked to random people sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes inside. One was a researcher at Case Western who studied molecular biology. He seemed to know no one in Cleveland except me and the baristas. Another guy was a white dude with dreadlocks, a gifted actor who bussed tables at the fancy restaurant next door. Every barista was a 20-something woman who told me about their various trysts in graphic detail. Multiple times the men offered me cigarettes or to split a joint outside. No wonder it took me years to finish one of the Rabbit novels. I was soaking up more than enough adult content in my real life than any book could offer.

The oddest encounter occurred at a hotel in Annapolis, Maryland when I was 15. I attended a boys’ catholic prep school and because my parents and I were taking a few college campus tours during our family trip, and you never know who you might bump into, I chose to wear the tie and khakis I would normally wear in class. I had chosen an aqua shirt with a bright textured gold tie that morning and was still wearing it when I approached the front desk that evening. I promised my English teacher I would have a late assingment on his desk Monday morning despite my travel schedule. I had finished writing it on my mom’s laptop and put it on a flash drive. 

“Is there an office in the hotel with a printer?” I asked the woman at the front desk. I deepened my voice. “My boss needs this report ASAP.”

The woman behind the desk wore a maroon and beige polo shirt with the name of the hotel embroidered on one side and a fat plastic name tag that read “Jess” on the other. She kept her curly brown hair tied back behind her head and looked like she was ready to take a nap rather than help one more jerk fix his malfunctioning room key or find the hotel’s office. She smiled though and led the way. We walked through a large banquet hall that looked like it was hosting a wedding or prom. Pink uplighting and one of those whirling balls with differently colored light filters spun around and painted the room. I watched fat white men in suits sip cocktails out of plastic cups and flirt with young women half their size and age. A number of them wore saris. 

“What is this?” I said aloud. 

“It’s a party for the IMF.” the woman said. “You’re not with them?”

“No, I’m on a different kind of work trip.” I said.

She kept walking until we found a door on the side of the room. Bright tube lighting poured into the mock nightclub when she opened it. I hurried in so as to not disturb the party atmosphere too long, and to my surprise, she shut the door behind us and stayed to watch me use the office. 

Computers in 2002, especially out-of-date communal ones used by everyone in a hotel, were not very fast. The fat glass monitor was already on, and when I opened the browser, I had a good two minutes to chat, which the hotel employee seemed keen on doing.

“So where are you headed?” She asked.

“Well, it’s here tonight, then New York, then upstate somewhere, back to Cleveland.”

“Busy weekend.” 

“Yes, we’re- I’m trying to squeeze in a lot.” 

We talked about my work. I vaguely said I was on a deadline for a writing assignment which made me sound like a journalist or someone with an entry-level publishing job. At some point, she said she was glad I wasn’t with the loud bankers because I seemed too nice and cute to work with them. 

Was this happening?

I found my little essay about Chaucer and clicked print. As a printer the size of a Fiat whirred to life and started pumping out the pages, the woman said: 

“I’m actually off the clock now if you want to have a drink with me.”

“I’d love that,” I said.

I put the essay in a folder (not a professional manila folder, a high school-ass, bright glossy blue folder with my school’s logo on it) and followed her to the hotel bar.

I ordered a beer in the annoying fake way people do in movies: the actor walks up to the bar and instead of checking what’s on tap or thinking of their brand of choice like ‘Bud’ or ‘Stella’ or even naming a type like ‘stout’ or ‘pilsner’ the actor confidently says “I’ll have a beer” and the extra playing the bartender wordlessly gets to pouring.

“I’ll have a beer!” I said to the bartender who squinted his eyes at me and cocked his head. 

“OK…” he pointed at Jess, who still had her uniform and name tag on. 

“Jack and Coke, Ben.” 

I sipped the beer slowly. We drank and talked about work and if Jess was going to bite the bullet and go to grad school. She asked if I wanted, when we finished our drinks, to go with her to a house party up the street.

“We can smoke a bowl, listen to my friend play some music. It’ll be fun.” she assure me.

“I really shouldn’t,” I said, “We’re- I’m… I have an early morning.”

“Ah,” she said, looking down at her drink.

I now realize that every coy excuse I made sounded like I had a girlfriend or wife at home and I maybe had a problem with drugs and alcohol that might make me do something I regretted. I was playing an adult better than I ever had in my life.

“So, someone is with you in your room, then?” Jess asked nervously.

“Yeah. There are people in my room.” 

And here, dear reader, I’m sorry (or happy) to tell you that I fessed up.

“I’m staying with my parents.” I said.

“Oh. That’s sweet. Are they meeting up with you on this trip? Where are they from?”

“We drove here together from Cleveland, actually.”

“Oh, OK.” She said, looking confused.

“I- You see. I’m not on a work trip. I’m seeing schools.” I looked at the bartender who was pretending not to listen on the other side of the empty bar.

“Grad schools?”

“No. Listen. Sorry. I’m in high school.”

“Wait- how old are you?”

“I’m 15.”

“Jesus. Uuughh!” She leaned her torso over the bar as if she was fainting, and looked up at me with one eye over her glass. “Oh, boy. I know how to pick ‘em.”

“I look older,” I said, consolingly. 

“Yes. You do. Oh, God. Wow. OK. Ummm.” She sat up and did a little drum roll with her hands on the bar.

I chugged the rest of my beer. 

Read the rest of the essay here.

[xabiramone]

"The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence."

Thomas Wolfe, "God's Lonely Man"

TRAVIS BICKLE

Age 26, lean, hard, the consummate loner. On the surface he appears good-looking, even handsome; he has a quiet steady look and a disarming smile which flashes from nowhere, lighting up his whole face. But behind that smile, around his dark eyes, in his gaunt cheeks, one can see the ominous stains caused by a life of private fear, emptiness and loneliness. He seems to have wandered in from a land where it is always cold, a country where the inhabitants seldom speak. The head moves, the expression changes, but the eyes remain ever-fixed, unblinking, piercing empty space.

Travis is now drifting in and out of the New York City night life, a dark shadow among darker shadows. Not noticed, no reason to be noticed, Travis is one with his surroundings. He wears rider jeans, cowboy boots, a plaid western shirt and a worn beige Army jacket with a patch reading, "King Kong Company 1968-70".

He has the smell of sex about him: Sick sex, repressed sex, lonely sex, but sex nonetheless. He is a raw male force, driving forward; toward what, one cannot tell. Then one looks closer and sees the evitable. The clock sprig cannot be wound continually tighter. As the earth moves toward the sun, Travis Bickle moves toward violence.

[dustedmagazine]

Lupo Cittá — S-T (12XU)

“White Bracelet” shocks itself to life with a screech of feedback, a jolt of electricity that kicks off a barrage of electric strumming, a rumble of chaotic drums, a careening, coursing flood of vocal melody that is both world-weary and extremely energized. It’s the second song on Lupo Cittá’s first album, an emphatic rocker after the narcotic echo and sway of “Onde.” This is the one that sounds most like Chris Brokaw, which is always a good thing. Though to be fair, there are other songs that don’t especially, that perhaps bear the mark of the two other members, Sarah Black and Jen Gori, and they are awfully good, too.

Chris Brokaw, as you might know, has been in roughly a million bands, genre defining ones like Come and Codeine and lesser known outfits like Martha’s Vineyard Ferries and Charnel House, but all of them rough-edged and heart-felt and excellent. Lupo Cittá is the latest Brokaw-affiliated musical ensemble, formed in pandemic’s ebb tide around 2021,with two other indie music lifers. Sarah Black was a fixture in a vibrant Minneapolis scene, playing in Kickball, Period, Plain Jane, the Bleeding Hickeys, the Lie-Ons, the Pointing Geenas and Brandy Thunders and doing performance and visual art. Jenn Gori intersected with Black in several of those bands, playing drums in the Bleeding Hickeys, the Lie-ons, Pointing Geenas and Brandy Thunders.

Once the three members met, they discovered that they had just missed connecting in various episodes of their lives. They were in New York and Seattle during the same periods, and they all moved back to Boston in rough synchronicity though they didn’t really become aware of each other until meeting at a summer 2021 house show. Soon after the two women asked Brokaw to play guitar on a song for them, which grew into more songs and finally Lupo Cittá, an echo-drenched, psychedelic garage trio enamored of 1970s horror and spaghetti western soundtracks.

“Gallup to El Paso,” for instance, has a slouchy western swagger, a molten shudder of bass running through its cavernous, surf-inflected sound. A nocturnal penumbra hangs over this and other songs, clouds of reverb shadowing its slanting cowboy vibe. There’s something lurid about the way the melody breaks through the gloom, a flash of neon in a rainy midnight. “Only in Love” does the same trick with a 1960s girl group melody, wrapping it in so much darkness and uncertainty that it becomes something else altogether. These songs loom up like highways signs as you fly by, flaring out of the impenetrable black then disappearing. Jenn Gori sings in a haunting, dream-shrouded way, slipping in and out of a mess of undertones, even on the all-out rockers, so that the songs have both murderous energy and mystery. “Shawano Pickup,” for instance, blusters and rollicks, an unstoppable rockabilly rave in its bones, but its head, somehow, in the clouds.

This is not exactly a slow-burner —if you like this sort of thing, you’ll like it from the very start. But it does pick up depth and resonance from repeat listens, as this straight on rock record reveals the enigma at its unruly core.

Jennifer Kelly

[calciopics]

Born on this day: Alex Morgan (02.07.1989)

[frankendykes-monster]

DC also announced DC Finest, a new line of comprehensive collections of the most in-demand periods, genres, and characters from across DC history. Scheduled to launch in November, these affordably priced, large-size paperback collections start at $34.99, and will take full advantage of DC’s extensive backlist and appeal to casual and completist fans alike. Focusing on characters and storytelling genres instead of creators or prior series will give casual fans the chance to discover full continuities for their favorite characters, while offering completist readers an affordable option to build out their ultimate collection of stories based on their favorite DC Super Hero or genre.

Character-focused collections will spotlight multiple iterations of fan-favorite DC Super Heroes throughout the decades; for example, a “Robin” collection may include volumes featuring Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, or Jason Todd, depending on chronology, while a “Green Lantern” collection may include classic stories featuring Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Alan Scott, or other fan-favorite ring slingers. Genre fans can curate collections of their favorite tales from specific genres, which may include science fiction, romance, war, westerns, horror, and other genres; many of these volumes will feature material reprinted for the first time, by some of comics’ greatest storytellers. The first wave of DC Finest collections include: DC Finest – The Flash: The Human Thunderbolt: Collects classic adventures of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, including 1956’s iconic Showcase #4. Also includes Silver Age Flash stories that include the first appearances of famous Flash rogues, including Captain Cold, Mirror Master, and Gorilla Grodd. DC Finest – Batman: Year One & Two: Collects the Dark Knight’s adventures following the game-changing crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths, including Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli and Batman: Year Two by Mike W. Barr and Todd McFarlane, plus more mid-to-late-’80s Batman stories from Barr, Max Allan Collins, Norm Breyfogle, and others. DC Finest – Wonder Woman: Origins & Omens: This collection spotlights fan-favorite writer Gail Simone’s run on Wonder Woman, starting with 2007’s “The Circle,” with artist Terry Dodson, plus celebrated story arcs “Ends of the Earth,” “Rise of the Olympian,” and “Warkiller,” featuring art by Aaron Lopresti. DC Finest – Catwoman: Life Lines: Selina Kyle steps out of Batman’s shadow and becomes a protagonist in her own right in this collection featuring Catwoman’s 1989 solo debut by Mindy Newell and J.J. Birch, Peter Milligan and Tom Grindberg’s Catwoman Defiant from 1992, and the first year of DC’s Catwoman ongoing series, by writer Jo Duffy and artist Jim Balent. DC Finest – Superman: The Coming of Superman: Features the Man of Steel’s earliest and most iconic adventures, starting with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s groundbreaking Action Comics #1. This collection includes Action Comics #1-25, Superman #1-5, and New York World’s Fair Comics #1.

It only took them a decade but DC finally came out with their equivalency to the Marvel Epic Collection. Marvel Masterworks is met with DC Archive Editions, Marvel Essential is met with Showcase Presents, Marvel Premiere Classic is met with DC Comics Classics Library, DC didn't even change the name for their own Omnibus line. They admittedly have the Absolute Edition over Marvel. DC only since 2016 or so has been putting in the work to get a ton of stuff back in print or in print for the first time, we JUST got our first Silver Age Superman Omnibus. I could see myself picking up a few of DC's Finest, we'll see.

[smallsies]

cowboy au fic snippet ! yeehaw i guess;

“What if we went out into the country, Arthur?” John says.

“What?” Arthur says. They’re sitting side-by-side somewhere in New York, ragged and worn and lucky to be standing at the end of every day.

John wilts, just barely, a flash of uncertainty creeping into his voice as he shrugs at Arthur’s shoulder. “West, somewhere. I thought a change of scenery might be good, ‘s all,”

“West? Like cowboys?” Arthur’s lips draw up in a half-smile as the realization settles in his chest, a flash of memory—John’s insistence on taking a trip to the cinema uptown, some low-budget western with bad acting and even worse props—”You really took a liking to that movie, hm?”

“No,” John replies too quickly, turning his face away so Arthur can’t catch his eye. Not that he really could, regardless—after they were separated, Arthur’s eyesight came back, but not anywhere close to what his previous vision had been.

And that was okay. It was fine. He’d gone a long time without seeing at all, relying completely on John to guide him. This was better, even if the sunlight hurt his eyes sometimes and he got a headache if he stared at something too long and when he was sick his vision got all blurry around the edges and—

It was fine.

John’s watching him out of the corner of his eye, now. Even in silence, he knows Arthur so well it’s nearly maddening. Before he can ask some well-meaning question that will lay ruin to Arthur’s heart, the investigator bites out a truth. “I’ve heard the sunsets are better there. I…I’d like to see one,”

[livinginsideabookshelf]

February Wrap Up

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks.

3.5/5

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life.

5/5

Little Birds by Anais Nin

Evocative and superbly erotic, Little Birds is a powerful journey into the mysterious world of sex and sensuality. From the beach towns of Normandy to the streets of New Orleans, these thirteen vignettes introduce us to a covetous French painter, a sleepless wanderer of the night, a guitar-playing gypsy, and a host of others who yearn for and dive into the turbulent depths of romantic experience.

3.75/5 (All stories)

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

A romance ghostwriter who's lost her motivation after a breakup is haunted by the spirit of her newly departed editor in this whimsical paranormal romance. Florence Day doesn't believe in love or happily-ever-afters any longer.

2/5 (DNF)

\/ My Full thoughts and reviews (SPOILERS) \/

Cleopatra and Frankenstein

I flip flop back and forth between whether or not I actually liked this book. A lot of people are saying that it's shallow, and I agree its very shallow, however, I quite like shallow characters. But it's hard to tell with this novel if the characters are shallow or if the narrative is.

I liked Cleo and Frank as main characters but both are hard to root for. Even towards the end when they get their 'happy ever after' I feel like neither really learnt anything. Which would be fine if the author wasn't trying so hard to make us believe they did.

The side characters - particularly Eleanor and Jesus (rip) - are the stars for me. Eleanor's chapters were funny and more poignant than the rest of the novel. It's also nice to see a POV that wasn't a tortured artist or the workaholic money bags. Zoe and Quentin are okay but they bring up topics and then drop them. Quentin, for example, is shown to struggle with body dysmorphia and it's suggested heavily that their trans. However, this is never brought up again and instead Quentin becomes about drug abuse. The characters often are 'topic characters' in that they are nothing but the topic the author wants to discuss.

Having said all this, am I going to keep reading Coco Mellors? Yes. I enjoyed this book regardless of the problems i have with it.

Convenience Store Woman

I read this in a day because I loved it so much.

This book will not be for everyone. The humour and characterisation are very odd - at least to a Western reader - and the concept is strange. However, I loved it.

I related so much to Keiko. I loved the atmosphere, the conflict was interesting, as Keiko doesn't really fight it intentionally but I just loved it. I am now reading everything that this author brings out, I'm currently reading her short story collection and so far it's a 5/5.

Little Birds

[Warning for i*cest, p*dophelia and SA]

Anais Nin is a conflicting figure. Little Birds has some really good stories in them. I particularly like, A Model and The Woman on the Dune. They're really good stories which look at women finding their sexuality and enjoying it, which often they are not depicted as such. It's wroth noting that this is erotica but written like a classic so the language is quite flowery.

However, there are some stories which are just outright gross. Little Birds is about a man and his fascination with young girls and ultimately flashes at them. Two Sisters starts with SA by the sisters father and then they do it with their brothers. It's weird, strange and very gross. At first, I would take this as ironic however Anais Nin odd and even herself had an affair with her own father, so it's begs with question whether or not she condones this or not.

Again, this is not for the faint of heart. I am going to read more of her work to try to understand her, as an author but so far she has an interesting way of writing but she is also very strange.

The Dead Romanctics

I DNF this at 29%, which is very early but instantly, I could feel this was going to put me in a reading slump.

The main character is annoying and the ghosts are secondary to everything, which is the only part I was actually excited for. The romance - for me - was not good. I think as a genre, I am just going to give up on booktok romance, it's just not my thing.

[tiathedreemurr909]

My Spidersona

Ok ok, I did say I would talk more about my Spidersona so here we go!

Her name is Pen Tesla (full name: Penelope Lilith Tesla) aka Spider-Vibe (she chose the name because it sounds cool) and she is the Spider-Person of Earth-2023, hailing from New Perth City (her universe's version of New York), where she fights alongside her family.

Her powers are the usual Spider-Man powers (y'know web-shooting, Spider-Sense, wallcrawling etc.), her version of Miles's venom shock haply named the 'Vibe Check" and fourth wall-breaking (just go with it). Her Spider-Watch also gives her the ability to use power ups (again, just go with it)

She tends to make a lot of references, some well known, and some that are so obscure they have been dubbed 'Pen-isms'. She can also be very stubborn, and gluttonous... and annoying. But most of the time, she can be very jokey and ultra friendly, especially around people she knows. She also helps out the people of New Perth with the smallest things and tries to understand the villains from her world, similar to the Flash from Justice League Unlimited. Pen also can be pretty pessimistic sometimes, but nobody needs to know about that

Alongside being the Spider-Person in her world, she has a freelance job drawing cartoon strips for The Western Swan (her universe's version of The Daily Bugle), as well as working in an ice cream shop part-time.

So yeah, that was some things about my Spidersona, and yeah, I know I sound like a 13 year old talking about their first OC, but whatever, cringe culture's dead anyway. But anyway, I hope you guys like Pen, and hopefully, I can do some world building and talk about her friends, family or even the villains in the rogue's gallery!

Anyway, enjoy some recent art of her!