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aoioozora · 3 months

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Simon.

Part 3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8

Character: Simon Riley / Ghost Content: Biker! Ghost x Fem! Reader, strangers to lovers, fluff, civilian au

Note: Here's part 3! This one's a little shorter, but I think you'll like it ;) Likes, reblogs, and comments are encouraged and appreciated, so feel free! Enjoy :) Image credit: mr.ghostcos TW: scars

It had been a week of utter silence since giving your phone number to Simon, and you were starting to give up hope.

The lovely Sunday morning sunlight streamed through your open windows as you worked on the manuscript of your second book in the comfort of your little apartment. Your phone was on your desk right next to your laptop, and you found yourself glancing at it repeatedly, still having an inkling of hope that he would call. Lately, any unknown number that called you would be greeted with exuberance, only for it to deflate when it was not him. You even followed him back on Instagram, but he hadn't accepted your follow request yet, as his account was private.

Your fingers tapped away on the keyboard unenthusiastically, nearly turning yourself into a factory of sighs. Even your friend Lindsey, the same one who lived in those dangerous streets and knew of how you had been saved, was worried that you wouldn't finish your manuscript in time for the deadline. Your well meaning friend would try to encourage you to move on from him, but it would just make things worse. You still couldn't help but hold on to that hope, because if he and you met a second time just out of pure chance, then that would mean something, right? And so you stubbornly held on.

You made things worse for yourself too, and you snatched your phone to stalk his Instagram account and whatever you could see of it. He went by the username “ghostriley”, and his profile picture was his gorgeous black motorcycle. There was his full name “Simon Riley” and his bio was non-existent, except for the Union Jack.

You mindlessly gazed at this profile, and let your mind wander back to last week when you met him the second time. You couldn't help but replay that moment over and over and over again.

The way he approached behind the man, and put his gorgeously rugged hand on his shoulder and frightened the wits out of him just with his voice was worth fangirling for, even though he was no celebrity himself. You recognised him immediately, just by looking at his eyes; those same dark, black hole-like eyes. With only a couple glances at the first meeting, you already memorised its shape with how keenly observant you were.

It was a welcome surprise to see him without his helmet, and to learn that his hair was blond, styled in a low tapered fade that looked freshly cut. Now the only thing that shrouded him in mystery was the mask he wore that had the lower part of a skull printed on it. It made him look a little frightening, but maybe that was the point; it worked well to scare others if needed, along with how tall and broad-shouldered he was.

Your ringtone blared out loud. You flinched at the sudden noise, nearly making you drop your phone on the floor. But you managed to catch it in time, and upon looking at the screen, it was another unknown number. You rolled your eyes.

“Hello?” You answered flatly.

“Hello, am I speaking to ____? This is Simon.” came the familiar gruffness that you recently learnt was a Cockney accent.

You immediately sat up in your chair like you were a jack-in-the-box that had been opened. So unexpected was this call that your heart nearly stopped, and you found yourself opening and closing your mouth, struggling to find the words like you were a deer caught in the headlights.

“Yes, you got the right person,” You finally answered with a wide grin, feeling your cheeks burn, hoping you weren't sounding too excited. You had to admit to yourself that you secretly missed his voice, which left your ear feeling tingly from the proximity.

“I'm so sorry,” he apologised immediately, his words now tumbling out of his mouth, “I know you asked me to call you, but I had been on a road trip and a hike with my friends, and I didn't have a jot of static in the mountains anywhere to call you. We've been away a week, and I'm finally back.” He paused to sigh and collect his breath, “But I had your novel with me, thankfully, and I read a bit of it,”

You were relieved to hear that he hadn't done this intentionally. “Don't worry about it. How did you like my story?”

“I've only read a couple chapters, but I'm hooked. I'm no reader, but I'll be damned, you're turning me into one.”

You raised your eyebrows with a smile. “Oh? But didn't you tell me the other day that you were a voracious reader?”

There was a brief silence, and then a very quiet, “Fuck!” Apparently, Simon didn't keep track of his lies, and didn't expect you would remember.

You giggled triumphantly. “Caught in a lie?”

He could hear you smirking and he sighed, a little embarrassed. “Caught in a lie.”

Before you could say anything else, you could hear loud yet muffled music playing on his end. “Kinda noisy there,” You commented.

“You can hear it?” Simon remarked with surprise. “My friends crashed at my place after our trip. They're…” he paused, looking over his shoulder to look inside his living room from the balcony he was standing on, “They're busy dancing; no idea why. Got endless energy, these lads.”

You chuckled. “Don't you want to join them?”

“Not my cup of tea, ye ken?” he said.

“ ‘Ye ken’? What's that?”

Simon groaned when he realised what he said. “It means ‘you know’ in Scottish. My friend is Scottish, and all his words are rubbing off on me.”

You had heard snatches of the Scottish accent before, but hearing him say a Scottish phrase in his British accent sounded both funny and endearing. “You two must be close then,” You chuckled.

“We're practically brothers, he and I. We've known each other for a very long time.” Simon said, trying to sound nonchalant about his long friendship with Johnny, but the brotherly tenderness found an opening to slip out a little.

You could hear the regard Simon had for his friend in his voice, and it made you smile. It gave you the impression that he cared deeply for his friends, and it appeared to you sweet. “Is he the same friend you told me about that day in the cafe?” you asked.

“Yeah, his name's John. John MacTavish.”

Just as you were about to answer, you were interrupted by the very subject of your conversation on Simon's end. “Oi mate! Wit ye doing there outside? Cut the call and dance with us!”

Simon groaned and answered Johnny unenthusiastically, “Coming!” He then turned to the call to tell you, “That's John, by the way. And I think I have to go.”

“I can tell,” You chuckle, “Have fun dancing?”

“I don't plan on dancing. I'll be reading your novel… hopefully.”

Him saying that gave you a flutter in your chest. “Keep me posted on your thoughts.”

“Okay,” he nodded, his voice now lowering slightly, as if whispering, “You'll hear from me very soon.”

Something about what he said and the way he said it sent a tingle down your spine strong enough to force the wind out of your lungs.

Simon, concerned about your momentary silence, asked, “You there?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I'm here. Sorry, I got a little distracted.” You scrambled to say. Little was an understatement.

“It's alright,” You could hear him smiling, “I'll be hanging up now.”

“Sure, I'll talk to you soon.”

“Oh, before I go, I was wondering…” he paused, hesitatingly running his hand through his undercut.

“Yes?”

“Do you want to see the pictures we took on our trip?” he asked, and quickly added with, “Maybe they could help you with writing?”

“Oh yeah! That would be great. Thanks a lot.”

“Right then, I'll send them right after this call.”

“Perfect. So, I'll see you later?”

“See you later, love. Take care.”

You could practically hear the gentleness oozing from his voice and you shamelessly wished you could have a recording of those very words so you could hear them over and over. You answered, “You too, Simon. Bye.”

“Bye.”

You kept your phone down on your dinner table you sat at and sat for a moment in silence. Pushing your laptop aside, you held your face in your hands and squealed like an excited piglet, kicking your legs under your chair.

“He called! He called!” your thoughts screamed as your entire body went on celebratory mode. The echo of his gruff yet sweet voice reverberated in your mind, and you couldn't help but think of using his voice as the voice of the male lead in your second book.

You held your flushed, burning cheeks in your hands and exhaled heavily. “Oh, calm down, calm down,” You patted your chest where your heart was, as it was throbbing wildly with excitement.

And then, to make things worse, your notifications went off chiming. It was Simon sending you the photos from the trip, and you immediately took your phone to take a look. He had sent photos of distant mountains, streams, and a couple photos of the backs of his two friends hiking on a beaten trail.

A particular photo of a row of trees in the forest that shaded the grassy ground was captioned, “This reminded me of your book cover”. You smiled, feeling a little fuzzy that something reminded him of you; not a feeling you were used to. You replied to it:

You: It really does look like the cover!

As you scrolled down the chat screen to see photos of mountains, flowers, and bugs, which were all beautiful, but the last photo took the cake. It was a candid picture of him walking across an aged stone bridge bathed in the tree filtered light of the evening sun, making his face and clothes speckled with golden yellow. He was looking over his shoulder with a look of surprise in his eyes like he had been called out of the blue. The entire photo was beautiful enough to take your breath away. It was captioned, “Don't mind me. I thought you'd like the bridge. The place is beautiful… would make a good book cover.”

You wrote in reply:

You: you're so right

You paused for a moment, looking at the pictures again. “So this is what the world looks like in his eyes.”

Mountains, nature, bridges, his two friends, and the reminders of your book were in his field of vision that week. You knew for a fact that people take photos of what they cherish or something interesting, a snippet of time forever frozen into a memory. You felt your cheeks flush again.

“Maybe…” You found yourself thinking, but you shook your head, telling yourself not to be delusional.

In the meantime, Simon stood leaning his back on the balustrade of the balcony, staring at your messages of approval for the photos with a relieved smile.

Author Girl: Thanks for the pictures! They're so beautiful. You guys must've had a lot of fun

He typed back.

Simon Riley Biker: We did, it was great

Simon Riley Biker: I'll text you soon ok? Have to go

Author Girl: okay tc :)

Simon Riley Biker: you too. Cheers

Author Girl: cheers :)

Simon shoved his phone back in his pocket, exhaling. The music inside the apartment had died down as his thoughts wandered. He wanted to ask you if you would come on a hike one day, but he didn't want to come off sounding like a serial killer. He was already aware that his size and his voice were intimidating to most.

But you seemed to be mesmerized by it.

Simon walked back inside the apartment where his two friends, Johnny and Gaz, were found fallen over each other on his sofa like dominoes, tired from all the dancing. Johnny had fallen on one of the cushions, while Gaz had his head resting on Johnny's thigh, and his legs hoisted up on the arm rest. These two sure were comfortable.

“Done dancing?” asked Simon, standing over the two.

“Done talking to your missus?” asked Gaz, who was a handsome, lean, and dark skinned fellow whose real name was Kyle. He was also an Englishman.

Simon, who was normally unmasked in front of his friends, scrunched his nose in a sneer. “She's not my girlfriend.”

“That's not what Johnny told me,” smirked Gaz, glancing at Johnny who was already half-asleep, having spent his energy. Johnny grunted sleepily at the mention of his name, and went right back to sleep.

“Mate, she's not my girlfriend,” insisted Simon, “She's a friend that I happened to save twice by pretending to be her boyfriend.”

Gaz raised a brow. “A friend? Thought you never wanted any girl friends.”

That reminder got him thinking. He didn't, really. But maybe he wanted to change that.

“She's nice,” he admitted quietly, not wanting to come off sounding enthusiastic.

“Go on and steal her heart then, lad!” Gaz exclaimed, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

Simon thoughtfully ran a hand over his left cheek, his fingers running over his stubble, but more so over the groove of an old scar that reached from the corner of his lip to his cheekbone, one of the many that told a story of a troubled youth.

“I doubt she'll want her heart stolen when she sees this,” replied Simon, pointing to the scar as he pushed Johnny's head aside and sat down on the sofa.

Gaz now sat up. “You're telling me you'll let a scar– a scar, of all things, hinder your chances at finding a girlfriend.” He looked at Simon with raised eyebrows and rested his fist under his chin, looking at his friend like a disappointed parent. “She even gave you her number. That's a massive green light!” he motioned to the novel the novel on the coffee table with his hand exasperatedly, “She's clearly got more balls than you.”

Simon looked back at Gaz, and a momentary staring match ensued. “What if she's just being friendly?” asked Simon, raising an eyebrow to challenge Gaz.

“Just shoot your shot, lad,” Gaz shook his head, now growing a little impatient, “Life's too short to worry about being rejected. Don't wanna have regrets now, do we? What if she gets taken by someone else? What you gon’ do then, huh?”

Simon was still unsure but Gaz did have a point. He sighed, relenting, “Fine. I'll try.”

Gaz smiled proudly. “That's my boy!”

Simon retreated to the bathroom to think. He stood in front of the mirror and stared at his rugged face. While he was only in his late twenties, he easily looked thirty-five thanks to his pale skin, the dark circles under his eyes, his strong cheekbones, and his untrimmed beard; he was a lifeless thing sometimes, and that's why he earned the endearing moniker of 'Ghost' from his friends. The scar on his face stood out like a sore thumb and he rubbed the base of his palm over it, a vain attempt at trying to remove the ugly thing.

He looked at his hand, another rugged thing, calloused more than anything from holding on to knives and people too tight. More scars peeked from under the sleeve of his jumper, numerous and woeful pale lines crossing over each other like scattered toothpicks, all of them staring at him under the intersections of his black tattoos.

His vision blurred as he thought of her smile, that beautiful grin which would crinkle her nose and the corners of her beautiful, shining eyes; she appeared to him the personification of purity and sweetness; that was his deduction of her from their short acquaintance, and he felt like he could not be mistaken.

He could see how she looked at him, stared at him even. He could hear how happy and excited she sounded when he finally called. Practically everything was telling him to respond to her advances without fear.

And yet standing before him was a seemingly insurmountable wall that he erected to keep himself out of the world's notice. His distant eyes focused on the scars on his hand and then at the one on his face. "Would she really want all of this?" His thoughts swirled like cesspools as he continued to stare at himself. He didn't know the first thing about her, and yet his insecurity condemned him, saying that he was no saint compared to her.

Of a truth, he wasn't a saint, but must it hold him back? Gaz and Johnny would beg to differ.

“Just shoot your shot, lad,” his friend's voice echoed in his thoughts.

He murmured, now standing up straight, "I hear you, Gaz."

End of Part 3.

Part 4

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animehouse-moe · 1 year

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High Card Episode 2: Make a Choice

So, admittedly, not as action packed and cool an episode as the first, but super interesting for two main reasons. Kingsman and Cards.

So let's look at that first one, Kingsman. I'm fairly certain the majority of people out there know of the Kingsman movies (which were originally comics). They know of the sort of rough around the edges underdog being picked up by a suave and sensible mentor to help with some top-secret spy stuff. They know of the Kingsman suit store, of the classic spy tropes. They know of that bar/pub scene in the first movie.

A lot of it is in this High Card episode. Of course, they can't give it all direct and literal references, but stuff like Wizardsman really makes the comparison clear as day.

Anyways, the cards. This episode confirms it. They all have "themes". We sort of knew with the diamonds, but it could have been a simple coincidence. Today though, we got another heart card so can properly confirm (you can cheat if you use the opening). So, what are the "themes"? Well, we know 3 of the 4 themes for sure. The heart suit is constitutional, or "enhancement", cards. Chris' 5 of Hearts is effectively immortality, and the bad guy's 3 of Hearts this episode was Rocking Rock which made his body super strong and durable. So how about diamonds, which we already know of? Well, now that we know how broad the themes can be, I would assume diamonds to be able to exert control over reality. Lucky Lunchman and his ability to effectively gamble and luck out on existence, and Bobby Ball's ability to turn people into marbles. Additionally, because of this theme, we can assume the talk about human combustion is another diamond suits player. Regardless, moving on, thanks to the opening, we know of the suit (and ability) of Wendy's card. She possesses a spade, and is able to create a katana (or potentially more specifically a Nodachi given the size), and has leather gauntlets instead of gloves. This means that the spade suit is used for weapons, though I would assume with a twist given what we know of Finn's two of spades. This leaves Clubs as the most unknown, the only person possessing one being Vijay (thanks to the opening). Vijay's clubs makes use of vines-slash-nature, but since we don't have any other one to compare to, it's hard to give an answer as to what the theme of clubs may be.

More in terms of the abstract of the episode, I really enjoyed the direction of it. They continue to provide a wide range of style that really sells the appeal of the series. It's got swagger, it's got a strong sense of self, and above all it sells the personality of each character. They keep shots wide with several characters, they have plenty of low angle shots to sell the scale and grandeur of them, and the list continues. The lighting and overall color palette of the series helps a great deal with it though, it provides a great deal of contrast and allows them to go all out with the feel of certain scenes.

As a side note I love this one, because the little tea filter or whatever it is (sorry, not well versed in tea stuff!), is symbolism for the filter through which the cards select the player, and that last little drop is the example of the bad players that would abuse the cards slipping through.

I think my point's been made, so moving on. The last little bit I'll speak about is the exposition. It's always great when there's a character that genuinely doesn't know of the comings and goings of what's behind the curtain, and they don't miss a beat in capitalizing on that to explain things and sell us on Finn. We learn a great deal about the X-Playing Cards, and about the nature of the world. They give some hints as to how the cards might choose their players but there's nothing set in stone. And lastly, I really enjoyed seeing Finn's mentor/adoptive father Lindsey again this episode. I believe it's really important to include those characters when possible within stories like this, particularly when it's a foundational aspect of a character like Finn. The whole piece about choices and decisions with this episode, due to Lindsey's involvement, was really solid.

So, not quite the first episode by any means, but it makes the most of the typical cadence and flow of a fresh series as it goes through the motions of explanations and recruitment. Looking forward to what they do with the next episode now that the playing field has opened!

#high card #anime recommendation #anime review #anime original #ハイカード #anime #anime and manga #finn oldman #chris redgrave

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radiowallet · 9 months

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WIP WEDNESDAY

Thank you for the tag @whatsnewalycat 🖤 I don’t have much in the way of fic but I do have some original stuff I’ve been plucking away at.

Betty stands silently for another two minutes, long enough for the record to flip over to Don’t Stop. Lindsey Buckingham is just getting to the first line of the chorus when the door just behind the bar swings open, the broad shape of a man backing through, thick arms bracing a large metal keg on his shoulder. He grunts with the effort, dropping the keg at his feet before turning around to face Betty for the first time, wiping his hands down the front of his (too) tight t-shirt. It’s at that very moment that Betty loses her train of thought.

“I…um…Earl, he,” she points weekly behind her, brown eyes glued to the bartender’s bright blue ones, her mouth suddenly very dry. Whoever this guy is, he at least doesn’t look like an axe-wielding murder. He seems so at ease, his smile is soft and his stance relaxed where he leans against the bar, watching Betty patiently while she stutters her way to an explanation.

She shakes her head and licks her lips before trying again. “Earl sent me over. Said to ask for Jackson.”

NP tags: @blueeyesatnight @magpie-to-the-morning @wyn-n-tonic @pebblesmustard @psychedelic-ink @whataperfectwasteoftime

#wip wednesday #original writing?

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cryingbreaskfastfriends · 7 months

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Queer story time

When I was a young adult or an old teen, I went to some pride thing on the green.

The rhyme was unintentional and I don't think it will continue.

And I wasn't really out then not even to myself. My friends older brother had told me (and also all the Bi girls in my grade?) That all women are bi. And dispite any evidence to the contrary I believed that until I 30. Because, to quote Lindsey Ellis, "heteronormativity is a hell of a drug."

So I was at this event and I saw a broad shouldered, ripped guy. In a gorgeous Disney princess like ball gown. With a beard long enough to touch his collar bone when talked and a thick carpet of chest hair.

And my first thought was "He doesn't pass. He's not trying to pass. He's doing something else. Something very deliberate. I have no idea what he's doing."

And this image has stayed with me. When I stated coming out of the closet last year. The closet is such a great metaphor. It was like I opened the door and suddenly there was light in the closet and I had all these gay memories stored like photos in cardboard boxes that I could finally see properly.

It was like this guy was singing a song, loudly, publicly about his experience. A song of celebration and joy, of freedom and euphoria. Of radical action against systemic shame and gender rigidity.

Because pride is a celebration but it's also to help young people feel safe by being publicly vulnerable and authentic.

I couldn't understand what he was doing at the time, like a song in a language I wasn't fluent in. But that song was a gift for me and I kept it all these years, safe in a dark closet, waiting until I was ready, waiting until I had learned that language.

And now I hear the singing all around me and every once in a while, like now, I try to sing a little bit of the melody. I try to be vulnerable, for my own pride and joy and also to model for others that song we sing together as a community to let others know. We're here. We're queer. Get used to it.

#my art #writing #queer #pride #gnc #bi #nonbinary

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kiragecko · 1 year

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Hey Lingblr/linguists of Tumblr, does anyone have recommendations of Youtubers/otherwise auditory media that discuss Canadian linguistics? (Especially in contrast to other dialects?)

I really enjoy Tom Scott and Dr. Geoff Lindsey, but Canada, with its relatively few people and weird in-between state (between British and American pronunciations) gets very little direct mention by either. Which makes sense, when doing broad overviews of the world's Englishes, or focusing on what the majority of people speak.

But I want to hear about me! (And also get some experience listening for the differences I've only seen in charts and text.)

I know about Lingthusiasm, but I think I need to listen to an episode that actually focuses on Canadian stuff to get hooked. (Any recs for that would also be appreciated!)

#linguistics #lingblr #canadian linguistics #canadian dialects #canadian english

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winderlylandchime · 7 months

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I am trying my best to just write honorable mentions bc if i wrote everything he said that made me question our sibling dna this would be an essay. But i do want everyone to know: he watches the show as if he’s watching a sports game, elbows on his knees, legs shaking at times, palms all over his face and a lot of ‘ugh!!!’ And every so often he hits me/grabs my shirt and yanks it bc i sit next to him while making some type of a noise. Anyway: ‘oh god, is this what i look like to you while i watch this show? Is this a call out? Am i being called out? Oh my god am I emmett? Nah I’m more fun’ ‘HE IS GETTING A HERO AWARD? Why? Oh Justin. HELL YEAH HERO! Yeah bitch, listen to Emmett, you saved Justin’s life!’ ‘awwww He is rushing home to Justin bc he gets scared! HERO!…a hero in love..can he already admit that he’s in love ffs this is taking forever, I mean what has to happen for him to say ily to Justin?!’ ‘Ew. I mean i know the gay friends sometimes kiss each other and i get it but i don’t like Michael..*long silence while he watches* maybe i should kiss my homies too sometimes, let them know i care’ ‘WHAT DOES HE MEAN LESS DESERVING?! Ohhh lover!! I like the sound of that. Cmon just tell him you love him! It would make my life SO much easier’ ‘oh he is so totally not going to that comic con hahahhaha’ ‘oh damn he really did forget about comic con, i was just messing. Damn..OH HE REALLY SAID FUCK THE POLICE’ … ‘they want to take away his award?! Oh hell no! I will not allow this *looks at me scared* if i hate these two does that make me homophobic?’ ‘I need Mike to stop being annoying bc him and Justin could be a cool duo! OKAY DEBBIE STOP BLAMING BRI BRI FOR EVERYTHING! Why do they keep doing this? I am tired, and i am all alone here defending him and it’s getting hard bc theyre on the other side of the screen’ ‘DEBBIE KNOWS BRI BRI LOVES JUSTIN!!! HELL FUCKING YEAH DEBBIE! Now help me get him to admit it to us all! And by us, I mean me’ It’s at this point that he looked at me and just flapped his arms all over the place and then went back to watching. ‘Oh my god! He is walking with him and holding hands! In broad daylight! Better chance seeing you date a dude than Brian holding hands on a walk. EXCEPT *points to paused tv* HE IS DOING IT RIGHT THERE! HE SAID NO HANDS! look at Bri Bri hugging him and GOD DAMN IT!’ He is currently groaning while flapping his hands in the air ‘he clearly loves him! Why is he making things so complicated for me!!’ ‘OH MY GOD JUSTIN! His teenage lover! FUCK YEAH! Oh my god, sweet sweet boy please never change! I need him to stay like this. WHAT has he stolen from Justin?! SIR I WILL FIGHT YOU MYSELF’ ‘THAT GUY FUCKS RAW?! AND HE JUDGES BRIAN?! I guess everyone IS a critic’ ‘yeah give him the fucking award! See, mel and lindsey can be cool, they don’t suck so much when they’re not as uptight..would it kill them to be like that more often?.’ ‘I KNOW THIS SONG- OH MY GOD JUSTIN IS HIS BOY! AND HE IS WALKI- COME ON SONNY BOY!!! HE! I! HIM! I CANT WITH THIS! LOOK AT HIM REACHING HIS ARMS OUT! LOOK AT THAT SMILE! HE KNEW HE COULD DO IT! And the kissing! BRIAN JUST ADMIT IT ALREADY! *pauses on the kiss* So there’s the Brian that Michael knows or thinks he knows and there’s the Bri Bri that Justin and I know. AND HE IS LOVELY! And I am better than Michael’ ‘yes Justin tell him! He is a hero!…it has to be killing them to speak nicely of Bri Bri. Oh HE DIDNT SHOW UP OH THATS FUNNY! Ffs can Mel be on Brians side once? I need a reason to like her’ ‘i guess Michael got his dynamic duo dream back.. he needs a better dream and life, this is sad and that’s coming from a 36 yr old dude who is drugged out of his mind in his sisters house..wait that sounds bad..fuck oh god am i michael?’ After this he went outside for a smoke and just stared into the sky and when he came in he went ‘it was cute and calm. I think that means im finally watching it normally and not going crazy’

ANON! I do not want your brother to have to find out what it will take for Brian to tell Justin he loves him (and yet, I definitely do).

"Oh he really said fuck the police" is gold because that is my EXACT response to that scene.

His response to "my boy walks down the street" is correct and accurate and all of us. Also his analysis of Brian and Michael and the Brian Michael knows and the Brian Justin and fandom knows is so spot on.

Look, anon, when this is over your brother is going to need to be set up with a tumblr and an AO3 account. Those are just facts at this point.

#ask winderlylandchime #dear sweet anon #queer as folk #a straight man watches qaf us 2000 in the year of our lord 2023

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ausetkmt · 8 months

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One snuck glances at news sites throughout the day. Another stayed up late to watch Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ press conference. A third went to bed early and woke up to dozens of text messages.

That’s how three of the Fulton residents who served on the special grand jury that helped Willis examine evidence of interference in Georgia’s 2020 election found out that former President Donald Trump and 18 others had been indicted on racketeering and other criminal charges.

In exclusive interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the three jurors, who requested anonymity out of concern for their safety and privacy, described the surreal experience of watching Willis and her team announce the charges late Monday. The 98-page indictment heavily references evidence and testimony the special grand jury had heard firsthand behind closed doors last year, they said.

“I’ve tried to just move on a little bit, but last night definitely put into perspective how different this indictment is compared to every other one that’s come across,” one juror said Tuesday. “I think it made me realize I was a part of something really unique.”

The special grand jury met for almost eight months beginning in May 2022. It approved subpoenas and legal summonses and also heard testimony from nearly 75 witnesses, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. Unlike the separate, regular grand jury that voted on a “true bill” of indictment against Trump and others on Monday, the special grand jury essentially functioned as an investigative body for Willis solely focused on the 2020 elections investigation.ExploreEXCLUSIVE: Behind the scenes of Trump grand jury

At the end of its service late last year, the special grand jury authored a final report, which made a series of indictment recommendations to the DA. The bulk of its suggestions were sealed by a Fulton Superior Court judge early this year after Willis asked for time to make indictment decisions.

In the months since, the special grand jurors collectively decided not to speak publicly about their recommendations, even though they were technically allowed to do so under Georgia law. In a previous interview with the AJC, five jurors said they didn’t want to jeopardize the work of Willis and her colleagues, whom they said they immensely respect.

But in interviews on Tuesday, three jurors suggested the charges announced by Willis largely fall in line with what they had recommended.

“This is pretty on point,” one juror said.

Each said they were satisfied with the resulting indictment and Willis’ approach using Georgia’s sweeping racketeering law.

“When I woke up this morning and started looking at the news it was relief that I was feeling,” said another special grand juror on Tuesday. “It was like, ok, what we did and the time we spent meant something because (the DA) agreed with us. And now another group of people looked at all the facts and the information and they all came to the same resolution that we did.”

Said another, “I’m really proud of the work that we did and I can see the opinions and feelings of the jury in this indictment.”

It is the AJC’s policy not to publish the identities of jurors without their permission.

The jurors said they were mostly familiar with the information included in the indictment. But one said he was surprised at the extent to which the DA incorporated events that took place outside of Georgia to argue there was a broad criminal conspiracy. Another expressed surprise that only 19 people were charged in the indictment given the volume of evidence the jury heard about others.

“A lot of people aren’t named,” said the juror. She added that over the course of the special grand jury’s service, “we talked to a lot of people, so I’m actually impressed at how they got down to a list of this many people.”

The indictment makes reference to 30 unnamed, unindicted co-conspirators.

In the seven months since their service officially ended, the jurors have taken various levels of interest in the case. Some have disconnected, telling other jurors that they wanted to move on and didn’t want to be contacted. Others say they’re emotionally invested. Some stay in touch via a group text to share headlines and reaction.

The three jurors said they hope their final report will be released to the public soon. Not only so that the public can see what they recommended, but so they can refresh their own memories.

“Come on,” one juror said. “The indictments are out. Let’s show the work that we did.”

A coalition of media organizations led by the AJC has been pushing to unseal the full contents of the report, which it has argued is in the public interest. On Wednesday, the coalition renewed its push in a new filing in Fulton Superior Court.

“For the same reasons the Indictment is a public record, the Final Report should be published to permit the public to understand the scope and scale of the investigation that informed the Indictment’s charges,” the coalition argued.

Looking ahead, the jurors said they would like to see the legal system play out in this case.

“I just want to see justice done,” one said.

“I want it to not be ok to go on TV,” another said, “and spew lies to the media about fake elections... (so) people can have some sense of trust in the elections system again.”

#EXCLUSIVE: Special grand jurors pleased with Fulton RICO indictment #GEORGIA #Fulton County Grand Jury #vote tampering #trump RICO indictment #DA Fani Willis #Fulton County

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beardedmrbean · 1 year

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lindsey Lundholm looked out over hundreds of people at the Utah State Capitol last year and felt a deep sense of healing. Abuse survivors, religious leaders and major party politicians were all gathered to rally for an end to a legal loophole that exempts religious clergy from being required to report child sexual abuse once it comes to their attention.

Lundholm, one of the rally's organizers, recalled telling the crowd how, growing up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho, she told her bishop about her painful abuse only to see it go unreported.

Unearthing the trauma wasn't easy, but back in August she hoped reforms could be forthcoming so others would not face what she did.

“There was really a lot of momentum," said Lundholm, now a teacher in northern Utah. “Everyone we were talking to was like, ‘This is a no brainer. This is something that needs to be changed.’”

It hasn't.

Pressed by Lundholm and other survivors, Republicans and Democrats announced plans last year to reform laws that exempt religious clergy from reporting child sexual abuse cases revealed in conversations with parishioners. Despite initial momentum, religious groups in several states have blocked those efforts, doubling down on lobbying tactics they've used for years to defend exemptions.

That's the case in Utah, a deeply religious state where the majority of lawmakers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church. State law requires most professionals — therapists, doctors and teachers among them — report abuse, yet clergy are exempt from alerting authorities about abuse they learn of through confessions.

Behind-the-scenes conversations between legislative leaders in Utah and what Senate President Stuart Adams said was “a broad base of religious groups” helped thwart four separate proposals to add clergy to the list of professionals required to report child sexual abuse. None received hearings as lawmakers prepare to adjourn for the year.

“I think they have First Amendment rights and religious protections,” Adams, a Latter-day Saint himself, said, noting fears among religious leaders that clergy could be punished for breaking vows of confidentiality.

Each proposal was introduced or announced after an Associated Press investigation found that the Utah-based faith's sexual abuse reporting hotline can be misused by its leaders to divert abuse accusations away from law enforcement and instead to church attorneys who may bury the problem, leaving victims in harm’s way.

In lawsuits detailed in the investigation, church attorneys have argued clergy-penitent privilege allows them to refuse to answer questions and turn over documents about alleged sexual abuse.

Church officials declined to comment about the stalled legislative efforts. The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City did not respond to requests for comment but campaigned against them, saying in January that priests and clergy were different from others mandated to report sexual abuse, including doctors, teachers and social workers.

“Legislation that would require a priest to (report sexual abuse) violates our right to practice our religion,” Bishop Oscar Solis, of the Salt Lake City Diocese, wrote in a Jan. 25 letter to parishioners.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox last month said he “had no problem with the bills moving forward” and receiving consideration in the statehouse.

“I think it’s an important conversation to have. We’ve encouraged the Legislature to look at this and make sure that our model is the right model,” he told reporters.

Marci Hamilton, chief executive of the abuse prevention nonprofit Child USA, said churches have maintained the same playbook for decades in opposing more disclosure.

Routinely it involves a two-pronged approach, defending clergy-penitent privilege in statehouses and using it to avoid damaging disclosures in court cases, said Hamilton, also a University of Pennsylvania law professor.

"They have not veered from it. Both institutions are hoping that time will simply let everybody start trusting them again," Hamilton said, referring to Catholics and Latter-day Saints.

But, she added, "by preventing the public — and especially the sincere believers — from getting the full story you don’t create the accountability that these organizations should be held to and the secrets continue.”

“The problem in the United States — and this is particularly acute in state like Utah — is that the lobbying power of these religious organizations is so extraordinary,” Hamilton said.

Laws in 33 states exempt clergy — regardless of religion — from laws requiring professionals such as teachers, physicians and psychotherapists to report child sexual abuse allegations to authorities. Religious leaders have systematically fought efforts to expand the list of states. They currently oppose efforts from Vermont to Washington, where a proposal advanced through the state Senate Tuesday.

Kansas lawmakers introduced multiple proposals on penalties for not reporting suspected child sexual abuse, including one in the state Senate that would have added clergy to a list of mandatory reporters. It faced especially fierce public rebukes from Catholic leaders because it didn’t exempt confessions. No proposal received even a hearing before an initial deadline this year.

In the wake of the AP's investigation last year, Republican state Rep. Phil Lyman and Democratic Rep. Angela Romero announced plans to reform Utah's clergy-penitent privilege loophole. Lyman, who served six years as a Latter-day Saints' bishop, said at the time lawmakers should want to reexamine the loophole “regardless of religious or political affiliation.”

“People should be able to go and confess their sins to their bishop without fear of being prosecuted up until when they are confessing something that has affected someone’s else life significantly,” he told the AP in August.

Lyman ultimately released a proposal that broadly affirmed clergy's exemption from mandatory reporting. It didn't advanced or received any hearing as lawmakers prepare to adjourn Friday. He did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Proposals from Democratic Reps. Romero and Brian King, and Sen. Stephanie Pitcher to close or narrow the loophole have also not moved forward amid opposition from religious groups.

Both Pitcher and Romero, who is Catholic, said they planned to reintroduce their proposals next year.

“With AP uncovering what they uncovered, you'd think this would be a matter of urgency for this Legislature and for Legislatures across the country. But again we are allowing these institutions to dictate what we mandate,” Romero said, referring to the Catholic Church.

Several Utah lawmakers told AP that opponents of limiting clergy-penitent privilege regarding child sexual abuse had circulated research that they claimed suggests mandatory reporting reform doesn't result in more confirmed reports of sexual abuse and may deter perpetrators from speaking to clergy.

“What most of the research shows is that if people aren’t able to come to them for fear of being reported on, they’re not able to provide the help and support they need,” Sen. Ann Milner said.

However, conclusions drawn from the study, which the Catholic Diocese also circulated in opposition to a similar bill from Romero in three years ago, have been challenged by its authors.

University of Michigan law professor Frank Vandervort and his co-author, Vincent Palusci, a pediatrics professor at New York University, told the AP last year the study was limited, partly because churches often wouldn’t give them access to relevant data.

“A single article should not be the basis for making policy decisions,” Vandervort said. “It may be entirely the case that there’s no connection between the changing of the laws and the number of reports.”

Lundholm said Utah lawmakers adjourning without having a “true public discussion” on any clergy-penitent privilege reform proposal provoked eerily familiar feelings for survivors. Though she never expected political change to happen overnight, she said survivors like her who had abuse go unreported — once again — feel unheard.

“Maybe the worst part is that this is something that survivors experience often, and unfortunately, it’s rare when their stories are heard,” she said.

#nunyas news

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thesimpsonsultimateshowdown · 1 year

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This Nearly Crashed My Browser: Finding All 120+ Competitors

the current list

The Simpsons is known for it's utterly mind-boggling amount of episodes and characters, with its wiki having more than 5K entries in the character section. My job was to sift to through and pick out as many relevant characters as possible, while making some exclusions and exceptions. Here's how it went down:

The wiki's home page has a character tab with a dropdown with five category; Simpson Family, Krusty, At the SNPP, At Springfield Elementary, and Kids

Clicking on each tab will bring you to a page with all characters relevant to the category

-The Krusty tab is literally just Krusty, so I just found Channel 4 myself

In Simpson Family, I grabbed the core family, Snowball & SLH, Abe & Mona, Patty, Selma, and Ling

In Channel 4, I grabbed Krusty, Kent, Bumblebee Man, Sideshow Bob & Mel, Mr. Teeny, Itchy & Scratchy, and later I decided to expand it to celebrities, adding, Marvin Monroe, Troy McClure, Rainer Wolfcastle, Drederick Tatum, and just decided to stick Kang & Kodos here

In SNPP, I grabbed Mr. Burns, Smithers, Lenny & Carl, Blinky the Fish, Charlie, and the people's champion, "Just Stamp the Ticket" Man

In Springfield Elementary, I grabbed Skinner, Edna, Otto, Hoover, Largo, Willie, Chalmers, Krupt, and Doris

And in Kids, I grabbed Uter, Richard & Lewis, Database, Baby Gerald, Milhouse, Nelson, Wendell, Martin, Ralph, Rod & Todd, Sherri & Terri, Janey, and the Spuckler & Nahasapeemapetilon kids

I didn't find the bullies, Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney in Kids, so I made a throwaway category, "Townies". After these three and over the course of tracking other characters, I grabbed Barney, Sam & Larry, Hans Moleman, Snake, Bleeding Gums, Julio & Grady, Jebediah Springfield, Disco Stu, Squeaky Voiced Teen, Cletus & Brandine, and the City of Shelbyville.

Next, I decided to look for Senior characters, which eventually evolved into the aptly named "Olds" category. This was pretty broad, but here I grabbed Ned & Maude Flanders, Kirk & Luann Van Houten, Marge's Mother, Jasper, Mrs. Muntz, Old Jewish Man (which is his title, apparently), Ruth Powers, Mrs. Glick, Crazy Cat Lady, Sarah Wiggum, Agnes, Manjula, and Matt Groening.

Researching this category, characters such as Apu and Fat Tony came to mind, but were excluded since they do stuff. So then I made the final category, "Career", characters who are most defined by their career. This was the largest category, with me grabbing Apu, Reverend & Helen Lovejoy, Lionel Hutz, Moe, Dr Hibbert & Nick, Fat Tony, Legs & Louie, Johnny Tightlips, Frankie the Squealer, Judge Constance, The Salty Sea Captain & The Rich Texan, Mayor Quimby, Cookie Kwan, Blue-Haired Lawyer, Lindsey Naegle, Roger Meyers Jr, Gil, Comic Book Guy, Chief Wiggum, Officers Eddie & Lou, Herman, Italian Chef (not calling him f-ing Luigi Risotto), and Duffman.

Finally, the characters I forgot or couldn't originally fit, being Herbert, Allison, Rabbi Krustofsky, Artie Ziff, Shauna Chalmers, Kumiko Albertson, and Raphael the Wisecrack.

Exclusions and the Vaguest of Vague Rules

While constructing the list, at the start I avoided adding Allison, Herbert, and the Rabbi. In my mind, these were one-time guest stars, like Hank Scorpio and Frank Grimes, but I decided to include them as Allison became a Janey-like figure, Herbert got a follow-up episode in Season 3, and the Rabbi appeared on occasion with speaking roles. Characters I will never add would either be real-people, with the exception of Matt Groening, one-off guest stars, and set-dressing characters that don't impact main characters, such as Martin's parents, the other workers at the nuclear plant, and Sideshow Bob's wife and child.

Of course, I can bend the rules. If you think of a character that could be included, tell me in anyway you can and I'll decide on it or create a public poll. Why, just typing this up I thought of Flanders' parents, the Vegas wives, and Princess Kashmir, who could all be argued for or against!

Thanks for reading, and look forward to deciding polls and soon enough, a bracket! Asks always open!

#the simpsons #polls #disgruntled goat

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