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reasoningdaily · 8 months

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A Black couple have sued the city of Beverly Hills, alleging their arrest was part of a campaign by its police to arrest Black people for trivial reasons and at disproportionate rates.

The couple’s lawyers, Bradley Gage and Benjamin Crump, said the Beverly Hills police last year set up a task force — dubbed Operation Safe Streets and the Rodeo Drive Task Force — that arrested 106 people, 105 of whom were Black and one of whom was Latino. Gage said the sources of the arrest figures were unidentified retired Beverly Hills police officers who were appalled by the task force’s actions and so shared with him the alleged racial breakdown of who had been arrested.

The impetus for the task force, Gage said, was both the protests over the death of George Floyd and what Beverly Hills police believed were transactions at retail stores using suspected proceeds of unemployment benefit fraud. Gage described the Police Department’s approach to rooting out suspected fraud as, “Gee, that’s suspicious — Black people shopping in Beverly Hills.”

Gage and Crump, who has represented the families of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others killed by police, raised their allegations Wednesday on the steps of Beverly Hills City Hall. “There is something terribly wrong here,” Gage said, citing what he called the city’s legacy of biased policing.

Gage and Crump are seeking class-action status for their lawsuit, which was filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The only named plaintiffs are the couple, who were arrested on suspicion of riding scooters on a sidewalk and resisting arrest; it does not appear that Gage or Crump has identified the 104 other people who they contend were arrested.

In a statement, Police Chief Dominick Rivetti said his department created a “Rodeo Drive Team” in response to complaints by businesses and a rise in burglaries, shoplifting, “street gambling, public intoxication, marijuana smoking and more.” The team seized 13 firearms carried by people on Rodeo Drive, said Rivetti, who called this “unprecedented in the history of Beverly Hills.”

Rivetti said the Rodeo Drive unit rooted out fraudulently obtained state unemployment benefits, seizing $250,000 in cash and ill-gotten debit cards. Most of the people arrested by the unit were not California residents, Rivetti said, but they nonetheless possessed debit cards loaded with state funds.

The Times asked the Beverly Hills police for a total number and breakdown by race of the people arrested by the Rodeo Drive unit. Capt. Max Subin, a department spokesman, said officials were gathering the figures Wednesday and would provide them once they had finished.

Gage and Crump on Wednesday highlighted the experience of the Black couple, Khalil White and Jasmine Williams of Philadelphia, who said they were visiting Beverly Hills on vacation in September when they were stopped, arrested and eventually jailed by police.

As five officers handcuffed White, Williams said, she asked an officer for her purse to retrieve their hotel key. Two officers pushed her to a police car, handcuffed her and took her to jail, she said.

“I was scared,” Williams said. “I’ve never been to jail in my life.”

White, who said he was jailed overnight and forced to post a $25,000 bond, was charged in Los Angeles County Superior Court with resisting arrest and falsely identifying himself to police. Williams was charged with falsely identifying herself to police. The charges were dismissed in February, records show.

Crump and Gage alleged that White and Williams’ arrests were part of a campaign to target Black people in the city through its recently formed task force.

The Beverly Hills police “had made up their mind that this Black man was going to jail because this is Operation Safe Streets,” Crump said.

In his statement, Rivetti said police had warned White and Williams earlier the day of their arrest that it was illegal to ride a scooter on the sidewalk, without taking action against the couple. In their second encounter with police, White and Williams provided officers with false information, Rivetti said.

“Our department’s practice is to contact and question individuals when we believe they may be involved in criminal activity or another violation of the law,” he said.

Beverly Hills officials faced criticism last summer for insisting on charging protesters with misdemeanor curfew violations; by comparison, prosecutors for the city and county of Los Angeles declined to charge similarly minor violations of curfews and dispersal orders.

In a summary of the Beverly Hills protests, a police sergeant wrote that for residents who survived the Holocaust and Iranian revolution, the demonstrations over Floyd’s death were “not merely an intrusion of their peace” but “a terrifying reminder of their past.”

The department’s previous chief, Sandra Spagnoli, retired in 2020, beset by allegations that she made racist comments and had sex with subordinates who were later promoted. Spagnoli denied the claims, which she said were raised by disgruntled employees, but the city paid out millions of dollars to settle many of the lawsuits. Gage, who represented several officers who sued Spagnoli, estimated at the time that the city paid about $8 million in settlements, attorney fees and other costs.

#hollywood #racial profiling #hollywood pd #los angeles #ben crump #Black Lives Matter #Beverly Hills accused of creating police task force that disproportionately arrested Black people #beverly hills racial profiling #Black LIves are Over Policed

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padfootdaredmetoo · 1 year

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Hi again! Oh yeah! I guess its request time then😂 (Also I love that gif😂) also right after I sent the first ask I had an idea for another Henry Sherlock x Peaky and I can't decide which to send so I'll send both separately and you can choose which one you like better! The original idea I had was for a Shelby sister Reader and the other is a Holmes sister Reader. But the first idea is this:

What if another Shelby sister moves to London and ends up being Sherlock's neighbor but he ignores her at first (or pretends to) even when she becomes friends with Enola. Then one day a man looking for revenge against the Blinders breaks into her home and almost succeeds in kidnapping/killling her but suddenly Sherlock appears and saves her. Then right as he's helping patch her up like half of the Shelby Company Limited +Co show up because they got the call reader was threatened. And after that reader and Sherlock gee closer and like Ada and Enola are constantly working to set them up! And yeah that's the first idea I had if you were interested!❤️❤️

Hey Love,

This request is just - I'm not worthy. But I hope this makes you happy. I have three extra pieces that I'll try to post tonight. Thanks for sending this in, I'm having a lot of fun with it!

Warnings: Reader is assaulted, kissing, fluff,

EXTRAS: Little extra bits of the story that give more context. I figured they might make it too long but I'm still super attached to them.

Kissing - Additional Short about kissing

You looked around the sun bathed flat in amazement, a sound you could never recall rang in your ears. Silence. It was quiet and only the furniture was put in place. Aunt Pol and Ada insisted on staying with you for the first night, in your world that was a party so naturally, Esme was in toe with them when they showed up. You all listened to records and drank yourselves silly. Gin and dancing, laughing and gossiping, your heart was soaring high when you eventually fell asleep on a pile of cushions.

However, in the morning, it was a different feeling entirely. You woke up first wondering how on earth you all could make a mess out of a practically unpacked apartment, but there it was. The anxiety from the booze started to hit you and laying still became impossible. Your stomach turned violently and your mind started to race with unwanted memories. Time to get busy, you groaned and got up for the day.

You ran out to get some bread and eggs for breakfast. The street was brutally loud and you were grateful for the little shop as the door closed and the sound was muffled. Eggs and bread turned into a large and heavy paper bag full of all sorts of things. You managed it well enough till you got to the top of the front steps. You nestled the large paper bag in one arm and struggled to get your keys out of your coat pocket. The door swung open suddenly and a very tall man glared down at you. The paper bag fell from your arm as the man's gaze held you. He was very tall and broad, looking down at you with a displeased face.

“So-” You stopped yourself and shook your head this was not your fault. You picked the bag up and tried to hold your head high while walking around the large man, something that would have been possible if his shoulders didn't take up the entire doorway.

Your eyes rested on his collar bones that poked out of his nightshirt and you wondered how on earth someone could have shoulders so….

“221C?” His voice was deep and velvety and would have been very pleasing if he had sounded less grumpy. His crumpled hair and long sweeping robe made you wonder why he was going out at all.

You turned your head to the side as you met his eyes again, a move you regretted instantly.

“Normally people refer to me by my name.” You told him your name and reached out to shake his hand. He gave you a firm handshake and gave you another look over.

“Last night was a terrible experience. My work requires a large amount of concentration and -”

“Are you the new woman?” An overly cheery voice called out from behind the hulking man. He let out an exasperated sigh. A girl with long brown curly hair fought her way out of the doorway and bent down to grab a tin of coffee that had escaped in the fall.

“Im Enola - Holmes! This is my brother” She looked between the two of you and registered her brother's deep glare “he’s hungover - completely ignore him.” She said with a beaming smile. She ushered you past him into the hallway and started chattering. Your head was pounding but you tried to follow along with what she was saying.

“It sounded like a wild night, I don't think I’ve ever heard so much laughing.” She held onto your arm with the tin of coffee in the other hand and you felt weird being walked to your apartment by the girl. She must have been about 14 or so, something in her eagerness to speak with you made you feel she was lonely.

“You know I love parties, I know lots of jokes, and oh- do you run your own business. Your mail here has a company stamp with your last name. That’s really something, I’m excellent with numbers if you ever need accounting - not that you aren't good with numbers if you own your own business- ”

“Enola” The man called from their door across the hall.

“Sorry!” She gave you another big smile.

“Do you want a cup of coffee or tea?” You don't know why you asked her, caffeine was the very last thing that girl needed. But her eyes were lonely and you remembered what it was like at that age.

“No”

“YES!” they answered at the same time. The man looked at you almost apologetically.

“She wouldn't be any trouble. My sisters are here with my aunt, ah tonight was sort of a one-off. Sorry about the noise and everything.” You fumbled and your face flushed.

“No,” He said awkwardly. “ Not a problem I just - as long as it's not every night. I’m sure we can be just as loud.” You gave him a nod and then opened the door to your apartment.

“Behave Enola” He called out before stepping into his flat with his mail in hand. She made an exasperated face and rolled her eyes.

_________________________________________________

You laughed as you came into the kitchen to see all three of them sat at the table in various positions that showed their hungover-ness.

“Everyone this is my neighbor Enola.” Esme didn't lift her head from the wooden table but a groan of acknowledgment rang out from a mess of dark curly hair.

Polly looked the girl over and lit a cigarette, then her eyes looked to you with a question.

“She bumped into me in the hallway. Enola this is my Aunt Pol and my sisters Esme and Ada.”

She gave them a wave and whispered a soft hello. Aunt Pol looked at her for a long while then gave a kind smile.

“So you live across the hall then?”

“Yes with my brother Sherlock Holmes - he’s a detective and I’m technically in training but I am taking clients,” Enola said proudly.

Sherlock Holmes, you thought to yourself for a moment brain foggy as ever. The detective from the papers? You didn't know what to think of the information as you put the kettle on the stove.

“A detective eh?” Pol gave her a nod. “Do me a favor and keep an eye on this one for me?”

“Sure thing. She can count on us.- You mentioned it’s just you living here now?”

You nodded as you started to unpack a box of mugs.

“I live in the neighborhood, but we are all from Birmingham,” Ada answered with a small smile.

“Birmingham! Holy - I haven't been before but I read this article once -” And off she went quietly rattling on and on. You got some eggs, ham, toast, and coffee on the table. Pol took Enola’s mug and filled it with milk before she could grab some coffee.

“It’s a dreadful habit dear. Have some milk.” She said knowing full well that she didn't need anything to wake her up.

The morning passed into the afternoon and eventually, Esme raised her head and ate up her breakfast. They made Enola laugh loudly and you felt she fit in with your girl gang well enough.

“You have a boyfriend then? How old are ya? Should call Finn over if not.”

“No” You and Pol answered at the same time. Finn was a good 3 years older than her and the last thing you wanted was her caught up in whatever he was working on these days.

“He’s my litter brother but he’s a hell of a troublemaker and a good few years too old for you.” You gave Esme a look and she shrugged.

“I do as it turns out. Well - Erm - don’t mention that to my brother if you don't mind?” You gave her a big smile.

“Secret is safe with me.”

“As long as we get to meet him of course,” Ada added sensibly.

Soon enough the day passed by and you were left with a messy apartment to clean and many boxes to unpack. You said your goodbyes and enjoyed watching Enola light up as the women hugged her goodbye, with promises of saying hello the next time they came over to stay.

You closed the door and looked at the girl who jumped slightly.

“You probably want me to leave - sorry!” She looked flustered.

“Stay or go, I’m going to do some unpacking then start on dinner. You are welcome to stay if you like”

Enola took that invitation as a welcome to come over whenever she pleased. You thought it would start to bother you, but coming from such a big and loud family you found it comforting.

You watched her interactions with her brother closely the few times you happened to run into him. They would fight over all sorts of things and you weren't happy about it. It was one thing to argue with family but he was an adult and she, whether her family liked it or not, was still just a girl.

“Love, what happened to your parents?” You asked on a spring evening when you were both absorbed in books. They had been shouting at each other all morning and the question was burning a hole in your mind.

“Ah, do I annoy you?” She asked in a voice you rarely ever heard her use.

“No, you and Sherlock argue often I just - It’s none of my business but I -.”

“We argue a lot because we're both too smart.” She sighed like it was a heavy burden. “We see equally important things, but different things when we assess situations and whatnot. He hates it when I get involved in his cases, hates it even more when I’m right but deep down I know he doesn't mind all that much.”

You thought about her words and she let out another deep sigh.

“My mum felt it was her time to be on her own again, my father died ages ago. My other brother Mycroft - he’s a real twat. Tried to put me in finishing school - but you know about that from my first case.”

You gave a nod remembering the story. “Your mum felt you were okay to be on your own?” You looked at the girl and shuddered. London was a big city, and she was incredibly smart but she was still obviously more of a girl than a woman.

“Yep,” She said it firmly like she was trying to be proud but there was a sadness etched into her posture that you couldn't unsee. You thought of your own mother and something sank in your stomach.

“Well, I think you are entirely too much fun to be left alone. The world is big and lonely. Better to stick together with those who are worthy.” You said watching her face light up slightly. “Aunt Pol was calling to see if I’d met your fella by the way.” Pol had not mentioned it in her phone calls, but you said it anyway to make her feel like she was a part of things. She beamed.

“I’ll take you and Ada to see him.”

“Excellent. Baking cookies tomorrow, if you want to help?” she gave you a big smile.

“Despite my extensive knowledge of chemistry, I’m awful at baking.”

“Eh, you just need to learn.” You shrugged. “One more chapter then we best be off to bed.” A lie that was told frequently in your house. You both read until the wee hours of the morning, multiple cups of peppermint tea made and drank.

You jumped out of your chair when a hand lightly nudged your shoulder. Out of instinct, you threw the book at the man. Sherlock was there and Enola was happily asleep on the couch open book resting on her chest.

“Sorry!” You whispered. Sherlock only picked up the book you were reading and then gave you a long look. A thick flush covered your face as you accepted the book back from him. He always made you feel embarrassed and with both of them having all that fancy pants knowledge you really wished he would have caught you reading something of substance.

“Erm-I” You fumbled. “What time is it?”

“Round six,” He said, still staring at you intensely.

“Ah, sorry I told her one more chapter - “ You looked at the stack of books “Two books ago - Sorry”

“It’s alright. I should be the one to apologize. Thanks for spending time with her. If it’s too much-”

“She’s not a problem.” You said with a finality that showed too much emotion. “I - things are complicated with your family - I only know because I also come from a complex family. But really she’s not a burden or someone that’s better left behind.”

Sherlock gave you a strange look and you found it impossible to look away from his deep blue eyes.

“Complicated is a good way of describing it.” He looked around your apartment and you felt extremely uncomfortable. “She’s going to be smarter than all of us soon enough though, I guarantee you she won't be forgotten.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll make it into the public’s eye sooner or later. I’m referring to your mother leaving her-”

“I won’t,” He said firmly and with his full attention turned to you. “Our mother had her own business to attend to, but I assure you Enola is safe with me.” His eyes held you in place and you hated how he made you feel like he could see everything that you were thinking and feeling.

“You shouldn't shout at her so much.” The words toppled from your mouth as you held his stare. This made the corner of his mouth stand up slightly. He looked like he was debating whether he wanted to start an argument with you or not.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He kept looking at you and you were surprised at his response. You knew deep down Enola’s situation reminded you of yourself a great deal. Mother gone, and many fights with Thomas, but you had Pol to back you up, and the rest of them looking out for you all the time.

“Here - she can stay the night no point in moving her.” You got up and grabbed the thick blanket you left on the edge of the sofa for her. You expected him to already be out the door. He often abruptly ended conversations that is if he didn't ignore you completely.

“Why are you in London?” His voice made you jump.

“Wanted some space from the family.”

“Your sister lives here and your Aunt calls frequently? Space from your family or from your brother?”

“What do you know about my brother?” The hair on the back of your neck shot up.

“He gives my bother a hard time in Parliament. Really his arch rival of sorts.” Sherlock said and you wondered if he had been drinking.

“That pleases you?” You smiled at his unusual expression.

“Very much so. Although I know you lot had to struggle to get to where you are now.” His voice was back to its usual neat grumpy tone. “I don’t think it's a lifestyle you engage in?” He looked around your colorful apartment again.

“No. It’s not.” You said hoping he believed you. Sure you had gotten into your fair share of grim situations but the company had been legal for a long while now.

“Good.” He cocked his head towards you and his tone was light again. Something deep inside you wanted to do just about anything to keep his attention on you. With a small smile, he made his way out of your apparent closing the door softly.

____

Enola was gone to stay with her mother for the night. You knew that something inside you had run over the boundaries of a friend or neighbor when you lay in bed tossing and turning. You knew she was perfectly capable of protecting herself and it really wasn't your place, but something in your mind wouldn't rest.

Ada had gone back home to stay with Pol for a while, no one was answering the phone today. Now that you thought about it that was probably the main reason you felt worried. You thought about walking across the hall to see if Sherlock wanted help with whatever he was working on.

In the last case, Enola insisted on your help as all the clues were in Romani. This was probably a normal case that would be over your head but maybe he’d have you for tea anyway. You sighed and got out of bed grabbing your thick robe and wrapping it around yourself.

Opening your bedroom door you looked across the small flat and could see that the front door was open. Your first instinct was to move back into the bedroom but dark eyes fell on you before you could move.

“Just come with us quietly love, no fighting” two men made their way towards you. Your fingers wrapped around the poker for the fire and you made careful notes of their appearance before the fighting started.

You thought about the bedroom window behind you but the drop would guarantee your death. The front door was the only option. You held the iron poker in your grip tightly then the most sensible idea floated into your mind. If fighting didn't go as planned you were sure that screaming your head off would alert someone in the building.

The two men came towards you and you got the first one across the side of the face before jabbing him in the eye. The second man proved harder to smack no matter how determined you were. Eventually, he got the upper hand and a hard smack landed across your face. You took a deep inhale but his hand closed around your neck before you could scream. You tried to scratch and hit his face but your arms became too heavy before any substantial damage was done.

Your vision went hazy just as the man let out a loud cry. His hand released you and you watched a hulking figure pull screams from his body. Blood was spilled before the beast made his way toward you.

You tried to move away unsure of anything, still unable to see or hear properly. Big arms gathered you up and lifted you into the air.

“Calm down.” His voice was rough and you wondered how your body could switch from so panicked to letting go entirely.

He carried you across the hall and into his flat. It was the complete opposite color scheme but just as cluttered with books. He placed you down on the countertop in the bathroom. He switched the lights on and you let out a groan covering your eyes.

You watched him look you over for damage while your voice was stuck somewhere deep inside you. His rough hands traced the bruise on your neck and you let out a soft hum. He didn't move his hand and you looked up into his piercing blue eyes. A different type of tension settled between the two of you one that caused your bones to ache. Without further thought and with no one but God to judge you, you leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to his lips.

A part of you expected him to recoil in disgust or offense, but he pulled away placing his thumb over your lips. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head, and you struggled slightly. You wanted him so badly it hurt to breathe.

“You’re in shock.” He whispered with a softness you didn't know he possessed.

“So?” You mumbled against his thumb.

“So, see how you feel in the morning then try again.” He smiled slightly and you noticed how much blood had splattered up his arms. He got you settled in his bed and gave you some tea. He made some phone calls and after a long while, he came back.

Without any questions or stress, he started reading the book that he must have grabbed from your night table.

You thought you should tell him to stop but enjoyed the way his nose crinkled and how he started to argue about the character's motives.

“Men don’t think that way - surely you must know this?” he said looking down at you curled up in his blankets. The sun was just starting to come up and you were wishing there was a way for you to keep stuck in this moment.

“I have no idea how men think” You whispered up at him. Right then there was a commotion in the hallway.

“Oh, NO.” Enola’s voice had called out and you both shot up. You winced in pain as you followed him out of the room.

“Who are you lot? You need to tell me where she is right now.” Enola commanded in a voice that would have made the average person crumple.

Thomas, the man standing across from her was not the average person. His eyes flicked from her to you standing behind Sherlock. You caught the relief flooding his features and Arthur let out a deep breath from the living room.

“There she is. Tough girl.” Arthur came towards you and you let him pull you into a big hug.

Sherlock and Thomas stood still staring at each other in a way that made you worry.

“This going to be a regular occurrence?” Sherlock asked in a cold tone. John had squared up his chest when you noticed Ada seemed deeply pleased about something as she looked at you from your bedroom doorway.

“No,” Thomas said easily. “This is for you.” He pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Sherlock accepted the paper and sighed when Enola grabbed onto his forearm angling it so she could read it better.

“Moriarty!” She gasped. “Oh, Sherlock this makes perfect sense! The last case was in Romani, he must have known we had her help. We never ask anyone for help so -”

“So we put a gigantic target on her back.” He looked down at her with an icy expression and you hated the way it hit her.

“I take partial responsibility for that,” Thomas called out taking some of the blame off of the girl's shoulders. Not something you would have expected from him. “Moriarty has been pestering me for a meeting for a long while now. I assume this was his way of grabbing our attention.”

“Can she stay with you?” Ada asked in a sweet voice.

“Of course.” Sherlock and Enola both said at the same time in very different tones.

“She should come home, Tom,” Arthur said tightening his arm around your shoulders.

“She would be more help on the case here,” Enola said in a quiet voice.

“She won't be any safer back home. Plus she’s the only one Alfie enjoys working with. Lord knows we will need his help.” Ada added.

“If it's not any trouble” You looked at Sherlock. “I’d rather stay here and help.” You added moving your gaze to Tommy.

“Fuck.” he sighed. “You stay here, deal with Alfie.”

You smiled at the thought of how much it bothered your brother that Alfie would always keep his word if you asked him to.

“If that’s settled I should be off.” Thomas gave you a quick hug then Arthur and John followed him out with glances of warning to Sherlock.

“Alright, two of you go do your thing - with less shouting than usual. We will start on the mess in here.” You looked at Ada and she nodded.

“No, It’s technically a crime scene or whatever?” Ada looked at Enloa.

“Yes, she's right you should just move over to our side and leave everything as is.” Enola gave a serious nod and you couldn't help but think they were up to something.

“We will have to review the last case to see how it relates to this. You need to rest.” Sherlock put his arm around out and gilded you towards his apartment.

“Don't.” He said before you could start arguing. “Please just rest a bit for me.”

“Did you just say please?” You said caught off guard by his choice of words.

“Go to sleep.” He turned on his heel and left you to curl up in his bed. You got up for a while before falling asleep again on the couch listening to him and Enola go back and forth with different theories.

You felt him carry you back to bed and felt a moment of guilt realizing you shouldn't have made him carry you. He placed you back on the bed and you mumbled thanks. There was a moment of complete silence before you felt the bed dip under his weight.

“My brother has guards covering the building, I don't think there’s any more evidence in my flat if you want me to -” You said realizing there really wasn't a reason for you to stay in his space.

“I want you to stay.” He murmured into your hair and you felt his arm wrap around you. A heavy peaceful weight crept over you and you were very grateful to give him what he wanted.

“Then I’ll stay.” You whispered and he pulled you tight against his chest. You thought about that kiss, but you felt his breath even out. With sleep washing over you, you made a note to revisit that kiss in the morning.

____

I feel really nervous about this one so let me know what you think <3

#Sherlock Holmes #Peaky blinders #Peaky blinders sister #Enola holmes #Sherlock Holmes fic #Sherlock holmes request #Peaky Blinders one shot #Peaky blinders request #Peaky blinders imagine #Sherlock Holmes x reader

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freddieraimbow74 · 30 days

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29 March 1970 - Smile decided to split up. Tim Staffell thought they just weren’t getting anywhere and he went on to join a band called Humpy Bong.

In the beginning of 1969 the band played at the Marquee club in London’s Wardour Street. It was a showcase gig arranged by Mercury and Smile supported a band called Kippington Lodge, featuring Nick Lowe. ( The band later changed their name to Brinslet Shwartz.) Smile played for just thirty minutes, to a small, largely unappreciative audience.

The band finished 1969 feeling despondent and depressed. Their dreams of stardom had so far failed to materialise. But all three of them were intrinsic optimists and remained confident, seeing in 1970 and the new decade with the belief that it could be their year.

Brian and Roger were ambitious and had tried hard to keep it all going - they knew the way to bigger and better things was through sheer hard work. Tim, however, had decided he had enough of slogging round the clubs and the college circuit, he wanted something more - and more quickly. He left Brian and Roger in the spring of 1970, signalling the end of Smile. Shortly after that he joined up with pop band Humpy Bong.

Humpy Bong were fronted by ex-Bee Gees drummer Colin Peterson and their name was apparently taken from that of the place where one of the first Australian explorers had landed. The band released one single, called ´Don’t You Believe It´and made one appearance on Top of the Pops with it. It At the endwas a short lived venture, and Tim moved on to play guitar for Jonathan Kelly. He finally decided to quit the music business in favour of model-making and special effects work, going on to make the models used in the popular TV series Thomas the Tank Engine.

After Tim’s departure, Mercury record dropped Smile - the original contract had been for just one single and the band was now non-existent. Brian and Roger, though, were more determined than ever to make their name in music, although Brian was still spending some spare time working on his astronomy thesis. They had long conversations about what to do next, and, as Freddie was a close friend, he was brought into the discussions.

Source: ‘Queen As It Began’ by Jacky Gunn & Jim Jenkins

Pic: Spring 1969 - Tim Staffell with Freddie Bulsara in Ealing Art College, London, UK. Photo © Tim Staffell

#freddie mercury #queen band #brian may #j’adore #roger taylor #jhon deacon #musique #music #queen #original character

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randomvarious · 5 months

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Today's compilation:

Acid House Disco 1988 House / Acid House

First of all, can we just marvel at and appreciate how amazing the art for this release is here? It's not everyday that you come across a comp with illustrations that are this cool, and regardless of the music that may or may not sit on this record itself, this has to be one of the greatest front-and-back covers that I've ever seen in my life 😍. I tried to scan the liner notes to see who might be responsible for them, but I couldn't find anything, so hats off to you, whoever you are!

And now for the music. Acid House Disco is a comp that was released in 1988 on Warlock Records, a New York-based label that ended up being a pretty important old school rap entity, but also put out dance releases as well, and ended up serving as a vital launching pad for house legend Todd Terry too. In fact, probably the greatest piece of 80s hip-house that was ever made was a product of Warlock's own synergy, when the best of their dance and hip hop wings teamed up to create The Jungle Brothers' "I'll House You"—produced by Terry himself.

But this ephemeral record, unfortunately, doesn't have any Todd Terry on it. What this appears to be instead is a mix of different things: one, it's partially a sampler that includes tunes from the catalog of Warlock's own sublabel, Idlers; two, it has a few exclusives on it; and three, it appears that it licensed some tracks from Gee Street as well, a similarly situated label in London that also released both hip hop and dance music.

And there's some sweet goodies on it, folks! A couple of which were made by notable people who were just operating under obscure aliases and group names. For example, the release's penultimate track, "I Love You," which really hits its stride when it finally drops in its speedy Latin piano riff, is by a duo called Drum and Bass, who only ever put out one release together. But guess who made up half of that group? Youth, aka Martin Glover, the bassist from the famous UK post-punk band Killing Joke! 😯

And the final track on the album, which is hands-down the best one, is by someone who went by Nebula. But Nebula was just a one-off alias that was used by a guy named DJ Cesare, who was in super successful UK rap group Stereo MC's back then too. And his track, "Deep Space," is the only one that comes close to matching the futuristic dance aesthetic that's painted on this album's back cover. A full and thick house tune with satisfying string pads and a constant, acid-zapped lead melody 😌. Terrific late 80s banger right there.

So, all in all, a pretty decent house comp here. There's definitely a good deal of disposability to it, but there's a few tracks that end up saving it from having its beautiful artwork wasted on something that might've been so lackluster. And some of its best tunes come courtesy of people that you might not expect, like Youth!

Highlights:

Zizi - "Give and Take" Drum and Bass - "I Love You" Nebula - "Deep Space"

#house #house music #acid house #dance #dance music #electronic #electronic music #music #80s #80s music #80's #80's music

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greetings-inferiors · 10 months

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hey @brightgreendandelions, as the resident Russian I’m gonna be asking you for some pronounciation things because I’m ✨not sure✨

So I’m street street fighter there’s a fighter called zangief, and I’m wondering whether that is pronounced zangeef or zangee-eff (zan gee (like bee) eff (like the letter f))

Because even though everyone calls him zangeef, the announcer calls him zangee-eff, so I’m not sure which is accurate to Russian, his mother tongue.

His name in Russian is (I believe) Зангиев, and his name in Japanese is ザンギエフ, and since his Japanese name is pronounced zangee-eff (well, zangee-efu) maybe the reason why there’s a difference is they reused the actor for the Japanese announcer and the English announcer (like in smash brothers) and didn’t realise it was pronounced differently so didn’t record another voiceline? Idk

#I helped you out with all those Araki forgots you help me out with this 😂#pretty please #text post #randyposting #street fighter #sf6 zangief #zangief #translation

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heartandmusic · 1 year

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"Oh, uh, just one more thing, Mister Tate. So sorry to bother ya, I promise it'll only take a second, and then I'll get outta your hair."

"Wonderful, wonderful. You see, I get hung up on all these little details, and I just can't sleep until I get every one of 'em sorted out. I suppose that makes me a, a, what is it? A Sigma Male?"

"Gee, this stuff's real fascinating. I have this cousin Tony, you know, I bet he'd be a regular Sigma Male. He's got this big fancy job, travelling all over the place goin' to his business lunches and meetings. Few months ago his company even flew him out to Bucharest for a conference! Beautiful city, just beautiful. You ever been, Mister Tate?"

"Oh, I'd love to take my wife someday. My cousin Tony, he wrote home about all the terrific food they got in Bucharest. You know I can't get enough of my wife's cooking, but it's good for a guy to try somethin' new apart from all the chilis, casseroles, pizzas, what have you. Say, my cousin Tony happened upon this fantastic pizzeria when he was in Bucharest, Jimmy's? No, I believe he said it was Jenny's-"

"Jerry's! Yes, that's it. Now imagine that! First-rate Italian pizza all the way out in Bucharest! Surrounded by ciorba de burta, sarmale, and his favorite food out there is a home-style pizza pie. Tony, he gets back home, and all of a sudden he's lookin' everywhere for a Jerry's Pizza here in Los Angeles and he-"

"Gee, I'm so sorry, Mister Tate. I didn't mean to go off on a tangent like that. Now where were we? Oh, that's right! I wanted to ask you about that little home movie you made."

"Oh, yes I did. Thought it was quite clever of you. Now, the little detail that gets me is the pizza box you had with you in the movie. I just couldn't help but notice it's a Jerry's Pizza box. Just like Tony was tellin' me about. You see, the thing is, Tony couldn't find Jerry's Pizza anywhere in Los Angeles. I had to ask the nice young lady down the street who walks my dog on Thursdays - a Miss Ionescu, it just so happens her parents come from Bucharest - and she said there's no Jerry's Pizza anywhere in the United States. They only got those in Romania."

"Yes, Mister Tate, Romania. So, it appears your home video, broadcasted in response to Miss Thunberg's statement on December 28, could not have been recorded anywhere but Romania. That puts you in a very particular place at a very particular time. The same place and time, in fact, as our suspect. Now how do you figure that?

#YES i know this has been done before #but not in longform!!!!!#and any other time i would have written responses from tate but that would mean watching his videos to get his voice right #and the thing is i wont do that.#columbo #greta thunberg #andrew tate

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strawbszz · 1 year

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Hi vamps hii!! Uhhmmm I wanted to ask for a fanfic💪💪🧐🧐 like one where reader (she/her) is in mcr too and she starts to feel dizzy on stage and she passes out and has to go to the hospital and Frank and gerard lay on each side of her while she wakes up and doesn’t know what happened Tysm you don’t have to tho😭 I love your post sm istg!!!!

Gerard way x reader

Genre: fluff

Word count: 1,082

Warnings: hospitals, blood (not graphic), injuries

Its 2002 and you are the drummer of the little band My Chemical Romance.

You are secretly dating Gerard and the rest of the band just thinks you and gerard are just good friends (since you’ve know him since like 9th grade)

Its 7:34am and you just woke up. Ray is making some coffee.

“Hey (Y/N), you ready for tonight’s concert?” Ray asks you.

“Yes!! I’m pumped!” You laugh.

“Sweet!” Ray says.

“I’m gonna go change out of these pajamas.” You say.

“Ok!” Ray says.

You walk into the backroom with the beds and stuff and open a drawer and grab jeans, black hoodie, and a korn shirt.

You look over and see gerard sleeping his bunk.

You walk over to him and rub his back. “Gee.. wake up.” You say softly.

He groans and wakes up. “Huh..?”

“Wake up gee.” You say.

“Oh, morning.” Gerard says, smiling at you.

“Come here.. i wanna cuddle you..” gerard says.

“Shh!! Remember we can’t let them know we are.. you know.. also ray is in the next room.” You whisper.

He groans. “Fine..”

Frank walk out of the bathroom. “Oh morning (Y/N).” Frank says.

You jump. “Oh! Hey.”

“What did i scare you?” frank smiles smugly.

“A little..” you roll your eyes.

“I should get changed.” You walk away from them.

You go in the bathroom and change.

It’s around 11:36am.

“Hey what should we get to eat?” Mikey says.

“Hmm.. i don’t know.” Gerard says.

“I saw a diner down the street, we should go there.” You say.

You guys get to the diner and walk in.

“Ahh, it’s warm in here.” Frank says.

You giggle.

“Fuck.. i hate Jersey winters.” Mikey says.

You guys are eating lunch in no time.

Gerard touches your shoe with his on purpose.

You glance at him wide eyed pissed a little.

Gerard just smirks and goes back to eating his food.

It’s about 5:36pm and you guys are driving to the venue to set up.

You guys park and hop out of the van.

“Lets unload this bitch!” Frank yells.

You giggle.

about a hour later you guys finish unloading and setting stuff up.

You start testing out your drums.

“Yo, (Y/N)! You gotta get your makeup on!!” Gerard yells.

“Oh shit! Right!!” You hop off your drum seat and run to the dressing room.

“Thanks for telling me, Gee..” you say out of breath.

“No problem.” Gerard says.

You guys start it off with Gee just speaking.

“Hi guys! We’re My Chemical Romance from New Jersey! I’m so excited playing with you guys!” Gerard says. “Alright! Lets start with our first song..”

You guys start with our lady of sorrows.

Its gotten up to song the last song on the record.

You look over and see frank rolling on the floor and jumping. You snort.

You focus on playing the drums. Until frank jumps and crashes into you. You hit your head pretty hard.

The only thing you hear before you pass out is “OH SHIT- (Y/N)!” From Gerard.

You wake up in a unfamiliar place.

“Gee! She’s awake!” You hear a voice that sounded like Frank’s say.

“Wha..?” You open your eyes and see Gerard.

“Hey.. how are you feeling (Y/N)..?” Gerard says softly.

“I-i’m fine.. wha.. what happened..?” You look over to a guilty frank.

“I- i jumped into you.. i’m so sorry (Y/N).” Frank says.

“Wheres Mikey and Ray..?” You ask Gerard.

“They are in the waiting room.. Mikey almost puked seeing you bleed everywhere.” Gerard giggles.

You giggle.

“How long have i been out?” You ask.

“Oh.. like.. 2 hours? Yeah 2.” Gerard says.

“Really! Oh my god!” You say.

Frank giggles.

“Also we got a hotel! So we can sleep comfortably and you don’t have to complain to be about your back hurting from the bunks!” Gerard says.

You laugh. “They do hurt my back!! I feel elderly when i wake up!” You say.

“Elderly?” Frank laughs.

“Yes! Like my back feels the same as your grandma’s!” You laugh.

The nurse walks in. “Hey you two- oh your awake (Y/N)! Yeah you just have a slight concussion but your fine if your going home with anyone.” She says.

“Oh i’m going to a hotel with those 4. We are touring around here so.” You say.

“Ah okay.” She says. “You’ll be free to leave let me just take out this stuff out of your arm..”

She takes the IVs out of your arm and you tense up from the pain.

“Alright! Your set!” She says.

You get up wobbling a little. Frank helps you stand up.

“You good?” Frank asks.

“Yeah.” You say.

You guys walk out to the waiting room to grab Mikey and Ray.

“Hey! She’s ready to go!” Gerard says.

“Oh hey (Y/N)! Are you okay..?” Ray says.

Mikey is sleeping on ray’s shoulder. He rubs his head to wake him up.

“Huh..?” Mikey mumbles.

“It’s time to go Mikey. (Y/N) is okay.” Ray whispers to mikey.

“Okay..” mikey puts on his glasses and gets up.

You guys leave the hospital and get in the van.

You lay your head on Gee’s shoulder and fall asleep.

“Hey.. (Y/N) we’re here at the hotel.” Gerard says.

“Okay..” you say.

You guys get out of the car and walk into the hotel.

“Hello!” Ray says to the lady at the table.

“Hello.” She says.

“I booked 6 rooms for us. Its under the name Ray.” Ray says.

“Okay..” the lady starts typing. “Yeah.. we only have 5 rooms open..” she says.

“Oh.” Ray says.

“That will be fine!” Ray says.

“So sorry that happened we got over booked a little..” she says.

“It’s fine..” Ray says. “Okay so.. we gotta share rooms by 2 people.. got it?”

You guys nod.

“Okay.. I’ll stay with Ray.” Mikey says.

“I’ll stay with Gee.” You say.

“I’ll stay with the tour manager.” Frank says.

“Sweet. Heres your guys’ cards.” Ray hands you guys’ the key cards.

You and Gerard get on the elevator to go to your guys’ room.

“Okay heres our room, Gee.” You say.

“Kay..” he says.

You unlock the room and walk in.

Gerard drops his bags and flops on the bed.

“C’mere..” Gerard puts out his arms.

“Hold on..” you say.

You undress from your bloody-ish clothes.

You climb into bed with Gerard and cuddle up to him.

“I love you (Y/N)..” Gerard Says.

“Love you too..” you say.

#mcr #gerard way #frank iero #ray toro #my chemical romance #mikey way #my chem #mikey fucking way #fluff fanfic #fluff fanfiction #gerard way x reader

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kaitaiga · 1 year

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Damien Whitlock Moodboard 2.0

Yeah look so I was organising my masterlist the other day and came across one of the first Damien posts on my page, a moodboard, and was like “gee wouldn’t it be fun to remake it?” Yeah. Here we are + his playlist this time. I feel as green is his colour…

Here are some random facts/rambles about him under the cut:

I couldn’t fit like all of his hobbies on the moodboard but some others include scrapbooking, hiking and surfing.

Has a second car. A sports one, either a bmw f32 m4 or like an audi R series apart from his daily, 79 series Landcruiser.

He’ll never outright say this but he loves hugs as well as when people rake their fingers through his hair. He just melts. He really likes physical affection, both giving and receiving.

I feel like he does go to concerts and raves but very rarely. Prefers going to cafes and eating a lot of food. He looks like an Açai bowl lover HAHAH

His apartment is actually decorated quite nicely and is very tidy! He lives in Sydney so it’s closer to a lot of things + base. Very modern, black/white/grey themed, can see him with a couple of vinyl records tbh. Honestly, his sisters helped him decorate.

Clothing style is just flannels over a tshirt or like those bowling shirts with a pair of pants and some converse. Shops at Universal Store and it’s obvious LOL

Gym junkie. Has just cupboards full of various protein powder flavours, creatine, pre, etc. He’s natty tho. Will never touch drugs. He takes pride with his physique bc he worked so hard on it + big and strong for the field 👍🏻

On the health side of things, he doesn’t drink a whole lot? Don’t get me wrong a pint or two here and there are fine but not always. He tried to smoke once but didn’t like it. Vapes were just…no.

Also, I think in general he’s a sweetheart :( like, he’s just so nice I can’t even put it into words. He was raised mainly by his older sister so she basically rammed into his head what to do/not to do with women. Very respectful guy. Acts of service are another big thing with him.

Don’t get me wrong though he can be a professional asshole out on field. Aggro levels through the roof. Do as he says to avoid being beat thanks. Good example of this are seen in his WZ voice lines 👍🏻

Look, he’s a pretty good looking guy. He’s got the hair, the height, the muscles, so he’s defo got asked randomly on the street to go model for some agency. He turned it down though, forced pictures like that make him uncomfortable.

I could go on and on about random fluff on his guy but idc if people would wanna read it sksjs

#I really need to write more on him bc most of the time I’m drawing with 0 plot #just like hey look at him do this cool thing #why is he there? what’s he doing? idk #I’m having a lot of thoughts on him today idk why he’s just neat 👍🏻#very soft thoughts hnnn #damien whitlock #my oc #cod oc #I’m very normal about him #Spotify #oc moodboard #moodboard

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teenagedirtstache · 5 months

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#per lui #juergen teller #keith cooper #rifle jeans #1989 #80s #gee street records

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void-kissed · 1 year

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the changes darkness brings (Clio/Aria)

Shortly after the Keyblade War has taken place, and the Dandelions have successfully resumed life in their new world, Clio receives a special mission from the Foretellers to clear out Heartless in the Corridor of Darkness. In the process of carrying it out, she finally finds Aria again, whom she had not seen since becoming unchained - but something seems to have happened to her.. (4359 words) Set during KHUX Quest 491; note that much of Chirithy's dialogue is taken directly from the game. Sequel to my previous piece of writing for this selfship. Content warning for a monstrously-transformed character (or, rather, my self-insert). This is a Darkling AU.

This piece officially sets the new record for "longest piece of selfship writing I've written" at over four thousand words, ahahaha. This is what happens when I'm able to write fun descriptions, so I hope that it's alright to show this off, because I'm proud of how it turned out!

(Anyone is welcome to comment on and reblog my work if desired, as long as my DNI is respected! Tag list and document transcript are under the readmore.)

Document transcript:

It looked like a sunny early morning in Daybreak Town, and the tall Keyblade wielder was ready bright and early to start off her mission for the day, much like she would be on most other days. A mint-green Foxstar was happily keeping pace behind her, eagerly looking around at the familiar buildings the two passed on their way to where today's mission briefing would be given.

The only thing that could be called "out of place" was the fact that, instead of just sticking to her usual comfortable clothing, Clio was instead wearing a suit of shining spiked armour over her clothes, its light blue and dark purple details complementing her eye colour perfectly. Only her head was uncovered, but the crown of clovers that normally adorned her hair was left safely back in her room. She did not normally need - or want - to wear such serious attire, but her companion Chirithy had informed her to make sure that she was prepared for today's mission, so she thought it might come in handy to don the regalia she and the rest of the Sapphires had won for being one of the top one hundred parties in the Anguis Union.

As she made her way out onto the streets and through to one of the town's many open plazas, Chirithy popped into view in front of her, bouncing ahead to perch on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the square.

"Alright then, Chirithy - what are we up to today?" she asked, following it forwards to the fountain. Despite knowing that what was coming was important, her voice kept its usual cheerful tone.

"You've been doing a fantastic job lately." it said in response. "So, I have a present for you!"

It stuck a grey paw into its signature pink purse and rustled around in there for a moment, giving Clio time to sit down next to it on the fountain's edge and watch with curiosity. Tea Leaf, her Foxstar, hopped up next to her as well, as if wondering whether he would get a present too. Finally, Chirithy found what it was looking for, and pulled out a glittering bangle that caught the rays of the rising sun spectacularly.

"Dun dada duun! The Bracelet of Light!" it exclaimed, perhaps slightly too loudly and dramatically for what felt like so early in the morning. It hopped up and pushed the bracelet over Clio's wrist, at which she grinned and leapt up again to twirl it around on her outstretched hand with a laugh.

"I'm glad you're excited, but gee, calm down." it said playfully, the light-hearted tone in its voice showing it wasn't being serious. "Why don't you put it somewhere for safekeeping?"

"Hey, a bracelet's meant for wearing!" Clio countered. She did consider dispelling the armour for a moment to put it away in her pocket underneath, but decided to keep the bracelet on her wrist instead; with how she had to hold her gauntleted hand to get it on in the first place, she was fairly confident it wouldn't fall off of its own accord.

"Thanks for this, by the way!" she told it with another smile. "It means a lot that you think I'm doing well."

"You are!" it said confidently. "But, you also need it for this upcoming mission."

"Oh yeah?"

"With that bracelet, you can protect yourself against darkness." Chirithy explained, regaining a more serious tone of voice. "You'll need it for the special mission we got from the foretellers."

"Huh? Special mission?" Clio's eyes widened slightly at this announcement. "This must be why you wanted me to come in my regalia too, I'm guessing, but- what's this mission all about, then?"

It nodded to show she had guessed correctly. "You'll be doing the same thing - you know, dealing with monsters.. Just in a different, darker place.."

As it spoke, something started to materialise in the plaza, a short distance from the fountain, and it turned to face it. The air seemed to shimmer for a moment, before a ring of dark energy suddenly appeared and transformed into an oval shape. Clio let out a "Whoa!" of surprise, and instinctively stood up from the fountain to try and get a better look at what had just appeared.

"..Wait, you mean I have to go in *there?!*" she exclaimed after a pause. Chirithy's own lack of shock, and subsequent nod in response to her question, had let her figure out that this was intentional, but she still seemed uncertain - and surprised.

"Your mission is to defeat the Heartless in the Corridor of Darkness." it continued matter-of-factly. "But be careful. That bracelet can only protect you for so long."

"Right.." Clio trailed off as she continued looking at the portal, trying to gain some idea of what would lie beyond it but only seeing flowing darkness cloud the doorway. Tea Leaf was now standing on the ground next to her, and trying to look determined, but his tail was slightly bristled due to his fur sticking up, which showed he was also uncertain.

"The fact you're wearing the Anguis Regalia will help you in there too, but there's quite a lot of targets for you to take down, so this isn't going to be easy." said Chirithy, who had really never been too good at sugarcoating things. "I'd recommend you bring your Starlight for this. Or, no, your Sleeping Lion's upgraded all the way, right? Some of your targets are magic-attribute, so having strong speed attacks will be good.."

"Thanks for your insight, Chirithy." Clio replied. Then, she walked away from the fountain, and as she did so, a winged helmet appeared on her head, matching her armour perfectly. A blue cobra, the insignia of Anguis, was emblazoned above her forehead, and her face was now protected by a sheet of purple-tinted glass. Tea Leaf let out a bark at this change, but she crouched down and ruffled his forehead gently with a smile, which was more than enough to reassure him of her presence.

The dark corridor's entrance loomed ominously before her, standing out like a sore thumb in the peaceful fountain square. Tea Leaf raced up to stand next to her, poised and ready to help as always. Chirithy's eyes narrowed as she went against its prior suggestion, choosing to summon Missing Ache again instead of her stronger Sleeping Lion, but any concerns it may have had were allayed when it spotted her determined expression through her visor.

"I'm all set!" she declared, turning to look over her shoulder with a smile.

"I knew I could count on you, kiddo." Chirithy replied. "Now go and get 'em! I'm rootin' for you!"

"I will!"

With the bracelet's light shining, her armour glinting strongly, and her Keyblade's darker colour scheme giving them both space to glow, she stepped into the corridor of darkness.

==========

The process of going through the portal was noticeably uncomfortable - it was nothing like anything that Clio had previously experienced, and the darkness felt heavy and constricting even through the armour she was wearing. Thankfully, that sense of heavy closeness opened up somewhat once she had made it into the corridor itself, but there was still a foreboding sense of discomfort that hung in the air. Red and blue threads seemed to weave their way through the floor like wires, and misty clouds of darkness obscured the details of her surroundings; everything had a sense of flowing movement to it that would almost make her feel like she was floating underwater if not for how solid the ground felt at her feet.

It only took a few moments before the first signs of trouble made themselves known to her; a Violet Waltz and a Shadow both rushed towards her quite suddenly, as if they had appeared out of nowhere from the darkness itself. Thankfully, such relatively weak Heartless were of no threat to a seasoned Keyblade wielder like Clio - she was a Sapphire for a reason, after all - and two uses of Nature's Gift were more than enough to let the rest of her Medals defeat them. Tea Leaf helped her out as well, using his tricks as a Spirit Pet to help dispel status conditions the Heartless tried to inflict on her. Even still, despite all of these advantages, she could tell that these enemies were noticeably stronger than normal as she fought them, and they also seemed to be appearing more frequently than she was used to as well.

As she tentatively made her way through the corridor, she remained aware of the bracelet on her wrist, which was giving off enough light for her to always be able to see her surroundings and not feel pressured by the darkness despite how much of it there was around her. While its presence was undoubtedly essential, especially as Chirithy had stressed its importance before starting the mission, she couldn't help but wonder whether its powerful light was somehow interfering with the Reversed Medals that she had equipped on her Keyblade. They were by no means her strongest, but she could still hold her own with the powers she had to hand - and the fact she had wielded Missing Ache since arriving in the new world with her fellow Dandelions was a sentimental gesture more than a strength-based one anyway.

It was as she found the first target that things started to take a turn.

Chirithy had told her to be on the lookout for a Darkball before moving to the next part of the corridor, and sure enough, one was now hovering idly some distance away from her. Despite its lazily-floating appearance, Clio knew that this type of Heartless was not to be underestimated, because of how they could sap an opponent's strength before raising their own. She decided not to take any chances once she had spotted it, and made a strong first strike using Ultimate Sword - the Medal's power let her summon a ring of shining swords around herself before soaring forwards to attack the Heartless three times in rapid succession. It was clearly not expecting such a powerful move, and one of Tea Leaf's tricks gave her an opportunity to strike an extra time with her attack, giving the Darkball no time to react before being soundly defeated in a burst of light and Lux.

"Alright, that's the first main target down!" she said aloud, reaching down to give Tea Leaf another well-earned head ruffle for its hard work in helping her. Her Keyblade was still in her other hand, but she felt confident in her pace, even despite how harsh the environment around her was.

It was then that she heard an unrecognisable sound, this time from behind her. And when she turned around, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

The figure looked a bit like it was crouching, touching the ground with all four limbs - its claws were a deep red, fading down into a dark blue-black that covered much of the arms and legs. However, most of the arms and legs were obscured by admittedly-tattered pieces of clothing - torn brown trousers that were ragged at the ends, a fluffy black fleece that had tears in the sleeves, the remains of a white T-shirt still draped over the body like a shroud, and what could have once been a red scarf sitting wrapped around the neck. Its messy hair was a strange mix of golden and black, and fell wildly over most of its face; two horn-like structures appeared to rise up from the top of its head, and a pair of black wings with dark red feathers jutted out from its back, looking decidedly too thin for their length.

Despite everything about what was in front of her - the powerful darkness it was emanating, the many monstrous features it possessed - it only took Clio a moment to fully recognise what could have been facing her, which happened as soon as she spotted the loops of empty red ribbon on the left side of its head.

"No.. There's- there's no way.."

Her words held denial, but she had already realised the truth. Now, she faced the awful decision of what to do next as her body shook with apprehension. In that moment, the tension paralysed her so strongly and she had gripped her Keyblade so tightly that it sputtered out and disappeared, causing her to freeze further with rising panic. The figure had seemed poised to leap when she first saw it, as if ready to attack at any moment; it held itself tensely on its claws, and a growling sound could be heard coming out of its mouth. However, at the dissipating of Clio's Keyblade, it almost seemed to settle very slightly, all of a sudden appearing like at least slightly less of a threat. Clio could see this change happen, and was filled with even more emotion at the sight of it - her relief at not being immediately attacked was quickly swallowed whole by the implications of what that meant.

When she spoke again, Clio's voice was shaking almost as much as she was.

"Aria, what *happened* to you..?"

Tears started welling up and running down her cheeks as she made the admission and said the name aloud - as she admitted that what she was looking at was painfully suspected to be the partner she had been separated from at the flight of the Dandelions, her girlfriend whom she had been forced to leave behind for the sake of escaping the war. The figure seemed to become more alert in response to her words, but gave no indication of replying, still staring up at her silently with what could possibly have been mistaken for apprehension.

It was then that Clio remembered she was wearing her regalia - a full-body suit of armour that obscured most of her features and was said to provide protection and defence against darkness. She did not normally choose to wear it for most missions - in fact, as Aria had joined the Sapphires some time after the regalia was awarded, she had actually never seen Clio wearing the whole thing herself. Taking any part of it off seemed like a death sentence, not only in such a dangerous place as a corridor of darkness, but also with such a monstrous entity present directly in front of her.. but it was the only thing Clio could think to do in her desperation and hope that she could somehow be recognised, and the idea had settled in her mind with soul-crushing finality.

"Please.. *Please* still be in there somewhere, Ari.. I- I'm trusting you..!"

With her eyes tightly shut, Clio reached up to grab her winged helmet with trembling hands. In one motion, she lifted it off of her head, only to freeze as it tumbled from her grasp, holding her breath and tensing up all over again as it landed on the floor.

And then the figure lunged forwards.

Clio had braced herself as much as she could in the state she was in, but she was still thrown down to the ground herself from the force. The impact was not as hard as she had feared, and it took her a moment to realise that this was because her head and her back had been cushioned by a pair of arms that hit the ground ahead of her. She became aware of a very slight weight on top of her as she opened her eyes - a blood-red claw was curled around the left side of her face, but no part of it dug in whatsoever, and it was even splayed as if to avoid hurting her eye by accident. Something was pressing itself into the base of her neck, but then lifted. The weight shifted, though its movement could scarcely be felt for how light it was, and Clio was met with a face - and she could finally make out the details that distance and darkness (and the purple tint of her visor) had previously clouded.

What she had briefly mistaken for horns were in fact still a pair of ears, lynx-like and lined with thick, darkness-covered fur. They poked upwards from the head of identically-coloured hair, once a dark golden blonde that had since been mostly stained with inky black, and from this lack of distance, she could finally see the figure's face clearly from beneath the messy hair. A scar ran down the left side of her face, but it hadn't healed like a normal injury would - instead, it looked like melting darkness had covered or perhaps created the wound, staining her sclera pitch-black. In fact, both eyes were now set in that same darkness, which was spreading out to form a leopard-like pattern around them. Her eyes themselves *blazed* with glowing amber, predator's pupils carving through them like slits cut by a knife - and were those tears welling up at the corners? When her mouth opened, it did so to reveal fangs that were even sharper than they had been before; they looked as though they could pierce through skin just as easily as water.

More incredibly, when her mouth opened, what came out was a warped and scratched - but still unmistakeable - voice.

"Clio.. *My* Clio.. You're here.. you're- really here.."

"*Aria-*"

"I found you.. I *found you..* I finally.. finally found you..!"

As she spoke, emotion rose up in her voice until it was shaking, and her eyes were fully filled with the same tears that Clio’s had held before. This was enough to set both of them crying into each other, hugging so tightly that it looked like they would never let go. A whirlwind of feelings - joy, exhaustion, happiness, disbelief, desperation, hope, elation, and a thousand other things - overwhelmed the pair so strongly that it was almost as if their feelings could be physically seen in the air. All that could be heard ringing out through the darkness were both of their sobs as they lay on the floor of the corridor, holding each other as much as they could out of such all-encompassing relief to have found each other again.

It was Aria’s tears that finally slowed first, but she was content to stay where she was once they had come under control, emitting a sound that almost made Clio nervous again before realising it was more of a purr than a growl this time. Finally, the Keyblade wielder caught her breath and was able to speak up herself.

“Ari, we- we should probably go. I need to get you out of here.”

“We can leave..? You can still leave?” she replied tentatively. Her voice was slightly less hoarse now considering how much she had just been crying, and would sound almost fully familiar if not for the fearful quality some of it still held. Her eyes still glowed strongly like before, and Clio could see that they kept darting about, looking at every part of her face except her own eyes directly. The familiarity of that movement was enough to make her smile, and it brought her yet another sense of relief.

"Yeah, don't worry. I know how to get out of here, and I'm not leaving without you."

She shifted to start to get off the ground, which prompted Aria to quickly move off to the side in order to let her stand. Once she was up, Clio held out her hand to help Aria stand up as well- but she flinched away upon touching the bracelet of light that still hung from Clio's wrist.

"*Ah!*"

Both of them made the same sort of sound at the same time, but Aria was holding the side of her claw as if it had caught on something sharp as Clio took a step backwards. A shock of worry shot through her system, but she was able to settle down once confident that her girlfriend had not been seriously hurt.

"Uh.. Hmm.. I don't want to keep this on if it hurts you, but I kind of need to keep it close before we get out, just in case.." Clio mumbled.

Aria stared up at her for a moment, before giving a nod. "That's.. I understand. It's- This is-"

She started shaking her hand up and down in the air, just like she sometimes used to when the right words would not come to mind for a moment.

"..This place is not safe for you." she finally settled on. "Even so- I won't let anything here hurt you."

A gentle smile appeared on Clio's face. "Thank you, Ari - that really means a lot.."

She trailed off in thought again, trying to decide what to do about the bracelet, before looking down towards the ground and catching sight of her Spirit Pet, who had dutifully been standing guard for the pair. A burst of inspiration came to mind, and she crouched low to the floor in front of him.

"Hey, Tea Leaf, could you maybe hold this for me?" she asked. As she did so, she took hold of the bracelet and managed to twist it off of her wrist. Tea Leaf let out a happy-sounding bark, and took hold of the bracelet in his mouth once Clio had shown it to him. With a few wags of his tail, he took a step back to look at Aria and Clio in succession. The bracelet still shone with the same light as before.

"You.. would really do that for my sake?" Aria asked quietly, still sitting half-upright on the floor of the corridor.

"In a heartbeat." Clio replied, once again smiling brightly. "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe."

For the first time in what felt like far too long, Aria smiled back, and she took Clio's hand with as much softness as her claws could muster. It was easy for Clio to help her stand up, and she used the momentum to embrace her love once more, before quickly letting go to let her lead the way out.

In a flash of green-tinged darkness, Clio summoned Missing Ache once again, and reached around with her other hand as soon as she sensed Aria flinch behind her at its materialising. A part of her was sad that even Keyblades with such a strong Reversed focus, and the Keyblade she had been wielding ever since having to leave Aria behind because of that focus, triggered such a strong instinctive response in her now; but any concerns that were building dissipated just as easily when she felt her girlfriend's hand - now clawed, and now stained, but still *hers* - hold on gently to her own.

Light flooded into the corridor as an entryway was made within it with the Keyblade, the way out shining blindingly with the might of the breaking day. Aria lowered her head behind Clio's shoulder to hide from its brightness, so she gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, always reminding her that she was there for her again now. The pair stepped through the portal together, keeping close to one another as Tea Leaf brought up the rear.

"Your mission is to defeat the Heartless in the Corridor of Darkness."

That was what Chirithy had said to her, what felt altogether like so recently and so long ago back at the fountain.

Instead, she had abandoned her mission entirely just after starting it, and while what was left of Aria's clothing made it unclear whether she now bore an Emblem on her chest, Clio knew in her heart that a Heartless was who was now following her back into the world that was supposed to be light-filled.

Even so, she was firm in her decision, and knew that she was doing the right thing - love and care for the people she cared about had always been more dear to her than mindlessly following rules, after all.

There could be time for tricky questions after everything had settled - after she had held her arm out over Aria's eyes upon stepping back out into Daybreak Town, after she had breathed a sigh of relief to see the plaza still empty, after she had successfully made it back to her room and closed the curtains to make the space as dark as possible for Aria to relax and remain in.

For now, all that mattered was that the two had finally fulfilled their earlier promise, and come back to each other once more.

#a call from the void #creations from the void #kingdom hearts selfshipping #OC selfshipping #this post is okay for anyone to reblog as long as my DNI is respected!#love: crown of clovers (clio)#as well as her chirithy and her spirit pet (called tea leaf)#selfship: of flowers unchained (clio/aria)#self‑insert: darkness' champion (aria)#of flowers unchained: darkling aria AU #selfship AUs #not safe for clara #please let me know if this should be tagged with anything else #ahhhh this was a fun one

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wardenred · 8 months

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Sapphic September 8: Gravity

So I wanted to take a stab at Flo and Meline's enemies-to-almost-lovers dynamic, buuuut I think I'm rusty and mostly got the enemies part. 😅

Rain made X-City grayer than usual. Behind the toned windows of the coffee shop, people hurried down the sidewalk with their heads low and the cars crawled through the wet streets like beasts stalking prey. It was warm inside, though. Cozy. Pleasant. Retro pop music played from the heart-shaped speakers, neon lights changed color smoothly, and the hot coffee smelled like a new beginning.

It was a nice evening. Or it could have been, if Flo didn't look so utterly sullen across the table from Mel.

Maybe dragging her here wasn't such a good idea, after all. But it had felt like the only sensible one when they ran into each other. Strange how they shared such an enormous city and led such vastly different lives, and yet they kept ending up in the same places, at the same time. Like gravity.

"So. Are you that unhappy to see me?" Mel asked once the silence stretched too far past the point of comfort.

Something dark flashed behind Flo's eyes. "I'm just waiting for the interrogation to begin."

Mel frowned. "This isn't an interrogation."

"Oh, yeah? So you haven't been stalking me?"

"No!" She had to pause and take a breath. Some people were paranoid. Some people were Flo. She should have known. "Why do you always have to be so difficult? I was running an errand. I saw you. I invited you to hang out, and you didn't say no."

"Because I don't want you to follow me home and intrude upon my life."

Yes. Wow. This was going wonderfully. "Why would I?"

Flo leaned forward so sharply Mel's instincts simply forced her to back away. "Maybe because your mommy dearest wants to know who broke some people out of one of her holding cells, and you suspect I can tell you."

So much for not thinking about work for a while, and also, what on earth. "How do you even know about that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Less than half an hour in each other's company, and they were already exchanging glares. Far from a new record, of course, but seriously, it would be funny if it wasn't so frustrating.

Mel looked mournfully at the receding foam in her cup. "I was really looking forward to taking a break from all the work stuff, you know," she complained, mostly to her coffee. "Flo, seriously? If you or your people are behind that, don't tell me. Don't force me to act on this. Please."

"Way to make yourself a victim," Flo muttered. She crossed her arms over her dull red sweatshirt and huffed, blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. "You've already acted plenty. You were the one who got those people locked up in the first place, weren't you?"

Mel squirmed in her cushioned chair. "My team and I, yes. It was on the news. Surely you know."

"I know plenty," Flo agreed. "Do you? Look at me. Do you know why those people needed to be behind bars?"

"Gee, because they are criminals? They were stealing from the Corps."

"The Corps are stealing from everybody."

"The laws—"

"Fuck your laws."

Over at another table, someone's spoon cluttered onto a fine china plate. They were gaining an audience.

It was Mel's turn to lean in, choking on a hot whisper, "Stop this. Those people brought it upon themselves, and you know it. They were caught red-handed, and they resisted arrest—"

"So you murdered a couple to motivate the rest of them to cooperate. Because you're a hero."

"They attacked us first!"

"When you showed up to detain them and they knew what was coming."

Mel looked down at her hands to see them clenched into fists. "There was no good reason for what they did."

"Oh? Let me see." Flo's voice dripped with venom. "One of the guys who didn't survive this run-in with supreme justice? He buried a daughter only recently, and his second kid won't survive either without the stem treatment you're withholding from the masses. So he had plenty of reason to come and 'steal' from you lot. His one mistake was that he got sloppy and scared and now there's a sick kid in the Dumpsters missing a father." She finished her drink in one long gulp, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and stood up. "So. Nice running into you, Mel. Hope you've enjoyed our little catch-up. I'll leave you to pay for my coffee since this was your idea, oh, and? Don't you dare follow me."

She stomped to the exit, and Mel was left alone to stew in the guilt she didn't want.

They would have plenty of other meetings like this, she was sure. Coming together, hurting each other, falling apart.

Maybe it wasn't gravity. Maybe it was a choice.

Maybe she should just let go.

She pressed the pay module of her fitness bracelet briefly against the terminal on the wall and picked up her purse. She was going to follow Flo. Just to make sure she made it home safely.

#warden's random scribbles #sapphic september 2023 #sapphicsept2023 #my writing #writers on tumblr #flash fiction #snippet #original fiction #cyberpunk #superheroes #enemies to lovers #eventually #one day #in the next book #post final girls #writeblr #writblr

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buchananbarnes1991 · 2 years

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It’s Just You & I || Rumlow

Continued from X @hailhydrasheads

98 snickers at how Rumlow had gotten startled. “Gee, for a strike agent, you sure jump easily. Whatcha readin’?” Teasing while he climbs into the condo bedroom and sits down on the floor. His back comfortably resting against the wall.

“Nah, I’m not ready to be a full time fugitive just yet.” Even if he’d been considering it since he now had the trust to come and go from the facility during the night. 98 didn’t want to screw it up just yet. Should Mr. Pierce find out, at least he had a track record of coming back slowly beginning to rack up.

“But I missed you, so.. I did what I had to visit you. I saw some really pretty stars out tonight while I was walking cross the roof tops. I thought.. maybe we could get some food and just.. hang out either at the pier or just on the roof top. I still remember the constellations.” He lightly pokes Brock’s leg. “I do need a change of clothes though. I don’t think I can be on the streets in full uniform. You look about my size too.”

#M: W. Soldier Buck #HailHydraHeads

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ohhkaty · 1 year

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Record collecting is an expensive hobby but it also honestly brings me so much joy. There’s still so much I want to buy and will buy (tbh) but I keep going to record sales and not remembering what I own and almost buying doubles of the same album, so that’s why this list exists. But I also saw folks publishing their lists earlier and I love seeing what people have in their collections (truly I’d love to see yours if you wanted to post it!) If you ever want to talk records or music I’m your gal ♡

A Abba - Super Trouper - Voulez Vous - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 The Animals - The Best Of The Animals Arcade fire - Everything Now Arlo Parks - Collapsed In Sunbeams Aqua - Aquarium

B Bleachers - Bleachers MTV Unplugged - Take the sadness out of Saturday night Beyonce - Lemonade - Renaissance Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever Barenaked ladies - Original Hits Bo Burnham - Inside Bob Seger - Stranger In Town Billy Joel - 52 Street - The Stranger - Glass Houses - An Innocent Man The Beatles - Help - Yesterday and Today - Abbey Road - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

C Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated - The Loneliest Time Cat Stevens -Tea for the Tillerman Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle Vol. 1 Cheap Trick - At Budokan

D Dirty Honey - Dirty Honey Dodie - build a problem Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia Dee Gees - Hail Satin David Bowie - Legacy (The Very Best Of David Bowie) Dolly Parton - Greatest Hits Diana Ross - Swept Away - Summer

E Elvis Presley - The Essential Elvis Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Ella and Louis Etta James - At Last Edith Piaf - The great Edith Piaf Elton John - Greatest Hits - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - Captain Fantastic - Honky Château - Here and There

F Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Florence and the Machine - Lungs - Dance Fever Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (yes this is a boot) Fun - Some Nights Fleetwood Mac - Rumours - Tango In The Night - The Dance

G Greta Van Fleet - From the Fires - Anthem of the Peaceful Army - The Battle at Garden’s Gate George Ezra - Gold rush kid Grateful Dead - American beauty Genesis - Invisible touch The Guess Who - The Best Of The Guess Who

H Haim - Forever EP - Days Are Gone - Something To Tell You - Women in Music III Harry Styles - Harry Styles - Fine Line - Harry’s House Hozier - Hozier - Wasteland, Baby! Hall & Oates - Rock 'n Soul Part 1

J Jill Barber - Chances Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra - The Capitol Studios Sessions Jeff Lynne’s ELO - Alone In The Universe Joni Mitchell - Blue Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced Janis Joplin - Greatest Hits - Pearl Jefferson Airplane -Surrealistic Pillow Jethro Tull - Stand Up Janet Jackson - Control

K Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour - Star-Crossed Khruangbin and Leon Bridges - Texas Sun - Texas Moon Kate bush - Hounds Of Love Kansas - Leftoverture

L Lorde - Melodrama - Solar Power The Lumineers - The Lumineers - Cleopatra Lizzo -Coconut Oil - Cuz I Love You Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lana Del Rey - Born To Die Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door

M Maggie Rogers - Surrender Mother Mother - Dance And Cry Mumford and Sons - Wilder Mind Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion Matty Matheson - A Cookbook (yes this is a real cookbook, it comes with a zine!) Marina And The Diamonds -Electra Heart Minnie Riperton - Les Fleurs: The Minnie Riperton Anthology Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell Mr mister - Welcome To The Real World

N Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats - Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats The National - Boxer Nico - Chelsea Girl Neil Young - Harvest Moon Neil Diamond - Live At The Troubadour

O Orville Peck - Pony - Show Pony Orla Gartland - Women on the Internet Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

P Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps Paramore - After Laughter Prince - Purple rain The Mamas & the Papas - The Papas & the Mamas The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta Paul Simon - There Goes Rhyming Simon - Graceland Pat Benatar - Crimes of Passions

Q Queen - Greatest Hits

R The Regrettes - Feel Your Feelings Fool - How Do You Love - Further Joy Ramones - Ramones

S The Sheepdogs - Live At Lees Spice Girls - Spice The Strokes - Angles

The Struts - Strange Days

Silk Sonic - An Evening with Silk Sonic

Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

T Taylor swift - Lover - Folklore - Evermore - Midnights Trixie Mattel - Two Birds/One Stone - Barbara Twin shadow - Eclipse - Twin Shadow Tears for fears - Songs From The Big Chair Toto - Toto IV Toronto - Get It On Credit Talking Heads - Remain in light

W Whitney Houston - Whitney - Whitney Houston

Y Yola - Walk Through The Fire - Stand For Myself Years and Years - Palo Santo

Z The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle - Oddities and Orcales

123 The 1975 - The 1975 - Being Funny In A Foreign Language

Movie Soundtracks - Labyrinth - The Virgin Suicides - Eternal Sunshine of - School Of Rock - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Promising Young Women - Josie and the Pussycats - Almost Famous -Rocky Horror Picture Show - Up - Space Jam - Little Shop of Horrors - Grease - Saturday Night Fever - Xanadu - Ghostbusters - St. Elmo’s Fire

Television Soundtracks - The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - Stranger Things Vol 1/2 - Stranger Things Vol 3 - Euphoria Season 2 - Steven Universe

Musicals - In the Heights - Hair

#record collection #vinylrecords #167 total I think (but I lost count)#katy blogs

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