#A Christmas Story shooting area

[covenha]

Synopsis: Seonghwa watches Hongjoong crash and burn and decides to revisit a good ole tactic to help his buddy out. This is a two-part spin off of the simp!verse. Pairings: nerd!hongjoong x fem!reader Genre: crack, technically angst?? but it gets better in the next part I swear, fluff honestly god bless hongjoong's heart Warnings: none that I can think of tbh but if i missed anything please lmk! WC: 808 a/n: I am finally back and this is my proof of life. had a bajillion exams and things to study for so I took an unintended hiatus but I finally have time since it's christmas break and I am so excited to be extending the ateez simpverse! as always, none of the characters' behaviors in this fic represent their personalities in real life. and reblogs and feedbacks are always deeply appreciated and keep me motivated to write these things so they are highly encouraged :))

Nerd!joong takes a long look at himself in the mirror, he’s sporting a brand new letterman jacket over his simple blue jeans and white t-shirt. He looked put together. So why was he so nervous today? 

Well, it’s a bit of a long story. You see, today was not just any ordinary weekday for Hongjoong. Today, he will finally muster up the courage to talk to a girl he’s had the fattest crush on since he first laid his eyes on you in his introductory Philosophy class. 

With a jittery kick in his step. He gets ready for his commute to school, calling out to any deity out there for some good luck. 

“God, what’s got you so worked up today? If you shake any harder, you’ll be putting Mrs. Hong’s rose toy to shame.” Seonghwa points out his nervous body language. Hongjoong is staring at the entrance to the amphitheater with laser focus. He’s fidgeting with his fingers and his legs are bouncing up and down. 

“I’m just waiting for her to get here…” Hongjoong trails off, not daring to look away from the door for more than a few seconds. 

“So, you’re really going to go for it? I mean, from what I hear she can be a little cutthroat, Joong.” Seonghwa warns him, but his words shoot through his ear and out the opposite. 

There were rumors going around that you were not exactly all sunshine and rainbows. You seemingly had a neutral face plastered on your face, only showing a smile every now and then with your small circle of friends. Seonghwa would describe you as “such a scorpio” with your sharp gaze, almost resembling a black cat in a way. Jongho and Wooyoung had heard that you were quite blunt and straight to the point. And although there is nothing necessarily wrong with that, they feared it may be too much for Hongjoong’s heart. But alas, he was smitten with you. 

From the way you look so cute when you’re concentrating while taking notes, or how you tugged at your sleeves when the weather grew colder. So when you finally walk through those doors, his heart picks up its pace and his eyes widen. 

You looked beautiful today. Of course, you always looked beautiful to him. You settle down in your usual spot on the left side of the seats and he slowly makes his way towards you. He takes a deep breath as he nears your seat and then stops right where you are seated. 

“Can I help you?”, you ask him. 

He realizes he had been standing beside your seat for an uncomfortable while, merely just staring at you. Oh God, you probably thought he was a creep! Quick, do something. Compliment her! Girls like compliments right? 

“I like your scarf!” Hongjoong manages to blurt out, in spite of the massive brain fart going on inside of his head. Unfortunately, he says it a little bit too loud, causing people in the area to shift their focus to the both of you, making you want to shrink into your seat. In the distance, Seonghwa can be seen face-palming as he watches his friend crash and burn in real time. 

“.... thanks?” you mutter. 

“Uhm, I was wondering what your ideal type of guy is?” Hongjoong finally musters up the courage to say something with actual substance. This was the moment he had been waiting for. All those weeks of yearning, the longing glances at you in class, the sudden get-up with his outfit today. It all led to this moment where he finally has the courage to- 

“I like guys who don’t talk to me.” Your words put an abrupt stop to his train of thought. 

“Oh.” 

“Joong, it’s gonna be fine. There’s plenty of other people in the world! Maybe she just isn’t the one for you.” Seonghwa tries to reason out with a tipsy Hongjoong in their shared dorm room. 

“But she was gonna be my wiiiiiiiife!” he whines at his friend. 

“We were gonna raise some kitties with a cute little catio in the back of the house and, and, and I was going to cook her breakfast in the mornings and we were going to live happily ever after with our scorpio babies!” he rambles on, distraught at his planned future with you not going exactly to plan. 

“Hongjoong you guys are not married.” Seonghwa corrects his drunk friend. 

“We are in the sims!” He pouts. 

Seonghwa sighs. Hongjoong was deep into his feelings for you and confirmed Seonghwa’s deepest fears. Hongjoong was a simp. (On this blog we love simp!joong!!)

And as he stared at his forlorn simp of a best friend, he knew what he had to do. He had to consult the Reddit gods. He was going to use the power of manifestation. 

[kk095]

Xmas in the ER

*Hello there everyone, and merry Christmas to those who celebrate! As promised, here's my latest story. I hope you all enjoy the story as much as I do, and feel free to shoot me a message, comment, or leave me asks if you have any questions! I will also be posting another story sometime on New Year's Eve.*

As the old saying goes, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. The holiday is a great opportunity to spend time with loved ones, exchange gifts, and make lifelong memories. But for Dr Lindsay, this year’s Christmas was just another Wednesday where she was tasked with holding down the 7pm to 7am overnight shift in our ER. Naturally, Lindsay was bummed out about the idea of having to work on Christmas, but the emergency department is a 24/7 operation! Little did she know, she’d still have a holiday she’d never forget!

That night, the weather was awful. It was dark, freezing cold, and snowing heavily. Visibility was limited, and the roads were covered in a fresh coat of snow and ice. “Jeez… I bet we’ll have a couple of MVCs tonight.” Lindsay thought to herself shortly after she started driving, trying her best to carefully make her way to work through the frozen, wintery landscape. Fortunately for Lindsay, the roads were mostly empty, most people in the area opting to stay indoors. Even though the roads were empty, the conditions were less than ideal, so she felt the best move was to drive slowly.

Despite Lindsay doing everything in her power to arrive safely at the emergency department, fate had other plans for the cute, sporty tomboy doctor! On the highway about 10 minutes or so from her destination, Lindsay’s car slipped on a patch of ice on the road. The car almost immediately lost control, redirecting the doctor’s vehicle towards a cement barrier in the median of the highway. Lindsay’s heart raced as she white-knuckled the steering wheel, frantically attempting to regain control of the errant vehicle. But it all happened so fast! There was only so much Lindsay could do in those few seconds. Lindsay was unable to stop or change the trajectory of her car and slammed head on into the cement median.

CRUNCH! The windshield shattered, glass fragments flying everywhere inside the vehicle acting almost as little bits of shrapnel. Lindsay raised one arm to attempt to cover her face from the glass shards, but a few nicked her face and neck. The steering column was forced inwards, slamming Lindsay in her chest with tremendous force before being blown back a second or so later when the airbag deployed. “AHHH!” Dr Lindsay yelped, feeling something pop inside her chest. Even with the vehicle stopped after the impact, the momentum generated from the accident caused Lindsay to be thrown around a bit. Just like that, the roles were reversed, and now Lindsay found herself in need of assistance in the ER.

Upon arrival at the emergency department, Lindsay was awake, alert, and doing anything and everything she could to fight through the pain. While being wheeled in through the main entryway of the ER, she was laid out on a backboard atop a gurney with a c-collar around her neck. Lindsay was stripped barefoot, down to just her black sports bra and scrub pants. EKG electrodes and wires were stuck onto her torso, while IV lines were set up in each arm. A blood pressure cuff was wrapped around her left bicep, and a pulse oximeter was on her left index finger. The ER doc’s body was in relatively good shape, but she had some cuts and scrapes on her face and neck from the glass shards.

While being wheeled in, Dr Lindsay was experiencing a weird déjà vu of sorts. She’s walked through those same entryway doors more times than she could count, but she never saw the emergency department from that angle. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of being brought in as a patient. Her pretty blue eyes scanned her surroundings, attempting to make sense of the nonsense. “33 year old female, blunt chest trauma, single car MVC. BP 60 over palp, heart rate’s 140 and climbing, pulse ox down to 90. Got IVs going on scene and started fluids, but her vitals aren’t looking too good.” Lindsay heard a female medic rattle off while wheeling the stretcher down the hall towards trauma room one. “Ok, thank you. Let’s get her over to trauma one. I’m gonna start her on the MTP and get a chest x ray.” A familiar voice replied to the medic. “who is that?” Lindsay thought to herself. “Dr Sarah maybe? I know she was supposed to work the day shift today.” Lindsay answered, still thinking to herself.

The gurney was still being wheeled towards the trauma bay. Dr Sarah leaned over, coming into Lindsay’s line of sight and lowered a stethoscope onto her chest. Sarah didn’t look down at Lindsay’s face, so she didn’t immediately realize who her next patient was. “Diminished breath sounds on the left side, we might need a chest tube.” Sarah observed, pulling her stethoscope away after a brief listen. Dr Sarah then looked down at the gurney, her eyes locking with Lindsay’s. Sarah’s eyes could be seen widening behind her glasses, absolutely stunned at what she was looking at. Sarah gasped, unable to get a word out. “Sarah….?” Lindsay whimpered, her voice weak and breathy. “OHMYGOD, Linds?! What happened?” Marveled Dr Sarah, still processing the concept of Dr Lindsay- a friend and coworker, being her next patient. Lindsay’s lip quivered, her eyes started to moisten. “my car… it just slipped… I don’t know what happened…” Lindsay explained to Sarah, her voice wobbly, now on the verge of tears. “It’s ok Linds, it’s gonna be ok! We’re gonna take a good look at you!” Consoled Sarah, gently grabbing Lindsay’s right hand, her voice a bit panicked.

Once in the trauma room, the stretcher was lined up parallel to the table, where Nurses Heather and Nancy waited. “LINDSAY?!” Heather exclaimed the instant she recognized who the patient was. “Hunny?! What happened?!” Nurse Nancy chimed in, equally surprised. Lindsay didn’t answer, but the familiar voices certainly comforted her through the terrifying uncertainty she was experiencing. “Let’s get her on the table on my count! One… Two… THREE!” Sarah barked out. The trio of beautiful ladies picked up the backboard and carefully moved their coworker onto the table while the paramedics took their stretcher back and exited the room. “Ah….” Winced Lindsay, feeling some pain inside her chest while being placed down on the table. Dr Lindsay squinted, the bright, fluorescent overhead light practically blinding her. “BPs 60 over palp and dropping. Hang 4 units of O-neg and prep Lindsay for a chest tube.” Ordered Dr Sarah, her voice urgent. “Linds? I have to put in a left chest tube. You know how bad they hurt, but be strong for me, ok? I promise I’ll be fast.” Dr Sarah kept Lindsay in the loop about her treatment. Lindsay hesitated for a moment, trying to mentally prepare for the pain she was about to endure. But the logical, doctor side of her took over, realizing that the brutal, painful procedure had to be done. Dr Lindsay’s eyes looked up at Sarah, and she nodded. “Go ahead.” Permitted Lindsay, giving Sarah the green light to begin chest tube placement.

Lindsay laid on the table in the supine position, her left arm raised above along her head. The normally calm and collected Dr Lindsay had a nervous expression on her face. The doctor turned patient’s lips were pinched tight, her forehead puckered, her icy blue-grey eyes looking in the direction of her left ribcage where the tube was to be inserted. She watched Dr Sarah insert a needle full of lidocaine to numb the skin. Lindsay felt a quick pinch, but nothing too worrisome. Sarah then sterilized the incision area with an alcohol wipe. “Ok Linds… Here we go…” The cute, nerdy redhead doctor told Lindsay, reaching for a 10 blade scalpel that sat on an equipment tray beside the trauma room table. Sarah took the scalpel and made a 1 inch cut at the intersection of the 4th intercostal space and anterior axillary line. Lindsay could feel the cold, sharp blade’s every move as it effortlessly slashed her skin apart. Lindsay saw stars, her eyes rolling back in pain. After the cut was made, Sarah attached a Kelly clamp to the proximal end of the chest tube, then bluntly inserted it into Lindsay’s chest cavity. “YAHHH!!!!” Yelped Lindsay, her eyes shooting wide open. Dr Sarah continued the procedure, guiding the tube further into Lindsay’s chest cavity into the pleural space. “AHHHH!!!” Lindsay let out a blood curdling scream, in absolute agony, her eyes tearing up, both her hands making tight fists, feeling the plastic tube forcing its way deeper inside her chest. There was a hiss of air once the tube reached the correct location from trapped air vacating Lindsay’s chest cavity. Lindsay gasped loudly and dramatically, then attempted to sit up. “whoawhoawhoa!” Nurse Heather stepped in, gently laying Lindsay back down on the table. “Stay still for us Linds. So far so good hunny.” Nancy chimed in, gently stroking Lindsay’s hair. Sarah lowered her stethoscope onto Lindsay’s chest and had a listen. “Tube’s in.” Sarah nodded.

Although Lindsay’s breathing improved following the chest tube placement, her vital signs continued to drop. Dr Sarah started another round of blood products and upped Lindsay’s meds, but that didn’t seem to be doing the trick. Lindsay began to shiver dramatically. Her long legs trembled and shook, and at the far end of the bed, her toes were scrunched up hard, showing off the white and red candy cane themed nail polish on her toes, along with the thin, wavy, prominent wrinkles that permeated the soles of the big, size 12 feet Lindsay was always so self conscious of. “Mmmmm…” Lindsay moaned. Dr Lindsay began taking rapid, shallow breaths, continuing to moan. “Shhh. It’s ok Linds. Hang in there a little longer for me…” Nurse Nancy’s calm, soothing voice told Lindsay. “I…I…” Lindsay babbled. “You what sweetie?” asked Nancy. “I just… I can’t believe I’m gonna die on Christmas…” Replied Lindsay, an impending sense of doom consuming her. The trio of caretakers in the room stood there frozen for a second, taken aback by Lindsay’s response. Nobody could believe that words like that were coming from Lindsay’s mouth. “You’re not dying hunny! We need you here New Year’s Eve! You know how we get slammed every year!” Nancy tried to encourage, her tone of voice upbeat and positive. “New Year’s Eve? Pshhh…” Lindsay scoffed, continuing to shiver. “I’m gonna be toe tagged and under a sheet in a little while…. Forget New year’s…” continued Lindsay. “No hunny, don’t say that! We’re gonna fix you up!” Nancy reassured, her voice getting a bit wobbly, upset by how Lindsay was talking about her own fate.

Before Lindsay could even answer, she started gasping loudly, taking deep, dramatic gasps. The heart monitors began beeping louder and faster, playing an almost ominous tone. “She’s crashing…” Heather announced. “linds? Stay with us hunny!” Nurse Nancy said to Lindsay, holding her right hand for a second. Again, Lindsay didn’t answer. Her frantic hyperventilating continued, her eyes WIDE open. “We need to intubate. 8.0 ET and a laryngoscope!.” Ordered Sarah, her voice roaring through the room. “Lindsay? I’m gonna intubate you, ok?” Sarah told Lindsay, moving to the head of the bed. Dr Lindsay looked up at Dr Sarah, their eyes locking for a moment. Lindsay looked like she was trying to mouth something, but couldn’t get the words out. “What’s up Linds?” asked Sarah. Lindsay didn’t answer. Her eyes shifted away from Sarah’s. Lindsay’s eyes remained wide open, but became locked at the ceiling. It was like a switch was flipped. Lindsay’s shivering and gasping came to an abrupt stop. The monitors began to alarm at that point. “V-fib! Starting compressions!!!” Nurse Heather shouted out. Heather immediately began chest compressions, pushing down on Lindsay’s chest hard and fast. Nancy swooped in, snipping off Lindsay’s sports bra, exposing her small breasts and hard nipples. At the head of the bed, Sarah got right to it, beginning rapid sequence intubation. The nerdy redheaded doctor carefully navigated the flexible plastic tube into her friend’s airway. Lindsay’s head bobbed and lolled around from the residual force of Heather’s hearty compressions, creating a moving target for Sarah- nothing that Sarah couldn’t handle! The breathing tube was navigated further into Lindsay’s airway, ending up in the correct depth and location in a matter of seconds. “I’m in!” Sarah confidently announced, taping the tube in place.

Post-intubation, the trauma team decided to shock Lindsay. The defibrillator paddles were charged to 200 joules, gelled, and pressed up against Lindsay’s bare, flat chest. “Alright! Everyone…CLEAR!” Sarah shouted, sending the first shock into the patient once everyone backed away. “MMMPH!” Lindsay moaned, as if she felt the shock. The first defibrillation didn’t do the trick, onto the second one! The defibs were recharged to 250 joules, and shock #2 was promptly delivered. “Mmm….” Moaned Lindsay, again, almost as if she knew what was being done to her. Shocks one and two didn’t do the trick, but third time’s the charm, right? The paddles were charged up to 300, and Lindsay was shocked. Her chest shot up and her back arched. She held that position for a second or two before plopping down onto the orange backboard. “Damn it, no change! Shocking again at 360. Everyone… CLEAR!” Barked Dr Sarah. KA-THUNK! Lindsay’s 6’1 frame was tossed around effortlessly by the stronger shock, but like before, v-fib persisted. With the paddles still pressed up against Lindsay’s bare chest, Sarah shocked Dr Lindsay again at 360 joules. At the far end of the table, Lindsay’s feet kicked up, slamming back down hard half a second later, wrinkling the soles of her big feet once again.

Following the fifth shock, the trauma team switched gears, giving CPR and ambu bagging another try. Heather placed the heel of her gloved hand on the middle of Lindsay’s chest and began pumping away hard and fast. Lindsay’s chest caved in, and her toned belly with abs rippled and jiggled out from the sheer force of the chest compressions. Heather felt Lindsay’s ribs break, but nonetheless, she kept up her life saving efforts. At the head of the bed, Nurse Nancy attached the ambu bag to the ET tube, puffing the light blue bag every few seconds or so, sending critically needed oxygen directly into the coding doctor’s lungs. Dr Sarah stood off to the side of the table injecting the first doses of epinephrine and atropine into Lindsay’s IV line in hopes of stimulating positive cardiac activity. While waiting for the meds to kick in, Heather kept at it, brutally going to town on her coworker (now patient’s) chest. Heather looked down at Lindsay’s face while continuing CPR. Lindsay’s head bobbed and bounced around in sync with each individual compression. Her eyes were WIDE open, her face locked in a full-blown death stare. The ET tube hung out the side of Lindsay’s mouth, taped in place, hugging her pale lips. Heather couldn’t believe a familiar face was in such dire shape. “The ones with their eyes open never make it…” Heather thought to herself. Back at the head of the table, Nancy continued ambu bagging. “You’ve got a long life ahead of you… We all love you and need you here Linds…” Nancy whispered into Lindsay’s ear, as if she was trying to convince Lindsay to not die.

Over the coming minutes, Lindsay’s chest began to take an absolute beating. A nasty bruise started to form in the center of her chest on top of the breastbone. Mid code, Lindsay’s chest tube began to drain a substantial amount of blood seemingly out of nowhere. “What the hell?...” A surprised Dr Sarah thought out loud. In the blink of an eye, a couple liters of blood drained through the tube. “She’s bleeding somewhere in her chest. Maybe a cardiac chamber or great vessel injury.” Speculated Sarah, trying to explain away what she was seeing. “I’m gonna do an echo. Let’s see what her heart’s doing. Maybe that’ll give me something to work with.” Sarah went on. With CPR ongoing, Sarah squirted a little bit of clear, conductive ultrasound gel onto Lindsay’s bare chest. She turned on the ultrasound monitor screen and lowered the wand onto the portion of Lindsay’s chest where the gel was and began moving it around for a second or two to spread it out a bit. Sarah then moved the ultrasound wand over Lindsay’s heart and eyes the monitor screen. “….oh Lord…what a mess in there…” Uttered Sarah. “Hmm?” Heather overheard. “Massive tamponade.” Sarah shook her head. “Pericardiocentesis?” asked Heather, wondering what the next step was. “I don’t think that’ll do the trick. We need to crack her chest and see what’s really going on in there. I’m gonna set up a thoracotomy tray.” Sarah explained to Nurse Heather. Nurse Heather’s eyes went wide once she heard the word “thoracotomy.” That was a last ditch effort, hail Mary procedure used in the most critical patients. Heather has seen many patients get their chest cracked during her time as a nurse in our ER, but the idea of a friend, coworker, and familiar face being the recipient of such a procedure really bothered Heather at a deeper level.

Betadine was splashed across the left half of Lindsay’s chest. The strong, chemical scent of antiseptic hit everyone’s nostrils in less than a second. Sarah picked up the scalpel, making a crude, but decisive incision. The cut started just to the left of Lindsay’s sternum, extended laterally across her chest, underneath her left nipple, and concluding just shy of her left armpit. Heather halted CPR while Sarah worked to separate the underlying tissue and muscle to make way for the rib spreader. With an adequate space created, the metal rib retractor was placed, and Lindsay’s chest was forcefully pried open. A loud popping and cracking sound echoed around the room while Sarah turned the knobs on the spreader. Upon entry to Lindsay’s chest cavity, there was a massive rush of blood. “Suction! SUCTION!” Shouted Sarah, packing handfuls of surgical sponges into the fresh incision area. Heather lowered a suction tube into Lindsay’s chest cavity and began removing the excess blood to create a good line of sight for Sarah. The suction tube made a wet slurping sound as it removed the blood. Meanwhile, Sarah incised the fibrous lining of the pericardium to relieve the tamponade and placed a vascular clamp on the descending aorta in order to redirect blood flow and quell any arterial bleeding- at least temporarily. Heather continued to apply suction every few seconds or so, the line of sight clogging up with blood like clockwork. “Starting cardiac massage.” Announced Sarah, reaching into Lindsay’s chest, beginning to vigorously massage away at Lindsay’s strong, athletic heart. Sarah’s gloved hands were wrapped firmly around the beautiful tomboy doctor’s heart, squeezing much needed blood to the rest of her body. A wet, rhythmic squishing sound was produced from Dr Sarah’s internal resus efforts. “Come on… come on Linds…” uttered Sarah under her breath.

Sarah squeezed and squeezed, but her multiple cycles of cardiac massage failed to restart Dr Lindsay’s heart. Next up, the team opted to give the internal paddles a try. The internal paddles were charged to 20 joules and lowered into Lindsay’s chest around her erratically twitching heart. THWACK! Lindsay’s heart tensed up for a second before going right back to v-fib. Sarah sighed. “No change, going again at 30. Everyone… CLEAR!” Sarah shocked again. Lindsay’s torso jolted sharply in response to the shock, but v-fib remained. “Hitting her again at 40!..... CLEAR!” Sarah’s voice surged. “Mmm….” Lindsay moaned in reaction to the shock. “she’s still in v-fib, let’s go again…. CLEAR!” Sarah yelled out passionately. A dull, wet thump was heard, however, Lindsay’s heart still couldn’t be shocked out of v-fib. “AGAIN!... CLEAR!” Yelled Sarah, lowering the blood soaked internal paddles back onto Lindsay’s cracked open chest. “Still nothing. Recharging the internal paddles to 40!” Sarah announced, her tone of voice growing more and panicked. The high pitched, electrical whirring sound of the paddles recharging bounced around the room. “Ok…. CLEAR!” Sarah defibbed Lindsay again. Almost instantly after the shock, the heart monitors flatlined. Lindsay’s heart sat completely motionless in plain sight. Dr Sarah removed the large, spoon shaped paddles and gently set them back on the crash cart. Sarah began removing her gloves and eyeing the clock on the wall. “It’s over. Time of death, 19:35.” Sarah called out, abruptly terminating the code.

The trio of caretakers stood there shell shocked for a moment while the high pitched hum of the flatlined monitors droned around the room. Nancy removed the ambu bag, a small amount of air quietly hissing out. Heather switched off the monitors, making the once loud, chaotic room eerily silent. Nobody said a word, but knew exactly what to do next. The IV lines were taken out of each arm. The EKG electrodes were disconnected. The BP cuff was taken off Lindsay’s left bicep. The pulse oximeter was taken off her left index finger. A blue surgical drape was hastily tossed on top of the thoracotomy site. Lindsay’s eyes remained wide open as her body was covered, appearing as if she watched the sheet get pulled over her head. Last but not least, a toe tag was filled out and placed on the big toe of Lindsay’s left foot. The tag dangled in front of Lindsay’s hot, wrinkly soles, serving as a harsh reminder that no Christmas miracles would be taking place that night. In this alternate reality, Lindsay was now the latest beauty who found herself toe tagged and under a sheet in our emergency department.

[roamingtigress]

A Night for Us by Roaming Tigress Hosea and Dutch break into New York's Luna Park one Christmas day in the 1920s -- and revisit memories of Christmas pasts.

A Night for Us by Roaming Tigress

Luna Park.

A vibrant slice of electric heaven in Brooklyn's Coney Island; a picture of modernity, adventure and wonder awaits you on every corner of its expanse.

Such a place isn't where most would expect to find a pair of old men seeking (mis)adventure in the Roaring Twenties, but, here we are.

"Dutch, I don't think you're quite as nimble these days."

My idiot husband listens as well as he always has—barely at all.

"Just one more rung, Old Girl!"

He's climbing up a damn iron gate. It's part of a grand entrance with splendid art deco styling, its electric lighting visible for miles at night on Surfside Avenue. One slip could result in an embarrassing end to his storied life.

Now, I'm sure you're telling yourself: has Dutch truly lost it?

Well, possible. But I think to have "lost it", you'd have to have it in the first place.

But, let me tell you one little detail.

It's Christmas, and the park is closed on Christmas.

Did you think it would stop us?

No.

To my relief, Dutch came down from the gate on the opposite side without breaking his neck. That stupid, handsome grin of his could light up the whole park -- and the rest of Brooklyn.

"That was easy enough 'sea!"

I scoff. It wasn't easy for me to watch.

I love that fool.

Now it was my turn to come down the gate; after all, someone had to keep an eye on Dutch. It would be irresponsible for me to let him run rampant in such a place -- heaven knows what he'd do. There may be no park left to reopen in the new year!

And besides, why should he have all the fun?

I was a touch more cautious, mind; he was hovering right underneath me with his arms out as if he wanted me to let go and catch me. But as to not give him the satisfaction of wanting to play big brave rescuer, as if waiting to catch some fair maiden escaping a witch's castle, I managed to climb down the gate without as much as a scuffed nail.

"Not bad."

Now Dutch scoffed, giving me a poke to the ribs as I have done to him many times to keep him in line.

"You were worried."

I give Dutch a jab back; he lets out a most manly squeak; still ticklish!. "Funeral costs have gone up these days."

Dutch rolled with the punch. We hadn't lost a step in that area; in fact, we've gotten sharper, seemingly knowing what the other one would react, and would say next.

"Save yourself a little money and take me to the taxidermist instead!"

I threw my next punch. "As if I'd want to see your ugly old mug over the mantle!"

He dodged.

"Who said it had to be the mantle? I think I could look rather dashing over my spot on the bed!"

I sass back. Dutch is really pushing to get coal for Christmas.

"I don't think I want nightmares!"

Then I get it. I really get it.

Dutch tossed a snowball at me. I didn't even see him make it. I expertly dodge.

"Almost!" I brag, tossing one right back, getting him square in that wonderful big forehead of his and acting completely oblivious to it.

And then he hands me the old man's memories card as he whirls me under his arm, with much the same elegance and grace he had done when he was younger. "You used to say, 'almost' isn't good enough."

I was referring to aiming his gun; he wasn't terrible at shooting, but let's just say, I polished up his skills. And here he is, haunting me with those words some thirty-odd years later -- in the context of snowball fights.

He laughs that hearty laugh as he spins me around again, out into the grand entrance of Luna Park's electric circus.

Only the 'circus' has packed up the tent for the remainder of the week.

Gone are the bustling crowds that would pour through this spot where Dutch twirled me. Many would be rushing towards ticket booths for their rides -- perhaps the Parachute Jump, the Dragon Gorge -- while others visiting the concession kiosks to fuel up for the day; popcorn, peanuts, cotton candy. Those families who took in the stunning marvel that is the Electric Tower watched trained leopards perform and rode the latest state-of-the-art rides have settled in their homes for the holidays, maybe listening to holiday tunes on the radio.

There's still a faint smell of buttered popcorn in the air from yesterday's Christmas Eve, the last day the park was open for the year. And indeed, some was left behind in a popcorn cart. It was parked by a souvenir shop which sold pennants featuring the trademark grinning 'Tilly' face stamped on with 'Luna Park.'

I see a sparkle in Dutch's eye; I know what he's thinking. First popcorn, then a pennant.

I quirk an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm sure that popcorn's stale now -- "

Dutch flashed me a cheeky grin, acting as if I hadn’t seen him snatch a pennant and shove it into some hidden pocket of his coat, which I’m convinced leads to an endless void. It's probably where he stashes all those plans.

"It'll only get more stale without someone eatin' it."

Before I could retort, he whipped out his trusted lock pick from an inside pocket of his black bear fur coat and flashed it to me with a grin. He knew damn well he could have got through the gates with it, but where was the fun in that?

"We could get popcorn theft to our list of crimes, 'sea!" He made a showing of picking the lock of the popcorn cart.

Yes, I'm excited about the prospect of that report getting around; Hosea Matthews and Dutch van der Linde are now wanted for the theft of stale popcorn and a Tilly pennant on Coney Island's Luna Park on Christmas. Rival gangs near and far would flee in terror.

Still, I take my bag from him -- costing me a nickel -- and let him lead the way.

I snort, leaning in as I munch on a few pieces, taking in the eclectic settings. I've secretly made a mental note to come back in season, a surprise for our wedding anniversary.

"I think the Pinkertons would be stretched to their resources with that one."

Dutch chuckles; more easily amused these days, even by his own little comments and jokes, and I cherish it.

"What would you say if I took you on a ride?" Dutch asks smoothly, pulling me close in his arm, making it impossible to resist. I could have retorted with a quip about him already taking me for a ride, but I chose to let him run the show. He's a little frailer these days on account of the rigours of old age, but, he still holds me close and his hold is snug, almost shoving me into his coat. I feel so warm, almost not needing my own.

An inner voice said no, this was luna-cy; what would he know about operating one of these things? He decided that if nobody was around to operate, he'd play the part himself.

Foolish, very foolish.

But I said, yes.

I've said 'yes' to a lot of risky things in my life; starting a gang, willingly getting myself into all sorts of schemes, situations and scenarios to varying degrees of success -- a few that resulted in me getting caught and put behind bars -- but getting married to Dutch van der Linde was the biggest risk I have ever taken. In our stories, I may come upon as being completely exasperated, and while there may be some truth behind that, I do not regret saying 'yes' to that man.

Damn it, I love Dutch.

A reminder of how much I love him was when he offered me some of his popcorn in his fingers. I have plenty of my own, but . . . I softly nibble it out of his fingers, gently brushing them with a kiss. The wondrous surroundings we're in almost seem to have melted away.

"You remember our first Christmas when I did that . . . ?" Dutch asked in a tone softer than his usual.

I smile, leaning my head against his shoulder as he leads me down past a kiosk that hawks linen textured coloured postcards during the park's opening hour, just behind the gates. He swiped one behind the desk and into his coat it went. Another crime on the Pinkerton watch.

"I do . . . " I smile; that was nearly forty years ago. We had scammed a gentleman into taking a horse with hung papers (falsified pedigree) and well, he wasn't too pleased about it. We chose to lay low versus taking on the gang he ran with, a rough bunch that once dominated Grizzlies East.

"I remember it being incredibly windy and cold and watching the snow blow around as we popped the popcorn over the fire. Nice little homestead out by Window Rock. You were still a little bit shy, but so charming. You heard my stomach rumbling and thought I needed a snack break. So you took some popcorn out of the bowl and offered it to me by hand."

Dutch gently twirled me again, past a ticket booth, and another kiosk that sold cotton candy. The sweet smell still lingered there, though not a trace was left, to our disappointment.

"You ended up having most of the bowl. I settled for dried venison and cranberries."

Mercifully he got a turkey later on in the day when the snow cleared.

I shake my head, letting out a feigned dramatic sigh. "Are we going to bring that up again?"

"Either that or the ugly gloves I made you." The crinkles around his eyes are more evident now as he smiles, particularly when he feels cheeky, and I love them all the more.

"Don't remind me!" I tease.

Oh, they were ugly gloves, made of cowhide poached from Emerald Ranch, but oh, they were loved. And despite the crudeness of their design, they lasted damn near nine years.

"Were they really that much uglier than that satchel you made me?" He laughed, leading me past a series of shuttered kiosks; they held little interest to him as there was nothing visible for him to grab.

"You told me it was from bobcat, but I ain't never seen a bobcat grey with black stripes!"

It was one of my earlier attempts to con Dutch. No need to judge; I learned from that experience.

He led me down further into the park, past more shuttered vendors and snow-dusted children's rides, before we came up to an elegant carousel, the Ocean Wave. It was a beauty brought in for the 1907 season and was due for replacement. The horses were still elegant in design but paint was well worn on their saddles and the horse hair tails were sparser now, evidenced by much use. But like us, there was still some life left in the old gal.

"I think a carousel would be more of your style?" Dutch suggested, gently easing me in front of him for me to take a better look. I caught him earlier eyeballing the tall wooden structures of roller coasters further into the park. I tugged at his sleeve in a polite 'no.' He had pretended to not have noticed, in his eagerness to take me on a tour of the grounds.

My eyes bright up even more than they already were. Yes, I love carousels; I always have, ever since I was a boy (and I was one at one point). This man knows me a bit!

"Might as well take a spin on her before she goes for firewood," I muse with a twinge of sadness, taking in the intricate craftwork, and step back as he hits the switch of the power. My adoration of them was infectious; it was yet another opportunity for Dutch to get sappy with me.

"I suppose I could trust you with a carousel." I chuckle, choosing a grey horse that looks much like my dear old Silver Dollar, and Dutch hops on, right behind me, a bit of a surprise given I thought he was going to choose the white horse in front.

But I can't complain.

Dutch secured me with a gentle embrace as the horse, in a frozen mid-gallop, moved up and down in a gentle rhythm with the music. The natural light was dimming now, and a big "pop" of the light would surely draw attention from any security guard if there were any in the area. Admittedly, it added a little excitement.

"Just in case you fall off," Dutch teased, leaning that wonderful cleft chin on my shoulder. "Saving you the embarrassment of going out on a stolen away ride on a carousel."

I scoff. "Getting me back from earlier?"

"Maybe." I didn't even need to turn around to see that he had that grin on his face again.

I had to grin as he kissed me on the cheek. Now I know the real reason for him joining me on the ride; just to nuzzle as many kisses on me as he could until the end of the ride. He was being terribly distracting, but I couldn't get mad; he was being awfully sweet.

"You really haven't forgotten much, have you?" I asked in a gentle tone, reaching a hand around to touch his; he had been forgetting the odd thing, such as locking the doors, and then worrying if he hadn't locked them, sometimes waking up from a deep sleep to do so, but he's held onto nostalgia like a steel trap.

Dutch answered me with a distinct hint of vulnerability, that had been absent since his arrival in the park. "You don't let me forget."

I unexpectedly feel a catch to my throat as he leans in to give another soft kiss on the cheek.

"You're right, I don't."

I give that hand, slightly more bonier than it once was, a gentle squeeze.

"Do you remember that state fair we went to?" I could hear the smile in his voice. "Went on the night it officially started. I wanted to kiss you on the carousel."

Dutch's nostalgia pool is still deep.

And that was what brought us to New York; Dutch had wanted to keep those memories alive by reliving them again. While the gang remained outside the city limits, he stole me away for Christmas, not giving me a hint as to where we were going.

I carefully turn around in his arms, careful not to slip and give a reason for Dutch to play hero by readying to catch me again, and slowly, tenderly, we kiss. This time, I'm holding him, as if subtly telling him to not worry about his memories; I'll always have a hold onto them for him.

At that moment, the rest of the world seemed to melt away, and it was only us. In our minds, the infirmities of old age had melted away and were replaced with our youth again; only I pictured Dutch wearing his mustache. Now your preference may differ (facial hair is a subjective matter) but when I look back, I think he looked a bit silly without it.

Our kiss broke when the music slowed to a stop. We hadn't even noticed the sky had faded from its pinkish-blueish hue of a winter's sky to near black. We were lost within each other, something that has been happening with comforting frequency as of late.

"Even better than that time, 'sea."

I've always loved how he had shortened my name, short already. It's endearing.

"I think we could check out the Electric Tower and . . . " His eyes light up, and his features are handsomely reflected by the carousel lights that had yet to shut off.

"I think I have a surprise."

He had been studying some sort of map for weeks leading up to the move to New York; now I know what he was planning.

Off we went again, but not before Dutch hit the switch on a pole for electric power, and it was then that the park truly became electrifying; one by one, brilliant displays of lights switched on, and some rides even came to life.

One of those rides was the famed Dragon Gorge.

Against my better judgement, I decide to let Dutch drag me along onto it. To those not familiar, think of an ornately decorated indoor rollercoaster, featuring mock scenes of varying dioramic scenes of our nation, from the Arctic and Rocky Mountains to historical events, such as the Battle of Port Arthur, the explosion of the U S.S Maine which got us into the Spanish-American War. Guarding us on our journey were a set of magnificent 45-foot-tall plaster dragons poised outside, with a fantastical wing span. Like the horses we rose on, they were intricately designed, with green, glowing eyes.

The ride -- an idea borne out of sheer spontaneity out of Dutch -- was more fun than I had anticipated it to be, and when it came to its stop, off we went to that majestic Electric Tower.

This was a structure made for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, and a sign boasts of having no less than 44, 000 lightbulbs, eight watts apparently. This amazing display of modern design was featured in Dutch's stolen postcard. And speaking of the devil, Dutch had wanted to climb up it for a better view -- and drag me along. For amazing as it must be, I stood my ground firm; we had enough climbing for one day, let's not further risk the wrath of the trespassing gods, I didn't think I could catch Dutch if he lost his footing and fell.

And so off to the next destination, our surprise destination; something, to my delight, as something I was a bit of an old master in.

Ice skating.

The venue is converted for swimming in the summer, but for now, it was a skating rink for two.

A few stolen pairs of rental skates later, and we were out on the ice. My beloved husband, bless him, has long lacked coordination in this department. For several years I have patiently tried to help him skate somewhat more gracefully than a skittish moose on a frozen lake. After six years, we finally concluded that we can't all be good at everything, even Dutch.

But oh, how delighted he was to find out there was a skating rink in the park, for me!

"That's it, Dutch, I think . . .I think we're finally getting it!" I spoke proudly when his long legs had at once stopped acting like they were made of rubber; he was slightly cheating, as he carefully held onto me, but he was trying, for me.

"It only took eight years," Dutch scoffed.

I gently corrected. "Fifteen."

Another snort from my husband. Stubborn as always!

"Nonsense."

I stood my ground.

Again.

"Fifteen years."

As Dutch crossed his arms like a petulant child, he realized he wasn't holding onto me. Slowly but surely, he came to the realization that, by George, he's finally got it.

I gently took the lead when I felt we were steady and ready, and slowly, we kissed, under this night for us.

[louisupdates]

joshuahalling 2023 sort of feels like a wild blur. 2022 and the first @louist91 world tour was an absolute rollercoaster that grew so big and so fast for a lot of us that with the ‘Faith in the Future’ world tour following it up sharply in 2023, it just felt like an extension of the chaos and we only really fully stopped back to back tours just now leading up to this christmas!

In between all of that mayhem though, I was honoured and massively baffled to have been nominated for @iheartradio favourite photographer last year, just being nominated was amazing but to spend a few days in LA seeing old friends, creating new ones and attending the event at the Dolby Theatre made it really a once in a lifetime thing for a photographer from Cornwall who feels like he’s been winging it for 10 years now… so it’s very bloody surreal today to have been nominated for a 2nd year in a row! This is all with serious thanks to the legend @louist91, his team for trusting me on the visuals for these tours, our phenomenal road crew who make these shows so amazing to shoot and honestly the most passionate and supportive fanbase Louis has created around him who are the reason this whole thing is even a thing. A double bonus is that ‘All Of These Voices’ is also nominated for best film which I was fortunate to film some bits alongside @charlielightening so definitely a big celebration. anyway this is all a massive ramble, basically…

It’s a little different to last year, votes are now strictly on the iHearts website which i’ll have in stories/etc. and quite restrictive to certain areas of the world unfortunately but there are ways around that. Each person can vote once per day from today till March 25th!

And last but not least, just wanted to say i’m surrounded by some insane talent and peers I look up to in this realm so please make sure you check out all their work during this process! So thank you @iheartradio for creating this category once again.

VOTE HERE

[offender42085]

Post 1206

Before and After......

Blaize Pedro Plaza, South Carolina inmate 393171, born 2002, incarceration intake February 2024 at age 21, scheduled for release December 2051

Murder

In February 2024, a court determined that. a man will spend the next three decades behind bars after pleading guilty to shooting a man and leaving him for dead along a roadside in Newberry County.

Blaize Pedro Plaza, 21, of Whitmire, pleaded guilty at the Laurens County Courthouse to a charge of murder. Circuit Judge Frank Addy Jr. then sentenced Plaza to 30 years in prison. Under South Carolina law, sentences for murder must be served day-for-day, with no possibility of parole or early release. Plaza’s trial was scheduled to go forward in the upcoming week.

Just a few days before Christmas in 2021, Plaza and his girlfriend were riding with the victim, 24-year-old Jamal Alston, in the early morning hours when an argument ensued. Alston pulled the vehicle over alongside Highway 66 in the Whitmire area of Newberry County to allow Plaza to use the restroom. At some point during that stop, Plaza shot Alston five times with a 9 mm pistol before fleeing the scene in Alston’s vehicle, leaving Alston gravely wounded on the side of the road.

A passing motorist spotted Alston and contacted authorities for help. About the same time, a vehicle fire was reported in Union County. The vehicle belonged to Alston. Investigators quickly developed Plaza as a suspect and within 24 hours they located and interviewed both Plaza and his girlfriend. Plaza confessed to the crime and his story was corroborated by his girlfriend.

4a

[haddonfieldwhore]

sparks fly - will borgen (2)

will borgen x fem!reader (part social media)

summary: you bring you favourite player a birthday gift at a kraken practice

warnings: this is pure delusion lol enjoy, fluff 🧸 please pretend the game on dec.20th was at home not in california

word count: 1.3k (this is part 2 )

❥ click here for part one

9:46am - you

you came back downstairs dressed and feeling refreshed after your shower, grabbing your phone off the counter getting your shoes on. you had a few errands to run, and if you wanted to be home in time to watch the game tonight, you wanted to get a move on.

since it was close to christmas, you hated how busy it was downtown, but you always loved how they decorated the trees, snapping a quick picture and posting it to your story. you admired the passing buildings from the backseat of the uber you were in, when your phone buzzed in your lap. your eyes almost fell out of your skull as you saw what the notification was. once again, you had to check a few times to convince yourself that it truly was the real will borgen messaging you, and you pinched yourself as you typed out each reply.

he didn’t reply as fast this time, and you tried not to look insane to your driver as you checked your phone every 10 seconds. finally, a reply came through, but it only left you more bewildered.

he had sent you a ticket to the game? you couldn’t fathom why, but you weren’t going to say no when your favourite player was saying he wanted you there; that he wanted to see you. the game wasn’t until later that evening, giving you plenty of time to both get ready, and overthink everything about the situation.

•

6:21pm - you

you still felt like this was all a dream, even as you arrived at the arena and got to your seat, in the lower 100s section near the net that the kraken would shoot on twice during the game. you felt bad, wondering how much the ticket had cost, but you were pretty sure the players got a few tickets for free, so you hoped that was the case.

the kraken won in the end, leaving you feeling even more on cloud 9 as you walked up to the concession area of the arena. you were getting ready to leave, when you felt your phone buzz in your pocket.

you felt like you were going crazy, wondering what made you so special to deserve all of this happening to you. nervousness grew in the pit of your stomach - you had never hung out with a professional hockey player before. what would you talk about? what if you made a fool of yourself? he must have sensed your hesitance somehow, because after a minute of you not replying, another message came through.

if someone had told you 24 hours ago that you would be texting with, never mind getting coffee with will borgen, you would have laughed in their face. but somehow, you wondered if he had also felt that little spark between the two of you at the iceplex, and that’s why this was all happening. it sounded a little too fantastical for you, but you would believe anything at this point.

you got to the starbucks, the restaurant part being mostly empty, just a few people in line for takeout. you sat at a table in the corner, waiting anxiously.

as promised, 20 minutes later, you saw will sneak past the two people still in line, and over to your table.

“hey, thanks for waiting,” he smiled shyly, and you smiled back at him. how could he be nervous right now? you wondered.

“no problem. you’re really you,” you laughed softly, and he chuckled.

“yea, did you think i wasn’t?”

“a tiny part of me did. the ticket kinda convinced me but this is …. a little insane.”

“in a good way?” he asked nervously.

“will, of course i mean in a good way. i just … why me?” you fiddled with your hands in your lap, picking at your fingernails.

“why not you?”

“i mean i’m just me and you’re.. you.”

“you realize that makes no sense right?” he laughed, and you couldn’t help but giggle. despite how nervous you were, you felt more and more comfortable in his presence.

“you know what i mean.”

“you know, matty actually had to convince me to work up the nerve to message you.” you looked up at him, surprised.

“really?” you asked in disbelief. “do the other guys know-“

“no just him. he doesn’t know we’re together right now but he convinced me to invite you to the game.”

“well thank him for me then,” you laughed. “should we get drinks?” will nodded, and the two of you went to the counter to order. will insisted on paying for the drinks despite your protests, and he asked if you wanted to walk around the arena.

“you’re not worried about people seeing you?”

“no, most people are gone anyway even if i did.” as he took a sip of his drink, you smiled, noticing a familiar string of blue beads around /,” you smiled, holding his wrist softly to admire it on him.

“yeah, this really pretty girl gave it to me for my birthday,” he said, sliding his hand into yours and licking your fingers together. you blushed slightly as you walked hand in hand around the arena, will showing you around and explaining different things about the game. it had only been about half an hour, but you felt like you had known eachother for years.

•

matty beniers was walking out of the arena, having stayed a little later than usual after the game. as he looked down the hall, he noticed you and will walking the other way, smiling to himself as he walked to his car.

“he actually did it,” he thought to himself, proud of his friend for taking his advice. he ran into yamamoto who was also just leaving.

“hey, borgy’s not with you?” he asked, and matty shook his head.

“he had a few things to do tonight,” matty lied, not wanting to be the one to tell the guys about will and his potential new girl.

“i guess we’re celebrating his birthday without him then,” kailer laughed, and patty pushed him gently towards the door.

“more cake for us.”

•

10:51pm - you

“so did you enjoy your birthday?” you asked, laughing as will swung your joined hands back and forth between you slightly.

“yes, but i think i might have enjoyed today more,” he smiled. “it is getting late though and i don’t want to keep you here forever. do you have a ride home?”

“yeah, it is. i can take an uber-“

“i could drive you if you want?” he offered, and you smiled.

“if it’s not a bother- thank you.”

after a short drive, will pulled up outside your apartment, and you felt sad to be saying goodbye. what if he didn’t want to see you again?

“i would invite you up, but i really wasn’t prepared to have guests so the place is a mess. and it’s pretty late so you probably want to get home and-“

“it’s okay,” he laughed at your rambling. “next time. we fly to anaheim for a few days but i’d like to see you when i get back- if you want to i mean,” it was his turn to ramble, the fact that he was also a little nervous made you feel more at ease somehow.

“yeah, i would really like that,” you smiled. “i’ll be cheering you guys on from home.”

“thanks,” he replied, but looked like he wanted to say something else. “…can i kiss you goodnight?” he asked, and your face got warm, but you nodded. he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours softly. the taste of coffee on his tongue was sweet, and you found yourself wanting to kiss him again as he pulled away, but you didn’t.

“i’ll text you tomorrow?” he offered, and you nodded, getting out of the car and wishing him goodnight. he waited in his car to make sure you got in the building safely, and you sighed happily, a huge smile on your face as you rose the elevator up to your floor.

you just hoped the next few days went by fast.

disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned

[louistomlinsoncouk]

joshuahalling 2023 sort of feels like a wild blur. 2022 and the first @louist91 world tour was an absolute rollercoaster that grew so big and so fast for a lot of us that with the ‘Faith in the Future’ world tour following it up sharply in 2023, it just felt like an extension of the chaos and we only really fully stopped back to back tours just now leading up to this christmas! In between all of that mayhem though, I was honoured and massively baffled to have been nominated for @iheartradio favourite photographer last year, just being nominated was amazing but to spend a few days in LA seeing old friends, creating new ones and attending the event at the Dolby Theatre made it really a once in a lifetime thing for a photographer from Cornwall who feels like he’s been winging it for 10 years now… so it’s very bloody surreal today to have been nominated for a 2nd year in a row! This is all with serious thanks to the legend @louist91, his team for trusting me on the visuals for these tours, our phenomenal road crew who make these shows so amazing to shoot and honestly the most passionate and supportive fanbase Louis has created around him who are the reason this whole thing is even a thing. A double bonus is that ‘All Of These Voices’ is also nominated for best film which I was fortunate to film some bits alongside @charlielightening so definitely a big celebration. anyway this is all a massive ramble, basically… It’s a little different to last year, votes are now strictly on the iHearts website which i’ll have in stories/etc. and quite restrictive to certain areas of the world unfortunately but there are ways around that. Each person can vote once per day from today till March 25th! And last but not least, just wanted to say i’m surrounded by some insane talent and peers I look up to in this realm so please make sure you check out all their work during this process! So thank you @iheartradio for creating this category once again.

[vigilxnte]

A Christmas Problem

Daryl x !Reader

It's Christmas time, and you've not long joined the group. Everyone but daryl seems to acknowledge you. but on a supply run, you understand why.

⚠️A Fluff tone of Fluff⚠️

1.5k words Approx.

Having fun making these, if you have any ideas for content shoot me a request. Thank you and enjoy my short story :)

It's finally Christmas. Yay. Except, there's no point in celebrating. No tree, no lights. There's no dinner, or presents or joy. Just death surrounding us at all times. I see it as a constant reminder of our past life, burdend with the curse of surviving. I was lucky to have found Rick and his group jusy before winter. Otherwise, I would have been totally screwed. Everyone in the group seems nice, but there's just one man I can't place an opinion on. Dixon. Every time I speak with him, he either ignores me or walks away. I don't know what I've done wrong or if I've said anything wrong. He just doesn't want me around. Luckily, today's the day he can't ignore me, as Rick partnered us up together for a supply run. I love them, let's me get out for just a bit rather than stood behind the walls of alexandria for the rest of my life.

Snow began to cover the town we called home as i made my way to the frount gate; waiting for daryls arrival. His bike and crossbow stand waiting, but he's no where to be found. I scan the area determining he isn't here. I stand in the freezing temperature waiting for him. About 30 minutes later, he stroles up with two scarfs, wrapping one around my neck and securing it. He gives me a nod and mounts his bike, placing the crossbow onto his back. Why is he giving me a scarf? I thought he didn't like me? Without another thought, I get into the pickup truck parked behind him. Daryl signals carl to open the gate. Once open, he drives off, and I follow right behind him. If you had told me 10 years ago I was scavenging for food, with the man who can barely even look at me, during an apocalypse, I would have called you crazy. But unfortunately, here I am, driving for hours looking for the first place we can find to scout. Fortunately for us, rick sent west where none of us travelled, so hopefully, we didn't have to go far. Hours pass until I see daryl turn towards a housing estate. I follow. We both pull into the quiet neighbourhood, no one to be seen anywhere. Not even walkers. Exiting my vehicle, I raise my gun and begin mapping the area. It was abandoned. I returned to daryl opening the house next door to me, kicking it with his foot he was in. The door burst its hinges and made a THUD hitting the floor. Still no noise came from walkers in the area. I look at dixon and give him a questioning look.

"Watch your back," he whispered at me. I returned him an agreeing nod. keeping my gun in one i reached for my knife with the other, holding them up in the event of a surprise attack. Checking every crevice of the house, we concluded nothing dangerous could hurt us here. I take my bag off my back to begin looting the cupboard. "Jackpot!" I shout, followed by daryl returning a gleeful smirk. Tins of everything, soup, beans, tuna. Who ever live here certainly was stocked up. With my bag now full, I return to the vehicle. I placed my gun in boot while beginning emptying my bag into the back of the pickup truck. Time goes by, and I notice dixon hadn't come back. I checked the watch on my wrist, indicating it had been a good 10 minutes since I saw him.

I panicked, rushing back to the house to find the kitchen destroyed. The table and chairs were broken, and blood splattered across the floors and walls. Fuck. "Dixon!" I called for him, no response. I heard banging from the back door. I slowly make my way to the back of the house, in hopes of finding my missing companion. Nothing but a walker on the other side of the door. My stomach dropped. Where had he gone? Returning to the back door, my path was blocked. 2 walkers had heard the banging of the door and had made their way into the house. Without a second thought, I rushed towards the first and got it straight in the eye. Unfortunately, my knife got stuck, I struggled to remove the knife, leaving me defenceless. I reach for my gun, but remember I left it in the back of the car. I scramble backwards in the kitchen, looking for a weapon. Oblivious, I trip and fall on the broken chair leg, hurting myself on the fall. The walker no close I panic and remove the peice of wood from my leg. As the walker fell towards me, I stabbed it into the back of his head. I breathe heavy, in relief, and in pain as I taken my jacket off to wrap up my deep wound. I had to hurry back to the vehicle so I could stich myself up. Except I couldn't work. "Fuck!" I shout in defeat. My only option was to crawl back to the vehicle. I get on my stomach, wincing in pain as my leg banged against the floor. Slowly howling body across the floor, I hear footstep running towards the house outside. It was daryl. His face dropped as he saw the mess I was in, I could see he felt guilty he left me alone. "Need a hand" he forced a smirk while offering me his hand to help me up off of the floor. I placed an arm around his neck for a support as he placed me in the living room. A large fire place was centred in the middle of the room with a log holder filled with logs. I felt relieved we had some form of shelter for tonight. Dixon returned back to the pickup to grab the stature kit. He returned with our blankets and some food, indicating we were stopping herd tonight.

Before I could grab the stature kit, he beat me to it. I'm already tending to my wound. He watched me as he placed my leg onto his to ensure he wasn't causing me any pain. Of course, I winced, but he was being gentle. He took out some ripped sheets and soaked it with the rubbing alcohol, cleaning around my wound. Once again, being as gentle as he could. I forced him a warm smile through the burning pain, but he quickly looked down when his face turned red. Was he blushing? Wait. Does this man have feelings for me? He took the needle to begin stiching my open wound. Time passes, and he finishes my leg up by bandaging it up. I looked him in the eyes and told him, "Thank you, dixon." Once again, he avoided eye contact. Before he could get up, I reached for his hand and pulled him back. He finally looked me in the eyes. I repeat again "thank you" to ensure I get a response. "Not a problem," he said in his deep, rasped voice. We exchange a smile before he leaves to prop the door back up. I saw him look back over my way a couple of times to ensure I was okay while I rested. I tried to avoid looking at him, but I couldn't help but smile, knowing this man actually cares for me. Darkness had now cast over the house as dixon started the fire. He lifted me off the couch and placed me into the blanket he had positioned by the fireplace. Before I could thank him again, he had already lay next to the fire opposite me. My eyes felt heavy as I began to fall asleep. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was daryl watching me as I rested.

I woke up instantly, cold sweat and heavy breathing. I get nightmares, but this one was real. Too real. Daryl was awake and saw me in a panicked state. "You good Y/K," he said, showing concern. as he too sat up. "Yeah, sorry, I sometimes get nightmares like this." Before I could finish my sentence, he had already made his way over to me and placed his blanket beside me. He placed his arm over me as we lay down, pulling into him. I felt the warmth that exerted from his body into mind. I placed my head into his chest as I wrapped my arm around him. "You're going to be okay," he told me, planting a kiss onto my forehead. I look up at him and give him a loving smile, and he to returned one. "Merry christmas, Dixon." i smiled, "You too," and just like that, I fell asleep. Cuddled into the man who wouldn't speak to me.

[wastelandmoony]

Déjà Vécu: Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen : Pitch Perfect

Summary: Sports!

Characters: Remus Lupin/Reader, Sirius Black/Reader (no use of y/n), James Potter, Petter Pettigrew, Regulus Black, Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, Lily Evans

Warnings: Minors DNI, 18+ only!, angst, anxiety/overwhelming feelings, language, mentions of death and self harm, mentions of abuse, mentions of drinking.

A/N: Hiya friendz. Long story short, I accidentally deleted the document I was writing this on, including the already completed ending and full plot outline. 50k+ words in, and needless to say I was enraged. After taking a short break to grieve, I picked it back up and I'm very happy to be continuing.

I also think it's worth mentioning that I truly believe Sirius is a good person, but he's also a product of his environment. He's not perfect, he's not a proper gentleman. His family is extremely fucked and I believe that some of those mindsets/attitudes have seeped into his psyche, and he needs to do some deep unlearning to amend those. With that being said, please don't come for me for writing him to be a lil bit of a dick lol

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September 1st, 1974

“—I need you to sit still, otherwise I’m going to end up chopping your ear off!” 

Peter sat on the floor of the train compartment in-between her legs while she carefully poked the tip of her wand through his hair. Barty Crouch had launched a wad of Droobles gum out of the window as they were entering the passenger car, striking Pete directly on the side of his head and immediately bonding to his hair. Sirius had his wand poised at their compartment instantly, but upon seeing Regulus’ smirk he faltered, lowing his arm as she pulled him into the corridor. James had tried to charm the gum out, to no avail.  After 45 minutes of whinging, yanking, and a few singed locks of hair, she knew what had to be done. 

Gingerly, she ran her wand through the side of his head, muttering a severing charm against the fine blond strands. 

Once complete, she sat back and sighed, “Sorry Pete, it’s the best I could do.” 

She was able to save the majority of the affected area, but there was still a pretty visible chunk of hair missing. Peter reached up, groaning as he grazed his fingertips over the shorn spot.

“Relax mate, it’s just hair, it’ll grow back,” Sirius chided from the corner.

Peter stood up, shooting him a glare, “Speak for yourself, how’d you feel if you had to cut yours?”

Instantly, Sirius’ hand shot up to touch his dark locks, which he had yet to trim since last summer. The sight was comical, the expression of mild terror washing across his face at the thought. She stifled a laugh, smiling over at Remus who was slumped by the window reading. He had barely spoken to any of them since they met at the platform. She nudged him with her foot, raising an eyebrow as he looked up through his lashes.

You okay?

Just like Sirius and James, they could communicate with just a look, the result of spending almost every day together for years.

Remus shook his head slightly, eyes sinking down to meet the page again. He wasn’t going to open up with the others in earshot. 

She dug through her bag on the floor, emerging with the leather-bound sketchbook he had gifted her last year. Tapping him with the toe of her shoe once more, he reluctantly retrieved his own as she quietly scribbled a question mark onto the page, discretely tapping her wand so the other boys wouldn’t notice. Remus’ hastily scrawled response came quickly, causing her heart to drop into her stomach.

Mum’s worse. She won’t make it to Christmas.

———

September 10th, 1974

“Is he even chewing?” Marlene whispered in her ear as they both stared at James from across the breakfast table. 

He was visibly distracted, eyes constantly darting down towards the Gryffindor Team Captain at the end of the row while he mindlessly shoveled food into his mouth. 

“What’s wrong with him?” She looked over at Sirius beside him, calm and collected as he flipped through a Defense textbook. 

“Try-out list goes up today. He’s worried he’ll lose his spot on the team to someone new, wants to be the first to sign up…something about ‘showing determination’?” 

“Can they do that? Replace current members with new ones?” She was a little shocked by that notion, something that seemed rather unfair in her opinion, but then again she wasn’t really a sports-girl. 

“If they’re better qualified, yeah,” Sirius turned his focus back to the book on the table. 

“Aren’t you worried about your position too?” She took a bite of toast as he smirked.

“Not in the slightest, I’m the best Beater this team has had in years—“

Marlene cleared her throat.

Sirius rolled his eyes, “Relax, McKinnon. All I’m saying is they’d be stupid to replace me.”

“…and why’s that exactly?” 

“I put butts in seats.”

She looked at Marlene and the two burst into laughter, almost spraying pumpkin juice onto the table. 

Sirius face was blank when she caught her breath.

“So you’re saying, that they won’t replace you because you’re their star player?” She choked out.

He nodded, “It also helps that I’m the best looking one on the team.”

Another round of laughter from her and Marlene, this one drawing James’ attention.

“What’s so funny? He asked, watching as the two girls gasped for air. 

“Sirius thinks he’s the heartthrob of the century, said he’s not in danger of being replaced on the team because everyone comes to the matches to see him grace the skies!” She giggled back, Marlene held her sides as she cackled.

James nudged his friend, “None of us are safe mate. I heard rumors that little second year on reserves is stellar with a bat, the quiet one with the curls?”

Sirius scowled, “…the girl?”

“Oi!” She kicked him under the table, “What’s the problem with that?”

He shrugged, “Nothing, there’s just…not many good girl quidditch players. Flannery would be stupid to replace me with—“

“—a girl?” She interjected, eyebrow cocked.

Sirius held her gaze, eyes narrowing, “Anyone.”

The four of them sat in tense silence for a moment, James retreating back to his food. 

Ryan Flannery, the Gryffindor Captain, stood up a few meters down and turned to leave the hall, scarlet team jersey shining bright in a sea of black robes. 

She stood up silently, gathering her things without so much as a word. 

“Where’re you headed?” James looked up.

She tightened the bag strap over her shoulder, “Sign up sheet is being posted.”

“You can’t be serious!” Sirius whinged, mouthful of food, “You can’t even play on our team, what point are you trying to make?”

“I may not be able to take your position, but I can definitely help my house defeat yours, and humble you beyond belief,” shooting him one last glare, she spun on her heel and strode out of the hall. 

———

September 21st, 1974

Fourth year had not started out well for Sirius Black. Not only had one of his best friends ceased speaking to him, but Mary had finally had enough and broken off their relationship after he had forgotten her birthday in lieu of embarking on another prank with the boys. The cherry-on-top of the proverbial bad-luck sundae, was that Mary had begun to spend increasingly more time with his best friend and Marlene, the three of them attached at the hip for the majority of the day, much to Sirius’ misery. 

“You can’t just sit around all day moping,” James tossed a quaffle into the air, sprawled across his bed while Sirius buried himself in a book.

“I’m not moping,” he growled, “I’m studying.”

“We haven’t been back for even a full month yet!” James sat upright, the ball tumbling off the side of the four-poster. 

Sirius ignored his friend, trying to focus on the words written across the page that at the current moment were becoming impossible to read. 

“C’mon,” James appeared at the side of his bed, ripping the book from his hands and placing it on the side table, “take your problems out on a bludger.”

So he did.

Every ounce of emotion he felt was poured into quidditch. He thought of his mother’s sneer as he swung the bat at an oncoming assault; or of Mary, and the way her mouth curled when she called him immature during their breakup. He thought of Reggie passing by in the corridors, looking through him like he didn’t exist. 

Nothing compared to the thoughts of her though. The way her eyes erupted like wildfire the morning she argued with him over the breakfast table, her shoulders set tight as she strode confidently out of the hall. He thought of his first morning back from Christmas break the year prior, how he’d embarrassingly cried to her in the confines of the dormitory. He thought of the color of her hair, strands glowing in the crack of light from his bed curtains, asleep on his shoulder when he woke up hours after begging her to stay; he’d never noticed the faint freckles  on the tops of her cheeks before—

—crack! 

“Easy, Black!” James called, still hunched over from avoiding an overly aggressive hit. 

Sirius shook his head to focus, “Sorry mate, got carried away…”

———

October 12th, 1974

Marlene had been running her ragged ever since the morning she decided to try out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. She had excitedly offered to train her up until the morning of, something that was originally welcomed. After the first week, her body was screaming for it to stop. She could already fly pretty well, it was learning the reflexes and technique of the position that was difficult. Every morning at dawn, Marlene would meet her at the pitch for training. She’d then drag herself to class, every muscle threatening revolt. 

The morning of try-outs had her nervous to the point of nausea. It didn’t help that Gryffindor was also holding their session at the same time at the opposite end of the pitch. Marlene and James met her at the edge of the locker room, eager smiles and confident hugs from both. She didn’t see Sirius until she was in the air, circling the posts to warm up. He was sitting atop his broom across the field, talking to James mid-air about something, hands gesticulating wildly. James caught her looking at shot her a thumbs up, Sirius turned his head to see and immediately set his mouth into a hard line. 

Fuck you, watch this, she thought angrily.

Falling into line with the others, she waited patiently for her name to be called, watching intently at the competition. The Hufflepuff Quidditch team was never great, only having won a handful of championships in their time, they were consistently lack-luster in the aggression department which always ultimately led to their downfall. Luckily for them, she had enough rage coursing through her veins due to Sirius’ casual misogyny to make up for the entire roster’s deficit. 

She’s not sure what happened once the whistle blew, the adrenaline rush caused her to blackout. The sound of the bat cracking against a violent force echoed, paired with the whipping of the passing air. Only fully returning to her body when both feet touched solid ground, she looked around to find a dozen wildly grinning Hufflepuffs, and a blonde Gryffindor beater racing across the pitch cheering. 

Marlene threw an arm around her shoulders, squeezing tightly like a proud mom, “You were brilliant! James stopped midway through a drill so we could watch!” 

She looked down the field towards the practicing Gryffindor team, James and Sirius wearing completely opposite expressions. While the former whooped and cheered, the latter was a statue, eyes wide and mouth agape. 

The Hufflepuff captain jogged over and pulled her attention away, clapping a firm hand on her back, “Right, so,” he chuckled, “this hasn’t happened in recent memory, usually we wait to try out all of the recruits, but I think I speak for the entire team when I say we would love to offer you the open beater position. I don’t think we’ve seen that type of maneuvering…well, ever.” 

She let out an exhausted laugh, smiling over at Marlene who was still draped over her shoulder, “Of course I accept, I’d be honored.” 

Marlene cheered, giving her one last squeeze before sprinting back to her own team. She watched as James leaned over to say something to Sirius, who still remained stoic. He quickly averted his gaze, which had been narrowed on her ever since. 

———

October 12th, 1974

Sirius had been nervous all morning, not because of his own team’s try outs, but because of hers. He knew she was excellent on a broom, but that didn’t do anything to stop the sinking feeling in his stomach every time he thought of her in the air. It was the same feeling that hit him years ago, as he watched her fall just out of reach. He’d never been able to shake it, as ridiculous as it sounded, and now she was going to throw bludgers into the mix? What was she trying to do, kill him?

They still hadn’t spoken since the morning of their fight in the Great Hall, so he kept his distance as James and Marlene wished her good luck just outside the locker room, opting instead to make a beeline for the rest of their team by the goalposts at the far end of the pitch. Mounting his broom, he tried to breathe and retreat into a calmer mindset. James met him in the air, immediately launching into an explanation of some new formation he wanted to try out. In order to not give away the fact that he currently wanted to jump out of his own skin, Sirius tried to match his best friends enthusiasm, adding some flourishes to his idea and pretending like it was the most important discussion in the world. Mid-way through a thought about Seeker training, James drifted off, shooting a thumbs up to the other side of the field. Sirius followed his eyes and saw her hovering near the opposite goalposts. She looked nervous, he could tell by the little furrow between her brows, she did it a lot while studying he’d noticed. The sinking feeling was returning, and he clenched his jaw to relieve some of the sensation, watching as she joined the rest of the yellow and black uniforms. 

Turning to James, he motioned towards their own teammates, “Let’s get started, yeah?”

He tried not to watch her, instead putting every ounce of focus into beating out the new Gryffindor hopefuls. During the 3rd chaser trial, James called a time-out.

Sirius flew over to his friend, slightly bewildered at the sudden stop-in-play, “What’s wrong?”

James shook his head and pointed across the pitch, “She’s up.”

His breathing hitched, and he paused for longer than a moment before spinning around and watching what he could only describe as the most graceful display of a violent position he’d ever seen. 

The bat was truly an extension of her arm, moving effortlessly through the air as she dove and weaved through the others. One back-handed hit almost had him gasping for air, the way she had turned without missing a beat and avoided an almost catastrophic blast from the incoming bludger. It was hypnotizing. 

As the Hufflepuff captain blew the whistle, she began to retreat back towards the ground, and soon Sirius saw Marlene rocketing across the field below to undoubtedly embrace their friend. Beside him, James was pumping his fist in the air, cheering loudly so she could hear. He couldn’t do anything but stare as she smiled at the team captain, saying something that caused Marlene to hug her again before making a return back to their side of the field. His clear inability to speak caught James’ attention, earning him a strong clap on the shoulder.

“You should think about closing your mouth mate,” James whispered in his ear, “people might think you love her or something.” 

[fatherentropy]

I know a lot of you aren't going to read this or care but I needed to get my thoughts about Veilguard out of my head so I can go back to just indulging with it's content without caring anymore so: Veilguard review.

Gonna keep it non-spoilery until it's not then I'll put a big ol warning there for you to swerve outta there if needed.

(warning for 4000+ words) TL;DR:

I think this may become my favorite Dragon Age game to play and I love these characters so much

This is by far one of the worst Bioware games I've ever played

Firstly and to be completely transparent, at the time of writing this I have STILL not been able to get past Lothering in Origins (my computer got worse while i was running a playthrough.). DAII was my first Dragon Age game and is my favorite of the series. Inquisition is pretty good, much better imo after some DLCs were added and it feels more like the full on epic it deserved to be I think. At the end of the day, I am a Mass Effect fan first and a Dragon Age fan sometimes. I'm also not terribly versed in every single development problem Veilguard has gone through except for the unfortunate canning of important developers and some notes from articles I spied.

So, you know, keep that in mind.

I!! wanted to start this by talking about the things I loved in the game. Because I do in fact love this game. It's just that the love gets tangled up in the things that are disappointing because I can see the big picture and see how much better it could have been and it gets wrapped up in one big ball of-not to be overly dramatic-kind of hurt? Thus me needing to talk about it so I can get back to just loving the thing and hopefully not being haunted by my regrets like it's Christmas Eve and I'm a wealthy businessman with questionable practices.

The story is pretty great and fun if you don't think about it too much but Dragon Age fans think about these sort of things a lot and if you put a little scrutiny on some of these things it's gets kinda ???? Funky.

It feels like a lot of the heavy lifting for why anybody is willing to work with you is done by Varric in whatever he was doing the past 10 years which you aren't really told. Except in half a dozen comics and books I frankly don't have the money for and should be bonus material instead of things-you-need-in-order-to-know-what's-up. Kind of spiel.

I also think a major pain point is the neigh absolute lack of contention in most areas of the game outside the bad-vs-good guy shit (and Solas) and the lack of any meaningful choice really did shoot the game in the foot. Now I do understand that choice in particular was a thing that was eventually going to get hit. There were just too many big world wide decisions you've made in the past couple of games and that shit gets kind of hard to keep track of. However, there were choices made in Veilguard that is made for the longevity of the series while also salting the earth and it severely undercut the narrative.

I think one of the things people love and adore about the series is the choices you make. Many of these aren't even about having a hold over the narrative but having a place in it. It's been a minute since I've played it, but I think even DAII has several choices that literally have no baring on anything but netting gains or loses on companions and just choose what kind of menace you're going to be. It's fun! I don't need them to be big. Maybe just if I refuse the reward or push for bigger rewards or yadda yadda yadda. It's the little things! You cannot get rid of these things entirely but boy howdy did they ever try.

I also have gripes about the choices they make you make but I can't bitch about that without spoilers so... LATER.

I wanted to talk about the lack of contention first but realistically it combos in with the choice thing so here we are talking about it after but there is just no political or social nuance in this game at all except for maybe exactly only Solas. After playing the first three games (or playing the last two and reading about Origins like me) you kinda get the impression that Northern Thedas is actually mostly fine except a little inequality and the Venatori and maaaybe the Antaam but mostly everyone's friendly and the South is just REALLY fucking violent about everything for no reason.

With the reputation grind and the narrative's insistence that you hAVE to strengthen your allies and friends this would have been kind of a great time to have quests about winning them more strength by actually kind of doing important shit? Like maybe having to make decisions about whether or not to convince factions to accept help from shady persons or forgo it knowing you'll be weaker but maintaining the faction's ethos. Maybe some negotiations between greater nevarran Mortalitasi politics and why they should let the Mourn Watch concern themselves with shit outside the Necropolis? In fighting between in-faction groups that feel one way or another about choices you've made. It all ends with them helping you in the end, just maybe not as strong or stronger but what we get is kind of some bare bones sidequests that don't always feel connected to the faction you're helping or... important?

Which I don't think I'd have a problem with if there were more of them that gave greater scope to the world but that's also not really a thing. Tbf, there's no reason to have them. You're only grinding to 50 and faction reputation and you probably wouldn't want to do all the sidquests in Inquisition to get there. I just want to have ones that matter, give more shape to the world and aren't hunt-monsters-that-aren't-even-in-this-faction's-jurisdiction. (game that simultaneously made me fall in love with Nevarra while giving me fuck all about it outside Emmrich's quests)

I think it should be noted that this is the first time we are seeing some of these people as not enemies or illusive factions from abroad.

I need you to know this is my third draft of this document and I keep having to leave and come back because I just have a lot of thoughts. So to start off with, I have to reiterate that I am a Mass Effect fan first and a Dragon Age fan sometimes. I can see Mass Effect's influence all over the game and as a Mass Effect fan I have to say: I am... upset. Which is a thing I have been planning to write about since the beginning of trying to write this document but today's dev AMA confirmed that this was supposed to be a "Love letter to Mass Effect 2" and I am no longer upset! I am LIVID.

To recap for those of you who don't care about Mass Effect but are reading this for some reason: Mass Effect 2 has one of the worst main stories in the entire series. Nothing you do actually matters in the long run because ME3 undoes all your work and everything set up for you at the beginning of ME2 you destroy yourself by the end.

Most people regard it as one of the better if not the best game in the series.

This is because the characters are fucking phenomenal and make up 90% of the game so you know this journey is about THEM who gives a shit if your mission is whatever, it's about the satisfaction of winning their loyalty, making sure they're a team so you can focus on being Big Goddamn Heroes at the end (or fucking it up and watching a few or all of them die).

This is the game that made me paranoid about doing all sidequests as soon as I got them because *I* managed to get all my companions to live BUT at the cost of my ship crew dying which I did not know was a thing that could happen and your medic's traumatized lines "I watched them die. they were processed ─ rendered down into some kind of raw genetic paste ─ and pumped through these tubes." haunts me forever. (partly because I listen to the death whispers from ME3 to feel something but nevertheless, the delivery? raw)

This may sound familiar to you if you've played Veilguard because they... tried but there's just a fundamental misunderstanding of how ME2 impacted it's players and how players impacted the world in ME2 that made it feel the way you were supposed to despite the plot being silly.

This brings me back to the lack of conflict which especially fucks over your companions and your relation to them. Yes there's like one kind of weird conflict between Davrin and Lucanis while they're going through shit and yeah Taash and Emmrich have a situation briefly but there's nowhere near the heat there has been in past games. One of your crew in DA2 will straight up tell another one that he is sad her mother died for her not because it's sad but because she's not worth dying for. And that's the game regarded as having the best found family dynamic in DA and probably a better comparison to ME2 in the regard of fighting to keep your crew together.

In ME2, what you do matters and the order you do things matter. Mass Effect has a Paragon/Renegade system which are ways you can change a scene IF you've accrued enough points in being more diplomatic or more points in being a complete asshole. Some of your companions are diametrically opposed to one another and the minute you complete both their loyalty they WILL come into confrontation and if you don't have a sufficient enough paragon or renegade score to get the appropriate response either then or after you WILL lose one of them. If you dedicate yourself to Paragon or Renegade or the other it's easy enough to get the points but if you're trying to get an optimal playthrough, doing solely paragon or renegade isn't always the best way to go.

I'm not saying I want some of your companions to hate each other. I enjoy the friendships they've developed but the moment Rook said something like "We're a family" I cringed because I realized what was happening because they just weren't putting the work in to make that believable to me. People are messy and the stakes in DAV are the biggest they've ever been so our crew should be at their worst and there is material for contention THERE but what we get the Disney Channel version of it where they almost immediately makeup and you're really not apart of it.

One of the confrontations in ME2 pits an Alien girl who's people were forced off their home planet by the own synthetic life they created and have suffered severe biological and cultural degradation because of it and one of said creations who's rebellion for autonomy caused that. The next game, they come back and if you don't (or can't which is an important distinction in it's possibility) use their work as a catalyst for peace but choose one people over the other they both express regret for the loss of the other's people despite the contention between them and stringent desire to save their own people. The kind of orchestration required to pull off peace and this dynamic feels earned and heart wrenching and that is the level of story telling old fans of Bioware expect from it's games.

The 3rd Mass Effect game was largely disliked despite the complexity of choices that intertwined and character dynamics. It was very obvious the ending didn't match up with the narrative spun by the rest of the game and was changed last minute from another which probably would have been liked less but the choice was too big and landed the series in hot water which lead them to try and do a complete divorce from the series with Andromeda which was also largely disliked because it was just a weird jump with a very weak story. I didn't actually mind it. It had no lasting impression on me so I can't tell you exactly what happens in that game but I didn't mind the leap conceptually because I understood they did back themselves into a corner with the last decision made in ME3.

So I sit here looking at Veilguard NOT disgruntled by the prospect of change. Change is usually good and made in order for the greater prosperity of the series. The problems in Veilguard isn't simple change but the lack of care that resulted in a lesser product over all. DA2 suffered in a similar respect with it's over use of previous assets in a repeated and monotonous level design and the fact some fans felt that it didn't successfully break away from feeling like a glorified DLC to Origins. But the storytelling is still done in a way that it lives rent free in many people's minds. It's not an epic, it is a story about some shlub and their crew of messy nobodies who try vainly to protect the city they all live from increasing social pressures of the world which boils over and consumes all of them no matter what you do.

ME2 is about a soldier who is forced to work with a human supremacy agency because they are the only ones that are taking a new threat seriously so without support from the usual greater forces, you seek out specialists and old friends to go on what is quite literally called a suicide mission.

Veilguard is a direct continuance of Inquisition where some random agent is made the herald of a revived religious movement that leaps up around them after an accident only to find out that one of your friends is directly responsible for that and going off to put the world in even greater danger.

Veilguard wants the found family in DA2 to fight a threat even greater than Inquisitions while honoring ME2 (badly) but also there are a bunch of disjointed small focused factions that are helping you and while I think this could have worked and been quite possibly one of the best Bioware games of all time, the ghost of its would be greatness haunts the narrative buried under the bones of development issues and missteps which just makes it hurt in a very not good way.

I don't think old fans who complain about Veilguard are upset it's not the same as what they were expecting but, to go back to my scrooge analogy, we're haunted by ghosts of Bioware past that laid the groundwork for what to expect, and the ghost of Bioware present which is incomplete and the future which can only really get worse under the capitalistic pressures that have long run the video game industry in the ground in the name of greater profits over quality. The only people producing good games at a reasonable price are indie developers who aren't really trying to produce a game with the scope that Bioware games have typically provided.

I'm sitting here and thinking my main take away from this is that I simply don't care about the new Mass Effect game Veilguard is getting abandoned for to produce. If this was supposed to be a love letter to ME2 then it just showed a fundamental inability to create Mass Effect games that would honor it's predecessors while bringing it into the new age and if it somehow manages to be good it's just another slight to Dragon Age fans and the fumbled production of Veilguard. I don't want to see Ryder or Shepard or another N7 specter at this point. I want to see Rook and their crew in a game where I feel okay leaving them in there because DA has a very specific need to abandon it's old protags and I'm not okay with that this time! I don't feel good about where any of them were left and the state of the world!

SPOILER WARNING! I'M NOT HOLDING BACK ANYMORE. GOING ON HERE'S YOU'RE WARNING.

(don't ask me about the image, it was there. it's big, has the vibes. She was iconic for that.)

POV: You are me. Your controller has some slight drift so the little laser beam managed to slip from the target and you're trying to figure out how the fuck you messed up the puzzle because there's no way to get to an island and this is how you accidentally spoil yourself that there's a secret ending and you're about to get a part of it.

Then like the genius I am I googled it again to try and figure out how to get it, skim read something that makes you think they based this off of ME2's model and go oh! Okay. I should look up optimal assignments so nobody dies.

Then I find out Davrin or Harding dies no matter what depending on you choose to lead the distraction team and you just have to stare at a wall for awhile because that is NOT Mass Effect 2 where everyone can absolutely live if you do everything right. That is Mass Effect 1, Virmire come to haunt me again.

I need you to know when I got to Mythal it's almost the earliest you could get to her give or take a side mission because I'm bad at combat and those fuckin' ogres were kicking my ass. So when Rook drops the "We're a family" line while taking to Mythal I had to once again stare at a wall because I already spoiled this for me and I was going "what the fuck are you serious? This is what we're doing?"

I'm telling this to you because I need you to know after I figured all this out I was turning over the plot while going through it looking for one specific thing and that's the narrative that would have supported the kind of storytelling that would have gained the right to kill off one of your companions. (the wording on that was labored but I really needed to say all of that like that because I meant it like that.) It just is not there. Or at least not in a way where it feels like the inclusion of that actually added ANYTHING to the narrative and honestly reading interviews under headlines that say shit like "Devs know that you had no problem leaving stroud in the fade 🤭 and made sure they were gonna hurt you this time" feels like it was literally just thrown in for shock factor rather than a conscious effort to create a compelling story and I'm just not here for that kind of garbage.

Like, I need you to understand I straight up had to save mid mission to kill Ghilan'nain and leave in order to leave and watch the last part of Arcane. I came back and immediately rolled into the fight with her and the bit where you're trapped in the fade and yeah I cried but I was feeling ever so fucking JARRED by the difference of satisfying tragedy I felt at the end of Arcane to that stupid ass bullshit in Veilguard.

And the fact this is a wind up to reveal Varric is dead is just further insulting to all three of these characters. Two returning characters and one new character who, and I hate to be this guy but I haven't seen ppl point this out and as guy who's played a lot of Bioware games, is black. Which, Bioware has historically been REALLY FUCKING WEIRD with it's black companions. (No, I have not forgiven for the shit they pulled on Jacob Taylor and I shan't ever I don't think considering they pulled this.)

I don't mind that they killed Varric. That one I picked up on almost immediately from the hints they were putting down and I was waiting for more hints and shit but the longer it went on I realized the game wasn't even interested in setting up a pretense of giving him and his fans a satisfying ending and goodbye. This man has been here since DAII. There's not enough lingering around his memory because he's competing with whoever else died.

Frankly Rook's connection to him has to be kind of made up by the player because they don't really set up anything for you except you've been traveling with him for almost a year and he's just an amicable guy which also just kind of has to lay on the laurels of having to have known him. I love the cold opening into Minrathus, it's very cool but I feel like THIS would have been the game to go back to it's roots and have a personalized opening to each Rook's origin to establish both a connection to Rook, Rook's place in the world and their connection to Varric and Harding and just had you kind of live with Varric as a leader for a hot goddamn minute making the transition of power feel more natural and not forced. It's weird.

But then the player just doesn't feel like they mattered to the greater story actually. Not as Rook and not as Inquisitor. Not that Rook is a bad character, just weirdly hooked into the plot. Gods forbid your Inquisitor wasn't romantically involved with baldie then they're only role is to tell you every choice you've ever made doesn't matter anymore because Southern Thedas got wiped the fuck out.

I know everyone and their mothers have been kinda leering at Taash's companion quests and like yeah they're not great. Neither is like the Rivain. Like not the map tbc, I love that map and all the maps actually. Down with empty open worlds, long live intentional map design with fun puzzles makes my brain go brrr. Kissing guy who made those on the mouth. At least I think the maps are built around the needs of the script and not the other way around unless problems arise in making the stage (which happens) because that'd be kinda silly. It's just our glimpse of Rivain is around a Grey Warden keep with some chasind stuff and Antaam. All of Rivain is kind of just not about Rivain and it annoys me deeply like where the fuck is the people who aren't Lords of Fortune. I don't even know what the culture is supposed to be inspired by besides like orientalism I guess.

ALSO I need everyone to know I had JUST got done ranting about one reoccurring trope with biracial/bicultured people in another game only to turn around and run directly into Taash's dumbass choice about making them pick between their cultures.

THAT IS NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS.

I'm a Filipino German American and I look Asian so I have to fight to be German American because that's what I fucking am no matter what anybody expects from me from my face. Meanwhile my Pinoy roots were stolen from me by a woman who came to the states with the idea that her kids would be American but that just ain't the way the world works when you're not white passing. You cannot run and "choose" the other culture. You will forever be expected to be what you aren't because you look and there's not a lot to do about that brokeness inside you but try and come to terms with it and embrace all that you are anyway.

I also just find using modern day identity labels to be boring and lazy world building for a fantasy world. Even modern day LGBTQIA+ folks can't agree on what to call our shit and we're so very messy about everything and we have been here for so very goddamn long and have had many different names. That's just a bit of a pet peeve, I'll admit.

I think the crowning moment of Taash's quest their mother's moment when she declared Taash's strengths before sacrificing herself for her and Taash's grieving over her passing but I'm also gonna attribute that last bit more to Taash's VA doing good work.

Think the weakest quests for me otherwise were actually Bellara's? Not that it's bad conceptually. Just that it feels like duct taped together oddly where I kind of lost track of the emotions and logic in any given scene. Like over all I got yeah turning people into demons bad but we go from 0 to 100 real goddamn quick and I just felt left behind. Just confusing. Like it's fine, but confusing.

Kal-Sharok should have been it's own faction and I will die on that hill. Dwarves have gotten the short end of the stick for SO long and they finally have a fairly comparable moment in the story and it's just nothin'. BYULLLShit

You know I haven't really cared for Solas. I think I was on copium for a bit during Inquisition because my friends liked him so I was like "yeah I like this guy" but nah, I've kind of considered him a poor man's Ascian after playing Shadowbringers (sorry) but they really leaned into making him kind of a fucked up dude in Veilguard and I do enjoy him a lot more. But also the Rook/Solas dynamic is so much more messier than Lavellan/Solas dynamic. I feel like it was a loss to not have a meaner romance path there if you weren't a Solavellan. Guys who are dragging each other down to hold the other accountable by the throat.

NGL I think I kinda hate endings where it's like "and the bad guys lost and everyone who lived were happy :)" endings like man I wanna know what they're all up to now so I can be sure they're good. That's probably a me thing but it does put me on Copium that they'll drag Rook and co back out to do more with them but I know I'm asking for too much. I am in pain.

I'm descending into less concentrated rambling now I think I just!! Love the game but like I want it to be good and it's not and that hurts me a lot and I'm afraid what corporate will take from this because it's never the lesson they should because everything is all numbers.

EDIT: oml I forgot the line I tied to complaints I'd have later about choices they make you make. Like it was largely about Taash but also like Neve where the Thread guy is like "yeah we're gonna help you for this" like isn't that why we're here? Why am I getting a say in this? Why is this the place I'm suddenly putting my foot down? Why don't I get to ask Neve for her opinion before I just become the most annoying person in the world about this like ayo? WEIRD

Lucanis, Davrin and Bellara at least straight up ask you for your opinion and Harding, Emmrich and Taash obvs need some help even if they don't explicitely ask for it and this one for Neve isn't even the BIG choice it's just a dialogue choice that can lock you out of being able to make the choice which is kind of cool because it's about the only way to shoot yourself in the foot with any of the companions which I'd like if it just didn't just kind of come from nowhere. It's like Rook suddenly remembered they're a person who has opinions in the middle of a conversation and it's just OK. anyway

[dailytomlinson]

joshuahalling: 2023 sort of feels like a wild blur. 2022 and the first @louist91 world tour was an absolute rollercoaster that grew so big and so fast for a lot of us that with the ‘Faith in the Future’ world tour following it up sharply in 2023, it just felt like an extension of the chaos and we only really fully stopped back to back tours just now leading up to this christmas! In between all of that mayhem though, I was honoured and massively baffled to have been nominated for @iheartradio favourite photographer last year, just being nominated was amazing but to spend a few days in LA seeing old friends, creating new ones and attending the event at the Dolby Theatre made it really a once in a lifetime thing for a photographer from Cornwall who feels like he’s been winging it for 10 years now… so it’s very bloody surreal today to have been nominated for a 2nd year in a row! This is all with serious thanks to the legend @louist91, his team for trusting me on the visuals for these tours, our phenomenal road crew who make these shows so amazing to shoot and honestly the most passionate and supportive fanbase Louis has created around him who are the reason this whole thing is even a thing. A double bonus is that ‘All Of These Voices’ is also nominated for best film which I was fortunate to film some bits alongside @charlielightening so definitely a big celebration. anyway this is all a massive ramble, basically… It’s a little different to last year, votes are now strictly on the iHearts website which i’ll have in stories/etc. and quite restrictive to certain areas of the world unfortunately but there are ways around that. Each person can vote once per day from today till March 25th! And last but not least, just wanted to say i’m surrounded by some insane talent and peers I look up to in this realm so please make sure you check out all their work during this process! So thank you @iheartradio for creating this category once again.

[consumeroflemoans]

Trick or Treat- HA! Joke's on you, I'm egging your blog, I'm throwing toilet paper at it

I'm spray painting your inbox

With Vilidia

This was brought up like ages ago, but let's overlook that because it fits with halloween

So, Vampire Vil x Nightmare Before Christmas Idia

I do have to disclose I haven't watched the event so I don't know what happens in it which in turn means there's not going to be anything specific to it here, mostly I just imagine him wearing the suit and call it a day

Vil lives mildly close to civilisation and comes out to find some food, occasionally also just for the fuck of it, just strolling through the village at night while people give the noble man that's lived here for longer than some people's parents distrustful looks as he shoots back a smile that looks less like a greeting and more like a promise that you'll lose a significant amount of blood soon

Realistically I would assume he would move every now and then or dissapear for stretches of time, just enough for no one to comfirm immortality, but still enough to be a bit suspicious

Or maybe it's just that not enough people end up talking to Vil for him to become more than a phantom of a supposed citizen, a resident of a house that he belongs to more than it belongs to him in the mind of the people, at least not enough people who would be able to tell anyone else after they have talked

So as fate and also me would have it in the search of said food, he hears whispers hush through the branches and at this time of night there's rarely a face to be seen that so willingly puts itself under the moonlight, in a secluded area at that, so he ventures out a bit, ventures out too far, an oversight like he would normally never let himself commit because Vil is knows better than to wander off into the forest shortly before dawn breaks, yet there he is, dreading sunrise like some kind of amateur

The treck back to his house is a dreadfully long one, one that he knows he won't make so his best chance is to search for some kind of shade now, he'd rather not stay in a cave but when the choices are between that and his own demise it's acceptable for the day, when you've gone through such lengths to preserve yourself for years upon years your efforts should not, cannot be wasted by refusing to get near dust

But worry not, his clothes are spared when he finds, in the middle of the forest behind some hills, perhaps about seven of them, a very small village just down a hill with a big manor placed right in the middle, were his eyes not as sharp and honed, he could almost have missed it with how dark and dreary it looks, not a light anywhere in sight

So he walks into it, through the streets, as much as the village looks empty there are sounds to be heard from the houses

He goes for the manor, it doesn't seem to house that many people and it's much easier to fade into the background in a building that big

He enters and it seems like he was right about it not housing many people, in fact it seems like it's housing absolutely no one at all, unfortunate for his hunger, but convenient in terms of not being discovered

He walks through the halls, through a ballroom, a dining room, a library, past paintings and curtains and into a bedroom, drawing everything close to block out the first rays of the sun he lays down to sleep

When he wakes there's someone standing at the foot of the bed, staring at him and looking oh so nervous

Before Vil can act and spring into action, said person speaks, and Idia meekly introduces himself to Vil and the story

Instead of biting him to death Vil does the same

What happens now is that Vil stays, he still hasn't managed to feed himself, the rough plan is "suck Idia dry", I'm incapable of writing those words with a straight face, since it seems he's living alone and doesn't leave the manor at all so he won't be all that missed

But from their first interaction on Vil has been set on doing this with finesse, he's not even quite sure where this desire came from, but it's there

He doesn't want to drag Idia by his hair until his teeth are at his neck and then have him bleed out in his mouth, realistically Idia can't do all that much against being eaten if he just decided to kill him right there, he's obviously not that strong, but Vil wants him to let him close, he wants Idia to let down his guard until Vil can just lean forward and puncture an artery like it's nothing, it feels like a job that calls for more subtlety even against every instinct screaming that he should eat right now before he starts to wither

There's something enjoyable about putting on a performance anyway, before becoming a full time leech he was an actor after all

I'd imagine these two are related anyway, one resulted from the other

Vil's desire to be beautiful or perfect being the catalyst of a search into magic, knowledge and power that leaked into the world during the ancient times, in the face of the, for him, dreadful process of aging, conquering death and the deterioration associated with it

He's not an actor right now because it was becoming a little suspicious, but in a century he's planning to get back on the stage

Which makes this a new level of odd because nothing Vil has come to fear more than that, a live dedicated to the preservation of his perfection makes anything perceived a failing quite a bit more horrifying and he's quite too old to play with his food

Somehow this does not stop him, everything is screaming at him to just eat now, but somehow he does not, this interaction is running on time for himAt first Vil would only randomly run into Idia, who seemed all to eager to leave whatever room he was in when Vil enters, but they end up doing some more talking, somehow Idia seems to literally dissapear off the face of the earth when he retires for the night which means Vil can't even sneak into a room or something, no matter where he searches Idia is simply gone when he looks

So forced by Vil's own refusal to do this without style, they get to know each other as Vil's desire for consumption grows so in the basest of descriptions their interactions look like this:

"While my brother still lived here, we used to play a lot of games, I beat him most of the time, wasn't very good at ephedrismos though."

"Hm, fascinating." (I Want To Drink Your Blood So Bad Right Now)

Idia shows him a few things around the manor, points out old worn down marble busts that he says depict his family members, shows him a very nice ornate box he keeps in the house because it's a family heirloom and talks to him about little gadgets and tools he made

Vil lies about still being a famous actor because Idia doesn't go out enough to know something like that and tells him about his passion and love for the craft

Which he still needs to stay alive to do again and it's getting a little close with that one

Vil also actually bothers to go outside a few times and search for someone else in order to not starve, but it's really weird because somehow he sees people walking outside through the window during the day when he manages to peek past the curtains, there's an odd array of clothing, some don't quite fit with what others are wearing, though it's hard to make out details, but whenever he breaks into any houses there's simply no one in them and any people he follows walk past a corner and they're gone

So while Idia and Vil get closer, the latter keeps getting hungrier and somehow the idea of killing Idia via edible blood loss gets more and less appealing at the same time

And by now Vil actually feels like he's starving, desperation, fear and hunger and one morning when Idia comes out to greet him in the morning he pins him down and bites him

There is no blood So, the village is dead, every person seen living there is a mirage, a reflection of someone who once was actually here, standing in the same places, wandering the same streets they did when they were alive

In a nod to the myth of Pandora and very slightly inspired by one of my favourite games, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box which actually was translated to Pandora's Box in german, the family heirloom in Idia's house was essentially given to them with strict orders of it never ever being opened and when it was his turn he failed, it got opened, everyone around died and was cursed to remain projection forever stuck where they are, Idia eternally stuck the protector of a dead piece of land and a box already opened, also the event that caused magic to leak into the world

There were some attempts to rebuild in the past which is why the village doesn't look as ancient as it should, people went in and built new buildings, brought new clothes, tried again and failed again

I'd conclude it with Vil dying and Idia looking at him with profound sadness in his eyes

Sorry for being late with this, I was planning to send this in sooner, but I fell asleep 👍

Hope you have a good Halloween

-Leuchtturm

HI I LITERALLY TYPED OUT A WHOLE ESSAY IN RESPONSE TO THIS BUT TUMBLR DECIDED TO DELETE IT

This absolutely destroyed me I’m going insane

Ok ok I’ll try to summarize the points I made but I don’t remember them all

1. Is Vamp Vil anything like Twst Vil in the sense that he’s always had to play the villain? If so I bet he had a mental breakdown when he realized he’ll have to harm others for his own survival. Maybe he even starved himself at first until he accepted he had to eat

2. Absolutely cannot take ‘suck Idia dry’ and ‘pulling on his hair until he can sink his teeth into his neck’ seriously. Babygirl that is literally just foreplay

3. VIL YOU ICON. ‘Yeah I want to suck the life out of this man but I want to do it with style. I have STANDARDS’ I love that so much

4. Obsessed with the metaphorical implications of Vil getting hungrier the closer he grows to Idia but also more reluctant to act on that hunger. Man is literally starving to death but he cares about Idia too much to try anything

5. Obsessed with the lore for this place. It being a mix of the story of Pandora’s box and just the vibes of this place turning into a literal ghost town all because of Idia mmmgmgm yummy

6. ABSOLUTELY FOUL ENDING 10/10 I WANT TO CRY. I desperately want a happy ending for them but neither of them deserve that happy ending. Vil vanishes from existence and becomes a simple episode of companionship in Idia’s everlasting undeath. Perhaps in a different circumstance they could have become closer, but not in this universe. Also I think it would be really fun if Vil became one of those fleeting shadows of people, taunting Idia from afar in his death.

I am so unwell thank you so much

[servants-hall]

All Creatures Great and Small producer Yvonne Francas gives an inside track on the Christmas episode

All Creatures Great and Small is heading back to our screens for a Christmas special, which is due to be full of seasonal joy and high emotion.

"It’s a journey of love, kindness, and warmth," reveals the show’s producer Yvonne Francas, as What to Watch catches up with her for an exclusive chat to get a sneak preview of the upcoming episode, airing on Channel 5 on Thursday 21 December at 9 pm. It will air on PBS Masterpiece in the New Year after the fourth season.

Set at Yuletide 1940, it sees caring vet James (Nicholas Ralph) spending the festivities away from both Skeldale House and his heavily pregnant wife Helen (Rachel Shenton) as he is training with the RAF.

Here, Yvonne Francas spills the beans on the All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special…

All Creatures Great and Small’s Christmas episodes are always a delight. Is there a pressure to produce something that's heartwarming for the show’s fans? “Yes, we want to deliver something special. It took 12 to 14 days to film and a couple of months to prepare. It's a pressure but a lovely one to have, because I’ve not worked on another show that’s as loved by its audience.”

How would you sum up this episode? “It's about the absence of people, because James and Tristan [his fellow vet played by Callum Woodhouse] are away at war and everyone is missing them. But it’s also about community and family coming together. There’s romance and joy, and wonderful animal stories! We even have a fight over who’ll be Father Christmas – Siegfried [Samuel West] doesn’t want that position!"

How is James feeling about being apart from Helen for Christmas? “James would love to be with Helen, but he's having to accept what serving means, because the people he is with are in the same boat and desperate to get home but they're not allowed…”

And Helen is heavily pregnant now. What has it been like for Rachel to wear the prosthetic bumps? “We’ve used several prosthetic bumps for Helen in this series and Rachel had an advisor, who used to be a midwife. But Rachel’s amazing and completely gets it!”

We hear the RAF base has an avian mascot that James needs to treat. Is there anything you can reveal about that? “Yes, the men need their mascot to be fit, as it gives them confidence to do their job. We chose a bird, because it echoes the RAF wings. It’s beautiful and we sent Nick for training to familiarise himself with handling it.

“We also have our regular animals at Christmas like Jess and Dash [Skeldale House’s dogs], Tricki-Woo [Mrs Pumphrey’s beloved pooch] and Oscar the cat. Humbug, who plays Oscar, loves being cuddled! We have another dog too, who isn’t friendly, and Carmody [James Anthony-Rose] deals with that…”

What was it like filming the airbase scenes at the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, near York? “It’s so authentic. We brought in a Nissen hut and located three planes that still exist that would have flown to train airmen at the time and they flew around for us. I sat in one and you do feel exposed to the elements.

“For the RAF costumes, we used a costumier and also sourced some through our military advisor Taff Gillingham. Nick enjoyed wearing his, it gave him a different demeanour. He looks the part. In one scene, he had to run in the uniform, overcoat and hat and he never complained, even though it was June!”

Was it tough keeping everybody cool when you were filming? “We had around 115 supporting artistes throughout the Christmas episode, with many in coats and scarves for the party. As it was summer, when we were outside, we had shaded areas and cold drinks and Melissa Gallant, the executive producer, brought ice lollies! Then, in the studio, fans were on and doors were open when we weren’t shooting.”

And what can you tell us about the Christmas community dinner that kindly housekeeper Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley) organises in The Drovers Arms? “The war affects what they can provide, although Mrs Hall finds an ally who puts their hands on more food and it’s a wonderful spread. Our art department researched what they’d have been able to get hold of and Bethany Heald, our home economist, created some amazing food.”

How hard has it been to recreate a wartime Christmas? “The art department did research online and in books and magazines. We have paper angels and crepe paper banners because people made their own decorations then and our production base is opposite a Christmas tree farm, so we chose lovely trees.

“There’s a big one in Darrowby’s square and the special effects people created fake snow, which they sieved onto the ground, and they used foam when it needed to come out of the sky, which was supplemented with online visual effects. With roaring fires and carols too, the episode does feel Christmassy!”

The Christmas special of All Creatures Great and Small airs on Thursday December 21 at 9pm on Channel 5 and it will also be available on My5. It will air on PBS Masterpiece early next year.

[brickcentral]

TIPS: Shooting Lego Sets Interiors: Christmas

Hi community! For the final week I'm going to give some tips onto how to shoot Christmas sets. I'm using this time the Gingerbread House (10267) and Santa's Visit (10293).

Christmas asks for warmth. It needs candles, and fireplaces, and sweets. So LED into candles and the chimney are key for these images. Small LEDs with a bit of haze from the face mister will give a soft glow around the lights.

It's also time for sharing and family, preparing for a big event. These are all ideas to use in the story you want to tell. You can even add silly details, like pigs in the house.

But just because these are Christmas themes does not mean you cannot use it for other scenes. There are places and corners that you can use to tell other stories, like the little girls room the day after Christmas building her new toy.

Because that corner does not have a full wall, I took some of the pieces from other parts of the house and add them in that area to fill in with the same tones as the rest of the house.

For the editing I have emphasized the warmth and the softness on both images, and I have increased the vibrance to add a colour pop.

In the little girl photograph I reduced the highlights of the LED and window light to not overpower the rest of the image. I have also used a healing tool to reduce the reflections on the little girl's face, which I couldn't avoid with the front window light.

And this is all! I hope you all learn useful tricks and tips for shooting some of the most popular Lego set types.

@taskera

[kmsml]

[Cover] My Third Chapter, Actor Park Seoham

Recently, together with fellow actors Shin Eunsoo and Yang Byungyeol, who are from the same agency, went on a trip to Australia. The reason behind your trip together was.

= Among the contents on the agency's YouTube channel, there is a program called <Nemo Travel>. It was part of that, and it was a time where actors and staff could share many stories and get closer. It was my first time in Australia, and I was surprised by how vast it was compared to what I had expected. The emerald sea stretched endlessly, it was truly a beautiful place.

You often post landscape photos, it seems you enjoy seeing natural scenery.

= I do. (Laughs) I like just seeing landscapes without any subjects framed in the shot.

I saw on social media that you watched "Home Alone" on the plane to Australia. Do you have a special affection for this movie?

= Watching "Home Alone" brings warmth to my heart because of its unique Christmas atmosphere. I'm trying to watch more dramas and movies than before. Recently, I rewatched "My Sassy Girl," and senior actor Ryu Seungsoo appeared with such a youthful look. Being able to consistently record the changes is truly a blessing of being an actor.

Singer's Dream, Actor's Dream

After interviewing with in 2022, two years have passed. What changes have you noticed?

= Many things have changed. First of all, I now have an agency, so I feel a sense of stability in various ways, and I'm grateful for the current situation. Of course, going to the set without a company while filming "Semantic Error" was a big life lesson for me. When will I ever again have to prepare costumes and organize the daily shooting schedule all by myself? And two years ago, during the interview, I was worried about turning thirty. It felt like my world was going to collapse, but now I don't have such worries anymore. Instead of being hung up on age, I've grown a desire to do better in the future.

After receiving a lot of attention for "Semantic Error," you immediately experienced a hiatus. Were you disappointed or anxious?

= I'm human too, so if I said I wasn't disappointed or anxious, it would be a lie. When "Semantic Error" was released, it was the first time I experienced such great interest and love during my career. It was disappointing and saddening to have a hiatus before fully realizing it. However, I suddenly thought that perhaps it was a chance given from above to take more time for reassessment. There were still many areas where I lacked, so even if I had been lucky enough to immediately enter another project at that time, I don't think I would have done well. Instead, I'm grateful for having the time to reflect on myself while catching my breath. Just having regrets won't accomplish anything. I'll continue to do what I can with gratitude for the love I receive.

This year marks 8th year since debut. Despite spending a long time on stage and meeting many people, you were actually a quiet student during your school days.

= Back then, I was even more timid, so I really went to school quietly. My mother used to say, "You didn't go through adolescence," because I was so quiet. I jokingly said to fans during a live broadcast on social media, "I would feel so unjust if people said I was a delinquent because I was such a good student." But then, when fans posted my graduation photo, they said, "No one thinks like that." (Laughs) I was a student who didn't even know how to dress up to that extent.

How did a quiet student who wasn't interested in being stylish end up dreaming of becoming a singer?

= Among my close friends, there was someone who wanted to become a singer. I accompanied them to a public audition, and there I received an audition offer myself and began my journey as an idol trainee. Living with trainee friends and practicing dance and singing became enjoyable, just like going on a school trip. As I received monthly evaluations, I developed a desire to improve gradually. It was during my senior year of high school, when I started my trainee life, that I first began to have a dream. Before that, I didn't have any aspirations for the future. I couldn't give up on a dream that arose after nearly 20 years, so even though my debut was postponed, I persevered and eventually stood on stage.

You have been balancing acting alongside your idol career since your idol days. Did you start thinking about acting around the same time you wanted to act?

= At first, I didn't have that thought. Being recognized as an idol was my priority. Whenever I was a trainee, I always heard, "You're more like a model than an idol." I thought to myself, "Where does that even come from?" Out of frustration, I didn't even consider other paths. So when the opportunity came to audition for the drama <20th Century Boy and Girl>, I approached it comfortably without feeling burdened, and the production team seemed to appreciate that aspect of me.

The drama <20th Century Boy and Girl> is your debut work as an actor. It must have been a completely different feeling to stand alone in front of the camera as an actor, having previously only been involved in group activities.

= I had to handle everything on my own and take full responsibility for it. I was afraid because I had nowhere to rely on. That's when I realized that acting was a difficult task.

In "20th Century Boy and Girl," you made a brief appearance as the child Anthony (played by Lee Sangwoo), whereas in the web drama "Just One Bite" Season 2, you took on the main role of Joo Wookyung and delved into acting more earnestly.

= It was the first time I had spoken so many lines. The actor who played Joo Wookyung in Season 1 had to leave due to personal reasons, and I stepped into that role. Considering that viewers might already find me unfamiliar, I felt a pressure to ensure that I wouldn't become a burden to the production. I didn't even receive proper acting lessons and practiced alone, so I didn't know what I was doing wrong. However, after completing that project somehow, I gained more ambition and courage to do better.

Afterward, you appeared consecutively in the web dramas "Dating Class" and "One Fine Week." They are all romantic comedies, and the characters you played are generally upright and straightforward men. What do you think was the reason for continuously receiving such roles?

= It might be because my actual personality is similar to those characters. Both Wookyung from "Just One Bite" Season 2 and Yoonsoo from "Dating Class" generally have gentle personalities. Although my personality itself isn't exactly FM style, I often hear that I have an outwardly polite appearance, so perhaps they found a commonality in that aspect. While our personalities may be similar, acting was still challenging. For example, Yoonsoo is a character who is like a robot, and it was difficult to match the stiffness of his speech. So, I did a lot of research on character speech patterns by watching videos of other actors or people. I particularly enjoyed playing Eden in "One Fine Week" because although he appeared polite on the outside, his inner self was completely different. It was fun to express a personality that was different from mine.

Director Kim Soojung of "Semantic Error" once said about actor Park Seoham, "He is diligent enough to be the first to arrive on set, and his skill improvement is evident because of his good adaptability." I thought this diligence might have been cultivated through years of idol life.

= That's right. Especially since KNK wasn't a very active group, each schedule was highly valued. On the set of "Semantic Error," all the staff members, including the director, were senior to me. So even before filming began, I would ask for advice and express my willingness to learn. Director Kim Soojung, in particular, gave me a lot of advice on things to consider before shooting and methods for acting practice. To hear such stories, I had to be on set early.

As an actor, what are your strengths?

= It's still a stage of exploration, and I want to find it. Just two years ago, the word "actor" felt too heavy. But now, I confidently call myself an actor. I want to become a person who lives up to the weight of that title. I am as strong as my perseverance. I endured the tough trainee days and KNK activities with that strength. I will continue to carry with me perseverance and a diligent attitude.

Some actors who started their careers as singers have returned to music by releasing albums or engaging in music activities alongside acting. Do you have a desire to pursue both acting and music simultaneously?

= I'm not sure. Right now, I don't feel confident enough to go back to music broadcasts. (Laughs)

While looking forward to another stroke of luck,

Was the photo essay "March For You" published at the suggestion of the publishing company?

= I see. At first, I hesitated. Isn't publishing a book something anyone can do? But if it's a book that fans would enjoy, I felt confident. Initially, I considered only a photo book, but I wanted to put more effort into it and ended up writing longer passages. It took quite some time, but I'm satisfied with the outcome for my first book. I believe fans will also enjoy it.

Did you come up with the title yourself?

= The original title was 'Crazily Survived Days.' (Laughs) Personally, I really like the number 3. Since I mainly covered my daily life in the book, the photos and content weren't flashy or provocative. So, I came up with the title 'Crazily Survived Days,' meaning 'I've calmly dealt with my days like blanching vegetables.' Ultimately, the title 'March For You' was chosen.

There are many landscape photos in the book as well. If you had to pick your favorite among them?

= They are cherry blossom photos. They bloom and wither quickly, but I like the way they look when they're in full bloom. There were several of them included repeatedly, and I didn't want to leave any out, so I ended up including them all.

You held a fan meeting not long ago and mentioned wanting to try playing a "bad role." The range of what constitutes a "bad role" is quite broad. I'm curious about what specifically you'd like to try.

= I haven't thought about specific genres or characters, but I do want to try playing a multidimensional villain. I recently watched a drama called "It's Your Turn" where a character initially seemed kind but turned out to be the culprit. That setup was shocking to me. I would like to try portraying such a multidimensional villain.

Your previous answer about being interested in romantic comedy is still valid?

= Absolutely! I'm very interested! I've done a lot of romantic comedies in the past and have always enjoyed filming them, so I'd love to challenge myself with more. The same goes for classic melodramas too.

Do you also have a desire to work in movies?

= Of course, I do. However, I don't want to express a vague desire like "I want to try movies" in this context. I still feel that I have a lot to improve, so I'm diligently preparing and steadily building up my skills. When a good opportunity comes along, I won't hesitate to pour my heart into it.

Do you have any upcoming projects in preparation?

= I'm scheduled to start filming soon. I'll be spending most of the week taking action and horseback riding lessons. I really want to emphasize that this is a huge spoiler. (Laughs) I've never really fought anyone in my life, so action is a bit of a challenge… But I've been praised for my talent in horseback riding lessons. It's been almost two years since I've seen in a project, so I'm doing my best to learn and make fans proud.

I've been incredibly busy since the beginning of the year. If I were to share my plans for the remaining year…

= Once the filming for the next project starts, the rest of the year will probably pass by quickly. Finishing this year like that makes me feel like I can welcome next year with real excitement. Personally, I like the number 3, and I'll be turning 33 next year. (Laughs) On the day of my 8th debut anniversary, I looked through old photos, and it felt strange. So much has changed. Looking back at past hardships, I now think, 'Yeah, those things happened,' 'What was so difficult about that?' Life seems to have cycles of luck and misfortune. Now, whenever I'm going through a tough time, I wait for the happiness that will come to me. I used to be afraid of the future, but these days, I'm curious about my future.

Park Seoham's Four Seasons

Spring - Busker Busker's "Cherry Blossom Ending" , TWS "Plot Twist"

When I was a trainee, an album containing was released. At that time, I went to the Han River with other trainees and listened to the album from track 1 to the end together. Whenever I listen to , it feels like I can smell spring and remember that day at the Han River. So, it's a song I always seek out when spring comes. These days, I also listen to TWS's "Plot Twist" frequently. They're so adorable that it makes me want to have a son like them!

Summer - Drama "My Name is Kim Sam Soon"

It was a drama my mother really enjoyed. We used to sit together and watch TV, but at that time, I don't think I fully understood the emotions of the characters. As time passed and I watched it again, I understood why my mother found it so entertaining. At that time, even though Sam Soon was only in her thirties, she seemed stressed because of her age. Now that I'm in my thirties, those concerns resonate with me differently. This year, I turned thirty-two, and Sam Soon, who is just in her thirties, seems too young. When I reach my forties, I'll probably look back and think that my thirty-two-year-old self seemed quite young too, right? With these thoughts in mind, I appreciate the drama each year with a different perspective.

Autumn - Yoon Do-hyun's "I Guess I Loved You" Deli spice's "Chow Chow"

In autumn, it's always about ballads. Yoon Do-hyun's "I Guess I Loved You" and Deli spice's "Chow Chow" are my go-to songs when the weather gets chilly and autumn sets in. As soon as I feel that autumn vibe, I immediately add them to my playlist and put them on repeat.

Winter - Drama "My Liberation Notes"

I've rewatched it about 6 times so far. Even when I traveled to Australia, I watched it again on the plane. It's a work that deeply resonates with me, and it comes to mind when the weather gets cold. The atmosphere and story portrayed in the video are simple and not overly stimulating, allowing me to watch it comfortably. There are heart-wrenching moments in every episode that keep me coming back for more.

Source: [커버] 나의 세번째 챕터, 배우 박서함 (cine21.com)

[alicenowonderland]

DAYTIME SHOOTING STAR ☆彡

MOVIE REVIEW !!

This may contain SPOILERS so BEWARE if you are going to watch the movie and if you don't like spoilers. ( ˶•̀ ᎑ - ˶ )

`✩`✩`✩`✩`✩`✩`✩`✩`✩`✩`✩

The story introduces us to Suzume Yosano who got lost in Tokyo after arriving there in search for her Uncle's house. She lives in the rural mountainous area of Japan (I'm sorry IDK where is it ㅠ﹏ㅠ) but her Father got a promotion at job where he needs to go to Bangladesh and her Mother will go with him so Suzume will stay with her Uncle Yukichi. But as she search for her Uncle's house she collapse in a park due to exhaustion. She woke up in Uncle Yukichi's house after she was saved by Satsuki Shishio. A junior in class of Uncle Yukichi and later revealed to be Suzume's Homeroom Teacher. She was seated beside Daiki Mamura, he is considered as the most handsome student in their school and called Sadistic Prince because of his cold features and treatment especially towards female classmates and schoolmates.

At first Mamura is hostile towards Suzume but Suzume asked Mamura to be friends with her. Upon knowing that Mamura has a condition called gynophobe, it is a kind of social phobia where he has a fear of women/girls. Eventually Suzume and Mamura became friends since Suzume keeps Mamura's secret. A female classmate named Yuyuka Nekota has a big crush on Mamura and noticed that Suzume is getting close with Mamura. In order for her to gain Mamura's attention she befriends Suzume and on the day of their camp she tricked Suzume to go into the woods where Mamura followed her. It is where Mamura revealed to Suzume that he hated women since his Mother left them, his Father, him and his younger brother. It became an emotional trauma for Mamura that develops his gynophobia. Later on, Suzume catch a fever due to the cold weather and they were lost in the woods. Luckily, Shishio found them and bring them back to the camp.

When Suzume wakes up she saw Shishio taking care of her in the clinic and even closes the light revealing a box full of fireflies. AHHCCKK !! Personally it is my favorite scene and who wouldn't fall for that act? Like, you get a box of fireflies for me just because I am sick ?! E-F-F-O-R-T!!! ♡_♡

Then back at school, Suzume confronted Yuyuka and they had physical fight where Yuyuka spilled that she likes Mamura that is why she tricked Suzume. Mamura and his friends saw Yuyuka and Suzume's physical fight but Suzume defended Yuyuka by just saying they are practicing wrestling. HAHAHA! Then Suzume said to Yuyuka that she might be a bad person but she does not hate Yuyuka. Awww! The innocence! ( ,,◕ ̫ ◕,, )

Suzume and Yuyuka became friends for real and Yuyuka helped Suzume to develop her physical appearance. Mamura fell harder for Suzume seeing her physical appearance change. Shishio also catch feelings for Suzume when he saw her. I don't know if her really likes Suzume from the start, he gives her a nickname too calling her Chun-chun. But I guess Shishio likes Suzume even from the start. Maybe at first he is just looking out for her since she is his friend's niece but later on catch feelings for her.

Suzume also likes Shishio and tried to confess to him on Christmas Day which is also Suzume's birthday. Shishio turned down Suzume's invitation to their party and got sad. Mamura then shows up and brought Suzume to a Christmas themed park where she is overjoyed by the big Christmas tree. Who wouldn't be overjoyed by it when a handsome classmate of yours invited you to a date in your birthday and Christmas day! AHHHCCKK! It is where I got confused who should I choose. HAHAHA!!!

Suzume scared of what Yuyuka's reaction will be especially when Mamura kissed her on cheeks. She left and went home. Shishio came and promised Suzume that they will go to the Aquarium (Ocean Park) the next day and almost kissed each other. AHHHHCKKKK!

Personally I like older guys maybe that is why I like Shishio better than Mamura even if he is the green flag.

While going home, Uncle Yukichi saw them together and hinted that there is something between the two. The scene was not really shown but Uncle Yukichi called Shishio to talked and maybe he asked Shishio to leave Suzume alone since she is his student and a HIGH SCHOOL GIRL. She is a minor and he is not. It will be bad for the both of them even if they feel is real love. In the manga she is only 16 years old. It would be a real crime in the real world, you know.

The next day after Shishio dismissed the class, Suzume confessed to him but he turned her down saying he does not feel the same. AHHHHCKKKK HEARTBREAK ! ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ Mamura also confessed to her where Yuyuka saw it. She went after Yuyuka who got mad at her feeling played. It is where she said the lines that why did she fell in love if everything will be that sad and hurting. AHHHCKK !! I felt it. I was like that on my younger years but realized that love and pain is inseparable. Someone will got hurt and someone will win. That's just love is.

Suzume went back to her hometown during Winter break (am I right?) with her Mother visiting her. The classes starts and Suzume stayed with her Mom. Yuyuka and Mamura suprisingly visits Suzume after getting worried about her. There, Yuyuka and Suzume got confrontation and their bond became stronger. Mamura also admitted that he still likes her but she is still in the process of healing.

A new school year starts and they are now in the last year of their high school. Mimura got more famous, Yuyuka still has a crush on Mamura but accepts the fact that he will not feel the same. Suzume sees Shishio less and less because they now have a different Homeroom Teacher.

One day Suzume is feeding the fishes in the school's lobby when Shishio approached her. Mamura seeing how awkward and hurting it is for Suzume rescues Suzume by telling Shishio that they are dating. Mimura told Suzume that it is just for act since he still hates being around with girls, but deep inside he secretly likes the fake dating with Suzume since he likes her. But because he is the greenest flag in this story he cannot keep Suzume for himself, he cannot be selfish to the person he likes.

◾ ┃🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ┃🟩🟩💚🟩🟩 ┃🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ┃ ┃ ┃ ┃ ┃ ➖ GREEN FLAG ALERT

He invited Suzume into the Aquarium (Ocean Park) where Suzume and Shishio will have a date. Mamura did it as a thank you to Suzume. Suzume realizing how good Mamura is, gives them a chance.

SO HERE IS THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST!

Suzume and Shishio had a confrontation and confession in a hospital after Suzume thought Shishio got into an accident (Thanks to Uncle!). Shishio bravely confessed his feelings for Suzume even if he knows the consequences of it for the two of them. But Suzume UNEXPECTEDLY rejected Shishio, realizing she fell in love with Mamura. AAAAHHHHCCCKK!!! ʚ(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )ɞ But Suzume admitted that it is real and cannot be forgotten that Shishio will always be her first love. Suzume went back to Mamura admitting how she felt for him and they kissed. AAAAAHHHHHCKKK!!!

Soooo, it is a very nice movie actually. I liked it. It played my mind cause of it has an element called

✨ SECOND LEAD SYNDROME ✨

But also I did not expect that Suzume will choose Mamura which is also the best choice. I am glad that she did. My heart and mind was played by this movie ahhh!!! But I am satisfied with the story and everything.

I though Mamura was the ✨SECOND LEAD SYNDROME✨ until the end of the movie I realized that the real ✨SECOND LEAD SYNDROME✨ is Yuyuka.

It is still evident until the end that she likes Mamura but accepts the fact even if she is hurting. She also became real and genuine friends with Suzume. She is the pretty classmate whom we thought will be the villainess of the story it turned out that I loved her and I wish he all the luck in love. She deserves someone who will love her as she loves because she is just so sweet and thoughtful and honest. Until the end, she listens to Mamura even if she knows she will be hurt by it. She did not hope for him to like her. She did not got envious of Suzume and let her feelings go in peace. WAAAAAAH! A true woman! A matured one!

So let's talk about Shishio. We can say he is kind of RED FLAG 🚩 for competing with his student (Mamura) and falling in love with his student. Let us admit it, Suzume is a HIGH SCHOOL GIRL, a 15/16 years old girl according to Manga and he is probably like 25 years old above. Suzume basically is a MINOR. Whether they feel for each other is real love, it is not acceptable that he will start a relationship with his student. That is why I am glad that Suzume somehow chooses Mamura.

But if we analyze the situation, Suzume is in the age where she explores her world and in her age it is natural for her to fall in love and have crushes. Shishio is the first guy who became Suzume's friend since Mamura is aloof at her at first that is why she cannot see him in a romantic light. Shishio maybe really loves Suzume but in the first it is more like he takes care of her just because he is his friend's niece and he is their Homeroom Teacher. Until, well, his feelings developed. *suddenly remembers MY TEACHER (Japanese Film too)*

Since Shishio is always there for Suzume and they are always togehther since he is always in her Uncle's shop, Suzume fell for him. AND WHO WOULDN'T FELL FOR THAT FIREFLIES TRICK?! AHHHCKKK even I would fall for my teacher if he did that and he is good looking too just like Shishio. Hihi! (≧▽≦) So basically Shishio is the only option for Suzume at that time since her guy friends back at hometown feels like brothers to her. It is where she felt the attraction towards the opposite gender with Shishio.

AND WHO WOULDN'T FALL FOR HIM? Just look at him. ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

Over-all the movie is nice. I recommend it to young adults, not to teenagers cause they might fall for their teachers TT____TT it's a different kind of offense when your teacher fell for you at a minor age. It is a serious crime in some countries like here in the Philippines. So I recomment this to young adults (18+) so we can all feel hopeless that why did this not happened to us in our high school days. WAHAHAHAHA! Just kidding! It played my mind and my heart so good that sometimes I do not know who to choose. ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

This is a really nice film and the actress who played Suzume, Mei Nagano, has a resemblance to Moon Ga Young! ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

And I just recently knew that Alan Shirahama who played Mamura is a half-pinoy. Ahhhh! That's why I felt some connections between us. HAHAHAHAHA! Delulu momints 🇵🇭

What are your thoughts and comments about the movie? Would you like to watch it too? Or just a hard pass?