#I figured i may as well make a bunch of Christmas stuff so that i can post throughout November and December

[little-pup-pip]

Blue Christmas!!

[hogwartslegacypics]

HL2 Discussion Post

Figured it would be fun to make a little post about the sequel and say what I’m looking forward to/hope to see from it, and everyone else can reblog or comment with what they hope to see!

DIRECT SEQUEL!! This is the most important one to me. I want to continue with the same storyline and the same characters.

ROMANCE! I feel like they will implement this just because of how much everyone has been asking for it. Not even just romance, it would be cool to have friendship meters as well so we can see if someone is just an acquaintance all the way to a close friend.

DECISIONS THAT MATTER! I know we technically can make decisions in this game, but they don’t change anything except a few lines of dialogue. I want actual impact. I want our decisions to change what can happen, or change our friendship/relationship with the characters.

MORE CLASSES! I honestly wouldn’t mind if they had us repeat activities in classes for the same class (like if we got another potions class and again had to go through the same motions to brew a potion), because realistically speaking we would be going to the same class multiple times and doing basically the same things.

DEMENTORS! I’d love to learn the patronus charm and be able to use it on them. Maybe it could be like a POA situation where a prisoner escaped and dementors are around the grounds? I know there’s a shit ton of patronuses and it’s a lot of work to animate them, so I wouldn’t even be upset if there were only like 10 to pick from.

QUIDDITCH! This may not end up being a thing because of the other Quidditch game coming out, but I still hope it is. Even if we ourselves can’t play it, it would still be a cool little immersive activity to sit on the stands and be able to watch a Quidditch game play out. Also beater!Sebastian

DIAGON ALLEY! Going back as sixth years, we need to get our supplies so it’s a perfect way include it in the game! Imagine going with Seb, Ominis, Poppy, and Natty in the beginning of the game! Walking around and getting our supplies just like we did in the Hogsmeade quest.

CHRISTMAS AND/OR HALLOWEEN EVENTS! Imagine if we could actually celebrate those holidays in the game! Exchanging gifts with our friends (going to Hogsmeade to shop for them, and maybe we have a choice of like 10ish items and we have to pick one for each friend we think they’d like best, and they have a different reaction programmed for each gift we can give them, and it could impact how much the friendship/relationship meter goes up), and they give us a gift based on our play style or level of closeness to them?

PETS!! We know pets were supposed to be in this game so I feel like they might make the cut the second time around. Just imagine having your own cat or owl! So cute!

COMPANIONS! And I mean without needing a mod to make it happen!

RESOLUTION FOR THE SEBASTIAN STORYLINE! Ok so I feel like this one is a given assuming it’ll be a direct sequel but I still wanted to mention it. I hope we can cure Anne somehow, whether it be actually us doing it or finding something with Sebastian. Also see how Sebastian is dealing with the murder, and coping without Anne, and hopefully seeing them get along again. Anne coming back to Hogwarts too if she’s cured!

LET US SIT AND SLEEP! Especially in the Great Hall! Doesn’t need to be a frequent thing, but maybe like once a season we have a little scene with our MC sitting in there having dinner with friends in their house? NPCs need to sleep at night too!

NO MORE MERLIN TRIALS!! I never wanna do a Merlin Trial ever again. I hate the process of having to do a bunch of repetitive, tedious tasks just to unlock stuff.

MORE LOCATIONS! I don’t mean the Highlands, I mean London, the Ministry of Magic, Diagon Alley, etc. Would be cool to get to visit each of these locations at least once.

HOUSE POINTS! Give us a house points system where we can have points given or taken away from us! I guess this could kind of double as a morality system too?

[zeondraws]

Do you have any head canons for Roper? ^^

Ollo,

hm hard to say, considering I've been working on figuring out the canon lore above anything else.

I have some silly headcanon but, I can't tell that one because it's gonna be mentioned in the AU I'm making. So sssshhhhh. But I think that headcanon wouldn't be canon or anything in the end.

I find him to be a cool character, but I've also started to like Gibbo, Trots.. Finlay-

OH that reminds me of something else silly, I have a ship between two characters but I can't mention it either, part of the AU as well-

Aaaaaaaaa

More under the cut because I ramble on for a while!

However I do think Roper is probably that posh man who wears very fancy clothing on the mainland since he probably earns a ton. I checked what people in the control room earn, because I felt curious... And it's like between? 44.000 and 84.000 gbp a year (roughly). Dude probably owns a house with a huge garden or something like, what THE-

I earn like, like a fraction of that a year. Imagine earning 44.000 a year, that would be wild for me already. Can't even imagine what you'd do with even more money, I'm a simpleton. Tho I'd probably buy a bus PFFF.

Back on topic, been thinking about what kind of personality Roper has but I don't think I'm so good at figuring this stuff out. Tho I know I talk myself low way too often.

I think others mentioned it too, he probably doesn't show emotions that often and may be more reserved about them. However I do think he'd crack a bunch of jokes if he gets the opportunity. I noticed Archie plays along in the darts tournament even tho his cabin mayyy be somewhere else entirely, like Roper's cabin.

So I wondered if Roper even shows up in the crew lounge at all, or if he rather wants to be alone. Doesn't seem like darts is his thing, maybe something else but not sure. I couldn't identify any handwriting from him on the deck. I think some people once thought they saw one, but I think it must've been another name.

There are additional names on the Christmas Dinner list, that don't appear on the jukebox list. But none look like him.

I also think Roper is either the same age as Innes or younger, I keep noticing how Innes' skin has a large amount of folds in comparison to the others which makes me think he is one of the oldest people working there. But it's really difficult to see Roper's face in certain light conditions. Especially when he's in marine control. Tho, I probably go with what Rennick says and think he must be quite old?

Judging by what I see of Roper in marine control, his only fear seems to be Rennick. He probably has quite a normal and happy life outside of the rig, some family pictures are placed near him. I know these pictures are from the devs, but for some reason I kept thinking that Roper is a bit more chubbier because of said pictures, but he's not so I felt so confused for a while lmao.

The large amount of heads (also arms!) on his mutated body probably indicate he watches over everything, which is quite literally what someone in the control room does. Maybe he is there for the others if they want to talk to him. Either about work or personal things, not sure.

I really think he got the substance on him while the explosion happened (another theory is the shape came out of the ceiling and latched onto him), running up to marine control, either feeling off or not noticing a change at first. Maybe he was drinking tea or smoking for a while, before he felt something was very wrong with him. I can't imagine how painful the transformation must've been, considering some heads and flesh grew around the chair, so he's just stuck there. The wiki says he only has his upper body left, but it needs some editing, since his legs are very much intact.

He doesn't grow any more legs, just additional arms, one or two of them are from Trots. The body parts on him mak me wonder WHEN he mutated. If he has Addair and Trots parts on him then he surely mutated when Caz walks to the lifeboats after chatting with Roy. I know Raffs is also on him, but Raffs mutated quite early. I have to go back to marine control when I have my PC again and check if I can ID any other names on his biomass.

One mystery is Alex, it's not know where or when he died, he has 4 copies on the deck. But he's also stuck on the ceiling next to Roper. I wondered if Alex followed Roper up to marine control and became a victim of his transformation. Tho that's just a theory.

Last but not least is Roper either died by getting mauled by Rennick or burned to death. I do believe mutated crewmates that are immobile get more biomass as time progresses. At least I think that's the shapes strategy to expand further across the rooms.

Maybe that's why the helideck looked ao strange in the end, but this is all me just theorising and we can't be sure if any of this is correct what I say.

Oh boy that was a mouthful.. Didn't think I'd write a wall for this ask XD. I shall head back to bed, feeling quite tired.

Also do you guys want me to mark these asks with swtd hashtags? I usually never, since I don't want to flood the tag with my posts. But also I've been posting a bunch of things without tags, to avoid falling into the numbers game.

I struggled with it like a year ago on Instagram, but I finally snapped out of it after a while. So I just post things without any tags to focus on my research. This problem can easily occur on social media for literally anyone, so it's always good to do a self check every once in a while.

Thank you for coming to my Roper ted talk

May I offer you tiny Roper in these trying times?

[the-ghost-bracket]

Death as Hogfather propaganda:

"Not explicitly Santa per say but DEATH of Discworld must take over the role of the Hogfather (a Santa expy) in order to save Hogswatch (a Christmas/winter holiday expy) as an assassin was hired to murder the Hogfather. He admittedly doesn't do a great job, but he does his best. How could you say no to those baby blues?"

"He's stepping in because if Hogswatch and the Hogfather aren't saved, the sun won't come up tomorrow. He gives a little girl a sword for a gift! He saves the little match girl! He doesn't really get all this Hogswatch stuff because he's death, but he's really trying."

"The Hogfather is the Discs equivalent of Santa. As he goes missing due to an assassination attempt, the anthropomorphic personification of death decides to take over his job to make sure enough belief still exists for him. Death does in my opinion make for a quite good Hogfather, together with his servant Albert, who plays at being an elf and gets to eat all the pies and sherry laid out. Death at one point gifts a little girl a sword, as she wishes for one, and after complaints by the parents explains that being dangerous is the purpose of the sword and that is she cuts herself it will be a valuable lesson. He also saves the life of the little match-girl (Yes, this is a reference to the fairy tale), with the argument that the Hogfather gives gifts and that there is no better present than a future.

Death may only have had the job for one night, but he did is well okay? Gives this skeleton a chance. (I have no idea if he even counts for this)"

"ok so technically he’s not the Santa parody - he’s taking the job for the evening because the Hogfather is indisposed. But rule of funny. You understand me?"

"Despite the obvious comedy of the scenario, Death actually makes an incredibly kind Santa figure. In particular, he is EXTREMELY critical of any attempts to justify poor people getting less than rich people, or to romanticise poverty (if you haven’t read/seen Hogfather already, do it just for the Little Match Girl scene, honestly; I cried). Maybe he does need to work on remembering to say ‘ho ho ho’ instead of COWER, BRIEF MORTALS, but his heart’s in the right place (figuratively speaking, anyway)."

"this speech from the hogfather film: https://youtu.be/vPS5Yw_YsHA?si=H2jqbcCtXfxKbVnE"

"Gave a little girl an actual real sword for Hogswatch (Discworld equivalent of Christmas) cause it's what she asked for, his stand in Hogfather (Santa) costume included a pillow and a fake beard (cause he's a skeleton), he saved the little match girl, stole a bunch of rich people's food so they had to eat variously prepared dishes of old leather boot, and managed to garner enough belief in the actual Hogfather that the Hogfather was not assassinated and the sun rose on Hogswatch morning"

[traegorn]

I need to stop doing this to myself.

(A Rant Where Trae Has Written Too Many Books This Month)

So since most of you started following me because of Witchcraft or podcast stuff, I realize a lot of you don't know how much fiction writing I do.

Primarily what I've published are comics. The big one is UnCONventional (which ran from December of 2009 to December of 2019), but I also did a steampunk comic called The Chronicles of Crosarth (which I put on hiatus in like 2018 intending to come back to... but I haven't, and I make no guarantee that I will even though over 650 of the 800 planned pages are done). Crosarth is... fine? The art isn't great in either of these, but UnCONventional carries itself with the humor.

But that's all old stuff. You may be like "Trae, what have you been producing for the last four years," and the answer is "not a lot." I got major creative block with the pandemic. Peregrine Lake, the "Northwoods Gothic" comic I was supposed to launch in 2020 (which has some characters from UnCONventional in it) didn't materialize when I said it would. What storytelling energy I had went into Stormwood & Associates and The Meatgrinder (my two actual play podcasts), but that was it.

And then 2023 happened, and the juices started flowing again.

Peregrine Lake is moving forward -- but with me just doing the writing. My urge to draw has not returned, but my urge to write has. A friend of mine, Ethan Flanagan, is drawing it, and I've written the first year of comics. It likely won't launch any time soon (the artist I'm working with is busy as hell so we want to get a shit-ton of the comic done before we launch it -- we have like the first month and a half of the comic ready?). But yeah -- it's happening. I hoping for Spring, but we'll see.

The other thing though is that I've started writing, like, novels. I've always had like twenty ideas in my head, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I decided to start with the idea I cared the least about (in case I fucked it up): A queer urban fantasy story.

In the last month and a half I've written complete drafts of two different novels in this setting, and am halfway through another one... and have another one outlined.

I, uh, had some ideas.

If you're asking yourself "Hey Trae -- what the fuck? That's a lot" you need to know a few things that aren't obvious. At one point in college, in 72 hours, I produced over 40 pages of text between three research papers. All were for 300 level courses, and I may have disassociated while writing them because I frankly don't remember most of it. But, like, they were decent papers.

One of those papers is in Google Scholar.

Anyway, yeah. I haven't been sleeping great because I've been obsessively writing, but you might ask "Why didn't you just write one and get it ready to publish?" That's a great question. Because I wrote a book, and when I was 3/4 of the way through it I realized something very important: This book would make a great sequel to a book I haven't written. I've been writing book two in a series where I haven't written book one yet.

Well fuck.

So I finished that draft, and I went and wrote book one. Now that book? That book I'm getting ready to publish. I expect to have it out in January. Part of my editing process involves setting what I think is a completed, good, revised draft down for a couple of weeks and then returning to it with fresh eyes. We're in that waiting period right now.

But I still had a bunch of energy.

So the first thing I did was a revising draft on book two (the one I wrote first), but I finished that. And had more energy. And more stories in this setting kept popping up.

So I started a third book. And I'm halfway through the first draft of that book. But then I realized yesterday... shit, this isn't book three.

This is book four.

I need stuff to happen before we get to this story.

So now I've outlined the actual book three, and am working on literally both of these books at once (I'll take a break for Christmas and then go do a final edit on Book One).

And... I'm just like... why am I like this?

I need to stop myself for a few days and get more sleep.

[itsscromp]

Peter and Miles with a reader who sets up a Christmas for them after the whole symbiote incident? For them to like de-stress and just have fun!

Peter Parker and Miles Morales x reader

Before I start this story, I want to give my thoughts to the insomniac team who unfortunately suffered a data breach and a whole bunch of Wolverine stuff and personal info got leaked. Insomniac don't let these hackers stop you. Take all the damn time that you need, So this story shall also be dedicated to them. Word Count:1K

The first few months since the symbiote incident were physically and emotionally draining for everyone. You and Miles were busy killing off the remainder of the symbiote nests while Peter was busy rebuilding EMF. The three of you were just exhausted from everything.

One night out on patrol to get the last symbiote nests in the area, you noticed it was starting to get chillier than normal. Landing on a nearby street lamp, You noticed that it was starting to snow. "What the ??" You pulled your phone out and found out... It was December 23rd. "Oh shit" Jesus time flies fast when you're dealing with everything that has happened.

Sitting there you thought if Christmas was just around the corner, you decided to celebrate it with the two. Maybe this will help them de-stress and help them smile again. Opening the group chat you then started to text them.

"Hey guys, Any plans tomorrow ??"

"Just about to finish the latest prototype for EMF" Peter responded.

"Ma is helping F.E.A.S.T, so I'm pretty much free" Miles texted back next.

"Ok, so I only just found out about this, Christmas is in two days. So I thought maybe we could do like a dinner and all that" You smiled at the thought of this.

"Wait, It's Christmas ??" Miles responded rather quickly. Peter only responded using the mind-blown emojis.

"So I guess... You guys are both in ??"

They both reacted to the message with thumbs-up emojis, You smiled under the mask. Swinging back to your apartment to prepare for their stay. Fixing out their guest beds and giving the place a quick clean. Now the biggest worry was Christmas presents, You had to figure out what to get them. So grabbing your coat you went out and window-shopped for a little while. Finding something for Miles instantly, He was always ranting about the new video game that he saw about a month ago. Peter was a little tricky cause usually the stuff he talks about have been quickly sold out. But when passing a pawn shop, You found something in the window...

"Oh my gosh... Spider-Plushie... This must be the test one they gave to Peter..." You rushed inside without thinking and bought it.

Now the gifts were done, while also grabbing a few ones that they may like to. You headed back home and hid them for now.

The next day, you decorated the apartment with tinsel and other wall hangings, soon hearing a knock on the door, revealing to be none other than the two.

"You guys !!" You smiled widely and hugged the two. They gratefully returned the hug back.

"Merry Christmas y/n" Peter said softly, ruffling your head.

"Feliz Navidad" (Merry Christmas) Miles smiled as he entered the apartment. "Man, you went all out huh ??" He turned to you.

"Yeah I might have went a little overboard, but I wanted to save the tree for when you guys got here"

"Well then let's not waste any more time" Peter was eager to decorate the tree. Tree decorating was his favourite Christmas activity. So you got the tree and decorations out, But no tree decorating was complete without music. So pressing play on rocking around the Christmas tree, you all got to work.

It was a fun time, just simply relaxing after everything that had happened. Filled with smiles and giggles, Spending Christmas with your best friends was something that you all needed.

Then came the baking of Christmas cookies and Choc peppermint fudge. As the three of you were making the desserts, Peter grew mischievous and dabbed dough onto your nose. "Wha.. hey !!!" You laughed. "What, I didn't do anything" He smirked as he smeared some on Miles' cheek. "Come on Pete !!" He chuckled as well "You both can't prove anything" And then it turned into a light mini food fight.

Soon after, It was dinner time, Now you didn't have time to rush out for ham and such so the best you could do... Christmas grilled cheeses, They weren't complaining though, you all would've done this over a huge dinner. After a fun-filled night, the two trio headed off to bed.

The following morning, Christmas morning, you woke up to feel a pair of arms wrapped around you. Opening your eyes to find it was Peter... softly sleeping... cuddling you. It looked like he really needed something like this. So you snuggled up to him, both of you getting a much-needed sleep in.

After what feels like an hour AKA 20 minutes, Miles then snuck in and flopped on top of you two. "Guys come on it's Christmas !!!" He smiled brightly like any child would on Christmas day.

You chuckled "Alright alright come on" You tried to get up but Peter wanted to stay for at least another ten minutes, gripping you against him a little tighter softly mumbling. "Peter come on" You tried to squirm out but he only gripped harder, Let him have his cuddles y/n !!

"Miles were gonna be here for a while so I guess try and get a little comfortable" You chuckled as you snuggled up to Peter again. Miles sighed and stayed on top of you both, relishing in sharing the cuddles with you both.

After a few minutes, Peter was now officially ready to get up and the three of you headed to the tree. You started to hand their presents. Peter was the first, Shaking the box slightly and soon opening it.

"SPIDER-PLUSHY !!!!. I can't believe you found this y/n" He smiled up at you.

"I have my moments" You smiled as Miles opened his gift next " Yo !! Lies of P !!!" He smiled brightly.

"Last copy too, so thank god I got their on time" You chuckled.

Then Peter pulled out your gift. This one was from both of them. It looked relatively large, Opening it... Inside was a brand spanking new suit... One that looked like Peter’s old suit.

"You always complimented my suit... So we figured we decided to get you your own version of it." peter said as he saw the wonder in your eyes.

You put the suit back and hugged them both tightly, They were too much. But they were your too much. This was easily the best Christmas you guys ever had.

Taglist: @callofdudes @fun-k-board

[she-karev]

Ground Rules (Japril Season 17 Imagine)

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: One of One

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Ship: Jackson Avery x April Kepner

Canon Episode: Season 17 Episode 8

AN: Happy Holidays! I wanted to focus on Japril for a little bit cuz I feel like I neglected them. Another story following this will be posted before Christmas so like and reblog and let me know what you think.

Summary: Jackson and April set the ground rules for their new relationship after getting back together.

Words: 1537

May 1st, 2020

Jackson wakes up from his side of the bed and feels an absence in his arms causing him to look and see that he is all alone in bed. After they confessed their feelings for each other last night and agreed to give their relationship another chance, April and Jackson spend the night in bed together for the first time in years.

They didn’t have sex instead he spooned her and was fast asleep. But now he sees that he is all alone and gets out of bed to find out if last night was a dream. He puts his jeans and black shirt on before walking out of the bedroom and heading downstairs looking around for a certain redhead. He reaches the first floor when a familiar high-pitched sound fills his ears.

“Good morning!” Jackson finds the source coming from his kitchen. He enters the large room to find April Kepner already in casual clothes making coffee from his expresso machine, “I already made you a latte and there’s bacon, scrambled eggs and toast in the microwave, I was just waiting for you so you could join me. I figured we could have a breakfast date after all the turmoil from last night. Not the part where we talked that part was the best part of that long night.”

The sight catches him by surprise, but it brings a grin to his face happy that last night was not a dream after all.

“Good morning.” Jackson approaches her and she hands him a mug with a smile, “You’re energetic for 6:30 in the morning. I could have saved you the trouble and made breakfast instead or order in from that cafe you love so much.”

“Deliveries are expensive now, and we have a perfectly good kitchen and is that a latte machine I just used?” April asks astonished by her extravagant ex who chuckles, “I mean mister pays 7 bucks six times a week for a cup of coffee actually got smart about saving money and makes his own lattes now?”

“Well, when the lawsuits were bleeding me dry, and I ended up broke I remembered you giving me grief about spending a thousand dollars a year on coffee.” April grins nostalgic in those early days of their marriage, “And with my trust fund being drained I was afraid of resorting to drinking leftovers from the café. So I decided to take your advice and make my own coffee to take to work. And you were right I saved a bunch of money that way.”

“Do you still send your clothes out to wash and dry?”

“Of course I do, I was broke not an animal.” April chuckles at him never changing his rich ways, “When did you get up? I was asleep the whole night.”

“I’ve been up since 4, I didn’t want to wake you because while I was making breakfast, I’ve been doing a lot of…thinking.” Jackson’s eyes widen at that as he sips his coffee, “No, no it’s nothing bad it’s just that I was going down memory lane and I realized that if we’re gonna start this again there has to be changes so that we don’t crash and burn again.”

Jackson’s worries lessen as he engages this topic, “Okay I get that and I agree, there should be changes so we don’t mess this up again. What were you thinking?”

April takes the plates out of the microwave and hands one to Jackson. They sit at the kitchen counter to eat and talk.

“I think our main issue is that we kind of skipped over a lot of boring, traditional relationship stuff when we got together.”

“You mean like dating.” Jackson says with a grin eating his eggs.

“Exactly, I mean don’t get me wrong I wanted to marry you, but I mean…in less than 24 hours we went from coworkers to best friends to runaway lovers to husband and wife. I think it’s safe to say we moved our relationship very quickly.”

“More like at warp speed.” Jackson jokes sipping his coffee, “But still it was an awesome wedding night.”

April grins lustfully, “That it was. But still if we’re gonna do this again we should lay down some ground rules that way we do things differently and this can last longer.”

Jackson thinks on it for a moment before nodding, “Yeah ground rules sound good, who should set them up?”

“I was thinking I could go first, and we go back and forth.” Jackson nods in agreement, “Okay I will start, Rule 1: We take things slow and go on dates obviously. It has to be covid safe but I’m sure we’ll find plenty to do don’t worry.”

Jackson bites his toast before going, “Rule 2: We…We sleep in the same bed from now on.”

“I was hoping that would be a rule.” April grins, “Rule 3: Let’s not have sex right away, we date for a while and we do it when it’s the right time.”

Jackson is startled by this but knows it’s for the best given their track record of sleeping together at the worst possible time, “Okay I can live with that. Rule 4: We talk about things that are bothering us and we don’t let it become bigger than us again.”

April nods knowing it’s a big step they have to take to make this work, “I completely agree with you, Rule 5: If this doesn’t work out, we go back to being friends. It would be good for Harriet if this works out but if it doesn’t, she needs to see us as a unit so she doesn’t get conflicted.”

“Yeah, I mean it can’t end any worse than the last time, that’s the good thing about our divorce. Rules 6: We keep this out of the hospital grape vine. The last thing we need is everyone wondering where we’re going when we’re just getting started. Also, I’m afraid of my mother disapproving of us and trying to get in my ear about dumping you.”

“I wouldn’t put anything past that woman.” April agrees with a bitter tone that Jackson catches, “You know I love her but we’re talking about the woman who tried to get you to sue me for full custody when I was still pregnant.”

“A suggestion that I rejected and only got on board with because of a misunderstanding that could have been resolved if we just communicated.” Jackson points out not out of anger but out of acknowledging their mistakes during that time, “And I backed out when I realized that and made a functional family with you.”

April nods understanding, “Still, I think her opinion of me was obvious from that.”

“Agreed the hospital and especially my mother are kept in the dark. It shouldn’t be hard since everyone is too busy to gossip. Plus, you work part time so we probably shouldn’t run into each other a lot.”

“True okay Rule 7: We try to spend as much time as we can together. We’re both super busy but we live together, and we can rebuild our relationship better this way since we haven’t been together for years now.”

Jackson nods and thinks for a moment, “I think I’ve exhausted all of my ground rules, have you?”

April takes a bite of her toast thinking, “I’m good.”

Jackson grins sipping his coffee, “Let’s hope we can follow these rules.”

April gives a teasing grin, “I know I can, I’m not sure about you.”

Jackson chuckles, “First thing we should do is go on a date, I’m free until tomorrow morning how about you?”

April groans in regret, “I have the clinic until tonight I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, we’ll do a dinner here tonight when you get back.”

“Are you thinking of ordering in Mexican? Maybe Thai?”

Jackson clicks his tongue and holds April’s hand in a way that creates somersaults in her chest, “Actually I was thinking since you made breakfast by hand, I can do the same for you tonight for dinner.”

April’s eyes widen at that proposal, “You can cook?”

“Yeah.” Jackson replies simply.

“Since when?” April asks with a surprised smile, “I mean the last time we were together I did the cooking, and you ordered in that was our thing.”

“Well things have changed since them, me included. I took up cooking at the monastery when I went on my nature walks, it was very calming and invigorating. Also, it’s a little like surgery only instead of surgical tools I used cooking appliances and instead of sewing tissue I mixed ingredients. I’m not a pro but I’ve learned some recipes I think might surprise you. So let me surprise you April, tonight. What do you say?”

April’s smile grows at this and her excitement for tonight heightens, “Okay, I might regret this but most first dates have that so fingers crossed.”

Jackson chuckles still holding her hand, “Fingers crossed.” He leans forward and kisses her. In that short kiss sparks fly between them that they are familiar with. He pulls back with a grin that she shares before they eat their breakfast excited about their first real date tonight.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals - addendums and interesting BTS stuff (part 3/3)

You can go find part 1 here, and part 2 here.

Well, at least when I get around to doing VoicePlay Visuals posts for some of the Christmas videos (which will be sooner than you think - I have Plans), I will already have BTS knowledge ready to share, no addendums needed!

Part 3 below the cut!

Seven Nation Army: "No clue where this was filmed (the description doesn't say), I'm guessing an old abandoned shopping mall or something?" - Well the escalator (or whatever Americans call it) was a bit of a giveaway, but yes, that's exactly right. Also the guys may or may not have been trespassing, oop- 😅

"One thing I do know about the filming of this is that Voiceplay had to use duct tape to cover up/censor some of the graffiti" - Correct, but what you might not know is that there was some graffiti on the floor as well, covered up by specific placements of rubble and chunks of concrete.

In The Air Tonight: "Also the car belongs to Layne's dad, and likely would have been sitting in the garage since the early days of 4:2:Five, at least." - To be specific, Layne's dad has owned the car since 1972. - Geoff in the BTS video: "It's a 52-year-old car, which is a year or two younger than I am." 😂 (The car is 8 years older in actuality, but he does love to joke)

"Geoff is, once again, the only bare-shouldered/sleeveless one of the group!" - We can thank Kathy for that! - Geoff in the BTS (to Kathy): "What you doing there?" Kathy: "Cutting your sleeves off!" Geoff: "Who are you doing that for? Is that for me or for you?" Kathy: "It's for the world." 😆 (she knows what the people want!)

"I believe I read a comment somewhere saying this was filmed outside PattyCake Productions or something, like outdoors? And apparently it was a bit warm outside" - Correction: It was VERY warm! When they started setting up (yes, outside Pattycake Studios) at 6PM, it was apparently 88 degrees Fahrenheit! (Which is roughly 31 degrees Celsius). And it was pretty humid too, but hey, Geoff's hair looked great! 😁 - Also fun fact: Geoff's denim vest was bunched up a little bit at the back and held in place with a clothes peg! So it wasn't too loose on him, I guess? - And finally, they didn't wrap filming until 1AM, and then 7 hours later they were all back at PattyCake to film Minis! Insane!

Creep: "Apparently what this means is that Eli was explaining his video concept to Geoff and Kathy via videocall, and they (I'm not sure/can't remember which one first had the idea) suggested the usage of a mirror" - Maybe the idea was originally suggested via videocall, idk, but in the BTS video is footage of a basic concept video thing that Geoff sent to Eli. So like he had Kathy sitting in front of a mirror in the office at home, and he was moving the camera around and explaining his idea. Neat! - The super-smooth transition that I commented on? The BTS video had a wide-shot clip showing exactly how it was done!

Sleeping In The Cold Below: "Geoff's hair looks greyer than usual here, and I can't for the life of me figure out whether it was coloured grey for the video, or if it's just the lighting, or if this is more of his natural colour nowadays." - It's still mostly brown, it's just the lighting in this one that makes it look lighter (however the white-grey streak is getting even whiter, and it's spreading to the other half of his bangs as well! (kinda love to see it ngl))

"Cesar is wearing two different coloured contact lenses, because apparently he (and Omar too) couldn't decide which colour to go with (valid), and in fact Cesar and Omar are wearing one each of two pairs! (So basically their contact lenses match up)" - So what actually happened is that Omar was looking through the lenses they had available and was like "purple is my favourite colour but I really like these blue ones", and Franchezca (production assistant) was like "you should wear one of each!" and Omar was like "hey Cesar you wanna do one of both with me?"

"Eli's wearing two different coloured contacts as well!" - Actually I'm not so sure now, it might've just been the lighting making them look different. - Also the filming venue (OptiView360) looks freaking awesome, like absolutely insanely rad, what a vibe. - Also I didn't mention this in the original post but I might as well mention it here: A lot of shots had to be refilmed because Layne wasn't wearing his fingerless gloves. However, there are still some shots in the video where Layne's hands are suddenly bare - 6 in total actually. The most obvious is when Omar first starts singing, while 3 of the shots are blink-and-you-miss-it where you really have to be keeping your eyes peeled for it.

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

[pbandjesse]

Today was a pretty nice day off. A true day to myself, I was on no schedule, I got a lot done. I felt good.

Some of it was sleeping better. My breathing and my nose still continue to struggle. But I woke up at 915 with no alarm and felt pretty good.

I got cleaned up and put on a soft grey jumpsuit. I felt pretty cute in a cozy kind of way.

I overwhelmed myself at first though. So many directions I could take the day. There was a dishwasher to unload. And I wanted to clean the apartment. And deal with some snails. And and and. I kept picking things up to start something but then seeing something else and I was a little frustrated with myself. Finally I just put everything down and went to have an egg salad sandwich and some chips and give myself some direction.

Once I ate I decided I would start with my candle project. I have a lot of half filled or less vanilla candles. And decided to melt them down with new wicks for Christmas gifts. I saw someone put the jars in a low pan of water and heated it over the stove. And this worked really well! It was slow going but it did work and that was pretty great. I had already added the wicks but I would need sticks to hot them straight up and I am pretty proud of how they came out. And they smell good. I put some strawberry in them too so it's a light fruity floral vanilla. Made the whole apartment smells nice.

While the candles were melting I went to deal with the dishwasher but a bunch of stuff was still dirty. So I reloaded it and put it on heavy duty hoping that would work. And it seemed too though everything was still really wet in the end. I think that something is clogged in there. I may have to investigate tomorrow.

In the mean time I worked on a Christmas card and continued to work on some sewing and some knitting.

I also spent a lot of time vacuuming. I cleaned the kitty litter. I sprayed down the bathroom. I delt with some snails. I did finally break my fish tank vacuum and will have to replace that. But that's alright. I needed to go to the pet store for vacation feeders anyway.

The doorbell would ring and it was a package for me for a Christmas gift for James. So after I ran down and grabbed that I started wrapping those as well. We are mostly out of our silk scarf collection we are using to wrap each others gifts. But I figured some old paper from last year is just fine too.

I would do some work on inventorying the gifts we have for other people. James made a list of people and I wrote all the gifts down and now we just have to make sure they all go to the right person. I was able to add my candles to the list which was nice. And they would come out really good! I am going to melt the tops with a hair dryer tomorrow to fix a few little imperfections but I'm really really pleased with how they came out.

I would spend a lot of this afternoon working on my knitting and drawing on my tablet. Me, James, and Jess are going to get some matching tattoos in January and I wanted to draw up some flash for myself because they are all small the artist was chill with us doing a few. And I have a few on my wishlist that I want to fill in my arm a bit with. My last tattoo was incredibly painful so I'm hoping that she has a lighter hand. Jess just got a chicken tattoo from her yesterday and said she was very fast and very delicate. So fingers crossed.

Callie let me know she would be coming over at 5 so we could talk about schedule stuff and Tipis and all things camp and Christmas and life. And we had gifts for each other. I was very much looking forward to seeing her.

When she got here she was dressed up all cute because she would go to meet her family for dinner after she left us. But in the mean time we talked and went over things in my computer. We exchanged gifts and they were legit perfect. She screamed over the macarons, particularly the box. She tried to get me to split one but I was like nooo they are your gift you enjoy all of them!! And she gave me a knife shaped like a fish and I could not love it more it's perfect. It's everything. I love gifts where you feel very very seen.

James would come home and jump right into their chores. Started the laundry and then ran to the grocery store. They would pick us up frozen pizza. And would be back pretty soon. Me and Callie chilled on the couch talking and having a fun time thinking about the house and the plans for it.

I am trying to be measured still but I am excited and incredibly nervous. I was joking about a TikTok I saw that was basically "everyone loves a maximalist until it's time to move" and man that could not be more on point. Cause like in moments I'm like. Throw it all on a box and get it over there but also. I hate living in half done spaces so you have to time it right. I feel like we will probably start with our storage stuff like my bikes and decorations and camping equipment. Then my studio would logically be next. Then maybe like our extra clothes. My suitcases. The extra towels. I don't think I would want to take down much of my wall stuff until we are closer to living there because it will make me sad having bare walls. I know that's silly but it's how I feel!!

Callie would head out when her family was getting to the restaurant. And I hope she had the best time. Hugs and goodbyes.

Once she was gone I continued working on some knitting. And James came and started wrapping family gifts. And I worked on a small silly gift for Jess that had Callie and James laughing so loudly. It was just a really lovely evening.

I took a late shower and started this post late when I started creating a plaque for my fish knife. That's mostly planned out now but the real work will have to wait for tomorrow.

I am supposed to have the make up private class with Naomi tomorrow. But I want to spend the morning finishing up some projects and starting to pull together everything I'm packing for our Christmas travels. I hope it is a really chill day and we get word about the paperwork for the house. They accepted the offer but we need it in writing before we can do anything!! Ahh!

Sleep well my friends. Take care of eachother. Goodnight!!

[wroteonedad]

Top 30 Films of the Year (via my Letterboxd)

I wanted to do something for Christmas that was both a summary and also something a little different from the stuff I already write, and seeing as I record pretty much every movie that I watch on my Letterboxd, then I figured I may as well write about it a little on here. In no particular order, my top 30, the perfect Christmas treat if you're trying to find a little movie to give your family some Christmas cheer.

Charade (1963)

This film is if you imagine House of Gucci except for it's a bunch of blokes trying to frame and murder each other and one of them has stolen the heart of Audrey Hepburn. This film mixes both humour and drama perfectly, and you can play a fun game where you can take a shot for every plot twist in the film. Letterboxd says I rated it 4/5 so that means I recommend it.

Uncut Gems (2019)

I watched this movie for the first time the day that I'd sent off my pcr test to find out if I had Covid (I did) so watching this was an absolute whirlwind after overdosing on cough syrup and laying in bed with a fever. This movie was the first time I'd ever seen Julia Fox in anything which is cool and that pimped out Furby.... I think about him a lot. I rated this 4 stars on Letterboxd so another recommendation.

Scooby Doo (2002)

No, not the movie where Velma wears the latex suit, the first movie. I feel like every Scooby Doo movie is just as chaotic and pretty much the same which is why I probably can't remember the plot to this. I was even more confused to read my Letterboxd review which just says 'i like the bit when mr bean turns into an oompa looma'. 5 stars though.

The Lighthouse (2019)

Truth be told, I hated this movie and my flatmates were very upset to learn that I didn't like it. It becomes funnier when you have the Vine boom noise playing in a video behind it though, it's like having an extra jumpscare. Sorry film bros, I just couldn't hack it. I rated it 0.5 stars meaning it was one of two of the lowest scoring films on my Letterboxd.

Jumbo (2020)

This movie is very French, and if you've watched enough French movies then you will know exactly what I mean by this. Without spoiling the plot too much, this is about a young woman who falls in love with a fairground ride. Very French core. You'll have to watch the rest of the movie to find out how that romance goes. This was given a 4 star rating.

American Psycho (2000)

Do I like this movie or do I just like all the memes that have come with this movie? In terms of a fairly recent cult classic, this is the correct type of movie, but I was even more surprised to learn that the Reddit dreamboat character doesn't own any branded knives, despite the amount of money he has. I rated this a solid 3.5 stars. Solid, like the film plot.

Norbit (2007)

I don't understand why there are so many copies of this movie on the shelves of CEX, it's a bit of an underrated masterpiece really. Put the heroin chic style fatshaming jokes aside, I actually find some of it pretty funny. Mostly the church scene at the end. Rated this 5 stars because I would buy every copy on the shelves.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

As far as a pre-origin story goes to the original show, I think this really hits the nail on the head. It's not the story that we wanted, it's the story we needed. The random appearance from David Bowie was a bit out of this world, like the whole movie. Though I think I need to finish watching The Return and then come back to this movie so everything starts to make a little bit more sense. A solid 3 star rating, though it'll probably go up the next time I've seen it.

Macross: Do You Remember Love? (1984)

Another movie that is based on a narrative from a TV show, except you don't need to watch the show to go straight on to the movie. If you're a fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion and you're feeling a little bit feminine then this is the thing for you. Space girl sings and space things happen. Another 3 star rating.

Paul (2011)

My Letterboxd review reads; 'they did something. i'm not sure what,,, but they did something' and I think that's all I need to say about whether or not I recommend this. 2 stars.

Boiling Point (2021)

If you're British and you've ever worked in hospitality then this is the film that you'll just get. I loved this film. Angry swearing man, lots of people doing gear and an absolute shitshow from start to finish. Gave this a hard 4.5 stars and would recommend to anyone.

The Love Witch (2016)

Aesthetically wise, this has to be one of the nicest movies out there. Taking lots of inspiration from the 60s both in looks and also the overall vibe of the movie. The problem being, the plot feels a little bit empty. It's wonderful in terms of how feminist it is, but that's really all it has going for it. Another solid 3 star film.

The Gentlemen (2019)

I was minding my own business popping into the coffee shop I always go to on my days off when Raz asked me what my favourite film was at the moment; he then proceeded to lecture me because I hadn't seen this and sent me home as homework to watch it. I did. I'll tell you what, it was so worth it. The cast line up is incredible and the plot is just as solid. Proper man film full of classic laughs. Loved it. Gave it a nice 3.5 star rating.

Decision To Leave (2022)

This was the film that I'd told Raz was my favourite at the time. I'd just gone to see it in the cinema and it was just as dark and gripping as I would expect it to be. The subplot aligns with the main plot wonderfully to create a rather depressing ending. 4 stars.

The Interview (2014)

It's a Seth Rogan movie, you probably know how this one is going to go. I used to really like this film a good few years ago, but watching it back this year, I realised the only funny part was Kim Jong-Un riding around to Fireworks in his tank. I gave this a three star rating which is probably a little bit too nice.

Starstruck (2010)

Imagine you're the dude that played Chad Dylan Cooper on Sonny With a Chance and Disney asked you to play some blonde heartthrob dude for an upcoming tween movie they had in mind. This was the end result. The soundtrack features some bangers and the whole film is just full of feelgood vibes. Can't really go wrong here. I rated it 2.5 stars purely based on it being a Disney movie. The plot isn't great, but boy is it fun.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

The easiest way to explain this movie is that it's an Adult Swim classic except it has nothing to do with Adult Swim. Slapstick humour, autism and bad dancing all curate the wonderful comic masterpiece that is Napoleon Dynamite. Remember to vote for Pedro. 4 stars.

Suspiria (1977)

What I really love about this film is that it really doesn't make much sense at all. In fact, it's one of those films that didn't need to be made, but I'm really glad it did. It mixes really bad sound editing so you can't hear what anyone is saying and when you can hear the actors speak, it's because they've dubbed over the original lines because when it was filmed you couldn't hear what they were saying. The colours and the overall setting is magical and insane and for that reason I loved this movie. 4 and a half stars for a pioneering woman horror classic.

Her (2013)

The Joker falls in love with robot lady, or the infamous Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Except this is a very heartfelt story and might actually leave a tear in your eye after watching. Feels like watching a sappy episode of Black Mirror. I rated this 4 stars because I loved the movie enough to buy a physical copy of it.

The Tinder Swindler (2022)

I mean yeah that happened. The only reason I watched this was because Don't Fuck With Cats was made so well,,,, I was left majorly whelmed by this documentary. I gave this three stars for pity on all the lovely ladies he swindled. (don't even think this counts as a movie really).

Contagion (2011)

This movie was far too ahead of its time to be made. I don't need to explain the synopsis to this movie because we already lived through it. My grandma hated living through covid, but she sure loved watching this movie. 4 stars.

The Worst Person In The World (2021)

Just wanted to ask which one of the three main characters was the worst person in the world because they were all equally as bad as each other. I rated this 5 stars and I think if you haven't watched this already, then you should.

Little Joe (2019)

Little Joe could have been one of the most interesting films in the world if the director had decided to not ensure most of the film was just filler. This felt like it was a good 40 minutes too long and literally nothing happened for the last hour. The concept of this film is really cool, but it is like watching a really shit episode of Black Mirror, I rated this 2.5 stars.

The Pacifier (2005)

If you've ever thought about the idea of having Vin Diesel as your personal home counsellor then you've come to the right place. There's lots of scenes of this man both screaming and also saving lives. It's a movie you can both laugh to and also have on as background noise while you take a nap. 4 stars.

In Bruges (2008)

They're filming midgets. 4 stars for the midgets being filmed.

Borat (2006)

Made during the days where Sacha Baron Cohen was still pretty funny and not just using any form of slightly racist joke to make a person laugh. Borat sometimes almost feels like a loveable character. Bonus points for Pamela Anderson as Pamela Anderson. 3 stars.

Personal Shopper (2016)

This film feels like Kristen Stewart begging you to watch her in a movie that isn't Twilight to prove to you that she can act and that she has more than one facial expression. As it turns out, she still only has one facial expression and I find it hard to feel any form of emotion to her character at any point. I gave this a friendly three stars.

Bratz: Fashion Pixiez (2007)

Did anyone ever notice in the film that Cymbeline's dad was pretty much the same model as Fiona's dad in Shrek? I bet you didn't. Now you'll have to rewatch the film again to find that. As far as mid goes, this is the most mid Bratz film out there, the only cool thing is their outfits and that is why it was given a 5 star rating. Vibes only.

Zoolander (2001)

I'll be real with you here. This is not the movie I expected to be writing about, this movie is the last minute thrill of the year. The whole year, my TikTok has been graced with videos of Patrick Bateman with the sigma male captions underneath them, until about literally 5 days ago. My fyp plagued with that one clip of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson pouting at each other on the red carpet. I knew I had to go back and watch the film. This is a break the scale rating of a film honestly. So many random people in it. George Costanzas dad, Paris Hilton and ,,,, David Bowie. Loved this.

Death Becomes Her (1992)

This film has got to be one of the most camp films out there, When I decided to watch this film, the plot was something I was not expecting at all, but boy were they all so real for this. Humour and discussion of women and their insecurities all perfectly blended into one. My Letterboxd review reads, 'this film made me cut my ingrown chin hair off, thanks Meryl Streep' and if that doesn't convince you to watch the film, then I don't know what will.

Well there you have it. I think this list is a perfect compilation of movies. Ones for the family, movies to scream to, movies to fall asleep to. But most of all, no matter what happens this Christmas, there is at least one movie in this list that will match the exact vibe of how it went with your family. And finally, as Gossip Girl says,,,, have a happy jolly holiday. Xoxo, Gossip Girl.

[indigo474]

sick and bored and other stuff- May 21

i'm still sick. I can't run because I can't breath-not a fun spot to be in. I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow. For the first time ever I didn't finish my squats- I did 6 instead of 8- had I taken off my shoes and put on a belt I would have been able to complete my sets. maybe that is why I wasn't upset- I know i'll get it next time and plus I don't feel 100% myself- I asked JAmes to remind me to put on a belt next time. I am incredibly bored with life at the moment. probably because I'm unable to run. any problem I may have is because I cant run at the moment. i'm sleeping well although I keep dreaming about x- so strange to me.. uneasy dream feeling. I can't remember what my dreams are about just that he is in them and an uneasy feeling. dreams of Chatham and Christmas- my brain is still trying to process whatever that was that I went through- that life. there is nothing I can do about it but be ok with whatever my brain needs to do to be ok. I went to church on Saturday. my aunt asked me to go and I said yes but immediately regretted saying yes.. not immediately, but as the day got closer I regretted saying yes.. people make me nervous- i'm not sure why because once I get to where i'm going I am fine- it's just getting there and the anxiety I feel that sucks. it was so odd being in that church- I grew up going there with my grandparents. It seemed brighter to me- like they got new light bulbs- it was a good experience and I was glad I went . My aunt goes to Sunday morning church but I did tell her if she ever wants to go to Saturday evening mass to let me know because I would go with her. I am so over my boss's boss being an alcoholic. she was drinking on Friday and came up with a bunch of new stuff for us supervisors to do.. no clear direction - figure it out. I hate that. I shouldn't have to guess as to what I am supposed to do. it happens all the time and I know its not just me because no one knows what she is asking us to do. I want to do my job and I want to do a good job but I need a clear understanding as to what is being asked of me- I talked to my boss about it and she agrees and she is good at stepping in and getting clarity not just for me but for all the supervisors- it's just a messed up place to work- the dysfunction starts at the top. I signed up to help build a house. its local and a good cause and God knows I need to find something to do that makes me feel like I am making some sort of a difference in this world- it's a start..

[snowmuttgetsweird]

02/19/24, afternoon

Life is so busy, in good ways and in bad, but it's SO busy, that even the good ways start feeling bad.

Just too much to do and not enough time or money to do them.

I've got books, Death Stranding, Ed comes out for Street Fighter 6 in eight days, FF7 Rebirth comes out in 10, I need a new Digimon deck cause my friends just get mad against the two I play right now, and I keep discovering new games I enjoy at work that other folks refuse to play with me. Movies and shows to watch too- need to re-watch the 90's animated X-Men since we're getting proper new episodes- very hype about that.

Legends and Lattes was a good book I borrowed from a friend. He picked up the prequel and gave it to me to read first because I've been reading a lot in my spare time cause it's free/cheap and figured I'd finish it quick, but I'm in the middle of The Archive Undying right now, which the same friend got me for Christmas, so now I feel slightly rushed to finish both fast.

Star Wars Unlimited, the new Star Wars TCG, seems interesting. I'm not especially big on Star Wars as a franchise, and I only played one game with the Darth Vader starter against the Luke starter, but I think the game has good bones- took a lot of good aspects of other TCGs and made something pretty unique that feels interactive, very tempo-based, and difficult to power creep. Bonus that it's designed with drafting and sealed play in mind, which makes it very accessible to new players that may not be interested in constructed play. Unfortunately, no one else I normally play games with is interested in playing with me, and I don't really have time to introduce more friends into my life atm, so that may go unexplored for a while.

Similar situation with Dune Imperium Uprising. Played it at a staff game night once, and been hooked on it since, but haven't been able to play again cause none of my friends are interested- plus it's, like, a four hour game and I don't own my own copy, and if I wanna buy one myself, it's gonna be like, $60+. Woof.

At least with Digimon, a lot of my costs are offset by generous friends that throw chaff from their bulk at me.

On the subject of card games, MtG's siren song has been calling me lately. My day job has me babysitting a bunch of other folks playing card games and board games all day, so I spend a lot of my time watching other people play Magic, and I've been feeling the itch. I might try to pick up a Commander deck and give it a shot.

I'd rather be playing Lorcana, which scratches a similar itch to Magic, but it's just so hard to get my hands on product. I have like, PART of a Belle deck, but with no Belle. She was $13 a pop for like, five minutes, and then the price suddenly shot back up to $20-something before I could spare the scratch to pick up a playset. Still better than the $38-something she was before, but still out of budget unless I save up a little at a time for a long time- not even to mention other Steel-Sapphire staples like Hades, Giant Tinker Bell, Let it Go, A Whole New World and Grab Your Sword. Product has been so scarce though that I think my friends have more or less given up on Lorcana entirely at this point anyway.

Trying to get together with folks when I can to flip some old YuGiOh stuff I've still got, but haven't been successful so far. Was prepped to meet with someone a few weeks ago, and then got COVID and had to put it off. :/

But yeah, no time, not enough money. When I'm not at the day job I'm drawing, and I also have to do cooking and cleaning and laundry and such on those days as well.

Or doing this cause I need a neutral party to vent my feelings and frustrations to. Bleh.

[thxnews]

Stormont Deadlock: Impact on NI's Future

Stormont Still Stalemated: Is the Craic Ever Gonna Get Sorted?

Yo, NI crew, let's talk real. Remember when May felt like ages ago and we were all hyped for a fresh start at Stormont? Turns out, politics is more like a dodgy kebab – messy, unpredictable, and leaves you feeling kinda gross the next day. So, here's the deal: the Assembly just fumbled the speaker vote again, meaning Stormont's still shut down tighter than a chippy on Christmas Day. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton Harris said: “It is disappointing that the Assembly was unable to elect a speaker and restore the Northern Ireland Executive today. “The return of a locally elected, accountable and effective devolved government is the best way to govern Northern Ireland. “However, in the absence of an Executive, the Government will proceed with a pragmatic and reasonable approach to support Northern Ireland.”

What's the Hold-up?

Well, picture this: imagine your mates won't let you watch the final because one of them wants the telly on Peppa Pig instead. That's kinda what's happening. The DUP, Northern Ireland's biggest unionist party, is refusing to play ball unless the whole Brexit bizzness – specifically the Northern Ireland Protocol – gets sorted. Basically, they reckon it messes with our connection to the UK. Sinn Féin, the other big dogs, disagree and want things as they are. So, instead of choosing a speaker and getting on with the boring but important stuff like fixing potholes and funding hospitals, they're stuck in a stand-off like two wee lads arguing over who's next on the Xbox.

What Does this Mean for Us?

Well, buckle up, it ain't all sunshine and rainbows. Without a proper government, Northern Ireland is stuck in limbo. Imagine trying to sort out your uni loan while juggling three part-time jobs – that's basically how things are running right now. The cost-of-living crisis is biting harder than a vampire on garlic bread, healthcare queues are longer than a queue for Ed Sheeran tickets, and businesses are holding off on investing because, let's be honest, who wants to put money into a place where everyone's arguing?

So, What's Next?

The clock's ticking on this one, folks. Unless the DUP and Sinn Féin find their chill zone and figure things out by October, we're heading back to the polls. Not exactly the election day sesh we were hoping for, right? Plus, who knows what kind of political landscape we'll be facing then.

The Bottom Line?

This Stormont stalemate ain't just about suits-in-suits bickering. It's about our jobs, our healthcare, our future. It's time for the bigwigs to stop acting like sulky teenagers and remember why they're there in the first place – to serve us, the people. So, let's make our voices heard, NI squad. Hit up your MLAs, tweet your frustrations, and remind them that we deserve better than this political purgatory. Let's show them that the craic will never get sorted if they keep acting like a bunch of squabbling toddlers. Peace out. Byline I was married to a Northern Ireland lass for 20 years, visited a few times, and feel these silly political statemates have gone on too long now. Sources: THX News, Northern Ireland Office, The author & The Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP. Read the full article

[pastorsperspective]

"Bah, HUMBUG!"

Happy Friday! Sundays sermon was titled, "Bah, HUMBUG!". The scripture was from Isaiah 9:2-6. If you missed it, you can listen to the message here: https://fb.watch/oO_qfcOxQG/ Skip to the 40 minute mark to go straight to the sermon.

It's not a new subject, or a new message. I have no questions about the message and none were submitted. "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and yet the same feelings of "Scroogeness" persist. Christmas isn't magical for everyone. Christmas can be very difficult for some people for a multitude of reasons and I think we deserve to acknowledge that. Scrooge lived alone. He was older, portrayed as bitter, selfish, miserly... What if he was just lonely and overwhelmed by all the expectations of the world? HE didn't have money troubles and could have easily been very generous. So, there's one thing he had going for him that many don't this time of year.

Fourteen years ago I read my favorite thing that I have ever read on the topic of Christmas, ever. It's by christian radio personality and author Brant Hansen. Whos books Unoffendable, The Truth About Us, The Men We Need, and Blessed Are The Misfits, I highly recommend. (New book: Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance - releasing January 16th) It's from his blog: Brant's Blog of Awesomeness: The Krusty Sage. As someone who has always struggled with Christmas and the commercialism aspect and the overwhelming push to make all things "magical", I'm going to share it with you now. It's probably going to step on your toes...

The Krusty Sage Says, "Quit Buying Stuff You Can't Afford for Christmas"

(Once again, a warning about the Krusty sage: He's krusty. That means he's pretty opinionated. He plans no offense to anyone in particular, and has no one in particular in mind. If you're offended, please feel free to let me know, and I'll pass it along. He's usually easy for me to find.)

"Oh, but it's Christmas! It's a special time of the year! I know, we're in debt, overall, but it's Christmas, and that's only once a year and..."

"And..." you're nuts. Seriously.

The Sage says it in love. The Sage also says, in love, that if you spend $150 on your kid for Christmas when you don't have $150, you're not only giving your kid a neat-o Nano, you're giving your kid a gift that keeps on giving: The gift of foolishness, surrounded by beautiful lights, the scent of pine, and fudge. The gift of foolishness, on display, etched in memory. Ah.

Yes, Target and Apple and Best Buy don't advertise many $30 gifts, and they've ratcheted up the expectation level for Christmas. But-- last time I checked -- your will remains free. This means you don't have to be a doof.

Yes, your parents may have overspent every year as you grew up. Yes, they may have been Baby Boomers, seeking to atone for parental guilt, for one or another reason. Yes, there may have been stacks of presents under your tree. Yes, you think this is the way Christmas "is supposed to be".

Yes, so what.

Christmas is not "supposed to be" you, buying stuff you don't have money for. Sorry. If you're a dad, and feel bad because you can't spend hundreds on everybody, tell them you don't have the money for it, and you'll still have a great Christmas. If that makes you feel bad, man up. You're being bullied by a bunch of advertising majors.

Gee, you're in debt? How'd that happen? This is a mystery. Someone call a C.S.I. unit. Maybe they can figure out what happened. Maybe they can piece it together.

Or maybe you bought a bunch of stuff that's ultimately worthless. Maybe you should stop it. Maybe Christmas isn't special at all. Maybe it's just the latest excuse to overspend. Gee. Huh. Wow. Gosh. You think?

"Okay, we're in debt, and yeah, we did buy a $1,200 TV, but it's not that simple, because sometimes --"

No, it is that simple. Sorry. Next?

"But everyone at my kids' school gets tons of expensive gifts like 360s and Wiis and stuff and --" Are you in debt? "Well, yes, but it's not that simple, and --"

Nope. It's that simple.

"But it's not realistic to spend only $20 per person in this day and age, and --" Why? "It's just not that simple, and --"

Waah.

If you don't have the money for it, you don't buy it. Don't act like your kid "needs" a Zune, either. It has nothing to do with "needs", or even your kid, really. It has everything to do with you: Your desire to have some kind of "perfect Christmas", your guilt, your insecurities, your conflict-avoidance, your expectations, and you know, just generally... you.

Bottom line: You wish you a merry Christmas.

"But isn't 'Christmas' in the Bible, and --" No.

Sheesh.

The Krusty Sage 12/9/2008 Ancient Wisdom for No One in Particular

Now, the reason I share this is because I grew up in a home (during years spent with parents) that went big for Christmas. Going big for Christmas often meant that there would be utilities cut off in January and beyond. No phone, or heat, or some other necessity like adequate groceries. I always understood the cost of everything and grew to greatly resent the holiday as I found heat a much more pleasant thing to have in northern Illinois than say, that pair of roller skates and the other dozen items that were glittery and supposed to be fun and "magical". Which is, perhaps, why this blog post really spoke to me when I first read it fourteen years ago, why I still read it every year, and why my family and I choose to 'celebrate' Christmas much differently than your average family.

However you choose to celebrate, or not celebrate. Gift give, or not gift give. Keep joy, hope, love, and peace alive and well in your heart and then you still have the true spirit of Christmas with you.

[travisklcesasdfasd]

PRIVATE: don't call the dog a thing, that's mean, taylor. kitty is a gorgeous dog and just because you're jealous doesn't mean you should go around being mean. you don't like when people say nasty things about you. people could say the same thing about a cat, that it's just a cat. but to you it's not just a cat, i'm an animal lover. she is sassy, everyone is convinced one of your cats took out their anger on me and my jeans when i went to the basketball game the other day. which is clever i'll admit, jason even liked that one. could be a good idea when you're off tour looking for a dog and moving the cats. they'll be adjusting so bring in a dog would be something not too much more since they're already in the process of adjust to a lot. we can keep working on you getting into your head but i think that's human and we're all going to have those moments where we have our doubts. we will make our own christmas traditions that we will get to enjoy and love, despite the football season, and really. who knows right now my contract is extended but it's a 2 year extension but it's only two, not four that everyone thinks, they think it was a two on what i already got. it was a two on what i am with more pay. by then i could be retired and we won't have to worry about football games and christmas. well you know what can i say you're just so fun to feel up that i can't help but want to have my hands on you, i only get to have them on you so often. my hands have to make the best of it while i can. really? i could have swore i told you about the ring but i can at least tell you about that little piece of history and beauty.

this would be a good time to stop but i would handle any moody hormones regardless. if you're ready to stop them babe, i say stop them. i just want you to be safe about it. see three to four is reasonable! i knew you'd think that, but we have to kind of see how that goes because we don't know how fast you'll get pregnant or anything like that. so we'll say you know maybe the goal is four but we'll settle for anywhere between two to four depending on what we can manage. your body could handle it you have the body of an athlete, but i would never actually expect you to birth a football team. your job isn't to just be a mother and someone who brings life into the world.

it would make sense, at least when it comes to our relationship stuff that she would handle it. obviously i'm willing to pay for her wonderful services well since she does do such an amazing job. i just want to keep my ass out of the papers in general because jason would have that thing framed and put in his house to make a constant joke out of it. just what i need my bare ass being his joke. it's amazing how you've just put out this amazing album and people are still figuring out when your rep tv is going to drop. are you fans ever satisfied?

you're right i don't get to pick my team and maybe it's a copout to say i respect that he's allowed to have his beliefs but i mean, as much as i think they're not right, he is allowed to have them. he can be wrong and still have them. i just have to respect that we need to be a team and work together, and i'm the fucking captain. i hold the team together, i don't get to have a pissing match with my team over something like that right now. doesn't mean i don't respect you or the idea that the chiefs were never going to fire me if i spoke up because i'm too valuable. it's the fact that i'm not someone who's going to ruin a season for a bunch of people. how we perform doesn't affect just us. we get our paycheck regardless but you know who it does affect? those who work for the team. the vendors, the people working the stands, the people who clean the stadium, the people in the home office. they rely on us and me making things work to keep them in a job and i may be a dick but i'm not that much of a dick to ruin someone else's life just because i have the privilege. trust me it bothers me more than you think that i can't give my honest opinion on it.

baby, you are a wag. i'm kind of scared what you're going to do for my birthday. i can only imagine what your brain is going to plan. the chief's midnights suit and ttpd outfit is for us and only us. they would know we enjoy way too much. never gonna complain about you being naked baby. things have been amazing. going to see my favorite people at the hockey game, the basketball game despite getting booed, the white house where i got to say hello my fellow americans. it's been an amazing crazy ride but i'm missing your like crazy. those videos.. are my favorite things right now.

Private: Of course you love my moms dog. I should have known. The thing tries and turns everyone against me. He's like an evil mastermind or something. I don't trust him for a second. I'm not jealous, please. It's just a dog. Meredith is questionable with the whole monster thing. She's almost 14 and still goes after ankles as much as she possible can. My sassy little baby. Maybe when I'm off tour we can look at getting a dog. And moving the cats to Kansas City. There's a lot that we're going to try and achieve in that month and a bit I've got off. Call us crazy. I assure you that you do more than enough to make me happy, babe. You've never been the problem when it comes to my happiness. Sometimes I just get into my head a little bit too much and need to work through that. But you are the anchor that keeps me grounded. Meeting you was such a turning point for me. I didn't really see the way out before. So thank you. For being the man that you are and being so patient with me. I have no doubt in my mind that we're going to create our own traditions when it comes to Christmas. It's the joy of creating our own family, right? I'm not going to get you to wake up even earlier on a game day. That's just silly talk, my love. You need all the rest that you can get. And yet, with us both having those things - I'm sure that we're going to find a way to distract each other in them. Considering you feel me up when I'm trying to game with your boys - I have no doubt you'll try and do the same when I'm recording things. Those moments will never come out of the vault. I think building a home together would be nice. Keeping it a secret? I hope you'll tell me one day. Even if it's on your death bed. I don't think you have told me about the ring...

See, this is why I thought it would be a good time to stop because with us being apart from each other so much - it'd give my body time to adjust to not being on fake hormones and everything. You won't have to deal with moody me, ha. I don't really know all that much, either. Defs a conversation for the doctor so I can get fully informed on everything. Three or four does seem reasonable. I'm glad I've got the idea of a whole team out of your brain. I couldn't imagine having that many kids. I'm sure that my body would hate me for putting it through all that.

I really don't know how I got so lucky with her. But I'm sure that she would love to take on doing things for you, too. I am her only client so it kind of does make sense that she manages some of your PR things, too. I can pitch it to her, if that's what you want. I mean, you do have a cute ass. But I want to keep that out of the papers. It's for my view only. We don't need to have a sex tape/photo scandal. I don't know if I'd ever recover from something like that. When the moment is right Rep TV will come out.

And my loudness is entirely your fault. Not that I'm complaining at all. Because I do love that I don't have to hold back with you. I think the only thing that gets me to be a little more quiet is when I'm biting down on your shoulders. Talk about leaving a mark. That people can't see. And that's why you're a bigger man. Because you know how to put those differences aside and work together. You don't exactly get to pick your team like I do. People are always going to pick and chose what of my lyrics work for them and misinterpret them. He is just another guy who did. I'll be polite to him for your sake, but I really don't like that boy. I'll make sure to tune into every moment that I can for Jase. He's my new favorite broadcaster and he's not even started yet.

I don't mind waiting - I can be a patient woman. For the right person, of course. Maybe I'll become a full on WAG instead of you being a groupie. Who really knows what's going to happen over the next couple of years. An early birthday present? If you think that's what you'd be getting for your birthday, you're sorely mistaken. I'm going to be going all out for your birthday this year. I can't wait to celebrate you. I may or may not be putting together ideas already. The chiefs midnights suit would be solely for home use, though. Because if people even got wind of that being a thing then they'd be talking way too much about our sex life. Are you complaining about me walking around naked, Trav? Because I can go back to the nunnery that I was in not too long ago...

I can't wait to have you back in my arms but you go out there and kill it. I can't wait to hear everything that you're going to get up to. The fans in Lisbon were so amazing last night, too. It brought both Hayley and I to tears. I can't believe everything that happened at the show. It was the best crowd yet. I felt so at home.

Trav... that... fuck. Just when I thought I couldn't miss you anymore. Even if it's only been less than a day. Those videos... you will be getting something back. I hope you survive. Because I'm not.

[me-uglypretty]

I AM. HAPPY HOLIDAY TO YOU AS WELL!! YOU. ARE. TOO. SWEET. every interaction with you is a gift that i treasure dearly, i appreciate you bestie <3

(hmmmm, noted. i shall keep this information in my back pocket for later instances that may arise)

((thank youuuuu, i’ve been resting a whole lot and drinking tons of water! i do celebrate christmas but i decided on rewatching hawkeye reasoning that it was christmasy enough lol and definitely not for any other reasons aka kate/hailee no, none at all))

(((I. DID. UUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHH THERES SO MANY EMOTIONS! ! the wedding au was so stinking cute at first but then of course they had to ruin it, and they may have tried to redeem it with nico’s whole hope sequence with tandy but they. didn’t. give. us. enough. the last half lacked so much deanoru i makes me angy. and the last half was just bad overall lol. IT WAS SO RUSHED like if they gave us another season or just a longer third season it would’ve been so much better. do not even get me started on the last episode. but now it is time for me to fully dive into the comics to fill the void)))

((((wait a minute. you hadn’t put your tree up yet?!?:( i hope you were able to enjoy more christmas with your family and do plenty more of the festive stuffs, it’ll definitely help with ignoring life))))

~ input runaway anon

that's so nice of you to say bestie, gtg my eyes are sweating <3

(GOOD TO HEAR THAT. you better take good care and get all healthy. also hawkeye is one of the christmas vibes show and yes i get it i've watch the episodes with yelena a lil too much)

((the wedding was so beautiful though, got me fooled too. BUT YES I AGREE. the way it was done, I honestly do see that they had a bunch of ideas but i had to be cut down and the creators did their best. BUT THE LAST EPISODES IS THE WORST like you're telling me u got that all figured out in one episode??? uH ok sir. at least, the comic is longer so you're gonna get more. ALSO XAVIN??? THEYRE A HARD CHARACTER TO HATE ONCE YOU GET TO KNOW THEM, well, for me))

(((the tree is up! all flashy n might fall over BUT CUTE. my cat stole a decoration from the tree then walked away...like dude just took it off the tree all nicely and acted like she didn't steal shit??? full entertained so all is good!!!)))

((((and it's so nice to have you back! you crossed my mind few times and i just go uHHH what if runaway anon...really ran away))))