#we are Sticking with the rona theme here

[lovelygirlnicole15]

Cherry and Felix born story.

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Warning: This story contains swear words and childbirth themes, readers are aware of reading this.

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Henry and Ellie have been waiting for the arrival of their baby twins, during the pass 9 months they've been preparing everything for their children's arrival... But the labor didn't go like they wanted.

The moment arrived one day when Henry along with Charles, Jacob, Dave, the Bukowski twins and the general Galeforce were on a mission far away, while Ellie was home with Binta, Amelia, Victoria, Sarah and June July, Ellie and Binta were in the couch while Victoria was serving some apple juice for Ellie, Amelia was carrying some baby diapers Ellie asked her to carry because she couldn't grab them and June hand Sarah were helping Ellie to decide the babies names.

Ellie: Thanks a lot for being here until Henry and the others get back from the mission girl..

Binta: Of course Ell-Ell! We'll be here with you until the boys get back!

Amelia: Yeah girl! Anything for a future mother!

Ellie: Thanks. *Feels the babies kicking in her tummy* O-oh... They're kicking..

Binta: Really?? Aww!!

Victoria: Btw did you and Henry finally got any names for them? *Passes the apple juice to Ellie*

Ellie: Not really, but thankfully Sarah and June are helping. *Grabs the glass of apple juice and drinks it*

June: Yeah! I got few adorable names for the girl! Susie, Rona, Karla, Meilin, Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry and lots more!!

Sarah: Well I got few names for the boy! Jonny, Lail, Mikie, Leo, Theo and Felix.

Ellie: Those are adorable names girls, I'll think about which ones I'll pick for the babies after a take a nap... *Tries to get up from the couch but the heaviness in her tummy made it difficult*

Binta: Let me help you Ell-Ell. *Helps Ellie to get up from the couch*

Ellie: Thanks Binta... Uff i wonder when are they coming out...

Binta: Were not so sure, but i think they might be born next week.

Victoria: Nah i think in four days.

Amelia: I'm pretty sure would be in two or three days.

Sarah: Girls let's not think too fast and let the babies decide when they'll come out!

June: Yeah, don't worry Ellie, we'll be talking about the babies while you take a good preg nap.

Ellie: Thanks girls... I'll be in my room resting, if Henry and the others come back let me kno-

Ellie was interrupted by a huge pain she felt in her stomach, causing her to hold her stomach and lean against the wall, Victoria and the others when they saw that they rushed to Ellie.

Victoria: Ellie! Are you alright??

Binta: What's wrong Ell-Ell??

Ellie: I-i felt a huge pain in my stomach...

Amelia: How much it hurts?

Ellie: A-a lot...

June: Come on let's get you back in the couch.

June and the others helped Ellie to sit again in the couch, hoping the pain might wore off, but it was actually the opposite, the pain in Ellie's stomach started to get worse, causing the redhead to shriek in pain.

Ellie: T-the pain is not getting better... It's starting to hurt even more...

Binta: Hang in there Ell-Ell, I'm sure everything will be alright.

Ellie: Y-yeah i hope so- A-AH!!

Victoria: Ellie??

Ellie: U-uh girls... I think we may have jinxed the babies...

June: Y-you're not talking about...

Sarah: Oh boy...

Amelia: A-are the twins-

Ellie: Y-yes!! They're coming!!

Victoria: Oh dear, let's get you to the hospital now!

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Meanwhile, far away from Stick City, an government helicopter was flying across the very long dessert, making it's way back to the government camp.

Henry: Phew... That mission was really hard...

Calvin: You said it man, we almost don't make it alive.

Konrad: Yeah but at least we manage to stop those criminals before it was too late.

Dave: I agreed, without Rupert's fighting skills we could've never make it.

Rupert: *chuckles* it was nothing.

Charles: Hey guys look at the bright side! We're gonna have a good rest after this mission! Right general?

General Galeforce: Yes Charlie, you all did a good job in this mission, so you all deserve a good rest.

Henry: Sounds good to me, I really want to go back home so I can be with Ellie in case our babies arrive.

Jacob: Yeah man, we don't know when are the babies gonna be born.

Henry: Exactly, that's why I wanna be next to Ellie in case she-

Henry then was interrupted by the sound of his phone's vibration, so he grabbed his phone and saw that Binta was calling him.

Henry: Oh Binta is calling me.

Jacob: Really? I wonder why she's calling.

Dave: Yea...

Henry: *answers the call* Hey Bint! How are you?

Binta: Hen-Hen! Have you guys arrived to the government camp???

Henry: Uhh no? We're still way too far, why? And why do you sound nervous?

Binta: It's Ellie! She just got into labor!

Henry: Wait... WHAT!!???

Binta: Yeah! Right now me and the girls are taking her to the hospital! So please tell Char-Char to go more faster so you can be there with her!

Henry: A-alright Bint! I-i'll be right there! Heh! Heh! *Hangs up* O-OH MY GOODNESS!!!

General Galeforce: What's wrong Henry?

Henry: Binta just call me and she said that Ellie is about to give birth!

General Galeforce: WHAT!!??

Jacob: Oh dear...

Dave: A-ALREADY???

Konrad and Calvin: OH NO!!

Rupert: Shit!

Charles: Wait what!!?? But we're still far away from the city!

Henry: I-i know! I thought the babies would be born next week! I-i'm still not ready to become a dad yet!

Rupert: Well let's not waste time and go to the hospital!

General Galeforce: Yeah, Charlie, move as fast as possible as you can!

Charles: Yes general!

Henry: (💭Hang on Ellie... I'm coming...)

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After one hour driving the girls arrived to the hospital, Victoria and the rest of the girls were in the waiting room while Ellie was inside lying in her hospital bed, she was in so much pain and sweating too much, and her breathing was very rushing, it was clear that she was in labor.

Dr V: Breathe easy Ellie, I know you're in a lot of pain but try to stay calm until you're completely dilated.

Ellie: B-but it hurts so much..

Dr. V: I know it hurts Ellie, but you have to breath easy and stay calm.

Ellie: A-alright... *Breathes a bit more calmly despite feeling so much pain*

Dr. V: there, there, you're doing great Ellie, keep going.

Ellie: *Keeps breathing calmly*

Dr. V: There we go.

Ellie: *Feels a huge pain* O-ow!

Dr. V: Alright, now you're fully dilated, we have to start the delivery.

Ellie: B-but Henry's not here yet! I-i don't want to do this without him!

Dr. V: I know you and him agreed to go through this together, but there's not enough time to keep waiting, the babies need to be born now.

Ellie: ...

Dr. V: I can assure you that you're in good hands Ellie.

Ellie: I-i know... B-but I'm so scared...

Dr. V: Don't worry, everything will be alright, you'll meet your babies soon, let's begin now, chall we?

Ellie: *nods*

Dr. V: Alright. *Puts on some gloves* First, when you feel any contractions you must push, you understand?

Ellie: Y-yeah.. *feels an contraction* Uff... *Pushes* A-ah!

Dr. V: Good, now breath.

Ellie: *Breathes* I-i didn't thought the labor would be very painful... Uff...

Dr. V: Well now you're experiencing it.

Ellie: Y-yeah... *Feels another contraction and pushes* A-ah!!

Dr. V: Good girl, you're doing great, you're almost there.

Ellie: G-God it hurts so much!! Please make it end!!

Dr. V: This will end shortly Ellie, just keep pushing and breathing. *Notices the head of one of the babies* I can see a head of one of the babies! Keep going!

Ellie: R-really? Thank God...

Dr. V: The first baby is about to come out, just one more push! Wait for my sign to push.

Ellie: *breathing* A-alright... *Brace herself for the last push*

Dr. V: Alright push... NOW!

Ellie: *Pushes* AHH!!!

Ellie then heard the cry of an baby, despide feeling a bit tired she looked up and saw Dr. V holding an baby girl who was just born.

Dr. V: congratulations Ellie, one of the twins it's a healthy girl.

Ellie: O-oh my beautiful baby girl... C-can I please hold her?

Dr. V: Sure, here you go.

Dr. V gently passed the newborn baby girl to Ellie, as the new mother hold her newborn daughter, she started to tear in joy.

Ellie: S-she's so beautiful... H-hey there sweetie... Shhhh... Don't cry... Mommy's here...

The newborn baby girl slowly began to calm down and stopped crying.

Dr. V: She's so gorgeous.

Ellie: Y-yeah... Uf..

Dr. V: Now you take some rest, it won't last long until the next baby gets ready to be born, so in meantime we're not done yet.

Ellie: Alright..

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After two hours in the waiting room, everyone (including Victoria and the girls) heard an really aggressive door kicking.

Henry: I'M HERE!!! WHERE ELLIE!!??

Rupert: Henry calm the fuck down!!

General Galeforce: Henry we all know you're extremely worry about Ellie but you have to take it easy!

Jacob: Yeah!

Victoria: Gosh man take it easy!

Binta: T-that really scared me!

June: M-me too!

Nurse: Sir, what was that for?

Henry: S-sorry! I'm here for my wife! She's giving birth and I need to be with her! *Nervous as hell*

Nurse: Alright sir, calm down and tell me your wife's name.

Henry: Ellie Rose!

Nurse: Ellie Rose... Ellie Rose... *Sees in the list of patients* Ah! Miss Rose, she's in the room 205 in the second floor with the doctor- *Gets interrupted by Henry rushing to the room where Ellie is* Vinschpinsilstien...

Rupert: Aaaand there he goes...

Charles: Welp what are we gonna do?

Jacob: I guess we have to wait here..

Dave: Yeah..

Konrad: I just hope that everything's alright.

General Galeforce: Don't worry guys, Ellie's strong, she'll be alright.

Amelia: Yeah, she'll be perfectly fine... I hope...

*With Henry*

Henry was running as fast as he can through the hallways of the hospital, until he finally arrived to the room 205 just as the time when Dr V came out of the room.

Dr. V: Ah, Henry, I'm glad you're here.

Henry: Ellie... How is Ellie?? Did I miss the childbirth?? What happened??

Dr. V: Calm down Henry, I know you're extremely scared about it, but I can assure you that everything went fine, your babies were born safe and sound. *Said with a smile*

Henry: *Sighs in relief* That's good to hear... And how is Ellie doing?

Dr. V: *chuckles* Why don't you go inside and find out.

Henry: Alright.. *enters the room*

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Once Henry entered the room, a huge wave of happiness got the best of him once he saw his wife Ellie laying in the hospital bed holding two babies wrapped up in two towels, Ellie was looking tired and sore, but she was alright, just exhausted about the childbirth process.

Henry: E-ellie? *Trying not to cry*

Ellie: H-henry... T-they're so beautiful... Our babies...

Henry by seeing his children for the first time couldn't hold the tears much longer and began to cry of joy.

Henry: E-Ellie... They're perfect... The girl looks exactly like you Ellie...

Ellie: I know Henry... I know... W-wanna hold one of them?

Henry: I want to hold the girl please..

Ellie: H-here you go.

Henry carefully hold the baby girl in his arms, the little one softly got comfy in her dad's arms, making him feel way more happier than ever, he was so happy of finally seeing his children for the first time.

Henry: S-she likes me... My baby girl likes me...

Ellie: heh heh, yes she does...

Henry: How are we gonna name them?

Ellie: Hmnm... I got it! The girl will be named: Cherry, and the boy will be named: Felix.

Henry: Those are beautiful names for them, I like it.

Ellie: *Smiles* I knew you would like those names.

Henry: Heh heh.

Ellie: Welcome to the world Cherry Rose Stickmin and Felix Stickmin Rose...

~The End~

[suspendrs]

angst 11 please!!!

“Nobody’s seen you in days.”

“i think that’s the point, haz,” louis says. “it’s called social distancing for a reason.”

“louis,” harry says, unimpressed.

“seriously!” louis says. “how are you going to get mad at me for isolating myself when the government literally—“

“louis.”

louis sighs. “what?”

“are you okay?”

“i’m fine!” louis says. “why does everyone keep—“

“i know this sucks,” harry says, blatantly cutting him off. louis glares at the tiny image of him on his phone screen, but if harry notices, he doesn’t let on. “i know it sucks that you’re in london and i’m stuck here in LA. i hate it too.”

“i’m literally fine, harry,” louis says. “i’m all good.”

harry still doesn’t look convinced. “you’re alone,” he says. “you hate being alone.”

“thanks for pointing that out, hazza, cheers,” louis grumbles.

“it’s okay to be upset, louis,” harry says. “this fucking sucks.”

louis swallows, tilting his phone back so that harry can only see him from the eyes up. “i’m gonna hang up on you.”

“please don’t,” harry says. “i miss you.”

“i miss you, too,” louis says quietly.

“i’m trying really hard to find a flight home, but california is pretty much in lockdown,” harry says.

“it’s fine,” louis says. “i’m fine.”

“then why do you sound like you’re about to cry?” harry asks.

“because,” louis clears his throat, “i don’t know.”

“love,” harry says.

“this just fucking sucks,” louis says, voice breaking in the middle, despite how hard he tries to keep it from happening. “like, i finally get my album out and get out on tour, i get two fucking shows in, and the whole world goes to shit, and now you’re not even with me and i’m just alone in this house and no one can even come visit or hang out and—“

“lou,” harry says, voice soft.

“i hate this,” louis says, putting his phone flat on the kitchen table to rub at his eyes.

“don’t touch your face,” harry scolds. “have you disinfected your phone?”

“i’ve disinfected everything, harry,” louis grumbles.

“good,” harry says. “i’m gonna try and come home as soon as possible, okay? i swear.”

“it’s not safe,” louis says miserably. “just stay where you are, like they’re saying.”

“no, i don’t care,” harry says. “all i want in the world is to be home with you.”

“all i want in the world is for this not to be fucking happening,” louis says. “but we can’t always have what we want, hm?”

“i’m so sorry, baby,” harry sighs. “pick up your phone, i can’t see your face.”

louis sniffles a little, showing harry his forehead again. harry smiles, and louis lowers the camera a little more, showing harry his reddened eyes, his pink nose.

“love,” he coos. “what have you been up to? how’ve you been passing the time?”

“doing a whole lot of fucking nothing,” louis says. “i even downloaded that tiktok app for, like, ten seconds. i’ve really hit a low point.”

harry laughs, shaking his head at him. “hey, it’s getting late over there. you should get some sleep.”

louis sighs, tapping his screen so the time pops up just above harry’s head. “yeah, maybe.”

“listen, stop being so distant, okay? text me in the morning when you wake up, or so help me god, i’ll fly home just to break your legs,” harry says.

“alright, fine,” louis says. “i guess i can stop moping so much.”

“good,” harry grins. “hey, i love you.”

“i love you, too,” louis says, voice quiet, pulling the phone close to his face.

“you look like an egg,” harry giggles.

louis hangs up on him, smiling at the long string of heart emojis that harry texts him a few seconds later. he eyes the mess he’s made of the kitchen in the past few days since he’s been locked in his house alone, and he thinks about cleaning it up, but, then again, harry did tell him to go to bed, so…

he drags himself up the stairs alone, gets ready for bed alone, and tucks himself under the sheets, you guessed it, alone. he fucking hates this, hates not having anyone in the world to pay attention to him right now; he hates how much he craves having someone’s attention at all times, and he hates the fact that the one person whose attention he can never get enough of is halfway across the world right now, quarantined with friends, because he had the foresight to not be alone when the whole world went to shit.

it takes him a while to fall asleep, but eventually, he manages, dreaming of the day this entire nightmare will come to an end.

send me a sentence starter

[watching-pictures-move]

Dispatches from TIFF #1

Hey folks, after two long years, I’m doing TIFF again, so I figured I’d make a little diary out of it with reviews and other thoughts.

Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels (Turajilic, 2022) 

This was my first screening of TIFF this year (after not having attended the last 2 years thanks to Covid and whatnot), and either I mistimed my commute or they set it up later due to this movie's lower profile, but I miraculously managed to be the first one in line. During the wait, Steve Coogan arrived in front of the theatre, but because I was too slow in pulling out my phone, I only snapped the back of his head as he turned away. Also, it seems like the segment to thank the volunteers gets cringier every year, and I'm glad to see this tradition was continued despite the pandemic. I took a vacation from work to do a whole bunch of showings like I used to do in the pre-'rona days, so expect lots more exciting reportage from the front lines over the week (mostly when I don't have anything interesting to say about the actual movie).

As for the movie, the subject, about Yugoslavian cameraman Stevan Labudovic and his involvement in the Algerian War, is interesting enough to make this reasonably engaging viewing. Like a lot of modern documentaries, there is a certain formal dryness, but I think the access Turajilic had to her interview subjects and the actual footage alleviates that. That being said, I found the film a little frustrating. It reveals towards the end that despite the Labudovic's hero status in Algeria, very few Algerians had actually been able to see his footage. During the Q&A, Turajilic expanded on this, referring to the Algerian government's tight control of messaging around the Algerian War, and her difficulty filming in Algeria until she used Labudovic's name as a way to get access. For a movie as concerned as it is about propaganda and the way media can be an extension of warfare, I would have liked to see it interrogate that last revelation further.

Fixation (Morgan, 2022)

Jittery genre fun with an appealingly twitchy lead performance Maddie Hasson. I found her a bit much in We Summon the Darkness, and that’s probably true here as well, but it serves the material better this time around. This is a about trauma and whatnot like pretty much every modern horror movie is, but works better as it’s more concerned with translating the heroine’s experience into visceral terms than making sure all its themes tie out nicely. During the Q&A the director and cinematographer said they tried to work in a large number of references to their inspirations, but I appreciated that it wasn’t too distracting. I tend to be put off when movies are too studied in their homaging, as I’d usually prefer to watch the inspirations instead. Now, they didn’t cite any specific films in their answer, and I was too embarrassed to ask to confirm, but I’m 90% sure that between the premise and the inclusion of the line “I know you’re watching me” that the filmmakers have seen Nightdreams. I will say that I was less than enamoured by the ending, but I had a good time for most of this.

On a side note, this opens with a trigger warning indicating that the movie contains content some might find triggering, but provides no details as to what that content might be. I’m not inherently against content warnings (I’ll sometimes check the IMDb Parent’s Guide before putting on a movie), but what am I supposed to do with that warning? I imagine most people watching it in this setting bought tickets through the site, which gives more helpful descriptions of what’s in the movie, so it’s not exactly useful for them. And for people who got in from the rush line? The warning has no details. Are they just gonna get up and leave? Okay, rant over.

Sick (Hyams, 2022)

This review contains mild spoilers in the second paragraph and major spoilers in the third paragraph.

The things that stick out the most to me about John Hyams' action movies are the unwavering clarity of the steadicam cinematography and the sheer physicality of the violence, in a way that almost flirts with body horror. Both of those qualities are present here, so Hyams fans will likely have a good time with this. The camerawork is quite a bit choppier, but never hard to follow, as it tends to follow the action in a pretty natural way. In the Q&A, Hyams mentions a reluctance to intentionally shake the camera, and the shakes here feel like a natural extension of the messiness of the action, with confrontations between the killer and their victims drawn out to be much longer and less one sided than is usual in the slasher genre. Which also means that the gnarliest acts of violence make quite an impact (the hooting and hollering by the audience during my screening was well justified).

Now, I'm going to flirt with spoiler territory in this paragraph, so hold off from reading if you'd like to go in completely blind, even though I'll do my best not to give away outright plot points. This is written by Kevin Williamson, whose credit is essentially a spoiler as he recycles elements from the Scream franchise, but applying it to a story set in the early stages of the pandemic (April 2020, to be precise). I've been interested in how movies have been influenced by the pandemic in their production methods and particularly their storytelling. The COVID element is pretty explicit here, with our two heroines heading up to a secluded cottage. The movie presents some of the preventative measures which in retrospect seem a bit excessive (outdoor masking, wiping down groceries, constant spraying of disinfectant), and plays these as punchlines. Some of this is inevitable given that we have more information about how COVID spreads now, and some of that is the Williamson touch. But in the Q&A he discussed wanting to capture the ambient sense of fear in those days into the story, and I don't know if Hyams or Williamson deserve the greater share of blame, but I never felt that the usual slasher sense of isolation ever translated to COVID paranoia.

I am diving into outright spoiler territory in this paragraph, so skip to the bottom if you don't want it ruined. The way the movie tied COVID into the killers' motivations didn't sit right with me, and I'm going to spill over into my personal views here for a second, so bear with me. In the Q&A, Hyams and Williamson spoke about wanting to capture the need to find a specific target to blame to find some catharsis when the threat is more ambient and the causes are arguably systemic. I guess this is where I differ from from them in that I think individual actions absolutely have played a part making the situation worse. It's not an either or situation. I don't think Hyams or Williamson intend to minimize the harm caused by COVID (otherwise they wouldn't have made this a major plot element), but I think of the way the killers in Scream are given time to develop as actual characters ("humanize" seems like the wrong word, but I got a sense of them as people outside the plot). I guess you can blame Hyams' narrow storytelling focus, which arguably enhances the suspense, but I don't think that happens here. Okay, major spoilers over.

In short, this is a pretty effective piece of slashering, even if certain storytelling decisions left me deeply frustrated.