#also like. paul watched moana. he knows the song. that is a FACT. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

trippinsorrows · 2 months ago

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without you + two

authors note: there's a couple moving parts at play here. some foreshadowing in this one as well. as things get more intense, i'll add appropriate cw/tw's.

do not read this story if you haven’t read ’with me’. it won’t work as a standalone.

warnings: none

song inspo: be without you by mary j. blige

one

words: 6k

Since having a conversation with Callie and reassuring her that nothing and no one could separate her from Y/N and Joe, she’s calmed down a bit with the possessiveness. She’s still very much interested in making him her personal playmate, which he doesn’t necessarily oppose, but she’s also just as interested in playing and spending time with Y/N as well.

It’s balanced out.

Joe is even able to take Y/N out for date night that includes a hotel room and night spent with just each other while Callie stays the night at Kaylah’s house with Ellie.

For all intents and purposes, it’s a bit of smooth sailing.

But now, it’s time for meetings.

Because while Joe is on indefinite leave from television and the ring, he still very much has a huge chunk of say in the creative direction of the Bloodline. Thus, scheduled meetings to discuss how that all plays out during his absence are occasional.

Joe is in the middle of listening to Paul and Hunter propose some ideas regarding Joseph, Solo, and his promotion with Joe being off air. He’s about to comment on something when there’s a small knock on the door.

It’s followed up with the door opening, revealing Callie, her tablet and headphones in hand. Joe hits mute on the mic and computer and turns to her. “What’s up, baby girl?”

Instead of verbally responding, Callie walks over and climbs onto his lap. She hands him the tablet and headphones. “I wanna watch Moana.”

Joe chuckles. “I thought you were taking a nap with mommy.” A planned, scheduled thing because Y/N wanted to give Joe some privacy. Wanted to let him be able to focus and zone in on work without his little twin shadowing him.

Not that that matters at this moment. There’s no way he’s turning his daughter away.

“I’m not tired.” She replies in the voice of a child who probably is in fact tired but too stubborn to actually sleep.

Joe takes the tablet, putting the passcode in and unlocking it as he gets to work on syncing her headphones.

Callie, meanwhile, looks around and realizes the computer is on, a video conference between the men at play. Curious, she asks in that sing-song voice. “What are you doing?”

Joe matches her tone, answering. “In a meeting.”

Head tilted, Callie follows up with a question he knows is really for something else. “How long is the meeting gonna be?” I.e. how much longer till he can play and spend time with her.

It brings a smile to his face as she looks over at the screen, waving when she sees Joseph. He quickly hits unmute on both the mic and computer.

“Hi, cousin Joseph!”

Joseph smiles, “what’s up, Callie?” He then asks. “What you been doing?”

“Playing with daddy!” She answers, leaning over closer to the computer than probably what’s necessary. “How come you and daddy have the same name?”

Joseph laughs, shrugging. “I guess our family really likes the name Joseph.”

Callie suddenly takes a bit of an attitude, correcting almost even though she’s literally the one who said they were the same names. “My daddy’s name is Joe.”

Joe chuckles. She’s every bit of her mom sometimes. He beckons her to turn around to face him, placing her headphones over her ears. “She’s supposed to be taking a nap with her mama.”

Headphones on but nothing playing yet, Callie turns back to the screen and only then notices Paul and Hunter. She waves enthusiastically. “Hi, Mr. Hunter. Hi, Mr. Paul!”

They laugh and greet her, Hunter asking, “you don’t want to go take a nice nap? I sure wish I could take one.”

She pouts and shakes her head. “Naps are boring.”

“Spoken like a child,” Paul comments, asking Callie, “I bet you could stay up for a very long time, couldn’t you, Callie?”

She nods again, sharing, “one time, I stayed up till midnight.”

The men on the screen do a wonderful job of feigning surprise at her ludicrous admission. Meanwhile, Joe is trying to figure out just when in the hell this child stayed up so late.

But, that’s a conversation for another day.

He opens up Disney Plus, navigating to the Moana splash screen and reaching it to her. He’s not sure if she wants to resume or restart, so he leaves it up to her.

A small part of him thought she’d be on her merry way with her tablet and headphones all synched and ready to go, but he also knew better. Knows his daughter. Cause Callie only proceeds to sit further back against his chest, tablet in hand as her attention is now devoted to the screen in front of her.

He shakes his head, apologizing. “I guess she’s sticking around.” He adds, “her headphones are on, so she can’t hear anything.” His suggestion to buy her the noise canceling ones truly turned out to be the best decision. “Where were we?”

Hunter waves him off. “No worries. We’re all dad’s here.” It’s evident too in the way they interact with Callie and are completely unbothered by her presence, even if unexpected. “I was just running down your potential return timeline.”

Joe quickly checks, looking down to see if Callie is somehow snooping, but she’s completely in the Disney zone. Good. She doesn’t need to overhear any of this. “Alright.”

Hunter jumps right into explaining, “Here’s what we’re thinking. A possible return for Bad Blood which will set the stage for Bloodline Civil War 2 in November. Then from there, start preparation for WrestleMania.”

Joe nods, taking in the timeline, Hunter asking, “whatcha thinking?” A lot. He’s thinking a lot. “You know this is all still up in the air. Just wanna get an idea of when you plan to come back just so we’re ready and doing what we need to do to make that what it needs to be for you.”

And he knows that. Appreciates it. Truth be told, he hasn’t thought a lot about that. His return. Largely due to the little girl in his lap, the woman upstairs sleeping in his bed as well as the children growing in her stomach.

His family. His family has been his priority. They always will be.

But, he understands that there’s still space to think about his career as well.

“Bad Blood is in October, right?” Y/N is due in September. That’s a month, if that, to be home with the babies. They’ll still be newborns.

“Would he be required to attend all SmackDown tapings following that return?” Paul asks a very valid question, once again proving why he’s such a valuable team member for Joe to have at this point in his career.

Hunter shakes his head. “No. No, of course not. The modified schedule will stay as Joe requested. The SmackDown show immediately following Bad Blood, he’ll need to be at, but we can mess around with specific shows he’s gonna be needed for when we get there.”

Joe nods, appreciative of Hunter willing to accommodate this new part time schedule. There’s no way in hell he could return back to being on the road full time. He couldn’t do that to his family.

Couldn’t do that to Y/N.

“Let me talk to Y/N.” It should be the answer everyone saw coming. “See what she thinks.”

Callie suddenly giggles and shifts on his lap, Joe glancing at the tablet to see it’s a scene with that brainless chicken from the movie. He gestures to her. “And especially this one.”

Hunter laughs a little. “Of course. Take your time. There’s no rush. Joseph’s got this.”

Joe turns his attention to his younger cousin. “You’re doing great already, man.”

Joseph appears deeply appreciative of the kind words. “Thanks, Uce. That means a lot.”

Hunter checks the time on his watch. “Well, I’ve got another meeting in a couple of minutes, so Joe just reach out when you have an answer or just to let me know where your head is. Or you can have Paul contact me too.”

“Will do. Thanks again for understanding.”

Hunter lifts his hands. “Hey. You know if anyone gets how important family is, it’s me.” He then suggests, “but a little father to father advice that I’m sure Joseph and Paul would agree with me on….make her take the nap.”

Paul nods almost as enthusiastically as Callie when she was waving. “Absolutely.”

Joseph chimes, shaking his head. “Man, if you don’t, you gon regret it later.”

Joe chuckles, taking it into consideration even though he’s pretty certain it won’t happen. Callie is too hype. Plus, what’s one day without a nap gonna do to her?

———-

Megan fucking hates being paired with Jeremy.

For one, he’s fucking boring.

For two, he’s old and balding.

For three, he’s too nice. And not even in an insincere way. He’s truly a nice, family oriented, God fearing man. All that is fine and shit if not for the fact they’re supposed to be trying to make a sale here. The goal is to end this informal virtual meeting with Roman Reigns at least expressing that he’ll consider the role.

It’s not going to be easy. All that Megan has heard via coworkers and her own deep dive is that the man is extremely family oriented and not interested in doing anything other than spending time with his pregnant fiancé and kid for the next couple months. If not longer.

Still, with the movie primarily filming in Florida and not starting for another month or two, she’s hopeful that their pitch will be enough to win him over.

Well, less she’s more hoping Jeremy will let her handle this.

She can be….very persuasive when it comes to men.

And Roman Reigns is the quintessential definition of what a man is. Because the minute he joins in on the call, all she sees is broad, muscular shoulders, pretty brown eyes and one of the most handsome men she’s ever seen.

Unfortunately, he’s not alone.

No. There’s a kid on his lap. His kid, she’d guess. The little girl has her head down, focused on something else, but even with that angle, it’s hard not to see the similarities.

It definitely kills her mood a little bit. Hard to fanasize about a man fucking you senseless with his kid sitting right there. Still, she does her best to hide the irritation and jumps to introductions before Jeremy can.

“Hi, Roman. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Megan, and this is my colleague, Jeremy. We’re the reps from Apex that’ll be working with you, hopefully, on your next film.” She flashes him the most charming smile she can muster and nearly moans as he also offers a smile. Not as wide. Just as friendly.

“Nice to meet you both. Please. Call me Joe.” Megan crosses one leg over the other. Joe….it fits him. “I’m also sorry about my daughter being here. She’s really been enjoying me being home.” He ends with a chuckle, kid still not looking up. Good. Hopefully, she’ll stay quiet.

Jeremy’s annoying ass, however, just has to stay true to his gregarious nature. “No worries. I got three at home. I get it. What’s her name?”

Megan has to suppress an eye roll as Joe lightly taps on the little girl’s arm. She lifts her head, and he shifts her headphone so one ear is exposed.

He asks, “can you say hi and tell them your name?”

She pouts a little, voice soft and almost unsure. “Hi. My name is Calista.”

“What a very pretty name, Calista.” Jeremy is quick with the introduction. “My name is Jeremy, and this is my friend, Megan.”

Megan has to force herself to tap into the truly non-existent kid-interacting skills she has. “Hi there, Lis.”

Her pout deepens as she corrects with a fucking attutude, “my name is Calista. Not Lis.”

“Callie,” Joe lightly chides Calista or Callie or whatever her fucking name is. Little brat shouldn’t be there anyway. “Be nice, baby girl.”

“It’s okay,” Megan smiles. One of the first things on the list will need to be finding the brat a boarding school of some sort. She seems pretty young, but there has to be something out there. “My apologies, Calista.”

Megan is relieved when the kid places the headphone back on, tuning out the adults. And to be fair, she’s not the only one turning out because while she’s partially annoyed Jeremy then takes over the handling of the meeting, it allows her time and space to fawn over the man on screen.

God, he’s so damn handsome, and his smile is infectious. She finds herself pushing back her own smile whenever Jeremy makes one of his lame ass dad jokes that somehow Joe seems to find funny.

Must be a father thing.

The request for his real name to be used leads to Megan subtly grabbing her phone and googling him yet again. She can never remember his last name. It’s complicated as fuck.

Anoa’i.

She doesn’t know how to pronounce it but decides to save that for another conversation. Preferably when his failed Plan B isn’t around.

She finds herself doodling on her legal pad.

Megan Anoa’i.

She can’t help the smile this time around. The pronunciation may still be unknown, but it looks damn good on paper.

Way better than Y/N Anoa’i.

But speak of the fucking devil, and she will appear.

Because Megan watches Joe turn his head to the side and gesture over someone who turns out to be Y/N herself, thanks to Jeremy saying something about wanting to say hi.

God, she hates this man.

Y/N apologizes, and Megan has to hold back her scowl at the woman on screen, her hand on her big ass pregnant stomach.

“Hi. I’m sorry,” she chuckles, other hand moving to Calista’s shoulder. “I just came to get this one who was supposed to be taking a nap with me.” She leans down, kissing the side of the little girl’s neck, making her giggle.

Good lord. Is this a fucking family reunion?

Jeremy also laughs. “Don’t worry about it. She’s semed real focused on that tablet versus any of our boring conversation.”

Megan forces herself to join in even though it literally kills her to talk to this woman. Like seriously, what the hell does Joe see in her anyway? If they only had one kid, she’d bet it’s because the bitch trapped him with a kid. But now two kids?

Maybe she gives good head or something.

Megan is better though.

“Oh, I bet whatever she’s watching is way cooler.”

Y/N lands her eyes on Megan. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

Megan forces a deeper smile and little laugh. “Megan. I’m sorry, I don’t think I offered it. Sometimes, I space out a bit during these types of things.”

“Don’t even worry about it. I’m a teacher. I get it.” She doesn’t remember asking this bitch what she does for a living but okay. “I’ll just escort this one….”

Caliope or whatever the fuck her name is starts to whine, and it’s irritating as fuck. “I wanna stay with daddy.”

“Daddy’s gotta work,” Y/N emphasizes, offering a potential compromise Megan hopes the kid goes for. “Come help me make dinner, and you can have ice cream for dessert.”

That does it as the girl gasps, jumps off Joe’s lap, and sprints off, out of view. Good.

Y/N laughs and waves bye. “It was nice meeting both of you.” The feeling isn’t mutual, but Megan musters up another smile and feels utterly relieved when they both leave.

If only Jeremy would do the same that way things could be as they should.

Just Megan and Joe.

—-------------

Mom: Hi, baby. Just got out of evening service, and you fell heavy on my spirit. I just want you to know I’m always here for you, and I know I always raised and told you how strong we as black women are. But, I don’t know if I told you enough how we don’t always have to be strong.

Mom: You’re about to be a mother again to three babies at the same time. That’s a lot on anyone, even with the support you’re gonna have. I guess what I am trying to say is that I hope you know you can always talk to me if you need it.

Mom: Talk to Joe. Your sister. Someone. Just never think that you’re alone.

Mom: Love you, and I’ll try to call you tomorrow. ♥️

You have to read over your mom’s texts a couple of times before shaking your head and chalking it up to her just being an overtly concerned mom who’s worried about her daughter who just moved away from home.

Regardless, you appreciate her kind words even if they don’t necessarily seem….well…..necessary.

There was a bittersweet theme to your first pregnancy, the absence of Joe and not having him as your partner noticeable, maybe more than you initially realized. But, that was then, and this is now. He’s back in your life. For good. You’re about to commit yourself to this man until death do you part.

You’re about to welcome three beautiful babies in the fall. The most strength you’ll need to deal with whatever stress or trial your mom believes is coming will probably be limited to the fact that you’ll have to push out three children at the same damn time.

And even then, Joe will be right by your side.

So again, while you forever love your mom and her thoughtfulness, she’s worried for nothing.

The person who should be worried is your future husband who suddenly walks into the bedroom, brushing his hands together. “Okay, kitchen is all clean, Callie Bear is sleep—” You snort, grabbing the remote to pause the episode of Judge Judy you were watching. “What?”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t make her take a nap today?”

He looks from side to side confused. “Yeah. She said she wasn’t tired.”

Covering your mouth to hold in your laugh, you inform him as kindly as you can, “then that child is not asleep.”

“I put her down for bed. She was falling asleep when I left.”

You sigh. Your poor, handsome future husband is so naive. “Did you take her tablet when you left?”

“No, cause she was sleep.”

“Joe, I bet you any money that lil’ girl is in her room right now on that tablet watching Disney Plus or playing Roblox cause I know you forgot to put the passcode back on it too.” He opens and then closes his mouth. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” You sit back against the pillows, grabbing a couple more pretzels from the bag you were eating out of. “You’re gonna have to go in there and set her lil’ ass straight. Because she’s gonna be irritable as hell too since she didn’t have her nap.”

He sucks his teeth. “I keep telling you she’s sleeping.” You roll your eyes, chewing on the pretzels and sipping some of your sweet tea. “And if she’s not for some reason—”

“She’s not.”

“—I’ll just tell her to go to sleep.”

That makes you almost choke on your food. “That’s funny. You think it’s just gonna be that easy? Joe, you haven’t seen Callie throw a tantrum before. She’s a lil’ nightmare. You can’t be that super sweet daddy. You gotta be stern with her.”

He shakes his head. “I got this, okay?”

You lift your hands in a defensive position. “Okay.” Grabbing the remote to hit play, you start humming the Undertaker music as he walks away.

“Annoying ass,” he mutters under his breath, exiting the room.

Joe is more than certain he’s about to prove you wrong and come back with a smug ass disposition that’ll lead into taking advantage of Callie being sleep by fucking you senseless and reminding you why you also call him daddy.

There’s only one problem with his plan.

Callie is very much not sleeping and instead sitting near her play area.

On that damn tablet.

It takes a second for him to take in the scene before him. “Callie, why aren’t you in bed?”

She ignores him, continuing to play on her tablet. “Calista.”

It’s only then she whines out, “what?”

That takes Joe back for a second. He can’t recall a time where she’s said as such. “Don’t what me. I thought I told you to go to bed.”

She murmurs, mouth pouted. “I don’t want to go to bed.”

Fuck. This is the first time he’s actually had her push back on him. Experienced a side of Callie that isn’t 100% agreeable. “Callie, it’s late, and you need to get in the bed. Now. I’m not gonna—”

“Be quiet,” she whines, cutting him off, turning her back toward him.

Joe is nearly rendered completely silent. He’s never known Callie to be capable of disrespecting anyone like this.

“Callie.” Joe tries to make his voice sound stern. Emphasis on try. Because as frustrated as he’s getting, she’s still his little girl. “It’s time for bed.”

She’s unmoved, still sitting in the corner on her tablet as she shouts out, “I don’t want to go to bed!”

Joe has to mentally count backwards from 10 before trying yet again to get his almost 5-year-old daughter to just go to bed. “I understand that, Callie, but you need your sl—“

Again, she cuts him off, hitting the ground as she screams, “I said no!”

Joe closes his eyes and shakes his head. Without another word, he’s down the hall and in the master where you’re still laid comfortably up in the middle of the bed snacking on some pretzels and enjoying the court case on the TV.

You land your eyes on him, head tilted as you ask with an intentional amount of inauthentic sweetness, “how’d it go, Mr. Gentle Parenting?”

He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. “Fine. You win. She’s not listening at all. What should I do?”

You smirk and close up the bag of pretzels, carefully climbing out the bed. “Watch and learn, Daddy.” You clap your hands to get rid of the salt remnants, providing him some context on just how he got here. “Because you didn’t make her take her nap, she’s extra irritable because she’s tired even though her lil’ stubborn ass is too hard headed to realize it. So you gotta be extra bold with her.”

You can tell he’s partially confused or just not in agreement, clearly needing a demonstration. Taking his hand, you lead him out of your shared bedroom and into hers.

“Calista Manaia Anoa’i, if you don’t get your little ass off that damn tablet and into the bed right now.” His eyes widen a bit at your tone. You’re not yelling, not screaming, but you’re definitely not using the typical tone used with her.

Callie looks up from her tablet with determination that’s a bit wavered. “But, I’m not sleepy!”

You cross your arms over your chest. “I don’t care if you’re sleepy or not. Your daddy and I say it’s time for bed, so it’s time for bed, sis.”

“But—”

You lift a finger to silence her. “Calista. I brought your little butt in this world, and I’ll take you out.” You point to her bed. “Bed. Now.”

Joe watches with slight amazement as Callie stomps over to hand you her tablet and stomps right back over to her bed, climbing in, still pouting.

“And don’t you ever disrespect your dad like that again, you understand me, lil girl?” She doesn't say anything, but she doesn’t need to because you know she knows you mean business.

But it’s when her bottom lip starts to tremble and she starts to ‘cry’ that Joe damn near acts like the girl just got her arm broken.

He starts moving toward her. “Cal—”

You stop him, however, instead telling Callie, “if you wake up in the middle of the night and wanna come sleep with us, you can.”

But Callie is too busy with her tearless crying, shouting again, “I don’t want to go to bed!”

Ignoring her, it literally takes you lightly pushing on Joe’s chest to guide him out of the room as you close the door to her bedroom, partially obscuring the sound of Callie screaming.

“She’s upset. We can’t just leave her.” He seems just about as upset as his unruly four-year-old twin.

You turn around and correct him. “No, she’s throwing a tantrum because she didn’t get her way.” And before he can protest, you point out, “did you see any actual tears coming out her eyes? Exactly.”

“But—“

You wait until the two of you are back in the room before placing your hands on his chest, trying to butter him up a bit before hitting him with the truth. “Baby, I love you so much. You’re such a good dad, but when it comes to this discipline thing, you suck.” He rolls his eyes. “I told you she’s a nightmare when she’s having one of her temper tantrums.”

He really has no need to worry about her. You’ve done this song and dance countless times to know how it works. In less than ten minutes, she’ll be out like a light.

Joe scoffs. “Yeah, well, she gets all that attitude from you.”

You can only also roll your eyes because he’s not entirely wrong. Joe is legitimately a chill ass person. You’re the one who’s got the smart mouth from time to time. Or maybe more often than not. “Maybe so, but you still love me and all my attitude so….”

He moves his hands to your ass, pulling you into him. “Damn straight….”

And before he can kiss you, you hit him with the truth you’ve been sitting on since this afternoon. “So are you gonna willingly tell me about that movie they want you to be in or do I have to fuck it out of you? I mean, I’m cool with either.”

“How about we skip the movie talk and just fuck instead?”

“Nice try.” You lean up and kiss the corner of his mouth. “Get to talking, baby.”

“I knew your ass overheard something.”

“I’m a mother, Joe. I hear and see everything.” Moving away to grab your bag of pretzels, you again remind him. “Now start talking.”

He shrugs. “It’s an action movie.”

“Not just any action movie, they’re rebooting Reacher and want you to have a leading role. Baby, that’s huge. You know that’s one of my favorite shows too. The only man I would ever consider leaving you for.” It’s more a joke than anything, even though Alan Ritchson is not hard on the eyes at all. “Seriously, Joe, it’s a great opportunity.”

“I get that, Y/N, but I’m taking a break from work.”

“No, you’re taking a break from wrestling. There’s a difference.” You motion him over to the bed, patting the spot next to you. He comes and plops his body down. “I heard them, Joe. It’s filming here in Florida. Less than what, an hour away?” His silence is the answer. “And you wouldn’t even need to be there all the time. 2 or 3 days out of the week, max.”

Realizing what’s probably got him most hesitant, you close up the pretzels, placing the bag back on the nightstand. Sliding closer to him, you place his hand on your stomach. “Joe, I’ll be fine. The babies will be fine. Callie will be fine not having her best friend around 24/7. It’s not like you’ll be on the road like you are with wrestling. You’ll still be close enough if we need you.”

“I don’t want you feeling like I’m putting my career first.”

“I would never think that, Joe. Ever. With everything you’ve done for us, there’s no question where your focus is.” This man has been too good to you for you to ever even think he’s about anything other than his family. “I just think this would be great for your career, and I know you’re at least a little bit interested or else you wouldn’t have even agreed to hear them out.”

The guy seemed cool. The woman was alright. Just your average looking white woman. Nothing to write home about. But, they represent something much bigger, an amazing opportunity for Joe to further his career, to possibly transition into something else fully when his wrestling days are done.

“Besides, you said it yourself, you didn’t have to go to Hollywood, Hollywood came to you.” You do your best to imitate him from one of his stellar promos. It makes him smile and laugh a bit.

“Yeah….” He then shares. “Met with Hunter today too, and he asked if I would be open to returning around October.”

You shrug, no strong opinion on that. “That sounds reasonable to me.”

He looks at you, an expression of disagreement on his handsome face. “The babies will only be a month or so old.”

“I’m aware.” You move your hand to the hair at the nape of his neck. “But, you’re still gonna transition to the part time schedule once you return, right?” He nods. “So, it’s not like you’ll be gone consistently. My mom will probably still be here. Kaylah’s here. Alexis is here. We have a really great support system, baby. It doesn’t have to be all on you.”

“What about Callie?” He asks, clearly a high priority point for him. You as well, but Joe’s concern is probably a bit deeper than what’s necessary. “She’s already scared I’m going to leave her.”

“And you will sometimes, because that’s the nature of what you do. We’re working with her on that though.” And you are. Gradually getting Callie to a place where she isn’t as anxious about something happening to her parents. “Plus, she’ll be in kindergarten at that point, so it’s not like she’ll be moping around the house all sad. She’ll also have ballet.”

Not wanting to be too pushy, you decide to leave the ball in his court. “It’s completely up to you, Joe. Just know whatever you decide, I support you, baby.” You take his hand in his. “I’ve also been thinking about the wedding.”

He looks down at you. “And?”

“I think we should wait until next summer to have it.” Before he can protest or ask follow-up questions, you explain, “I don’t want to walk down the aisle big and pregnant. Plus, there’s realistically not enough time for us to plan a wedding before the babies get here. Not to mention, trying to coordinate everyone’s schedule so the people we want to attend can do so is virtually impossible with such a short timeframe.” Because you can’t imagine having a dream wedding if the people you love and care about the most can’t be present. “The babies will be almost a year old. It gives everyone time to clear their schedule. I won’t be as big as a house…it’ll just be better that way.”

You know he knows that you’re right. He doesn’t appear to be happy with it though. “I hear you. I just….” He scratches his beard. “I hate the idea of having to wait that long for us to get married.”

Frowning, you agree with him there. “Me too, but—”

“What—” He cuts you off, looking at you. “What if we didn’t?”

For a second, your heart stops. “Didn’t get married?”

He’s quick to shoot that down. “No. No. The opposite. What if….what if we got married now?” And just like you, he jumps straight into explanations. “We can still have a wedding. As big or whatever as you want it to be, because you deserve that. I wanna give you that. But…but what if we just legally got married now and the wedding is just for the social and show aspect of it?”

The more he talks, the better you’re able to follow along. “Like….like we just go to the court house?”

Your voice must unintentionally indicate some level of disagreement. “I know it’s not how you probably imagined it—”

Cutting him off, you place your hand over his that’s still resting peacefully on your stomach. “I would marry you under a bridge if that’s what it took, Leati.” His eyes soften as your lips curve into a small smile. “But, we don’t need a bridge, because we’re going to the court house.”

He seems genuinely surprised. “Yeah?”

It’s not a hard sell. At all. You love this man. He’s your best friend. Your lover. Your soulmate. Being married legally before the actual wedding is actually a brilliant idea. You want more than anything for you all to share the same last name.

Smirking, you get up and climb onto his lap, your baby bump providing a little bit of a barrier.

“Alexa.” You call out, locking eyes on him as you make your request. “Play Let’s Get Married by Jagged Edge.”

———-

“.....Because I am Wrestlemania!”

Megan’s thin lips turn upwards into a big smile. She likes the video and adds it to her ‘Lover ♥️’ playlist on YouTube. Private, of course. It must be the 50th video she’s added. She quickly clicks the back button to see the result list that has nothing but Roman Reigns videos.

Watching him, watching Joe is such an experience. It’s fascinating to her how he can be such a dominating, narcissistic presence on screen but such a gentle soul behind the scenes. It’s fascinating and impressive as hell how he navigates both roles so seamlessly.

Makes him even more attractive.

But, it’s when a video with Cody Rhodes from the latest SmackDown show appears in her list that she scowls. Megan still can’t believe Joe actually dropped the belt for her. For Y/N.

She’s read articles, seen the gossip on wrestling blogs. The internet wrestling community seems to be torn on that. Half say it was time anyway and that Cody needed to ‘finish the story’ while the other half say Joe himself asked to be relieved so he could spend more time with his family.

And with that fat bitch pregnant with his second child, the second choice seems more believable to her.

Megan groans and turns on her back. She truly cannot see nor understand why Joe ever settled with the likes of that. This man is a god among men, yet he chose a maggot.

He reproduced with that unworthy bitch.

She grabs her phone and goes to his profile again, the latest option in her search history. His page is nearly perfect, filled with Roman based posts except for the last three. No. He just had to ruin the algorithm by posting them. The first personal post is a picture of him, Y/N, and the spoiled little brat, Cathy. The caption is long and essentially him defending them.

From what Megan read online as well as what Paige sent over, Y/N had an ex best friend that leaked a lot of shit online. Some true. Some untrue. Apparently, ever since getting slapped with a slate of lawsuits, one or two of which could include jail time, she’s gone dark.

Unfortunate considering she almost got rid of Y/N for Megan.

The second post is of the bitch. From some date night he took her on or something.

What-fucking-ever.

And the latest post is of the kid with some sappy caption.

Again, what-fucking-ever.

Humming his theme song, Megan climbs off the bed and opens up her top dresser drawer. She digs around, pulling out her favorite red lingerie set and putting it on. Grabbing her phone, she moves to her bathroom, using the mirror attached to the back of the door to snap a couple photos.

Settling on her favorite photo, she uploads the photo, smiling at her caption.

#roman reigns x black!reader #roman reigns fic #roman reigns #arisnotebook

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g30citiesexe · 4 years ago

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my essay on why Paul Matthews from The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals Is Autistic

so uhhh i rlly like the guy who didnt like musicals

its on team starkids YouTube so uh. go watch it now. cuz there’s gonna be spoilers. (warning. the musical has some horror elements and fake blood/gore)

so here’s my list on why Paul Matthews, our main character, is definitely autistic

-he’s very touch-averse (example: la dee dah day. whenever someone touches him in that scene he gets Very Uncomfortable)

-the “is now a bad time?” scene

-He sticks to a specific routine (always ordering the same coffee)

-Has a meltdown twice, first when Emma sings at their first coffee shop meeting, and second after What Do You Want, Paul?

-him mirroring the cops dance in show me your hands

-him returning an awkward thumbs up during la dee dah day

-his whole attitude throughout la dee dah day

-he’s just very socially awkward through the whole show

-his bluntness (”well it might be fun?” “I just don’t want to”, him saying he’d rather do anything than see mama mia)

-his side comments during some of the songs where he’s just. confused as hell

-his repeated “okays?” Definitely some sort of vocal stim of sorts I think

-great at memorizing shit. he knows the words to moana, was able to remember his high school years well, remembered mr. davidson’s want. Also knowing Emma’s boss despite them having like. never talked.

-his whole convo with tim in Black Friday

-also the fact that in the final scene of tgwdlm he’s like very touchy and energetic? which shows that he‘s infected and not Paul anymore?

Anyways thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

#tgwdlm #paul matthews #the guy who didn't like musicals

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takingback-thepenguin · 3 years ago

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tgwdlm!

Since you just gave me the show, I guess I'll answer all of them!

1. favorite character?

It's a four way tie between Paul, Emma, Bill, and the Hatchetfield Bee!

2. favorite person to play said favorite character?

Uh...Jon and Lauren if we're going with the actual show. But also going to add @fencecollapsed for Paul, @graceschasity (as well as our friend Martine) for Emma, @miacheezytoon for Bill, and myself for the Hatchetfield Bee.

3. character you relate to the most?

Definitely Paul, Emma, and Bill. I can be a bit forgetful but also loyal like Paul, I'm snarky and sarcastic like Emma, and I can be enthusiastic, loyal, and sweet like Bill.

4. character you would most like to play?

I got to play Hot Chocolate Boy and the Hatchetfield Bee in a liveread, so I'll list someone different. I'd love to play either Emma or Melissa, even though I'm not a great singer.

5. character you would most like to meet?

Probably Bill, Emma, Paul, or Melissa! I think I'd get along really well with those four.

6. most underrated character?

You know...I'm not actually sure? But for some reason my mind is saying Bill or Deb even though I've personally seen a lot of love for both of them.

7. favorite sung line(s)?

I've said it before when talking about tgwdlm, I love the line "But what will I let in if I let it out?". Other favorite sung lines are "Oh he pines after a cute little barista, isn't that worth a show stopping fiesta?" because I love Lauren's voice there, "What an ass, what a bitch, what a cuck!" because it makes me laugh, "Should we kill him? Should we kill him?" because of the Dracula arms/aggressive dabbing, "Put your words to lyrics and you're playin' the game now." because I think it's a cool lyric, and "It's the ciiiiircle of life!!!" Because god that cracked me up and I love Bill!

8. favorite spoken line(s)?

Probably my top favorite is "Who is it!?!?" "Professor Hidgens!!!" "Don't lie to me whoever you are, I'M Professor Hidgens!!!" because that was the line that made me say "I HAVE to watch this show!" I laughed so hard when I first heard it and I still do. Other great ones are "Sing the beginning of Moana!", "It's crabfest, Alice! You're killing me!", "I'm gonna kick your...head!", and "Now Paul...get in a trashcan."

9. first song you heard from the show?

I think the opening number?

10. song you play on repeat?

Let It Out and Inevitable.

11. song you skip when it comes on shuffle?

Prefacing this with the fact that I love Jeff Blim and I think he's amazing, but probably You Tied Up My Heart (because I'm very specific with the slow love ballads that I like and there aren't many), and America Is Great Again (because it has amazing harmonies but it's scary to listen to when you think about the implications and with that song I always do).

12. most underrated song?

While it's not my favorite, You Tied Up My Heart is probably the most underrated.

13. favorite head cannon?

The Hive has siren powers! It would explain why no one really left the room while the infected people were singing, and while Charlotte even seemed drawn to Sam in You Tied Up My Heart.

14. three words that describe this show?

It was inevitable.

15. overall rate?

11/10, I wish I could forget what I knew so I could go back and rewatch it for the first time again.

#answered #i speak #tgwdlm

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frankensteindotpdf · 6 years ago

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Jon’s TGWDLM Livestream

I offered to write out all of Jon’s answers in his q&a (not verbatim, just a summary but also it got a little long, sorry for that) so here it is! sorry if there’s typos, i wrote this at 2am lmao i put most of the qs in bold

it was hard not to kiss jeff in WDYWP, especially because his face was so close (great way to start it off)

“Sing the beginning of Moana wasnt improvised”

He loves Not Your Seed and Show Stopping Number

His favourite piece of fanart is one of the first ones with red paul blue paul (in let it out) and he had it as his homescreen for a while

he got into starkid by doing Power Prom with jeff and lauren, (as well as another show with jeff and another with quite a few of the starkids) and then they asked him if he was interested in auditioning and he sent in a video audition and tah dahhh

if he could play any other character from tgwdlm it’d be hidgens (though he says part of the reason he loves hidgens so much is because robert did such a good job fleshing him out)

“how close are you and jeff” “uhh who’s jeff?”

paul’s job was originally gonna be a movie critic (buzzfeed-esque) (and at one point in WDYWP they brought up how he was reviewing a Hamilton movie musical-which was, incidentally, his fav deleted bit) but it ended up being at a customer service center “but most of the time he fixes printers and plays on the internet”

jaime helped out with some of the lyrics to CORC/COPC because she’s a barista

his fav memory with the cast was before shows and one time when they hung out after the show at a diner

his fav line that almost made him break every time was “Latte hottay...my wife...yknow like borat, dude” (it made him break a couple of times but he was always walking off stage like right as he said it)

he really liked the line “we’ll make a jammin’ cup of java, mocha latte with the froth for you, jack, frappuccino!” he just thought the wordplay was real good

fav joke was probs the moana bit (he broke a couple of times there too)

fav song was Show Stopping Number (and he said the way the songs flow when you’re listening to it on the album is so good)

he never found it boring to go to rehearsals because James and Lauren are such good choreographers and all the actors are so good at singing and dancing he got to watch them perform all the time and he really enjoyed it (how pure)

his reaction to hearing the show’s plot was “hell yeah, this is gonna be so much fun”

when he first heard let it out he was stoked because in high school he had tried performing Confrontation from Jekyll and Hyde with just a boom box so no one could actually hear the music and it didnt go well so he felt like that song was letting him redeem himself

his fav moment from the show’s run was the first show because they were so stressed because it was the first time they went all the way through the show with tech and music and it went really well “It was magical. we were all,like, on this adrenaline endorphin high and, uh, it was awesome.”

fav character from any starkid show is either nick playing robin or nick playing obi wan from Ani (he’s seen the scene where obi wan walks into the bar “probably a million times” because he loves the timing and the dry humour) but also nick gage as sultan from Twisted

fav moment to watch in the show was the part after Not Your Seed when the aliens were trying to talk at the same time

“would i have wanted to sing more? no, because i got to sing these two awesome songs” Let It Out was really fun to do but also daunting, and in Inevitable he got to sing parts of the other songs

no real mishaps with the blood capsules, just getting fake blood all over his face and shirt (but that was fine cuz it made him look like more of a badass in the next scene, as long as he remembered not to wipe it off)

fav line that he said? “ok”

“will i ever make my own version of Love Never Dies?” he wants to be in a musical about death (more of a “silly fun romcom”) and thinks that concept has so much potential

he’s inspired by The Adventure Zone and that’s where he got the name Travis from (idk what he’s talking about being inspired about, he never really says)

if paul drank the coffee, he would have been infected

there were no pranks, but

before one of the last shows he was rehearsing outside and he “stepped in human poop” like 20 minutes before he had to go on (he threw out the shoes ofc and luckily a member of the band had extra shoes that fit)

general advice? “number 1 surround yourself with people who love and support you and that you trust and you like to have a lot of fun with 2 if you can develop a skill that you l can support yourself when you’re not working, develop that skill, its really important just so you can put food on the table and also you’ll hear a ton of advice and there are a lot of training programs about how to act and how to sing but find whatever works for you...understand the character and do whatever you can to remove tension” (that was a lot lmao but i thought it was good advice)

there were lots of little improvised bits in the show but his fav was trying to figure out what he and emma were gonna say when they were going through the alleys

before every show they’d put their arms around each other and make a one word story (i can explain the game if you dont know what it is)

paul still wants a carpet

the starkid actor he’d want to play paul (if it wasnt him) would be brosenthal or brolden

fav food is “fuh”? im sorry im a dummy ive heard of it but i cant spell it but yeah he likes it cuz it hydrates you and it’s delicious

he doesnt know the “alexa play despacito” meme

he’d love to speak mandarin (and do a film in china, he’s never been)

paul cant hear the background music when the aliens sing

his fictional band would be named either Territorial Fashionistas, The Light Quixotic, or Immortal Bond

fav fan moment was with a fan who had just had a really bad breakup which reminded of himself and how being true to yourself is more important than staying with your partner

dark mode looks cooler on his phone so he likes it best

in songs where he got to watch others singing and dancing, he was smiling on the inside and the fact that he couldnt sing or dance for most of the musical was made up for by the songs he did get to

MY QUESTION!! (yes, i screamed) “Why did Paul offer bill and mr.davidson a ‘nice caramel frappe, nothing better’ when he only ever ordered black coffee?” he’s gotten them for Bill before cuz it’s his favourite, and he was just saying anything to try to get away from mr.davidson

he knows the lyrics to Moana because he secretly loves musicals after having watched so many with Alice growing up, but he wont even admit it to himself “he says he likes hamilton way more than mamma mia, so, yknow. he has an opinion”

he hopes it’ll come to chicago but he doesnt know if it will

his fav musical is a tie between Chess and Little Shop of Horrors

the backstage was really nice

he was honoured to have lauren spit on him

he was, of course, sad when it was over (but he’s stoked to move to LA)

finally, in the ending he revealed what his decision was for the end with paul, but i think it’s better expressed through a gif so check out: https://showstoppinnumber.tumblr.com/post/182153650669/theguywhodidnotlikemusicals

that was so long haha sorryyy i didnt wanna leave out anything. it was fun! hope you enjoy it, @realshowstopper!! if y’all have any qs hmu

#tgwdlm #q&a #jon matteson

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tywvin-archive · 6 years ago

Photo

below the cut are various tags i was tagged in!

rules: repost and answer the 20 questions and tag 20 people you want to get to know better

i was tagged by @rcbbstark tysm franzi!! <33

tagging: @lilttlebird @gabannas @leejordan @lesbianathene @helenstroy @zenik @thisbes @lokiofasgcrd @sirius

NICKNAMES: john, leni, lennister, ele

HEIGHT: 5′3″? 5′4″? i’m short you get the idea

ORIENTATION: bi

FAVOURITE FRUIT: apples or granadines i’m so basic ik

FAVOURITE SEASON: winter!!!!

FAVOURITE FLOWERS: poppies, carnations, sunflowers, and dandelions (are those even flowers?)

FAVOURITE SCENT: rain, lavender, the sea, new books, new stationery

FAVOURITE COLOUR: dark green and navy blue! and pastels

FAVOURITE ANIMALS: it used to be dolphins but i guess it’s cats now. i also really like horses and bulls for some reason? and lions because lannisters, you know

COFFEE, TEA OR HOT CHOCOLATE: all three? i can’t choose tea

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: it ranges from 0 to ~5 to 11, it’s either one of those three, no in between

CAT OR DOG PERSON: cat

FAVOURITE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: tywin lannister + brienne of tarth + jorah mormont + leia organa + han solo + indiana jones + asha the iskari + torwin + inej ghafa + kaz brekker + jesper fahey + bilbo baggins + sherlock holmes + many more but i’ll make it way too long

NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH: one in summer and 2+ in winter

DREAM TRIP: greek islands, japan, route 66, south america

BLOG CREATED: march/april 2018!

# OF FOLLOWERS: 1.5k

RANDOM FACT: i can’t stand william shakespeare even though i have to admit (painfully so) that he is an absolutely amazing writer

i was tagged by @ladymargeary thanks! <3

tagging: @casterlys @polydeuce @barbara-minerva @okoie @dracoluciusmalfoys @maiaroberts

name - john

star sign - capricorn

height - 162cm? 163cm? idk anymore

put your library on shuffle; what are the first 4 songs that came up?

hot n cold - the baseballs

no more lonely nights - paul mccartney

jailhouse rock - elvis presley

red balloon - never shout never

grab the book nearest you and turn to pg 23, what’s on Line 17? a moment before, she had seemed to need counselling from me

ever had a poem or song written about you? i wanna say yes because i think so but i can’t remember so nope i guess

when was the last time you played Air Guitar? i don’t usually play air guitar so, months ago

who is your celebrity crush? elvis presley

what are 1) a sound you hate, and 2) a sound you love

forks scratching on a plate

storms

do you believe in ghosts? kinda?

how about aliens? ABSOLUTELY

do you drive? not yet

if so, have you ever crashed? nope

what was the last book you read? i’m currently reading the last namsara by kristen ciccarelli the last one i read was utter crap so i’m not even listing it

do you like the smell of gasoline? hell yes

what was the last movie you watched? get out

what’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? i had a serious illness when i was little but i think that doesn’t count as an injury so, i guess that time i bumped my head into concrete floors and almost passed out i fainted so hard i started trying to solve equations in my head to see if something had gone wrong. idk why? i’m horrible at math, there are other times but not really feeling like mentioning them

do you have any obsessions rn? s t a t i o n e r y & organization

do you tend to hold grudges against people who’ve done you wrong? whoops yeah

In a relationship? mentally? yes. physically? hells no, keep them away from me

tagged by @rcbbstark & @nancynwheeler! thank you <3

rules: we’re snooping on your playlist. set your entire music library on shuffle and report the first 10 songs that pop up. then choose 10 victims!

save us - paul mccartney

don’t stop me now - queen

black hole (liar liar) - never shout never

say say say - paul mccartney ft michael jackson

talking in your sleep - the romantics

twenty flight rock - eddie cochran

i need a dollar - aloe blacc

mine - bazzi

chasing pavements - adele

dancing in the street - martha reeves & the vandellas

tagging: @leiaaorgana @murmuroftheland @polaroids @sirius @kazrietveld @shcdebarrow @dovageidys @hwppers @aragohn @peterparkarr

my top 5 ships!

tagged by: @daeneryn tysm <3

television:

1. jaime & brienne (got)

2. jorah & daenerys (got)

3. cersei & the iron throne (got)

4. jake & amy (b99)

5. emily & sylvia (the handmaid’s tale)

+ sherlock & watson from the bbc series

books:

1. achilles x patroclus (tsoa)

2. ari & dante (aaddtsotu)

3. jesper & wylan (soc)

4. sherlock & watson (conan-doyle)

5. asha & torwin (iskari)

superheroes:

1. steve & tony (marvel)

2. steve & diana (wonder woman)

3. steve & loki (marvel) liza told me about this ship and... wow i love it

4. wade & vanessa

5. wade & colossus

disney:

1. mulan & li shang (mulan)

2. moana & the sea (moana)

3. tiana & naveen (tiana)

4. ariel & moana (i really want gay mermaids okay)

5. mufasa & sarabi (the lion king)

tagging: whoever feels like doing it!

rules: answer 20 questions so your followers can get to know you better, and tag 20 other people you’d like to know better.

I was tagged by @marttell, thanks feli! <3

name: john

nicknames: answered above

zodiac sign: answered above

height: answered above

languages spoken: spanish, english, and a tiny bit of portuguese

nationality: spanish

favorite fruit: answered above

favorite season: answered above

favorite scent: answered above

favorite color: i’ve already answered this 34649846 times so! have some palettes (just like feli did bc i’m an unoriginal bitch)

favorite animal: answered above

favorite fictional character: answered above

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: answered above

number of blankets you sleep with: answered above

when your blog was created: answered above

favorite subject: greek! oh i love greek damn

currently watching: i’ll probably start some new shows! but idk which ones yet

favorite band: the beatles

instruments played: i could play a bit of guitar but i think i’ve forgotten everything i knew

favorite book: The Song Of Achilles - Madeline Miller

I’m tagging: whoever wants to do this!

#🏷: tag games

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takebackthedream · 8 years ago

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Shareholders Showdown: Will Disney Break From The Beast? by Jacob Swenson-Lengyel

Exclusive access to President Trump might sound good to a CEO, but it comes at a cost to your business. Just ask Uber chief Travis Kalanick.

In early February, Kalanick was compelled to step down from Trump’s closed-door economic advisory council after People’s Action and other grassroots groups called for his resignation, and more than 200,000 Uber customers deleted their accounts.

Yet, others remain eager to get Trump’s ear. Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, for instance, has said serving on the economic advisory council is a “great opportunity for me to have a direct pipeline to the president.”

But many of Disney’s customers, workers and shareholders disagree, and that disagreement will be on prominent display Wednesday at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting in Denver. Members of People’s Action and our local member organization, Colorado People’s Alliance, will be making the case on International Women’s Day that Disney should stand with women, children and families, not an administration that’s bent on attacking them at every turn.

Disney and ‘The Beast’

Disney (NYSE:DIS) is the home of Snow White, Aladdin, and Rogue One, as well as the ABC and ESPN television networks. The media company may well have the most family-friendly image of any publicly traded corporation in America. Doting grandparents take their grandkids to Disney theme parks as a virtual right of passage.

While not without critics, Disney champions diversity and inclusion in its products and policies – from the theme song “It’s a Small World After All” to “Moana” and their upcoming remake of “Beauty and the Beast,” which reportedly includes Disney’s first openly gay character.

President Donald Trump, on the other hand, has spent his first weeks in office viciously attacking immigrants and religious minorities, endangering the health care of millions of American children and families, weakening the rights of transgender youths and slandering the nation’s first black president as mentally ill. Trump’s administration is also actively endangering our democracy by attacking the free press and publicly working to undermine the judicial and legislative branch of government. Even Sean Spicer can’t use enough “alternative facts” to put a family-friendly spin on the Trump agenda.

So, why would a company like Disney hitch its wagons to Donald Trump’s administration?

Iger – and some Disney shareholders – likely have their eye on the enormous tax cuts President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan plan to push forward this year. If the Republican plan succeeds, the corporate tax rate will plummet from a statutory rate of 35 percent to 20 percent, despite the fact that corporate taxes are already at historic lows as a percentage of the federal budget.

Despite the negative impact these tax policies will have on everyday Americans, companies like Disney and wealthy CEOs like Iger are hoping they pay off big time. Some analysts are already calling Disney one of the most promising stocks to watch in 2017.

The World Will Know

Iger seems to think he can cozy up to Trump and reap the benefits of tax cuts while distancing himself from divisive issues like the Muslim ban, the Republican gutting of health care and ICE’s expedited deportation of immigrants. Even as Iger seeks exclusive access to the President, he expects the public to believe Disney is above the political fray.

Under a normal administration, it might be possible for a company to pick and choose what elements of a president’s policy agenda to support, and how to collaborate around a fixed set of issues. But this isn’t a normal administration. Right now, there are no sidelines. President Trump poses an unprecedented threat to our democracy and to the American people, and even corporations have to decide whose side they are on.

What Iger and his business analysts don’t seem to have factored in yet is that Disney’s customers, workers, and shareholders have the power to stop the company’s wagons and hold them accountable for their actions.

People’s Action is leading a coalition that has already collected more than 513,000 signatures on a petition calling on Iger to resign from Trump’s board. People’s Action alone collected 76,922 signatures. Those signatures will be presented at a rally outside of the shareholder meeting to highlight the public outcry over Disney’s collaboration with President Trump. You can follow the rally on social media using the hashtags #BadMickey and #LetHimGo.

People’s Action campaign director Mehrdad Azemun and Colorado People’s Alliance organizer Robel Worku also plan to take that message directly into the shareholders meeting, where they will publicly give testimony about the direct impact Trump’s agenda has had on them, their families and their communities.

Meanwhile, hundreds of petition signers also pledged, without prompting, to boycott Disney or sell their shares in the company.

Dean Foster, a Disney shareholder from Brooklyn, N.Y., made his position clear: “I have been a Disney stockholder for a decade, but I will sell my shares unless Iger leaves his post with Trump.”

“I am proud of how the company values inclusiveness and diversity, both at home in the U.S. and in our international operations,” wrote Stephanie Haas, a Disney worker and shareholder. Iger should “resign from Trump’s Economic Advisory Council,” she says, “to protect the company, your own reputation, and the future of our country.”

“Our family has canceled our plans to Disneyland,” said Claudia Seskar of Divide, Colorado. “We are a group of 10 and will find better things to do at home.”

Rebellions Are Built on Hope

While it remains to be seen if public outrage will force Disney to stop its collusion with Trump, the success of the #DeleteUber campaign shows people power can carry the day.

Less than two months in, Donald Trump is already the least popular president in modern American history. Millions took to the street the day after the inauguration in women’s marches around the country. Thousands rallied at airports when Trump first unveiled his ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries. Wednesday’s “Day Without a Woman” protest is expected to lead to closures of hundreds of businesses and even whole school systems. There are no signs that the resistance is going to let up.

Disney and other major corporations should take note. Tethering a corporation’s brand and reputation to a deeply unpopular administration is a risky bet. In the end, collaboration could prove costly.

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agentnico · 8 years ago

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Top 10 BEST Movies of 2016

So I have finally seen all the 2016 films that I was planning to see, so now it’s time to talk about my favourite 10 films of this year. And what a year 2016 has been! It started really badly, as until about April there were hardly good films coming out, then the Summer season came which was also very disappointing *cough cough* ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ *cough cough*. And then the Oscar season came along, and this is where al the good movies came in, which made it really tough for me to make a final top 10 best movies of the year list, as I kept switching different films around and deciding which ones deserve or don’t deserve to be in my top 10. The only movie that I was 100% sure would be in my top 10 is my No 1 film of the year, which by far overpowers any other movie I have seen in 2016. So here you go, my favourite films of 2016, as well as a few honourable mentions that only just missed the list...

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: High-Rise, Silence (didn’t make it into the top 10 because of the disappointing ending), Manchester by the Sea, Moana, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Sing Street

10) Deadpool – There were quite a few superhero flicks that came out this year, but the one that actually impressed me was in fact ‘Deadpool’ (sorry ‘Civil War’ fans!). It’s just that what this film was able to accomplish, from bringing back a character that was ruined before and making him cool again to also proving that just because a film is R-rated doesn’t mean it will underperform at the box office, this film is worth all the praise and more.

9) Swiss Army Man – For a film that was referred to at the film festivals as ‘the farting corpse film’, this is a surprisingly touching tale that was filled with both great comedy as well as a strong emotional core. In addition, we have Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe giving exceptional performances, and I just can’t give this film anymore praise. It definitely is an odd movie, but somehow it works.

8) Deepwater Horizon – Possibly one of the most surprising little gems of 2016. A story set on the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded during April 2010 and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Why do I think this film is so good? Because it wasn’t Hollywood-ised. By that I mean that this isn’t a happy fairy-tale action movie where everyone’s a bad-ass and do everything whilst looking super cool. No, all the characters in this film act like actual any-day working men. Thus you are able to connect more as an audience member to all these people, and morally support them as they fight for their survival and for the survival of others. This is a very inspiring film about men and women of true courage, and is definitely worth seeing.

7) Kubo and the Two Strings – This stop-motion epic is the perfect film for children that, instead of having yellow creatures running around shouting “BANANA!!”, actually tries to tell an intelligent story by using ideas from myths and legends of the Japanese culture, and the result is this beautiful tale that I had so much fun watching. I’m not the biggest fan of animated films, but this one definitely sold me.

6) Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping – I can say with ease that this Lonely Island mockumentary is the funniest film of 2016 that I have seen, as it perfectly pokes fun at all the pop culture clichés and possibly has the best cameo line-up this whole year. Also filled with some great catchy songs, from the ‘Equal Rights’ song where Samberg tries to show how much he supports rights, however at the same time trying to emphasise how not gay he himself is, to the shocking Bin Laden song, the music alone makes this film worth a watch.

5) A Monster Calls – A family film that manages to perfectly blend and balance the dark realistic themes with the fantastical, making a great gateway for those unfamiliar with the coming-of-age genre. This is the perfect movie that teaches kids what to expect from life, and that not everything is just sunshine and rainbows.

4) 10 Cloverfield Lane – Well this one was a massive surprise for everyone, wasn’t it! The original ‘Cloverfield’ film, which I happen to actually enjoy, came out back in 2008, after which many rumours were surfacing about a possible sequel, however nothing major seemed to be happening with this franchise. But then suddenly in January 2016 a surprise trailer hit for a film that had the Cloverfield tag in its title. And though this is more of a spiritual sequel rather than a proper continuation, this movie was a great little confined movie about these three people stuck in a bunker hiding away from what might be an alien invasion. This is a suspenseful film that is definitely worth seeing for sci-fi fans, especially for John Goodman’s incredible performance.

3) The Nice Guys - Shane Black, who most of you will probably know as the director of ‘Iron Man 3′ is really at his best when he does his own passion projects, and not big studio films. Which is why ‘The Nice Guys’ works so well. This is an original film, which is quite rare nowadays with all the remakes, sequels, prequels, resequels and what-not, but this is indeed an original film set in the 1970s, a setting that is perfectly captured in this film with the costumes and soundtrack, and its simply pure joy to watch this thing. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe share hilarious banter as they buddy up to solve this mystery of a missing prostitute, and this results in an extremely entertaining film. Thank you for this one Shane Black, it is a real shame that such a good movie underperformed at the box office. No wonder we aren’t getting a lot of original films. People simply don’t go out and see them.

2) Nocturnal Animals – No other film this year left me as speechless as ‘Nocturnal Animals’. This movie…it’s hard to explain it. It’s one of those films that you just have to watch yourself and realise how great it is. The directing along by Tom Ford is a big enough reason to see this one. ‘Nocturnal Animals’ is one of the most intelligent thrillers I’ve seen in the past few years.

1) La La Land – Ever since I saw this film, I knew that nothing else would beat it this year. This is an utter masterpiece, as it pays homage to the old school musicals as well as giving an emotionally filled realistic look at how difficult it is to be successful in Hollywood, that is if you are trying to be an actor or a musician, and that when it comes to it, what is more important: love or career? Also the dancing sequences are choreographed spectacularly, and there is also the use of what ‘Birdman’ did, which is filming long takes all in one shot. Also Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling both shine in the lead roles, and……well, I can praise this film endlessly. All I’ll say is that if you’ve been living on the moon this past year and missed out on seeing all the films, the one movie you definitely 100% must see is ‘La La Land’. This is destined to be a modern classic!

So let’s hope 2017 will bring us as many good films as 2016, if not more. One thing I’m hoping for is a better summer movie season, as 2016′s summer films were an utter disaster!

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