#i need to see more dad!russell movies

[wildsaltair]

the only time I ever think “man I wish I had kids” is (1) when Russell Crowe is talking about his sons in an interview and obviously such a good dad or (2) when a character played by Russell Crowe is being a good dad in a movie

[alotofpockets]

Our kids | Katie McCabe x Reader

Where a miscommunication leads to no one being able to watch your kids while you'll be at work and Katie is about to head to camp

A/n: thank you @totaly-obsessed for your help with this one!

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.5k

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You were enjoying a peaceful evening at home with your wife, Katie. Your kids were spending the night at your parents’ house, giving you a rare opportunity for some one-on- one time, which you desperately needed before Katie would leave for camp in two weeks.

Though you adored your kids and the little family you had built, the constant energy of four kids could be overwhelming. There were Evan and Avery, your children from before you met Katie, and Erin and Riley, the children you and Katie had together.

Raising Evan and Avery on your own with the help of your parents had been challenging, but you had mastered the life of a single mom and thoroughly enjoyed being a mom. When you met Katie, it felt like a new world opened up for you. She was the loving, caring, and supportive partner and parent you had always dreamed of starting a family with.

While the quietness of the evening was nice, it was to no surprise that the quietness got interrupted. Your phone rang loudly throughout the room, you picked up right away when you noticed that it was your mom. “Hi love, don't worry, the kids are alright.” Her instant reassurance was something you deeply appreciated.

“Hi mom, that's great to hear. Having fun with the kids?” Your mom tells you a little bit about their evening and that the four of them are currently watching a movie with your dad. “The reason for my call is because I wanted to check something. The kids were talking about going to Ireland for one of Katie’s games next month, and I wanted to check with you if that meant Katie would be going into camp soon.”

“Yeah, Katie is leaving for camp in two weeks.” You answer, not yet aware of the reason that needed a call. “Alright, I don’t want to assume anything, love, but your father and I will be out of town the same two weeks that Katie will be in camp. Maybe you have made other arrangements, I just wanted to check, cause usually we help you out with the kids when Katie is away.” 

You listen to your mom talk with widened eyes, had you not spoken with your parents about this trip? You could’ve sworn you had, but you had been so busy with work that you might just think you had done it already. “Eh mom, can I call you back?” The new information got you stressed instantly, and you wanted to figure it out and not make it your parent’s problem.

“What’s wrong?” Katie asks, curious what got you so shocked. “Babe, I forgot to ask my parents to help me with the kids when you’re in camp, and I totally forgot they are going to be out of town for the duration of it.” Before Katie could jump in, you continued. “I can make it work. I raised two kids on my own, I can handle four for a couple of weeks.”

That’s the moment Katie feels like she has to step in. “Darling, while I have no doubt that you could handle all four, you don’t have to. You’re not on your own anymore, we can figure something out together.” 

“Sorry, sometimes I forget I don’t have to do it all alone anymore.” Katie smiled and took your hands in hers. “It’s okay, I understand. But remember that just because I am away on camp, doesn’t mean those aren’t my kids anymore. You will always have me, and so will they.” 

Once you calmed down a little, Katie grabbed her phone. “I have an idea, let me make a call to see if it is an option. I will be right back, okay? No stressing in the meantime!” She pecks your cheek and moves into the kitchen to make the call.

“Alright, I called Eileen, and my idea is definitely an option. I can take the kids with me to camp, that way you won’t have to worry about finding someone to watch them when you’re at work. Russel is bringing her kiddo with her, so they already arranged for childcare, and they said it wouldn’t be a problem to add a couple more kids to that. What do you think?”

You let the plan settle in your mind for a moment, thinking of the logistics. “Okay that could work. So then Evan, Avery, and I will meet you, Erin, and Riley in Dublin the day we’d all come to Ireland?”

Katie looks at you with a face full of confusion. “What? No, I meant taking all of them. Did I say something that made it seem like I would only bring half the kids?” You thought for a moment. She hadn’t, but you had just assumed she’d only take the youngest two. “I don’t know, but are you sure about taking Evan and Avery as well?”

Your wife had dealt with a fair share of your trauma surrounding being left with your kids from your previous partner, so she had a feeling what was happening in your mind right now. “Darling, I am very sure. Evan and Avery are as much my kids as Erin and Riley are. When I talk about the kids, I always mean all four of them.” Katie looked your face over and knew exactly what her next move would be. 

“I mean they even look like me, no? Same smiles and everything!” Her words painted a smile on your face. “Ha, very funny.” Katie wiggles her eyebrows, “Must be if you’re laughing!” Your face turns back to serious. “I love you. Thank you for being the best mom to our kids, and the best partner to me.” Your wife leans in to kiss you. “You are the best mom though.”

You laid back into Katie’s arms on the couch as you called back your mom to tell them your plans, with the request that she wouldn’t tell the kids. You wanted to tell them yourselves.

“I’m really looking forward to this camp.” Katie said after you hung up the phone. “I can’t wait to take the kids along and show them more of the behind the scenes. I think they will love it.” You nod in agreement, “I think they will too. They always love visiting you at Arsenal, I think they will have a great time seeing you at Ireland camp.”

“Plus, it will also be nice to have some time to myself as well. You know I love our kids more than anything, but since I’ll be working ahead with work to be able to take a few days off to visit you, it will be nice to come home to a quiet house and recharge. Not having to worry about who will watch the kids, is already making me feel more relaxed.” Katie hugged you a little closer. “You deserve it, darling. We are a team, and we’ll always find a way to make things work together.”

As you had expected, the kids were having the time of their lives at camp. Katie sent you videos and pictures any chance she got, and every night before bed, you would video call with all of them. 

The days flew by, and before you knew it, you were on your way to Ireland yourself. You took a taxi from the airport to the training grounds, where Katie had the kids all together waiting for your arrival. 

“I see Mama!” Avery was the first to spot you and ran towards you, with Evan on her heels. They made it into your open arms at the same time. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much!” You hug them close. You hear more little feet rushing your way and look up with a big smile on your face. “More kids that I’ve missed so dearly! Come here you two.” You lift both of them up in the air, while the oldest two cling to your legs.

“Welcome to Ireland, baby!” Katie moves closer to you, “You’ve been missed as well.” She leans in for a kiss between the bundle of kids surrounding you. “It’s great to be here. The quietness was nice the first two days, but the rest of the time I missed all the crazy.” 

“Mama, we're not crazy!” Erin chimes in. “Hmm I don’t know about that little miss.” You start tickling her side and she starts squealing, “Sounds pretty crazy to me, don’t you think babe?” Katie watched the interaction with a fond smile, “The perfect amount of crazy.”

The next few days you got to spend as a family all together. You had intended to only stay for the home game, but since it was so quiet at home you had worked ahead more and asked your boss for some extra time off. Meaning you were able to travel with everyone to the away game as well. 

All in all, it worked out perfectly. And Katie once again proved to you that the two of you were a team and would always work together to figure everything out. You weren’t alone raising your kids, and you would never be again with Katie by your side.

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katie_mccabe11 just posted

katie_mccabe11: A special camp with the kids. Grateful to be able to bring them along and to be able to play in front of the incredible fans that showed up for us. Thank you for the support ☘️💚

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[berzahoes]

my love is mine all mine | tom blyth

summary: in which tom was the supprt y/n monroe needed

an: i normally don’t have a faceclaim for any of my works but i wanted to make samara weaving the faceclaim for this fic because i love her and she just fits the role 🤍 ofc you can always imagine someone else!! ALSO i know there’s already a film called my week with marilyn lets just pretend it doesn’t exist 😍

INSTAGRAM

liked by rachelzegler, zendaya and 6,367,380 others

y/nmonroe back in production 🤍

rachelzegler PROUD OF YOUUU❤️

monroearchive thank you for this!!

tomblyth i love you

y/nmonroe love you more 💋

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liked by tomblyth, y/nmonroe and 3,477,177 others

marilymonroeproductions our lovely president getting ready for our big announcement!

oldhollywoodglam ANNOUNCEMENT?!?? ALREADY

iconicmonroe i hope they sue netflix for making blonde

y/nmonroe 💋❤️

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MY WEEK WITH MARILYN LA SCREENING

y/n and tom were attending a screening of my week with marilyn in secret. she really wanted to see the reactions of a certain part of the film. she was told by the staff that the theater was full which made her nervous and happy.

from the side, she and tom watched as the audience payed close attention to the last few minutes. a picture of marilyn faded out as lana del rey’s say yes to heaven played.

a clip of y/n in holding a newborn baby was shown then it showed tom carrying the baby. “during summer last year, i became a mom. that’s when i got the idea for this film. i want my daughter to know what an amazing woman marilyn was.”

y/n could hear several gasps and even some sobs coming from the audience.

“i named her daisy lorelai blyth.” some people clapped, others gasped when they realized where the name lorelai came from.

y/n turned her attention to tom and kissed him. “thank you for being with me and daisy.”

“you’re my girls.”

liked by sofiacoppola, honeymoon and 2,377,280 others

y/nmonroe thank you to everyone who has seen my week with marilyn! it warms my heart to see how many of you loved our film. daisy also wanted to thank you all for loving her movie debut 🤍and a big thank you to tomblyth for helping me make this film. daisy and i love you forever!!!🫶🏼

rachelzegler I MISS DAISY CAN I COME VISIT??

y/nmonroe OF COURSE SHE MISSES HER AUNT RACHEL

monroearchive it was such a beautiful film!

directedbycoppola it’s not out yet in the uk 😭

maximoffxromanoff what is it about?

directedbycoppola so basically when y/n was a child, she was given a camera and for her middle school project she tried to make a documentary about marilyn but she never finished it because she changed schools so this is her finishing it. the trailer looks great and i read articles that it has interviews with jane russell before she passed with a young y/n.

tomblyth i’m so incredibly proud of you! thanks for giving me the greatest gift of being a dad to our daisy ❤️

blythupdates OUR DAISY 😭 DO YOU HEAR ME CRYING??

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[leclerc-s]

track 005. jugaste y sufrí

─── ❝ yo ya no quiero sufrir, quiero ser feliz ❞ ───

masterlist // previous // next

lando norris so i guess oscar unknowingly became a dad??

ollie bearman why is that where you brain immediately goes?

mae jones his brain needs to be studied under a microscope.

checo perez can i leave now?

dulce perez si yo tengo que sufrir tú también tío! checo perez ya me voy. daniel jones-ricciardo unless austin shows up in texas or vegas. checo perez mierda.

fernando alonso sergio! there are children here!

bailey winters have any of you tried locking them in a closet?

penelope trevino hmm. that might work.

ollie bearman what she needs is therapy. sebastian literally said she was afraid of falling in love. AUSTIN MADE HER CRY IN MIAMI!

arthur leclerc she would've cried over anything. she's an emotional person.

dulce perez have you see the group picture? max verstappen she was crying over tangled.

daphne jones-ricciardo i cry over tangled too. it's a beautiful movie.

pierre gasly that's because you are rapunzel and daniel is flynn rider.

arthur leclerc but yes, she does need therapy.

logan sargeant has anyone seen oscar? we were supposed to meet up for lunch?

oscar piastri i forgot sorry. logan sargeant YOU DITCHED ME?

max verstappen go have lunch with zoya or something.

zoya torres what the fuck? why are you signing me up for things? max verstappen if you show up one more time to my apartment crying over your ex and hoping to steal my cats were going to have problems. zoya torres it was only twice. mae jones it's been 7, he started keeping track. there is a board on our fridge and everything.

dulce perez hey, you know who else is missing?

daniel ricciardo-jones SHUT UP!

ollie bearman she's with me!

isabella perez i am not missing dulce! i told tio checo where i was going

logan sargeant oh it must be nice to not get ditched by your friends. i wouldn't know BECAUSE OSCAR'S A TRAITOR!

oscar piastri how exactly is it my fault that thing 1 and thing 2 showed up at my hotel room at 6:30 in the morning and dragged me out to breakfast?

ollie bearman you're lucky it was 6:30 isa dragged me out of bed at 6. isabella perez WE LITERALLY MADE PLANS THE NIGHT BEFORE OLIVER!

fernando alonso i was unaware isabella and oscar had acquired a grid child

oscar piastri bella has a grid child not me. i don't want him ollie bearman you're a horrible father. ollie bearman i hope you dnf in monaco oscar piastri i'm not your dad! ollie bearman good. i wouldn’t want you as my father. you’re horrible and you suck! isabella perez oh great, now you've made him sad oscar!

oscarpiastri, isabellaperez, and olliebearman posted new stories

i'm going to die with her behind the wheel. that smile is plotting murder. what is it with drivers and showing up in team gear to everything? they will also sleep anywhere, as shown by ollie. i feel like i'm interrupting something.

alex albon did you or did you not go out on a date with oscar?

isabella perez no, i did not go out on a date with oscar.

george russell i call bullshit! i saw ollie’s story! esteban ocon i agree.

charles leclerc wasn’t she out with oscar and ollie? how is that a date?

pierre gasly aww a family date! isabella perez i’m going to murder you gasly

natalia ruiz boys, leave her alone.

isabella perez it wasn’t a date! ollie was there!

alex albon which means if ollie wasn’t there it totally would’ve been a date

lewis hamilton when will the day come where all of you learn to mind your own business?

pierre gasly pretty much never

mae jones isa, it was a fucking date if i’ve ever seen one. trust me on this one.

isabella perez yes, i'll take advice from the people who had a fwb relationship, a situationship, and someone who broke up with her ex because she was afraid.

isabella perez really the only one's who should be giving me advice are esteban, george, alex, and lewis.

pierre gasly you're mean sometimes.

mae jones and for the record i wasn't afraid!

alex albon explain things i wish you said? charles leclerc or you're losing me? esteban ocon or exile? mae jones OKAY I GET IT!

sooo, how'd the date go?

it wasn't a date logan.

oh sure and ollie wasn't third wheeling the two of you.

he wasn't?

MY BROTHER IN CHRIST HAVE YOU SEEN HIS STORY?? YOU ARE IN L-O-V-E!!

how can i be in love?? i barely know her

okay, fine, you have a crush on her.

no, i don't.

yes, you do. i know you pastry!

you don't know shit. i don't have a crush on her.

oscar, either i'm fucking blind or you're stupid but you, my australian friend, have a massive crush on her.

fuck off

no, i don't

sure buddy, and i'm not from miami

but you are?

exactly my point.

logan sargeant he's got the l-word

lando norris leprosy??

daniel jones-ricciardo how the fuck did your mind go to leprosy?

lando norris bailey and i watched ice age last night.

bailey winters max, you're performance in that movie was amazing

max verstappen i will take lando out.

pierre gasly the way his season's going he'll take himself out first. lando norris literally fuck you gasly. i know you and esteban are going to take each other out at least once this season.

logan sargeant OSCAR'S IN LOVE!!

arthur leclerc WITH WHO?? logan sargeant i cannot believe that sentence just came out of your brain.

dulce perez my sister i assume??

logan sargeant well, it's more like a crush but that counts right??

daphne jones-ricciardo and you came to this conclusion how?

logan sargeant denial is always the first sign, no?

carlos sainz it is like lando when he said he wasn't in love with bailey! lando norris we are not talking about me.

isabellaperez posted a new story

paddock dad isabella, are you okay?

super max are you depressed? honey badger did austin call again?

duckling i'm okay. i think.

duckling i'm feeling things. i don't know if they're good or bad.

paddock dad therapy helps. duckling so i've heard.

super max good things or bad things?

duckling I DON'T KNOW!!

duckling feels are hard. i don't want them anymore.

paddock dad sorry kid, you're stuck with them forever. duckling SEB! MAKE THEM GO AWAY!! paddock dad i can't isa. you have to face them.

duckling here's a thought, what if i don't? i could ignore them, they'll go away eventually.

super max you've already tried that isa. it's not working out that great for you.

honey badger already tried that kiddo. maybe it's time to talk to someone?

duckling i'll call my mom!

paddock dad that's better than one of us.

isabellaperez posted new stories

my mother won't answer the phone, who's more important than me?? her baby?? her pride and joy??

nothing like a good ole lana song to cry too.

taglist: @burningcupcakefire @arkhammaid @sunflower-golden-vol6 @applopie @lorarri @mypage-myfandoms @bb-swift @thewannabewriter @you-bleed-just-toknowyouarealive @stopeatread @hobiismyhopeu @lilsiz @alessioayla @niniluvsainz @au-ghosttype @cowboylikemets1989 @justtprachisblog @rmeddar123 @nichmeddar @landonorizzz @unluckyyoshi @Mimolovescookies @brekkers-whore @natcha888 @camdensreg @mycenterfold @dear-fifi @prongsvault @kaa212 @anxxiousaries @julesbabey1 @julesbabey @georgeparisole @Smnthnclj @dan3avocado @melissayalene @nothanqks @nikfigueiredo @bella-1 @namgification @jensonsonlybutton @chezmardybum @d3kstar @weekendlusting @anytimeanywherebitchblog @ragioniera @burberryfilms @trouble-sistar @lesliiieeeee @leclercsluv @33-81 @theseus-jpg @lorenaskaspersen @sarah-thatstings-ann @My-fangirling-outlet

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¡leclerc-s speaks! OLLIE IN F1!! LET'S GOO!! i also couldn't help myself including that ice age joke. does this qualify as angst?? i don't think so? this has also been sitting in my drafts for ages.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

[lets-try-some-writing]

okay but what about robots in disguise?? its not a favorite of mine but it’s still pretty good. russel and his dad are decent lol

Frag that show.

It disrespected TFP on every level and for that it has my eternal hatred and contempt. The humans were annoying, and I HATED how many interesting plot threads there were that were either done poorly or with so little tact that the writing team should have just scrapped it. The designs are tolerable, but I hate how canon TFP characters lost so much of their individuality in their designs (coughtheopticscough). Smokescreen is fricking GONE, which bothers me more than I care to admit. We see the rest of the team enough to be reasonable, but they all appear in ways that don't really make me happy.

Ratchet was done well enough in my opinion. I like his RID design. It suites him. Optimus's design can go die in a hole, they brutalized that mech. Same with Jazz. Frag those stupid shoulder pads.

Grimlock is fun, I appreciate Sideswipe, although his helm hair thingies I think need a redesign to make sense in relation to his alt mode. Strongarm was HORRIBLY underutilized and I hardly saw any character growth in her. Drift and his crew were interesting, but similarly not given much room to grow. I really liked Windblade for the most part, especially the episode where she tries to baby Optimus and comes out having relearned that Op is still a PRIME with MILLIONS OF YEARS OF WAR EXPERIENCE.

The Primes who've done nothing but sit on their rears had NO RIGHT to belittle Optimus at every turn. Nor did the show have the right to make him an idiot for the sake of making Bee look smarter. As @nova--spark has pointed out, the personality Bee got in the show matches Smokescreen better. Bumblebee wouldn't have SUCKED so much at the whole leadership shtick. What happened to all that skill shown in the movie huh? HUH WRITING TEAM????!??!?!

While I am on this train. OPTIMUS DIED SO GOSH DARN LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! He should have stayed deceased, or if they REALLY needed him back, he should have either returned as an Civi or came back with actual issues. Like dang hear me out mate.

Optimus is forcefully returned to life, beats the Fallen with his borrowed power, but then has to actually deal with the consequences of essentially being a walking bomb for a while. Make him start losing plating, make his frame HURT, make him slim down again into the TFP base design. Just, give him a reason to have to sit back and RECOVER. Not this whole half hearted limping around garbage. To add to that, don't baby the mech. Let him stay at base and fulfill the role Ratchet did in TFP. Let him use his knowledge to teach and offer wisdom, plan battles and locate enemies. For Primus's sake he could have gone undercover on Cybertron or something if they really needed him to go be useless elsewhere.

THEY COULD HAVE EVEN HAD AN ARC WITH HIM GIVING THE TEAM A WAKEUP CALL!!! SIdeswipe has no respect for the mission, Grimlock is a fool, Strongarm is too snarky, and Bee in this seems to have largely forgotten about the seriousness except for during key moments. They could have made Optimus a minor antagonist, forcing the team to follow wartime standards since they laid down this plot thread regarding issues between leadership styles and Optimus trying to take control of the operation more than once.

I would have paid money to see Optimus's wartime mentality show itself in the best and worst ways through how he worked with this group of non war vets on a Decepticon capture mission. Maybe even have him use lethal force once or twice, or at least hint at it so that people can be reminded that he is a mech who went to war, killed countless bots, and both drove their people to and saved their people from extinction.

Bee could have had to teach Optimus to calm down. He could have helped eased his leader out of his wartime mindset. Or following that whole council running Cybertron route, Optimus could have had his moment of being very much right when he points out WHY he fought at all and gestures towards the new council. There was SO MUCH potential in this show, so many good threads and interesting Decepticon character that could have given so much depth to the war and the aligned continuity as a whole, but they were almost ALL ignored.

*deep breath*

Alright, sorry about that. I have big feelings in regards to how dirty Optimus was done. Moving on, the Predacons were killed off supposedly and that pisses me off ESPECIALLY because it was done in a fricking offscreen setting. What the hell happened to Predaking??? WHERE DID HE GO????

Starscream's design was rad though, not going to lie.

Where is Shockwave? No seriously where is that fragger? After several years of the map he MUST have an army growing in a tank somewhere.

Soundwave. Why. ARe. YOU. HERE??!?!?!? I love you man but dang you are so out of place. He made sense in the context of trying to get to Megatron, but idk he felt like he deserved better. He should have been the big brain behind the Cons on Earth if you asked me. It would have made everything far more intense, especially if the Cons dont follow Decepticon creed as seen by Soundwave.

The humans were annoying. Sorry they just were.

Fixit is Primus's gift to RID and he's one of the few individuals who makes it less annoying. Idk, I just like him in reasonable doses.

WHERE ARE THE TFP KIDS?! WHY HAS BEE NOT CALLED THEM?? GOOD HEAVENS THERE IS A WHOLE SUBPLOT RIGHT THERE!!!

*yet another deep breath*

Apologies.

To put things simply, I would rather a group of fanfic writers put RID together than whoever the writing team was. They could have made a coherent story with deep characters that actually address the ramifications of millions of years of war and lingering functionalist mindsets. They would have done the lore and the world justice even if there were no main characters popping up.

I think RID has so much potential, but that almost all of it went right down the toilet due to either the higher ups sticking their noses where they don't belong or because the writing team couldn't go two minutes without retconning or otherwise destroying established everything.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[acuar-io]

haii interview incoming about your ocs

If they were an animal what animals would they be?

Do they have any siblings? hows their relationship with family?

Where are they fromm? do they speak another language?

What's their biggest (stupidest) fear?

Favorite music genre/artist?

and last because im yapping away...are there any fun facts or deets about them youd like to share?

YAY OC ASK TIME!! I actually answered this on the app and tumblr poofed it. So im going to reanswer the questions again lol. Its going to be a long one so BUCKLE UP CUS HERE WE GO!

If they were an animal what animals would they be?

Sephtis would be a black cat 🐈‍⬛, Izara a bunny 🐇, Benny an otter 🦦 and I have really introduced him to the blog yet and gotten into his character, but Dante would be a dog 🐶 specifically a Jack Russell

2. Do they have any siblings? hows their relationship with family?

I love this question and I will get more into detail with all of my ocs in another post or in their character page (when i create one :3)

Sephtis has an older sister (three years older). They both have a good relationship with their mother, but a terrible one with their father. Their dad actually cut ties with them because they are both (according to him) "a disgrace to the company and family name" he ended up giving the company to their cousin because neither of them wanted to inherit their fathers company, nor cared about his business lol. Their father was never really there for them, their mother practically had a facade the entire marriage & fought so much for Seph and his sister to live "normal lives" as nepo babies (lol) they were pretty popular in school because of their bg which they hated. Their parents divorced Sephs senior year of hs and at that time is when his dad cut ties w him as well.

Izara is an only child. She has a good relationship with her parents. They're more on the traditional side & older people, so sometimes they dont see eye to eye, especially when she was in Junior High & High school. Izara's interests concerned them (literally just regular interests teenagers have that freak out ethnic parents bc they need theyre becoming demons or some shit lol) also didnt like that she loved art and wanted to be an artists/art curator. Eventually though, they understood that they cant control what their daughter does with her future and that is all up to her ( I think they left her alone more so because they realized she is successful in her art and modeling career).

Benny is the youngest of 4. He has 3 sisters. His relationship with his parents was really shitty growing up, sadly. He is gay & hes known that for his whole life. Having 3 sisters and being the only boy, he loved to play with dolls. His parents being very religious, seeing him play with dolls, was not something they liked. Even if he was just playing with his sisters. In school, he was bullied. There was name calling and rumors that spread around about him. His parents hated the rumors and name calling not because it hurt Benny, but because it makes them look like bad Catholics. Benny truly only had his sisters and other female friends by his side throughout school. It wasnt until high school where things seemed to change for the better. This especially were better because he had Sephtis. His parents have come around, but they def took their time to finally accept their son.

3.Where are they from? do they speak another language?

Sephtis is from Osaka, Japan (Mt. Komorebi) then moved to Los Angeles at age 4 (Del Sol Valley). He speaks English and Japanese!

Izara is from New York (San Myshuno), shes Ethiopian-American. She speaks English and Amharic.

Benny is from Quebec (have no idea what sim world would be considered Canada lol) He speaks French & English

What's their biggest (stupidest) fear?

Okay so Sephtis & Izara are afraid of movie characters LMAO Sephtis will forever be afraid of Kayako (The Grudge) movie he watched as a kid with his sister that scarred him as a child ksfkksfks. Izara specifically does not like the older Godzilla (model?? costume??) she thinks its ugly and creepy as fuck like literally nightmare looking ass creature. IS THIS NOT JUST CREEEPY TO U???

Ok I wouldnt say Benny's is stupid....hes afraid of bugs specifically roaches. I mean logically, hes bigger than them so he can step on them and kill them, but he just finds them super fucking gross that he cant bring himself to do that lol.

Favorite music genre/artist?

Sephtis' fave band is BUCK-TICK, Fave genre is Rock (I'll keep it broad because he loves a toe=ne of sub rock genres).

Izara's fave artist is PinkPantheress! For groups, she likes New Jeans, Aespa & Perfume (yes she listens to kpop/jpop). Fave genre is pop for sure!!

Benny's fave band are the cranberries!! fave genre is also rock, but he prefers alternative rock!!

and last because im yapping away...are there any fun facts or deets about them youd like to share?

Okay well, I want to share a little about Seph and Benny's relationship rq!! So they went to the same high school. Sephtis is a year older than Benny. Their paths didnt officially cross until Sephtis' senior year and Benny's junior year of high school. They met one day after school when it was raining, Benny didnt have an umbrella but sephtis did :) thats all ill say for now :3

[the-cat-chat]

July 13, 2024

Gladiator (2000)

A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.

Warning: Review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

JayBell: This movie should be renamed whiny-manchild-throws-a-tantrum-cause-he-doesn't-get-his-way. And man does Joaquin Phoenix play that role so well here. Cause, yeah, Russell Crowe does a great job as the tragic protagonist, but Joaquin Phoenix really stands out in this role.

He's so slimy and weird and creepy (hello incest much???) which is why it's so scary that he has so much power. He's just very childish and immature too. A very easy character to root against throughout. His downfall is so satisfying.

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for this movie. It's one of my dad's favorites (I'd say it's the #1 dad movie for dads everywhere), so I associate it with him more than anything. But that makes sense because it's a great movie. It's got emotional moments, a bit of romance, bonds of brotherhood, underdog-esque plot, betrayal, politics, some fight scenes.

It is long, but honestly, it's got good pacing and feels necessary for the ultimate, bittersweet ending to have the impact it deserves. I can't wait to see how the long-awaited sequel fares.

Rating: 8/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: So let’s start honestly. I never ever ever saw this movie or really thought to watch this movie. And I’m ashamed to say it’s bc I thought it was a “dude” movie maybe? Subconsciously? Even though I could quote it- had no idea about the plot. And I’m very happy to say I was entertained. 😈 …. Tooo I’ve only maybe seen 4 or 5 Russell Crowe movie, so let’s just call it and say I’m inept.

First can we start with baby Russell Crowe? Nough said. Second can we talk about baby Joaquin Phoenix? What a litttttle freeeeaaakkk. And I’m actually hurt by how young he is in this and someone pls get him some eye cream or iron supplements. But yeah I can’t believe how much he played the role of creep- like he was in it. 5 evil gold stars.

I will say it is verrrrry long and I guess you need it all?? Just bc you need the tragic plot of the first half and his super secret flying under the radar gladiator moment and then bammmm big reveal.

It was fun.

The ending is nuts and I am sooooo mad that little freak stabbed Maximus before the fight but it’s expected. Shoutout to how everyone flocks only to Maximus when he dies too. That’s cold.

I have to say I’m really stoked about the new sequel now even though it��s a different storyline from this one.

^ I do have to mention his family being killed was horrrrendous and the tiger and other gladiators- just ooof.

Rating: 7/10 Tigers 🐅

[cevans-is-classic]

18+ only please, language, mentions of time in jail, me just wanting to write Russell

Masterlist One and Two

Ethan Hawke

Russell heard you shift, fabric stretching over fabric, the static of new sheets prickling the air. The room is dark, light breaking through in muted rays across the carpet. The bed makes a woosh noise when you settle down in it. 

He waits. 

It’s only been a month — maybe less. He’d thought you would have left by now growing bored with his wandering adventure. 

You were strangers, after all. 

You stayed. 

Asked him if he could ride the next bus with him and kept going after that. He enjoys you being here and loves the company, and the conversations. You knew so many things — wonderful things. You listened when he talked about his father’s stamps and how he’s starting his own collection. 

He knew you knew nothing about stamps — which is okay; he knows that. It leaves room for you to talk — he can go on and on about what his dad taught him. What he learned on his own. Not once did you ever seem uninterested or made him feel uncomfortable with his stories — with who he was.

It makes him want to learn more about you.

He loves hearing what you’re interested in. Russell would sit for hours if it meant you kept talking and talking. You stopped in New Mexico, a small urban town that had a Walmart and Dunkin donuts. He’d never had Dunkin Donuts — you told him he wasn’t missing much. (He thought the coffee was okay, but the donuts weren’t.) 

Instead of hitching a ride to Albuquerque you hung around with him. Walked the town from one end to the other in slow meandering steps. Every moment filled with conversations — music, his favorite, your favorite. He asked about your favorite movie and remembered telling Diane he liked Predator.

Russel doesn’t think it’s Predator anymore. He rewatched it, loving the nostalgic feeling he’d gotten, but wasn’t excited about it. 

He doesn’t think he has a favorite, really. 

You told him about a scary movie that’s based loosely on a true story. Russel asked about the movie which sent you on a tangent about it. You told him every detail from the family moving into a new house — to them performing an exorcism on a demon lady under the kitchen. 

He never learned the name, but he wants to watch it with you.

That day he held your hand. 

You held his hand.

Three days later, he expected you to keep going. The two of you made it to Albuquerque, and you caught up with the people you were chasing after. 

He was ready to take off on his own from there, but you turned to him and asked if he’d like a tour. How could he say no?

You showed him your favorite places to eat, where you graduated, and the house you grew up in. You never brought him inside though, never invited him over to meet your family or along with your friends.

Everything you showed him it felt like he was looking from the outside in.

He figured he embarrassed you. 

He wears his dad’s suits all the time — uncomfortable in anything else he tries on. His facial hair has grown back out, and he knows he needs a haircut. Russell understood if you were. The second day you were there, and he purchased his ticket you surprised him by buying your own.

That you stayed with him. A bigger bag thrown over your shoulder, new clothes, and his hand gripped tight in yours.

You went with him.  

A knock startled him, his eyes jerking towards the hotel door. It wasn’t their room, someone further down the hall, maybe. The person knocked a few more times followed by a muffled thump, then all went quiet. Russell listened to the quiet around him and ignored the hard thud of his heart.

“Hey Russ.” You whispered. 

He turned over, seeing the faintest line of you beneath the blankets. “Yes?” 

“Remember how I told you I had things I needed to figure out?” 

Of course he did. Russell remembered everything you told him. “Yeah.” 

“I figured one of them out.” 

A smile quivered his lips, “That was easy.”

You laughed, soft, breathy, as you shifted until you were facing him. The thin line of light in the room made your face a shadowy mask. Russell swore he could see the crook of your smile even from here. 

“You’re like me.” 

His brow furrowed. “I’m like you?” 

“Yeah.” You moved, slipping through the blankets until your feet hit the floor. Russell had enough time to move over before you were sliding in beside him. You shivered, little small trembles. It made him throw the blanket over you and scoot closer.

Your noses were almost touching before you talked again, “You’re starting new. Having a fresh start and rediscovering yourself, right? Me too. I needed a new life, a new outlook. I’d been stuck between Nevada and New Mexico my whole life. Now I’m everywhere. I’m here! We’re here. This is all new.” 

Your voice rose as you spoke, eyes going wide, your hand moving under your chin. 

Russell gives himself a single moment to think, “I want to kiss you.” Before he does it. 

It cuts you off mid-sentence, his lips pressing to yours, his hand sliding to the small of your back. You felt stiff against him, making his stomach curl in shame. 

Then you moved. 

Surging forward to pull him closer, your hand going to his hair as he presses you against him. 

It’s been so long since he’s held someone, touched someone, had another person’s lips moving against his.

It made him dizzy. 

Russell was never a touchy man to begin with. He kept to himself and when he was with others, he played wallflower.

Prison didn’t change that. 

Which makes this moment feel like an exploration into a part of himself he’d forgotten.

You’re soft, your lips trailing along his cheek, fingers touching his chin, his nose ghosting over his eyelids before carding through his hair. 

His hands brush over your shoulder, down your back and up again. He doesn’t know where he wants to touch, what he wants to feel. Is he allowed to?

What he knows is he wants you to cover him, to crowd him in, push him into the mattress and breathe life back into him. 

“Russell.” You whisper. 

He nods, knocking his nose with yours.

“Mind if I sleep with you tonight?” 

Russell’s brain was filled with static. 

“Sleep with me?” 

You grin against his next kiss. “I’d like to cuddle with you tonight, if that’s okay.”

He feels his cheeks flush. “More than okay.” 

You kiss him again, slower, deeper, drawing him in before releasing him, “We can talk about other kinds of sleeping together later, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

He falls asleep with your head on his chest.

@ethanhawkelover01

[gaast]

I didn't know posts like these still circulated... Got tagged by @cannibalise and am in a really good mood so I'm gonna play, lmao

Last song I listened to: "Modest Mouth," Neil Cicierega, Mouth Sounds.

Currently watching: What, like, a TV show? I haven't watched a TV show in years. I'm playing Tales of Hearts R and Link's Awakening DX HD, I'm reading The Infinite and the Divine, I'm writing about another grafting monster, I'm working on learning Django and Raspberry Pi stuff and related projects and also a stupid mod, and I'm looking for anyone who wants to hire a really expensive and lazy technical writer.

Sweet/savory/spicy: Everything has its time and its place. I will never take sides when three of the baddest bitches are pitted against each other. I've evolved beyond this.

Relationship status: I legitimately forgot this one until I was tagging because I was so excited to see what would come out of me for the next one. Anyway, I'm engaged.

Current obsession: AFK Journey and AFK Arena, maybe. Also, Python, modding Isaac, making really weird dumb involved elaborate jokes. I want Pando to be my obsession, though. I wanna be "the Pando ghost." Oh also autopsies, I haven't forgotten about autopsies!! Or anthropodermic bibliopegy!! Or esolangs!!! Or eels!!!! Fuck!!!!! I want to be obsessed with shit and I'm barely obsessed at all!!!! I feel like John Nash, I need to be a fucked up unmedicated freak in order to reach my full potential!!! I think Russel Crowe did a really good job in A Beautiful Mind but I fucking hate John Nash tbh. Also it fucking sucks that that film has to continue the trend of "electroconvulsive therapy is BAD uwu!!!" Fuck you. It has a fantastic success rate with only mild side effects. It isn't done like how the fucking film shows it. Imagine making A Beautiful Mind and still being an ableist about it. Oh wait a minute that's John Nash for you!!! Also while I'm talking about movies like this, one of my most hated films of all time is Rudy. I cannot STAND that movie. Look, I love Sean Astin. I love The Goonies. He does a great job in that role. But oh my fucking god if that's what Rudy was really like then I hate him so much. All of that effort. All of it. For what? The love of a father who only gives a fucking shit about FOOTBALL? I love football too but imagine VALIDATING the concept that you're only of worth to your PARENT if you FUCKING DEVOTE YOURSELF SOLELY TO THEIR ONLY INTEREST. The fucking dude didn't even CARE that his son actually fucking MADE the Fighting Irish unless he PLAYED and like, dude, it's FOOTBALL, your five-foot nothing son could get fucking KILLED out there, and he's doing it all for YOU, and you don't deserve it!!! But I'm mad at Rudy more!!! I hate him more!!!!! STOP TRYING TO PLEASE A MAN WHOSE DICK WILL NEVER BE DEEP ENOUGH IN YOUR THROAT. GROW THE FUCK UP. YOUR DAD SUCKS. HE SUCKS. YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST KISSED VINCE VAUGHN!!!!!!!!! God that movie blows. If you wanna watch a movie, fucking, watch, uh. I don't remember what movies I like. Fuck you.

Tagging: @monadolaguz, @babyraccy, @vendettagreen, @tmos-time, @geckobrains, @crowtrobot @torterracotta @izanameowe

[aulel-process]

Now that I'm thinking of Logan Lerman, I'm reminded of the movie 3:10 to Yuma, which I think is one of the greatest movies ever made. Also the most homoerotic film I've ever seen. So completely unexpected the depth of the dynamics between all the characters. I went in expecting mindless explosions and action, but wow, truly heart-wrenching the love quadrangle.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Russell Crowe plays reckless, badass, lawless outlaw Ben Wade who pillages and robs towns mercilessly. Christian Bale plays goody two shoes rancher Dan Evans who assists in Wade's arrest. Evans seems at first motivated to bring Wade to justice by escorting him to the 3:10 to Yuma train, which will take him to jail, only by his need for money, but his true motives are much more emotionally complex. It turns out that his young son, William Evans, played by Logan Lerman, idolizes Ben Wade. He collects newspaper clippings of all Wade's activities and hides them like illicit pornos. He thinks Wade is the glamorous, sexy, badass rockstar of his time, and his dad is fully aware of this and wishes his son would feel such a way about him. William even defies his dad's orders to stay home and follows him and Wade for the journey. Perceptive as Wade is, he quickly catches on to the dynamic and says, "Your boy ain't protecting you. He's following me." Haha hot man knows he's got it going on.

We also have deranged, feral, obsessed, brimstone and fire in his eyes, Charlie Prince:

who is Wade's fanatically loyal right hand man who will literally blow up mountains to save his "boss." 100% his vibe:

Seriously.... all the men flocking around Wade are crushing hard on him:

Surprisingly, in the long ass journey to the train station, the men have campfire sleepovers, and hotel sleepovers and all these intimate conversations and flirty tussle moments from all the tension, "I like this side of you," says Wade with Evans on top of him... ohh la la... and Wade gets to know Evans more emotionally deeply than probably even Evans' wife. He learns that Evans made the sacrifice to stay on a dying drought-impoverished ranch to save his son's life from tuberculosis. His son is too busy worshipping Wade to be grateful for anything his dad does. And Wade sees how desperately and pathetically Evans tries to win his son's admiration and Wade becomes surprisingly sympathetic towards Evans. Wade's own father abandoned him, so Evans eventually becomes a sort of idealized father figure to Wade, the father he wish he had. And so now you have this mindfuck of emotions where son idolizes Wade, father wants to be Wade and Wade wants Evans to be his father and right hand man is screaming at every hotel room, "boss you in there??!?! You in there with another man?!?!?!?" OMG the tension.

THE ENDING

OMG THE ENDING

I don't think I can do it justice by putting it into words!!

JUST WATCH IT OMG

I ramble about it now..

Wade eventually is so won over by his new idealized father figure that he decides to help him become a hero is his real son's eyes. Wade decides he's going to made sure he gets on the train and that the son sees his father is the last man standing that brought this terrible outlaw to justice. His right hand man is not on the same page and has no idea of this secret fatherly bonding contract that has happened so he is still dead set on destroying everything in his path to his boss. In the last scene, we see Wade furiously charging towards the train, dodging the raining gunfire of his own men trying to save him and putting himself on the train. The son is watching voyeuristically. Probably wondering what super powers of persuasion his father must have to have made Wade willingly jail himself.

Then, just as Wade gets onto the train and turns around and has this heart warming moment with Evans, "you did it!" (totally like All Might saying to Deku, "you too can be a hero!" Just win the super villain to your side and get him to do all the work for you), fanatical right hand man mercilessly shoots Evans.

Son is horrified... this is real life... it's not cool like in the sensationalized stories.

Wade has just lost another father figure. He remorselessly kills his entire team of henchmen.

William runs to his dad and tells him he succeeded, he's a hero as his dad dies and then he points his gun at Wade, but it's like Deku trying to kill evil All Might and he can't.

Wade has "won." He can ride off into the sunset as these cowboy stories go. He's a free man. But he puts himself on the train and jails himself, his last hat tip to Evans and his last message to William of who he should idolize.

Beautiful.

Also I saw this and thought, totally the same vibe, totally:

YASS ✨

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: An Earl to Remember by Stacy Reid

4.5/5. Releases 8/22/2023.

For when you're vibing with... the 80s bonkers classic Overboard!, amnesia with a dash of the hero almost drowning, very hilarious confused rich man antics, and some.... really active sex for a man who just had a severe head injury.

Georgianna Heyford has heard tell of the Earl of Stannis's rakish behavior; but she can't afford give up the chance to cater his expensive yacht party. Unfortunately, a run-in with the earl (otherwise known as Daniel) goes horribly awry, and she's quickly fired... only for the earl to end up overboard, washed ashore, and with amnesia shortly afterward. The only person he recognizes is Georgianna; he just doesn't know how he knows her. In order to avoid a scandal (and perhaps get some sweet revenge) Georgianna claims the mysterious man is her husband... But the more time she spends with Daniel, the more she begins to wish it wasn't all a lie.

Stacy Reid knows how to write a fun, kinda bonkers, super sexy book--she throws caution to the wind and writes what she wants. I can feel the joy in the pages.

Quick Takes:

--I love Overboard!, a movie that is somewhat controversial today due to the premise being "Kurt Russell tells rich bitch amnesiac Goldie Hawn that she's actually his wife and makes her act as a servant to him and his horrible redneck children". I hate the Overboard! gender-flipped remake for many reasons, in part because it doesn't go far enough. This book is a nice middle ground. The gender flip is right here, and Reid wrings it out for all the humor it's worth, because it's honestly fun to see a fancy fuckboy look aghast at this woman's hovel and go "there is no.... way... I live.... here". (Daniel, I'm a huge fan of your work.) The power divide is also a lot stronger in this setting, because, while Georgianna is a gentleman's daughter, she's not doing super well financially and is basically a single woman acting as a guardian to these younger girls in the 1800s, a time in which she has little power and little way to make a living. Which in turn makes Daniel's comeuppance more deserving. It all makes sense, even if the premise is objectively wacky.

--I also really liked how this man had to like? Learn how to do basic household chores? Learn how to DAD in a sense? If there's one thing I enjoy in a historical romance, it's a rake who knows how to fuck but doesn't super know how to do much else. Daniel is not a competent hero to begin with (though he's not, like, a total buffoon either). He has to learn competence, and though I'm not typically one to get all hot and bothered by a man doing basic housework, in this book............ it does a number on you.

--I think that Stacy Reid is also right to basically put most of the fault on Daniel in this iteration. In the original Overboard!, both parties are at fault. Goldie doesn't pawn Kurt for some labor. Kurt gaslights her into being an unpaid housekeeper/nanny (as a prank! It's meant to be temporary but then he falls in love! It's fine!). Mistakes were made. Here, I think that Georgianna's options being much more limited make the heartache more... intense? Because like, yeah, this man's family is looking for him and he deserves to know the truth and so on. But really, she does not have a lot of solid choices here. So her guilt feels more impactful because while she's fucking up, she's a good person who doesn't want to hurt him, and you can feel her falling in love with him, and you know he's falling in love with her but he just! Doesn't! Know! And that takes you to a good angst city, despite the book being in many ways super fluffy and hilarious.

--I love an emotional fallout moment, and ooh, the emotional fallout in this one is delicious. There's pain. There's vengeance. There's trickery. There's some "I was half a virgin when I met you" feeling to it, which I love immensely. Like, dude, if you're gonna be all "she's not my wife", you probably need to, I don't know, stop calling her your wife. Except don't, because I'm living for it.

The Sex Stuff:

Stacy Reid writes a hot sex scene, especially when it comes to her heroes going down, because. The enthusiasm with which a Stacy Reid hero goes to town is truly something to behold. There's also really good dirty talk in this one, a nice mixture of tenderness and hardcore fucking, and like, the best sense ever that this dude is absolutely obsessed with her. Also, there's an excellent scene where he details exactly how he's going to fuck her, and proceeds to do just that. Gotta appreciate follow through. That's what happens when a man has to do work for the first time ever in his life.

I loved An Earl to Remember. It's fun, it's like candy, it's hot, it's a little crazy. It's what I want a Stacy Reid novel to be.

Thanks to Entangled: Amara and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[readingandwritingandreading]

Quiz Time!

Hello Friends! I don't get asked alot of questions about my writing or process so I thought it would be fun to see how you guys think I do it while I work on the next chapters of Alpha Drew and Alpha Bucky!

Question #1

And the correct answer is!! SONGS! Congrats to whoever voted for that one! Here are the songs and the parts of it that really stuck out to me (as you can see, i have several works coming soon that i am already getting info for):

Hold You Up - Marcel Barthel x Kiya Bryant x Fabian Aichner

Hold You Up – Shane Harper

“The world is so broken and sometimes it leaves you cold. And at times you can't feel the fire to guide you home. The demons will haunt you and try to steal what you know. But the angels, they brought you, and they're gonna hold you up.”

Heartbeat - Ethan Carter III x Adalynn Strowman

Heartbeat – Carrie Underwood

“I wanna feel it like a kick drum, beatin' faster in your chest. I wanna feel you holding onto me and make me hold my breath. You pull me closer, my head on your shoulder Baby, we won't need a song. We'll make a fallen star wish, one more slow kiss. What are we waiting on?”

Yours - Dominik Dijakovic x Skye Simmons

Yours – Russell Dickerson

“I was one in a hundred billion A burned out star in a galaxy. Just lost in the sky, wonderin' why, Everyone else shines out but me. But. I came to life when I first kissed you, The best me has his arms around you. You make me better than I was before, Thank God I'm yours.”

The Day Before You - Ridge Holland x Lyssa Hutchinson

The Day Before You – Rascal Flatts

“I was ready to settle for less than love And not much more. There was no such thing as a dream come true. But that was on the day before you. Now you're here and everything's changing. Suddenly life means so much, I can't wait to wake up tomorrow And find out this promise is true. I will never have to go back To the day before you.”

Long Time Coming - Bucky Barnes x Carina Rivera

Long Time Coming – Oliver James

“It's been a long time coming down this road, And now I know. What I've been waiting for. And like a lonely highway I'm trying to get home, Oh. Loves been a long time coming.”

From The Ground Up - Drew McIntire x Cassidy Riley 

From the Ground Up – Dan + Shay

“And we'll build this love from the ground up. Now 'til forever it's all of me, all of you, Just take my hand. And I'll be the man your dad hoped that I'd be. And we'll build this love from the ground up. For worse or for better And I will be all you need, Beside you I'll stand through the good and the bad We'll give all that we have And we'll build this love from the ground up.”

Finally Home - Ari Levinson x Brianna Collier 

Finally Home – Kerrie Roberts

“And there's no more road Nowhere else to go, Nothing left to miss, Nothing left for this wandering soul When I'm finally home. The ultimate healing, Where hurt can't reach me. I won't need to find every answer, All I need will be found within Your presence.”

Rescue Me - Marcel Barthel x Sofia (Reese) x Fabian Aichner

Rescue Me - Chris Young

“What's a happy ending if I can't get the girl? What's it matter if I save the world?”

Cross Every Line - Marcel Barthel x Alina Lawson x Fabian Aichner

Cross Every Line – Chris Young

“If you were captured, baby, I would be relentless. I'd declare it war and run right out them trenches. Yeah, you'd hear my battle cry I'd let the bullets fly Wouldn't be an enemy let behind the enemy line I'd cross every line in the world for you I'd cross every line in the world for you Nowhere I wouldn't go, nothin' I wouldn't do I'd cross every line in the world for you.”

What If - Julius Creed x Unnamed

What If – Kane Brown w/ Lauren Alaina

“What if I was made for you And you were made for me. What if this is it? What if it's meant to be? What if I ain't one of them fools just Playin' some game. What if I just pulled you close? What if I leaned in? And the stars line up and it's our last first kiss. What if one of these days baby I'd go and change your name. What if I loved all these what ifs away?”

[darkarfs]

tagged by @z-a-d-i-e, much appreciated! Top ten movies, no ranking, just what comes to mind.

The Apartment. My favorite love story, my favorite Jack Lemmon performance, Shirley MacLane at her most magnetic and beautiful. What starts as a man climbing the corporate ladder ends up being so much more.

The Iron Giant. A story about a boy and his robot during the Cold War. I love it. Everyone should.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? For years, this was a date movie for me. Potential partners who haven't seen it I insist will, at some point. Robert Zemeckis walked into Touchstone Pictures and said "I want to make a gritty 1940's LA neo-noir starring Bob Hoskins and several hundred cartoon characters and I need twice the budget of Star Wars to do it" and they said yes.

Big Trouble In Little China. It's goofy, it's broad, it's the silliest thing John Carpenter ever put his name on (the Thing was almost on this list). Kim Cattral is AWFUL, Kurt Russell spends the whole movie acting like he can't believe what he's seeing. You can't be skeptical this far into the fucking movie, KURT. I love it.

Chocolate. Not how autism works! That said, has 2 of my favorite fight scenes of all time in it.

Five Deadly Venoms. I could have picked any number of the Shaw Brothers Shaolin movies. I could have even picked Once Upon a Time In China. Functionally identical to 500 other movies, but holds a special place in my heart.

Mad Max: Fury Road. Saw this in the theater four times. Hard to believe it's EIGHT years old already, but it's perfect.

The Princess Bride. Childhood favorite that still holds up. Best performance by a wrestler not named Roddy Piper.

Transformers: the Motion Picture. First movie I ever saw in a theater, also the first time I saw my dad cry. Outside of Blade Runner or a John Carpenter movie, has my favorite score of any movie.

Airplane! I know. It's the broadest, cheapest fucking comedy, but it still makes me laugh. It's fucking stupid. Anyone?

[popculturebuffet]

So looking at how much Hasbro has been trying to revitalize animated reboots since 2010, thoughts on modern Hasbro 2010s reboots MLP Friendship is Magic, Pound Puppies 2010, Transformers Prime, Littlest Pet Shop 2012, Equestria Girls, GI Joe Renegades, Transformers Rescue Bots, Transformers Robots in Disguise, Littlest Pet Shop A World of Our Own, Transformers Cyberverse, Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, Pony Life, Transformers EarthSpark, MLP Tell Your Tale, and MLP Make Your Mark?

Who boy.. settle in folks this is going to be a while. Friendship is Magic: A show I honestly want to go back and finish once the streaming weirdness is cleared up. (It's currently weirdly bisected with the middle missing), as my discomfort with the more extreme side of the fandom (and a manipulative asshole getting into my head, very long story), I dropped it around late season 2. Granted how they intially brought discord back didn't really sell me on returning but I still at least kept tabs on everyone and honestly.. wanted to return at some point I just never did. I watched most of the discord episodes because he's my boy, but that's about it. Still a good show.

Dan Vs: Technically dosen't count.. but i'm throwing it in as the only other show on the hub and because I loved it and need to rewatch it. Dan VS is an awesome little adult sitcom that was weirdly on this hasbro based family network. It was one of the best shows of it's time and had a simple but hilarious premise of a very angry man trying to get revenge on some inconveince he's faced, sometimes justifably sometimes because he's a sad strange little man. With the dream trinity of curtis armstrong (who really shoudl do more va work besides this and american dad) dave foely and paget brester, it really worked and while i'm sad it only got three seasons the fact it did and you can still watch it today (it's on youtube, tubi and the roku channel for free baby!) I highly recommend it.

Pound Puppies: Since I had the hub around the time all this happened, I did see most of these early reboots. Pound Puppies.. is adorable. Not entirely my speed, but still a lot of fun... and not suprising given it was developed by the guys who created recess. Transformers Prime: Another show I need to watch more of. At the time I thought it was okay, but just didn't get into it, but I hear it only got better and better with age. I also think the animation wasn't for me and I still think it's not entirely, but it's not bad by any stretch. LIttlest Pet Shop: I really loved this one at the time and even now a bunch of animals at an animal daycare getting into slice of life shenanigans just hits the spot. I also had ships because of course I did, i ncluding sunil and that one cat. But it was a lot of fun. Russel was my easy faviorite. And even if I didn't really care for blythe as a charcter I respect that they had her wear a new outfit each episode and put care into the deisgns given she IS a designer. Solid show.

Equestria Girls, Rescue Bots, Rescue Bots Academy, Pony Life: Haven't seen any of it

GI Joe Renegades: ANOTHER ONE I regret not watching more of but in this case I was interested I just could never catch it and never thought to you know, dvr it, even more now i've read the truly awesome larry hama comics. Still really good.

Robots In DIsguise: I only saw an episode of this but I liked the premise, It was just clear if you hadn't seen prime, even as a soft reboot this was going to be hard to follow. Which is a shame as it had he, grimlock as a main character. Granted I didn't REALLY like painting him green but still dinosaur man!

A World of Our Own: Say it with me now "I wish i'd seen more of it", though in this case by this point I didn't have satalite tv anymore, so I watched it while babysitting a few times. It was neat though and I wa sintrested.

Cyberverse; About the same with me also forgetting it was on netflix. New Gen MLP: I've seen the movie, which was decent, and me and a friend PLANNED to watch the series, we just haven't yet. It looks good though.

EarthSpark: I REALLY fucking want to watch this one. It has a stacked voice cast a brilliant premise that FINALLY breaks away from autobot decepticon war for the first time since armada (Though Animated at least had a fresh take on it), by showing what comes after, I haven't seen it but I really want to I just keep forgetting.

(Phew) Okay next time maybe don't pack so many shows into one of these.

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Pairings: Arvin Russel x Fem!Christian!Reader

Summary: Arvin knew he shouldn’t have left you alone with that new preacher... 

Warnings: Sexual assault, physical assault, cursing, Teagarden being a perv, really nothing out of the ordinary for this movie. 

Word Count: 5250

_________________________

“Arvin! Stop!” You giggled, pushing your boyfriend off of you as he nibbled up and down your neck. There wasn’t anything sexual about it, he just loved to hear you laugh and he knew how much the action tickled your skin. “You’re so annoyin’!” You laughed, cheeks flushed red as you gently pressed on his head to try and move it. 

He pressed himself up, looking down at you like you were the most beautiful thing he’d ever lay his eyes on. Arvin was straddling you, his knees trapping your hips beneath him. A hand was placed on either side of your head and he looked down at you, “But you’re so pretty when you laugh.” 

“Oh? And I’m ugly all the rest of the time?” You asked jokingly, hands reaching up stroke up and down his arms. 

Arvin leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips before pulling away ever so slightly, hovering just above your lips. Both of your guys’ eyes were still closed as if it were a romantic moment until he whispered, “Ugly as a mule.” 

You both busted up laughing and you shoved him, his body rolling onto the blanket beside you, “I’m breaking up with you.” You teasingly told him. 

“Ah, c’mon. You know you love me.” He looked over at you, loving how the autumn sun lit up your features. 

“I tolerate you. Don’t get it mixed up.” You rolled your head over to see him already admiring you. Your smile got bigger when you locked eyes with him. 

“Well I love you.” Arvin admitted sweetly, bringing a gentle hand to your cheek and kissing you one more time. 

Arvin made you feel beautiful and special and safe, all those things that no boy had ever made you feel. He always had. Even when you were children back in middle school and neither of you really talked to each other, when you saw him around the halls, a peace just settled over you that made you feel like you were on top of the world. When the two of you began dating ten months ago, that never changed. 

“I love you too.” 

The two of you laid back against the yellow blanket with little orange flowers on it, the one that you’d taken from the linen closet back home. This was yours and Arvin’s favorite place, a little clearing in the woods. The grass was tall enough to be soft but not so tall that it hid critters. Flowers lined the edge of the woods in the spring. It wasn’t springtime now but that only meant that instead of a display of white and yellow flower buds, the pair of you had a beautiful show of brilliant reds and oranges from the falling leaves. 

Everyone in town knew you were together. Word spread fast around Coal Creek and it was nearly impossible to hide anything. Your families were both supportive of the relationship. Emma loved that you were involved with the church and put effort into the community when you could, often participating in bake sales around town. She liked to tease that you won Arvin over with your “man catching apple cobbler” as she now called it, since he officially asked you to be his girlfriend over a slice of the delicious dessert after a Sunday service. 

Your parents liked Arvin as well. Even after Fred Dinwoodie had told your dad about what Arvin had done to Gene, it surprisingly made him like Arvin more. “You got yourself a good man who knows right from wrong and ain’t afraid to stand up for the people he loves.” Was what he’d said, which had surprised you. You knew that Arvin had beaten all the boys right after he’d done it, since he came to you to help him calm down and ice his knuckles. You were terrified for your parents to find out, though, sure that they’d tell you to break up with him for fear of violent tendencies. Thankfully, that day never came. 

It was nice out there, bundled up in a warm brown coat, laying on Arvin’s chest, and watching the leaves fly across the crisp sky in the breeze. 

“We should probably get headin’ back.” You said reluctantly, pushing yourself up to sitting. 

“Why’s that?” Arvin perched on his elbow to watch you tighten the jacket around your frame, a cool breeze hitting just right. 

“The new preacher asked me to come by this afternoon. Said he needed help planning a fundraiser to raise money for the less fortunate families in town.” You traced a finger over his knuckles gingerly, small pink marks littering his knuckles from his attack on Dinwoodie and his boys still healing over. 

“Ain’t you one o’ them less fortunate families in town?” He asked, trying to find a way to talk you out of this. Ever since Preston Teagarden had humiliated Emma on his first day, Arvin had it out for the man. 

You scoffed with a chuckle, “Yeah, but you are too and your grandma is still always bringin’ stuff to church. Just cause I’m broke as shit doesn’t mean I can’t try to help other people who are broke as shit.”

Arvin stood up with you and helped you fold up the blanket, “I just don’t like that new preacher. Somethin’s off about ‘im.” 

“I agree that he was totally out of line callin’ your grandma out like that two weeks ago but I’d like to think that maybe I can talk to him about it.” The two of you began to walk back to Arvin’s car, grass swishing under your steps. 

Arvin’s face twisted, “I just don’t trust the man. He’s always up there on that damn stage actin’ all high ‘n mighty every Sunday like he ain’t done nothin’ wrong.” He reached forward and opened your door for you, closing it after you slid onto the seat. He walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat. 

“He’s a sinner like the rest of us. It’s just about doing what you can to make yourself better.” You responded, looking over at Arvin sweetly. He gave you a skeptic look and sighed deeply as he turned his attention back to look towards the road. With one hand on the steering wheel, he slid his free hand over to hold yours gently. The rest of the drive was in comfortable silence, with the exception of the radio quietly playing in the background. 

Arvin loved you. He really really loved you. You generally had your wits about you, a heck of a lot more than most of the girls in Coal Creek, not allowing your religion to totally cloud your vision. You were a good girl, good enough to make his grandma happy and not cause too much trouble around town, always helping those in need, but not so pious that you made everyone else around you feel like a sinner. You were still fun, you still made mistakes. Arvin felt like you were something between ethereal and real, somehow elevating him as a person but also showing him just how good life could be. 

Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but feel like you were making a mistake with this preacher. Of course, with your caring nature, you would help him, especially knowing it was for the poor folks in town. But something about Teagarden just made Arvin’s skin crawl. He just couldn’t put his finger on it… 

The tires rolled to a crunching halt on the gravel outside of the church. The graveyard to the side looked dark and gloomy as always, the cloud of loss looming over almost everyone in this town in one way or another. The church, though, stood small and humble in the field, white paint chipping after years of weathering. 

“Thank you for the ride.” You leaned over and pecked Arvin on the cheek. 

He let out a heavy sigh, “You really sure you don’t just want me to take you home?” 

You rolled your eyes at him with a sweet smile on your face, “Yes, I’m sure. It’ll be fine, Arv, but thank you for the concern.” Opening the door, you climbed out, “I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“What? No. I’m givin’ you a ride home.” Arvin looked offended that you even suggested such blasphemy. 

“I don’t want you to have to drive all the way back here for me and I don’t know how long this’ll take. Besides, I don’t live too far from here.” You shook your head, leaning against the open door.

Arvin raised his eyebrows, “What kind of man would I be if I let you walk home alone at night? I’m givin’ you a ride home ‘n that’s final. I have to run to the market anyways to get some stuff for my grandma so I’ll just do that ‘n come back here for ya.” 

With loving warmth welling up in your chest, you leaned into the car, holding onto the roof for balance, while you kissed him on the lips, “I’ll see you in a few then.” 

Pulling yourself back out of the car, you closed the door and waved before spinning to walk towards the church. Looking behind you, you gave Arvin one final wave before disappearing through the door. 

The church was empty, though you expected nothing less on a Saturday afternoon. The pews were empty so you wandered into the building curiously. You closed the door behind you as you walked further in. “Hello? Reverend?” 

Preston Teagarden approached from the door off to the side of the main stage, where his office had been located, “Y/N! Forgive me, I expected you to be a little bit later.” 

You stopped in your tracks, “Oh, I’m sorry! You didn’t say an exact time. Just afternoon…” You chuckled awkwardly, suddenly feeling bad for arriving early. 

“No, no, it’s no problem at all,” He waved his hand dismissively. Teagarden made his way down the aisle a few rows before stopping, “So from what I’ve heard, you are the one to talk to about fundraising” 

Flattered, your cheeks turned a light shade of pink, “Oh, well I don’t know about that… I’ve done a few fundraisers but I wouldn’t say I’m the one to go to.” 

“Nonsense, girl! I’m sure you’ll help plan something amazing. Now, why don’t you come over here and we can start talking about it.” He gestured towards the pew he was leaning on and waited for you to sit down before sliding in next to you. 

Your legs crossed when you sat down, “So, I was thinking about this for a few days and the high school has a harvest festival every November. If we set up a bake sale, we could easily raise a few hundred dollars, at least. Everybody loves Mrs. Lyle’s lemon bars and I’m sure those alone could rake in a small fortune.” You giggled a little at your small joke and the preacher did as well. 

As he did so, his arm slid behind your shoulder so smoothly, you almost didn’t notice at first. Almost. Though the action took you off guard, you chose to write it off. People had done this before to you platonically so this probably didn’t mean anything. Just a show of interest in what you had to say. 

“Mmm, you’re makin’ me crave some sweets,” Teagarden chuckled, looking over his shoulder and then back around the room. 

“Well I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. Coal Creek ain’t got much but if we got one thing, it’s some mighty good bakers.” You dug around in your bag that you’d brought, searching for the journal that you’d been planning this event out on, “I actually did some math and I was thinking… we could charge a dime per cookie or a dollar a dozen, yeah? And then maybe a quarter for a slice of pie and then a dollar twenty five for-” 

The preacher stopped you, placing his hand on the notebook, “You really thought this out, huh? You sure are one smart girl there, Y/N. You go to the high school?”

The older man had scooched closer to you sometime during your ramblings and suddenly, you began to feel suffocated by his presence. His body was nearly flush against yours and his arm around your shoulders were trapping. 

He’s a preacher, he wouldn’t do nothin’, you tried to convince yourself but Arvin’s voice came ringing in your ears: I just don’t like that new preacher. Somethin’s off about ‘im. Trying not to be obvious, just in case you were misreading things, you slid away from him just slightly to put some distance between your bodies. As you did so, however, Teagarden’s hand closed around your left shoulder, rubbing it firmly but gently. 

Your eyes widened when you looked over at his grip and your heart began to pick up pace. “Yeah.” Your voice was shakier than you thought it would be. 

“What are ya? Junior, senior? You look young… but definitely not a little girl.” His eyes raked tactically over your body. Your legs were shaped out well in your cuffed denim jeans and your white and pink striped boat neck long sleeve shirt was far from revealing but Preston was well aware of the way the stripes curved out of place over your breasts. 

“Senior. I’ll be graduating this June.” Now your voice was solid and low, just teetering on threatening. 

The preacher smiled, “Ah, ain’t that exciting. Such a smart pretty little thing going out into the real world. It’s good to see a nice Christian girl going out there but y’know, the real world is real bad. Believe you me. You gotta be real careful out there. Temptation and sin ‘round every corner. The devil hides himself, y’know? Wraps up all his evil and disguises it as everythin’ you ever wanted.” 

“A wolf in sheep’s clothing.” You stated quietly but firmly, looking up to lock eyes with him. Arvin was right. Something was certainly off about this man and you were becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second. 

Preston smiled proudly, “That’s right. Now, you gotta make sure you ain’t fallin’ into any o’ his traps.” 

Your jaw clenched and your eyes darted around the room before landing in your lap, “I’d like to think I got a good ‘nough head on my shoulders to see Satan working in disguise.” 

He tsked, “That’s a good start but you can’t go relyin’ on your own knowledge of the world. You need to let God tell you what’s right ‘n wrong. Trust in Him.” His hand on your shoulder shook you slightly for emphasis while his other pointed upwards towards Heaven. 

There was a brief moment of silence in which you could have heard a pin drop before he spoke again, “How is your walk with God?” 

You looked over at him with narrowed eyes, “It’s alright. Could be better but everyone’s could, I s’pose.” 

“I agree,” Preston’s leg started bouncing and he looked towards the front of the church, where he typically stood preaching, “E’ryone could walk a little closer. Myself included.” He gestured to the front of the church, “Why don’t we pray? C’mon over here.” 

He stood up and walked up to the head of the room, just below the cross. Cautiously, you followed him. “I like to think as a man of God, I can do some of His work. Or rather put the good word out there and try to save as many souls as possible. Why don’t you get on your knees? Lemme pray for ya.” 

A shiver ran through your spine as you knelt down on shaky knees, eyes going up to the large black cross that hung on the wall. Please, Lord, get me out of this. You prayed silently. 

Preston stood behind you, his hands coming to your shoulders as he began, “Lord, today we pray for Y/N and her excursions into the world as a young woman. Help her see through the devil’s delusions and guide her through this world. Lord, I pray that you see Y/N in everything that she is as she dedicates her whole self to you. Give her strength, amen.” 

“Amen.” When your eyes slid open, your whole body was shaking. 

“So you say you got some good judgement?” Preston asked as you stood up, “Say you walk in the light?” 

“I try to but we all have our slip ups.” You answered humbly and honestly, avoiding his eye contact. 

Preston hummed, “I seen you with that Russell boy. Y’all going steady?” Silently, you nodded in response. “There’s a lot of temptation in relationships like that.” 

It was clear what he was insinuating and it actually made you mad. What right did he have to be poking around in your romantic and sexual life? “Has he ever touched you?” 

The bluntness of his question hit you like a rock, “With all do respect, Reverend, that ain’t really none of your business.” 

He put his hands up in surrender, “I don’t mean to pry. I’m just concerned ‘bout that boy dragging you down into temptation. Sullying your position with the good Lord, ‘n all.” 

“Arvin is a perfectly respectful man. He ain’t draggin’ nothin’ or nobody down.” Your voice was getting more aggressive. 

“So he hasn’t touched you? He hasn’t seen you…” 

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Like I said, that ain’t none of your business. Thank you for your concern for my soul but what Arvin and I do is between us and the Lord. I don’t need no middle man reverend to redeem me.” 

He shrugged, “But you know, one of the best ways to get right with the Lord is to surrender yourself. Fully.” He took a few steps towards you and your breathing hitched. There was a sexual tension in the air that made your skin crawl. 

“I’ve already given my life to the Lord.” 

You weren’t giving in quite as easily as Preston had expected. Those other girls, Lenora and Jeanette Reaster, had been easily manipulated into giving Preston what he wanted. Just tell them they were unclean and needed to get right with the Lord and right into his trap they fell but you… you were different. Smart in the worldy kind of way. You were the first girl to give him a hard time but Preston would be lying if he said he didn’t like the chase. 

You were staring daggers at him, your jaw clenched, and your body standing tall and strong. It was almost as if you were trying to prove a point. You could have run, could have darted out screaming about what had happened, but you didn’t. There was no proof and Preston knew it. This was how he got away with it all. No proof, all words and small touches that were just innocent enough to be misread. It wasn’t until he got them in the backseat of his car or in the office in the back of the church that he actually touched them but by then, it was consensual. Sure, for Lenora and Jeanette there was the issue that they were minors but that was the fun of these little towns like Coal Creek, The girl always took the fall. It was always her fault. Preston could get off scotch free and he knew it. He loved it. 

Almost like something out of a movie, he reached down and gently settled one hand on your hip and the other on your cheek, pressing his lips against yours without giving you a chance to object. You yelled indignantly against lips but when he pulled away, the hand on your cheek moved to cover your mouth. Preston leaned in close to your ear and whispered, “I am an extension of the Lord’s work. Surrender yourself to me fully to surrender yourself to Him.” 

** 

Arvin watched as you walked into the church with a distrusting pang in his gut. There was just something about that reverend that didn’t sit right. It killed him to watch you leave, knowing that you were alone in there with him.

But he also knew you were a big girl. The logical part of his brain kept screaming at him that he was being irrational. The reverend was probably an okay enough guy. He’d never be number one or even number twenty on Arvin’s list of favorite people but that didn’t necessarily mean that the preacher would kill your something. Besides, Arvin really did need to run to the market. Lenora had requested some pecans for a pie she wanted to bake and his grandma  needed more milk. It would be a quick trip as town was just a short drive down the street. 

Reluctantly, Arvin backed out the driveway and sped off down the street. 

The entire time that Arvin was at the market, there was an unsettling tingle all around his body. It got harder to ignore as more time passed. The longer he left you with Teagarden, the worse he felt. 

“Just these.” Arvin threw a bag of pecans and a gallon of milk on the counter and paid for it quickly, rushing back to his car. He wouldn’t be having these feelings for no reason. Best case scenario, you were absolutely fine and Arvin was just being paranoid. Worst case scenario… Arvin couldn’t think about it because every time he thought of one, another worse one popped into his brain. 

It had only been about twenty minutes since Arvin left you alone with the preacher. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how long planning a fundraiser would take. Church activities had never been his thing but he supported you as long as it made you happy. 

He sat in the car in the church parking lot, lighting up a cigarette to calm his nerves. Arvin’s leg bounced anxiously as he watched yet another late autumn storm roll in. The clouds cast a dark gloominess, turning the minimal light left from the mostly set sun a shade of grey.. There Arvin sat for another five minutes, awaiting your exit from the building but it never came. 

Fuck it. Arvin twisted his hat on straight and threw the door open, nearly stomping out. He couldn’t put his finger on it but something was wrong. He could feel it. 

Sure enough, when he threw the door open, he was horrified. Preston Teagarden had you locked in a tight embrace, his hands running over your breasts. The two of you were standing in the middle of the aisle, right in the center of church. You had a furious look on your face, “I swear to God you touch me like that again and I’ll cut your damn dick off!” You gripped desperately at his hand that was groping you, trying to pry it away but to no avail. 

The sound of the door swinging open was enough to draw both yours and Teagarden’s attention. “Get your fuckin’ hands off her!” Arvin wasted no time running into the conflict. Teagarden dropped you and your knees buckled from the unexpected action, landing you on the ground. 

He put his hands up in surrender, “Hey, now, let’s talk about this like real men.” 

Arvin threw one solid swing to his chin, sending his head flying sideways, “You ain’t no real man. Real men don’t gotta go around gropin’ girls to get off, you sick fuck!” Another punch landed on his opposite cheek and it sent Teagarden to the ground. 

You scurried away from him and stood up just ahead of Arvin. Preston cowered, hiding his face, “Please, please, have mercy.” His pleading eyes went from Arvin to you and he lingered on your gaze, knowing that he had a better chance with the mercy approach with you. 

He found none. Even with his blood smeared face, his teeth stained crimson, and the way his body shook, you just scowled down at him, “I’m gonna tell e’ryone in this town what a disgustin’ man you are. You think you can get away with this, you’re dead wrong.” You sent a swift kick straight to his stomach, making him curl into the fetal position with a loud groan of pain. 

But then he laughed. He actually laughed. 

“What’s so damn funny?” You and Arvin both spat in unison, blood boiling. 

Preston laid his head back and closed his eyes, an almost serene look of confidence contrasting the blood that covered him and the swelling of his lip, “Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to me. You came to visit the church after hours under the guise of helping me with a fundraiser. But then you used your womanly charms to try and seduce me, a married man of God.” 

“That ain’t what happened!” Arvin yelled angrily, fists clenched by his side. 

When the words left the preacher’s mouth though, your heart dropped. You knew the truth, Arvin knew the truth, the reverend knew the truth. But none of that mattered if the Reverend told everyone his concocted story because he was a man of God. Why would he lie? 

A sadistic smile spread across his face, “It is if I say it is. Ain’t nobody gonna believe two teenagers over a preacher.” 

“He’s right.” Your voice faltered as you spoke, nearly coming out as a shattered whisper. When Arvin looked over at you, your face had paled and you looked utterly broken. 

It wasn’t so much that the assault itself was enough to break you, though, of course, it had definitely left you with the lingering ghosts of his filthy hands on your body. It was the fact that you knew he’d get away with it, that no matter what you or Arvin said, the town would believe Teagarden. 

Arvin swallowed hard, trying to see through the blinding rage. As a boy, he never truly understood the bias that women faced when they were victims of sexual assault- how it was perceived as their faults in towns like this. It had never happened to anyone he knew so he never had much reason to think about it. Now, you were forced to live with knowing that you assailant was going to keep his position as a fucking preacher in town and that you couldn’t do anything about it. 

Arvin wouldn’t let it stand. 

He stomped forward yet again and knelt over Teagarden, sending blow after blow into his face. Bone crunched bone with a disgusting crack with every hit and you flinched every time. 

Your eyes were wide with terror. Arvin’s violent past with Gene Dinwoodie and his boys was not unknown to you. You were the first person he’d gone to after the attack, in fact, and you’d actually supported him for the most part, only wishing that maybe he didn’t send them all to the hospital and only roughed them up a bit. Actually watching him beat someone to the brink of death though was something else entirely. 

“Stop!” The word left your mouth before you even knew you’d thought it. 

Arvin stopped and looked over his shoulder at you in surprise. He was doing this for you after all. 

“Don’t kill ‘im. Please.” You begged, your voice heavy.

“What?” Arvin wasn’t actually sure what he’d intended on doing to the preacher. Sure, he wanted to kill him. That horrified, angry look in your eye as he touched you made a fire burn in him so bright, he didn’t know if it could be put out. But Arvin had never wanted to be a killer. He only wanted to prove a point and make sure that the message stuck. Now that he thought about it, though, he would have to finish the job or the preacher would tell him he’d attacked him. 

Your eyes were almost brimming with tears, though none fell. This whole evening had been too much. First the assault and now watching the love of your life throw his good conscience away for you. You wanted the preacher to pay as much as he did but this just didn’t feel right. 

“P-please… I don’t want you takin’ the fall for none o’ this. He don’t deserve to die but I think a good beatin’ will give him some time to reevaluate ‘imself.” You’d walked towards Arvin and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. 

Arvin couldn’t fathom why you’d be protecting this monster. The question was clear all over his face. Why? 

“I’m not asking you to stop for him. I’m asking you to stop for you. I don’t want you to have blood on your hands for me. Not for this.” His heart broke seeing you look the way you did, your eyes shining with tears, and your hand a little shaky. The last thing he wanted was to hurt you more. 

Arvin grabbed the preacher off the ground by the collar and pulled him up almost a foot, leaning down to get in his disfigured face, “If I ever hear that you went near Y/N or any other girl again, I will find you and kill you. If you so much as look at her again, I will kill you. And if you tell anyone what happened here tonight, I will fucking kill you. You understand? Consider it that mercy you kept beggin’ for.” 

He dropped the preacher gracelessly with a thud and wrapped an arm comfortingly around you. For a moment, he was scared that you’d flinch away. You’d never seen him when he let his anger get the best of him and he preferred to keep it that way. He didn’t want you to think that he was a violent man because he really wasn’t. Arvin just cared for a special few so much that he’d do anything for them. He’d never hurt someone he loved though and needed you to know that. 

Thankfully, you leaned into his touch, resting your head on his shoulder as he walked you back to his car, leaving the preacher an unconscious mess in the middle of the church. When you exited the building, night had fallen upon Coal Creek, casting a fitting darkness over the town. 

“Thank you.” You said simply and quietly, looking over at Arvin sincerely on the drive home. 

“For what?” 

“For everything. Just bein’ who you are.” You paused with a heavy sigh, “But promise me something?” 

Arvin looked over at you, taking his eyes off the road for just a second to show you he was listening. 

“Promise me you won’t go gettin’ yourself in trouble for me.” 

He shook his head, “He deserved-” 

“I know what he deserved,” You interrupted, “And I am so grateful that you stepped in to help. But I don’t want you gettin’ yourself thrown in jail or killed for me.” 

There was short silence before Arvin looked over with the most sincere look you think he’d ever given you, “I can’t promise that. ‘M sorry, Y/N, but if I ever see you in danger, I’m gonna do what I need to do.” 

It wasn’t the response you’d been hoping for but this boy had the ability to make you feel more loved than anyone else you knew. You only wished he understood that you only wanted what was best for him, just like he did for you. “I love you, Arvin.” You admitted, sliding across the seat to lay your head against his shoulder while he drove. 

“I love you too.” 

[ckret2]

Alright let’s talk GVK spoilers!!!

My reactions as best I can remember them!

- love how Kong is humanized from the very first scene, like every time he shows up he’s humanized so much more than other titans are. If that was at the expense of other titans being made likable I wouldn’t enjoy it so much, but like, Godzilla is made pretty lovable over the course of Monsterverse, Mothra is too, and all the titans featured for long are given recognizable emotions that let us see them as more intelligent and feeling than “just” animals; so all of them are made understandable/likable/sympathetic. But of them all, Kong is the only one really humanized. Which makes sense, because like, big monkey! Basically our distant cousin!

- And they kept playing, like, normal songs for him, which cracked me up.

- I really appreciated how you could SEE the titans in this movie. After all the weather effects to hide the titans in KOTM, there was such a clear difference in this one from the very start. Kong in the daylight! Godzilla makes his first attack at night, and even then you can see him much more clearly than you can for most of KOTM! Nice!

- after the Iwi were portrayed as silent stoic witnesses in Skull Island, I really appreciated that they took an Iwi character, made her a main character, and gave her dialogue and a real role to play in the story while also keeping her deaf/mute. I think that was a good way to improve on the way that the Iwi got got sidelined in the last movie while still maintaining the worldbuilding!

- I didn’t appreciate so much that, y’know, they murdered the rest of her people off-screen in order to do it. Couldn’t they have gone “her parents died so she got adopted by a Monarch agent that was close to her family, but like, the rest of her tribe is fine”? Or at the very least “their island got fucked up so they had to be evacuated but like they’re settling in somewhere else”? “They’re living under this island dome with Kong and they know what’s up and Monarch’s keeping them in the loop and they decided they’re chill with their new dome home, but this one girl likes to go on adventures with Monarch”? Something? Did we have to kill them all off? Y’all make up an entire fictional indigenous culture and then murder them off-screen when you don’t need them? Just let them live.

- a few minutes in I was like “hold on, we’ve got two characters that speak sign language, we’ve got a giant gorilla, gorillas learn sign language, is there any reason they can’t teach Kong?” and then later I was like “OOOOOH!!” Humans and titans learning how to communicate with each other has been one of my favorite themes to explore in Monsterverse fanfic so I was absolutely tickled to see it getting explored in canon, too.

- That said I think it’s hilarious that the girl managed to teach Kong to sign without, like... anybody seeing. Kong’s hands are above the tree line and there are cameras everywhere, how did NOBODY with Monarch see him signing.

- Bernie’s weaponized being an annoying coworker to such a degree it can only be called an art, and I really appreciated it.

- Godzilla’s extra chonky in this movie and I dig it. Roomie noted he was extra crocodilian and I dig that too.

- “There’s been no confirmed titan sightings in three years” I don’t buy that for a minute. They’re BIG. Rodan NESTS IN VOLCANOES. They found a MOTHRA EGG. Humans have A SCARILY WELL-FUNDED ORGANIZATION DEDICATED SOLELY TO FOLLOWING TITANS AROUND. Like, most of the lore in GVK that I don’t personally like, I can be like “eh... I can tweak it just a little bit with headcanons to make it work for me...” but NO confirmed titan sightings? You expect me to believe ALL of them moved underground when we’d previously seen them all prefer to live above ground? You expect me to believe that now that they’re all AWAKE, they learned how to HIDE?? Uh-uh. And at the end of KOTM there was stuff in the credits about using titan droppings as biofuel, obviously they’re still walking around up top! Can’t take that from me. Nope.

- Who the FUCK is Ren Serizawa and how is he related to Ishiro Serizawa? IS he related? Maybe they just dropped the surname as another “yeah this is a Godzilla movie for Godzilla fans” easter egg but I have a hard time believing that he can’t be somehow related to the other character with the Very Important Last Name who was so important in the last two Godzilla movies. If he is related I’m sure it’s been explained in a tie-in comic or the novelization or something, I’ll look it up later.

- I had to look up how much weight huge battleships can carry while writing a KOTM fic where Ghidorah hitches a ride on one, and y’all, I had to pull weird gravity-negating magic to get him to ride on that boat. Godzilla and Kong woulda sunk that boat like a rock. All I could think during that scene is “this wouldn’t work and I know that because I DID THE RESEARCH and I wasn’t even getting PAID.” I’ll choose to believe that Monarch gets special heavy duty ships designed to carry titans but nobody mentioned it because it wasn’t relevant to Kong’s journey.

- The bit where they could see where Godzilla was swimming because he’d got half a ship hooked to him that was bobbing around on the surface, didn’t Jaws do something like that with a buoy? It’s been ages since I’ve seen Jaws. Anyway good reference.

- Insert “they’re gonna need a bigger boat” joke

- I LOVED the part where they shut down all the ships to get Godzilla to leave. Both because, one, it’s a spectacular callback to KOTM’s “turn off all the guns so he knows we’re not a threat” that makes it seem like now that’s just what Monarch knows what to do to get G to chill out, and two... we know that Godzilla backs off either when he’s killed his enemy or when his enemy has yielded to him. At the end of KOTM—and the end of GVK—the act of yielding is presented as very ceremonial and uniform across species: everyone lowers anything they’ve got that could be dangerous (claws, fangs, beaks, axes) and bows to show Godzilla they’re not gonna fight. Battleships, obviously, can’t bow, but even without being inducted into whatever secret titan cultural intricacies might be going on, humans have figured out their own way to “bow” to Godzilla: cut all the power, so their ships can’t move and can’t use weapons. I know the movie presented it as “playing dead,” but c’mon, if Godzilla could hear MechaG power up from halfway around the planet then he could hear that Kong’s heart was still beating, and he’s been around enough boats to know humans can turn them off and on when they want. The humans bowed to Godzilla. He accepted that they yielded and left.

- Mark Russell looked like such a dad in this movie, like he’s retired 100% from being a rugged action hero and now he’s just Pure Dad. I like him better when he’s a dad, it’s a good development for him. He got like 3 lines and I’m like “I appreciate this character development.”

- Despite all my qualms about how conspiracy theories and extremist groups are handled in Monsterverse (and WHICH conspiracy theories they decide to reference), I really love Madison and Bernie’s dynamic. The adult man who’s the excitable wide-eyed believer in every BS conspiracy you can possibly imagine; and then the serious, severe Teenage Girl On A Mission who’s hypercompetent because she was raised for five years by a friggin doomsday cult militia; and despite having wildly different personalities they’re just, in total agreement about everything. Handled just a BIT differently (like, leaving out the more gross IRL conspiracies) they would be a wildly fun comedic duo—especially with Josh the Only Sane Man coming along as the hapless sidekick. And they all play off of each other so well! Both in a comedic sense, and in more serious moments—when Bernie talked about his wife, there was a real moment of empathy between him and Madison with very little said. I’d watch an entire movie just about the three of them. I’d watch a TV show.

- On the one hand I wasn’t too much of a fan of KOTM’s “all titans... are inherently In Tune With Nature... nature has a Balance, because that’s a Real Thing and not an anthropocentric concept to describe how we like nature to act, and they automatically restore it... because they’re like, some kinda borderline divinities or something... we should probably be worshipping them...” thing; but, now that it was totally absent in GVK, I sorta miss it. Like I feel like there needs to be a balance, a few humans who are like “i lowkey worship these dudes?” and a few others who are like “they’re cool but like, that’s a lil extreme” and that neither side be presented as Right in how they regard titans’ relationship with nature.

- “All titans come from THE HOLLOW EARTH” nah I don’t buy that it’s silly. Basically, what I object to is the idea that all titans have some sort of intrinsic similarity (they all come from the same hitherto-unknown location; they all are part of the same pack that has the same alpha; they all are fueled/fed by the same energy source; etc) rather than letting them be SEPARATE species whose only unifying traits are “they’re all big enough to fuck everything up everywhere they go” and “they’re big enough that the typically-insurmountable barriers between different biomes (mountain ranges, valleys, long distances with terrible weather) aren’t insurmountable for them, so even if they’re specialized in different environments they still all have to deal with each other pretty often.” I’ll make some exceptions for convergent evolution (i.e., claiming multiple titans developed similar traits that are relatively easy to spontaneously evolve and a prerequisite for a creature to survive at such a large size). But I can’t buy “this big gorilla has more biologically in common with this big crocodile-iguana than he does with, say, gorillas,” or most of the other “all these titans have THIS IN COMMON” claims that Monsterverse makes, including “everyone’s from hollow earth.” So I’m tossing that out the window and substituting my own headcanons. Some might’ve evolved there but some evolved on the surface. Maybe a majority of them like ducking in and out of the hollow earth like some kind of titan shortcut system. Kong’s species, I can buy, IS native to hollow earth, considering that they built a whole-ass society down there with tools and architecture.

- I’m SO curious about the little underground Kong home, the Godzilla motif in the floor, and the axe that appeared to be made with a Godzilla scute. What’s the story there??? We know Godzilla’s species and Kong’s species are ancient rivals. Is it because Kong’s species hunted Godzilla’s to steal their scutes to make weapons, seeing them as a valuable resource the way, like, early humans considered woolly mammoths a valuable resource—thus making that Godzilla on the floor equivalent to cave art of mammoths made by people who hunted them—until the Godzillas got pissed and started fighting back en masse? Or were Godzillas and Kongs already enemies when Kongs decided to start making weapons out of their corpses? Did they use to be allies, fighting together, with Godzillas voluntarily offering shed scutes and/or bones of their deceased members to Kongs, and that place used to be a shared home until they started fighting?

- What about that power source, is it something that was already there that both Kongs and Godzillas started to deliberately harvest for technology/atomic breath? Or did Godzillas automatically channel that stuff and Kongs exploited/borrowed/traded with Godzillas to utilize it too? Or is the power from Godzillas who collaboratively poured a bunch of power into the place thus that Kongs were able to use it too? I doubt Godzilla’s species CREATED all that weird energy but the question remains of whether, like, they channel it FROM underground, or naturally produce the same thing in their own bodies, or what.

- Godzilla using his atomic breath to dig a hole STRAIGHT TO KONG just to KICK HIS ASS is hilarious. How lucky that Hong Kong just HAPPENS to be straight over Kong’s house! Were all the tunnels to the hollow earth made by pissed off Godzillas who wanted to kick monkey ass??

- I loved the aesthetic of the battle scene in Hong Kong, with the brightly colored neon building outlines, VERY cool look. The choreography of the battle scene was great too, especially

- we literally broke into applause when Kong shoved the axe handle in Godzilla’s mouth. Love it, perfect callback, that was the ONE thing from the original King Kong Vs Godzilla I was hoping to see referenced and there it was.

- You could really see a difference in how Kong and Godzilla fought—Kong doing a better job at using tools and the environment, Godzilla fighting more like a reptile. They seemed to emphasize Godzilla’s more animalistic behaviors in this movie to accomplish that contrast—he was down on all fours and moving like a crocodile more often, he was clawing at Kong’s chest—but even though it seemed a bit different of a combat technique it also didn’t seem out of place compared to how he fought in prior movies. And we’ve already seen that if Godzilla’s involved in a fight and one of the combatants knows how to use the environment, it’s typically not gonna be Godzilla. (See: Ghidorah using the reflection in a building’s windows to see what’s behind him, and recognizing a nearby power source and biting it to juice himself up.)

- So many of Godzilla’s enemies seem to have specialized in negating his atomic breath in order to combat him! The MUTOs directly suppress his ability to use it—and it makes sense that that’s an inborn ability they have, since they evolved to use Godzilla’s species as prey. Kong has a weapon that both acts as a shield to absorb the breath and turn it back against Godzilla’s species—they didn’t evolve to counter Godzilla, but they developed tools once a rivalry happened. Ghidorah’s the exception—which makes sense, since he came from space—but even at that we see him using tactics specifically to take into account Godzilla’s most powerful weapon (such as keeping one head on lookout for when he starts glowing so that they know when they need to dodge).

- LOVED the reveal that MechaG was based off of Ghidorah’s brain, it has vibes of both the Kiryu Saga and the way that Heisei MechaG is based off of Mecha-King Ghidorah. Not the most surprising plot twist, since we’d theorized that they might use San to make MechaG, but I wasn’t 100% sure they were gonna go with it until they finally did. Even when I was going “huh, the mecha pilot’s chamber looks weirdly organic” I didn’t make the connection to WHY until the reveal, lol.

- “Ghidorah’s necks are so long that the heads have to communicate with each other telepathically” that’s COMPLETELY WILD but I love it, it follows very well from their prior portrayal as telepathic empaths in Heisei, it lines up with their emphasis on electricity (because BRAINWAVES AND ELECTRICITY, hey ho movie monster pseudo science!), and it very much compliments my own private headcanon that they’ve got some psychic/mind control abilities.

- The movie ended with both “Godzilla won, technically” but also “since they teamed up as equals, the ending doesn’t FEEL like ‘Godzilla wins, Kong loses’ but rather ‘they both won against a common foe’” and since I’m on both Team Godzilla and Team They Should Be Friends, I’m happy with this outcome. Plus since the last time they fought, the Japanese movie company graciously let the American monster win, so it’s only polite that the American movie company graciously let the Japanese monster win.

- There were just a few too many humans in this movie. I was intrigued by Ren but we didn’t get much out of him, but like I guess somebody had to be in the pilot’s seat other than the Apex CEO. Didn’t care for the author of the hollow earth book, I feel like his role was superfluous. Didn’t need the Apex CEO’s daughter there at all, coulda done without her. How about this, combine all three roles. Instead of having a whole-ass author who knows about the hollow earth, just casually reference that Rick from KOTM wrote a book about it since he was the expert, and (since he wasn’t in this movie) say that he tragically died going to explore the hollow earth himself, and that way we’ve got the book with the “titans are from there” theory AND an excuse to share the “humans die when they go underground” info. Now, have Ren be working for Apex as a pilot for Mechagodzilla, but have him be MechaG’s pilot because he’s also a good pilot in general, and can fly those HEAV things. Have Apex send him to Monarch to be like “hey, you guys trust me right, since I’m Ishiro Serizawa’s relative? We at Apex have heard all about your failed hollow earth expedition, and due to Ishiro I’ve got some past ties to Monarch so I’ve got high clearance with y’all, so I could bring over this useful Apex tech that’d let you go underground and use what I know about hollow earth from my past time at Monarch to help guide things.” Once they’ve got the little chunk of energy stuff and go topside, he hustles it straight to Apex and straps into his seat to run MechaG. Bam, you’ve combined “person who knows enough about hollow earth to help the expedition,” “person who represents Apex’s interests and gets the energy,” and “person who pilots MechaG” into one character, in a way that takes three flat/underdeveloped characters and turns them into a single interesting character with a lot going on and some intriguing ties to the rest of the cast.

I think that’s everything?? Hoo.