Tumgik
#a stop at willoughby
thebarroomortheboy · 11 months
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
“It was an odd dream. Very odd dream. Willoughby. It was summer, very warm. Kids were barefooted. One of them had a fishing pole. It all looked like a Currier and Ives painting. Bandstand, bicycles, wagons. I've never seen such serenity. It was the way people must have lived a hundred years ago. Crazy dream.” - Gart Williams 
The Twilight Zone | 1.30 A Stop at Willoughby 
7 notes · View notes
manitat · 7 months
Text
Tumblr media
The Twilight Zone: A Stop At Willoughby
0 notes
laura-de-milf · 1 year
Text
I've been thinking about how long it took everyone to buffer after the anti-age fog and to process what happened: it took Rita's glasses for her to place herself in 1937, and Vic only registered what was happening when he felt his braces--both long after the fog disappeared.
How potent must Laura's teenage trauma have been for her to feel even the first hint of it and immediately clock what the fog was doing--without yet having the visual clue of seeing what had happened to the others? She had only just walked into the room and had no context for the potion bottle; she had no reason to suspect it was an anti-ageing spell, but it took only the fractional moments of fog-blindness for her to figure it out and shapeshift accordingly.
Laura de Mille is the most intelligent, quick-thinking, and competent person in that house. And she is also full of so much pain. 😔
43 notes · View notes
jimkirkachu · 2 years
Text
Happy birthday, Abuser.
6 notes · View notes
cinemaquiles · 5 months
Text
youtube
TOP 5: cinco episódios da série "Além da imaginação" da década de 60, que ainda se mantém atuais!
1 note · View note
erwinsvow · 12 days
Note
hiiiii! okay thought
rafe and shy!reader but she has cuteness aggression so whenever rafe does something sweet she just bites him cause he’s so <3 and how else does one go about that
oh my god.. you spoke to my soul with this one ♡ this felt so intimate to write almost like we're all intruding on a moment btwn them
Tumblr media
sometimes you can't believe rafe is your boyfriend. he's so... so. he's perfect for you, like he was crafted for you specifically, with the way he treats you. gentle, but firm. caring, but still bringing you out of your shell at times. he's the kind of guy girls dream about, and he's yours, and you feel so giddy about it you don't understand how to process it.
it's all the little things added up, the way he memorizes your orders so you don't have to talk to the waiters, the way he always finds a way to bring you into conversations with his friends so you're not the odd one out. he treats you like a princess, makes you feel like one.
you think it's the best when it's just the two of you, like today, alone in tannyhill. curled up in bed next to him, you read your book while he works on his laptop, looking at something he tried to explain to you before you gave up on paying attention.
you're a little enraptured with your book, not even noticing when rafe shuts his screen and puts it away.
"kid. kid."
"hm?" you look up, a little dazed. "oh, are you all done?"
"for now. how's your book?" the way he asks, you feel like there's nothing rafe cares about more in the world than the book in your hands and how it makes you feel.
"it's good," you say quietly, staring up at him still.
"good. read some to me, hm?" he closes his eyes, lying back against the pillow. you feel your heart warm, your face flush. you lean against his chest, opening your book back up and starting to recite while rafe wraps his arm around your shoulder.
"-and elinor, who now understood her sister, and saw to-to she was carried by her eagerness to to be with willoughby again.."
you stop reading, looking up at rafe with his eyes closed. you move your head, teeth biting down gently on his arm. his eyes shoot open, while you giggle against the skin.
"what the fuck, kid-"
"sorry. i couldn't resist. i just love you so much." you bury your head into his chest, your book and its page getting lost in the sheets. you resist the urge to bite his chest too.
"so y'have to bite me? jesus. gonna get you a muzzle." he presses a kiss to the crown of your hair, holding you tighter. "i love you too."
Tumblr media
760 notes · View notes
firawren · 3 months
Text
I've been thinking about the fact that some readers of Sense and Sensibility don't believe Willoughby truly loved Marianne, even though everyone in the book believes it and the narrator makes it clear how much he cared for her, at the end. And I think this reading of him takes away from one of the messages of the book, which is that love is not enough.
Willoughby loves Marianne, but that's not enough to stop him from hurting her, it's not enough to make him give up his cushy lifestyle and marry her, and it wouldn't have been enough to keep him happy with her long-term. Marianne loves Willoughby, but it wouldn't have been enough for her to be happy with him long-term either.
Edward loves Elinor, but that's not a good enough reason to break his promise to Lucy, because integrity and honor and responsibility are just as important to him. Brandon loves Marianne, but that's not reason enough to court her, because he knows her feelings lie elsewhere and she doesn't respect and esteem him yet.
Love is important to all these characters, and is a vital part in making the marriages that they ultimately end up in strong and happy, but it's not the only thing that makes them work.
Of course, Sense and Sensibility is hardly the only Austen novel to make the point that you need more than love or romance or passion to make a relationship work. But I think it's interesting how we get to see this play out in the villain of the novel. Willoughby does some truly horrific things, but his character shows that even really bad guys are capable of feeling love and guilt and remorse. But none of these feelings are ultimately strong enough to change him. Because love is not enough.
624 notes · View notes
Text
Elementary, Chapter Two
Tumblr media
pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x teacher!reader
chapter rating: M (no explicit smut but my blog is always 18+ ONLY, just one steamy makeout but the smut show begins next chapter so strap in 😎 as always, i cannot force myself to reread my own writing so this isn’t proofread)
word count: 4.9k
series masterlist | joel masterlist | joel playlist
It was Saturday afternoon, your book club meeting nearly wrapped for the day. You were delighted to see Sarah’s face, half-expecting both her and her father to forget about the meeting, but she was one of the first ones here.
Joel greeted you with a shy wave and a smile as he walked her into the small room in the corner of the library, his grey t-shirt and jeans fitting him far too well.
“Mornin’,” he greeted, both of your eyes trailing away to watch Sarah make a bee-line for the snack table. “That’s my fault, I forgot to make a grocery run.”
“That’s what they’re there for,” you waved off his worry and fixed your eyes on his again.
“I, uh, tried to keep up,” he held up his copy of Sense and Sensibility, surprising you with how far into the book his bookmark rested, not quite where the rest of you were but not too far off. “I don’t know about that Willoughby guy…somethin’ seems off.”
“Oh, yeah?” you chuckled, shifting your weight onto one hip and crossing your arms over your chest as you eagerly waited his assessment. Joel cracked a charming half smirk and nodded confidently.
“Yeah. No man is that perfect.” You snorted a laugh and eagerly agreed. “So I got it, then? He’s a bad guy?”
“No comment,” you replied with an untamable grin, something about his presence filling you with a girlish giddiness you hadn’t felt in years.
“Sarah!” Sarah’s new friend, Jessie, squealed when she entered the classroom and spotted her, causing both you and Joel to look over with proud smiles.
“This was a good idea,” Joel turned back to you. “Hadn’t realized how sheltered she was. It’s nice to see her have a friend.”
“We all deserve friends,” you noted.
“You know, if you ever need a friend…I’m right here,” he offered with a shrug, busying his eyes by looking down at the book he was holding.
“Would Sarah be okay with her dad and teacher being friends?” you asked, Sarah’s well-being your ultimate responsibility and priority over whatever you happened to be feeling for her father.
“Yeah, we, uh, talked about it…I may have made a comment about how pretty you are,” he chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck. “And she’s been teasin’ me about it since.”
“Pretty, huh?” you smirked and relished in the blush you brought to his face, his eyes rolling as a husky chuckle slipped from his lips. “Well, Joel, if I ever need a friend, how can I go about getting in touch with you?”
“Right,” he nodded, frantically reaching into his pocket to pull out his flip phone, your lip caught between your teeth as you watched him struggle to find his phone number—of course he didn’t know it by heart. “Alright, you ready?”
You clicked your pen and pulled out your post-it note/bookmark, jotting down his number as he read it out to you.
“Are we gonna start or what?” Harriet snapped from her wheelchair, making both you and Joel laugh.
“I’ll be back to pick Sarah up at eleven,” he tapped his book with yours before walking out of the room, only stopping to place a kiss on his daughter’s forehead before disappearing, leaving your heart longing for more.
Taking a deep, necessary breath, you turned to the group and smiled. “Alright, how far did everybody get this week?”
Tumblr media
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look at your phone so goddamn much since you got the damn thing,” Tommy teased his older brother as they walked around their favorite H-E-B supermarket, Joel determined to surprise Sarah with a fully stocked fridge and pantry for once.
“Yeah,” Joel mumbled as he swore he felt a buzz in his pocket, tugging his flip phone out for the twentieth time since stepping inside the store, hoping to see a message or an incoming call from you.
“That the plummer for the project on 15th Street?” Tommy asked as he loaded a case of Gatorade into the bottom of the cart.
“No, it’s, uh—“ Joel was nervous, having gone so long without having a romantic life that he started to feel like a teenager again, too embarrassed by the weight of his crush to tell anybody. “Sarah’s at her book club so I’m just makin’ sure I don’t miss her call if she needs me to pick her up early.”
“And her ‘pretty’ teacher ain’t got nothin’ to do with that?” Tommy teased with a grin, amused by the look of betrayal and embarrassment on his older brother’s face.
“Sarah told ya, huh?”
“Yep,” Tommy laughed and took over pushing the cart. “You ask her out yet?”
“Not yet,” Joel sighed, the idea of going on a first date at his stage in life seeming ridiculous. What would they even do? Go to a movie? Go out to dinner? It all seemed too…cliche. “What do people even do for dates anymore?”
“Take her to Lady Bird Lake or a museum or somethin’. She’s a teacher, she’ll be into all that,” Tommy suggested. Joel nodded at the advice, making a mental note of it before being interrupted by the first actual ring of his phone all morning.
“Hello?” Joel answered the unsaved number with a hopeful heart.
“Joel?” your voice responded, bringing a smile to his face.
“Hey,” he greeted, sounding more like himself. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah, yeah,” you chirped, but he could tell there was something you were holding back.
“Sarah’s okay, right?”
“Yes! Sarah’s alright, she’s waiting here with me—“Joel heard his daughter greet him in the background. “The meeting ended a bit early, and I was trying to start my car, but it looks like I have a dead battery. Is there anyway I could get a jumpstart?”
“Oh—yeah,” he mouthed to Tommy that they needed to go checkout, Tommy pushing the cart towards the registers without needing any further instruction. “We’re just checkin’ out at H-E-B, but I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
“Sounds good, thank you,” you breathed a sigh of relief.
“No need to thank me. It’s what friends are for,” he hoped his attempt at playfulness didn’t fall flat, and judging by your chuckle, it hadn’t.
“That and lots of other things.” Joel’s heart sped up as he contemplated the other things. “See ya in a bit.”
Tumblr media
“So,” Sarah started as she sat beside you in your well-used Ford Focus, the two of you reading as you waited for Joel to arrive. “You married?”
You laughed at her bluntness, looking over at her only to see her deadpanning. “No, I’m not married. Not anything.”
“Why not?” You laughed again, this time incredulously.
“I’ve been wondering that myself.” She didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, making you shrug and giggle again as you tossed your hands up. “I don’t know, maybe it’s the men I go after.”
“Like my dad?” You blushed and turned back to your book, finally pulling a laugh from the girl much wider than her years. “I think it would be cool if you two started to go out.”
“What makes you think we want to go out?” you challenged with a smirk, trying and failing to erase it from your face.
“I haven’t seen my dad try this hard since…well, ever,” she chuckled. “And both of you always have this stupid smile on your face after you see eachother. I’d say that’s a pretty big tell.”
“You’re too observant for your own good,” you noted as you felt your cheeks creep with heat, embarrassed that she’d caught you.
A few quick honks cut off the conversation, both of you stepping out of the hot car to greet Joel as he and another man pulled up in front of where you were parked. Joel climbed out of the passenger seat with a smile, striding over to both of you with two water bottles in hand, giving you each one.
“Drink up, it’s hot as hell today,” he commanded and both of you obeyed.
“Hey,” his companion stepped out of the drivers side and joined the three of you, giving you a nod. “I’m Tommy, Sarah’s uncle.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard a lot about you,” you held your hand out for him to shake and he grinned mischievously.
“Likewise.” Your cheeks heated again despite the cold water bottle cooling you down.
“Mind if I pop the hood?” Joel pointed at your car, your head eagerly nodding in response. You watched him closely as he walked over to the drivers side, bending down to find the hood release. His shirt stretched over the broadness of his back, a line of sweat darkening the gray fabric down his spine. With a sudden thirst, you took a healthy chug of your water, hoping it would soothe the fire burning inside of you.
“Thank you guys,” you started as you turned to Tommy, needing to distract yourself from Joel.
“It’s no problem,” Tommy assured, his arm draped around Sarah’s shoulder. “How was, uh, book club?”
“Oh!” Sarah chimed, earning a furrowed brow look from her father as he walked over to the bed of the truck to grab some jumper cables. “Can I go over to Jessie’s house tonight? She’s having a sleepover—“
“I don’t know,” Joel exhaled as he returned. “I need to talk to her parents first.”
“I have their number,” you offered, pulling your phone out of your purse. “If you want it.”
“Sure,” he gave you a tired smile and trailed his eyes over your form properly for the first time since he arrived. Your hair that was once freely falling had now been put up, the sweat on the back of your neck causing your hair to stick to your skin in a way that bugged you. Your makeup was probably well into oily territory, your mascara smudged the last time you checked it in the car’s rearview mirror. The only thing half-presentable about you was the sundress you were wearing, it’s floral, cotton fabric flowing in the warm April breeze. “Uh,” he caught himself staring and quickly turned his gaze back to his daughter as he fished out his cellphone. “Here—you can type it in.”
After giving Sarah the phone number, she and Tommy retired back to the cool a/c in his truck, leaving you and Joel alone. An irresponsible thing for the two of you to be.
“Care to show me how it’s done,” you asked, unable to stop yourself from wanting more from him—more attention, more of his voice, more…everything. Being around him made you feel like you were burning alive, and yet strangely enough, the only time relief came to you was when you got closer to him.
“No one ever taught you how to jumpstart a car?” he teased with a smile, glancing over at you as he clamped the metal prongs onto the negative and positive sides.
“Not really,” you chuckled, pointing at the opposite colors. “So black goes on negative and red goes on positive?”
“Yep,” he nodded before pointing at the inside of the car. “Go on and try to start it up.”
“Just start it?” you asked, worried about messing up.
“Yep, like you normally do,” he encouraged you with a smile, watching you as you sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the ignition. Both of you gasped at the sight and sound of your battery sparking and then smoking. “Shit.” He walked over to the now ruined battery and investigated as you came out to join him. “Wasn’t your fault, my cords must be fucked or somethin’. I’m sorry—just ruined your battery.” He sighed and gave you an apologetic look, but you were quick to brush it off.
“Don’t worry about it,” you placed your hand on his arm and watched as his head turned to look at the contact before locking his eyes with yours. You fought the urge to worship his biceps like your celibate and cavewoman-like hormones were urging you to and pulled your hand away. “I’ll just call a tow truck and have them tow me to an auto-shop.”
“They’ll take you for all you got.” He shook his head and gestured back at the truck. “We can take ya to go get a new battery for almost free.”
“Almost?” you chuckled, quirking an eyebrow at him.
“Yeah, the only payment I ask for is maybe…a date?” He gave you a bashful but hopeful smile as he tucked his hands in his front pockets. “Maybe tonight?”
You stared at him with a widening grin, pleasantly surprised by his proposition. You hadn’t thought he’d make the first move, at least not this soon. Throwing caution to the wind, you nodded, your stomach fluttering as you watched him sigh in relief.
“Alright, well, let’s work on gettin’ you a new battery and go from there.” Joel waited for you as you locked your car up and joined him again, following him over to the backseat of his truck. He opened the door for you, giving you that warm smile that was beginning to feel like a drug as you climbed in beside Sarah.
Joel remained outside as he unhooked the cables from their working battery to your dead one, shutting the hood of the truck with a firm slam. He ungracefully hopped into the passenger seat, looking over at his brother.
“Take us down to the Autozone,” he ordered, Tommy glancing back at you with a raised brow and smile as he waited for his brother to use his manners. Joel sighed, “Please.”
“That’s better.”
Tumblr media
It took under an hour to go get your new battery, bring it back to your car, and have Joel install it. As he bid you goodbye, he let you know he’d give you a call once he figures out a time for your date tonight, and you couldn’t help but beam with excitement.
The entire rest of the afternoon was spent going through your closet, taking the longest shower of your life, and fussing with your hair, wanting to be ready if Joel chose to be last minute with your plans—which normally would thoroughly turn you off, but you were weak when it came to Joel.
Thankfully, Joel called at three, asking if you’d like to join him for a walk at Lady Bird Lake. You eagerly accepted the offer, mildly surprised by the unconventional choice in date but not disappointed with it.
As you sat in the living room, you heard a car approach your house and moved to peek through your window, the same dark pick-up truck from earlier rolling into your driveway. You grinned as you watched him hop out of the drivers seat, dressed in a crisp white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He looked so masculine and broad, but there was something in the warmth of his smile, the deepness of his eyes, that showed he was soft, too.
Quickly heading to your front door, you opened it before he could knock, his look of surprise when you swung the door open turning into a smile as he took you in—a sage green wrap dress that fell between your ankles and knees, your makeup soft and complimentary, your smile knee-weakening.
“You look so pretty,” he complimented softly, as though you weren’t meant to hear it. “Uh, got these for you.”
Joel handed you a bouquet of yellow daisies and you gave him a touched frown, kissing your teeth as you pressed the petals to your nose.
“This is very sweet,” you gave him a smitten grin and gestured back into your house. “Let me just go put these in some water. You’re welcome to come in.”
“Alright,” he followed you into your house and down the hall to your kitchen, his eyes scanning the scene as though your home would reveal some hidden secret about you. “This is a nice place.”
“Thanks,” you replied as you filled a vase with water at the sink. “I found it for a really good price last summer, and now the owner’s gonna sell it to me.”
“Take it you like Austin then. You from around here?” He asked, leaning his hip against the counter.
“Nope,” you continued to tell him where you were from. “But I do love it here. Besides, I’m getting older. Seems like a good investment.”
“Old,” he repeated with a smirk. “You ain’t nowhere near old. Me on the other hand—“
“You’re what, mid-thirties?”
“33,” he corrected. “But my body is pushin’ seventy.”
“You haven’t heard the way my bones crack when I get up every morning,” you joked, earning a laugh.
“We’ll just have to be gentle with each other, then,” Joel quipped, not taking much time to think before he spoke. He internally cringed at the way you looked away and chuckled awkwardly, scolding himself for his stupid joke.
“Hopefully not too gently.” You shot him a wink and every worry of his faded into oblivion. “Alright, then, shall we?”
“Yeah,” Joel swallowed his desire and walked you out to the truck, helping you into your side before seating himself. “You ever been to the lake?”
“Nope,” you shook your head. “Is it pretty out there?”
“It’s pretty, but you’re gonna give it a run for it’s money in that dress,” he flirted, shooting you a glance and a peek at the smile he was wearing proudly. Your cheeks turned hot at his compliment and you rolled your eyes, grinning like a lovesick teenager.
“You’re a flirt,” you pointed out.
“Me?” He laughed. “I haven’t flirted in…shit, I don’t know how long it’s been.”
“Well, you’re a natural, then,” you nudged his arm with your elbow and felt dizzy by the sparks shooting through your nerves by the simple contact.
“Sarah gave me a run down of things I should and shouldn’t do tonight,” he filled you in.
“Oh yeah? What are the do’s?” you implored with an amused smile, watching his profile as he drove.
“Pay, open doors, and ask questions,” he replied.
“And dont’s?” Joel chuckled and shook his head.
“She said I’m not supposed to kiss you until the second date.” You scoffed and waved that thought away. “You disagree?”
“Strongly,” you answered him with a laugh, Joel laughing along with you.
“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind, then.” He shot you a wink and you felt like your heart was being shocked back to life. “I haven’t been on a date in so long. You gotta let me know if I’m fuckin’ this up.”
“You’re doing just fine, trust me,” you assured. “I can’t tell you the amount of shitty dates I’ve gone on, so the bar isn’t very high for you tonight.”
“Well, that’s sad,” he chuckled and shot you a lingering look as he stopped at a red light. “Hopefully I can break this streak of shitty dates.”
“I think you’ve already done it,” you laughed. “I mean, I can’t think of a first date that sacrificed hours of his life to replace my car battery on a Saturday afternoon.”
“You’re right, I’m setting the bar high,” he chuckled and shrugged. “Gonna have to change your oil next time just to keep up my reputation, then for the third date maybe rotate your tires—“
“Are these euphemisms?” you asked with mischief in your smile, not knowing the way you made his heart speed up with it.
“You make me nervous,” he admitted with a smile, his cheeks flushed pink. When he turned to look at you, he saw a bitten smirk, his head shaking. “That amuse you?”
“A little,” you nodded.
“Callin’ me a flirt,” he shook his head in mock scolding. “Look at you.”
Tumblr media
After your leisurely walk in the park—the green of the grass and array of colors from the flowers and butterflies swarming in the air just as beautiful as Joel attempted to describe it on the way over—you and Joel found yourselves outside of an ice cream shop, sharing a chocolate and strawberry sundae.
“How are you not terrified every day? I only have Sarah to look out for and I can hardly manage, I can’t imagine a class full of ‘em,” Joel spoke, watching you as you spooned the last bit of the ice cream into your mouth.
“It’s scary at first, but then you develop this sort of bond with them—it just happens naturally, and it makes you feel responsible for them. You know? It’s just like…I feel a responsibility to show them some peace and understanding, because who knows what they have going on at home. I show up for them because I might be the only person that’s doing that, you know?” You shrugged, trying not to read into the way he was looking at you like you hung the stars in the sky, his posture relaxed as he sat back in the metal patio chair. “You gotta stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” He chuckled, amused by your fluster.
“Like that.” You gestured at his head. “You know exactly what you’re doing, giving me those pretty brown eyes—“
Joel’s laugh cut you off, his head shaking. “I’m just listening to you talk, I have no control over my pretty brown eyes.”
“Mmhm,” you rolled your eyes and chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
“I, uh—Sarah’s away tonight. If you wanted to come over—“ Joel watched as you lifted an eyebrow. “Not for that—well, I mean—but I just meant to continue talking. We have a pool—“
“Why didn’t you start with that?” You stood upright and snapped your fingers at him, earning a grin. “Chop, chop, Mr. Miller.”
Joel made a pit stop at your place so that you could change into a swimsuit, throwing your dress back on over it before hurrying back out to the truck. Once inside his house, you found yourself studying the scene much like he had earlier at yours. It felt almost unreal to be in his space, the intimacy of walking the same halls he walked every morning and night turning you drunk.
“Pools out back, I’m gonna grab us some beers.” You nodded at him as he broke off towards the kitchen while you kept forward towards the sliding glass door to his patio.
Pulling the door open, you were surprised to see a rather nice little backyard set up. He draped yellow string lantern lights in zig zags from fence to fence, illuminating the pool and patio table.
“Here you go,” Joel appeared from behind you, handing you a beer before walking over to the table and taking a seat. You joined him, giving him an expectant but playful smirk as you entered a staring match. “What’s got you smilin’ like that?”
“Nothing,” you shrugged, turning your grin towards the pool. “I’m just having a good time.”
Joel’s chest swole with pride at your confession.
“You wanna get in? It’s heated.” You gave him an impressed up and down, making him chuckle.
“Fancy,” you teased as you stood up, avoiding his eyes as your hands found the knot holding your wrap dress together. Before you could move to untie the knot, Joel’s hands rested over yours, his body now standing tall in front of you. Your eyes shot up to meet his and your breath faltered, his lips just a few inches away.
“May I?” Joel asked for permission as he replaced your fingers on the knot with his own. You gave him a quick nod, your lips parting as you waited with bated breath for him to undress you. Joel slipped the knot undone, the dress falling open. His eyes traveled from your face down the front of your body as he slid the dress off your shoulders, leaving you in just your swimsuit. His hands were quick to touch your skin, a soft gasp spilling from your lips at the fire his skin on yours caused. “You’re too beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” you praised, lifting your hand to cup his bearded cheek. Joel’s lips curled up at the sound of your compliment, his hands giving your waist a squeeze. “Remember that rule we talked about breaking earlier?”
“Uh-huh,” Joel nodded, leaning in to fill the gap between your lips until he was crashing into you, your fingers threading into his hair as you accepted the attack. Joel moaned as you tugged on his hair, walking you back against the table and hoisting you onto the metal. “You taste so sweet, baby.”
“I want you,” you whined, earning a growl of desperation as he licked and sucked his way down to your neck, fighting the urge to leave his mark on you.
“Hey, neighbor?” Joel’s older neighbor called from over the fence, interrupted their heated makeout. He sighed and rested his forehead on your shoulder as he tried to gather his composure enough to form a response.
“Yep?” Joel called back.
“Your girl’s locked out, just came knockin’ on our door.” Joel’s brows furrowed and he immediately straightened up, his eyes apologetic as he handed you your dress.
“Thanks,” he called back before placing a kiss on your cheek. “Sorry, baby.”
“It’s okay,” you assured as you tied your dress, the throbbing between your thighs persistent but the sound of him calling you baby was a more-than sufficient distraction, filling your stomach with butterflies.
You sat back down at the table and waited until Joel came back out, your fingers drawing hearts on the dust covering the table. When you caught yourself, you scoffed, disgusted by the cutesy feelings filling you to the brim, and wiped the table with your palm. Walking over to the edge of the pool, you rinsed the dust off and listened as the glass door slid open.
“Hey,” Sarah greeted, her voice nearly making you fall into the water as you weren’t expecting it. “How was the date?”
You stood up and chuckled, ignoring her question by changing the subject. “How was it at Jessie’s?”
“It was good, just didn’t want to spend the night,” she informed as she sat on one of the patio chairs, swinging her feet.
“Where’s your dad?” You weren’t sure what to say to her and desperately wanted Joel to come out to help carry the burden of this awkward tension.
“Using the bathro—“
“Nope,” he interrupted as he stepped outside, mouthing an apology to you as he walked over to her and kissed her head. “Can you go inside for a second?”
“Sure thing,” Sarah gave you a knowing smile as she left the two of you alone, closing the glass door behind her.
“Sorry,” he stepped to you, placing his hands on either side of you face. “Don’t think we’re gonna get to continue that tonight.”
“It’s alright,” you rubbed his chest.
“When can I see you again?” he asked, eyes full of reverence as he looked at you.
“Whenever,” you shrugged, pinching his chin. “I’m free after five every night.”
“I’ll try to talk Tommy into babysitting on Friday.” You grinned at his suggestion and nodded your head. “Lemme grab Sarah and we’ll drive you home.”
“Wait—“ You stopped him before he could get too far, tugging him down for a deep kiss, his arms wrapping around you and squeezing you so tight that you hoped it would last all week until you saw him next, but the minute he let go of you, you already missed him. “One more kiss.”
“One more,” he repeated as he kissed you again, slow, deep, and lingering, the two of you procrastinating. Finally, you gathered the will to pull away, chuckling at your breathlessness. “Alright, if we don’t stop now, I’m just gonna keep on torturin’ myself.”
“Not into that?” you quipped seductively, tilting your head at him as you tucked your hands into the back pockets of his jeans to pull him closer. Joel chuckled and shook his head at you as though you were testing every ounce of his strength.
“I’m gonna have my hands full with you, aren’t I?” he husked, leaning back in to place a feather-light kiss to your lips as you responded with a grin.
“Your hands are already pretty full, wouldn’t you say?” Joel laughed against you and gave your ass a squeeze, his palms having already been firmly planted there.
“Oh, I like you,” Joel hummed, pecking your lips once more before pulling away. “Here,” Joel handed you his keys before pinching your chin. “Start the truck up and I’ll go get Sarah.”
“Sure thing,” you beamed as you watched him start towards the house, stopping him once more with your voice. “Joel?”
“Yeah?”
“I like you too.” You and Joel stood there lovestruck, a chuckle slipping from his lips as he struggled to find the strength to take you back home, not ready for the night to be over. But knowing that the best things come to those who wait, Joel took a breath of patience and smiled.
“Glad we’re on the same page.”
3K notes · View notes
pftones3482 · 4 months
Text
"Ummm they toned down the abuse from Gabe in Percy Jackson because it's a kids show, stop being mad about it"
Ignoring the fact that it's also a children's book, let's take a look at some children's media in the last couple decades that depict parental abuse towards children that isn't physical, but still makes the abuse feel real:
1. Harry Potter. I'm loathe to even put it on here bc of how much I hate JKR, but HP DOES depict child abuse in probably one of the best ways of any modern media. As far as I can remember (correct me if I'm wrong), the Dursley's never lay a hand on Harry. But it is never even questioned if they're awful people towards Harry - they literally make him sleep in a closet.
2. Matilda. Like do I even need to explain this one? Abuse from not only her whole family (again, NONE of it physical from what I recall), but also from other authority figures. And she's not the only character who deals with parental abuse - Miss Honey is a grown adult shown to be dealing with the negative effects of an abusive parental figure.
3. Phineas and Ferb. Laugh all you want, but Doofenshmirtz's parents were genuinely awful to him. His stories are just tamed down in a way that's palpable to a much younger audience while still also being clear abuse - a young child can chuckle at his stories but STILL understand why maybe some of his stories would turn him evil.
4. Avatar the Last Airbender. Zuko's father physically disables his own son. Not to mention the constant emotional neglect and manipulation on top of it, the writers never held back on how bad his father was. Even if he hadn't scarred Zuko, he would still be a clear depiction of an abusive parent.
5. The Willoughbys. The parents are so awful that the kids literally plot to murder them. The parents abandoned them to freeze to death on top of a mountain. Enough said.
6. Percy fucking Jackson.
Percy Jackson IS a book made for kids that depicts child abuse from a parent - and not only does it depict child abuse, it depicts spousal abuse.
I know Percy doesn't know that Gabe is physically hurting Sally in the beginning of the book. But we as the audience know that Gabe DOES hurt Percy. There is not a single sign in the new show that Percy has anything more than a snarky, annoyed view of Gabe.
Gabe is supposed to be smelly and disgusting, a drunk (which, even if they can't depict that in a Disney show, you can still play around with his grossness), a slob, and a gambler. He's barely even greasy in the show. Literally they could have just had him belch a few times or eat messily and it would have given off a better impression of his character. Instead, he just quips back and forth with Percy and then later is just...whining. He's whiney. He does not ring as a man who abuses his family, emotionally OR physically, he rings as a pathetic step-dad figure who can't support himself (which is ALSO not canon, because in the book he runs an auto store! His abuse towards Sally is not for lack of money, it's just because he's a dick!!!) The fact that I think that Doof's parents in Phineas and Ferb are more overtly abusive than him on screen is actually absurd.
And Sally fell flat. Her character in the book doesn't yell literally ever - not once in the whole series can I recall her legitimately yelling at someone. Her persona is kind and gentle in the books and as for wits, she's clever, and sneaky, and cunning. She fights back with Gabe in ways that we as the audience can see, but Gabe misses because he's so dense.
Take the bean dip scene.
In the show, she basically is like "Yeah yeah I'll make the bean dip, shut up" and Gabe just whines about the sour cream while they yell at each other.
In the book? That's her bargaining chip to take the car for the weekend. That's her ticket out of the house. Bribery. Not just placating a whining husband - she bribes him in the books.
And her yelling back? Just feels so unnatural to Sally Jackson as a whole. I saw someone say she feels like Disney girl-bossed her, and they're right. She doesn't feel like Sally Jackson. She feels like just another cut and paste Disney woman who's snappy and doesn't take shit.
And to be clear - the OG Sally Jackson also didn't take shit. She was just so much more clever about it, in a way that made sure Percy never saw her actively yell. She doesn't have to be snarky and rude to get her way. Percy knows she's fighting back without physically fighting, and that's what makes her so strong. Sometimes you have to fight more with your wits and cleverness than you do with screaming and fists
(Gee...wonder what other character Percy ends up really admiring that also holds that philosophy in life?)
Anyway...all that said, stop blaming the fact that it's a children's show on Gabe's watered down personality. Children's shows/movies and family shows/movies have been depicting serious parental abuse and neglect for decades, in both realistic and more humorous ways that don't take away from the neglect. Kids can handle it, because there are kids going through it.
To say that "It's a kids show, kids shouldn't have to see that," is a disservice to the kids who need to see that, so they know that they can get away too, and they don't have to get physical to do it.
Also, this version of Gabe? Doesn't deserve to die. He's just annoying, not an asshole that scares Percy more than literal monsters do.
147 notes · View notes
earlgreyandanime · 10 months
Text
Willoughby: Please, Ms. Dashwood, just let me explain! Maybe then you'll hate me a little less. You see, when I first met your sister, she fed my vanity, and so I kept paying attention to her for my sake and didn't care about her own feelings at all.
Me:... In what universe is this little speech meant to help you?
Willoughby:... and I never had a lot of money, but that didn't stop me from behaving like I did and surrounding myself with rich friends I could take advantage of. I knew I had to marry someone with money to support the lifestyle I wanted, and I also knew that your sister was far too poor to provide that kind of money for me.
Me: Seriously, why are you still talking?
Willoughby:... Then I realized I actually cared about your sister! And I was going to tell her, but then my one rich relative, who I'm supposed to inherit from, found out I seduced, impregnated, and abandoned a young woman. She threatened to take me out of her will unless I married the woman, but I couldn't possibly do that! And since that meant I would be denied my inheritance, I would have to marry someone rich because I like expensive things. So, I broke up with your sister and prayed I would never have to see her again.
Me: I would love nothing more than to jump into this book and strangle you.
Willoughby:... I remember the day I left your sister. I saw her heart break, and I hated myself for it! I was tortured!
Me: You deserve to be tortured.
Willoughby:... When I found out you were both in town and that she still cared about me, I realized I still cared about her, but by then, I was engaged. So, I decided to avoid you, but I also followed you around the city quite a bit, and I'm so lucky neither of you ever noticed me watching!
Me:.... I have no response to this....
Willoughby:... How miserable I was during that time! In love with your sister but engaged to another! And when we met at the party, your sister, so beautiful, wanting an explanation and my fiance jealous. What agony I was in!
Me: You did this to yourself!
Willoughby:... Your sister wrote me a letter. Remember? Well, my fiance saw it and was suspicious, so she told me what to write as a reply. I hated to do that to your sister but I was already engaged and I needed her money! Don't feel bad for her, though. She knew I didn't love her when we married. So, Ms. Dashwood, have I made you hate me a little less? Do you see that I actually did love your sister and suffer for all the pain I caused her?
Elinor: Yes, you've redeemed yourself a tiny bit.
Me: Elinor, you are a better woman than I.
Willoughby: Well, it's time for me to go and continue my miserable life. I will never be happy in my marriage, but it's nice to know you wish me well. Marianne is completely lost to me, isn't she? Even if I were to ever become free of my marriage-
Me: Are you serious right now?!
Willoughby: Alright then, I will return to my own life and continue in dreadful suspension, waiting for the day that Marianne marries another. Goodbye.
Me: Again, you did this to yourself.
296 notes · View notes
bethanydelleman · 4 months
Text
New Year's Resolutions for Jane Austen Characters (mid-novel) Part 2
George Wickham: Marry a heiress. Stop gambling lol, as if, that's what marrying the heiress is for.
Lady Catherine: Convince Darcy to follow through with his duty and honour of marrying my daughter Anne. Learn pianoforte
William Collins: Continue in the esteem of my patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh in order to secure additional livings. My wonderful partner in life joins me in this goal.
Charlotte Collins: Convince husband to spend as much time in the garden as possible. Secure extra livings in order to gain more Mr. Collins-free time.
Georgiana Darcy: Practice harp at 10am sharp every day until fingering improves
Mrs. Jennings: Marry off every eligible girl within sight, beginning with the Miss Dashwoods.
Fanny Dashwood: 1. Suck up to mom to secure inheritance 2. Keep Edward & Elinor apart at all costs, 3. Hang out with this Steele girl to make Elinor jealous
John Willoughby: 1. Marry an heiress before my entire life explodes 2. Worm my way back into Mrs. Smith's good graces. 3. Marianne???
Sir John Middleton: 1. Go hunting 2. Host parties and balls 3. Make sure my tenants in Barton cottage are happy (Not actually goals, just what he does anyway)
Lady Middleton: Maintain the propriety of my great house and title while spoiling my children
John Thorpe: 1. Marry that rich heiress I so cleverly secured 2. Buy and sell horses for extravagant prices 3. Attend Belle & James's wedding (If I have time)
Isabella Thorpe: ❤️❤️❤️ Marry Captain Frederick Tilney ❤️❤️❤️
Jane Fairfax: *hands back the paper blank and blushes*
Frank Churchill: MARRY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE JANE FAIRFAX um, some girl I know. Don't tell my aunt, please
Mr. Elton & Mrs. Elton: keep being the hottest couple in Highbury *high five*
Dr. Grant: Eat a lot of yummy dinners (same goal since he was born)
Julia Bertram: Catch a better husband than Maria Keep partying with Maria
Mrs. Price: hire better servants, have Rebecca fix that carpet... I really have the worst servants in Portsmouth, it's a tragedy... (we cut off her complaints here)
William Price: MAKE LIEUTENANT
Sir Thomas: Finally figure out how to make Tom stay at home and do his duty as the eldest son. All the other kids are doing very well so I have nothing to improve there.
Sir Walter: There is nothing I would ever change about the amazing person that is myself.
Elizabeth Elliot: Marry Mr. Elliot and reestablish myself as the mistress of Kellynch
Lady Russell: encourage Anne to marry Mr. Elliot, read all new poetry publications
Mr. Elliot: Keep Sir Walter from marrying that vile seductress so I stay in the line of succession
Mrs. Clay: Marry Sir Walter, at all costs
Part 1
128 notes · View notes
thatscarletflycatcher · 2 months
Text
Sense and Sensibility (2024, Hallmark) a review
I had expectations for this movie. They were not surpassed. It didn't perform below them either.
Spoilers under the cut.
So, this is a short movie (1.24hr long) a tv movie, a hallmark movie. You must keep that in mind as a frame of reference for what I'm about to say. You cannot really compare this with theatrical movies on equal footing.
Where to start. Costumes and sets. It is Bridgerton's world and we live in it. Everything is VERY colorful and shiny and not very real looking; that was to be expected. I think that sort of semi-fantasy aspect didn't hurt at all, and it was consistent. If you are not going to stick to the time period, at least go ham and show me something really interesting. I'm looking at you, Netflix Persuasion. There are some dresses that are pretty, and some others that... aren't. Considering that apparently the costume designer had to make something like 60 pieces in a month, it's kind of impressive that it came out as it did.
One funny bit, though, in this respect, is that they complain about how small the cottage is like some actual estate houses aren't the same size IRL XD Allenham we only get to see from afar, and it is rather disappointing.
Music: nothing to write home about, to be expected. Yes, we got one of those Vitamin String Quartet modern-song-played-by-strings. IDK. They were a bit dorky in their heyday, I don't know why they are so sought after in these pieces lately. I digress.
The acting. Deborah Ayorinde was a really good Elinor. She definitely deserved better writing and direction. The rest of the cast was good enough; I feel some roles really benefited from their characters being a bit hammy already in the source material (Lucy, Mrs Jennings, Anne, Fanny, Robert), others were really struggling because of being given very poor dialogue (Mrs Dashwood), and others were just... not good (Willoughby and Brandon, sadly). Edward was... a very special case. I can only describe it as the actor having two expressions: one, an attempt at reaching Hugh Grant's adorkableness AND Dan Stevens' ease at the same time, and two [SCREAMING INTERNALLY], but I guess those two were indeed enough to make it work just fine!
Which leads me to the writing. We all knew this adaptation was going to live or die in the writing, and most likely die.
The thing is that most of it is written around repeating 95' and 08's greatest hits, while attempting to compress the narrative into an hour and a half. And that goes as well as you can expect it to. Some scenes are painfully rushed -Brandon's backstory was extremely awkward to get through- some things are over before you have any time to assess their real weight -Marianne's illness, and many others end up being... incongruous.
Let me stop a little on those. The movie keeps Margaret, and gives her the whole play acting as a pirate with Edward from 95', but then removes the only real plot relevant thing she does in the book. So why keep the character at all? (Willoughby asks for Marianne's handkerchief in exchange for Queen Maab, instead of cutting a lock of her hair).
Because 2008 makes Brandon suspicious of Willoughby from the get go, this one makes it so that they know each other and implies that Brandon knows dirt on Willoughby, but then plays the rest of the story straight, which makes it... pretty inconsistent.
Speaking of Brandon, we have reached adaptation #5 that cuts out the fact that he tried to elope with Eliza sr. This time the backstory is that his father promised to let him marry Eliza if he proved himself as a soldier, but when he came back, he found his father has kicked her out of the house. Yeah, that was utter nonsense.
The adaptation makes a clumsy attempt at including the dinner at Mrs Ferrars... but Brandon isn't there to see Marianne defend Elinor.
We needed to have a "Brandon rescues Marianne in the rain" scene, but in this case, she's not faint or anything, he just grabs her because she's sad XD
And the list goes on and on and on. It was to be expected that the shadow of both 95 and 08 would be large over this one, but it truly is to the point that the references and contrivances are almost constant. Which is a pity because I think most of the original choices were interesting.
For example, Marianne twists her ankle running after Margaret, to try and stop her from asking something embarrassing, which is a good choice in terms of showing that Marianne is passionate, but she has more sense than Margaret.
On his deathbed, Mr Dashwood makes Elinor promise that she will take care of her mom and sisters and keep the family together. That added pressure on Elinor works really well in the context of the adaptation, and ads a new layer of interest.
John Dashwood is written mostly as a hapless but not malicious idiot. This is similar to what From Prada to Nada did (though there it made more sense because of the father having two families simultaneously), but I'm not sure where was that going. They did cut the Palmers, so I suppose the choice was so that they could go to Norland instead on their way to Barton (it is never established that Norland is so far away as it is in the book, so I guess one could give it a pass), but in that case, I feel the most cost effective shortcut is... have them go to Barton? Because we do get to see Barton (Marianne goes alone with Brandon to see it close to the end, and they get engaged before Edward returns, don't think much about it, manners and such are... for this movie... loose guidelines. But it isn't super offensive most of the time).
Anne Steele is decent fun as she's supposed to be, but Lucy really suffers the flattening. The mastermind has been flanderized into just a mean girl, and that's a pity.
Oh, Edward is sassy at times! And the sassy jokes land! I have to say it is not my preferred way of doing the character, but he does show some sass at the end of the novel, so, you know, I'll allow it I suppose XD
Edward's return and proposal started pretty good, but it overstayed its welcome. I cannot emphasize enough that, when writing this kind of proposal, you must avoid the word love if you can, and if you must use it, use it once, and with great reluctance.
The movie chooses to dedicate quite a time to the reveal of Edward and Lucy's relationship, and it's honestly... decent? For a scene made out of whole cloth it stands on its own feet reasonably well. But there's no Fanny freakout. This is probably the most shocking plot twist in the adaptation. This very on-the-nose Hallmark adaptation decided to cut the Fanny freakout of all things. Impressive restraint.
One thing, however, that was sadly cut out was Elinor and Marianne's conversation about Willoughby at Barton. It is instead replaced by an unsubtle comparison between Willoughby and Edward, and an exchange between Brandon and Marianne. It is one of the several points where the storytelling relies on previous knowledge of the work.
These are my main, disordered thoughts. I leave you with this choice from the ending, that I cannot form a thought about:
At Elinor and Edward's wedding, on the first pew are in attendance, from center to side: Mrs Dashwood, Margaret, Marianne, colonel Brandon... and Eliza Williams with her baby in her arms.
As a summary, I'd say Elinor and Edward's story was good enough, the relationship between the sisters was sweet, there were some odd choices, some interesting choices, and overall the writing was severely downgraded by attempting so much to stick to the choices of previous famous adaptations.
47 notes · View notes
propagatelightmedia · 1 month
Text
youtube
VHS 3 1) Rocket Man - Captain Kirk 2) Dre's Anatomy 3) Steamed Hams 4) Peter tries rice cakes, but it's set in another dimension 5) Seinfeld - A Stop at Willoughby (Twilight Zone) 6) Smells Like Bean Spirit (partial) 7) Will Smith cooking and eating spaghetti (Dark and Sad Edition) (partial) 8) Seinfeld - A Game of Pool (Twilight Zone) Video Download
25 notes · View notes
sunnystrollblog · 1 day
Note
Hi, it's me again!
The way I opened tumblr and you just slapped me in the face with your last cult leader! Branch post like DANG!!!?
Like, I kinda get it
Siblings relationships can be complicated, especially if there's a big age gap and they barely had time with him before Branch started creating his own personhood, it's almost like there's no affection outside of the barebones and "obligatory" familial love
I can see Floyd just lashing out and teen brain just said "before the baby we were ok, not GOOD but ok" especially since he was the youngest and then had to "stop being a child" so his emotions are mostly directed at the brother he hasn't have for a lot of time, at the "outsider"
JD I could see him being the type of person that compares how fast a kid develops to others or kinda forgets that a baby, a toddler and a teen react different to the same things
bigger families tend to do this "your brother did this better" "x could do it at your age" "it only took a few hrs for x to get it" "it's so easy! If x can do it so can you" totally ignoring the difference in age and personality. it might even fly over his head that Branch is actually developing faster than a lot of them at that age due to the expectations
AaAAAAAhHHH!!! You literally inspired me to continue working on this au so thank you and I’m so glad you got where I was going with the bros dynamics!!
Floyd’s perspective is very skewed because of his age and maturity, before branch came along he could pretend that everything was okay and as long as he stayed in line and did as Jd said everything would work out. But than branch happened and suddenly Floyd had a new responsibility, Floyd wasn’t the baby of the group anymore which meant all of John Dory’s micromanagement went towards branch.
And in some ways that was freeing and in others…, suddenly jd wasn’t just overbearing he was obsessive and Floyd did his best to take the brunt of jd’s behavior trying to shield branch from it. And although he tried his hardest to love branch and give him the affection he deserved he couldn’t just shake the resentment. Thinking ‘if branch never came along would they have been better off’ and all of it simmering just beneath the surface until the night of the band’s break up.
And John Dory…oh boy John Dory. Now obviously he wasn’t always this obsessed with the idea of perfection that’s something his parents instilled in him. And you’re right he does have trouble understanding that different ages react to things differently because when he was a child he was expected to know how to take care of himself and his brothers. So he thinks that they should know how to do that as well. It also doesn’t help jd that his parents never took the time to truly care for him, he basically raised himself until rosiepuff found him and a purple egg in an empty pod with no trace of their parents. Which will do serious damage on a child’s development and how he perceives the world.
Basically brozone’s parents suck and are the reasons everyone’s sad :) also everyone’s dynamic in my au is based off of something like brozone’s parents are inspired by the willoughbys parents! Branch and Floyd’s relationship is inspired on jinx and vi. And poppy, king Peppy, and vi relationship is inspired by adventure time’s relationships like Finn and Marvin, Marceline and hunson abedeer
27 notes · View notes
mndvx · 10 months
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
—These fuckers get stronger with every ounce of longevity they get from you twats, they made the most powerful wizards in the known universe look like a bunch of prepubescent pixies! —Alright, well, how do we stop them? DOOM PATROL — Orqwith Patrol (S04E06) ››› Mark Sheppard as Willoughby Kipling ››› Diane Guerrero as Jane Morris ››› Riley Shanahan and Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele / Robotman
Tumblr media
102 notes · View notes
vulturedimension · 5 months
Text
Tumblr media
[id: an edited meme with doom patrol characters. dorothy spinner is saying "why does my father call you babygirl". willoughby kipling replies, "how about we stop talking for a little while". end id]
i wish they explored this dynamic
34 notes · View notes