#neil doesnt see what hes doing is wrong

[1-800-whatwouldbillydo]

The Animal Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree (an original poem)

//Tagslist open//

@flashwaves @thatgirlwithasquid @thecrabnebula @ashyyboyy @anarcha-queer-horror @aryana-56 @skyesayshi @dragonflylady77 @thebussynotes @suometar @cherixrosa @billyhargr-a-ve @raven2008 @usaqaix @jad3w1ngs @harringrovsonsworld @femmebilly   @spaceboxkitty   @nogitsunbae  @talesfrom-theupsidedown @magellan-88  @ouizzyharringrove​

@bigdumbbambieyes @hargrove-mayfields @shieldofiron​

[cinemacrypt]

gofundme for a chuck tingle v. neil gaiman cagematch. my money's on doctor tingle!!!

Holding up one of those giant posterboard signs the ppl in the crowd do at WWE fights that says "TINGLE SWEEP"

[biillys]

ehhhh how bout a very vaguely supernatural meets ghost fiIes inspired au

neil being raised in hunting and bringing his wife into it and then his newborn son. his wife leaving eventually, becos she couldn't handle it anymore, and she desperately wanted to take her baby boy with her, but he already knew too much, and she couldn't protect him like neil could. she also couldn't protect him from neil, but there were bigger monsters than humans, and after one too many close calls, she leaves.

billy's left in neil's supernatural capable hands.

life on the road with his dad is rough, jumping around from place to place, never being somewhere long enough to call home, no extended family or old family friends to stay at for long hot summers. just him and his dad, his dads hot and cold temper, and the open road. that's all billy knows.

then one day, they're on a hunt, and there's a freshly divorced mother and her hotheaded stubborn daughter, and billy watches as his dad continues to charm them even after they've eradicated the simple ghost, watches as the mum falls for every word and practiced smile, and suddenly it's the four of them on the road.

susan seems weak, looks awkward with a gun in her hands, still jumps at the slightest bump when they're clearing out a house, but neil's patient with her, repeats the steps on how to fire and clean the gun day after day, holds her fucking hand whenever he notices her tensing up, and billy wants to scream.

neil locked billy in the shed of the place they were renting when he was six becos he fumbled the gun. fucking belted him that one time in texas when he accidentally let a monster get away becos he was scared, like billy actively let the fucking thing get away for fun and not becos he was frozen paralysed, listening to it rattle of things that billy knew he'd never said out loud.

his dad never told him it could get into your head.

max is better about it, but still a fucking pain. at least she doesn't seem to be a baby about everything. if billy's being honest, max has handled the transition from normal suburban life to life on the road and hunting monsters like a champ. too bad neil's basically placed her entire wellbeing and care into billy's hands, and the rope billy's felt around his neck his entire life's went from snug to fucking choking.

life goes on though, and eventually billy's old enough to buy his own car, do his own hunts. max rides with him more often than not, mostly out of habit, but also becos she'd pick being stuck with her asshole older step-brother for weeks at a time over spending even just an hour in close quarters with her piece of shit step-dad.

turns out, life on the road with just billy is good. he's like a completely different person when he can breathe without his dad taking up all the air. he's even fun on occasion. actually talks her through what they're hunting, why they're hunting it, lets her actually help.

(she accidentally tripped on a tree root one time on a hunt with the family when she was younger, and one sprained wrist later, she was banned from coming on anymore. she tried to argue it was a simple tree root, and that billy slipped a disc in his spine getting thrown against a brick wall just last month, but neil put his foot down. said susan was worried, and if susan was worried, neil was worried. billy was a big boy, he could walk it off. max was delicate, she had to be kept safe. billy wouldn't even look at her for at least a week after that fight.)

the time between seeing their parents slowly grows longer and longer between each trip the longer they're away. it started off with just a few days off on a side hunt before reuniting within the week, but then the few-days-hunts turned into few-weeks-hunts, and suddenly it felt like they were only seeing their parents for special occasions.

but the longer they were away, the lighter they became. the first time max hears billy refer to her as his sister, no tone, no stressed step sister, just sister, she does a double take. doesn't dare bring it up 'til they get back to the motel they were crashing at. billy rolls his eyes, bitches about not needing to give some fucking random his entire life story.

they bond over hating neil and hating susan's life choices, get competitive over who can figure out the monster of the week first, and turn the other way when one ~accidentally lets a monster get away.

(the first time billy let a monster get away on purpose, he waited up all night, expecting his dad to burst into the room and knock some sense into him. accuse him of being just as monstrous, just another fucking killer, reckless, letting them get away like that. his dad was 6 states away and deep into a hunt of his own, but billy had second guessed his choice since the second he walked away earlier that evening, refreshing the local news site constantly waiting for another body to drop, to prove the voice in his head that sounded exactly like neil right, that he was a failure of a hunter, falling for the sob story and bullshit the monster spilled and pleaded and promised with on what should have been it's last moments.)

(billy knows real monsters though, and despite what his mother said to him in the last memory he has of her, humans were always worse. most things neil taught billy to hunt were harmless. he's trying so fucking hard to teach this to max. to make sure innocent blood never drips from her hands the way it does his.)

anyway: to the ghost fiIes part of this. i think it would be FUN if, in a big Fuck You And Everything You Stand For to his dad, that one time on a hunt, billy's having a casual joyful yelling match with a ghost, and max whips out her phone and records, uploads it to her insta, and one or two people watch.

then one time, theyre trying to get a demon to fuck off, and billy's trying to fucking sales pitch hell to them, like billy's ever even been there, and max whips out her phone again. a few more people watch.

slowly max builds a following. is always careful to frame every video in such a way that monsters stay the stuff of legends, but make it realistic enough that if you know - you know. starts to gradually add herself to this mix. soon, her and billy are going into legitimately haunted houses just to chat to ghosts, record the whole thing, and chuck the best moments up on youtube.

the first time neil sees a clip, sees his son terrorising a ghost - but not in a hunt-to-kill sort of way, but just for jokes, for a laugh sort of way - he drives for three days straight to sort him out in person. gets him up and crowded against the paper thin wall, asking if he thinks it's funny, what ghosts are capable of doing, if he thinks it's a joke, all those people they were too late to save. if he thinks his mother left him, all over a laugh. billy wishes he didn't buckle under the weight, wishes his voice didn't shake when he answered, but he caught max's eye over his dad's shoulder, and she had a gun in one hand, and her knife in the other, and billy's seen her look at poltergeists that have threatened her life more kindly than the way she's looking at neil in the moment. billy gathers what little strength he can pull, juts his chin out and glares as dirty as possible. finds his voice and kicks his dad out of the motel room, managing to shake his dad off in the split second of shock neil has over billy not instantly caving. max echoing billy's demands, telling neil to get the fuck out. to go protect her mother, since he trapped her into a life she'll never be able to survive on her own, and to keep her safe, and to stay the fuck out of theirs.

basically BASICALLY i'm watching ghost fiIes and i just think billy and max in a supernatural world but like, in a fun way, would be GOOD SHIT. and i want billy to still be lowkey scared of ghosts and demons becos he has seen the havoc they can create first hand, the families they can destroy in just a heartbeat, so he's always a little tense attending a haunting, but he goes in every time, becos its all he's ever done, becos max told him on a bad night once that she thought he was brave, and he talks (and yells and screams and mocks and, occasionally, cries) to them and slowly he starts to find himself and get his life together, helping all these fucking trapped and usually scared and also so so so angry ghosts. helps them to the best of his ability. listens to them when they wail. talks to them when they cry. he starts to heal.

max grows, too, having watched something invisible, with no physical form whatsoever, tear her father to shreds, just weeks after the divorce, to driving around the country with her brother, spending nights in houses so haunted it would scare a priest, adjusting to loving her mother from a distance, cos she'll never understand why she fell for the shit neil was offering, why she stuck around, gripping his hand tight, that first time neil lost his shit at billy in front of them. why she continued to hold his hand, going as far as to look the other way, the first time neil laid into her for not getting detailed enough research for a case, blaming her for his broken ribs and her mother's dislocated shoulder. billy silently offering her an ice pack that night in the darkness, wordlessly passing over some pills and a glass of water.

billy made a point to look over her research from then on out, just in case.

max thinks her life could've turned out a whole lot better if her dad never died, if neil and billy never entered it. but she's pretty sure that out of every option she could've had, that the way it is now, her and billy making some silly youtube show, confronting their own nightmares night after night, saving monsters, hunting things, this is the best option.

OKAY literally none of this captured my original thought of billy and max just fucking around in haunted houses and annoying the dead.

max knowing shits real but billy would swear with the way she acts and talks that she thinks it's all horseshit. billy wouldn't even call her brave, she genuinely just doesn't seem to give a fuck. she's got a fuck with Me attitude and billy gets it, okay, if he were already dead, be wouldn't try anything on her either, imagine dying once by falling down an elevator shaft then getting fucking slayed again by a seventeen yr old who failed her learners permit, not once, but twice. billy'd back the fuck off, too.

billy being a lil scared in a extremely fucking haunted houses, knowing full well that demons were real and they were here, in this very room, and max telling him to shut the fuck up whilst pushing him into the portal, aka the closet, and telling him to turn his light off and talk to it. billy, bitching under his breath, you talk to it, but still standing there, light off, stupid little camera on, opening a line of communication. his usual tactic for getting through the night being to raise absolute hell. if he's gonna chill with demons, the dead, and inter-dimensional freaks all night, he was gonna make sure they were just as fucked up about him as he was them.

feel like this STILL doesn't capture what i was originally going for but anyway if u watch ghost fiIes you Know. thank you for reading if you've made it this far also sincerest apologies for whatever the fuck this is

[themostradicalconceptussy]

Quick reminder in light of the recenent situation with Neil Gaiman

You can (and should) condemn Mr Gaiman without condoning TERFs. At the end of the day, regardless of if the report is biased by the nature of the political leanings of its reporters, we as leftist feminists (or what I see most of us self describing as anyway) preach about believing victims first and yet some of you refuse to because you disagree politically with victims. We have no evidence that this is a smear campaign, and you are all for believing victims until its a guy you have a parasocial Tumblr relationship with. Neil Gaiman is not your friend. He's not your buddy Neil, he's a random man in his 60s you've (most likely at least) never met in your fucking life. You do not know him, so don't delude yourself to think you do.

If you love or hate trans people, SA is SA, abuse is abuse. Whether he was, at best, an irresponsible BDSM partner who misused his status as a writer, or, at worst, an outright abuser, or something in between, he is not defensible here. It is of course a complex situation, and not clean cut, but we need to practice what we fuckin preach.

If we don't believe or value the experiences of victims of abuse, or other forms of crime, based on their political beliefs, that is discrimination, and contradicts everything that the community he had cultivated on Tumblr claimed to stand for. If a conservative woman was beating abused, she's still a victim and we, even as staunchly leftist progressives should listen to her, no? You don't have to agree with everyone's opinions to acknowledge their plight.

At the end of the day, what has happened is wrong, and his response was half arsed bullshit that reflected the reality presented in the allegations, and did nothing but serve to make him look worse, much like the earlier situation this year with Wilbur Soot that you may have seen me reblogging about. Bad people are bad people, and the proof is in the pudding, in this case the half arsed responses that serve only as unintentional admissions of guilt.

As for the nature of the publication, I imagine as a heavily radfem anti-trans page, it was more than happy to be the first to break the news of the bad character of a prominent trans activist in television/literature, as it fits their "TRANS = ABUSER" narrative. I do not deny that. However, the victims themselves, as far as I can tell, are evidently former fans, who present actual evidence as confirmed by Mr Gaiman's statements, and thus we know this wasn't, at least on their end, done as a TERFism motivated career assassination. If the publication took this under the guise of causing ill repute for TIRFs and progressive politics, we cannot prove that, and it does not negate the nature of what has occurred.

I'm not here to argue with TERFs, or anyone else, about the nature of gender. That's not what I want to incite, I simply want to acknowledge the glaring hypocrisy from certain people in this online space. A victim of abuse that is a radfem is still a victim, whether you want to acknowledge that or not. I can acknowledge that, because guess what? Me disagreeing with someone doesn't make them subhuman dirt that doesn't have rights. What I'm really saying in this part is, don't bring gender politics into the reblogs, I do NOT want that and I will simply block anyone trying to incite needless arguments with me or anyone else.

TLDR; BELIEVE VICTIMS AND DONT BE SELFISH DICKHEADS WHO PRIORITISE THEIR OWN ENJOYMENT OF MEDIA OVER REPERCUSSIONS FOR ARSEHOLES AND CRIMINALS BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT THE WANKER IS YOUR BESTIE AFTER HE REBLOGGED YOU ONCE. WHERE THOSE INVOLVED STAND ON GENDER POLITICS DOESNT CHANGE THE NATURE OF UNRELATED IMMORAL/CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR THEY INSTIGATED/WERE VICTIM TO.

[amozon28]

ok while i do think the game version of the reunion hits harder, and ive listened to the podcast and totally understand why they did change it, and ive already addressed that in previous post, here i want to make a post where i talk about the aspects of the scene that i really really do like because they are different.

-the way the ellie just screams in absolute terror when Joel grabs her, she has reached her limit, she has relied on her anger to keep her focused during this entire episode and here after what happened with David she is completely shaken and she just cant, so she screams and screams in fear and its heartbreaking

- how because of the brightly lit scene and how the camera focuses on both ellie and joel you see how the moment ellie starts screaming joels face changes, everything happens a bit fast so i missed it on the first watch but on the second watch you can see pedros face go from relief to terror because he knows something’s wrong as she screams for him to get off her.

-gosh how incredible GENTLE joels voice is, its quiet and soft and so so so comforting, how as soon and he gets her to turn around he gently gently gently cups her face, ugh.

-Craig and Neil said this and i agree the stark contrast of the pure white snow against ellies 14 yearold child face absolutely covered in blood thats not hers, just cementing her innocence being ripped from her.

-how ellie cant even string a sentence together, how she doesnt even cry into joels shoulder, how instead of crying she whimpers, how you can almost feel her shaking in his arms? im devastated

-how joel immediately gives her his coat

-how after the hug ellie she doesnt cry in relief instead she looks completely shell shocked, her stare is blank and distant, after fighting and fighting and fighting to stay alive she doesnt have to anymore and so she shuts down because everything she just went through is too much.

while the game version actually makes me tear up and i do wish the show version had let the hug go on a little longer i do really like a lot about this scene, it is beautiful and amazing but it doesnt make me cry. its still incredibly beautiful in its own right tho

[writingpuddle]

just had to say, i loved your tags on that post about the upperclassmen and how they treat kevin/andrew/neil. fandom tends to work on this "they're all assholes" beliefs, and it's not necessarily untrue. but i think people tend to forget just how unlikeable kevin and andrew are from the upperclassmens perspective. i think people also forget the upperclassmen didn't just blindly love neil. for all his faults, like you said, he was pretty chill. he was much easier to get along with and it helped massively that unlike kevin/andrew he actually wanted to make a connection with the upperclassmen.

im glad my tags resonated with you! i have this half-cooked thesis that maybe one day i'll get around to fleshing out about the difference between individual responsibility and collective responsibility that i always think about when i see this conversation pop up--something about how yes, we as a society have a responsibility to people who have been harmed to try and help them recover, but that responsibility doesnt actually apply to every individual person. in this case, the idea that wymack founded the foxes (an institution) in order to help people move forward and build a future doesnt mean that every individual involved in the foxes has to invest all their energy in that same goal. in fact its pretty wild to expect every beneficiary of a service to simultaneously provide it to those around them.

the institution has to be be fair, has to provide help independent of some arbitrary category of 'deserving' but individuals...dont have to do that. every fox signed on to escape their own nightmare, not to help fix the other foxes. the upperclassmen have no responsibility to reach out to kevin and andrew when they have been so hostile in return. wymack has to, because he made a commitment to doing so. the upperclassmen didnt.

and as you said--the question of why the upperclassmen were nicer to neil is straightforwardly answered by he wasnt mean to them. he was sometimes unnecessarily blunt or rude (if we got what we deserved we wouldnt be foxes) but he was also the one who gave them awed compliments when he first started playing with them. he was the one who said we can win this. he was the one who shut kevin up when he started to be negative.

he was easy to like. part of that was intentional on his part--not that he was intentionally being likeable, but he was trying to portray himself to be less antagonistic than he really is. he tells us quite explicitly that he is portraying 'neil' to be meeker than his natural instincts, so he hangs out with the upperclassmen and is mostly at least neutral in terms of social hangouts and when it comes to exy he is extremely positive. and despite his occasional snaps at the upperclassmen, he actually rarely lashes out when its not deserved. his temper is reserved for riko and people who support him. kevin and andrew lash out at the upperclassmen in their own ways, and avoid them in many other circumstances, for reasons that are often obscure without neils insider knowledge. it isnt morally wrong to like someone who is easier to be around.

'why are they nicer to neil' because neil was nicer to them. thats how human interaction works. doesnt mean andrew and kevin didnt deserve help--but the person to provide that was the person who made a commitment to do it, not the people who just happened to be--effectively--their coworkers.

to sum up: everyone deserves human decency from everyone, but not everyone deserves friendship from everyone.

i guess--i dont want to get too antagonistic about this myself, because i actually doubt that many people have super simplistic views on this topic, theres just the occasional oversimplified post that gains a bit of traction. but i do think theres also a very fascinating tendency for people to try and make aftg into a neat didactic story about reaching out to people to understand them because neil reached out to andrew and it worked (and arguably saved both of them). but aftg isnt didactic. its not a prescription for how to behave. its made up. in real life, if i met andrew and it wasnt my job to help him, i would avoid him like the plague. sorry. i love him as a fictional character and i love him because i know his story but holy fuck i would not spend a minute in his company if i didnt have to.

friendship isnt social work. emotions arent activism. the upperclassmen didnt owe andrew and kevin their sympathy or their time just because they were traumatized. you cant control peoples emotional reactions to how they are treated. kevin and andrew treated them badly. neil largely didnt. thems, as they say, the breaks.

[beans-in-your-socks]

Good Omens S2 Ending Theories: an analysis.

ok so in the aftermath of good omens s2 lots of theories have risen about Aziraphales choices and his out of character behaivour.

i will be discussing my takes on the following theories:

The Coffee theory + book of life theory

The Lie theory

Religious Trauma theory

The Last Resort theory (my own theory)

(Please feel free to make any corrections if i get any information wrong)

Starting with the coffee theory:

(i may be wrong here, this is what i have heard, i am still currently reading "the magic trick you didn't see" essay) the coffee theory :

This theory basically goes off the idea that The Metatron has laced the coffee with some sort of poison or miracle so that Aziraphale would be compliment with him and go back to heaven. there's another theory that sort of ties in with this, in that, The Metatron is meddling with the book of life.

what we know:

Poison affects celestial beings very differently than it does to humans (as seen in the flashback where Crowley chuggs a bottle of Laudanum, a very strong painkiller, which can be toxic if taken in large amounts. Usually, for humans, an overdose on Laudanum would result in a coma or loss of consciousness whereas, Crowley got high as a kite, shrunk, grew and went a little off his rocker.

The Coffe had Almond syrup

almonds symbolise Holiness and Purity

whether this a metaphor or The Metatron being evil, we cant know

he was extremely forceful in trying to get Azi to drink the coffee, as seen in the quote "are you going to drink it?"

his voice was welcoming yet there was a slight undertone of malice

when he orders the Coffee he asks for a dash of Almond Syrup, which is like very small amount but when he hands it to Aziraphale he says it has a "hefty jigger" of almond syrup, which is drastically larger than a "dash"

"do people ever ask for death" what kind of a questions is that? its so suspicous

we all know how good Neil is at adding the little details, so why else would he include the whole coffee scene and concept?

My thoughts: i think the coffe theory could be a plausible explanation of the last events of ep6. Azira's behaviour was erratic and out of character. we ALL knew something was up when he said "Nothing lasts forever". this bitch has been wearing the same outfit for 100 years.

he also intially said he doesnt want to go back to hevean, but as he drunk more coffee he became more compliment with the idea of him leading the angels.

theres also something so deeply unsettling about the elevator scene. he's smiling, almost manically. Azira was NEVER power hungry, so him taking the job as supreme archangel, without another thought, doesn't make much sense.

i will probably add more to this but that's it for now.

The Lie theory:

the lie theory states that The Metatron never said that Crowley could become and angel again, and that Aziraphale made this up so that he would feel less guilty about leaving Crowley behind, because he knew that Crowley would never, under any circumstance, come back to hevean.

frankly, this theory makes no sense. if this was the case, Metatron's whole chunk of dialogue after Crowley leaves would be unnecessary and unjustified.

he says "how did he take it?" as if asking if Crowley was coming back

"he always did want to go his own way" implying that the offer of coming back to hevean did exist and that he just declined

"always asking damn fool questions too" talking about Crowley's fall from hevean

i, personally dont think the lie theory is a justifiable explanation for the s2 ending.

The Religous Trauma theory:

probably one of the most justifable theories, the religious trauma theory is that Aziraphale has been so brainwashed by thousands of years worth of manipulation from heaven, that he just cant see how toxic they are. he desperately wants to believe they can do good, and that he can lead the good. he wants to "fix" the system, when in reality, the system is working exactly how it was built and should be demolished, not fixed, because there's nothing to fix.

this makes a lot of sense, although it still doesn't explain the emphasis put on the coffee.

so

i present:

The Last Resort theory.

a theory of my own creation, the last resort theory is a sort of combination of the Coffee Theory and the Religious Trauma Theory. (Similar theories probably already exist but here's mine)

The Metatron knew that Azira would never leave Crowley, but he did know that Aziraphale would take the chance to "fix" heaven. he knew that manipulation alone wouldn't be enough, he's smart, and so had to add that extra cherry on top, a "class A, surreptitious half a miracle". in the last resort theory, Metatron has laced the coffee in some way to tip Aziraphale over the edge, because he knew that the offer of bringing him and Crowley back heaven would be almost enough to destroy humanity once and for all. The Metatron spiked the coffee as a last resort to tempt Aziraphale back upstairs and destroy the earth. he knows that if Azira stays with Crowley they will find a way to stop the second coming, which he cannot have happening, he needs for them to be separated for this to work. its obvious he hates Crowley, he gives him dirty looks and insults him after the confession, by bringing up one of the most painful experiences of his past, the fall. so he separates them, and that leaves us at our end.

Aziraphale smiling insanely in the elevator

and Crowley crying silently and internally in his Bentley.

what are everyone else theories?

[berrys-hide-out]

Demon King or Neil

Summary: Neil and Damao are playing video games until Damao loses by a second and chaos erups

Warnings: Tickles

Characters: Lee!Neil, Ler!Damao

__ __ __ __ __

Damao and Neil were alone at home.. well more or less at least. Ira was upstairs, chilling in his room, probably sleeping.

When the young demon had asked Damao if he wanted to play video games, the werewolf thought of it as a challenge and almost immediately agreed to it.

And now they were sat in the common room, both incredibly focused on their little mario cart race, well one more then the other as Neils tail swished back and forth in Damaos sides from time to time. "I wont let you win Neil!" Damao grinned as he had the first place on their thrid and last round. The male felt Neils tail swish a little faster making him look at the little demon, seeing a smug smile "We'll see about that!" he exclaimed just the second before the screen showed the blue shell and hit Damao just a few meters in front of the finish line.

"No... come on!" he murmured and saw Neil pass him and finsih the race. "YES!" he exclaimed happily and moved to lay-sit on the cough "Hehehe sorry" Neil giggled at the pout Damao was wearing- "do you find this funny?!" the werewolf asked and raised a questioning eyebrow- his lips tuning upwards ever so slightly. - it was, it was incredibly funny, the little pout the muscular man had worn was totally out of character!

Neil smiled at him, giggles making it past his lips as he wasn't completely sure what the other was planning- still he felt brave enough "mahaybe!"- Ira would save him if that wouldn't be the case anyways- right?

Damao wasn't sure what he was expecting but a 'maybe' was definetely not it. He grinned, time to mess with him. "Y'know Neil, I think the demon king is in control" he sighed mockingly, making Neil raise an eyebrow, curious to where this will lead.

"our Neil would never do such mean thing as taking the first place right from our grasps, especially not with such a curel method!" Damao continued, speaking in a different manner then he usually would to keep things playful.

"But I just di-" "I'm going to bring Neil back to us and I already know how." Damao grinned playfully at the nervous smile on Neil's face.

what was that werewolf up to..? just a few weeks ago he was trying to avoid Neil at all costs! No that doesnt matter now- Neil would take this rare chance to bond with his roommate! The demon sat himself towards the other and put the controller away "And how..?" he asked and tilted his head- Damao punced seeing the smaller's eyes widen in shock and a small yelp escaped as he was wrestled down.

"Give in Demon King! You cannot avoid faith!" Damao exclaimed and quickly went through Neils defenses and squeezed right above the spot between his ribs and armpits. "HEhEHEY!" Neil protests with a jump, taken completely off guard.

Damao chuckled at the response and trapped Neils one hand next to his head onto the couch. "Hehe you can't escape me Demon King! I will save our Neil and bring him back!" "BUhuhUt IHI'M RiHIHihight hEHehere!" Neil shot at him, trying to glare without luck though as a soft blush dusted his cheeks.

"No way! hmmm.. maybe I'm doing this wrong.. let's try.. HERE!" he announced and let both his hands about to vibrate Neils waist earning a shriek and kicking legs "NAHA! DAHAMAHAO! HOHOLD OHON!" the demon cackled and held onto Damao's wrists.

Damao heard a door open above them- that Ira heard them.. oh well he had a Demon King to defeat!

Neils thoughts were racing, his blush growing as he noticed more and more how much he didn't mind this at all- still he was not the Demon King! He was resting inside hime yes but he was not in control!

Ira let out a chuckle and made himself known to the two "IHIHIRA HEHELP!" Neil squealed out but didn't look into the vampires direction as he tried to somehow lessen the maddening feeling. The vampire and Werewolf locked eyes for a second. Damao switched to skribbling over Neils ribs and Ira sighed while e shrugged "Not sure what he did but don't take it too far." he warned and kept walking over to the fridge.

Damao chuckled and looked at Neil who had calmed down quite a bit- still giggling uo a storm though. "You're lucky Lily doesn't know about this~" he teased, seeing Neil flush in a crimson red all the way up to his ears. "Dohon't tehell heheher!" Ira chuckled from the kitched "SHE ALREADY KNOWS!" he yelled out making Neil whine between his bubbly giggles that earned in pitch at the comment.

Damao chuckled and let up for a second. "If you're Neil and not the Demon King, I'm pretty sure you know where Lynn and Lily went." Neil huffed a chuckle "They're out for easter shopping" Damao hummed "and?" he asked with a sly grin. "and..?" Neil echoed "yeah there's another reason they're outside today." Damao told him- not leaving Neil any room to think before going back to tickling him.

"IHI wahas RIHIght thOHOugh! NohOHOhot TheHE tuHUHum- DAHAmahao!" The taller of the two clicked his tongue "That could've been a lucky guess, Easter is soon after all." he sighed but the playful smile never vanished from his features.

Ira hummed as he nibbled on his bloodsicle "if I were you Neil, I would try and fight back. Oh well, laters!" the vampire called and disappeared back to the upstairs.

Niel huffed through his giggles- how dare Ira leave him here!

Yet before the demon could make anymore protests their front door flew open showing Lily and Lynn. "Ah, welcome back." Damao greeted, letting Neil up. The demon greeted them with a giggly hello- still laying there Lily ran up to him and started to ramble about the pretty ornaments she and her brother had seen today.

Damao stood up and went to help Lynn. "oh by the way, why are you blushing so hard?" Lily suddenly asked earning wide eyes and his blush that had just began to vanish grew again.

"Neil is ticklish!" the two heard from the stairs "Ira-AHaha~"

Easter preperations could wait a little longer he guessed as Lily just continued to ramble and kept on randomly poking him.

________

hehe ~ @wertzunge I hope this was to your expectations! Tysm for the request (and sorry for the tag~)

[baconcolacan]

@letmeaskdanielaquestion I hope you dont mind but I’m posting this because its impossible for me to answer fully in the replies. And I count this as another ask so just in case someone else has something similar to ask they can look to this one :] Also thank you again for the previous kind words!

And, hrm…about writing, yes I did write a lot before regimen, but its far FAR from being any good. Thankfully most of my early works have never seen the light of day (because they’re in a now dead and deleted fb group) and the ones that did never got off the ground and is lost in ff.net. I was a horrible, horrible, little goblin of a writer and a total weeb. If you cant imagine in, just know that I used stuff like “Kya~!” in the writing……..yeah, I’m choking from embarrassment how did you know?

I also understand the perfectionism bit btw. I’m diagnosed with OCD, and my brand of OCD makes me obsessed with perfection among other things, to the point where I risk bodily harm to achieve it. It took me years of therapy and medication to overcome it, so I understand giving up when you feel something isnt up to your standards. The best advice I can give is this:

When writing, your first draft is just that, your first draft, it doesnt matter if there are grammatical errors and wonky dialogue, its there for you to have fun with and go wild on, word vomiting whatever you feel is the best next sentence. Personally, it feels cathartic to put down all my thoughts on the paper instead of letting them fester in my head, at least its out and not bugging me from within my own mind. I dont sweat the details of my first draft, I just need the words out of my head and physically there so it doesnt bother me as much. Trust me, ideas love to nip and yap at any creative’s heels until they make them real, only then will you have your peace and quiet.

And if you want more order? Before your first draft, make a skeleton of your story, put down the events that happen in each chapter in bullet points. I assume you’ve read chapter 1 of Regimen already so I’ll give my chapter skeleton as an example:

Regimen: Act 1 Outlines

Ch1 - Escape

* Pick up from Armistice. Tom is stumbling through the woods trying to get back to base

* Introduce some unit mates and their relationships with Tom

* Tom hides the fact that the General is dead + his encounter with Tord

* Peace treaty is aired. Things go horribly wrong (Tord is a bastard snake here, remember that Neil)

* Tom announces his intention to escape Norway. The others follow.

* Add context to the world and the state of Norway at the moment, have Tom reflect on his relationship with Tord compared to others. (Hes wrong btw, he ***I erased this next part because the note spoils something***)

* The escape ends in tragedy. Most of the unit is destroyed.

And for inspo? I always suggest different media: books, shows, movies etc etc. Analyze them, see how the plot flows, what works and what doesn’t, how does the story progress? Do they use flashbacks? How often? Exposition? How much? etc etc.

But ah, take my advice with a grain of salt. I’m a professional visual artist, I’m just a hobbyist when it comes to writing ^^;

[sllhouettedreams]

A LOT of people can relate to crowley because his doubt in God manifested as rebellion and apostasy. Ive not talked to a high number of good omens fans but i can't imagine a lot of devout christians are a hardcore fans of it (or neil gaiman in general lbr). Crowley is immediately relatable bc his religious trauma is made of the same stuff as most fans.

But aziraphale shows the other side to Doubt and that's just incessant faith. He believes in God's Plan even when he doubts it. Even when it hurts innocent people because he believes that god will do good.

As for the heaven and archangel side of things like..I think a lot of people blame aziraphale for the end of s2 without realizing that... both crowley and aziraphales relationship with heaven mirrors that of an abusive parent/family.

I mean we all saw gabriel tell (who he thought was) aziraphale to shut up and die. This was ONE instance we were able to see of Aziraphale being given punishment. He mentions in Paris about heaven admonishing him for 'frivolous miracles' when crowley asks him why he didnt just leave the prison himself. Like. there are so many jokes about 'paperwork' for being discorporated and well. Theres something to be said for aziraphale being more willing to deal with the aftermath of being beheaded and needing a new body than to unlock his cuffs and save himself and risk upstairs citing him again.

Then there was the whole gabriel bringing sandalphon to the bookshop and using interrogation tactics on him (blocking the exit, putting sandalphon at his back, etc). The angels are so quietly malicious- "there are no back channels, michael"- right before michael phones a demon in hell. Like!! They might be inept when it comes to humanity but they hide their cruelty so well.

Like. I dont really have the words to make this all convincing and proper or whatever and im sure someones said it before and better with more examples but like

If you think of both of them as a victim of abuse, it puts it all into perspective doesnt it? The effects of abuse are so different for everyone especially when its abuse from family. Aziraphale has only ever wanted to appease heaven and do good by them that when given the chance to do the most good he jumped right on it. Heaven has sunk its claws deep into aziraphale to use as a tool. And aziraphale doesnt even realize! Bc if he werent "doing good" then he'd have been cast out like crowley had been, right?!

And Crowley was completely cut off from heaven for asking a few questions! He remembers what heaven was like and thinks there are a number of similarities between the two. Hes been utterly convinced of his wickedness. He will not ever return not even with the promise of forgiveness. He HAS seen that heaven is "toxic" because of the absurd reason he was cast out in the first place. He was a starmaker who asked questions!! And god was what. Annoyed at being challenged?

Crowley got out because he was cast out, aziraphale hasnt been granted that luxury and wont take those steps bc who knows if the punishment will be a simple Fall or annihilation or outer darkness there doesnt seem to be any set standard. And also aziraphale still loves god and doing good and to fall would mean to be cut off from all of that to have to go to hell and do the exact opposite. If he can just change things, if he could get the other archangels to see,

Well he hasnt quite discovered that heaven works exactly how its intended to and would need to be torn down before it can be rebuilt into something like aziraphale wishes it to be

Idk i get why its easy to blame aziraphale but. Idk ive been where hes at. Like. Not specifically and angel trying to rewrite heaven but. As a child of religious parents who were also terribly abusive people. I think its unfair that people are saying he should grovel and is wrong and whatever. I dont think crowley would even want that....

Idk im just thinking v hard about good omens its taking over my life. This is probably incomprehensible im just. SAD bc i love both aziraphale and crowley and for aziraphale to be given so much shit when it isnt entirely on him just makes me emotional ok 😔

[technicoloranimalviolence]

as a squeakquel to a previous post. Silky and Flopsy's first deaths?

tldr: strangulation

flopsy came to the isles a little while after accidentally killing a man with his car. he was texting and driving, setting up a gig doing what he does in england. thanks to buck, he managed to disappear the body into the road with magic, but shit just kept getting worse and worse and scarier and scarier for him and he had to leave. happy tree is where he ended up. flopsy doesnt die too frequently, in all technicality hes a catalyst. he's irresponsible, and it costs people their lives. usually through his magic shows going horribly wrong. he is, of course, not doing this on purpose. its buck perverting the magic because he's bored. buck is also, sometimes, the reason he dies. (hes got some major fucking cuteness aggression for flopsy and is also just a murderous tool. its rare though that he does this to flopsy because he ABSOLUTELY NEEDS HIM ALIVE) most of his deaths include strangulation, dismemberment, drowning

tldr: first one was electrocution, second was getting impaled through the chest with a steel rod.

silky isnt as new to the death-loop as neil, but hes relatively recent.

he may also be a bug, but he's from earth! he ended up on the isles because he wanted to "expand on some business opportunities" (see: preying on the locals financially because hes a billionaire and thats what they do.) because of a little.. quirk. he's got, most of his deaths are painless. HOWEVER. he spends most of the disasters HE goes through being scared out of his fucking mind. he goes through some scary shit. he's the type to grovel and cry for his life, because he is fucking terrified of anything bad happening to him. he isnt used to things not going exactly his way.

this character actually has a voiceclaim!

[starofhisheart]

SPOILERS FOR S2 OF GOOD OMENS!!!!

Also: Neil don't read!!! (So we have a chance for these things to actually happen :)

My Good Omens s3 predictions:

Aziraphale, bogged down by the beauracracy in heaven, is depressed and missing Crowley.

He learns something something God's kid and KIDNAPS THEM (or is put in charge of them and just doesnt report back the truth of what he's doing) and shows up on Crowley's doorstep like "...hey 🥺" and Crowley's all "no, no, no im still angry-" "I kidnapped God's kid" "...u what?" And reluctantly they work together.

Cute but terrible parents to God's baby. "Why is it still crying?? We've tried everything!" "I dont know throw some holy water at it."

They dont talk abt the confession. Like at all. Until things are over. But the pain and misunderstanding is there hanging over them the whole time.

Awkward romantic stuff happens but they havent yet talked so there's pining and more misunderstandings

Aziraphale does the "I'm sorry, I was wrong" dance for Crowley but at first Zira's too stubborn to apologise properly

Muriel and Crowley bond while Zira's away with Crowley making up excuses to come to the bookshop or leave notes abt how to run it how Zira would have wanted

Crowley depression montage, possible suicidal behaviours, e.g. doing things to get heaven or hell to smite him bc whats the point of living without his angel? Bonus points for Aziraphale stopping him. OR not knowing how bad it was for him while they were separated until someone else makes mention of it (this is probably more likely)

Aziraphale having a come to god moment (ha) and realising that heaven cant be fixed and Crowley is happier without heaven or hell. Zira admitting or alluding to the fact he left for Crowley's sake

More pride and prejudice metaphors

Aziraphale initiates the kiss with Crowley this time

I hope this isnt true but we dont see Gabriel or Beelzebub except for references of how they're doing or the fact they got away with things.

The cottage

[mostlymaudlin]

Omg PLEASE say more about andrew talks about exy to rile neil up

ty for asking!! ok i didn't open the docs before i wrote that initial list because i thought i knew what was in them (aka, that there WAS STUFF IN THEM) but it turns out i was wrong LOL. i guess this one lives mostly in my head:

i suppose this is pretty self-explanatory but i just wanted the first scene to be andrew talking abt Exy kind of unprompted (so sexy of him) and he doesnt even realize he's doing it until neil starts getting riled up about it hahaha. and then he's like "hmmm what do i feel more strongly about: hating exy or riling up neil?" and obviously it's neil. so he makes it his mission to tease neil at the most inopportune times. and the way i always write neil's sex drive is that any time andrew is trying to do anything related to sex he gets so turned on by it -- like yeah he likes when andrew talks competently abt exy BUT ALSO the fact that andrew is trying to wind him up?? he doesn't stand a chance.

it'd be alternating pov too so you'd get to see andrew teasing and neil suffering right up close. also the +1 is meant to be neil getting andrew riled up by talking about Exy. I'm not sure how it would work yet but i know its possible. i think potentially this idea is what inspired my fic Night Practice, because i rmr scrolling thru my wip graveyard when i was searching for a smutty idea to write in 1 night hahaha.

ask abt my wips!!

[stranger-rants]

(abuse tw) it pains me to see people view the world in black and white. for the "why would billy talk back" argument in particular, it annoys me because it erases the very pervasive human nuance of abuse and violence. with my mother, usually i'd do everything to de-escalate the situation and that included staying silent and agreeing with her- but sometimes i would get irritated and challenge her, the worst of it happened after she was rude to some kind retail workers just trying to do their job. billy arguing back with neil is something many of us do. it can come from repressed emotions bubbling up, and also comes from the nihilist "it doesnt matter" mindset, because you know no matter what you do your parent will be furious with you anyway, so why not get a word in before the inevitable hurt and hitting, etc.

I have had explosive physical fights with my father leaving scratch marks on his arms. I have dumped my drink on him more times than I can count. I’ve screamed at him. I’ve sworn at him. I’ve had to learn how to deescalate because not once did my parents teach me how. My mom tried to teach me how to just take it when he’s pulled her hair and threatened her and broken her things and called her a bitch. I fought back anyway. I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t. My dad almost killed me by kneeling on my back with his full body weight for several minutes. Does the fact that I fought back make it any less abusive? Nope. Some people will only accept that you’ve been abused if you’re the quiet survivor and that’s just so wrong. Billy is the defiant type. That doesn’t mean he deserved what happened to him.

[reineyday]

ppl who think billy hargrove not being racist means he's ooc either 1) dont understand how writing a consistent character works, or 2) believe that being racist is strictly a personality trait, and dear god i hope it's the former.

(long post) (seriously, it's like, a short essay lol)

see, the beautiful thing about fanfiction is that you can place your blorbos in a whole bunch of Situations, and if you're a good writer--or at least understand the character well enough--it wont be ooc even if their Situation is diametrically opposed to anything they might ever do in canon.

billy is a metalhead in canon, but you could write an au where he's in a pop music teen boy band with steve and eddie and argyle and jonathan. as long as billy remains loud and proud about his music taste, plays his (pop) music loud enough to drown out anyone he doesnt want to hear talking to him (itd be funny if it was his own voice in the song too lol), is pretty mean on first impression, and still generally has a lot of friction with the people around him, i wouldnt actually drop the fic bc i found it ooc. as much as your music taste can say a lot about you, if you underdstand a character well enough, keeping the rest of the things about that character consistent and giving an understandable background to all the things that might be different at first glance, then it's not really out of character at all.

so if we're talking about canon billy being ooc for not being racist, youd really have to read the fic. a billy who, immediately after the incident at the byers house, gets a stern talking-to from max and/or steve (and/or neil? which, doubtful, but idk how billy haters write fics lol) and then turns around to grovel at lucas's feet and pronounces to the world that racism is wrong and he's learned his lesson once and for all and also he'll never be mean to any of the kids ever again? yeah, i would call that ooc.

a billy that gets dragged through hell and back and sees and understands that his violent actions not only have consequences but reflect those of his own abuser's at home? or a billy that ends up reluctantly becoming fond of the kids as he inadvertently has to shepherd them through tunnels with steve and beat up demodogs so he can bring maxine home safe? or a billy that meets patrick from the basketball team and recognizes the kinds of bruises he sees in the locker room on him bc he has his own, and then learns what it means to see someone as a person? or even a billy who gets called the f-slur consistently by his own father, learning to see bigotry in other forms and recognizing it in himself, gets given the emotional support and physical safety by joyce or jim or steve, and in the end consciously chooses to be different than his father now that he has the safety to do so?

if any of those billy's go up to lucas after everything and looks him in the eye and apologizes and says he's trying to do better, especially if he does it in a way that's rough around the edges--i wouldnt call any of those ooc. it's all hard-won. it's all still billy, but he grows as a character, which i assume is the goal in general when writing characters.

this brings me to the second point. this is the one i personally hc, but i dont think it's ooc to assume billy's less maliciously racist, and more racist as a way to (unconsciosly) parrot his obviously bigoted and domineering father. billy's probably racist in the way most people dont realize they have racial bias (i would say most white people, but im aware this is true for poc of all sorts assuming things about other poc--and even about themselves with their own race and culture--simply through lack of personal experience, knowledge, or being othered by society/their environment to the point of internalized self-hatred), and probably more grievously again bc his father seems like such a bigot. i personally think the racism comes in part and parcel of the way he manhandles max and gets aggressive at first sign of his losing power in a situation: because that's how his own father does things to exert power over billy. he's acting the only way he's seen exemplified in front of him. (let's remember he is a teenager who has been in an abusive environment his whole life, with no confirmed emotional support of any kind.)

i hc billy to be about as racist as he is terrifyingly repressed after being called the f-slur and insulted for being effeminate by his father all his life. all that insulting about being effeminate probably also means he comes off as sexist too. he doesnt necessarily want to be any of these things, and would consciously learn to be better once he's made aware and has people in his life he wants to be better for, but he is these things as an unfortunate byproduct of the way he grew up.

but we saw billy try to protect his mother as a child, and face up to the mindflayer--a monster that possessed him, that he had no clue about or any context for bc he didnt know about the upside down at all--in order to protect el. it's not a far leap to think he would want to change and protect, to stand up and be better, if given the chance and the support.

so i personally hc that while billy might do racist things, he is not, as a trait, inherently maliciously bigoted. my way of viewing billy has always been that anything bigoted he might do or think stems from his father, and if he gets given support and safety away from his father, i think billy would choose to be different from his dad and do the hard work of extracting himself from that bigotry and becoming better as a person. (see also: homophobic steve from s1 turning into robin's biggest cheerleader in s4.)

it's all about the context, and things like music taste or racial bias can change if your context changes. but if most of your other character traits--your aggression and peacocking, your tendency toward sarcasm, penchant for overt flirting, your determination or bravery or recklessness, etc etc--if those stay consistent while some other things change, and you get context for the changes, then it's not ooc.

now, how does this relate to my 2nd point? if you read all that context and decide that it's still objectively ooc simply for the fact that billy's not racist, then you're viewing racism as an inherent personality trait--everyone that ever does anything racist is automatically racist to the bone and cannot change.

i find that worrisome.

okay it's one thing if you're the poc in question being targeted by the racism. ive been talking about billy this entire time, but i also 100p believe lucas has every right to never want anything to do with billy ever again. he can say no to any apology he might receive. he's protecting himself and that's valid. if someone's racist toward you, especially aggressively, you obviously have every right to never want to have to do anything with them ever again. in real life situations, protect yourself first.

but i want to caution those who think that racism is a character trait to remember that you can do racist things and not consider yourself racist. my worry is that people ignore racist microaggressions to preserve their belief that theyre not racist.

taken as an example from my own life: if you're going to insist that a certain food from a certain culture is "weird" and then say over and over that you didnt mean it in a bad way but cmon you have to admit that it is a bit a weird, and then you get all uppity when i express my concerns and unhappiness about the way youre talking about how i grew up and defend the fact that youre right and the food is weird? yeah see that's shitty. all because you dont want to admit that maybe youve said or done something a little bit racist, cuz obviously youre not a racist, it's not one of your personality traits. you might feel better about defending your identity as not-a-racist, but in the end all you did was ignore what a poc was trying to tell you about how they felt, which is so frustrating to deal with as a poc.

yeah, bigotry can be a personality trait, but it isnt always. sometimes it's an action or some words coming from a person who doesnt realize that theyre being bigoted.

billy is a fictional character. you can interpret him however you want, and indeed, you can make him as nasty a racist as you choose to. you can write him as killing children if you want, seeing as how so many antis insist on calling him a child murderer (even though he's been a lifeguard so if anything he's saved children's lives--and this is not including how we see him on screen literally saving el's life, who is also a child).

also, if his racist actions made you super uncomfortable, it's perfectly okay to call him a racist and move on with your life. that's not a problem until you start harassing people for being racist because they like billy--then, like a microaggression, you become the problem because you're unilaterally deciding who is racist based off a fictional character, and youre harrassing a real life person for it. furthermore ive seen plenty of poc billy stans be called a racist by antis who insist that anyone who likes billy is a racist. again, you're just not listening to poc for some sort of fake moral superiority, which is not cool.

after looking at the environment billy grew up in and continues to exist inside, and his actions toward el and the way he used to treat his mother (before she left him), i choose to believe that even though the way he treated lucas was racist, he can step up and change if given the opportunity.

if you still think that it's not possible for him to stop being racist without it being out of character, please re-examine your own thoughts and actions, stay conscious about listening to people of colour, and remember that people who dont consider themselves racist can still do racist things. bigotry isnt always a character trait okay? it's the way you treat other people. it's not in any way out of character to believe--or write--that someone who's done racist things can change.

[obscureshipsandchips]

Here’s my ao3!

List of works below :)

Please be patient with any late works, I have two full time jobs, am a full time uni student in accelerated classes, and have a long-term partner❤️

Series

Friendly Dynamics (oneshot series written based on tiktoks.) Last Added To: November 15 2023

The Moment (sirius realizes he loves remus)

Shimmy Shimmy Tears (sirius is good at crying to get out of trouble)

Stoned (perks of being a wallflower au where Sirius says how Reggie died to Lily)

Corner Store (nathaniel meets andrew at a corner store in the night, but nathaniel kept popping up and now hes interested. Raven Neil) Last Update: December 26 2023

Marauders And The Olympians (marauders PJO AU where Sirius is Percy Jackson and the marauders have to stop Kronos) Update: idk

I Know You Don’t Want To Hear This (bipolar Sirius au, made off of a TikTok I saw, and it’s accidentally shameless s5 au. Wolfstar and Jily. Sirius has bipolar and has to heal)

Oneshots

Hurt/Comfort

Felt Like Home (Remus sees marauders after death)

Who (James sees Lily hurt and asks who did it)

Potentially to be made into more chapters of other ships doing this

Invisible (andrew’s in a dream under his bed at cass’s and his dream neil comes and saves him)

What Did I Do Wrong This Time (sirius gets an angry letter from his parents and remus comforts him)

What The Past Leaves Behind (neil has a nightmare and andrew comforts him on the roof)

Comedy

Better Luck Next Time (Neil and Andrew are Pro, Andrew doesn’t ever let neil make a goal)

Taller Sons (andrew is a Dad ™ and lectures his son on laughing at harassment jokes)

Potentially to be given a follow up chapter

Camping (Draco and Harry are camping)

Hospitals and Anesthesia (neil hurts his ankle and needs surgery, so he gets put under anesthetic)

Angst

That’s Enough (kevin interevenes when riko doesnt stop)

I Always Thought Id Be The One To Die Alone (after seth dies Neil is on the porch and andrew joins him for a talk)

When the Sun Wakes Up (baby harry is taken to his aunts and wants his pa’foo. Baby harry pov)

It Wasn’t Enough To Save Him (alternate ending where harry doesnt make it and draco loses his shit)

Where’s Josten (when neil goes missing because he was kidnapped, andrew loses his shit)

Fluff

Speaking French (sirius fakes not knowing french, then when he reveals he does he confesses his love to remus)