#seriously debating whether or not to post what I've done so far

[belades]

Current mental obsession: setting the Pizza Tower ost to lyrics

[hoshiko2000]

So with production for Good Omens Season 3 officially halted, it does look like cancellation may be on the horizon. Because yeah, I really don't think Amazon would 'pause' production on a show this lucrative if there wasn't serious discussions currently going on about 'if' and 'how' it should continue. A production shuffle-up - ie. Neil Gaiman getting booted and new staff being put in charge - is certainly a possibility. But it is important to remember that this will still be a show that is written by him and very intrinsically linked to his brand. And whether fans or studios will still have an appetite for it considering this fact is something that has to be seriously considered.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that as disappointing as it would be, cancelling Good Omens season 3 may be the hard but right decision. And, frankly, if season 2 is anything to go by, we may not be missing out on too much to be honest.

But on a serious note, I do want to use this news as an opportunity to share my own thoughts on the situation, which I will do under the cut (and as is probably obvious, there are trigger warnings for references to SA).

Despite Neil Gaiman's works being a massive part of my content here on this tumblr - and yes, that is something I am very aware of- I've not posted about the sexual assault allegations up until now for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I'm a working adult in my 30s; tumblr is very much a place I come to chill, I'm far too old (and frankly, tired) to get involved in discourse or heated fandom debates (not that those are the correct terms to use to refer to rape allegations but you catch my drift). But the other reason is that these revelations have honestly devasted me, in a way that I'm still processing and doesn't feel like an exaggeration to describe as grief, a feeling I'm sure is echoed by many other people.

Neil Gaiman's works have been a massive part of my adult life, and while I know it sounds like a cliche, they have gotten me through some incredibly difficult times. Coming to terms with the fact that such beautiful, thoughtful, empathetic novels and series have been written by a rapist has been incredibly difficult.

What has also been incredibly difficult to come to terms with is the fact that the incredible queer representation that has drawn so many of us to his television works in recent years was, in hindsight, indisputably a grooming tactic. And yes, grooming is the right word.

The grooming of communities is not something that is often discussed but is absolutely a thing. Predators groom victims to gain access to them, and they groom the people around both the victim and themselves to make it seem unbelievable when the victim later comes forward. And this can happen parasocially too. In the case of Neil Gaiman, he groomed his fanbase by constructing a calculated image as vocal a LGBT ally, drawing in queer fans and creating a smokescreen of apparent empathy and kindness to cast doubt on the future allegations he likely knew would inevitably catch up with him.

I really want to stress - particularly for younger fans - that no one is stupid or somehow culpable for having been fooled by Gaiman, for having supported his works previously, and for continuing to support his works now. I myself have no intention to leave the fandoms I am already a part of, and I genuinely do not believe anyone is under any sort of pressure or obligation to do so. The separation of the art from the artist is a very tricky subject and not something that can ever be done entirely. And if I'm honest I'm not really sure how to navigate this myself, or what this is going to mean for me in the future.

But to get back to the subject of my blog, yes I am planning to continue reposting content related to Good Omens and Dead Boy Detectives. However the latter differs drastically in that the series was not actually written by Neil Gaiman and is effectively an author-approved spin-off of one of his works. Good Omens on the other hand I have more complicated feelings towards, and at this point I am not sure how I feel about future series being made, with or without Gaiman's involvement.

I'm sorry if this post is a rambling mess, it has taken me a lot of time to build up to being able to share my thoughts, and while there is a lot more I could say I will stop here. But on a closing note, let's just be kind to each other. This situation is awful, lets not make it any worse. Give space for the victims, give space for the fans, and give space to people to continue to enjoy fandom spaces without making assumptions about where they stand on these allegations. It is a hard time, but things will get better, and these fandom spaces will continue to be a positive place for people to exist online. Lets keep it that way.

[ingravinoveritas]

Hello! I hope you are doing fine! I am *definitely* going to add to you overflowing askbox, so I apologise in advance.... (I didn't know where to post this, and I seriously don't know how to feel about this post)

Hi there! I...wow. Okay, I clearly turned off my Anons just in time, or at the worst possible time (I'm not sure which). But this was a hell of a thing to see first thing this morning, and after seeing the notes on that post, I think this person was right to send this question via a throwaway account, because they knew they would get flamed for it.

First of all, whether or not this person should have even asked Neil this question is entirely up for debate. GO season 2 is done, it's in the can and about to be released, so it's not as if there is anything Neil can do about Peter and Ty being in it. I can also understand Neil likening this person's concern about the casting to people saying prior to GO season 1 that it was a huge mistake to cast Michael and David. I could see him equating the two, in his mind, and feeling like this is déjà vu all over again and thusly responding from that vantage.

However...I'm really at a loss as to his opening sentence, in which he describes the person's question as "creepy." I've read and reread the person's question multiple times, and for my part, I did not think there was anything creepy about this question. The person seemed to take great care in asking it--especially with English not being their first language--and did not make any threats toward anyone, nor say anything inappropriate (again, as far as I could tell). This leads me to think that Neil very deliberately used that word, setting the stage for and tacitly encouraging what he alluded to but did not say aloud--that this person is silly and stupid for asking a seemingly harmless question and deserves to be treated accordingly.

There was one part of the person's question that Neil homed in on (and that seems to be a common refrain in the notes and on Twitter), which was that this person cannot separate the characters from the actors, nor tell fiction from reality. Yet I also did not get this feeling from their question, and was taken aback by Neil seemingly twisting around what the person was actually trying to say. The specific focus on this part of the question also seemed to serve the purpose of steering discussion away from the heart of the person's question, which was about nepotism. And it's here, at this particular point, that Neil's response does not really seem to stand up to scrutiny.

First of all, the comment about "a season that hasn't even been commissioned in parts that haven't been written" is disingenuous at best, as not even a week ago, it was Neil himself who said that Georgia was offered a part in season 2. So this is not really a hypothetical concern, as Georgia actually was offered a part. I also thought it was interesting that Neil conveniently did not mention the bonus episode of Sandman, in which both Georgia and Anna had voice roles in scenes with their respective partners. So again, not a hypothetical, but something that actually previously happened. And in both these cases, it does not seem that an audition was required, but rather that the roles were offered to Georgia and AL because they happened to be there/it simplified things since Sandman was recorded during Covid times.

Another thing that has been overlooked was David himself at the Basingstoke Comic Con this past weekend being asked about his favorite scene in GO 2. After mentioning that his son is in the scene, David also says his father-in-law (Peter) is in the show. The interviewer then asks, "And your wife and your neighbor?" to which David's response is "They are not in it, but it’s a sore point, so don’t dwell on it." I thought that was an interesting choice of words, because if everything involving offering Georgia a part did go exactly the way Neil described, why would it be a sore point? If Georgia researched the role and had absolutely no compunction about turning it down, why would she be annoyed or upset? It seems like something small, I know, but it just makes me question some of the things we're being told.

In terms of Peter and Ty's roles, I do understand that Peter is a fixture on the acting landscape in the UK, so I fully get Neil offering him a part, but I find his answer regarding Ty to be extremely dubious, at best. Neil and David have been friends since 2017--so, six years now--and is he truly expecting us to believe that he has no idea what David's son looks like? Even if they haven't had occasion to meet in person, does it really make sense that David would have never shown him a picture? Especially given how he beams with pride when talking about Ty and his accomplishments. Also, I realize the days of traditional audition tapes are long gone, but does it seem at all plausible that Neil wouldn't have seen Ty's name on the clip he watched, or that if he'd seen the name "Ty Tennant," it wouldn't have rung a bell?

But rather than address any of this, Neil--for reasons I can only begin to guess--decided to respond to this person as condescendingly and dismissively as possible. The bit about "shattered the fragile illusion and revealed to people that the David Tennant and Michael Sheen who play Crowley and Aziraphale are actors" was beyond insulting (as if we don't know that Michael and David are actors?), but what really grates my cheese is the fact that it opened the door to people in the notes accusing people who have had concerns about these issues of being "in an echo chamber." I would argue that the people who are somehow not aware of these concerns are the ones actually living in an echo chamber, because there has been a LOT of talk about this ever since Neil shared that cropped photo two months ago. (Also, I am aware that a combined 146 votes is by no mean a representative sample of an entire fandom, but if the results of the two polls I recently posted are any indication, a lot of people seem ambivalent (in the case of Ty and Peter) or outright against (in the case of Georgia and AL) these casting choices.)

Overall, I would say that I am deeply disappointed in this type of response from someone I've always thought was a brilliant writer and a really cool guy. I fully acknowledge that Neil can say whatever he wants, of course, but it's really strange to me that someone who has been so tight-lipped and "wait and see" about everything GO 2 up until now is suddenly delving into details. For months, Neil gave no answers regarding a trailer or character names or even a crumb of plot, so I'm just downright confused as to why these particular questions merited an answer. Neil could've even simply said, "Your concern is noted and appreciated, but everything is fine", or not answered this question at all (which I think probably would've been the better route), but instead, he went the way he did, and here we are.

So those are pretty much my thoughts on this whole thing. I am still looking forward to GO season 2, but this has definitely colored my perceptions to a degree. I guess we'll see what happens...

[marinerainbow]

I've been seeing people post their NiGHTS OC's here, so I'm gonna give it a go.

I actually have multiple OC's, but I'm going to talk about my most developed OC. My nightopian named Prism (who I was inspired after seeing @squiderdoodle OC Void, shes really great!)

Before I show her picture (drawn by @marshmallow-biscuit-blog, thank you very much!) Shes not a regular nightopian. If anyone remembers my first NiGHTS into Dreans headcannon post, I said that I have a headcannon that nightopians have their own subspecies like the nightmaren, with the humanoids being referred as celestials (I'm still debating on whether or not to call them that, but I'm leaning more towards that name due to the fact I imagine their all solar based).

Ok, without further ado, heres Prism!

(The only thing you cant see in the pic is how long her hair is (down to her ankles) and her white ballet shoes (the kind with the ribbons you tie around your legs)) This is what I imagine her NiD look to be, but I'm still trying to figure out what her JoD look would be.

Now, onto her backstory.

The celestials were once high in number, acting out as guardians of the night dimension. However, after Wizeman died in a coma and his soul still remained in the dimension, he started his goal to take over the very place he was trapped in. Once he started gaining power, the celestials first tried to reason with him, but by then he found a way to consume others' energy, and started killing off the celestial species to gain their power (thats how he gained his godlike powers).

As he created more and more nightmaren to steal more and more ideya, the night dimension itself had started creating a new celestial (I cant remember if I've already mentioned it, but I imagine the night dimension to be alive, more so then our own earth). This new celestial was Prism. However, she was created in a secluded area in a Nightopia, so no one had really been able to find her. It wasn't until an awakener who would later become her friend found her and brought her to Owl, who then raised her and taught her everything she needed to know about her world.

She was relatively happy, she made quick friends with the normal nightopians, she saw Owl as a father figure, and she was safe and happy in her home at the Dreamgate. However, around the time she came of age, she encountered a nightmaren for the first time in her life, while they were terrorizing visitors and stealing ideya. After that day, she had decided to become a guardian of the night dimension, just like her ancestors, and protect Nightopia and visitors.

She was powerful to fight against third levels with no problem and second levels easily after she got used to them. As such, Wizeman decided to create the two first levels NiGHTS and Reala. Now those two, since they were made to be far more powerful then a second level, turned out to be quite difficult for Prism to fight against. The most she could do was provide a distraction for them while any visitors or nightopians in the area could get away.

Due to her experiences, Prism had started believing that nightmaren were a inherently evil species. Even though Owl tried to teach her to not think that way, it was hard for her to see the nightmaren as anything but evil. Until NiGHTS rebelled that is.

Of course, she didnt trust them at first, always keeping a close eye on them. But as they proved that they really had a change of heart, Prism started trusting them more and more. Soon enough, the nightopian had actually befriended the rebellious nightmaren, and finally learned what Owl was trying to teach her. Now, she wishes to try and protect all of the night dimension, not just Nightopia.

Now with her backstory done, here are some random facts about her.

She is 4'7, even though shes an adult (I headcannon all nightopians, from the animals to the pixies to the celestials, to be small in comparison to the nightmaren)

Prism is very naive, not in the 'everyone is good' way, but in the fact that she can take things at face value (like how she saw the nightmaren before NiGHTS rebelled). However, she is always willing to learn, and is more than willing to admit her mistakes and will do her best to make them right. She is also a very kind hearted person and would protect and care for her loved ones (family, friends, etc). As such, she can be seen as innocent at times.

As you can see, her wings dont look like a normal nightopians' wings. I imagine humanoid nightopians have more like dragonfly wings rather then butterfly wings.

She is a very sweet person, but she does have a temper. It can take alot to make her lose her temper (or only a little, depending on what is making her angry) but when she loses it, she proves just how loud tiny people get. She can also be very stubborn when she wants to be.

She is also much more of a 'by the book' sort of person then NiGHTS is. It's why they compliment each other well, she helps them be more serious, and they help her be more playful (that's not to say she doesnt know how to have fun, she often plays with the nightopians when she has free time. But she takes her job very seriously, and can often times come off as a workaholic. So NiGHTS is able to help her relax when she needs it.)

The reason why she was named Prism is because of her light based powers: She can summon light, and can even use this to her advantage when fighting for both offense and defense, but she can not actually bend light itself. Her colors will also change depending on her mood/mental state (her colors will look brighter when happy, they will look drained when depressed, etc). If you look at her appearance, you'll notice that she actually looks like the sky, (sky blue eyes, sun hair, etc).

She has her own invisible instrument! A tambourine! She also she enjoys singing and dancing. Especially when it's a celebration of some sort (I'd compare her voice to Miss Acacia from Jack and the Cukoo Clock Heart, especially in the song 'Flames with Glasses'). She also loves reading, and could spend hours going through her favorite pieces of literature.

She us a very upbeat and positive person, despite picking up on some of Owl's anxious habits (like overthinking things). She has a very high energy and is very sociable, but she always makes sure to focus on her work.

Since the night dimension itself created her, she feels at home when shes outdoors, especially in woodlands or fields, almost as if she feels a connection with the world (she cant communicate with the dimension though, she just loves the outdoors)

The awakener that found her is really small, small enough to hide in her shoulder. His name is Peonie, and he is really shy and a bit of a scaredy cat, but he is protective of Prism and will often accompany her on her patrols or outings when he's not doing his own duties, despite the risk of running into a nightmaren.

And that's Prism! Please let me know what you think! Constructive criticism and questions are always welcome!

[buckets-and-trees]

I have a few followers now... really not any big number, but I wanted to say HI, AND I APPRECIATE YOU DEARLY! It's fun to see there are some folks truly interested.

That said, I wanted to let you know:

The Brooklyn Boys are all that I've been posting so far, so I'm assuming that's why y'all are here, and the rest of that series is coming fairly soon - probably by the end of the month - BUT

I WILL BE POSTING SOMETHING NEW AND WITH A VERY DIFFERENT TONE maybe tomorrow or the next day - it's a Winter Soldier x reader, and I wouldn't say it's dark, but maybe...morally grey Winter Soldier... and it's got some smut. But the idea for it popped into my head last March, it was about half-written, then it went to the back burner for the Brooklyn Boys and a few other fics, but this week it's really consumed my brain again. It's been kinda fun, so I hope some of you like it - I know it definitely won't be for everyone.

My ask box is open, and I'm totally down for having some fun with asks if anyone happened to want to throw some in the box. Anonymous is fine. No haterade and I'm gonna say no straight up requests because I can't promise I'll get to them, but if you want to know head canons or have Steve or Bucky plot bunnies you want to throw out into the wild or are interested in some imagines, etc, want to dump gifs or photos my way, LET THE GAMES AND THE FUN BEGIN!

I've got about 7 stories I'm hacking away at - Brooklyn Boys, the morally grey Winter Soldier smut one-shot I just mentioned, a mafia!Steve one-shot, a cabin in the woods encounter for Bucky right after CA:WS, a mafia!bucky series, a Steve doesn't leave at the end of Endgame story/series of one-shots, and a post-FATWS that I'm wanting to keep mostly MCU compliant series but I'm debating whether or not to wait until Wakanda Forever is released because there were some elements/interactions I wanted to incorporate into my narrative for Wakanda and the Wakandans that I'm POSITIVE I won't be able to work into what the new movie brings... (but maybe I can get enough of it done that I could post before the movie comes out...)

I think that's it for this Sunday night.

I'm seriously pumped to have you, my dear followers, around to actually have some fun around here. I'm writing for me, but other people jumping onto this train obviously makes it more exciting, so... here we go!

Thank you to everyone who has reblogged and left any comments so far! Each time I see those notifications I literally

so just HI. LET'S DO THIS, FRIENDS!