#because neil doesnt even consider it

[reneeub]

I am so normal about the possibilities of how the world where the promise isn't unfulfilled looks

[boytoykevinday]

Exyblr Dashboard Simulator based on what I personally see on sportsblr:

1/?

👑 girlbossriko follow

how many bro jobs do you think it took before riko moriyama and kevin day realized that uh.....maybe this wasn't just a bro thing

👢exyinaphonebooth follow

how many times do they have to come out and say they're like brothers before you freakos stop shipping them

👑 girlbossriko follow

????? do i know u

#it's a tumblr post about two exy players that you'lll never meet in your life it really isn't that deep

558 notes

💃fox-me-up follow

ngl that newest fox is kinda 👀

#psu lb #exy lb

8 notes

👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻 talk-exy-to-me

The NARRATIVE that kevin day and neil josten have........son of exy! scouting the rookie-est of rookies from fuck knows arizona........no listen you dont GET IT winning is EVERYTHING TO KEVIN and he would risk it on the foxes? And NEIL? who has only played exy for a year! NEIL Gets his attention!!!!! And hes good and he's getting better every game and he keeps bitching about kevin's ex on live tv BUT WAIT!???? NOT QUITE WHAT YOU EXPECT! Bc then neil shows up with a number on his cheek BECAUSE WELL it turns out they've known each other since they were KIDS! how is everyone not insane w me THEY'RE LITERALLY PERFECT

#where r my fellow njkd truthers #how r u all not here with me this isnt even the start #kevneil #210 #psu #njkd

102 notes

☀️ usctrojanny

every smiley blonde striker (jeremy knox) needs a brunette wet cat emotional support backliner (jean moreau)

#jerejean #usc trojans #i'm just saying 🤷‍♀️

58 notes

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

did he just......

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

guys please tell me i'm not insane

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

HE'S NEVER BEEN????? SKIIING???? KEVIN WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ?????? KEVIN PLEASE

#i i'm going insane i will literally die if someone doesn't explain this to me HE'S NEVER BEEN SKIING?!!!!

407 notes

🧚 goalie-stan

oh....i'm feeling so weak......it'd sure be nice to have a big strong goalie (renee walker) hold me up (renee if you're free on tuesday i am also free on tuesday.........on tuesday this tuesday, any tuesday?)

#literally passing out just thinking about her holding me don't call don't text i'm busy

84 notes

🌄 softkevinday follow

do u think if u offered kevin day essential oils to heal his hand he'd beat you to death

#it'd be hard for him bc he only has one hand but he could probably do it #legally this is a joke don't do this

284 notes

🗣️ jeremyknoxes follow

feeling normal

215 notes

📜 realexyblog

actually exy rpf is fine, i asked kayleigh day herself and she told me it was fine

112 notes

🐋 sexyexy

'exy is a stupid name for a sport' have you considered that a) i don't care and b) it's named that solely so i can make sex jokes about it

11 notes

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

is he, ya know *mimes jerking off* an ncaa exy player

#i don't believe that straight exy players exist

56 notes

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

Andrew Minyard!!!!!!! 🥰🥰 short king!!!!🤏🤏😋😋 Awwwwwwww the scrunkly!!!!! 🤗🤗🤗 My boinky boy!!!!!🥺🥺 Crinkly doo,,,,shronkle scrimblo......🥺🥺🥺 rb if you'd scrunkle!!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

📖 sapphic-exy follow

he literally killed someone

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

And? God forbid women do anything

#also no proof he did that #yeah there's proof his twin bro killed someone but that's not the same bc theyre different people #almost killing someone doesnt count

807 notes

🐦‍⬛ edgarallenexy

got told i'm problematic for liking the ravens? THAT'S LITERALLY MY SCHOOL OH MY GOD

2 notes

🌸 softexy

Kevin Day - A Study

#kevin day #psu foxes #palmetto foxes #exy #web weave #poetry #psu foxes #palmetto #edgar allen

378 notes

[hella1975]

i just think. andrew's possessive and mean and does horrible damage to people he ought to consider friends and he's physically violent to the point of literal GBH charges and he carries knives and you dont know his boundaries you just know if you cross them even accidentally he WILL gut you and. he's the most selfless person on the team and he willingly resigns himself to a hellish existence if it means his brother stays out of it his brother who he doesnt even know and hasnt met a single time in his life doesnt even know he EXISTED until suddenly he does and he puts his brother's livelihood over his simply because there's a chance he might drag him down and he isn't going to risk it and he kills his brother's abuser without question knowing full well he'll be hated for it and he doesn't mind it because in his head it was the only possible response he could have given and he gets his brother off drugs and again with his teammate who he owes nothing to and he doesn't know how to love and he's clumsy and far too sharp with it but. if he decides someone is his it's common knowledge to leave them the fuck alone because he just grabs onto the few people he can tolerate and he doesnt let go doesnt know how to let go holds on so tight he leaves claw marks his devotion is a violent, bloody thing with teeth and he doesnt know how to be gentle and he doesnt want to be gentle and. he likes sweet things and he tears his food up like a child and he's vicious in his teasing and he loves his eccentric therapist and he buys her little ornaments and he argues on apocalypse survival strategies with the teammate deemed too nice for him and. he has an eidetic memory and is wickedly observant to the point he predicts certain teammates better than even their closest friends can and he exists in the narrative as this indomitable boy of iron who is strong enough to carry neil's trauma and stand firm against it and he is he is he is but once he was seven. he was seven and he believed him. he said please enough to hate the word. no one was strong for him. no one saved him. they call him monster even now

[feelingthedisaster]

In Defense of AFTG crazy plot

*disclaimer: I'm not comparing Frankenstain and AFTG, I'm using it as an famous example of plausibility in fiction*

*disclaimer 2: I'm translating plausibility from another language, maybe it is not the right word for what I'm meaning*

The greatest argument for claiming that AFTG is badly written is that isn't realistic, that it couldn't happen in the real world. But let me ask you a question, is Frankenstain a bad book because bringing people back to life isn't something that can happen in the real world? The answer is, of course, no. But why is it a good book when it isnt "realistic" Well, it has to do with plausibility.

The textbook definition of plausibility is something that seems believable, even if it is not. In fiction, this translates to make everything have sense while also bending the rules to let the story unfold. It cannot happen in real life but it has a logical process that make it believable, it makes sense that it happens. Of course the sci-fi genre has tons of technology we could only dream of, humans are constanstly developing it; yeah, this breaks the laws of physics, but humans found way. It isn't something that could happen in the real world, but it is plausible, it has a logical explination and we can believe it. In this fictional world, we don't question it because we aren't supposed to question it. While I put into more exagerated genres to explain it, this was meant for more close to reality genres.

The monster of Frankenstain existing isn't bad writing because even if it isn't "realistic" because it has a logical explination (research, investigation and experimentation about chemestry and human body -> bringing people back to life). An author can make changes to their world and it still can be consider it good written as long as it makes sense for this world that was created.

I think most complains about the crazyness of AFTG steam from forgetting this. To truly analyze a plot, you need to unlink crazy to bad.

Bad plot: no stakes, doesn't make sense, plot points are not linked to eachother, multiple plotholes that are too big to ignore

Good plot: decent stakes, actions have consequences, plot points interconnect

Crazy story is completely different from compelling storytelling. Actually, there are essays that argue that making stories plausible/100% real is opresive and ruins the potential of stories, like this essay by T. Lloyd Reilly. The plot points may not be likely to happen in real life, but they are consequences to an action, they follow a logical path, they makes sense even if they aren't "realistic". Let's cover some of these "crazy" plot points.

Ichirou letting Neil, Kevin and Jean live <- Neil offering Ichirou a reasonable deal (money and silence instead of just silence)

Andrew's induced mania state <- new medicine that only exists in the aftg universe and we know nothing about (and also, antidepressants can cause mania in patients with bipolar disorder, which Nora said Andrew has; more info and theories about in this post)

The mafia using an exy team for money laundering <- this happens a lot in real life actually, but with actual bussiness, like pizza places, restaurants and even a sports team was found to be a cover for the mafia

Exy popularizing quick <- campaing we know nothing about the lenghts it went by the creators / possible funds provided by the mafia to popularize it

Are these likely to actually happen in real life? Not really, but do they have a logical explination that within the universe Nora Sakavic created make sense? Yes. If it makes sense in this alternate version of reality, why is it bad writing?

AFTG doesnt stick to reality but it is a piece of fiction, it doesnt need to be like reality to be good (and not being like it is not a synonim for being bad). Asking literature to be 100% real is like asking the sky to be pink. It's impossible. But most importantly, if we keep media to actual real life stories, it would be so boring and repetive that no one would actually care to read.

[rrcenic]

sorry for posting so much about the neil gaiman thing im very opinionated but heres my general take on neil gaiman (TW FOR S/A AND SU1C1D3!!!!)

good omens fandom please read this. yall need it

i wanna start with: believe victims. it might not be as bad as it was claimed to be bc the reporter was an anti bdsm terf who considers all bdsm 🍇 (including the bdsm w neil), but there was still clearly manipulation, weaponized power imbalance, and dubious consent. even if it wasnt s/a, it was fucked up. neil did some fucked up things

while we dont know if he actually s/ad those women, neil gaiman is clearly flawed

ive seen time and time again that his fans (specifically the good omens fandom) can get so viciously defensive of him that they refuse to see any flaws he has

as someone who was ruthlessly attacked because of neil, i hesitate to give him the benefit of the doub

when i had just turned 13, id just gotten on tumblr. i was thrilled that good omens season 2 was coming out. i was even more thrilled to see neil gaiman on tumblr. so i sent him an ask where i asked if crowley and aziraphale would kiss. i get why that was annoying. he probably got those asks all the time. but i worded it respectfully, and i was genuinely unaware that he was annoyed by this question

he responded to my ask with a multi paragraph callout post talking about how sick of this question he was. harsh, but not necessarily nefarious

the response wasnt the problem. it was that i got so many hate comments and death threats and people telling me i didnt deserve joy and i was ruining neils life and so many fucking anon "kys" asks that i had to quit tumblr. i tried to apologize to neil, i sent him countless apology asks where i begged him to ask people to stop cyber bullying me, but he never responded. it took years before i was able to communicate to him all the hate id received. his response was a basic "sorry for the miscommunication" and that he wished there was a way to convey tone on the internet (someone said "there is! tonetags!!" and he responded with "i dont like those"). the SAME COMMUNITY who told me to kms was suddenly saying "oh neil your such a saint" (THE TERM SAINT WAS USED MULTIPLE TIMES!!!!!) and "this poor ignorant child"

i was a kid and i was bullied off the internet and neil didnt respond to my pleas for forgiveness for almost 2 years. i was also in the most unstable time of my life. i was EXTREMELY suicidal. people telling me to kms deeply affected me

plus he reblogs a ton of "vote blue no matter who" stuff. i dont agree w that statement but i think its okay for people to say if they actively support palestine. but neil gaiman doesnt post about palestine ever other than reblogging posts that say "sure maybe the stuff in palestine is bad but if you dont support biden 100% democracy will crumble!!!" also im pretty sure he never apologized for some older zionist posts

ive seen a lot of stuff where people are saying "hey shhh its okay i see good omens fans getting sad bc of the stuff with neil but its ok!! youre still a good person even if you ignore this issue!!" and like. huh??? i dont think ignoring it makes you evil but its certainly fucked up to not be critical of the media you consume. pretending nothings going on is immature. you all sound like jk rowling fans smh

his general attitude towards fans makes me uncomfortable. ive seen people bare their souls in his asks (all of them start with something along the lines of "oh sir mister gaiman sir i am nothing but a disgusting peon compared to you you saved my life id die for you!!!") and he gives rude cold responses. i mean of course he gets annoyed and of course he gets spam but no one is forcing him to respond to asks. he doesnt seem to care very much??? this doesnt make him a bad person ofcourse but it does give me the ick

summary: even if he didnt s/a those women his fans need to grow up. he is not a pure perfect person. he might not be evil but he makes some extremely damaging choices. hes not a saint and never has been. at the end of the day, hes a rich cishet white man

[rigginsstreet]

summer of 85 no monsters au billy and steve are kinda dating, kinda not (steve considers it dating, billy just says theyre fucking)

neil and susan are gone for the weekend which means steve can come over, finds himself in billys room snooping around while billys gone to get them drinks, or take a piss, steve doesnt know. kinda loses track of everything when hes rummaging through the mess atop the fireplace in billys room, finds a lipstick of all things

and like... steve knows billys reputation, okay. he knows hes definitely had girls back here and he knows from his time at the pool that billy and heather are close and he hates heather for no other reason than she hates him so like.... he's just returning the favor, but god of all the girls in hawkins for billy to currently be sleeping with why does it have to be heather freaking holloway

and when steve brings up the lipstick billy goes "oh, heather mustve left that here", confirming all of steves worsts fears. gets all huffy about it even when billys telling him "take a fucking chill pill, we're just friends. mustve dropped out of her bag when we were hanging out or whatever"

and steves a little insecure okay so hes not buying that story. but he also knows he cant be entirely mad at billy because, well, billys been clear theyre not exclusive, so.

doesnt mean steve cant be a little petty. cant push billy down onto the edge of his bed and crawl onto his lap and grab his chin, taking the cap off the lipstick - a bright cherry red - with his teeth, spitting it off to the side where it clatters on the floor. tells billy to shut up and stay still when he asks what the hell steves doing but doesnt make any moves to stop him. lets steve paint his lips all pretty.

tries to ignore the way his heart beats faster, harder, when steve climbs off his lap and undoes his zipper and whips his dick out, commanding billy to get on his knees so he can make a mess out of his handiwork

and when all his said and done billys staring up at steve, tears streaked down his face, red lipstick smudged all across his lips and chin, look absolutely debauched.

steves pretty proud of himself.

billy keeps the lipstick tucked away in his sock drawer. tells heather he doesnt know what the hell shes talking about the next day at work when she asks him if he's seen her missing lipstick anywhere around

[s-exy-sapphillean]

Finally coming back to Runaways AU posting. If the original concept interests you but you don't like where i'm taking it, please consider what i said here.

(There's a lot so i included a cut here to not make it fill up your dash too much)

Quick disclaimer: queerplatonic jeaneil is very dear to me. I do not ship them romantically. Their dynamic in this AU is fairly complicated and codependent and the presence of strong emotions & physical affection doesn't mean their bond is romantic. I of course can't stop anyone from interpreting it whichever way they choose but i'd rather people don't insist that what i'm writing must be romantic because that's how they read it.

So. Neil & Jean + Elodie on the run together..

Neil of course is the one to teach Jean and Elodie english. He's an okay teacher, good enough that they get by and they improve fast enough. Neil however is simply not aware of a couple of accented words and anglicisms in his own vocabulary, so the moreau siblings have some random british words in their vocabulary

Physical affection is complicated for the boys. They both initially only know touch as something practical or to hurt. They are touch starved. But elodie is a child who gives and craves physical affection freely, so the boys gradually grow more used to giving and receiving affection through touch. Sleeping curled together becomes a necessity to keep warm wherever they're camping out but they eventually do it even when not necessary because it is comforting to have the other right there

After his mother got got, before joining up with jean, neil felt kinda directionless & defeated because without his mother there to push for it 15 year old neil doesn't really see the point of running forever if the only possible end is eventual death. Then he meets jean & elodie, starts bonding with them & keeping them safe becomes his entire world. Like a "i'll get caught and killed eventually but as long as i'm alive i can at least make sure they're okay & will be fine when i'm gone" mentality because he doesnt understand that jean is equally as fucked if the butcher finds them.

They bicker a LOT, getting into verbal fights over a lot of small things. They are constantly stressed with no outlet except eachother. Neil for a long time is also just not coping well with witnessing elodie receiving such genuine love and care because it makes something in him burn with ugly jealousy. Jean for a while absolutely despises having to rely on essentially a stranger for so much when his own english is way too lacking to get around by himself.

As much as he doesn't cope well at all with his own jealousy and yearning for being cared for, neil does also become fiercely protective of elodie pretty quickly. If she gets to have what he can't have then she needs to be able to keep that and not become like him. His "one of us has to make it" mantra we know from canon becomes entirely focused on her.

They have pretended to be a couple a few times, simply because it is the easiest cover for why a teenager as clearly french as jean would be so close to some very clearly not french teenager

They kissed once or twice as like a "for the sake of the cover" thing, trying out if that works but unanimously decided it wouldn't. It just made neil feel queasy and uncomfortable and bisexual disaster jean is self aware enough to know that risking developing a hopeless onesided crush would be the worst in their situation

Little head kisses have kinda become a thing though. It's something jean did a lot to comfort elodie & once when neil was having a breakdown he did it to him while holding him and it helped so it just stuck

In millport their story is that jean & elodie's father had moved to the US with them for work and had been colleagues with neil's parents. When father moreau turned out to be abusive, neil's parents helped jean emancipate himself and gain custody of elodie, and helped them move away, letting neil go with them.

When they get to palmetto, most of the foxes do assume they're dating and the boys don't directly correct anyone out of worry it will raise too many eyebrows, so neil doesn't get to explain that he doesn't swing any direction until much later

[neilisok]

I was always a reader/listener and didn't really want to write something my own on tumblr, but after I read the extra chapters of aftg I had too much feelings, that I just need to share. (Sorry for my English in advance lol)

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE EXTRA CHAPTERS

The first chapter, Wymack's pov: OMG I LOVE HIM SO SO SO MUCH. The way he nows that Neil is always using the stairs and is kinda jealous of him (same bro lol, even tho I'm not that old), the way that Kevin's alcoholism he considers a problem and tries to do something about it, the way that Abby and him fought the first few days about Wymacks "not his problem". IMHO I think Kevin wanted to confess that Wymack was his father after he said that Kevin represented his mother a lot. I loved the way that Kevin chose to improve himself and go to Betsy, even tho he doesn't like her very much (lol, poor Betsy the raven trio doesn't like her) and even tho he could just take the alcohol from Andrew he chose not to do so. I almost cried, when Wymack remembered blood on his and at the last sentence when he went "to find a drink of his own" omg

The Second chapter, Betsy's pov: This made me remember what happened to Andrew, and omg, have you seen how Betsy and Andrew behaved??? The "Now everybody knows" from Andrew just killed me. But does he actually mean his family, or the Spears mother (so sorry I forgot her name), or both??? Like if he also meant the Spears, then I'm gonna kms, bc if I remember correctly, in Nora's posts (or I just read too much fanfiction idk), the mother tried to defend Drake till the end. But I think, it's more likely that he meant Aaron and Nicky. I just loved how Wymack just respected Andrew and left when he was asked to, or when he came back, he made sure that they would hear him. AND I also really need to know when Andrew said to Betsy that Neil is " Kevin's problem now, the end!". I also had a little chuckle when I read about how Wymack found that Betsy likes musicals the hard way. Did she drag him to watch a musical, and he didn't like it lol? I also almost cried when she said that she was proud of Andrew, it just shows how much he healed. I ALSO CAN'T SMILE AT ANDREW'S HUMOR

Wymack: "Now that you're doomed to bounce off the walls all night, any plans?"

Andrew: "Chaos and mayhem."

AAH I CAN'T WITH HIM

The third chapter, Aaron's pov: I didn't think that I needed this. I read a lot of fanfiction about how they came to this conclusion that Andrew chooses Neil, but this one is so much better than anything that I read, better than any other Aaron's reaction. I liked the way that even tho Andrew trusted Bee, he still didn't come out to her, and it's so much like coming out in real life. It doesn't matter how much you trust the person, doesn't matter that person you trust you know will accept you, you are still scared how would they react when you will come out to them. I also liked what Aaron said about Nicky: he is grateful that Nicky was there for him when he needed that, but sometimes he is too much about being gay which Aaron doesnt like, but he knows that Nicky does it, so he instantly will know who to trust, because he doesn't want to experience the same hatred from people he loved again. So Aaron doesn't mind gay people, he just doesn't like how Nicky shows his "gayness" (idk is it the right word?). The way Aaron instantly understood that Betsy knew that he wanted to become a neurosurgeon, and remembers the only time he said he wanted to become one, and just understood everything. I loved the way Aaron just uses Betsy and Neil in his favour, and makes Andrew chose Neil, and also saying that he won't leave Andrew's life, when he chooses Neil. And also the last part, when Andrew and Aaron were leaving after Andrew made his choice, and Aaron says that Andrew is dating a mafioso (lol i can't) and Andrew as always says that he doesn't, and Aaron just calls him "Liar". And can we talk about how this man talks about Kaitlyn?? It just really shows how he loves her, you should have seen my face when he said that he wants to spend his life with her.

OMG Can we also talk about the way Andrew tried to change the topic to his scars??? And Aaron will think about that later?? I just know the night that he will think about that he just won't sleep

[manilovedinosaurs]

im trying to sleep but neil's last conversation with mr keating is biting my ass

i have a wild theory that its all just a lie like there are many ways that i can go around this but he definitely lied at least one thing about it

he said that his father let him continue with the acting (that was definitely completely untrue) but he also told keating two more things and those are 'his father would be gone for 4 days so he couldn't make it to the play' and 'he let him perform in the play at henley hall'

later in the film we see mr perry entering the theatre and neil's entire demeanor changed COMPLETELY he was either shocked or scared to see his father and this might mean that what he told mr keating 'he would be gone for 4 days so he couldnt make the performance' might be his or his father's lie. mr perry might have said it to see if neil would actually, against his wishes, go to the play despite him not allowing to and then later going to the theatre to see if its true. or neil might have just made that part up and still shocked himself with it idk i think his father said that to test him.

and then at his house mr perry also said something like 'we've been trying to figure out why you keep defying us' or something along the lines but like if mr perry had let neil perform in the play why was that considered rebelling because HE ALLOWED HIM TO

so this got me thinking like what if neil never even had that chat with his father what if he made it all up JUST so that keating would stop worrying and he can do the play for one last time

it might just be my stupid ass not understanding that everyone knew he lied but ive never seen anyone talking about it

but my hot take is that neil never actually talked to his father and he actually went against his father wishes TO PERFORM ONE LAST TIME IN THE PLAY and then killed himself

sorry if some of this doesnt make sense i learn english by exposing myself to social media at least 12 hours a day

[sketches4mysw33theart]

What Careers Did The Poets Have When They Grew Up?

✌️ Charlie

Not in any universe can you convince me that Charlie became a banker. He would definitely have rebelled against his parents and found a way to do his own thing. I can see him following in Keating's footsteps and becoming a teacher, maybe a university lecturer rather than high school as students have more freedom there. Alternatively, he could have gone down a more Bohemian path, and become a writer or an artist - I think he could write sci-fi books, even screenplays for comedic shows/films, or get heavily involved in the Pop Art movement of the '60's, like Andy Warhol. I can imagine him starting his career like this and then going on to become a teacher.

🙈 Todd

I would love to see Todd become a therapist or a councillor as an adult. Considering his own struggles growing up, and also Neil's, I think he'd want to rectify those mistakes of his past by supporting the kids of the future - maybe he'd pioneer having councillors in private schools, because Lord knows he could have done with one. On the other hand, Todd's confirmed talent combined with his anxiousness could lead him to becoming a reclusive poet either. Unlike Knox (more on him later), Todd wouldn't have a 'normal' job that he abandons to focus on his poetry - poetry would be his life, and he would spend every hour writing it, even if he never sold a single piece, a la Vincent van Gogh (Keating would 100% buy anything he put out though).

🧍‍♂️Pitts

Please, God, let this man become a radio show host. Sure, he's shy, but he's clever and he's dedicated. He co-designed and made a radio with Meeks; once it was working they connected 'Radio Free America', and the boy was thrilled. So, I can see him getting on some 'pirate radio' or 'free radio' station in the Summer of Love in the 60's, broadcasting illegally and secretly. If being a radio personality doesnt work out, I think he would become a scientist of some kind, creating new inventions and trying to make lives better.

🤓 Meeks

I'm visualising Meeks as an archaeologist. I love the idea of this guy on a dig, dusting off discoveries, and using his ace language skills to translate whatever's found on them. I think that kind of career would excite him and put all his education and passions to good use. Failing that, he could easily turn his back completely on the education and values that were instilled in him, and 'seize the day' following Keating's influence - I envision him in a band in the 60's/70's. There were plenty of instruments at Welton, so I'm sure Meeks picked up a thing or two about guitar or drums, and he has plenty of time to hone his skills in time for the rock boom - personally, I see him as a drummer since drummers have to keep time, essentially staying in charge of the music.

❤️ Knox

Knoxious has a romantic mind and a unique drive, and I can see him putting that to good use as a poet. He's the only one of the group we see who consistently writes poetry throughout the film, and I think he'd maintain and cultivate that passion in secret throughout his school days and beyond. Of course, poetry doesn't exactly rake in the dollars so, I can see him becoming a lawyer fresh out of school, as expected of him from his parents. However, he would do this only for 10 - 20 years so he can save up plenty of money and start putting his poetry out into the world, and then eventually turn his back on law to focus on his art full time.

📚 Cameron

This boy would be the only one to make Welton proud. He'd become something that all the kids parents wanted them to be - a doctor, or a lawyer, or a banker. Something smart and safe and practical, just like him.

And Neil became a famous actor and lived happily ever after, the end, bye

[gayelderstourney]

Could we see some of the ships that have been rejected? I'm honestly more curious abt what has been submitted and deemed unworthy than what's been accepted lol

Most of the rejections have just been that I don't like the source material and/or I think its fans are annoying and I don't want them potentially getting far in MY tournament. Like I think a bunch of poll blog runners have different opinions on this but I do think its within my rights to have my personal biases when making my bracket and I've already had success with this methodology twice before.

For example: the guys from good omens were submitted a lot. I considered putting them on the bracket but decided against it just because I find them annoying and one neil gaiman thing is enough. I also got submissions for some guys from supernatural that I rejected for the same reason. (I was on tumblr in 2014)

Professor X/Magneto from X-men was going to be on the bracket but there was a yuri x-men ship also submitted (destiny/mystique) and I decided to go with that instead, and took x/magneto out because it would violate my one ship per media rule

Kya/Lin from LoK almost made it (even though I will never watch it and i like to pretend it doesnt exist) until I looked it up and found out they literally didnt interact at all and also Lin is a cop. I think this is the one I replaced with destiny/mystique

Nyx/Persephone from hades would probably have made it in if the characters in that game werent wildly yassified. a few yuri couples on the final bracket have weird aging shenanigans going on too but Nyx always looks like a supermodel

There was an *actual* old man yaoi ship from disco elysium submitted (again, harry and kim are in their 40s and not eligible) but I just think people need to turn off their shipper brain regarding that game in general

These are just a few examples, I had over 400 submissions and a lot of them were "rejected" just because I thought they would have absolutely no chance

[findafight]

i apologize in advance for the loooooong ask lol (and no pressure about replying if u dont wanna haha) but i saw ur post in the billy hargrove tag and thought it was an interesting character analysis! im a billy fan but im inclined to agree with most of what u said, and i think it's also interesting to compare him and max to zuko and azula. one thing i wanted to comment on tho is when u said "He's also just a racist asshole that has all the means to not be one and doesn't use them or ever feel bad about it."

i just wanted to offer an argument for that point, bc we see that billy's been abused since he was a kid and watched his mom be abused before him, and we also see neil throw slurs at billy, so it's not farfetched to believe his dad spouted racist shit around him too. he also still lives with his dad, and we see in their argument before billy goes to fetch max that billy's safety at home can depend largely on agreeing with and repeating what his dad says.

seeing as how his mom left, how susan doesnt stick up for him (doesnt she even avert her eyes when neil backs him up against his wall?), and how other older women seem to objectify and sexualize him, it also seems like he doesnt have any other adult support in his life--especially not at home where he's supposed to be safe. i would say all of that points to him not having *any* means at all to not be racist, esp considering that his safety might depend on whether or not his dad hears the wrong thing about who he (and max, since his dad seems to put the onus of her actions onto billy's shoulders) might be hanging out with.

he's not in an environment to recognize that racism is bad, and in fact i think it's an environment that teaches him by implicit threat that being racist might actually be something that could help him feel safe, if only bc it means his dad wont have one more thing to come after him about. what means does he have to stop being racist, when he doesnt seem to have external adult support? why would he feel bad about being racist when that mindset might offer him some form of safety? considering all that, i think it's actually surprising he doesnt throw any slurs at lucas (im not applauding this, just observing), esp when put together with how billy himself gets called the f-slur by his father. the importance of words and what you choose to say and what not to say, etc etc.

obviously racism is bad, and im not arguing against his actions *being* racist, i just think that saying he has the means to not be racist isnt entirely accurate. it would be like saying azula has the means to be a good sister but she doesnt use them or ever feel bad about it. that would be an unfair statement when considering how both she and zuko were raised to be pitted against each other, and she had something more to lose by being seen as the more powerful/superior/better sibling by their father. furthermore, the only kind adults in her life have left her with her father for various reasons (her mother & iroh). i dont think she had the means to be a better sister/person, nor would she ever have the need to feel bad about it, because she wasnt raised to look for the means or question why she would want them, if she even knew they existed. the same can be said about billy & his racism. i dont think he could even *start* to have those means, let alone use them, until he starts properly healing in a place he feels safe.

idk, just something to think about i guess. i hope this doesnt come off rude, this is meant as genuine discussion. 😅 people tend to look at billy's scene with lucas, pronounce him racist, and call it a day without considering the context he grew up in, and the fact that racism doesnt come from nowhere--it is always, always something you learn. billy literally says this to max: "i'm older than you, and something you *learn* is that there are a certain type of people in this world that you stay away from." sure he mightve just picked up racism from school or society or something, but with the context of his father at home and how aggressive billy gets with lucas in a similar way to how his dad just got aggressive with him, it makes you wonder how billy might have *really* learned that lesson.

anyways, i dont think he has the means to stop being racist all of a sudden, all by himself, and it seems unfair to blame him (from a narrative standpoint; lucas & his friends, however, have every right to go off lol) for something he cant necessarily choose to improve in his life when he's still living with his bigoted abuser. we dont know if he ever feels bad about it or not--we never see it on-screen but things between him and max certainly change enough for her to try desperately to save him in s3 where she's still (sorta-kinda) dating lucas, so i assume there was some kind of calm-down there, plus billy and max's relationship got to a point where max grieved him *so hard* she got targeted by vecna--but he definitely doesnt really have the means to choose not to be racist. i dont think he thinks he *can* choose this, nevermind discussing whether or not he could and chooses not to.

that being said, i do agree about how he didnt really have a proper redemption arc, or any chance at healing at all. sorry again for the long ask; im sending it cuz im genuinely interested in a good faith discussion. you said you didnt necessarily like billy but found his relationship with max interesting, and you said so on a post about healing & redemption. ive always found that billy's healing & redemption are intrinsically tied to his upbringing and his abuse at home, and i find that his racism is an extension of that in a way people dont acknowledge when making their broader points--instead saying that either the people who sympathize with his home life are excusing the racism, or the people who are naysaying his racism are excusing the abuse. theyre tied together, and i found that most of your post looked at billy fairly except for that one point about his racism being something he can choose--like his racism is something separate from his home life--so i thought id just. give it a genuine go. 😅 anyways, hope ur havin a good day!

Hi! So you've got some good points and in that post I didn't really touch on his racism more than the other things because that would be, to me, one of the things easiest for Billy to begin to rectify. Saying he has all the means wasn't correct though because he doesn't, and unlearning bigotry is not an easy thing, especially without support, but not an impossible thing. People can and do change their perspectives or beliefs even in environments where it is punished.

Reading your thoughts I think you are right in that it likely very much is linked to his abuse, in the way his father treats him and Susan's non-action. Him telling max that "you learn" s also interesting and I think does show that Neil encouraged racism and bigotry in general. The only positive interactions with older women he has is grown women sexualizing him, which is unfortunately never examined further in the show, and the only man we only see him interact with is Neil. So. He obviously doesn't have adult support in his life, we don't see him with any teachers but there's only so much they can do too.

However having adult support isn't fully necessary for him to realize his actions were wrong. I think I was sort of looking at how Max has also been in that house with Neil and Billy, and that Billy often does, like you said, emulate Neil or act as an extension of him possibly for his own safety, leading to his abuse of Max and his seeking of power and control in other areas while max pushes against that.

From the flashbacks in S3 showing Billy and max meeting, they look significantly younger, I'd say max was likely eight or so? And Billy about twelve. So Max has been in this situation for possibly about four to six years (considering she consistently calls him her brother, implying she is used to him as her brother not her mom's BF's son), and while we don't know how her mother treated her or allowed her to be treated, it would not be far to say that Max could have also acted and believed the same things as Billy as a form of self preservation like him. But she doesn't? And it could be that her bio dad still influenced her when they were in California, or that Susan did put more effort into protecting Max, or Max's own experiences at school enforcing that Neil was wrong. Idk.

For me, Max threatening Billy into not coming near her friends again could have been a point where he took a long hard look at himself and reevaluated what he was doing. Even without support he could go through that realization, and attempt to be better. He could have realized that max was not his enemy but in fact another frightened and abused kid. That could have been his gateway into breaking the cycle of abuse with max, and we don't see that. Very unfortunate.

And you're right! We don't know what happened between them during the interim of S2/3. For the most part, and I haven't rewatched billy s3 scenes in a while, he seems relatively the same as the start of s2 though. I don't think we ever see them interact until the sauna test and by then Billy is flayed and out of control. So we do not see if any repairs to their relationship were made, or if billy did work to change. I think if he did, the show would have tried to show us that his and Max's relationship was better, even if it was still rocky and that Billy clearly still had some issues(like those with older women). But it did not, and so we are left to assume he didn't change all that much between seasons.

Max has a lot of conflicting feelings for Billy, because she is scared of him but also sees him as her brother. She wants to have a brother she can rely on but doesn't. I don't think her desperately not wanting Billy to be a mind flayer puppet indicates their relationship was better, but that Max does care for him either way. He's her brother, whether or not they get along, and she does not want him to be involved or being manipulated.

When he dies, and max feels guilt for it, I sort of have the opposite interpretation as you. I see her immense guilt and grief from it stemming from the fact that Billy had abused Max, and at some point she likely wished he was gone, out of her life, possibly dead. Because she was a scared abused child. And when he died trying to save her all those feelings of guilt for wishing she never had to see him again compounded with a possible sense of relief that she wouldn't, because now he was gone.

I also think she wanted a positive relationship with him. She wanted to have a brother she could trust, who she didn't want to wish away. So her confusion and relief and guilt for his death are what leave her vulnerable to vecna.

To just touch on billy not saying a slur to Lucas, I am pretty sure it was in the script at some point before being pulled. Possibly because Caleb was young and I thiiiiink it was during the scene he shoves Lucas into the wall, so someone realized doing that combined with calling him a racial slur maybe traumatic especially for a child actor and they cut it.

[garyfischy]

That "actually scott doesnt like kids get media comprehension" post going around is a bit irrelevant considering it casually leaves out that Scott goes back to Knives to ask her to have sex the moment she turns 18. regardless of whether he did that because he genuinely likes kids, or because he's a pathetic lowlife (what was likely intended) , he's still using this person to stroke his own ego and toss her aside once she's no longer needed.

My main gripe with Knives Chau in Scott Pilgrim isn't JUST that she's a kid. Scott tosses her away only to turn around and come back and say "please have sex with me I'm desperate for human connection". That much is true, and it's INTENTIONAL - it's to show what a shitbag Scott is. It's that despite all that, despite the story going "oh wow scott is horrible for treating this teen girl like that!" that she's never actually dealt with in a satisfying way

Like yeah, Scott Pilgrim dates a 17 year old. His friends call him a shitbag. But then Young Neil also dates her, Kim makes out with her, and they let her smoke and drink with them through most of the comic. In the games, there's a cutesy little sprite of her and Kim making out.

So... can we even really call Knives a tool for Scott and co.'s growth when they still treat her completely irresponsibly? We love clowning on Scott for begging a high schooler to fuck him, but his friends pretty much do the exact same?

I'm not saying Scott Pilgrim needs to be a series about morally good adults doing the morally right things and being perfect people. I just feel like Knives Chau doesn't get treated well in any of the adaptations.

Also the part in the anime where they attempt to remedy this by having Scott and Knives have a total therapyspeak conversation where Scott just says "I was completely immature for dating you as a 17 year old, sorry" (without ever having the character growth in the anime necessary for him to even come to that conclusion- i mean he rebounds on knives as soon as she turns 18! cmon!) and she's like "ok ive reflected and grown as a person and my obsession with you is completely unhealthy ^_^" .... I guess it's halfway there, but considering how obsessive she was over Ramona in the comics, she just feels like a different character altogether.

this is unorganized nonsense

[rigginsstreet]

sorry i have to jump in because billy and the narratives treatment of his sexuality is a hot button issue for me l o l

yes, billy absolutely uses his sexuality as a tool to gain the upperhand HOWEVER. its deeply important to unpack why (and i will tie the mindflayer into this since thats the main point of this post)

we know billy sleeps around with girls (because we're TOLD but never actually SHOWN which is a whole thing to unpack in itself but now is not the time), but he never actually shows interest in any of them.

we see him driving vicki (season 2) home and shes far more interested in him than he is in her, he doesnt even look at her the whole scene expect to scold her for calling max his sister. we know in season 3 heather likes him but again, nothing is ever done on his end.

the only female he shows interest in is karen. a grown adult woman (billy is 17 upon their first meeting). and to be VERY clear since this fandom and the duffers like to forget, in season 2 he was only feigning interest to get information on max. this is his face immediately after

but yet we're supposed to by that by the time season 3 rolls around billys super into her enough to ask her to a motel.... sure jan

ANYWAY this brings me to how the narrative punishes his sexuality for not conforming to typical small town 80s ideals.

karen- again, a whole ass adult married woman - does not take any blame for any part of this "relationship". the fandom accuses him of being a homewrecker (he is a child. as of their interactions in season 3 he has been 18 for 3 months. legally an adult? yes. considering karen met him AGAIN AT 17 YEARS OLD... still super gross and if the genders were reversed there wouldve been so much outrage), and the narrative has karen being the one to end things not because she's come to her senses and realized she just barely avoided a statutory rape charge, but because she has a family to consider :/ she's just a sad lonely housewife tempted by the walking sex god freshly graduated from high school what other choice did she have really :/ anyone in her place wouldve been tempted too :'(

and this brings me to the mindflayer of it all

billy is attacked on his way to meet karen, and in a horrifically sexually graphic way (tentacle down the mouth after being dragged down by his ankles screaming)

we see him later in the sauna scene begging to be believed, repeatedly saying "its not my fault" and "he made me do it" which yes we all know is in relation to kidnapping heather and god knows who else but this verbiage also very much falls in line with a response to sexual trauma

and on top of that all we also have the knowledge that billy is being abused by his father since childhood, and the mindlfayer is essentially taking over neils role in controlling billy and playing puppet master (master of puppets you will always be billy hargroves song but again.... not the time)

and then theres the whole aspect of the metaphor for sexual assault + billy becoming infected etc etc

so yes, while billy uses sexuality as a tool for power, its that same sexuality that has been used against him to dehumanize him, villainize him, and take his own autonomy away

speaking of your famous rod phallus theory, what do you think of the gooey tentacle that comes out of the mind flayer's demogorgon mouth in s3? its dripping, oozing, its like the puberty metaphor for s3 but also very phallic and invasive. if the monsters are all manifestations of will's sexuality etc, could this be an additional rod symbol? or symbolic of rape etc? the whole s3 billy villain setup is very evocative of serial killers/rapist/abuser behaviour ('keep quiet' etc).

Hi anon, thanks for the ask!

The Flesh Flayer tentacle strikes me as a possible Alien reference -- very consistent with the sexual horror vibes of the Upside Down, which is also lousy with Alien references.

However, my phrasing in the rod analysis aside, I wouldn't go so far as to say that the monsters are manifestations of Will's sexuality, per se.

Rather, they're manifestations of toxic 80s attitudes towards non-conformist sex -- which has obvious implications for the visibly gay kid, but straight (or "straight") characters deal with sexual horror in this show too:

Nancy had conformist sex with Steve while Barb was left all alone where the Demogorgon could get her -- and was quickly slut-shamed as punishment for drifting away from that conformity in order to investigate what really happened. (To say nothing of the guilt that's been haunting her for four seasons.)

Mike largely manages to avoid the horrors, but I think it's notable that he has a few close calls in S3, all of which are associated with protecting El -- almost as though he's unhappy about performing traditional masculinity for El's sake as sexual maturity looms on his horizon or something, I dunno, I'm sure it's nothing

Billy has sex with a lot of women, but note the homoerotic tension between him and Steve in S2 -- he likes the feeling of power it gives him to sexually intimidate other men. This doesn't necessarily make him queer, mind -- the point is that he views sexuality as a tool for control and power, which makes him a perfect conduit for the horrors.

So yeah, the Flesh Flayer tendril isn't one of Will's rods -- but you're definitely not misreading the phallic symbolism there.

[butchniqabi]

slavery tw, rape tw, and pedophilia tw just thinking on something that i once wrote about and to this day am appalled and angered by

so probably like 5-ish years ago i got so furious with my history textbook's "good slave owner" angle that i willingly wrote an entire paper (which i turned into my teacher to look over) about the dynamics between slave owners and the enslaved. title was "Romanticization of Slave Narratives: Why Slaves Couldn't Consent to Their Masters." looking back it wasnt the most comprehensive but doing the research for it was so fucking miserable because of how ubiquitous the belief that there were good slave owners is. the most fucking anger and rage inducing is the recorded life and depictions of Sally Hemings, a woman owned by thomas jefferson (yes the "i oppose slavery" thomas jefferson who btw at one point owned over 500 people). like the reality of her position and status as an enslaved girl to an increasingly more politically powerful man is so often fucking ignored? theres an instance where jefferson sent for Sally (who i should mention is also his wife's half-sister) to accomopany his daughter to see him in france. at the time slavery was illegal in france, which left a great many idiotic white people to ask "well why didnt she leave? 🤨 if she really didnt want to be with him she would have left and not gone back to america with him". conveniently forgetting that at the time she was 14 years old and returned to the states pregnant.

a child who has spent her entire life enslaved, who now finds herself pregnant is supposed to run away in a foreign country to "prove" that she wasnt okay with being regarded as fucking property? like the narratives around this are so fucking disgusting because so many sites and books and biographies say "was this rape? who knows..." in regards to her "relationship" continuing until his death. but how is it not fucking obvious that it was rape?? we have like. laws and stuff (maybe youve heard of them) where we say that a child cannot legally consent to intimate relations with an adult even if they say they were willing because of the power dynamics at play. a 14 year old supposedly can consent to having a relationship with a man 30 years her senior (who legally OWNS her) that would result in multiple pregnancies and being essentially confined to one room in a house for the rest of her life?

like even IF he didnt legally own her (which shouldnt be ignored considering even if she was an adult at the time he first assaulted her my argument is the same that she could not consent) their dynamics would obviously be considered grooming. she had no fucking agency at any point and the question of "did they love each other" DOES NOT MATTER! it doesnt matter if he loved her or she loved him, because at the end of the day she was his slave! she couldnt actually consent because her safety was no guaranteed if she refused. she also couldnt consent because once again she was a child. white americans want sooooooo desperately for the image of the founding fathers to be squeaky clean and their faults minimized that they just ignore obvious evidence that suggests the contrary. and theyll rewrite history to have people believe that they were good, moral men. did you know that there was a miniseries called "sally hemings: an american scandal" that used to be called "...an american love story"? real great stuff, thanks for that sam neil

like for gods sake the fact that is still to this day even a debate as to whether or not it was consensual is getting tiring because it views consent in this context as just whether or not Sally said "yes" to him. viewing consent as just a "yes or no" situation is 1. an enduring part of rape culture and 2. so incredibly, astoundingly ignorant of the true nature of slavery. many historians and creators of media are so willing to let their adultification bias shape their view of the situation. a white girl in her position would undoubtibly be viewed today as a victim, but a black girl? she was mature enough, surely. and then to add insult to injury she gets victim blamed for not leaving or ending the relationship! god! the misogynoir is astounding really!

the lies white people tell themselves about chattel slavery have just become tiring at this point. how did i, as a black child, have a better understanding of the dynamics of slavery better than a white historian?

(the question is rhetorical, we all know why)

[my-monologues-to-my-brain]

Re reading aftg and im just. Broken. These god damn twins. Neil rightly points out they can barely stand the sight of each other on a good day, but they still fiercely care about each other and only upon re read did it fully hit me. And, boy, did it fucking hit me. These stubborn, traumatized, mean idiots. They would kill for each other and they do, but they dont understand each other one fucking bit and now i cant unsee how easily they couldve given up on each other but refused to.

Andrew cared for Aaron as much as he ever did even when Aaron hated him for keeping his promise: even when Aaron hated Andrew and assumed that he killed Tilda for his own reasons, despite the fact that Andrew had done so to keep the promise he made to Aaron, to protect him. We know how angry Andrew is about that. The first time Neil sees a glimpse of the intesity and fury that Andrew hides behind his indiference is when the twins briefly argue in the stadium and Andrew almost casually confesses to killing Tilda in front of all the foxes. Aaron denies Andrew having done that for him, and when Andrew says that just because Aaron decided to forget about that promise that didnt mean he wasnt going to keep it, and that fuck him for expecting anything else, theres real anger in his eyes. To him its obvious. Hes been clear about it. He keeps his promises, hes brutal not because of some sociopathic inability to care but because he cares fiercely. But Aaron doesnt understand that. Or him. And they dont talk about it. But as much as Andrew despises him for that, he never stops caring.

And Aaron. Boy. Reading the story knowing where we were heading allowed me to see a lot of things i hadnt fully taken in on first read, and Aarons arc is one of the many things that hit different. Hes so sure that his brother not only doesnt care, but is in fact incapable of caring. And it doesnt change a fucking thing. He hates Andrew, but he never gives up on caring for him as fiercely as Andrew cares for him, and it fucking breaks me. Hell of a thing, really. To never fully withdraw, to care that much, with that intesity, all while being so completely certain that it was a one way street. To Aaron, Andrew would never care. Not really. To Aaron, there was no changing Andrew or his sociopathic tendencies. And it didnt change a fucking thing. He made peace with that fact, in a way: knowing that Andrew would never feel their dinamic the way he did, it didnt change the fact that Aaron cared. Through hate and while never shortening the distance between them, he cared. He kills Drake in a way that rightfully mirrors Andrew killing Tilda. And he is one of only people in the entire series to actually look out for Andrew, concerned about Andrew being in danger and not just being a danger to others, which is why he sets to confront Neil to check what is going on between the two. The only other people who we see being aware that Andrew is in fact human enough to be hurt are Wymack, Bee and, of course, Neil. Everyone knows Andrew can physically hold his own in a fight, and most of them do not even consider how someone could hurt Andrew, even after Drakes abuse, and their obliviousness is not there out of malice but its there none the less. Aaron not only cares enough about Andrew to get himself up in his and Neils bussiness (though in a much smarter way than Nicky, who tried to be nossy and almost got stabbed for his troubles cause of course he did), but he also is concerned and suspicious when he learns about their relationship cause he actually thinks of protecting Andrew. Aaron confronts Neil in a purposely cruel way, and he has to know the likelihood of that ending with him being punched by Neil (as he in fact did) and possibly Andrew, hes not dumb, but he goes for it and very especifically evaluates Neils reaction. Aaron does like being a dick to Neil, but thats not something he would just do for the fun of it. He doesnt even need to figure out Neils stand on the relationship in terms of getting Andrew off of his and Katelyns backs: that hinges on Andrews view of the relationship, not Neils. They havent yet fixed their issues, the twins dinamic is still shaky at best, but Aaron not only cares about Andrew, he cares about Andrew in a way barely anyone thinks of caring for him.

They both had enough reasons to give up on each other. They wouldnt drop out of each others lives entirely, they couldnt, being in the same university, in the same team, with promises of sticking with each other until graduation, yet they still couldve given up on every other level. But they didnt.

Why stick with someone who cant be reached?

Why stick with someone who doesnt think theres enough of you to be reached?

I think of Neils words to Kevin. You just need to be more afraid of letting go than you are of holding on.

After all they went through, the twins still knew they didnt want to let go of each other.

Its easy to see strained relationships and just cut ties. Sometimes theres not enough to save. Sometimes distance is the only way to heal. I think of Nicky and his parents. I think of Kevin and Jean. But sometimes theres healing after rock bottom. Sometimes theres enough will on both parties to mend whats broken and build something better. Sometimes theres enough people around you willing to stand with you and remind you of that will. And so we heal.

Somehow, we heal.