#like the whole drama with Neil is one thing

[organizechaoss]

I thought I was over my good omens phase but bro, the leaked images and videos coming out today… boy… I THOUGHT I LEFT

[glimpsesofeuterpe]

oh no i remembered about it and now i feel petty x))

[mollyrealized]

How Michael Met Neil

original direct link [MP3]

(Neil, if you see this, please feel free to grab the transcript and store on your site; I had no easy way of contacting you.)

DAVID TENNANT: Tell me about @neil-gaiman then, because he's in that category [previously: “such a profound effect on my life”] as well.

MICHAEL SHEEN: So this is what has brought us together.

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: To the new love story for the 21st century.

DAVID: Exactly.

MICHAEL: So when I went to drama school, there was a guy called Gary Turner in my year. And within the first few weeks, we were doing something, having a drink or whatever. And he said to me, “Do you read comic books?”

And I said, “No.”  I mean, this is … what … '88?  '88, '89.  So it was … now I know that it was a period of time that was a big change, transformation going through comic books.  Rather than it being thought of as just superheroes and Batman and Superman, there was this whole new era of a generation of writers like Grant Morrison.

DAVID: The kids who'd grown up reading comic books were now making comic books

MICHAEL: Yeah, yeah, and starting to address different kinds of subjects through the comic book medium. So it wasn't about just superheroes, it was all kinds of stuff going on – really fascinating stuff. And I was totally unaware of this.

And so this guy Gary said to me, "Do you read them?" And I said, "No."  And he went, "Right, okay, here's The Watchman [sic] by Alan Moore. Here's Swamp Thing. Here's Hellblazer. And here's Sandman.”

And Sandman was Neil Gaiman's big series that put his name on the map. And I read all those, and, just – I was blown away by all of them, but particularly the Sandman stories, because he was drawing on mythology, which was something I was really interested in, and fairy tales, folklore, and philosophy, and Shakespeare, and all kinds of stuff were being mixed up in this story.  And I absolutely loved it.

So I became a big fan of Neil's, and started reading everything by him. And then fairly shortly after that, within six months to a year, Good Omens the book came out, which Neil wrote with Terry Pratchett. And so I got the book – because I was obviously a big fan of Neil's by this point – read it, loved it, then started reading Terry Pratchett’s stuff as well, because I didn't know his stuff before then – and then spent years and years and years just being a huge fan of both of them.

And then eventually when – I'd done films like the Underworld films and doing Twilight films. And I think it was one of the Twilight films, there was a lot of very snooty interviews that happened where people who considered themselves well above talking about things like Twilight were having to interview me … and, weirdly, coming at it from the attitude of 'clearly this is below you as well' … weirdly thinking I'm gonna go, 'Yeah, fucking Twilight.”

And I just used to go, "You know what? Some of the greatest writing of the last 50-100 years has happened in science fiction or fantasy."  Philip K Dick is one of my favorite writers of all time. In fact, the production of Hamlet I did was mainly influenced by Philip K Dick.  Ursula K. Le Guin and Asimov, and all these amazing people. And I talked about Neil as well. And so I went off on a bit of a rant in this interview.

Anyway, the interview came out about six months later, maybe.  Knock on the door, open the door, delivery of a big box. That’s interesting. Open the box, there's a card at the top of the box. I open the card.

It says, From one fan to another, Neil Gaiman.  And inside the box are first editions of Neil's stuff, and all kinds of interesting things by Neil. And he just sent this stuff.

DAVID: You'd never met him?

MICHAEL: Never met him. He'd read the interview, or someone had let him know about this interview where I'd sung his praises and stood up for him and the people who work within that sort of genre as being like …

And he just got in touch. We met up for the first time when he came to – I was in Los Angeles at the time, and he came to LA.  And he said, "I'll take you for a meal."

I said, “All right.”

He said, "Do you want to go somewhere posh, or somewhere interesting?”

I said, "Let's go somewhere interesting."

He said, "Right, I'm going to take you to this restaurant called The Hump." And it's at Santa Monica Airport. And it's a sushi restaurant.

I was like, “Right, okay.” So I had a Mini at the time. And we get in my Mini and we drive off to Santa Monica Airport. And this restaurant was right on the tarmac, like, you could sit in the restaurant (there's nobody else there when we got there, we got there quite early) and you're watching the planes landing on Santa Monica Airport. It's extraordinary. 

And the chef comes out and Neil says, "Just bring us whatever you want. Chef's choice."

So, I'd never really eaten sushi before. So we sit there; we had this incredible meal where they keep bringing these dishes out and they say, “This is [blah, blah, blah]. Just use a little bit of soy sauce or whatever.”  You know, “This is eel.  This is [blah].”

And then there was this one dish where they brought out and they didn't say what it was. It was like “mystery dish”, we had it ... delicious. Anyway, a few more people started coming into the restaurant as time went on.

And we're sort of getting near the end, and I said, "Neil, I can't eat anymore. I'm gonna have to stop now. This is great, but I can't eat–"

"Right, okay. We'll ask for the bill in a minute."

And then the door opens and some very official people come in. And it was the Feds. And the Feds came in, and we knew they were because they had jackets on that said they were part of the Federal Bureau of Whatever. And about six of them come in. Two of them go … one goes behind the counter, two go into the kitchen, one goes to the back. They've all got like guns on and stuff.

And me and Neil are like, "What on Earth is going on?"

And then eventually one guy goes, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't ordered already, please leave. If you're still eating your meal, please finish up, pay your bill, leave."*

[* - delivered in a perfect American ‘serious law agent’ accent/impression]

And we were like, "Oh my God, are we poisoned? Is there some terrible thing that's happened?"  

We'd finished, so we pay our bill.  And then all the kitchen staff are brought out. And the head chef is there. The guy who's been bringing us this food. And he's in tears. And he says to Neil, "I'm so sorry." He apologizes to Neil.  And we leave. We have no idea what happened.

DAVID: But you're assuming it's the mystery dish.

MICHAEL: Well, we're assuming that we can't be going to – we can't be –  it can't be poisonous. You know what I mean? It can't be that there's terrible, terrible things.

So the next day was the Oscars, which is why Neil was in town. Because Coraline had been nominated for an Oscar. Best documentary that year was won by The Cove, which was by a team of people who had come across dolphins being killed, I think.

Turns out, what was happening at this restaurant was that they were having illegal endangered species flown in to the airport, and then being brought around the back of the restaurant into the kitchen.

We had eaten whale – endangered species whale. That was the mystery dish that they didn't say what it was.

And the team behind The Cove were behind this sting, and they took them down that night whilst we were there.

DAVID: That’s extraordinary.

MICHAEL: And we didn't find this out for months.  So for months, me and Neil were like, "Have you worked anything out yet? Have you heard anything?"

"No, I haven't heard anything."

And then we heard that it was something to do with The Cove, and then we eventually found out that that restaurant, they were all arrested. The restaurant was shut down. And it was because of that. And we'd eaten whale that night.

DAVID: And that was your first meeting with Neil Gaiman.

MICHAEL: That was my first meeting. And also in the drive home that night from that restaurant, he said, and we were in my Mini, he said, "Have you found the secret compartment?"

I said, "What are you talking about?" It's such a Neil Gaiman thing to say.

DAVID: Isn't it?

MICHAEL: The secret compartment? Yeah. Each Mini has got a secret compartment. I said, "I had no idea." It's secret. And he pressed a little button and a thing opened up. And it was a secret compartment in my own car that Neil Gaiman showed me.

DAVID: Was there anything inside it?

MICHAEL: Yeah, there was a little man. And he jumped out and went, "Hello!" No, there was nothing in there. There was afterwards because I started putting...

DAVID: Sure. That's a very Neil Gaiman story. All of that is such a Neil Gaiman story.

MICHAEL: That's how it began. Yeah.

DAVID: And then he came to offer you the part in Good Omens.

MICHAEL: Yeah. Well, we became friends and we would whenever he was in town, we would meet up and yeah, and then eventually he started, he said, "You know, I'm working on an adaptation of Good Omens." And I can remember at one point Terry Gilliam was going to maybe make a film of it. And I remember being there with Neil and Terry when they were talking about it. And...

DAVID: Were you involved at that point?

MICHAEL: No, no, I wasn't involved. I just happened to have met up with Neil that day.

DAVID: Right.

MICHAEL: And then Terry Gilliam came along and they were chatting, that was the day they were talking about that or whatever.

And then eventually he sent me one of the scripts for an early draft of like the first episode of Good Omens. And he said – and we started talking about me being involved in it, doing it – he said, “Would you be interested?” I was like, "Yeah, of course."  I went, "Oh my God." And he said, "Well, I'll send you the scripts when they come," and I would read them, and we'd talk about them a little bit. And so I was involved.

But it was always at that point with the idea, because he'd always said about playing Crowley in it. And so, as time went on, as I was reading the scripts, I was thinking, "I don't think I can play Crowley. I don't think I'm going to be able to do it." And I started to get a bit nervous because I thought, “I don't want to tell Neil that I don't think I can do this.”  But I just felt like I don't think I can play Crowley.

DAVID: Of course you can [play Crowley?].

MICHAEL: Well, I just on a sort of, on a gut level, sometimes you have it on a gut level.

DAVID: Sure, sure.

MICHAEL: I can do this.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: Or I can't do this. And I just thought, “You know what, this is not the part for me. The other part is better for me, I think. I think I can do that, I don't think I could do that.”

But I was scared to tell Neil because I thought, "Well, he wants me to play Crowley" – and then it turned out he had been feeling the same way as well.  And he hadn't wanted to mention it to me, but he was like, "I think Michael should really play Aziraphale."

And neither of us would bring it up.  And then eventually we did. And it was one of those things where you go, "Oh, thank God you said that. I feel exactly the same way." And then I think within a fairly short space of time, he said, “I think we've got … David Tennant … for Crowley.” And we both got very excited about that.

And then all these extraordinary people started to join in. And then, and then off we went.

DAVID: That's the other thing about Neil, he collects people, doesn't he? So he'll just go, “Oh, yeah, I've phoned up Frances McDormand, she's up for it.” Yeah. You're, what?

MICHAEL: “I emailed Jon Hamm.”

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And yeah, and you realize how beloved he is and how beloved his work is. And I think we would both recognise that Good Omens is one of the most beloved of all of Neil's stuff.

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: And had never been turned into anything.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And so the kind of responsibility of that, I mean, for me, for someone who has been a fan of him and a fan of the book for so long, I can empathize with all the fans out there who are like, “Oh, they better not fuck this up.”

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: “And this had better be good.” And I have that part of me. But then, of course, the other part of me is like, “But I'm the one who might be fucking it up.”

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: So I feel that responsibility as well.

DAVID: But we have Neil on site.

MICHAEL: Yes. Well, Neil being the showrunner …

DAVID: Yeah. I think it takes the curse off.

MICHAEL: … I think it made a massive difference, didn't it? Yeah. You feel like you're in safe hands.

DAVID: Well, we think. Not that the world has seen it yet.

MICHAEL (grimly): No, I know.

DAVID: But it was a -- it's been a -- it's been a joy to work with you on it. I can't wait for the world to see it.

MICHAEL: Oh my God.  Oh, well, I mean, it's the only, I've done a few things where there are two people, it's a bit of a double act, like Frost-Nixon and The Queen, I suppose, in some ways. But, and I've done it, Amadeus or whatever.

This is the only thing I've done where I really don't think of it as “my character” or “my performance as that character”.  I think of it totally as us.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: The two of us.

DAVID: Yes.

MICHAEL: Like they, what I do is defined by what you do.

DAVID: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And that was such a joy to have that experience. And it made it so much easier in a way as well, I found, because you don't feel like you're on your own in it. Like it's totally us together doing this and the two characters totally complement each other. And the experience of doing it was just a real joy.

DAVID: Yeah.  Well, I hope the world is as excited to see it as we are to talk about it, frankly.

MICHAEL: You know, there's, having talked about T.S. Eliot earlier, there's another bit from The Wasteland where there's a line which goes, These fragments I have shored against my ruin.

And this is how I think about life now. There is so much in life, no matter what your circumstances, no matter what, where you've got, what you've done, how much money you got, all that. Life's hard.  I mean, you can, it can take you down at any point.

You have to find this stuff. You have to like find things that will, these fragments that you hold to yourself, they become like a liferaft, and especially as time goes on, I think, as I've got older, I've realized it is a thin line between surviving this life and going under.

And the things that keep you afloat are these fragments, these things that are meaningful to you and what's meaningful to you will be not-meaningful to someone else, you know. But whatever it is that matters to you, it doesn't matter what it was you were into when you were a teenager, a kid, it doesn't matter what it is. Go and find them, and find some way to hold them close to you. 

Make it, go and get it. Because those are the things that keep you afloat. They really are. Like doing that with him or whatever it is, these are the fragments that have shored against my ruin. Absolutely.

DAVID: That's lovely. Michael, thank you so much.

MICHAEL: Thank you.

DAVID: For talking today and for being here.

MICHAEL: Oh, it's a pleasure. Thank you.

[gothicafish]

I wake up randomly in the middle of the night so here are some things I love about kevin can fuck himself

-obviously the switch between sitcom and drama pov. It's such a good way to show how Kevin's pov (sitcom) controls the narrative especially in front of other people and how other people don't really see the abuse bc "lighthearted" narrative he pushes that often makes Allison look bad (she's a bad driver, she's not funny/can't take a joke, etc)

-this kinda goes with the last one but how people who have interacted with Kevin treat Allison. Like Sam. When she goes to the diner the night she sneaks out Sam she says she needs to talk because she finally has something to say and as she's trying to vent to him, instead of just listening he tells her that all she wanted was someone to "sit her and nod and agree with you" Like dude obviously she wanted you to LISTEN not you're advice.

-This similar thing also happens with. Diane. When Allison steals the bellecheck hoodie and wears it to work Diane's first question after hearing Allison say it's her new favorite is "has Kevin seen this new look ? ...it's not fair to Kevin...you got lucky" [that she's letting herself go ].

-i also love how they make almost every male character suck at least just a little bit bc yeah it be like that sometimes. For Kevin it's obviously the verbal, emotional abuse/manipulation of not only Allison but everyone in his life, with Sam it's that he's cheating on his WIFE and (imo) very dismissive of Allison's abuse, with Neil it's thay he's mooching off of patty and manipulating people into thinking he's dumber than he is so people will do things for him and he generally just treats Allison like shit, and Chuck (Diane's husband) just a disgusting cheater, the man from the car shop could have gotten Allison assaulted bc she slapped him while she was high. Etc. The only redeemable man i think is Kevin's dad who went along with a lot of Kevin's dumbassery but was ultimately also a victim of Kevin's abuse and did try to remind Kevin to be good sorta.

- I also love how they are able to portray several types of abuse and the reasons why they can't leave/ are in the sitchuation to begun with.

-Allison can't leave kevin bc she has no money (he controls the finances) doesn't have a good relationship with living parents, Diane is in the same situation too. And then IMAGINE trying to divorce kevin?? NIGHTMARE. Not only bc as we've seen he'd never let her do that to begin with but also because if they pushed the divorce the most likely story is that, with Kevin's luck he'd find some kind of loophole that let's him stay with more than Allison.

-Dianes husband is cheating on her and she's able to leave for a few weeks. Bc once again she has no where to go, Chuck probably controls the finances and has sole ownership of their house, I assume has no family to turn to so she goes back and "forgives him" because there are simply no other viable options.

- niel has been using patty to provide basically everything for him and what she doesn't kevin pays for. AND I think she dodged a bullet with the boyfriend.

-even Jenn (sams wife) has been emotionally cheated on for pretty much the duration of their relationship and then fully cheated on for thr latter half.

-OH YEAH I almost forgot the whole reason I made this post. Throughout everything kevin in someway always wins. And dude if you have ever lived with someone like that THATS EXACTLY HOW IT FUCKING IS. no matter what happens to them or if you do or anyone else does something to subtly and inadvertently teach them a lesson they always fucking prevail. People like kevin are the luckiest goddamn people in the world and the only times they're NOT lucky is in situations that also/mostly affect you. It's the most infuriating thing to witness bc despite all your suffering, grievances, and through all the inconvenience and annoyance they cause you they still fucking win at your expense.

-ANOTHER THING a love about this shoe is that it also does a pretty good job of showing the nessecity of female companions as a woman. If you've ever taken a college level English class you've probably heard of this notion before (I'm sorry I can't remember the exact term they use for it rn ) but basically it's a good rule of thumb to have another woman you can talk to and share with. Allison is pretty much completely isolated except for Kevin's friends or Diane or Sam. But when Allison and patty become genuine friends imo she starts finding who she is again and who she could be without kevin. (I think I'm gonna edit this later bc I think ibexplained thay horribly.) And not only that, Tammy with all her expirence in the cj field, despite her jealousy of Allison and multiple confrontations she still believes Allison and completely sympathizes with her.

-one more thing Allison and patty 100% in love. They're literally gonna die old and alone together.

-my own personal headcanon that I think was hinted at in the flashback to when Allison met Kevin. She met patty first and I think patty liked Allison immediately buy Allison chose kevin.

- also one thing I have noticed is if you watch this show with women they clock immediately the subtleties of the abuse (ex. Kevin standing on Allison's pottery barn coffee table and breaking it) but if you watch with a man that kinda goes over most of their heads. Cause like yeah it's just a table. But it's not. It's a POTTERY BARN coffee table that she found on SALE and it's thr nicest thing they own and it's constantly being treated like shit and Allison is always being bullied for buying a cheap table.

[minyard-05]

hi, me again.

neil josten deserves some of the hate and i'm not kidding

CW: abuse, child abuse + neglect, aaron's whole backstory

now, prefacing this by saying: i LIKE neil. i also recognise that he's a complete dick. i am also fully aware that i am the only person who thinks/cares about aaron minyard this much. i ALSO recognise that i have made this post 4 times already but i'm making it again

SO. i present page 236 of TKM

this scene was over the line even for neil

allow me to *cracks knuckles* Explain.

there are two foxes who, i think, would be able to actually somewhat understand what aaron's life growing up with his mother was like, and those two are wymack and renee. wymack grew up with a bad father who hit him and killed his mother, and renee grew up with her mother and her mother's boyfriends, who are all described as being heavy handed. what pisses me off the most about this scene in particular, among other neil & aaron interactions, is that neil implies that aaron could've stood up to his mother and he didn't.

aaron's mother died when he was fifteen. he had no siblings living with him, no dad, and nicky says he got involved with some bad stuff once he got to columbia, all of which points to aaron being almost entirely isolated as a kid. isolated from everyone except for his mother, who was neglectful before she got violent, but even still, that neglect would bear scars of its own. aaron probably had to learn to cook before he was tall enough to reach the kitchen counter. aaron probably had to walk himself home from school when he was too small to see over cars before crossing the road. aaron probably had to lie to his teachers when they asked to call his mother, had to forge her signature on permission slips, had to learn to shoplift young so he could still eat when they didn't have any money. and then he would have to learn how to clean a cut without it getting infected, because he couldn't go to a hospital. he would have to think about long sleeves and baggy shirts to cover up bruises, he would have to learn how to lie quickly if anybody asked why he was limping slightly, he would have to figure out any possible way to keep people from finding out what was happening, because the alternative was that he'd get taken away, and then he'd really be alone. and that's scary. when you're twelve, the prospect of losing your mom is scary. even after everything, he still didn't know what to do without her. he loved her because there was literally nobody else in his life he could love. and he was a kid.

aaron was a kid and he was scared, and 90% of his actions/reactions to things throughout the books are the actions of a kid who didn't get to do anything other than grow up too fast and now he doesn't know what to do. considering the above scene i cited is immediately after Happy Birthday Junior, aaron's reaction (which is directly confronting neil about wtf is going on) is completely justified! because another reminder that all of the trilogy is in neil's first year of PSU, but aaron and the others have been through the aftermath of kevin signing with them (which we know meant a lot of threats, fights, and other bad shit), with the addition of general Fox drama. and aaron has NO idea what's going on. all he knows is that this random kid from arizona seems dead-set on pissing off riko moriyama, one of their teammates is dead, somebody put a dead fox in their car, and now somebody broke into their locker room and filled neil's locker with blood. so, naturally, aaron's asking what the fuck is happening.

ok so now i am not 100% sure where exactly i was going with this, i am still sick and have a very short attention span so my TLDR is this: when aaron punches neil in the corridor after neil talks to katelyn (even though that happened before this), neil kind of had it coming. also i personally believe aaron deserves to punch neil just one more time. he's earned it

[hg-aneh]

You don’t have to answer this but I hope you read it. I just now saw that you wanted to settle things privately and I feel like a dick because

Well. I hope you’re doing alright and that you have lots of warm blankets and all your favorite drinks of choice nearby. ♥️ I was upset on your part. Lots of good vibes to you.

Hey, don't feel bad about it, I know your intentions were definitely not bad with this, and I'm very appreciative of the gesture regardless of how I wanted to handle things personally

What has been bothering me however is the way people are reacting about this being brought up to Neil

I know it can be mortifying to the fandom at large, but sometimes, some people on the internet won't stop or listen to reason unless some higher authority tells them to do so (which, in this case, it would be Neil), and the people who come to those higher authorities are only trying to make things right, it's all!

Also, he's got over a thousand asks on his inbox and he decided to pick this question to answer by his own volition

No one was pressuring him to do so and he's not going to leave the platform or close his askbox because someone gets a bit too personal with him, he's said before that he just deletes asks that make him uncomfortable, which wasn't the case here so that should tell people enough about it in my opinion (you are completely allowed to disagree)

I've also seen people considering this whole thing just "drama"-?

Listen, I know those people are not me and that theyre not in the position I'm currently at, and by God I hope they never EVER will be

But look. I haven't told anyone (besides 2 friends who watched everything unfold very closely and have helped me with receipt-safekeeping) all the details about this situation, nor have I gone out of my way to talk about it fully with anyone or allow myself to process this whole thing completely, but I assure you, it is not just drama

The way the buildup of all of this messed with me almost made me k-ll myself about a month ago

I can see why people would think it's just something silly since they don't have all the details (and I'm not planning on revealing them unless something big comes up), but please, to those people, think of that for a second, think of everything I haven't talked about. Just. Keep that in mind before you call this drama

I'd really appreciate that

[auckie]

Neil gaiman is such a fucking hack. All he does is ride off Terry pratchets coattails, gets. I really hate the word cuck but idk how else to describe the Amanda Palmer situation. Cucked by women and regurgitates that into flat one dimensional characters. Queer baits and panders to trashy online YA level drivel types. He’s the definition of the word fandom. If men like his garbage they’re always the kind of guy who has a beard and lets you know he has a beard. He probably owns a kilt despite not being remotely Scottish. Funko pop owner for sure, has a mini tardis and probably that dr who scarf. A pentagram tattoo, maybe some runes.

And like. Neil gaiman is a capable writer do not get me wrong. But his idea of creative writing is theorizing about how the afterlife is all bureaucracy bc that’s never been done by a bitter atheist. It’s always secularly Christian too isn’t it? I mean i guess that’s what he knows.

So im saying this knowing that he’s not solely responsible for it, really, and having read the comics and not enjoyed them at all but continued to have done so out of some weird sense of obligation, I’m very angry to admit that I’m enjoying the stupid Netflix production of dead boy detectives. It is absolutely a mishmash of other similar cw-type shows, but that’s just the thing. I eat that shit up. Riverdale, Sabrina, teen dramas with obnoxious editing and low brow production value. I even liked the second season of good omens despite like, hating a solid 40% of the secondary character and plot direction. It’s sorta like eating little Debbie cakes yknow? Or binging reality tv.

DBDA is better than all that, like it’s a crust above but it’s wrapped in the trappings of really shitty things, and whenever it manages to be a bit better it’ll sink a smidge lower by referencing its ilk or doing exactly what you’d expect of it.

Whenever I see the ‘two skinny whitish boys with obvious sexual tension and an annoying women in the middle’ I stop and ask myself— does this writer have a track record of making the same dynamic.

An obnoxious woman is not a bad thing. She can be a good thing even, but if she’s a mirror image of a million other toxic characters that indicates two things: projection, or a formula. Especially when paired between two male characters that clearly interact in ways that urge the audience to say ‘they should kiss!’

Then she becomes an obstacle. It’s rare for a character in this role to rise above the narrative, and even rarer for authors to try and write one capable of that.

A lot of fans will see people hating on her and cry ‘misogyny!’ Instead of asking why she was written, and why hundreds of other past iterations and future clones of her continue to be written. A similar character is the empty lesbian who stands in both popular media and fanfiction to prove that the author is not just obsessing over gay men and throws a bone to the supposed lesbian audience as well.

And then you have the flat poc or other LBT, sometimes disabled characters who serve to act as a tick mark off a checklist. It’s lazy, it’s annoying. But that’s a whole different can of vaguely related worms

[littlemisspascal]

24 for 2024

As 2024 comes to an end and I see all these posts from mutuals summing up their triumphs and challenges of their year, it started making me think about what these last twelve months have been like for me. And like all of y'all, 2024 definitely had impacts of positives and negatives! So here are 24 things that came to mind:

I decided to go back to school for a new career opportunity. Starting January 6th, I'll be taking my first classes for court reporting/voice writing 😊 I'm both nervous and looking forward to this new adventure!

I saw several fun and great movies this year--Deadpool and Wolverine, Wicked, Gladiator 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 to name a few.

I also watched a ton of great documentaries that I've meaning to check out over the past few years--Icarus, Free Solo, My Octopus Teacher, too many to count--and I'm super excited to check out more next free chance I get!

My favorite F1 driver Lando Norris not only finished first place for his first time in a race this season, but he went on to finish 2nd overall in the rankings and my heart couldn't be prouder for him 🧡

On the same F1 note, my team McLaren won the Constructors Championship for the first time since 1998 😱

There were several massive moments of family drama through the year, each more shocking than the last if you can believe it, but I like to think we'll all hopefully enter 2025 on a closer note and manage to overcome the struggles bit by bit.

Had some health scares throughout the year for my family. Scary heart issues, scary lung issues, scary hospital visits...but we got through it all and we're going to try to make 2025 our healthiest year yet!

The death of Liam Payne tore a massive hole in my heart. One Direction kept me from suicide during my high school years and each of those boys will always mean the world to me 💗

I met several of my favorite celebrities this year at cons--David Tennant, Lenore Zann, Patrick Warburton, Alan Tudyk, Catherine Tate, Adam Savage, Tem Morrison, Neil Newbon, and Giancarlo Esposito--and also got another photo with Tyler Hoechlin looking just as gorgeous as the last time I saw him!

Tried out new cosplay this year--Ahsoka's white outfit from her series, Rogue from X-Men, and a cute Peter Pan outfit as well. Actually felt a little more confident than my previous 0% 😁

A year of firsts! I finished my first ever Lego kit this year of a F1 McLaren car. I finished my first ever escape room for my sister's birthday. And I also finished first place in a scavenger hunt and won a pumpkin carved like the Mandalorian.

Found out I'm allergic to gluten, so I've been sticking to a gluten-free diet nowadays and 2025 will be an entirely gluten-free year.

Seeing the eclipse this year was amazing!

I had an emotional breakdown this year over my writing, came very very very close to deleting everything, but slowly dug my way out of the pit one word at a time. My relationship with writing is still a fragile thing, but a sentence a day is still progress and I'm trying my best. That's what matters most :)

More on writing cuz why not. Wrote a total of 43k words (a whole lot less than last year, but oh well) but even more surprising, my Marcus Acacius fic received more kudos than anything I've written since 2022 omggggg y'all thank you for the support!!

Introduced my mom to MySims and Pokémon on the switch. Slowly but surely creating a video game addict lol

Stayed up literally 48 hours with my sister playing the original Zoo Tycoon on my laptop and creating the most perfect zoo in existence. Exhaustion hit hard afterwards, but at least the guests were happy!

So much gorgeous and wonderful Pedro content--from award ceremonies to new movies + casting announcements to photoshoots and dancing sessions. The fandom just kept winning every month!

Made a web weaving for the anniversary of my fic Infinity Cube. I don't often feel proud about a lot of my attempts of creating stuff, but this little thing I actually think turned out pretty cool 😊

Bought so much Lady and the Tramp stuff oh my gosh--backpacks, a wallet, a giant stuffed animal, a Christmas ornament, little ceramic figurines hidden at the bottom of an antique store bin. I love it all ✨

Hit 5,000 followers on here. Like, what 😮 that's insane! I'm a shy porcupine who barely knows any social skills!! Thank you everyone who puts up with my sporadic posts and ramblings, it's appreciated more than I can ever say!

Everyone who liked, reblogged, kudos, and/or commented on my fics or video edits---thank you thank you thank you x a million!

Everyone who patiently waits for and supports my sporadic updates of the Pedro Library---thank you also x a million!

And finally, if you've made it all the way down here, I hope 2025 is full of kind moments for each and every one of y'all. I hope there's days full of adventures and joy and trying new things and meeting new people and petting animals and eating delicious food and making the world a little bit more of a sweeter place overall 💙

[stormcrow513]

Hey been awhile,

Around a year ago I wrote a vent post about how the crappy neighbors were moving out and king fuckface decided to take one last crap on us,

He'd had some guy mow down all their weeds then he walked around spraying poison aka weed killer all over the whole property,

which do to dickery and bribes to town counsel might as well be planted in my backyard,

The only space I can let my dogs pee,

I am so fucking sensitive to poison I got sick, ma got sick all my dogs were sick,

Bailey my oldest beautiful girl looked like it was going to kill her,

I ranted on here poured my grief and hate out,

Some of y'all saw me sent love back to me and prayers for my Bae,

And she started kicking it she was recovering,

I updated y'all and you were glad to hear it,

one of you even dm'd me later to ask if she was still recovering and I'd been able to reply a happy positive,

Which is why I felt like I had to come on here and let you know

Bailey died today,

And to thank you again for those prayers

I got one more year with her,

She was so amazing she stole one of my mas stuffed bears after like a day with us and would suck on it, she then stole two more, and would not except any additional bears we tried to give her, nope those were here three she stole them herself,

I taught her to jump into my arms,

She watched me squint at the TV and then started squinting her eyes at me,

She would get pissed off if you called her a dog, she was not a dirty dog she was a fur person

I could go on forever,

She was a tough fucking bitch we had to put her down because she absolutely refused to go,

she was fighting death every step,

I'm sure Deaths down a few fingers dragging her across the rainbow bridge while she claws and screams every obscenity I ever taught her,

While I have you,

some of you might remember me talking about the three sibling cats I'd gotten as kittens how the brother Ares had passed in 2019 then Shy decided to go out on the same day as the queen as was Shy right little Drama Queen,

Then it was just Mittens and she started to go down hill was losing interest in food so we got her a kitty I named Circe,

Well Mittens spited herself back to health cause fuck you kitten, and managed kept going through to the beginning of this year and then she just couldn't go on, she curled up in the worst fucking spot so I had to frag her body out after feeling that she was gone,

Like I said absolutely a spiteful shit,

I miss her so much, she loved being held like a baby, she acted more like a dog then a cat, she liked to sit on my shoulder, I have a scar on my shoulder where she got a claw stuck in it one time,

and she loved it when I had long hair shed get up high behind me after I'd showered and comb my hair with her claws,

As I was showering off the pee and poop after cleaning up,

I thought about writing this and ending it here with some kinda sign off,

but as I sat there my mind turning with the sear bullshit that not just this week but my entire fucking life's been,

My brain turned and raged,

You know I love animals way more then I like humans, while I do feel love and empathy towards humanity there are days like today where it's a hard thing and an easy thing,

because I read about Neil Gaiman sexualy assaulting women yesterday which makes me so sick,

But the vet that put down Bailey was so fucking kind,

I joke to people that I was raised by dogs,

It's not really a joke,

My ma has been the only human to truly love me,

My sperm donor Dennis is an absolute abusive joke of a human being whose still fucking alive and I have to live with him

My oldest sister is dead and while I think she loved me a bit she never watched out for me

And my second sister beat me, raped me, gaslit me fucking constantly, the real deal not the way people incorrectly use that word, and almost killed me a lot,

Ma worked constantly, still does, she is only now (as I'm beginning to talk about things) finding out just how often I was left to my own supervision,

But Lady and Tramp

And yes we had two dogs named Lady (German shepherd) and Tramp (husky/wolf)

They, took care of me Tramp even more reared me like I was his own,

I tussled and played with their puppies, grew up beside them

Watched Lady die when I was 7,

Rusty one of their babies my big brother ma and I buried together when I was 5 After Dennis threw rat poison around the house to kill the mice and killed Rusty

I watched Corky die and then Trampy and Sammy and then Rusty and Sammy's boy Socks

They were my family

Every dog and cat I've had has been my family,

And thinking about them all today

Thinking about this world we're all living in,

Something I want to say

There is no overarching Justice

No grand moment where evil men or women are struck down by righteous gods

Maybe that shit happened or maybe they were stories I don't fucking know I wasn't alive back then I'm alive now

And now, there are no saviors

There is just me, just you

And the choices we make

Martin Luther King Jr said something about how the long arch of history bends towards justice,

But he and people like him bent it towards justice with their bare hands and their very lives,

All we have achieved for justice for equality have been done by mortal living hands

And we cannot fucking give up

Don't listen to those people telling you it's hopeless that the world is evil

The world is beautiful

The stars, the rainbows, the thunder and lightning, the frogs so small they can sit on a finger nail, the mountains, mouse, geese, the castles and pyramids the things our ancestors created, ect

Hell the bit of plastic and wires and weird rock you are reading this on, isn't that cool,

Yeah there's downsides to it we need to figure out how to do it better,

We need to figure out how to do it better.

All of it.

And we will,

because we always do.

So don't listen to the people that say to give up that it's to late,

Just because they've given up doesn't mean you have to

I'm hurting I'm going to hurt for the rest of my life,

But I would not take a minute of it back not a moment,

My life has been full of pain but also full of love,

I wanted to die for a time, a long time,

But there is so much in this world to love,

I want to live,

I want to keep falling in love over and over again,

In love with animals,

the ones I adopted into my family

ones a half a world away,

Fucking platypus the most animal to animal,

The rain every fucking time it hits my roof or my head,

I hope I'll get a chance to fall in love romantically one day but I'm ok if I don't there's so much else to love,

And I'm going to fight The Fight for the rest of my life because all these things I love are worth fighting for,

I'm not in a position right now to do the things I want to but,

I can do some things,

I can do ofwoodandbones lost dog spell to help strangers get their lost pets back, which I've successfully done more then once,

I collect cans and recycle

I pour stale water out on plants rather then down the drain,

I planted a bunch of plants in my backyard bees fucking love

I vote, I vote smart and don't throw my vote away for a false sense of moral superiority,

So

Find something to love to love it hard and do what you can to protect it,

Doesn't matter what,

Everything matters,

Love shit, protect it,

Don't give up,

To all y'all who are my allies in The Fight,

May the great Titan Witch light your way, may you find your path or make one, may you love and be loved, may your body be strong enough to hold your spirit

[what-gs-watching]

"You guys are like a dead married couple on acid."

Y’ALL, I watched Dead Boy Detectives. Which really, should come as no surprise. Because of the whole Neil Gamain thing. But also because that kind of weird is right up my alley.

I have to say, I’m absolutely loving this trend of teen-shows-with-absolutely-wild-shit-happening. This was not a thing when I was younger, and I thoroughly appreciate it. Why did I only have Dawson’s Creek and Sabrina the Teenage Witch and fucking Boy Meets World? Don’t get me wrong, I love all of those but what I really would have benefited from was teen drama with fucked up situations. Gen Z is kind of lucky I guess? (LOL jk except for the entire state of the world, but at least they get good shows…)

Wherein two teenaged ghosts form a detective agency to help solve cases for other ghosts that would otherwise go ignored, while running from death lest they be forced into the afterlife and separated, making friends with a psychic and other humans along the way. 

The thing is, you gotta let go with this show. It gets INCREDIBLY weird and you have to roll with it. Edwin’s death by accidental satanic sacrifice? Sure. Crystal the psychic purposely letting a demon possess her? Okay yeah. A supernatural entity that controls all cats in a small town, ridiculously named the Cat King? Harder to swallow, but I guess. A literal crow that gets turned into a boy who loves astrology? Confusing but, go on.  Incredibly aggressive and vulgar sprites eventually locked up in a jar? Actually, that’s hilarious I’m good with that. 

Truly, it’s absurd. And surprisingly violent. But also, and again no surprise, I was all about the underlying subtext between Edwin, who died in 1916, and his relationship with Charles, who died in 1989. I will always get behind a decades long ‘will they won’t they’ even if it’s between ghosts. Because I’m a fucking sucker for boys maybe being in love. And the entire trope in general. I love love, gang, even if it’s surrounded by horrible things happening. Maybe even more, if it is? I’m not sure what that says about me, but I’m WITH it. 

Also there is a TON going on in this show, they cover an incredible amount in 8 episodes. I always appreciate shows that can carry an overall storyline and smaller ones in a good balance. Monster of the week slash lore smushed together is always so satisfying. 

I’ve seen some reviews talking about the acting being less than stellar but like, they’re supposed to be kids. Everything is dramatic to kids. Who cares? They carried it as best as they could, and there isn’t anything really that stuck out to me as absolutely cringe worthy. Yeah they look older than they’re meant to but again, who cares. Let go, people. 

AND how excited was I to see the actress that played Rowena in Supernatural as the Night Nurse? Absolutely perfect choice. If they get another season I can’t wait to see her relationship with the boys grow. 

Thinking about it, maybe I like teen dramas that are absolutely not grounded in reality because it’s easier to stomach the allegories they want you to, that way. Edwin learns to confront his feelings, both about Charles and with the kid that inadvertently caused his death. Crystal struggles with her memory and the person she used to be versus the person she wants to be. Niko has to figure out how to have friends again after becoming a shut-in. Charles struggles with memories from his life and feeling powerless, choosing to paper a happy face over it instead. Jenny has to confront her distrust of literally everyone and her fear of love (even if that went  horribly wrong). 

I don’t want to be beaten over the head with life lessons (I still haven’t finished Dawson’s Creek, it’s just too much to take sometimes) but I WILL absorb them while characters fight off horrible witches and try to defeat sea monsters. Ya girl clearly needs to be tricked into learning things. Don’t we all? Isn’t it better that way?  

I mean, you’re still getting force fed those slightly saccharine sentiments, for sure, but it’s easier  to swallow.  Gimme a little bit of spice with that sweet, please. 

The point is: this show is adorable. Can a show that’s about ghosts and witches and general supernatural fuckery be adorable? I don’t care, it totally is. And it slightly quenched my unending Good Omens thirst for like, a minute, and that’s obviously incredibly hard to do. 

So, I’m here for it. Gimme more Dead Boys.

[xx-narcissa]

just finished ‘kevin can f**k himself’

well i finished it a few days ago but i had to really let it marinate in my head.

overall, 7/10. i would recommend it if you like drama series or whatever. honestly idk what to compare it to because i think the show is very unique in the directing style but if anybody knows a show or movie similar to it then please let me know and hopefully i’ll be able to check it out.

more detailed review + spoilers below

okay so first impressions i really did not expect the rest of the show to go the way that it did but it was very interesting, although i will say the ending seemed rushed but im assuming that was due to the network and not necessarily the shows team.

i had a love hate relationship with allison. and by that i mean every time i started to like her she did something to make me hate her again😭 definitely i tried to be sympathetic of her situation and how it may make her act but she was still annoying at times and definitely if it weren’t for patty she would have gotten herself into a lot of trouble.

also i want to make sure i mention the directing style (if that’s what it’s called). the transitions from sitcom to drama were so great and honestly chilling. and it’s so fitting for how real life is. obviously not exactly but we all know at least one person where it’s like whenever they’re around they become the main character of some strange sitcom that’s all about them and the problems they make and how everyone else has to clean up behind them and their mistakes. if you don’t know anybody like this then i envy you because these people are draining 😭

but back to the actual contents of the show, patty definitely was my favorite character even from the very beginning. i also began to like neil in the latter half of the second season, where he finally began to realize kevin is not a true friend and wouldn’t care if he lives or dies. i think if the writers/producers had even just a little more time then they could have fleshed out that plot line even more, especially throwing peter into it as well and showing how everyone was slowly distancing themselves from kevin rather than just walking out and ghosting him, as we saw through allison’s struggles it’s not that easy whether you are a spouse, family, friend, partner, whatever.

i liked tammy and i liked her relationship with patty, trust i’ll almost always like a wlw relationship (as long as it’s not immoral in any way). however she was the same as allison in my eyes, where i have that love hate relationship with her. i appreciated that she cared for patty and made patty feel heard but i felt like tammy overstepped her boundaries way too often, just showing up and trying to push patty out of her comfort zone all the time. it’s healthy to encourage people to face their fears and whatnot but i think she just came off as pushy or possessive at times, especially when it came to allison. i understand she viewed allison as a bad influence but i don’t get why she felt so entitled to ‘protect’ patty. patty is a grown woman who has known allison for 15 years, so it was just crazy to me that tammy felt like she could come in and tell allison to stay away from patty as if she would understand their dynamic at all. and yes ik that patty and allison weren’t friends those 15 years but im still just trying to make the point that tammy was the outsider (and a fucking cop so did she really expect patty and allison to tell her every single thing all the time) so she really had no place acting that way in my opinion. she was also very rude with the whole “i don’t like you you’re not my friend” attitude. like no need to lie and sugarcoat it but you can at least fake it till you make it.

anyways enough about that i just felt a bit strongly about that point, mainly bc wlw representation is so hard to come by so i just get a bit upset when it doesn’t work well.

honestly idk why but i expected patty and allison to get together. i’m glad they didn’t though, i think they work better as friends. but also i couldn’t really understand allison’s motives at times. sometimes it felt like she was being purely selfish and treating everything like a transaction (not just with patty but with sam, diane, neil, and even kevin at times) but other times it seemed like she genuinely cared and wanted to help (mostly with patty but a little with diane and sam too). it was easy to tell that patty was genuine with allison and actually cared for her but i just could never tell if it was reciprocated so if anybody wants to give their two cents on that i’m all ears.

i wont even get into sam because i’ll get mad. all i’ll really say is i did not like his dynamic with allison at all. this is again where i could never tell if she was just selfish or actually cared about him (but with him im leaning more towards just being selfish). especially when he brought up that everything that they do it’s because she wants to. so yknow it’s whatever but i didn’t like it and this relationship contributed a lot to my dislike of allison as a main character.

i wont really get into pete or kevin either. pete is pretty one dimensional the whole time (in my opinion). and kevin was very one dimensional until we are able to see more into his destructive and manipulative side in season two, but even then there’s not much to work with until the very end (but like i said the ending needed more work so im trying not to touch on the subject too much).

i liked diane. i was confused at first bc i didn’t know that she was allison’s aunt so their relationship confused me. in the second season i definitely felt for her. the whole thing with neil caught me off guard but i guess they were both hurting or whatever. she was a fine character, not too remarkable but i didn’t hate her.

so overall, my main criticism would be the characters need work. not that they are ‘bad’ or poorly written or anything, i just don’t see any of them as necessarily relatable or likable except for patty (but that’s my opinion and you may have a different one!). and ofc i know that not every story needs to have relatable and likable characters but i think that it helps you hook and maintain an audience.

but i think that that issue definitely is squashed by the great story and direction. idk the circumstances of the show, if it was always meant to be two seasons or if they got cut short idk. if they made a third season i honestly don’t know what else they could have had happen so while i think the ending could have been fleshed out more, i don’t think there was a need for another 8 episodes. THAT BEING SAID, i did love what we were given. as mentioned earlier i loved the contrast between sitcom and drama where not only did the show change cinematically but also the characters in the scene changed the way they acted depending on if kevin was present and i think that that was super interesting and a very unique concept that i personally have never seen before. the plot line could use a couple tweaks here and there but i am no show runner or script writer so please take that sentiment with a grain of salt.

okay, this review is long enough. bye now drink water be safe and ladies carry pepper spray and maybe learn a self defense move or two 🫡

[dayurno]

I will say that I have a severe bone to pick with ao3 Neil but specifically with Raven!Neil and other similar Canon divergence fics in which people cannot write him in the Nest/in proximity to Riko without turning him into either Kevin or Jean, both in terms of personality and plot beats/importance. We could be having a real conversation about what that universe would actually be like and how a different upbringing would affect the Neil we know and instead Im out here being tricked into reading All For The Game 2: without all the parts I like edition

100% AGREE WITH YOU ON THIS!!!!!!! my thing with most raven!neil aus is that often his personality goes entirely unchanged, and it puts him in a position where, like you said, he becomes kevjean's weird divorce kid. to me, when an author writes the same personality in a different setting for raven!neil, it feels so... shallow?! easy?! truly almost lazy. i think a nathaniel who was brought up to be the butcher's sucessor would be so different from the neil who was raised by mary on the run they would be entirely different characters. i think the neil we know would be changed in irreversible ways by being raised as the butcher's first son, and his personality would be closer to riko's than most aftg fans i feel would be comfortable acknowledging

for me the fun part of raven!neil is the way neil would rock perfect court dynamics if he was raised as nathaniel. riko and kevin would not have been as close if nathaniel was there with them; i don't think nathaniel would take kevin's place so much as he would be in a position where he, as a first son and the direct sucessor of the butcher, would be in somewhat of an equal footing with riko inside the perfect court (but never outside of it, let it be clear). in a situation like this i don't even think kevin and nathaniel would have become friends — i think kevin would have still left and nathaniel would have been the number one hound dog trying to get him back, going way further than jean did in the books to make sure kevin is back where he belongs. actually now that i'm thinking of it i think nathaniel would be pretty close to how andrew is in the first book, which would be very interesting to see :)

jean's life would remain horrible either way. i don't think nathaniel would ever be his anchor so much as he would've been a necessary ally to jean, someone who steps between him and riko because he is in a position to do so and because nathaniel needs jean to keep up with him in court, so in a way that would help jean. i don't know how kevjean's friendship would go in this universe though: would kevin being less close to riko give them more space to be friends or would jean's association with nathaniel push kevin away from the perfect court as a whole? to be perfectly honest, i think kevin and nathaniel would compete to be riko's number two for a long time, and i don't think kevin would win. truly telenovela levels of drama

[foxufortunes]

Having a day, mostly because plotting out the back halves of some fics, where I think about my complicated feelings on how AFTG's main trilogy ended. And I don't mean Riko's death and everything surrounding that and the lack of falling action following that (I'm not a fan, I prefer a long period behind the climax but like, it's an author's choice, it doesn't ruin the series, plenty of my faves also do that) or at least, not entirely that. I mean, not so much the details, but the broad strokes, and in some ways going back to my post and some thoughts about how Riko starts as Kevin and Andrew's antagonist and ends as Neil's, how Nathan feels like an antagonist but is actually just a scary man here for torture and then to be killed off by a guy who's been mentioned a handful of times and never appeared before that moment, and how that's reflected in the order of the third books events even though logic would dictate the torture and murder should be the more serious threat and therefore the climax rather than the game with the mafia brat on live TV and that Andrew is basically Neil's antagonist for the first book.

And because, for some reason, I have to do this whenever I engage with this series in a critical way: I do not hate the series or Nora, this is not hate, I love AFTG, have read it at least a dozen of times and I in fact do not waste time engaging critically with series I do not enjoy. I find engaging with media critically and looking at its good and bads to be a good way to connect with it and improve my own work. If there's room for civilised discussion, great, if you're going to tell me "you're wrong" I don't care, one's personal reading of a series cannot be wrong, simply not the same as yours, go away.

So this is going to be a bit messy, so bear with me, but I always find it interesting that the torture and potential murder of Neil, and his reverting to Nathaniel, and the family connection is all treated as a simple stepping stone while Riko and the finals the grand climax. And I think it's sort of a symptom of how the blended reality of mafia and sports has sort of skewed the priorities of the story. Logic dictates that in a mafia (and most stories) the biggest threat to your life should be the biggest plot point and therefore the climax, while the sports drama ofc has the finals as the finale (and I could do a whole other essay on how for all AFTG is gritty and dark, it plays the actual sports drama narrative of underdog beats the champions and wins it all with surprisingly straight and by the book). So yeah, one would think that the life threatening and family drama would come as the real climax, especially since, as I said, Riko starts as Andrew and Kevin's issue while Nathan is Neil's.

But then Riko's attention shifts almost entirely to Neil. Now, there's an argument that Riko becomes the trio's issue, and in some ways that's true, but thinking about the last match, the climax where it all comes to ahead, Riko and Kevin are doing totally their own things, Kevin has already broken free of Riko via changing his tattoo. In many ways, this should be Andrew's real moment. As a sports drama, this is where Andrew gets control of the defence line and takes Riko down striker vs goalie, especially after the set up of the first match in TRK. But, instead he gets Neil in and Neil leashes Riko.

And now, I do sorta get this, it's not like I'm saying this is awful why did Nora do this, it's just a curiosity to me that I'm trying to think about and figure out my real thoughts and feelings on. Because by shifting Nathan to an overarching background "ooooh but my dad" threat, Riko is Neil's actual antagonist, and while this can work as a "he's our antagonist" and "Riko created his own weakness by training Neil", it doesn't so much for me because it's still Neil who takes him down. It's Neil who's there when he's shot. It's all Neil. (And loosely, I think this is related to how some parts of fandom, especially in fics, especially raven!Neil fics, make Neil either uwu so soft and sad and useless, or op as fuck to the point where he's the best boy at everything ever where even Riko and Kevin aren't, or both, but that's a different ramble.)

And here's the thing, Kevin and Neil should be up the other end of the court. Kevin is proving himself amazing, as he should, and Neil should be with him. This should be the moment Andrew and Riko finally face off, and that Kevin and Neil finally see Andrew do what Andrew does and trust him entirely to just shut Riko out (or yk, enough to win the match) because he's been practicing serious with Kevin (amazing striker and Raven) and Neil (fucking fast) and have him protect them from Riko, as he promise, by protecting that goal while they're busy. Neil has faced Nathan and come out on top, Kevin has faced his mental block and declared himself queen and is ruling the court. Riko is now nothing to them, they should focus on their goal ahead. It's Andrew's turn to face down Riko. But it's Neil. Now, there's an argument this is Andrew finally accepting help and teamwork, and that the narrative constantly undermining Andrew's ability to protect his people is actually about him letting go and trusting them, that his protection is more mental stability for them to stand up for themselves, and Andrew does protect Neil from Riko in the end, and I do get all that. But it's not a great example of team vs person, especially from a sports drama perspective, because exy isn't quite built for team vs person more line vs person and even then the combo plays aren't really there, and if you want to sport drama to be the central narrative, then maybe let them prove themselves in the sport?

I told you I have complicated feelings about this.

Which brings us to Nathan. While Riko is the sports drama villain who has fascinating depth and layers if you want to look for them, Nathan is a puddle of a character, only mildly deeper than Drake and only because he has more screen time (do not make me talk about Drake and Nathan as villains as how this fandom seems to criminally underthink them in favour of mwhahaha evilz, because evil for evil sake is not nearly as scary, do not because I will start talking about BSD!Mori and why he's terrifying) although with some interesting quirks to his personality one could dig into and draw parallels with if one wanted him to be more than scary evil torture guy. But the problem with Nathan is that he's such a big, looming terrifying presence, set up as Neil's antagonist but also not. Nathan is so big and terrifying, but he and his people aren't in Neil's life until they're one scene. He's a ticking clock until death. But the problem is, how does Neil deal with him? See, even putting the whole "isn't Nathan the bigger threat so why isn't he the climax" thing aside, Neil doesn't really defeat Nathan. Nathan is too big, too scary, too much, and AFTG too dark on the mafia side. So Nathan is defeated by a guy who's been mentioned a handful of times, turns up just time then, then disappears again until the finale where he mostly just stands there. And people can argue "it's a plot twist" or "it's realistic" but this is a narrative, not real life. Things mean things. And Nathan was set up as just too much and too strong, and too looming. Neil couldn't stop him. Neil didn't let anyone help him (something, I've talked about being and we see in TSC, Neil thinks Neil is always right and his way is best and doesn't tend to consider other options, again, not "omg so wrong" but Neil is a flawed character, here's how I perceive one of his flaws), and he didn't even tell anyone, so of course he had to be saved without warning by a guy we've never even met before.

And, like I said, I'm not saying "oh book bad" or "this better", just that I have a lot of mixed feelings about this, and that just because I adore the books as they are doesn't mean I can't also think about things that I might change (that's what fanfic's kinda for? you know, let Seth live, let Janie be a character, all those little things you might like to see but don't detract from your love of the books).

[denimbex1986]

"To be there on that day with him and Catherine, and faces that I grew up with, that like, essentially raised you, was just very, very overwhelming."

"Quite exciting to shoot two regeneration scenes within a few weeks of each other. The one with Ncuti, of course, was very different; very different to anything the show has done before."

"...Just when you think nothing can happen, you can never have two Doctors, oh, except you can!..."

"David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa in one scene together, with Bonnie Langford on one side, Catherine Tate on the other, faced by Neil Patrick Harris. Everything thrown in; it's marvellous."

"Episode 3 is something that Doctor Who does really well, which is simply nuts..."

"I got a DM from Russell on Instagram...from page one, The Toymaker is a very intoxicating and juicy part. I set the whole thing down, I texted him back and said: "Let's go.""

"It's a great bit of casting to get Neil Patrick Harris. There's not many people you can think of who had the skill set. You've got to be able to sing and dance a bit, he's got to be able to do some ludicrous accents. He's got to be sleight of hand. It's very important that he can juggle. I don't know who else we could've got. If he'd said 'no', I think we'd have been in trouble."

"Neil; he just brought so many different layers and aspects to that character. I thought it was a brilliant piece of casting and just great fun."

"Another thing about Neil actually; when you're casting a villain in Doctor Who like this, you've got to get someone who can match David Tennant. That's hard to do. There are not many actors in the world who can actually hit that peak and be a proper enemy to him. So that's Neil..."

"I didn't do so much with the puppets a Catherine did...they were horrifying. I think there'll be some nightmares after this episode. I kind of become a puppet at one point...that was a - quite a complex little sequence."

"And the Vlinx is an extraordinary creation. I love the fact that there's no real explanation of where the Vlinx has come from or what it is..."

"...I wasn't really expecting to come back for this. I was very, very excited when Russell contacted me...seeing Mel brought back to life in a lovely, rounded form was so joyful..."

"To be on that open air helipad with David, with Ncuti, it was really magic. I think everyone knew...could feel the history in the air. Everyone knew something monumental was happening then."

"I feel very fortunate that one of my - I guess my very last scene in the show - is Ncuti's first scene in the show, and I get to actually be responsible in some ways for the new Doctor's appearance...I take a pride in the fact that I got to be there."

"We had this motion control camera which would sort of recreate the same movement so that several images can all be combined. It was exciting. But yes, having just met Ncuti, we had to get very intimate, very quickly and be sort of strapped to each other."

"It was so epic. David is like, an icon to all of us. To me, he's like one of the reasons that I became an actor. I don't know; he signifies everything to me that like an actor should be or can be. I remember getting like a copy of his Hamlet before I went to drama school, and it was very much like: 'This is - this is an actor.' David Tennant as the Doctor and myself as the Doctor, it was just so much fun. The catch scene was a lot of fun."

"In the script, there's just a page where it says: 'Catch, catch, catch, catch, catch, catch, catch.' That informed everyone that the intention was to, you know, to really drag this out; to make it feel like, precarious and on which so much rested."

"That scene was just very exciting because it's like each Doctor has like a moment where they're kind of getting used to their new body and so that's what that scene essentially was for me. And so that was like the funnest way to do that part of the Doctor's story."

"All three of us as actors are fairly physical and it required us to do a lot of single and individual shots; to be to be as cool looking as possible and as effective as possible because some of them were dives and catches, drone shots. To watch the three of us together I thought was really fun."

"It was trying to find enough ways to catch a ball differently. There's also a moment where I kind of had to propel myself off Ncuti's back, and we needed something to give us that lift, so yeah, a bit of trampette work; some of my finest."

"I could never, ever catch the ball, and so we ended up having to fake it...I was terrible at that."

"You would try and sort of palm it, behind your hand, and then do that as you caught it, which should hopefully make us look slightly better at catching than any of the three of us actually were.

"Ncuti did a one-handed cartwheel, just like it was nothing."

"I was going to do the one-handed cartwheel, but unfortunately Ncuti got in first so, as he was the new boy, I had to let him do it. Mine's a little bit better than his but it is what it is; it's fine. I'm okay with it."

"It's a physical show, but you know, when you're acting with those two, it just felt really exciting."

"So the Toymaker's magic mallet still has some inter-dimensional power left, which allows the new Doctor to double-up the TARDIS with, with one well placed whack. So we had two TARDISes; one TARDIS becomes two TARDIS."

"...when Russell told me that we were putting a ramp in the TARDIS, I - I cried. I did. He actually told me about a fan who had contacted him, who was a wheelchair user...he said: "Even though I can't get in the TARDIS, because it's not wheelchair accessible, I just love it." And Russell was like: "So we change it, instantly. We change that." When he told me that story, that really hit me, straight in the heart. I know what that will mean for the disabled community and many disabled Whovians who haven't had that; that's the first time the TARDIS is wheelchair accessible, and to know that it will be like that forever now feels - I'm gonna get emotional -...no, it's good because that's what it means because to know that I was part of that change - it's really special."

"I mean, who knows? I don't know what happens next. That's the exciting thing."

"The end is very simple; actually...It means David is parked, David is living. For once, we've got a happy Doctor who is no longer saving the universe, but that's parked, with Donna, for a happy life."

"Yeah, I suppose the Doctor will settle into being an honorary member of the Mott-Noble-Temple clan, and will see out his days drinking tea and trying to stop Wilfred shooting the moles I suppose."

[bikefuckersoftheworldunite]

whats your favourite movie of all time??

I love ur movie tag👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

[very sorry, this got very long and it’s not been proofread 🤪]

I have two favorite movies of all time (ok, actually, many more but these are the 2 major ones)! both directed by the same person! I oscillate wildly between which one I love the most all the time, but it really mostly depends on which of the two I’ve seen more recently…..anyways, the movies are

Heat (1995) and Manhunter (1986)! both directed by Michael Mann:)

Heat (1995)

what is this film? is it a 3 hour action thriller, a crime drama starring such hollywood juggernauts as al pacino and robert de niro, or a heist movie featuring one of the best shootout scenes committed to film ever? neither of those things:) or rather those are the least interesting things about this film, but somehow the general public and most of the reviews only talk about that. which is a huge shame! so, what’s it Really about then?

it is very much about existential loneliness and desire to be seen and understood by someone else. told through the lens of a “los angeles crime saga” because Michael Mann absolutely does like the aesthetics of those kinda films, but that’s just window dressing, guys come on! yes, the heist and the following shootout are absolutely iconic but what about the underlying themes guysssss!!!

it is about two people finally meeting in person, after eluding each other for over an hour of movie’s runtime; sharing a very brief scene together, when you consider it against the movie’s overall length, and that brief moment being the most significant moment of connection they’ve ever experienced with anyone in their entire lives. and then, it’s over and they part ways again…..or do they?

and what if those two people were a crime detective* and a criminal* he was trying to catch*. and the director considered them to be each other’s soulmates pretty much……what then….

* and what if the film challenged such notions as what it means to be a criminal and a cop. and actually didn’t cast one as the hero/protagonist and the other as the villain/antagonist and instead subtly illustrated why some resort, or rather are forced, to the life of crime in capitalist society…..

and what if this movie was one of the most Romantic films of all time…..in the sense of romanticism, not romance! although, if you really Perceive then yeah of course there’s romance too, you just won’t find it in the movie’s heterosexual relationships*……

* bc most of Mann films are centered around a pretty specific type of masculinity and the way it’s shaped by usa-american capitalist and patriarchal society. And the way women, more often than not, are collateral damage in lives of those men…..(the way it affects mann’s female characters is another topic of discussion tho, but let it be said that women in mann’s films have never been fridged or used for manpain, or sexualized).

but the relationship and the whole notion of romance between neil and vincent are very much of not to be/not in this universe variety. time is luck in Mann-verse and relationships and moments of true intimacy and understanding are often fleeting and far in between. it is just not a possibility for these characters, being who they are. and both vincent and neil are dead set in their perceptions of themselves and life in general…..and so the ending is quite tragic, for them both:))) anyways, so much of the connection between these two is portrayed indirectly, in between lines and not thru actual on screen interactions. and it is very much on purpose!

every time I see this movie I cry when the final credits start rolling! I’d be sitting there and just bawling my eyes out! it’s just an immensely emotionally affecting film for me.

would I recommend watching it? yes, absolutely! it’s is truly Great Cinema. but also….the thing which Michael Mann is that you either get it or you don’t! To me, he’s the only director whose movies truly get me! they are for meeeeeee and no other director appeals to my sensibilities as much as Mann! Even down to the way Mann utilizes the color Blue in his films! To others, heat (1995) is just another heist movie for dude bros……

btw, first time I saw this I rated it like 3,5 out of 5 but loved the ending because I’ve never seen something like this in “crime thrillers”. then after some time, I rewatched it and loved it. then, rewatched it again and loved it even more. I’ve seen heat (1995) 9 times i think and I cannot wait to rewatch it again. there’s so much going on at all times! and all Michael Mann films are extremely rewatchable (to me).

Wanna end this post with the quote from Mann himself:

oh, forgot to add: the cast is superb, the script is great, the cinematography and sound design are stunning and the ost absolutely rocks!

ill talk about manhunter (1986) later maybe

[anderperrylover]

DEAD POETS SOCIETY - MODERN AU HEAD CANONS

Charlie Dalton and Knox Overstreet - The Secret Swiftie - And the most obvious

He definitely listens to Taylor Swift on a daily basis - Prolly lives and breathes the 1989 era - Now as for the question of how he expresses that? He is either that really quiet one until Knox walks in on on him screaming But Daddy I love Him - He will not let him forget it

Knox is the MOST obvious TS fan amongst the poets - Loves Lover and has cried with Todd over The Manuscript and loml and YOYOK and Back to December and All too Well (10min) - Neil has not forgiven him for that one night when Todd came into their dorm, crying about how The Black Dog is Wolfstar coded (The Poets are so into ATYD and like the Marauders lore)

Knox Overstreet is drunk and cries over Chris while listening to Laufey

Being the hopeless romantic he grabs a bottle of something and puts Laufey on loop on Spotify and cries about Chris - Charlie and Cameron in the dorm have to either stuff their ears or actually go and manually shut of Spotify to stop him from crying. Knox proceeds to cry without Laufey and mumbles the lyrics to himself until he falls asleep

Todd Anderson lives for Hozier analysis - Loves The Oh Hellos and The Crane Wives

Todd Anderson is the biggest Hozier fan (DUH). He spent much of his free time sitting down and breaking apart Unreal/Unearth with his copy of the Inferno at his side. Neil and Todd go out to stargaze and they blast The Oh Hellos and The Crane Wives on shuffle and Sufjan Stevens

Meeks has destroyed everyone while playing Monopoly and Among Us

People underestimate him too much - well the joke it on them! He has made Cameron storm off and Todd huddle in a corner during Monopoly. Monopoly Monday is not exactly a thing - but when it is everyone rallies to pin him and Charlie together (who wins occasionally due to dumb luck)

He trolled everyone while playing Among Us and is the last to die.

Pitts collects vinyl records and/or CDs

He is definitely into The Smiths and The Beatles and Queen and he loves to collect records and CDs sometimes for aesthetics - But he is in charge of bringing the playlist to the party cause he is not going to overplay any artist (Knox overplayed love ballads and got together with Todd and cried over glasses of cheap wine). Has the most unpredictable music recommendations, but never disappoints.

Cameron vibes with period dramas

Cameron loves the good period dramas, and has read Austen, Tolstoy and E.M.Forester. Wants to be loved but isn't Knoxious desperate. He loves Downton Abbey and relates too much to Thomas and Mary for obvious reasons. Had a crush on Mr. Darcy at some point but now will not shut up about Alec Scudder from Maurice. Charlie had the brilliant idea of scaring him with a massive paper cut out of Colin Firth's Darcy. What ensued was a two hour manhunt for Charlie Dalton. Cameron still has the paper cut out and the poets have grown to appreciate its presence.

Neil loves Hamilton and Les Mis

That's it - he just does - Loves Lafayette and screams the lyrics of Helpless at any given time - Tried to fancast the poets as the cast - And tries to get everyone to sing One Day More (Knox is almost always Marius and is hella dramatic - Todd and Neil make up the Enjoltaire dynamic - Cameron likes Javert)

The Poets Love the Marauders

Charlie flexes the Sirius James energy but he's such a Regulus to Knox's James, who sees Chris as the literal Lily Evans (they are the folklore love triangle change my mind) . Neil and Todd (Wolfstar in a different font). Pitts and Meeks stan GRANT CHAPMAN and Cameron lives for the Black family line drama. They've all written fanfics or literal poetry about them.

Keating refuses to own a kindle

He loves physical copies of books too much - Cannot fathom the idea of owning a kindle

Charlie loves 80s coming of age films

It's his whole jazz - LOVES FERRIS BUELLER and can and will quote The Monologues in The Breakfast Club. Cried over Stand By Me, and has not recovered.

Neil and Pitts and Meeks love Fullmetal Alchemist

It was Christmas when they read volume 4 and none of them have physically recovered from it - IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW - Todd and Charlie had to make hot chocolate and listen to their ramblings and deal with Knox at the same time (who was crying over Chris yet again)

Chris and Ginny and Todd and Pitts and Charlie are in a band together

Knox wants frontline tickets, and Charlie has the time of his life selling the those tickets to literally everyone else. Todd doesn't sing and refuses to and is the lead songwriter - Ginny is the lead drummer and Pitts plays the keys. Chris is the lead singer and Charlie plays the sax and some random instruments on the side. Neil is the supportive boyfriend and Meeks buys them drinks after, and Knox drinks and pours his heart out to Todd.

Their Hogwarts house results

The Gryffindors - Neil and Todd

The Borderline Slytherin + Gryffindor - Charlie

Nowhere man - Knox Overstreet

Ravenclaw - Meeks

The one true Hufflepuss - Pitts

The mish mash one - Richard Cameron

I had fun with this one