#neil's bad at proposing

[melbatron5000]

Aziraphale was going to propose

Another Tumblr blog noted that the first time Aziraphale hears anything about Crowley having a demonic replacement on Earth is when Shax tells him herself in the Bentley on the way home from Edinburgh. He doesn't know who she is, though Crowley mentions her name earlier in the season to him. So Aziraphale knows of her, but hasn't seen her or know exactly who she is or why she's on Earth. At least, not until that moment.

And what does Aziraphale do when he gets back? Immediately starts planning the ball.

Neil has said (edit: my bad! Neil REBLOGGED someone who said they had a theory that Aziraphale was going to confess his love to Crowley and threw the ball to do it. He did not confirm or deny anything. People were SAYING that Neil confirmed it, a reblog is not a confirmation. But it sure is interesting . . . ) that Aziraphale was going to throw out his own love confession at the ball if Hell hadn't attacked.

I suspect it's even a little more than that.

This is the first Aziraphale learns that Crowley isn't answering to Hell anymore. That apparently, Hell has backed right out of Crowley's life. From what Aziraphale can see, they're free. Both of them.

I don't think he planned the ball to ask Crowley to dance or to admit his love. Crowley knows.

I think Aziraphale meant to propose.

(Even with my edit above, I still suspect this is true. Crowley and Aziraphale have been an unspoken couple for centuries. In ye olden days -- when Jane Austen was writing -- people didn't date and then move in together and then get married, they found someone they liked and they PROPOSED.)

[imfineitsfineeverythingsfine]

Communication and a Question for the Fandom

I started this off thinking I would end up with one conclusion and I actually found myself changing it by the end. I’ve read a lot frustration with the ineffable husbands and their lack of communication. “You don’t ever talk to each other" and "You never say what you’re really thinking.”

Now, that may be true. But also, throughout both seasons, we have seen repeatedly how they have been under surveillance too. 

Not just visual

But audio as well… Sign in Hell: Be Careful What You Say. But there’s more to the sign itself. I just can’t make it out. It’s not a sign that’s featured in the extras either, which is also interesting. 

What I could find though, in the The Devil in the Details X-Ray video was a little more of the sign, but I still can’t make out what the rest of it says:

Which brings in my Question for the Fandom. If anyone else is able to make out rest of this, I’d be interested. (This was around the 2:05 timestamp)

Moving on, that’s not the only *Clue* about their surveillance either. We know about Hell using electronics as a means of communication. They just cut in to whatever happens to be playing at the time, right? Radio, tv, Saturday Morning Funtime… so it would make sense that they’d use it to listen too. Is the Bookshop any safer, being an embassy for Heaven and all?

And it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how either side is listening in. We all remember this interaction but really… played as a joke but what if it wasn’t? Or maybe they just hadn’t figured out the specifics yet at that point.

Maybe there are certain “trigger words.” We see the reactions when Crowley is called “nice.” 

Crowley tells Aziraphale to “shut up” numerous times. We hear both them say “don’t say that” a lot. 

But also…

Closed captioning capitalized it just like that. Interesting. (If you haven’t watched the show with cc on, I recommend it)

What does this all mean? They just don’t talk to each other? Well, no. Not necessarily. We’ve also seen them find ways around directly speaking too.

Writing it down. (Which was promptly burned)

Aziraphale mouthing “Trust Me” during the bullet catch. Could they have had other short hands or code words? Emergency contingency plans? I personally imagine so. Side note: could they have also been using alcohol (laudanum) as cover for plausible deniability? 

“Safe spaces”? The backroom in the Bookshop that they kept going to for private conversations. We know they had alternative rendezvous locations in the first season too – the old bandstand, the number 19 bus, and the British Museum café. 

The Final Fifteen. I don’t want to take away from the emotion of the scene and I think Season 3 (come on Prime!) give us the rest of the story. I have faith in Neil Gaiman (pun sort of intended). But I will propose that the kiss may have been not only Crowley’s plead but also a misdirect or signal or other way to communicate between the two that we have yet to understand. In the end, Aziraphale was able to get the Metatron to break and divulge that the next step of the Great Plan was the Second Coming…before even leaving Earth…which was pretty impressive in itself. Was Aziraphale then able to relay anything to Crowley before the elevator? Sendarya’s video here does a great job with that very question (and others).

Most experts agree that 70-93% of communication is nonverbal and when communicating emotions, applying the 7-38-55 rule. Meaning only 7% through spoken word, 38% tone of voice, and 55% through body language. So maybe they’re not doing so bad after all. Those are just my thoughts and we’ll just have to wait and see and hope.

[ifitmeanslosingyouthenno]

au in which nathaniel is married to riko

okay so

in this universe there's no mafia, the moriyamas are just filthy rich businessmen, but nathan still is a serial killer

things go a bit different in the sense that nathan kills mary when neil is 10 bc he loses his temper and keeps neil practically captive in that house, torturing him endlessly until nathan slips up and somehow the fbi finds the evidence they need to raid the house when neil is idk 15 ish and they end up killing nathan and neil is sent to foster care

he doesn't have as bad a time in foster care as andrew did, some parents like slapping him around, but some are genuinely nice people

ultimately tho he's not adopted by anyone by the time he turns 18 (he tells himself he doesn't mind, who would want a damaged and quiet and sketchy and flighty kid in their family anyway?)

he's left on his own, to figure out how to be a real person, an adult, with no home, no place to stay, no friends, no family, nothing but himself

he goes through a few years where he just lives on the streets, spending the little money he has left on food, going to shelters when he can, traveling through states until he gets to new york

he's attacked and harassed by some guy at some point outside a bar or something and he's so dazed he cant even fight back, but someone fights back for him

and its riko moriyama, famous fucking exy star and professional athlete

he saves neil and he takes him to his place, where he lets him stay and recover and hey, he's actually kind of sweet, and he really cares about neil, and maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay with him? and when riko kisses him the first time maybe its not so bad? and maybe when they start dating he's incredibly loving and he gives him gifts and it's the happiest neil has been? and maybe when riko proposes neil says yes and they get married and they're happy? genuinely happy for once?

except that at some point, the love becomes anger, the sweet gestures become punches, the care becomes jealousy and control and pain, and what was the best thing in neils life becomes a nightmare once more

(and maybe he blames himself, maybe its neil thats the problem, maybe its him who brings out the worst in people, maybe he's doomed to this cycle of abuse)

its not until riko beats neil withing an inch of his life that neil runs

OH SHIT WAIT LMAO I FORGOT TO SAY

neil doesn't actually go by neil throughout all of this, he still goes by nathaniel, his legal name, nathaniel wesninski is married to riko moriyama not neil josten

so neil runs and runs and runs with what little money he could steal from riko and he adopts neil josten's identity until he physically cannot keep going

luckily for him, his collapse happens far enough, all the way in seattle in the same pharmacy that medical intern aaron minyard was buying some supplies

so yeah aaron freaks out and almost calls an ambulance but neil stops him bc he's scared bc riko might not have mafia connections in this universe but he has so much fucking money

and it takes aaron and katelyn and abby on the phone for them to fix a heavily beat up neil who should definitely go to the hospital but this is the best they can do

(aaron just assumes he's homeless, and he cant pay the hospital, and he's a fucking softie deep inside so he does everything he can to help how he can)

and maybe when kate catches neil sneaking out one night, she does everything to stop him and offers him safety and maybe the exchange some truths, maybe kate guesses that neil had someone that abused him, maybe someone he loved and neil is scared and he doesn't feel like he can trust anyone but something about kate makes him break down and tell her what he can while making sure he doesn't reveal much

and im taking too long but basically aaron and kate take neil in and they introduce him to the foxes and to the legendary kevin day and andrew minyard, professional exy players for the seattle exy team

and well it takes time and lots of trust before neil lets himself open up again

but its in the form of andrew minyard and the way they can both respect each others boundaries, and neil tells andrew about nathan, but never reveals the truth about being married or anything about riko moriyama

until andrew asks neil to marry him and well

it all goes to shit lol

neil cant bring himself to tell andrew the truth and it all becomes a mess and andrew breaks things up and neil becomes a mess as well

(bc its true, it's on him, its always on him and god he never learns, he never fucking learns, he doesn't fucking get happy endings, he doesn't fucking get good things)

and he tries to leave aaron and kate's place again, and he's successful this time and he's on his way out of seattle when he stops by a gas station to get some food and he has no idea of where he's going and he hesitates for a while, until he catches the eye of andrew on his car outside, and andrew just looks away and leaves and-

and if neil was hesitating before he's sure now and he has to leave for good and he has to leave and get away and never come back and

and he runs right into riko moriyama as he's leaving the store

to be continued maybe??

part 2

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 42

PREV

There are things that change a person.

Moments where after they happen they simply cannot un-happen. Things that a person hears that they cannot un-hear. Promises that a person makes that they can’t, and perhaps even wouldn’t, un-make.

Jeremy’s moment came over winter break the previous year. Jeremy heard things that he could never un-hear in the middle of the night. Jeremy made a promise that he would never break while in the guest room of his parent’s house holding one Jean Moreau tight as he talked about the Nest.

Jeremy was different after that night.

Not wildly different. Not to most.

The only ones who knew had also had a moment, had also heard things, and had also made promises that they intended to keep.

Jeremy is on his way back from the bathroom with a freshly washed handkerchief from the Fox’s most promising Freshman when it all happens. 

He watches Richard throw a glass on the ground and go for Caleb’s throat which in all honesty he had been anticipating since he’d seen the seating arrangements. Sitting the Jackals with the Terrapins? After Caleb seduced Alyssa during the Fall Banquet? Who thought that was a good idea?

Jeremy sees FF and sees that he is alone and wonders where Michael had gone off to. He’s glad that FF has stayed put, the guys quiet but he’s not bad company. Jeremy thinks he would have gotten along pretty well with Jean if he hadn’t flubbed the recruitment.

“He just got a restraining order against that step-brother of his.” Aaron Minyard says explaining the awkward air after Jeremy had spoken. “He’s a Fox.” he adds and Jeremy had felt foolish in that moment.

It should have been obvious.

He hears a scream and sees that one of the Terrapins has joined in the brawl and he has one of the steak knives.

What was the point of that when they had pre-sliced tenderloin anyways? He looks over and sees Anita Flores watching the evening start to go down in flames and all he can think is that she’ll probably do better next time. It’s the first banquet she’s run on her own since Claire retired in the fall.

His eyes go to Jean when he hears another scream.

He can see Laila with Jean and Kevin. He can see Alvarez making her way to the two of them. The Trojans know better after last Winter Banquet. They come together and don’t make it obvious that Jean is at the center of their formation.

He sees Melissa get punched when she tries to get between Richard and Caleb. He’s sure she probably just doesn’t like having this kind of violence at her stadium but getting directly between Richard and Caleb wasn’t her smartest move.

Oh Jacob took exception to that. Well Jeremy can hardly blame the guy when his girlfriend and Captain gets punched like that. Caleb’s just lucky that she’s not dating Malcolm any-

Oh Malcolm is getting in on it. I guess he does still have feelings for Melissa. They had been real cute until he cheated on her. He thinks Melissa is better off with Jacob but who knows.

He looks to Jean again and sees that Kevin is leaving the Trojan encirclement and can see the other Foxes start to head for the exit as the fighting grows more intense. He sees Andrew holding Neil’s hand in a vice grip and-

Oh, of course they’d be anxious here. Of course the Foxes were on edge.

He looks and FF is still sat at the table seemingly unbothered by the chaos erupting around him. He watches as the Foxes make their way to the table where FF is sat. Sees them gathering their belongings and sees FF remain seated, eyes on them and then on the chaos.

Ah, the rearguard.

He nods and diverts his attention back to the mess at hand. Honestly Caleb shouldn’t bait Richard and Richard should be glad that he didn’t propose to someone who’d cheat on him. They’d talked about it and it wasn’t like he had customized the ring or anything so he got his full deposit back. He thought Richard was feeling better about the whole thing, had even been dating Erika and-

Ohh yeah there’s Erika with a Terrapin’s jacket over her shoulders and a hickey that he’s pretty sure Richard hadn’t left on her neck.

Man Caleb what the hell, what did Richard even do? Caleb you don’t even like girl-

Ohhhh.

Caleb….bro. There are better ways to handle a crush.

Now fully understanding the situation Jeremy can’t help but think that it’s actually a pretty simple solution. Well, not simple. Richard is pretty straight but like a firm talking to with Caleb will probably-

“Hey, back off!” He hears Alvarez and his head whips around back to Jean where it shouldn’t have left.

Ravens.

Those Ravens.

Jeremy made a promise.

Jeremy had taken lessons over the summer and-

God it felt good to slam his fist into Johnson’s stupid awful ugly chin. The only thing that was even sweeter was sinking his fist into Reacher’s gut.

“Knox what the fuck?!” he heard Jasmine exclaim and they’d been buddies at one point but it was hard to feel anything positive for a girl who watched.

“I warned you guys during the Fall Banquet didn’t I?” Jeremy asks with a smile as he shakes out his hand. He looks to the side and sees that the rest of the team has now fully encircled Jean. Nothing was getting through them to-

It’s too late that Jeremy sees a younger Raven meatball in hand. He tries to stop it but his arms are too short and it nails Jean right in the forehead. 

He looks at the marinara roll down Jean’s forehead as he blinks in surprise. Laila lets out a scream and has him cradled in her arms and out of sight before Jean even seems to fully understand what is going on.

“Jean, it’s going to be okay.” Jeremy hears Laila assure.

“Laila, what in the world are you freaking out about?” Jean asks. “I’m French, not Italian. I would not bleed marinara sauce.” Jeremy hears him say out of sight and if Jeremy wasn’t so mad he’d laugh.

“That’s it!” Alvarez exclaims and slugs the sophomore who had lobbed the errant meatball and from there it was an all out brawl between the Trojans and the Ravens. They were all defensive over their frenchmen especially against his old team and Jeremy thinks about the investigation he’s been pushing the ERC towards. Thinks about all the little things he has questioned and put into the heads of all of his friends throughout the Division.

He makes his way to Jean as Ned and Jim have taken on the task of handling Reacher and Johnson.

“God, first the sparse wine selection and now this.” Jean says from where Laila was trying to wipe sauce from his face.

“Here, use this.” he offers FF’s handkerchief and thinks about getting a few himself.

Laila takes the handkerchief, “I thought you said there was a lot of wine.” she says.

“No, I said Kevin was doing a lot of whining.” Jean corrects eyes closed as Laila cleans his face off. Jeremy looks towards the Fox table and wonders how he’ll get the handkerchief back to FF and sees FF rising up from the table and quickly put on his jacket before heading out the door after the rest of the Foxes.

What bothers him is the security guards following them. Everyone should know that security guards + the Foxes + Binghamton = Andrew might start stabbing people.

His concern only grows greater when he sees Michael and a few other Ravens follow.

***

There are things that change a person.

Experiences that you never want to experience again. Words that can never be spoken again. Feelings that can never be carefully locked away not that they’re out in the open and known.

Andrew’s experience happened two years ago. Andrew had heard words that he never wished to hear again in his entire life for the last time in Binghamton. Andrew had felt things staring down at a cell phone that he had never let himself feel before.

He looks at Neil safe and sound on the bus after a different fight, a different riot, in Binghamton and it’s hard to be upset. He hadn’t let his Junkie out of his sight the entire night and the moment that he saw security moving in he had grabbed Neil by the hand. His focus had narrowed down at that moment and no amount of Neil insisting that it was fine would stop Andrew’s determined march out of the stadium.

He only felt like he could breathe when he had ushered Neil into the bus and into a seat. He felt his shoulders ease but he didn’t let go of Neil’s hand, he didn’t know if he would until they were back in Palmetto.

The rest of the team filtered out of the stadium quickly and soon enough Wymack was calling out to make sure that everyone was there. “Smith?” Wymack called.

“He’s right here!” a voice calls out and Andrew thinks it’s one of the other Freshmen.

“Let’s get out of here.” Wymack says.

The team gets on the bus and soon enough they’re putting Binghamton in the rearview.

Andrew exhales.

***

He’d heard Michael call out for him and he’d stopped. With all the distraction and the upcoming loading onto the bus he hadn’t felt the need to be exceptionally low presence.

It’d been a mistake as it usually was.

FF looked at the security guard standing in front of him and out the door to the stadium where the Foxes were loading into the bus.

“Will you meet the Master now?” Michael is asking him and FF doesn’t quite get why he’s asking when it’s obvious that FF doesn’t have a choice.

“No.” he says because Michael did ask which means theoretically he could just be misreading the situation.

“You said you’d meet him if the banquet ended.” Michael says.

FF furrows his brow, “I said I’d get up.” he reminds and Michael looks nervous.

“Please?” Michael asks and FF blinks.

“I need to get on the bus.” FF points and the security guard merely steps into his line of sight as if that erased the fact that the bus was there and he was not on it.

“We’ll get you back to where you belong.” Michael promises.

“I belong on the bus that is going back to my campus where I keep all my stuff.” FF says matter of factly.

Michael looks at him utterly bewildered.

“Enough of this.” The guard says and goes to grab him.

FF moves out of the way.

The guard goes to grab him again and FF backs up and out of the way again.

The guard goes to grab him and FF steps back out of his reach again.

This process continues until they are back into the main stadium where the brawl has taken over all of the teams. FF sidesteps the security guard, and he’s near positive this isn’t a real security guard Binghamton really needs to work on their hiring practices. Only this time he side steps out of the way and the guard crashes like an enranged bull into the punch table.

FF’d feel bad about it but there was no way in the world he was going to meet someone named ‘The Master’ when he has spaghetti pants. Absolutely no chance. Whoever it was probably was important enough to deserve dry clean only pants.

“I need to go.” he says to Michael and heads back for the exit, hopeful that maybe just maybe the bus hadn’t left yet. Nicky was pretty drunk though and he knew that the rest of the team would have a singular focus on Captain Neil.

“No, wait!” Michael pleads and FF stops seeing the other player with tears in his eyes. FF stops and unzips his jacket slightly to reach in and grab the handkerchief he had refolded as his pocket square.

“Sorry, I really can’t stay.” he says and offers the handkerchief to Michael, “You can keep that one or hand it to me the next time we play against one another if you remember.” he says. “Tonight isn’t the night for me to talk with your Master.” he says.

Michael looks at him with wide eyes and accepts the handkerchief.

He walks out back into the exiting hallway and there is an older asian man there. He has a cane and he is standing between FF and the door.

He approaches quickly and the man hits his cane against the ground once, “You will join the Ravens.” he says with authority.

Oh great.

“I'd actually rather not.” Smith responds and makes sure to keep a wide berth from the crazy old guy who’s made his way into the Stadium somehow.

He gets out the stadium doors and-

The bus left.

He sighs thinks about the crazy guy right behind him and lets his presence fade into something only Jeremy Knox could see (APPARENTLY).

It’s pretty cold out as he gets as far away from the entrance to the building as possible and reaches into his pocket for his phone. He dials Nicky.

***

“COACH, YOU FORGOT SMITHY. AGAIN.” A drunken shout from the back of the bus startles Wymack as he lets out a loud string of curses before getting into a lane to make a U-turn.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

[good--merits-accumulated]

Domestic Anderperry headcanons

As requested by @aj-scott725 - thanks AJ! :] These are all kind of nebulously post-canon.

- When Todd gets into a new poem/body of work, he doesn't tend to gush about it; instead he gets into a dreamy state for a few days and leaves books lying around with pen scribbles all over the pages. Neil gets into the habit of collecting them so he doesn't lose track of them, putting them on their bedside table, and making a note of them so he can read them too

- Neil gets it into his head to learn how to swing dance one summer, and they spend a couple of weeks twirling each other around the living room. It doesn't go awfully well (Todd has two left feet and almost cracks his head open by falling over the sofa), but they're not half bad at it either. Sometimes their downstairs neighbour Mrs. Springer will play Rachmaninoff on the piano and they'll leave the windows open so the music gets in and dance around and around the room

- Todd falls asleep in a couple of minutes every time he gets on any type of transportation without fail. The first time it happens in a taxi they're still young and afraid and when the driver glances for half a second too long at them in the rearview mirror, at Todd's head on Neil's shoulder and the way Neil curves around him unconsciously, Neil stiffens and glares. But by the time the taxi arrives he and the driver have spent ten minutes talking quietly about their boyfriends to each other (the driver is "practically engaged, can you believe it" to a journalist named Martin in Syracuse, and he reminds him "just of your guy, they're exactly like each other, the wheels start going and they're out like lights"). They shake hands as he gently ushers a half-awake Todd out of the taxi and he never sees that driver again, but the memory remains a small golden jewel in Neil's mind

- Neil is unequivocally on washing up duty, because Todd can't stand feeling wet food in the sink. To make up for it he cleans the bathroom, although this also because it helps him think - not uncommon for Neil to come home from rehearsal to find him with their giant flowery cleaning gloves on scrubbing at the toilet bowl, dictating poems to a voice recorder. He proposes Todd dedicate his first poetry collection "to my darling husband and the porcelain god" and gets kicked out of the bedroom for a night for his troubles

- The apartment's heating is kind of shitty (read: the landlord refuses to fix it) so they sleep with three blankets all piled up on top of each other. Neil, who runs cold, isn't too concerned about the whole thing. Todd pretends to complain about it but secretly he loves the comforting pressure (God, have weighted blankets been invented yet? Can we get him one?) and sleeps with the blankets pulled to his chin and his face pressed into the crook of Neil's neck for maximum coverage. This also works in the mornings because he doesn't like the sun's glare, so Neil will often sleepily put a hand over his eyes before he wakes up so it doesn't bother him

[sebastianravkin]

A FUNERAL FOR NEIL-GAIMAN

My hyper fixated autistic mind keeps running the Neil-Gaiman allegations around and around in my head and I need to find a way to move past the hero in my mind. Even though I believed Neil-Gaiman when he said ‘you never want to meet your heroes’, even though I am old enough to know better, even though I assumed Neil-Gaiman probably had issues and hangups that didn’t come through in his friendly and wise public persona, I have still been hit hard by the extent that I was wrong. I need ritual, closure, a way to move on. So I WILL BE HOLDING A PRIVATE FUNERAL FOR MY HEAD-CANON NEIL-GAIMAN. Maybe others want to hold their own funerals, maybe it will help, and so I put this out there for you to consider.    

To be clear - and many may disagree and I am fine with that - I do not care in theory if Neil slept with younger women, I slept with older men and think of myself as better for it. I do not care that Neil practices BDSM as long as it is safe and consensual. I do not care if Neil had an open marriage if it was agreed upon by both parties. I believe Neil is autistic, and that can make intimate (or really any) communication difficult sometimes, but I do not think that is an excuse. I believe Neil suffers depression and suicidal ideation, but I do not think that gives him a pass for treating others poorly. 

I care that Neil took advantage of women who were at a disadvantage - financially, professionally, mentally, emotionally. I care that he was proposing sex with women after being married to his first wife for only a year and who was probably obliviously at home with their new baby. I care that Neil is no where near the man I thought he was, I hoped he was, I believed he was and that made the world a slightly better place. 

So, I will be holding a funeral for Neil-Gaiman. For the man who spoke of his own heroes - Terry Pratchett and Gene Wolfe - as polite and kind and wise and (I made the mistake of assuming) as role-models for his own behavior. For the man who appeared to be so kind and funny, with no ulterior motives, on Tumblr to so many fans. For the man who has written the books that I have read and reread to get through various crises in my life and so I assumed he had a deeper wisdom than I about life. For the man that I had a serious crush on since the 1990s. For the man who inspired various aspects of my own writing about, and understanding of, humanity. This man is fictionally dead, because this man was a fiction. His art lives on, and I will continue to love the art because I can not simply turn that off. 

What will this funeral be like? Probably some candles. Probably some tears. Probably burning a photo or two, but never never a book. Comfort food, definitely. Sad music. Maybe watch my favorite moments in Good Omens. Or read my favorite short story in Trigger Warnings. Or maybe just work my way through The Sandman again. I will grieve him like I grieve the end of a good book, or the death of a favorite character in a story, or the loss of a favorite place on the landscape.

The fact that there is some other dude out there that looks like Neil-Gaiman, who I think of as just Neil (because every ‘Neil’ I have known was an ass, which should have been a red flag really), is too bad. Maybe Neil is self-destructive, maybe Neil harms others to harm himself, maybe Neil will find help, find a way back from the depths he has thrown himself into. Or maybe Neil is just a dick; always has been, always will be. You can be autistic and self-loathing and depressive and suicidal and still be kind. But you can also be all of those things, and also just be a dick.

R.I.P. Neil-Gaiman.  I am done. I have no more to say on this.

[livingasaghost]

okay i probably should not go down this rabbit hole but i think i deserve to do some andreil proposal/wedding headcanon because who cares!!

this is going to be inspired by these three posts because i cannot stop thinking about them

also the usual disclaimer: if this is bad or goes against your own personal headcanon....so be it<3

when andrew finally accepts that this is a THIS, he and neil do not talk about The Future

both of them know how quickly things can change and how you can't plan for anything in life because shit happens and life isn't fair and people always hurt you...so they just keep living in the present

but after a while it kind of becomes clear that neither one of them is going anywhere, even though neither of them actually believes it

more than that, they keep running into problems

like when neil plays a game for Court and ends up getting crunched against the wall and has to go to the ER and andrew has no idea where they took him because he wasn't fast enough to follow him and then when he finally gets to the hospital no one will let him back there and then when he almost attacks a nurse, kevin finally intervenes and lays on the charm to get the two of them back there to see him

and when they finally get in the room, neil is knocked the fuck out and that's when andrew decides that yeah fuck that we can't keep doing this

he doesn't tell neil he's decided this because neil will probably argue or try to run or come up with a bunch of excuses or worse he'll say yes

andrew asks renee for advice, and she doesn't make a big deal out of it because she knows that's the best way to get andrew to not want to do anything

so she decides to be casual

and by casual she actually just tells andrew that she had a conversation with katelyn that sounded like she and aaron were maybe thinking about getting engaged soon

andrew picks up his phone, intending to ask neil right there, but renee stops him and forces him to reconsider this proposal to at least do it in person

even so, there isn't a lot of fanfare

neil can sense something is off immediately when andrew walks in the door but he doesn't push him because he knows that's not the best way to get anything out of andrew

andrew won't look at him at all, doesn't say a word, just sits down next to him on the couch

neil: "drew?"

andrew:

neil:

andrew: "i don't want to wait for kevin to get me to you"

neil doesn't really know what he's even talking about, so he just kind of stares at him, waiting

andrew, actively staring at the wall: "this is not going to be some kind of fairytale shit and i refuse to get down on one fucking knee so yes or no?"

neil, finally having his lightbulb moment: "don't ask stupid questions"

andrew rolls his eyes because of course he'd get stuck with this one: "yes or no, junkie"

neil: "i already told you. it's always yes with you."

andrew: "this is different"

neil: "not the way i see it"

andrew: "this means no running away"

neil: "i stopped running a long time ago"

andrew really is going to kill this guy one day

they don't discuss real details until a few days later when neil asks if they have to have a "real" wedding or if they can just go to a courthouse and getting the papers signed

andrew was under the impression that that WAS a real wedding and thus it was the only thing they would be doing regardless

the two of them settle on a date — only a few days out because hey, might as well just get it done because "who knows the next time some fuckface is gonna kick your ass and land you in the hospital"

at first they decide they aren't going to tell anybody, but then renee asks andrew if he ever actually talked to neil and so she becomes the only person to know about this weird wedding thing

she keeps trying to convince them to tell everybody else, but that does not go over well

neil decides it's probably best if he dresses kind of nice for his wedding (even though he's a thousand percent certain that andrew is just gonna show up in his usual attire) and since he doesn't want to tell nicky what's going on (for everyone's sake), he calls wymack instead thinking he can just vaguely ask a few questions and wymack'll stay out of his business

wymack: "somebody better be dead for you to be calling me this late"

neil: "what are you supposed to wear to a wedding?"

wymack: "who the hell is getting married?"

neil: "me"

wymack: "are you fucking with me?"

neil: "andrew is sick of asking kevin to get him into my hospital rooms"

wymack: "maybe if you stopped going to the fucking hospital—"

even though neil didn't think he needed wymack there, he unexpectedly asks if coach'll be his best man.....and even though wymack is so sick of these idiot kids shortening his life-span, he can't help but say yes

so that is how the four of them end up at the courthouse, waiting for the judge to make it all official

that is, until andrew gets a phone call

neil doesn't see who it is when he picks up, he just watches andrew as he answers straightfaced

andrew: "we're at the courthouse....getting married.......coach is here.....no."

the others look at each other, but andrew keeps staring at the wall ahead of him

neil nudges his knee: "who was that?"

andrew: "nicky"

[hearta54]

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 (𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐞𝐞 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

Summary: You have a long-lived crush on Cench, the boy across the road, piano is one thing you share. At a piano examination, you find out if your persistent feelings are reciprocated.

Notes: Originally was going to write about Tae-Moo from Business Proposal; thought this suits Central Cee better. Plus he's hot as f!ck.

Warnings: alcoholism, abusive father, a little swearing

Word Count: 2 453

When you played the piano it was like the notes were emitted from your finger tips, rather than from the instrument you love. You closed your eyes and let memory lead into the crescendo of Fur Elise. Playing the piano was a form of ecstatic escapism; it allowed you to transcend reality and exist in a void untouchable by what drained you.

Dad could drain a pungent bottle fast, even faster than he could drain you. Drifting into the decrescendo the melodic keys helped you block the intrusive thoughts you had about him. He used to be better, a memory which was slowly fading from memory. But if you were to be honest … those days when he embodied something other than an absent and sorrowful father were lost in a network of messy incidents, spurred by the violent man he became under the influence.

Sometimes dad was cordial and added to a pleasant ambience but this didn't overshadow his bad days. On these days, you would crawl within yourself, barricaded in your room playing until your fingertips felt numb and your hands lost their supple dexterity. Feeling a need to escape as your parents argued downstairs, mother was made timid by him; so she tread carefully, but even then he was so volatile. So temperamental.

So mother lived in crippling fear: That a chair would be thrown too hard, or that dad would drink too much alcohol. Extra shifts at the hospital was how she coped, running and adamantly refusing to confront - this tainted you with disappointment. Piano was the way you fought. But in rare instances when your favourite composers didn't ease your worried mind you turned to Oakley, the boy across the road.

Placing your sheet music atop of your keyboard you allowed yourself to sink into an inviting daze. Oakley Neil H.T Caesar-Su is it weird that I know his whole name, his friends call him Cench, Cench was an anomaly he made rap music and dressed in tech fleece but under the guise of his demeanor he was one of the best pianist you had witnessed … Grade seven.

When Cench played it was riveting, unconsciously tilting his head to the side and getting lost in the keys he looked like a worthy muse. You digressed, thinking about the way his plump lips upturned when he smiled. The way his dark curls caught the sun when she watched from afar. Afar... because Cench barely registered your existence.

Last week in music class, late as always; he bumped into you. As he retrieved your folder you thought you had glimpsed a twinkle in his eye. But it must have been the glare of the sun because your eyes lingered and his were unbothered; turning away. Changed into your satin PJs you switched the lamp off - some dreams were best left for sleep.

...

Morning had arrived, but as the sun rose smoothly you were ruminating. Casting your memory back to last night, you revisited the way your hands had glided over the keys. Each note seamless and crisp melting into the songs you had beautifully played. You hoped you would play as effortlessly today. Today was a pinnacle and would hopefully affirm the hours of practice and offer a haven which floated more away from what was happening at home and into your future at The Royal College of Music.

Doing your therapeutic morning skincare, you thought listlessly of life there and the endless respite it unlidded. Today you had chosen a white turtleneck layered by a wooly grey cardigan and cute pleated skirt, with opaque tights - for the glacial London winter - and legwarmers. Leaving your room you slipped on your Doc Marten's - a complementary staple in your closet.

They had not been cheap, but with the aid of your part-time job which was not overly lucrative; you were able to secure the shoes and cover the significant costs of piano tuition. Walking down, you treaded softly on the worn carpet, you could hear the wretched sound of beer bottles clinking in the kitchen. Clinging to the bannister you steadied yourself; Cench would be at the piano exam. So you put on a façade of bravery and nonchalance even though you knew it was erosive.

"Hi y/n slept well," his words weren't slurred yet. You were flummoxed, dad was usually rooted in self-interest. When did he start looking beyond himself?

" Dad..." Your words caught in the static air, it sounded so raw.

"Mmm."

"Do you think you can drop me to my piano exam it's a bit far by bus, mum is working and -" Glass smashing to smithereens startled you; you covered your head instinctually.

"Who do you think I am. A fucking taxi, take the bus. You and your God damn piano," he was seething, as he turned around you took in his bloodshot eyes. So temperamental. He wouldn't have been good to drive anyways. Rigid and shaking you rushed up the stairs hurriedly and stuffed your bag blindly with your sheet music. Your eyes were too watery. You shut the door behind you with trepidation, not wanting to spark another polarizing outburst.

Tears streaming endlessly down your face you breath caught as you saw Cench leaving his house across the road. Seeing you he seemed perturbed like he'd seen something he shouldn't have. You watched aghast as he put his earbuds in and pulled his quintessential Trapstar hoodie to shroud his possessing curls. Walking down the street with your eyes downcast, you felt mortified, you felt Cench had seen a part of your life you worked so hard to hide.

You bumped into something unmoving, "ugh," you scoffed exasperatedly. Could my day get any worse? Glancing upwards you were dumbfounded by who stood in front of you.

"Hi y/n, you alright, everything calm yeah?" Cench was looking directly into your eyes, his earbuds out.

You nodded, clutching at fading conviction. How could you tell Cench your problems when he barely knew you? So dishonestly you made it seem like everything was fine; insecurity hoodwinked you into believing he would think you were 'too much.'

Almost smirking, he rolled his eyes tilting his head to one side like he was lost in demanding piano piece.

"Why do girls always move shady? I can tell your not fine, you were tearing up and that _ " he sighed seeing the resolve you had in being stoic.

"Alright then y/n, your fine I guess. The piano exams are time away, taking the bus is mad _" he was stopped short by a honk from a car blaring rap music.

"Anyways good luck, don't stress too tough, your piano skills are hard," Cench said this as the car drove away erratically.

Piano skills? Cench knows about my piano skills? Maybe you're not so self-deluded.

...

Raveled in the chaos of the morning, walking into the revered and coveted Royal College of Music was an exhale. The school was the cornerstone of all your dreams, you could always visualize it vividly. And now here you were for a piano exam, it was a reminder that it was real and not just a conjuring of your escapist imagination.

Walking through the hall you took in the surreal architecture and basked in its splendor. I could get used to this. Peeking at your crumpled pamphlet you realised the auditorium was on your left: 'Auditorium 9B.'

You sat down in a velvety plush seat and felt yourself inflate with hope, a place hear would be a gateway to magic. A piano piece began softly, enthralling the dozens of other pianists scattered in the vast, gilded auditorium. Flicking your eyes heavenwards you saw him, playing as gracefully as ever. Sometimes you thought to yourself Cench was born solely for this very thing.

Cench's POV:

I have played this piece a thousand times before now; I perfected it and made it radiate real talent even. Just so that when I got on this stage, I could stare at y/n and absorb her beauty. I committed every detail of her face to memory before the eighth bar - What can I say I'm a quick learner innit. The truth is I am worried about y/n, I know her dad is an alcoholic, I just don't want her to know I know. She'll get embarrassed and hurt, and I don't want to see her like that, ever. This piano exam is important, grade eight is what I need to come here; so why is all I can think about how to tell y/n I like her? I shake these feelings off as the keys fade for the end. These man are tapped if they say I didn't make Grade 8.

...

Y/n's POV:

Speechless and hypnotised is what you are. Making your way up to the mahogany stage, butterflies battle for dominance in your stomach. This mix of nervousness for the performance and the fact Cench will be watching is both nauseating and intoxicating. You inhale filling your squeezing lungs. The conductor motions for you to begin, the sheet music you have on the ledge... It's not Fur Elise, like you were assigned it's the one you've been experimentally writing. Horrified you close your eyes. Lost. You begin to play anyways. Confront don't run. You play until the amounting crowd is rendered delirious with applause and Cench is peering funnily at you in the audience, you brush it off. That's probably the look of disinterest.

As the curtains closed you saw your future becoming narrower... and narrower. There was an office which you were meant to report to promptly, to hear results. Practically tiptoeing in anticipation you felt yourself drown in dread. Not commencing to Grade seven meant bidding this school a sorrowful goodbye, before you even had a chance to enroll! It wasn't just the prestige, or the vigor which made this school shine in a pearly light, it was the love for music and adorned opportunities it created. For some a school like this was a pretty ornament on a promising resume, but for you, this was your youthful life's work.

Now standing outside the tastefully decorated office, you heard two adults discussing tersely, the conductor and examiner. Knocking lightly on the door, you were further unsettled at how swiftly it swung open. For the millionth time that day, you sat in a seat powerless; while others dictated your fate.

"Ms. y/n last name, we were shocked when you played the piece that was not assigned to you, but it appears you wrote it, yes?" The conductor drawled.

You cleared your throat hurriedly, looking intently at the poker-faced men.

"Yes sir, I did," it came out a near whisper.

"Excellent, welcome to grade seven, I look forward to seeing you at the Royal College of Music in the very near future."

...

You were beyond ecstatic. You honestly had no words to describe this feeling it was bliss and euphoria intertwined. The rain sprinkled predictably as you walked to your bus stop: You couldn't help but romanticise life at times, but this moment was a smidgen of actual romance in your life. Your gentle musings of how much you loved the piano led way to someone you might adore just as equally.

You could hear fast steps behind you through your beige XM4s, thinking it was just another jogger it didn't faze you.

"y/n..." your name caught in Cench's throat. Hearing his voice made you rip your headphones off. Ugh So unsubtle. You stopped to see what he had to say, Cench was only a few inches away. But you wished he was closer... Closer still. As close as possible.

"Hey y/n I saw you walking, can man walk with you," he said this confidently but his eyes were slightly down cast.

"Yes, of course," you replied, letting your heart soar with the possibility of this being the day you would turn a new leaf together.

You walked together to the bus stop talking about piano and your shared dream school, until you could see the tall, red bus blinking at you in the distance.

"There's my bus, see you in music class, Cench," you tried to mask your disappointment as you reluctantly climbed the steps.

"Where do you think I'm going, we live on the same street still," he chuckled rolling his eyes; exciting the butterflied entrapped in your stomach.

"Oh okay," you smiled awkwardly.

Cench's POV:

I am sitting so close to y/n in the bus right now. What if I just leaned in and... Truthfully I am overwhelmed with nervousness right now. This never happens ever. I don't want to talk to her about what happened this morning; she doesn't seem ready and the way she's smiling right now and just looking around the bus. Man she's so cute. Bu there are things to discuss..

"Y/n.."

"mmhmm," she was looking into my eyes and I thought my mind would go blank.

" I - I actually like you a lot... I have for time, I can't lie." Holding my breath. I'm hoping... I hope she responds the way she does in my head.

Y/N's POV

The air left your brain, the moment felt ethereal. You had pictured and edited this moment innumerable times in your imagination. And you always thought it was just remain a figment. Looking into Cench's dark, enamoring eyes you could see he was waiting for your answer.

"I like you too Cench... I have since forever." Your smile turned impossibly large and you faced the front, excited for what's yet to come and beaming.

"Since forever huh, babe don't be silly," Cench's smile was a reflection of a sunny day.

"It's true - " you mumbled realising what he has said. Babe.

Cench placed a warm hand on your cheek. His lips were soft like you had always envisioned; grazing over yours slightly - searching for reciprocation. You opened your eyes wide in awe and surprise, pressing your lips against his. You could feel Cench smiling into the kiss; his lips were sweet and fit yours perfectly. Slowly his hand trailed to grip your waist while the other stayed on your face. Moving your lips together he pushed his tongue in your mouth and roamed everywhere he could; you saw a different galaxy.

Gasping quietly you both pulled away grinning stupidly.

"You're so beautiful y/n you don't understand," whispering for only you to hear, he wrapped his arm around you moving closer. You put your head in the soft spot between his neck and the edge of his shoulder closing your eyes. You thought about love. Love for piano and Love for Cench.

....

THE END

[fixfoxnox]

Y'all know the thing of Neil Ellice with long hair that everyone was losing their shit over earlier?

This one???

I'm claiming it for the SoapRoach/GhostRoachSoap nation now.

HERES THE PLAN:

Deep undercover Soap, he grew his hair and beard out specifically to infiltrate a terrorist cell thats been slowly growing. It's headed by an American and notoriously hard to get involved in, but through monitoring the channels the 141 learned that the cell were looking for someone to help make explosives and shit for them.

So with months in the making the 141 craft this false identity for Soap. He's not Soap, he's just John McCormick and he's ex-militaty currently on the run for deserting. Its a perfect disgust because Soap is essentially allowed to be himself and have his same knowledge without worrying about remembering a harsh backstory or staying in character. The hair and beard are to add to this idea that he's trying to stay hidden.

Finally everything is ready and he goes undercover. It takes about a month, but he finally gets brought into the terrorist cell and pretty quickly works his way up the ladder until he's being introduced to the head guy. Johnathan Sanderson, a man who'd lost almost his entire family thanks to the US military and was out for harsh revenge.

The only member of his family remaining is his younger brother, Gary "Roach" Sanderson who isn't really involved in what his brother does despite knowing about it. He stays close because Johnathan is too overprotective and refuses to chance losing him too.

During his time undercover, Soap gets close to Roach and kinda maybe starts seeing him. He knows he shouldn't, he knows it can never really work, but he just can't help himself. Roach is too lovely and the two just get along so well.

Soap wants to tell Roach, he wants to tell him so bad, but he keeps things hidden.

The undercover op lasts almost two years of Soap trying to get the information that will allow the 141 to bring down the terrorist cell once and for all. Thats nearly two years of lying and secretly reporting back to, secretly communicating, and secretly meeting his team. Two years of being together with Roach and falling into a routine with him. Two years that lead to him eventually proposing to Roach, despite the fact that he knows he shouldn't. He just wants to pretend, just for a little longer.

Then, of course, he gets the information he needs, but in the process exposes himself. He's forced to run and barely makes it back to the 141 alive. Roach is informed that his fiance John was an undercover operative the entire time and, within days, the entire terrorist cell are being arrested or are getting themselves killed fighting back.

Roach gets arrested, but its more to get him out of harms way and to interrogate him rather than actually put him in jail.

He's getting interrogated by Price, Ghost, and Gaz about his brother when Soap steps into the room. He's not said a fucking word the entire time before Soap comes into the room and by the time Soap does, Price is threatening him with jail time. Soap like leans over the table and is like, "Roach...please just tell them what they want to know."

And Roach just refuses to look at him but Soap is still trying and he's just speaking softly and eventually Roach just snaps at him, "Why would you care what happens to me? You seemed pretty content just to use me for your own needs, John."

And Soap is like, "Please, please that isn't what was happening I swear." Price and the 141 pull Soap out of the room and get filled in about the little secret that Soap was hiding in that he'd started a relationship with and had even proposed to Roach.

Soap begs to be given some time because he's sure that he can get Roach to answer their basic questions about his involvement. So they let Soap go back into the room alone.

Soap gets into the room and for like the first thirty minutes to an hour Roach refuses to speak with him and they end up sitting in silence or with Soap being the only one talking. Then, finally, Soap mentions something about their engagement and Roach snaps.

Roach starts accusing him of only using him to get to his brother, of Roach being a pawn in whatever game he was playing, of Soap still trying to trick him now by playing on the love that Roach has for him. Soap refutes every point and swears up and down that he's in love with Roach and that Roach was never part of his plan to get to his brother.

Eventually Soap is like, "What do I have to do to prove to you that I love you?"

Roach answers, "Leave the 141. Leave the military."

Soap pauses for a short moment before, "If thats what it takes. If thats what makes you believe." And he leaves the room and comes back like an hour later with the papers that he would need to resign from the military and Roach is just gaping while watching him sign them.

And eventually Soap finishes and sets the pen down and slides the papers over to Roach so he can look at them and see that they're legit. Roach takes one look at them before just breaking down sobbing.

He finally answers the questions while crying into Soap's chest and clinging to him and at the end of it Price is like, "Okay, you're free to go." And Soap hands Price the resignation papers, but before Price can take them Roach grabs them and just rips them in half.

Soap asks him what he's doing in a panic and Roach (still crying) is just like, "I can't ask you to leave for me, I didn't think you'd actually do it, I'm sorry."

And it takes time and patience, Roach essentially has to relearn who his boyfriend is and Soap has to earn his trust back, but eventually the two work things out and the wedding is back on and Johnathan (in jail) is lowkey pissed on Roach's behalf but won't show that in front of Roach so he just glares daggers and mouths mean things to Soap when Roach isn't looking ajdbhdhsbd

Anyways yeah...I also have ideas on how to make this GhostRoachSoap so if you want that...lmk

[qqueenofhades]

That kiss in GO 206 was probably one of the most heartbreakingly romantic kisses I've ever seen. It was both !!!! and GOD WHY from the kiss to the look on Aziraphale's face when they broke away. I can see him going back to heaven only to later realize what he actually wants and get the F out of there to go find the love of his life.

IT WAS SO MUCH, GOD

From the whole Crowley-getting-ready-to-propose to Aziraphale's completely-in-denial insistence that they could go to Heaven and be together! Just like in the Beginning! To Aziraphale's anguished "I need you!" to Crowley just throwing six thousand years of pining to the winds as the cello music swells and going in for the Big Damn Kiss! Aziraphale's hand clutching his back! And then...

And then....

(Muffled sobbing)

Look, I'm not gonna lie. I love Stupid Homosexuals Who Can't Communicate and Unnecessarily Get Themselves Into a World of Self-Inflicted Hurt Because They Are Stupid. I love romantic but heartbreaking angst where the two halves of the ship both want the same thing, but can't agree on how to do it, and that ends up driving them (temporarily) apart. I love the villains desperately trying (and inevitably ultimately failing) to break the OTP up because they're just too powerful together. I love the whole "you have to clearly and explicitly choose what you want and defy the oppressive and cruel systems that have controlled you up to this point and are now taking you away from Your Person." And like I said, I honestly didn't think they were going to Go There with the kiss. I wanted them to, I wasn't sure how the story as it had been set up could progress without explicitly having a Big Romantic Moment and not just Super Totally Platonic Besties, but I still just... couldn't be sure.

Welp.

Anyway, Neil Gaiman has already said they all want to do a s3 to "give a satisfying ending to everyone we care about" and honestly, I do 100% trust him on this. This was the second-act cliffhanger, the Empire Strikes Back, the Han-and-Leia "I love you/I know" before Han is frozen in carbonite and taken away by the bad guys. It is a clear and obvious dramatic beat to set up for the ultimate resolution in a three-part trilogy. Yes, if this was the end of the story, it would suck. But it's not, and it just... makes me really, REALLY EXCITED for a potential s3, where Crowley and Aziraphale are canonically confirmed to be in Love-love and can actually fight for that, find out what it looks like, break free of old constraints, and get a happy ending that is narratively earned and not just given. So yeah.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ian Millhiser at Vox:

The Supreme Court handed down a strange set of opinions on Monday evening, which accompanied a decision that largely reinstates Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The ban was previously blocked by a lower court. None of the opinions in Labrador v. Poe spend much time discussing whether such a ban is constitutional — although Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion does contain some language suggesting that he and Justice Amy Coney Barrett will ultimately vote to uphold the ban.

Rather, seven of the nine justices split into three different camps, each of which proposes a different way that the Court should handle cases arising on its “shadow docket,” a mix of emergency motions and other matters that the Court decides on an expedited basis — often without full briefing or oral argument. The Labrador case arose on the Court’s shadow docket. Indeed, Idaho’s lawyers did not even attempt to defend its restrictions on gender-affirming care on the merits. Instead, they argued that the lower court went too far by prohibiting the state from enforcing its ban against any patient or any doctor. A majority of the justices agreed with the state, ruling that the ban cannot be enforced against the actual plaintiffs in this case, two trans children and their parents, but that it can be enforced against anyone who has not yet sought a court order allowing them to receive gender-affirming care.

How the justices divided in this case

While none of the justices discussed at much length whether they think the Constitution permits Idaho to ban transgender health care, every justice but Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan joined one of three opinions laying out how they think the Court should respond to parties asking them to provide relief on the Court’s shadow docket. Ordinarily, the Supreme Court waits until a case has been fully litigated in the lower courts before weighing in on a case in any way. Under its normal process, the Court also typically receives hundreds of pages’ worth of briefing on a case, hears oral argument, and spends months deliberating on how to decide it. Cases on the shadow docket, by contrast, ask the justices to bypass this ordinary process, typically to block a lower court order before the case has been fully resolved by a lower appellate court. The justices used to grant shadow docket relief very rarely — most often in death penalty cases where the inmate would be executed if the Court did not intervene swiftly — but it started granting it very often in the Trump administration after Trump’s Justice Department started routinely requesting shadow docket relief.

The justices divided into three camps in the Labrador case, with each camp joining concurring or dissenting opinions laying out how they think shadow docket cases should be resolved moving forward. Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, faulted the lower court for issuing a “universal injunction” that prohibits Idaho from applying its anti-trans law to any party. Gorsuch argued that courts should issue more limited orders when a state or federal law is successfully challenged, which only prevent the state or the federal government from enforcing its law against the specific plaintiffs who brought the successful challenge. Kavanaugh, joined by Barrett, argued that, in shadow docket cases, the Court often “has little choice but to decide the emergency application by assessing likelihood of success on the merits.” That means the Court’s decision to grant shadow docket relief will often turn on whether they think the party seeking such relief should ultimately prevail when the courts reach a final decision in the case.

That’s potentially very bad news for transgender children. Though Kavanaugh's opinion does not discuss whether he thinks Idaho’s law is constitutional, the fact that he voted to reinstate the law (except with respect to the two plaintiff families in this case) suggests that he thinks Idaho has a “likelihood of success on the merits” when the ultimate question of whether trans health care bans are legal reaches the Supreme Court. Finally, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, argued that the Court should show more “restraint” when it is asked to grant shadow docket relief. She argues that “our respect for lower court judges — no less committed to fulfilling their constitutional duties than we are and much more familiar with the particulars of the case — normally requires an applicant seeking an emergency stay from this Court after two prior denials to carry ‘an especially heavy burden.’” Although neither Roberts nor Kagan joined any of these opinions, Kagan briefly indicated that she would have denied the request to reinstate Idaho’s law in its entirety.

SCOTUS handed down a shadow docket decision permitting Idaho's law banning gender-affirming care (HB71) to take effect while Labrador v. Poe is still being litigated in lower-level courts. #SCOTUS

[sallymareeq]

Midnight In Her Arms

Summary:

Girls are finally at Welton and Neil is Immediately in love, Fluff and romance ensue. Neil x Femme

Notes:

first fic, im trying but i, like all fanfic writers, wrote this past my bedtime on a school night so enjoy.

Neil still remembered that stunned moment in the cave, Charlie had just announced his article published in the name of the Dead Poets demanding girls be admitted to Welton. A fleeting moment of excitement followed by a rush of panic, of course, it's what every guy there wanted, but still. Charlie certainly got a beating for that one. But looking back now he really took one for the team, his article could have been the thing to spark the formation of the Welton Hall preparatory board, proposing Welton and Henley Hall have merged lessons. Nuwanda’s radical behaviour finally shook Mr Nolan into realizing the distraction a lack of co-ed interaction can cause in teenage boys, and like that, all classes in the high school merged to the Welton Campus.

Even still there was pushback from concerned parents of Henley Hall girls, resulting in a maximum of 50 girls joining the school of 400 boys. Mr Keeting had always been pro-merge, stating that “in order to appreciate beauty we must expand our knowledge and see with new eyes”, Neil had to admit he was happy about the merge. It would be interesting to hear poetry and ideas from a girl's perspective, it would also be interesting to talk to a girl, to laugh with a girl, to kiss a girl.

The first day of the merge only one girl was assigned to Mr Keating's English class, Jenny Maree. She was small and quiet with dark brown hair that had a slight auburn tint in the light, her rosy lips and evergreen eyes stood out against her smooth, alabaster skin. Neil wasn't sure why he noticed her so, it could have been because she was one of the first girls he really got to look at, but it also could have been because she was really quite nice to look at. Neil felt he finally understood what Mr Keating meant about appreciating beauty, he thought he could write an epic about the way he felt as his eyes travelled from her face, down her smooth neck to her chest, her hips, her thighs.

He could never tell her, firstly out of shame but secondly because he was sure she could never find him attractive, why would she go for him when she could pick Knox or Charlie or Todd. Still he couldn't help but smile to himself when he thought he caught her eyes flicker away from his in class, a light pink blush dusting her cheeks.

After months of classes and many easy conversations on the way to class, Neil finally realized not only how beautiful Jenny was but how insightful and profound her writing was. Listening to her smooth song-like voice recite observations of the romanticism of a flower's new bloom, or the tragedy of time, was like nothing else to him. He realized he may be in love when he sat down to write a poem for class and all he could think about was her, all he could write about was her.

He sat at his desk, a cool breeze blowing through the cracked window lightly ruffling his hair, he set his pencil down and hung his head back with a sigh. “what's wrong?” Todd questioned from his bed. “I can't.. Write” sighed Neil dreamily. “Well why not?” “I can't, stop thinking about” Neil stared out the window “Jenny Maree” “Jenny?” Todd smirked, Neil looked at him. “Fair enough, she’s really quite brilliant” “She is” “You should talk to her,” Todd added casually. “I already do todd, we’re friend’s, we walk to class together” “No but like- actually talk to her. Invite her for lunch,” Todd chuckled to himself “ooor a midnight stroll and some poetry reading like Charlie” Neil laughed before picking up his pencil again “you know that's not a half bad idea Toddy, but it still doesn’t help my poem” Neil huffed “stop trying to fight it,” Todd advised “just write your poem about her, then you can talk about it after class” Neil thought for a moment then wrote a title, Miss.

The next Friday in class it was time for the oral examination on their personal poetry piece. Charlie got up and read his short prose on freedom, then Knox with his Haiku on love, then Todd with a brilliant piece about train of thought, then it was Neil. As he stood to read his paper, Mr Keating winked at him and nodded assuringly, he smiled back and took a deep breath in, trying not to look at Jenny and her soft, sweet smile.

Miss Midnight in her arms, A moment to ourselves, Real and full and true. Everything is clear, Evergreen our love shall be.

He looked up as Todd smirked proudly, and Charlie gave him a sarcastic thumbs up from the back of the classroom, but all Neil could see in that moment were Jenny’s evergreen eyes, pupils enlarged with admiration. “A lovely poem indeed Mr Perry” chirped the Captain as he stood “i'm sure we all envy the ‘Miss’ for whom this poem was written” he smiled knowingly, glancing in the direction of Jenny. “Anywhoom, Miss Maree, care to share with us your splendid piece?” Neil watched as she slowly stood and walked, hips swaying slightly, to the front of the classroom. She turned and to Neils Surprise she was smiling at him. Once again her eyes flicked away and she began to read.

Heart Writing poetry is painful, when love is absent, Longing, pining, admiring, Birth writing from the heart, But in doing so they take parts with them, Until the heart is but a half, But if love can be found In another half heart And as they begin to beat as one They give life to something new The most profoundly unique piece of art life.

(ill add more i swear)

[emily-mooon]

It’s that time again: Late night Nordegrim headcanons!

- they watch iconic Canadian historical crime show Murdoch Mysteries together. I’ve said it before and I shall say it again, Neil likes detective mystery shows like Poirot. They both have fun trying to figure out who did it. Stacey also likes it for the character relationship drama cause let me tell you that show has a crap ton of it and it can get very interesting (depends on the season though tbh).

-to add to the prev headcanon, Wallace also watches it and sometime after season 6, he made a drinking game for it. All three of them got wasted first time they played it cause it was a James Pendrick episode (those episodes along with Terrence Meyers episodes have a formula to them with little reoccurring details)

- even though I’ve stated that Neil’s the little spoon, there are times where he is the big spoon and that’s when Stacey has a bad day. She just wants her boyfriend/husband to wrap his arms around her on those days

-In the future when Stacey is an English teacher, she’ll sometimes wear one of Neil’s T-shirts to work under a flannel or something. Usually it’s when he’s out on a set that’s out of province and sometimes outside of Canada but she’ll also do it when he’s home

- Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim love Neil. They love their daughter’s dorky boyfriend. They play Clue together on Friday nights

- Stacey is the one who uses pet names the most. Neil is far too awkward to call her any. He can make out with her in a the Tim Hortons, but his ass will freeze in any attempt to call her ‘honey’ out in public (he has called her ‘bunny’ once and both of them were flustered)

-DOUBLE👏DATES 👏WITH 👏MOBILLACE!!! I will not elaborate further as to why, you can guess what the dates are like

- When Stacey saw Neil smile for the first time (I don’t think he smiles very often), it was all over at that point. She fell even harder for him based on his awkward but cute smile (and also laugh ngl)

- They did ONE jam session with Shatterband. You can try to pry bassist Neil from my hands but ultimately you’d fail cause I, a bassist, have a firm grip on it.He plays bass with them sometimes cause he thinks it would make it better. Stacey I think is a pretty good singer, so she did the singing (makes sense since she is played by Anna Kendrick who is an amazing singer. But imo Stacey is a little bit below the former)

- Bringing back the ‘they elope on a rock on a beach on the east coast’ headcanon back. They would do it. At first Stacey just proposed to Neil and they both agreed to wait a little bit, but they’re dorks and on a whim eloped cause a ceremony sounded intimidating and also expensive. Their witnesses was Neil’s uncle and aunt as they live there (Neil has family on the east coast in my heart)

Im gonna stop now cause I’m tired. Im sorry if some of them sound incoherent. As I said I’m tired and if there are any spelling mistakes or what not, I’ll fix them in the morning.

So goodnight and hoped you liked them! :]

[jtl-fics]

May I propose: ex boyfriends au. Neil and Andrew go back in time per usual, but they arrive together at the beginning of Neil's recruitment to palmetto. They agree that for now, they should keep it low key and not change much in fear of making the future worse. But, they come to find out that repeating your life exactly the same way is BORING. So, they decide to spice it up a bit. In order to explain their familiarity to the foxes, they create this awfully dramatic backstory full of twists and betrayals, where neil met Andrew while he was with Cass and then Andrew did something to land them both in Juvie, and maybe in juvie they betrayed each other or smthn. All of its fake but the foxes eat it up. Neil and Andrew even incorporate song lyrics that haven't been made into fake arguments that they have for fun (strawberry ice cream in Malibu don't act like we didn't do that shit too) and the foxes fully believe that they're ex boyfriends. But even they can't fully hide the affection they have for each other and when that bleeds through the fixes think they're witnessing the best second chance trope when in reality they're just fucking around

This is such a funny concept.

I am going to add one thing though. In this AU Neil and Andrew made it all the way to their 90s. They went to sleep in their bed old, in love, and happy together. They've both been getting more and more tired lately, they know what's coming. They've seen it with their friends. It's fine, whatever the next step is they're going to go together. If one leaves a little early, well they've had years to get patient while waiting for the other to catch up.

They pass together and their great grand nephew (Kevin's) finds them the next morning (he'd been staying with them to help with a few things. They're holding hands.

They find themselves in the immediate aftermath of Andrew having driven an Exy racquet into Neil's stomach. There's a moment where Andrew truly panics because "OH FUCK, WHAT IF I RUPTURED HIS COLOSTOMY BAG?" and then oh he never really forgot how Neil looked (Neil had been the one that needed the reminders about things) but seeing his husband at 18 with brown hair, wire thin frame, and brown eyes? It throws him off even if he'd know Neil no matter what hair color or eye color.

Kevin comes up and it's been almost 10 years since he'd died but he's there young, no liver spots, and with a 2 on his face again.

They have long been able to talk to one another without a single word. Now that Andrew's face has full range of motion again (partial stroke 3 years before) it's even easier.

"So this is where you ran off to?" Andrew demands.

"Oh, like I had a choice after what you pulled!" Neil shoots back.

Cue two old fucks who are now in the prime of their life bodies and when they lost a lot of their mobility with age the thing they had most loved to do was fuck with their numerous grand nieces and nephews (I am stating right here that every fox who has a kid FULLY views Andreil as uncles so it does not matter if there is a blood relation).

Neil and Andrew rarely need to lie about the shit they've gotten up to, it just hasn't happened yet. They only make it like 2 weeks MAX pretending like they're mad at one another. They've slept in the same bed holding hands for 70 years. They don't do well when they're separated and Andrew is on that god awful medication but this time they know the medical expert who can argue about how BAD this whole shit show is and they know the lawyer to hire. Neil might dip heavily into his stash money but they know more than enough to make that cash back.

Andrew off his meds almost a whole year early via an outpatient treatment.

Still they keep referencing some insane past. "I'll say sorry for getting us thrown in Juvie when YOU apologize for lighting the car on fire in the first place!" he huffs.

"Then I guess we're at a standstill."

These arguments are had while they are absolutely all over one another because a bunch of parts of theirs just WORK again and that's super fun for both of them. They seem like Seth & Allison 2.0 with 8x the history but Neil makes Andrew act like a human and not a monster so they're all very invested in the relationship working out.

This past is also NEVER elaborated on but they never fuck up the fabrication of it either. Andrew because his perfect memory and Neil because even decades later he is a super tier liar.

They're having fun, it's sort of like being back with all their grand nieces and nephews except it's all of their friends (+Seth). The Original Foxes were long used to Neil & Andrew's shit so it was impossible to mess with them like this.

They're going to have a blast.

Edit: Thanks @the-inner-musings-of-a-worm for the fun idea once again!

[dee-in-the-box]

Gigi Attempts To Call Her Father In The Aftermath Of The Bad Ending In Dsaf 3

(@niaclo here's the thing :) there's also a lot of Lore Implications here, and i'll let you see if you can find a couple :])

*bzzt* ... *bzzt* ... *bzzt* ... *bzzt-*

"Hey, Jack Kennedy's voicemail thing here. Leave a message. Or don't. I don't give a shit-" *beep!*

Gigi: H-Hey Dad. It's uh...well, it's been three months, and you not only haven't responded to my texts and calls, but Liz and Neil's as well. Uh, Jesus Christ.

Look, I know you used to do this a lot a few years ago, where you'd just...up and disappear for weeks at a time with little to no notice, and with little to no contact with any of us, but, uh, just a small sign that you're okay would be appreciated, y'know?

...Dad, is...is this about the baby that went missing at the diner back several months ago? I... *sigh* Dad, do you...remember when you used to tell us that you and Pops got several Freddy's locations shut down back in the day by killing a bunch of young kids? Ones who were around our age when you had told us that? We-We always thought that you were joking, just doing it to sound intimidating, t-that you hadn't actually-

...D-Dad, y-you were joking, right?

...I-I don't wanna think too hard about the fact you might not have been...

...Pops always had seemed kinda scared of you, now that I think about it...at least from what I remember...

Dad- the last time any of us heard from you was went you sent this...weird package home with the red scarf in it. For me.

I-I just- it's lovely, don't get me wrong, Dad, but-

It...It looks like the one you said Aunt Dee had. But...But you'd told me that she had been wearing that scarf when she was-

Dad, w-where did you even find this? Is this why you've been missing for so long? Why you haven't come home yet?

I know we made fun of you a bit for the bear suit thing, b-but we were just joking around. I- Did we do something wrong?

[long pause]

...Dad, do you remember how I told you that I used to see this...weird pink man when I'd fall asleep, and how he'd talk to me even when I wasn't asleep? And how you'd get...weirdly concerned? I-I haven't heard from him since you disappeared. Look- I mean this both in a joking way and in a serious way: was that Satan, and did you effectively make a deal with the Devil to get him to leave me alone? I-I mean, on one hand, I really appreciate it, but also, I-I'd prefer to still be dealing with him if it meant you were still here.

...We haven't head from Pops either. We gave him a phone too, but...

Dad, a-are you two okay? I-I even tried asking Roger where you two went, and all he told me was that he "didn't know and didn't care." I- did something happen?

Dad, look, I get that there's probably some reason that you've had to disappear off the face of the Earth, but- could you please just let me know if you're fucking okay or not?

...M-Marsha and I got engaged, you know? T-The girl I introduced you to a few years ago? Y-Yeah, she proposed to me. The ring's very pretty, I-I'll send you a picture of it later. The wedding's in February, the same day we met back in...2018, I think? The 19th.

Y-You think you could be there? Walk me down the aisle? Like I've heard it's supposed to work? If you or Pops could come, it'd be nice. Marsha hasn't even met him yet...

...We miss you, y'know? I miss you.

...Please come home, Dad. Please....

...

Love you.

...Bye.

*beep!*

[dubiouslynamed]

Alright, this idea has been giving me a hard time for weeks. Out into the void it goes! Sorry it's so long. There's more under the cut, believe me.

CURTAIN/ NIAT RUC

The Bentley's license plate, NIAT RUC, has been visible from the beginning of this show and it's been nagging at the back of my head just as long. Why is it 'curtain' spelled backwards? What does it mean? And what is the overall story about? Crowley asks the question at the beginning of Season 2. What's the point of it all? Angels, demons, heaven, hell? Is that license plate a Clue? Obviously, I think it is.

Good Omens is about friendship and love, certainly. But there's more going on. The book and show both deal with huge moral and ethical questions-often in the flashbacks, but not always. Why is the universe the way it is? Why do bad things happen to good people? How do you choose between two bad options? Why should you have to, sometimes? Is it right to harm one person to save another (Or many others? Or all the others?). What's the point of it all?

I think that's part of why this particular story, in whatever medium it's told, is so compelling. I love the characters and the writing and the direction and the production-clearly all the work of many very committed people who also love the story and have the skill and talent to bring it to life. But the best stories, and for me this is one of them, examine the *really* big questions. Good Omens asks those questions and somehow (Maybe by using an angel and demon as protagonists? I don't know. It's a mystery!) manages to be hugely entertaining while doing so.

Curtain is Agatha Christie's last Hercule Poirot mystery. She wrote it in the early 1940s, partly worried she might die in the Blitz and leave her detective without a satisfactory ending, and locked it up to be published over 30 years later in the 1970s. In it, a dying Poirot solves the mystery of the identity of a serial killer who has mastered the art of psychologically provoking other people to commit murders without ever being found out as the person who persuaded them to kill. There isn't enough evidence to charge this indirect murderer with anything and Poirot believes he will continue his crimes uncaught. Poirot murders the serial killer himself (by deceiving his friend Hastings to a fare-thee-well and then arranging the evidence to look like the killer committed suicide). He then stops taking the medicine that has been keeping him alive. Poirot's solution is what he sees as the lesser evil of murdering the killer followed by atonement in the form of his own death. In short, Poirot has chosen among the bad options available to him while retaining the moral sense that his choice is itself evil. Some Christie fans won't read Curtain and I don't blame them.

The Metatron looks a lot like the manipulative serial killer in Curtain, though a writer as skilled as Neil Gaiman doesn't borrow entire characters or plots. The Metatron is certainly in a position to have influenced or even caused some of Heaven's morally outrageous actions by representing them as the word of God. Poisoning the angels against humanity bit by bit over millennia until they have no problem with the idea of destroying all of creation. They're even enthusiastic about it. Heaven is arguably worse than Hell at this point because, in fairness, Hell seems to look at humanity as a recruitment opportunity more than anything else.

In the first series of Good Omens, we see Crowley propose murdering the Antichrist to stop the Apocalypse and Aziraphale come close to doing it (he is only stopped by Madame Tracy's good sense from firing the thunder gun at Adam). You have to wonder what would have happened to Aziraphale if he'd managed to succeed. Something like Poirot's death? Do even good-hearted angels have to choose between bad options?

I believe that authors, being deeply concerned with words and their meanings, should be taken seriously about what they call their stories. An omen is a portent, for good or for evil, of events to come. So the name Good Omens essentially means 'this is a story about good things that will happen in the future'. Perhaps, perhaps, then, Good Omens is a story about finding and removing a source of evil in the universe without having to commit a moral crime to do it and, as a consequence, getting things more on track to a happier ending for everyone, our characters included. Not to a place where too often there is only a choice among bad options but to a place where there are more good options. More reason for the dealer in God's metaphor to be smiling all the time. Not Curtain, but its reverse.