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meatballlady · 8 months

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It's time for the fandom to start Looking Where the Furniture Isn't

For a bit of background, one of my irl professional responsibilities is to identify and avoid making undue assumptions. There are a LOT of things that we humans assume. We assume that terminology means the same to other people as it does to us. We assume everyone has the same context of a situation we do. We assume that we aren't missing any information.

We operate on the information we have.

There was an ask before season 2 aired asking whether many of the plot points had been revealed by the clips (which almost all took place during the first half of the first episode). Neil's response was something like "oh you sweet summer children you know nothing yet." And boy was he right.

Neil Gaiman is a master of controlling assumptions. Just look at his Tumblr askbox replies.

Here's a few s2 examples of assumptions we all made (as I'm starting a rewatch):

Why did Crowley do the (very fun and distracting) apology dance? You might say it was because he walked out on Jim, but he never specified, did he? And Aziraphale was surprised that he proposed they would hide him "together"

How did Shax get a rumor about something going down in the Up (presumably) before Gabriel even went downstairs?

Did Jim need to bring Aziraphale something other than the box? He never actually specifies; Aziraphale just assumes it's the box.

Why did Aziraphale assume Maggie could feel [Michael, Uriel, Saraquael] arriving?

Why does Aziraphale say Heaven would notice even a small miracle? Crowley is seen doing a miracle before their large miracle (traffic light), and later Aziraphale makes the guy leave the table at the pub

To go deeper:

Are we assuming that characters are telling the truth? Example: "Miracles don't work like that," "[Extreme sanctions] was just something we said to frighten the cherubs" etc.

Are we assuming that nothing of note happened between apocalypse v1 and s2? (ex. the claims that Crowley didn't tell Aziraphale about the trial in heaven despite him referencing it in s2s1) What if we the audience are just jumping in near the end of this story?

Are these assumptions correct? Or are we just working with the information that we have?

Now that I'm looking for it, there's also SO many corrections of assumptions (usually for the sake of a joke, but still) (these are just the ones that happen while I type them out while watching e2):

"Can I be a blue one?" "You haven't annoyed me yet" "But can I be?"

"You recognized [Michael, Uriel, Saraquael] those people who were in the shop just now?" "Of course, they were in the shop, just now!"

"oh my god!" "blasphemy, angel, that's not like you", "no, oh, my god"

Many of the themes were about hiding things in plain sight: the kids (and kids), Jim, "aim for my mouth but shoot past my ear." Clue (1985) was heavily referenced in the lead-up. The whole point of that film was looking at what was going on elsewhere. Looking where the furniture isn't, you might say.

The more I watch s2, the less certain I am that any of it makes sense on its own.

I'm currently combing through it to see if there are any discrepancies with where people are (easiest example is when Crowley just disappears from the bookshop while they're reviewing the Job story). It'll be a lot of data and might not lead anywhere, but I'll definitely share once I finish looking into it.

I will also honestly admit that these things are all circumstantial, and I could be going insane. But they just keep cropping up all over the place. I've got a lot of time before S3 comes up and I intend to investigate the furniture. And try to not make assumptions.

#good omens #gos2 #good omens spoilers #good omens meta #good omens theory #aziraphale #crowley #s2 wrecked me #it's driving me insane #I'll be completely transparent on that front #looking where the furniture isn't

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ineffablyruined · 7 months

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I Can Make A Difference

My thoughts on the theme for Day 2 of the Nice and Accurate Prophecies event!

See my meta here about Aziraphale's elevator grin and why I completely believe he has a Plan (always with the capital letter).

If I'm being honest, I don't know what I believe his Plan is. But, what I do want to talk about is his character and what I think he's going to bring to Heaven.

I firmly believe that the Metatron only cared about separating Crowley and Aziraphale because he was scared of their combined power.

I mean, these two already stopped Armageddon once when they teamed up. Now they are performing 25 Lazari miracles when miracles are usually measured in centilazari or millilazari. Neil even says it's mostly millilazari, which is 1/1000 of a single lazari. Their combined power is insane and they weren't even trying. So, of course they must be separated.

And the easiest way to do this? Take the easily manipulated one and bring him back to Heaven, of course. Who cares that he's in a position of power? All it takes to get him to agree to anything you want is a little bit of mirrored speech patterns, support for his favorite activity of ingesting human substances, and some flattery. He couldn't be more easily controlled, right? RIGHT?

But, what the Metatron didn't know, couldn't possibly have known, is that Aziraphale is the angel with an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong and the backbone to stand up for it at all costs.

And he's not going to be as easy to get rid of as Gabriel was, because the problem (for the Metatron) with Aziraphale is that he's not going to tell Heaven, "No," And make it easy for them to fire him. That's what Gabriel did, and it was immediate demotion. But Aziraphale? He's going to talk about it, he's going to ask questions about it, or even flat out lie about it, and he's going to make them doubt their own plans. Probably not the Metatron, but all the other angels? Absolutely.

Want to know how I know?

He's been standing up to people, lying, and convincing them to do things he wants them to for literal millennia.

The Heaven v. Hell fight could've just continued right along, but in comes Aziraphale, asking questions about if it's the Great Plan or the Ineffable Plan, and suddenly no one knows for sure and the whole thing falls apart.

He convinces Crowley with little more than a look to make Hamlet a success.

He stands up to the archangels in the Job minisode, and when that doesn't work, he fakes it with his bestie, and outright lies to seal the deal.

He's going up to Heaven and he's going to make those idiots do the right thing regardless of how they feel about it, and he's going to do it in a way that makes them think it was their idea in the first place.

The Metatron may be a master manipulator, but two can play that game. And my money is on Aziraphale.

#gomensnaap #day 2 #good omens meta #Aziraphale #BAMF Aziraphale #good omens s2 #good omens s3 thoughts #good omens speculation #good omens #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2 spoilers #aziraphale

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gomurderboard · 9 months

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The Good Omens Seasons 2 & 3 Murder Board

Hey all -- @inconveniently-discorporated here. Still setting this up as a blog with links and suchlike. I'll pretty up this post at some point and it'll be pinned at the top for easy access to tags and whatnot.

Suffice to say, this blog will contain spoilers (tagged "#gos2 spoilers") as it's mostly clues and hints as to what may be going on this season, and theories for the next and final season. I'll be gathering different theories, evidence/arguments for AND against each theory, little bits of loose threads, themes, mentioned books, resources, etc.

Also, I won't be reblogging disrespect. Disagreeing with any given theory and discussing is fine, I won't be reblogging things that call people stupid. I'm here to have fun.

Feel free to tag me if you see anything I should reblog. I have A LOT to share already, so if you don't see something right away, it might be queued up so I don't flood the fandom.

Theory Tags

#book of life theory (#pro BOL propaganda / #anti BOL propaganda) - Anything revolving around the theory that the Metatron possesses the Book of Life and is using it to mess with events that have happened.

#coffee theory (#pro coffee propaganda / #anti coffee propaganda) - Anything revolving around the theory that the Metatron spiked Aziraphale's coffee with something that caused him to become brainwashed, or more susceptible to manipulation.

#Crowley's identity (will be tagged with the relevant identity whether for/against, e.g., #Lucifer, #Raphael, may also include the tag #memory loss) - Anything revolving around Crowley's former identity, including memory loss.

#body swap theory (#pro body swap propaganda / #anti body swap propaganda) - Anything revolving around the idea that, at some point, Crowley and Aziraphale are actually working together and switched places.

Other Tags

#malignant and creeping sense of unease - A general tag for things that are just NOT QUITE RIGHT but there's no specified theory as to what. (Also see: #loose clues -- interesting potential hints & #details -- fun factoids and show design.)

#magic and misdirection - A general tag for things that revolve around the show's use of magic, misdirection, and sleight of hand.

#books - Tag for any books mentioned in the show or promo materials. I'll probably create and link a master post of all books.

#music - Tag for music mentioned or heard in the show.

#references - Tag for easter eggs or references spotted in the show.

#parallels and themes / #character analysis - Tags for analysis around the characters or show itself.

Resources

Neil Gaiman Tumblr FAQ: Good Omens

#good omens #good omens theories #gos2 spoilers

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dmbakura · 3 months

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Would you say AA has this sense of thinking he /needs/ to be like Cazador, because that's "what works" and what's "safe"? Like this is who he has to be, and nothing else is viable? That's how I interpreted AA's masking (especially during his sex scene, it seems very insincere and more like what he thinks he needs to be than what he wants) and I can't really make it work with Neil's statements honestly.

I also think he's very much capable of cruelty but the way AA acts is something else entirely to me because it's so goofily a Stereotypical Cartoon Villain Big Bad Sexy Vampire which doesn't really come across as honest in the way, let's say, Gortash's antics seem honest from what we know of the character. Maybe I'm misinterpreting what masking means, idk. I'm definitely not saying it's not honest that he wants to do all that power-hungry shit and that he's secretly a pure tortured soul because that's a lame ass reading that contradicts canon but everything about how he carries himself is so uncanny and all those underlying themes of being really fucking afraid and unable to face what happened/running away from it don't lead me to believe he's living an authentic life, more like he's trapped inside himself.

I don't really see how this contradicts anything Neil said. He never says AA is Astarion's most authentic self at all, or even that he's healthy and confident, only that he stops masking with theatrical deflections.

You also have to account for the supernatural element here too. In dnd lore, most true vampires basically succumb to personality rot and become paranoid and obsessive scheming freaks. I know the 'vampire ascendant' is a new thing and bg3 plays with the lore a bit more but considering this is alluded to by Astarion AND Cazador and heavily reflected in AAs behavior, I'm willing to believe that the vampire ascendant is literally just that but on steroids. Hence the cartoonish behavior lol

Astarion's a complex character. A lot of his arc is a question about how trauma can shape a person and what remains (if anything) after they've gone through something inconceivable, and if they can move past it and reclaim an identity for themself. I don't think it's a coincidence that his background is mostly vague and we don't actually know the kind of person he was before he was turned (unlike *those* fans, I also don't believe 'corrupt magistrate' means he was 'always destined to be evil' or some nonsense like that.) So much of his character is informed by the choices made in the game and how the experiences shape his worldview. He's by far the most dynamic character in the game and people want there to be a simple answer to his character (whether that be 'he's a poor uwu baby who did nothing wrong' or 'he's always been irredeemably evil and is incapable of change') when the reality is there just isn't one.

All this to say, same as what I've been saying from the beginning, both endings for him serve a purpose. They're two sides of the same coin for his character. They are both true to Astarion and his development and they're meant to contrast in ways that make you think deeper about him and his story. They absolutely cannot be taken in a vacuum and I am just so annoyed with people not engaging with the story on this level and wanting there to be simple moral platitudes to everything because they're uncomfortable with complexity.

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y2kas13 · 2 months

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Part two…

I think I may have perceived the Neil druckmann situation to be a little different than you did. Neil druckmann is from Israel and witnessed this brutality and genocide first hand, since Palestine and Israel have been fighting for many years! He said witnessing this caused a deep anger in him that he harnessed when writing tlou2…

I thought he was using art to make a comment on the situation. Like, he wanted to show that constant fighting over land and religion never leads to anything good. Literally, they showed that the constant fighting between the scars and WLF lead to the demise of both groups. As Shakespeare said, art holds a mirror to reality. Through art, we can make intentional choices that will evoke certain feelings in people. Because of all of the vengeance and violence they participated in, Abby and Ellie both lost everything. Could it be that this theme was missed by you? Art is meant to evoke visceral responses, so it kinda seems like he did his job with that. Also, he supplied financial support to both the Palestine and Israelis, so I’m not entirely sure how it was concluded that he hates Palestine. (I think what is happening oversees is absolutely disgusting, but I don’t see how Naughty Dog is perpetuating the war. Also, you never know what someone has been through or seen, so you really can’t condemn people for compartmentalizing in order to make it through. That is how/why some people are able to temporarily put the bad shit to the back of their mind for a few hours while they click some buttons on a controller.) What is the goal with not buying remastered tlou2? I want to help, but I don’t see how not purchasing a video game will make anything better. I want to understand. Remastered was auto-downloaded to my ps5, since I had it in my wishlist for a while. They already have my money for it, so might as well play it? They can’t benefit anymore from me playing it I don’t think…

while I can agree in the game you see how both side's actions are harmful to one another this isn't the case in real life. In Tlou its clear cut that no side is truly "evil" just the product of violence that isn't their own until they take on the violence but that's not the case in real life with Palestine and Isreal which is where I believe you are misconstruing what I'm trying to say. Palestine didn't do anything to Israel at least not in the same capacity as what Israel has done to them.

Tlou and Palestine/Israeli conflict are different in the sense that there is clear right and wrong, now am I going to sit here and say Palestine is completely 100% innocent no. But in this conflict yes. The people of Palestine shouldn't have to suffer because another nation wants to selfishly take what not there's and kill them to get it.

I am not claiming he hates Palestine but I don't think its fair for him to act like its some their both bad and good on both sides Israelis can walk free in their streets while Palestinians wonder if they will be shot down in there own to "be made an example of". it's not a fair nor accurate representation of the truth.

Not purchasing Tlou 2 shows that using real-world suffering for your profit and gain and not even doing them justice and being fair isn't right nor will be tolerated.

If you truly "want to help" and understand don't argue with me in my asks listing to the dozens of real Palestinians begging you to do what you can and if that means not buying a game then so be it. don't you think they want to be able to sit back and a play game.

I hope this cleared up for you and others why people like me are putting the pressure to not buy and boycott the game.

#ellie williams #ellie x fem reader #ellie williams x reader #abby anderson #abby anderson x reader #free gaza #palestine #the last of us #free palestine #gaza genocide

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thesherrinfordfacility · 9 months

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I mean Neil said once that the sequel involved Jesus arriving in America on a plane with secret service agents, and the S2 opening sequence shows a plane, so I'm... fairly confident that he's an adult? Jesus died when he was like 33 right

afternoon anon!!!✨ see i recall this (ask on neil's page?) and remember the response but cannot for the life of me find it anywhere (and im pretty good at Finding Stuff), do you - or anyone else reading for that matter - have a link to this? just so i can save it for future reference.

now, i hope you don't mind if i do this, but i would like to use this opportunity to parse out a more coherent rationale on the second coming, if that's okay? yeah? cool.

(previous incarnation of this theory).

thing is that the premise of the baby swap in s1 is based on the omen, right? takes at least a huge chunk of inspiration from that as the origin of how the antichrist came into the story. but it goes wrong, obviously, and there's a third baby thrown in the mix. makes a cursory wave to the omen, but isn't a carbon copy of it.

now i can't help but feel that narratively it would make sense to bookend this and have the second coming be a bit bollocksed up too. seems to be a theme in GO. and actually, when i thought about it (with extreme bias, granted, because im chomping at the bit on this theory), the second coming was potentially already fucked up anyway.

now, disclaimer time -

i completely get that people will look to the bible in reference to parsing out the second coming (or indeed any other theory). obviously i do too, for references to certain verses etc. in order to draw the relevant parallels. but there are multiple instances in GO where it is based on the bible or other texts, but doesn't follow it exactly; how GO portrayed the book of job, for example. it takes these texts, and distorts or reimagines them slightly or completely.

the way i see it, we are reading/watching GO as if this is in fact the true telling of those texts, as if (and not trying to be diminutive here) the bible is an inaccurate telling of GO, not the other way around - because, of course, we're seeing GO from the angel and demon that were 'actually there', so to speak.

im not saying that this - or any - of my theories are indisputably correct, far from it. but to me, with the information i have from the narrative as first source, and then looking at the referenced texts that inspired it, what i come up with, and write, is what makes sense to me. and it might make sense because it would be poetically apt, is in-keeping with how i interpret the characters, and/or is just plain funny or ironic (GO is after all, a comedy).

so whilst i fully anticipate people to duly correct me on how it all goes down in the bible (as they should, i love being educated!!!), please know that im not trying to deliberately misinterpret anything, but more trying to think outside the box, from the viewpoint of the GO story itself, and what direction would make the most sense in which it will reimagine these texts.

- exit disclaimer.

anyway! theory time!

so we have the imagery from the s2 sequence of the "thy kingdom come" plane, and this is obviously a reference to the resurrection as you've said, anon: that jesus arrives by plane. i truly love this imagery because if we take matthew 24:36 (KJV): "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.", the concept that in the great plan the date and time might finally be revealed in the form of a flight number, airport, and ETA is frankly hilarious to me. furthermore, "cometh with clouds" (revelation, 1:7 KJV) being reimagined as a literal plane landing again sets up the comedic backdrop so well.

now wherever the plane lands, whether from the US or to the US (again, don't have the original neil answer to refer to, but going based on your ask, anon, it's the latter), it regardless involves americans. this is where i feel it would be a perfect narrative symmetry opportunity to refer back to s1/the book, and reintroduce the dowlings.

and you might be wondering, "well no because GO set up the dowlings to be involved only insomuch that they were meant to be custodians of the antichrist - why would they also be involved in the second coming?" well, i wondered this too. the only conclusion i can come to, frankly, is GO!god having a very warped, twisted and ineffable sense of humour. they saw what satan had planned for the dowlings in inadvertently raising the antichrist, possibly did a bit of shifting around in the mystical threads, and decided that actually - just to throw in the wildcard of chaos - they should instead be the bearers of the second coming. this degree of mind-boggling ineffability, to me, would be comedically on-brand.

regardless; whilst just a theory, the whole thing makes sense to me - that in any case, the dowlings are going to make a reappearance. and with them, or on his own (if we follow the biblical telling that jesus was resurrected as he was from the crucifixion, at age 33yo, and therefore would suggest a timeskip from s2, but this isn't necessarily guaranteed - ie: might not be how GO chooses to portray it!), comes warlock. now we know that warlock was meant to be the antichrist, before crowley and the nuns managed to bugger it all up.

but heaven wouldn't necessarily know that its the dowlings arriving, right? presumably they'd just all gather on the tarmac awaiting the arrival, and lmao SIKE, it's bloody warlock. heaven hasn't met warlock, and therefore still think he's in fact jesus resurrected... but aziraphale has met him. he helped bloody raise him. and he knows now that he is essentially a normal kid/adult (albeit a very stuck-up one) and definitely not the second coming.

well then, if jesus was meant to be on that plane, according to the great plan, a plane being used by the dowlings... then why isn't it warlock? well, because the dowlings' actual baby isn't warlock. lets go back to the baby swap in the book/s1:

*apols, editing to correct this somewhat because it isn't quite right and lateral thinking is not my strong suit*

ANTICHRIST was meant to go to: the DOWLINGS. instead, went to: the YOUNGS. this is Adam.

YOUNG BABY was meant to go to: stay with the YOUNGS, but got mixed up. instead, went to: the DOWLINGS. this is Warlock.

DOWLING BABY was meant to go to: adoption/something nefarious instead, and indeed did. this is... Greasy Johnson.

and i love this for all sorts of reasons. now im lifting this next bit, essentially, from another ask of mine, but to keep things all in one place:

"greasy is posed as the antithesis of adam/antichrist, has a gang surrounding him that you could infer are loyal disciples, and is a mirror to adam in that adam on the whole seems to be a well-adjusted and morally-upstanding young boy.

i further think the fact that adam is the antichrist put against greasy being the second coming is a well positioned reflection on the nature vs nurture argument. ultimately adam grew up in a largely loving and supportive environment, and as the literal son of satan, you'd expect his nature, the circumstances of his birth, to rule out every other influence.

ultimately it does for a short time, but adams narrative iirc is that it is reflective of his desire to save the world... he wanted to get rid of things that were Wrong, and naively (he is still an 11-year old boy after all) thought that destroying the world and restarting it would do just that. his friends however reinforce in him that destruction and reparation are not the same thing, and so his upbringing, the nurture, wins.

greasy? we don't know a lot about him, only that he is a bully and represents the opposite of adam and the them... [and there exists] the whole [sic] analogy that greasy and the johnsonites vs adam and the them are meant to represent the hell vs heaven war..."

and then we have this small, relatively innocuous detail from the book:

as i said, possibly something of nothing. but the deliberate wording of 'breeding the fish', which is left out of s1, is - i like to think - a bit of a clue.

and before anyone comes for me on this, i am aware that this is based practically on fuck all of jack shit; im painfully aware of that. im aware that it deliberately misinterprets certain passages (not going to do the soapbox speech again, promise), but i just like to have fun. i honestly do not care if this is wrong; whatever happens in s3 should and will be better than anything i can come up with. yes, it's fun to get a prediction or speculation correct, of course it is, but it's not the endgame here. i get that others will have conflicting schools of thought, see things differently, or just plain think it's crap - that's okay! but, if that's the case, just move on from this post with a shake of your head. im not here to do anything other than have a good time, lads (gn)✨💓

edit 21/08: additional reading because now i feel vindicated: here from amuseoffyre, and my tags on this post too.

#im sorry i get a bit ranty in this anon none of that is directed at you at all im sorry it ended up on your ask #but we just need to let everyone have the space to come up with whatever batshit theories they like and have fun with it #this is such a lovely warm fandom and id love to see it remain that way!!!#good omens #not a shitpost but its good omens babyyyy #ask #also i havent proof read this so if there are any errors just pretend you didnt see them #s3 narrative spec #second coming/last judgement theory

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sadhours · 1 year

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neon lights pt. 1 | b.h & reader

18+ minors dni. - next chapter contents: adult themes, friends to lovers LAS VEGAS - 1989 Billy didn't realize it had happened until it did, two months of being in Vegas without a dime to his name, living in his Camaro and driving up and down the strip until any opportunity came along. He'd left Hawkin's after finishing courses at the trade school, a promise he'd made to his father but once he was certified for a handful of manual labor jobs and Neil insisted Billy join him at his job, he couldn't hang. He bit the bullet, dealt with the fight and told him he was going home. If only Neil could see him now, homeless with a bit of gambling habit before he'd even made it to California.

The constant party of this town had drawn him in, burning through his wallet and his ambitions. To be totally fair, he didn't even have a plan for what he'd do once he eventually got to San Diego. Finding his mom was about the only thing he really wanted to do but he didn't even know where to start. So he figured, this place was fun enough. He could stick around as long as this town would let him. He'd need a job though. And wouldn't you know it, the strip club seemed like the perfect place of employment.

Billy walks into the Rosy Cheeks on a Tuesday afternoon, asking for the manager and he's introduced to the house mother, which in his luck. She flirtatiously guides him to a booth after offering him a complimentary cocktail, which he takes graciously. "We don't actually hire male dancers," she says to him, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, thank god, because I'm here for the bartending position," Billy teases, giving her his best fuck me eyes. He really needed this job so what he does to get it doesn't bother him too much, he'd been doing this for years now. Summer's spent working at the Hawkin's Community Pool were practice for moments like this, using the way older women treated him to get what he needed. It caught up to him when he was alone with his thoughts, so he made it quite the mission to never be alone.

"Have you ever bartended before?" she asks.

Billy smirks, "No but I'm a quick learner."

"We'll see about that," she says, "You start this Thursday."

When he's on his first training shift, you're walking in fifteen minutes late to your shift, not letting it bother you when you see the place is empty. You sigh out loud, heading to the dressing room, "I don't know why I bother showing up to this shift." The girls in the room laugh, applying their makeup in preparation for the rush you all hope is coming. You light up a smoke after changing into the set you'd picked out for your first stage dance, slipping your robe on over it but not yet ready to put the platform shoes.

"Ladies!" you hear the house mother Didi call as she struts into the dressing room, a man trailing behind her with an unruly mullet. He looks as if he hasn't had a haircut in months. "I want you all to meet the new bartender," she motions to him. "Billy, ladies."

"Hi Billy," the room rings and he waves adorably back.

"Hello, Ladies," he purrs and Didi pats his bottom as she's ushering him out of the room. Ah, there it is. During your time of the exotic dancing circuit, you had never seen a male bartender. It didn't seem to be good for business, at least at the places you've worked. You cannot help it when your eyes follow his ass as he walks away, his jeans were incredibly tight and he kind of bounced when he walked. Goddamnit, he's hot. You cannot mess around with a coworker again, though. The last time you'd hooked up with a bouncer didn't go so well.

Billy's remarkably well at his job, he keeps track of how much he's served the girls and he gets along with the regulars. Didi points out he can double as security which he does for you. He's leaving from his shift and you're leaving from yours so it made sense to walk out together anyways.

"Jesus Christ, that's a beautiful car," you spew, looking at the gorgeous midnight blue Camaro parked next to your beat up Volkswagen rabbit, which at one point had been your dream car. Unfortunately, you weren't the best driver and you struggled to keep up with regular oil changes or engine services.

"Thanks," Billy muttered, leaning against it as he lights up a cigarette. You peer inside and see the blanket and pillow thrown in the backseat.

"Are you living in it?" you ask, eyes widening.

Billy scoffs, "When I can't find somewhere else to sleep."

"Oh, Billy... Have you been looking for an apartment?" you ask, snatching the pack of Marlboro's from his shirt pocket to light one up for yourself.

"Sometimes I can get lucky and there's some vacancy at the 66 Motel," he shrugs.

"Well... my roommate actually just moved out three weeks ago. I've been looking for someone to take over the space," you say, "if you wanted, you could move in?"

"I couldn't," he tries, "I don't want to impose." but he does follow you home and crashes on your couch for a week until you insist he buys a mattress and takes over the empty room.

Slowly but surely, the room becomes Billy's and it makes you sad that he didn't have anything besides a suitcase full of clothes and his car. When you ask why, he admits he had a lot more things but he pawned them to pay for nights at the casinos.

"Ah, not a local then?" you'd asked, while the two of you watched TV and partook in a couple of drinks after a particularly boring dayshift.

"No, I'd never even been to Vegas before six months ago. I'm from San Diego, lived in Indiana for a few years and decided I wanted to go back home, got kinda trapped here," he explains.

You had been born and raised in this place, never knowing of anywhere else in the world. "The best of 'em get stuck here," you say in an effort to cheer him up, his story being a sad one. You don't ask him much else about his upbringing, learning that it could be a touchy subject and if people wanted to tell their backstory, they would. Billy never talked about his life before the short six months he'd been here. You didn't mind, he was always respectful and gave you space. Billy never comments about girls at work but he'd brought home a string of your coworkers, along with strangers. You two had a good thing worked out and after a while, Billy became your closest friend.

____________________

a/n: hi!! just something i threw together this weekend, I'll still be focusing on Wicked Sensation but sometimes i just get an idea and if i dont write it that instant, i wont at all. hope you enjoy!!!

#billy hargrove x female reader #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove au

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magicaldogtoto · 20 days

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My thoughts on the general idea that isekai anime started to go downhill when they started to be written by men featuring male protagonists in wish-fulfillment adventures is that if you look beyond the current trends of isekai--beyond anime, even--you'll find that there are a lot of works of isekai (or, as they're called in English, "portal fantasy") written by men that featured girl protagonists that didn't have the same issues people find in current isekai when discussing the genre's flaws. (Some of these works are a lot older, and have other issues relevant to the time, but that's another topic.)

Off the top of my head, you have L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, and C.S. Lewis as examples of men who wrote portal fantasies with girls as protagonists that didn't have the same issues that you see people criticize in isekai anime. The main difference I could see between their works and isekai anime that people dislike is that they were writing for a more general audience of children. More often than not, they also had younger girls who were either related to them or the children of friends of theirs that inspired them to write those stories. Lewis dedicated The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to his goddaughter Lucy, Lewis Carroll wrote for Alice Liddell and her family, etc.

Even looking at more recent examples of isekai/isekai-adjacent works that feature girls and are written by men--Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Labyrinth by Jim Henson, Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro--if you look up interviews by those people, they often cite their daughters as inspiration for the stories and protagonists they wrote.

The underlying theme I see here, is that none of them were horny while writing their works. (There's debate about Carroll, but I'm not going to go into that for now.)

I'm not saying that you have to be a dad if you're a man writing these kinds of works, but there is a general sense of empathy for the younger protagonists that doesn't involve sexualizing underage characters. I think that's one of the main reasons why these stories are different from current isekai that people often criticize. Just my two cents.

(There is one European isekai that is written by a man and features an overpowered male protagonist--that would be Michael Ende's The Neverending Story. But that story makes it a plot point about what happens when the isekai protagonist becomes too powerful for his own good.)

#isekai #isekai anime #portal fantasy #l frank baum #pan's labyrinth #the wonderful wizard of oz #the neverending story #alice's adventures in wonderland #jim henson's labyrinth #the chronicles of narnia #lewis carroll #c s lewis #neil gaiman #coraline #michael ende #jim henson #guillermo del toro #my thoughts #text

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who-dat-homeless · 7 months

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people keep saying like "oh it would be sad if azicrow becomes human in the finally :( " or "oh it'd be sad if crowley rejects aziraphale" or " oh it'd be sad if they wipe aziraphale's memories and he forgets crowley"

And I can't fucking relate because looking at the story we've got so far I SEE ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE THAT ANY OF THIS COULD HAPPEN EVEN THEORETICALLY.

oh they'd become humans -- thematically they are already humans. At the end of the season one crowley says that hell and heaven would start a war against humans and now both crowley and aziraphale are not demon and not angel but something grey, something in the middle, something that actually can decide their action and their future (which ahem ahem is how humans described by the aziraphale) there's absolutely no need to make them human's thematically because they're already are. The only reason I can think of for making them humans is to get a bittersweet emotion from the audience, BUT IT'S FOCKEN CHEAP and I really can not see Neil Gaiman going for this. The man is mad genius of tragedy and bittersweetness and he is because this tragedy always has a reason/theme.

oh crowley would reject aziraphale -- BABE HAVE YOU WATHCED THE SHOW??????? CROWLEY BREAKS UP WITH AZIRAPHALE EACH FIVE MINUTES FR FR AND THE NEXT SCENE IS HER STANDING ON HER KNEES WET SAD AND MISERABLE BEGGING AZIRAPHALE TO COME BACK. REALLY. For fuck's sake Crowley is the sensible little kitten that lingers to the stranger's pants leg hoping they will get at least a little bit of sympathy. He's optimistic at it's core. But also he's so FUCKING lonely.

DID YOU ALL COLLECTIVELY FORGOT THIS SCENE??? "I'm a demon I lied" -- AND THIS IS THE CONFESSION OF HER FEELING THE WORST, FEELING ABANDONED AND LONELY AND MISERABLE.

She literally drove Bentley slower TO GIVE AZIRAPHALE A CHANCE TO CATCH HER. Good god.

Yes, of course there'll be conflict and there'll be fights and misunderstanding yada yada yada BUT DEAR GOD the second aziraphale is hurt (even emotionally) crowley is here ready to fight god, satan and whoever there is, and then accept his angel back in a span of a second

AND IT ALSO MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE THEMATICALLY TO GET THEM FALL APART. They're each other's yang!!! bitch!! they're the human's nature dichotomy THEY LITERRALLY CAN NOT BE APART. WRITE THEM APART AND THE WHOLE MESSSAGE OF GOOD OMENS FALLS APART

oh they'll wipe aziraphale's memories -- let's start with that they couldn't even wipe off Gabriel's memories (he and beelzebup did, putting it into the fly, Metatron did not do it)

and now, aziraphale first -- knowing what to expect from heaven, second -- specifically going there to fix it and stop second coming HE WILL BE SO CAUTIOUS that I really can't see how the wiping can even occur

"oh the angels would catch him and torture and.." no. I mean I think they're capable but like. They're an extremely ass licking office workers, who prides their reputation and stupid brute force is not their style. Yes they kidnaped aziraphale(crowley) once but even that kidnaping was so sanitized and almost non violent that I hardly can imagine them getting into actions. I think that they wouldn't even chase aziraohale across the heaven because running is heaven is prohibited, so. Unless Aziraphale himself would want to wipe his memories.. I absolutely can't see it happening.

but y'know what is the only thought that does make me sad?

That there's a possibility that Crowley would accept Aziraphale back no questions asked

This is the real shit

Because Crowley already did that in the past. It's in his fucking character. Because he's optimistic, because he's lonely, because he already lost his friend once. Because he has it all, he can go back to hell become a respected demon, take back his cool brutalist flat, he's self-sufficient, he can be all by himself if he really wants but he can never shut this hole of lonliness in himself no matter what he does

In Crowley's eyes Aziraphale makes him complete. It's the lost part of her soul she was looking for so long.

And I so fucking afraid that she will give up her dignity, she'll repress her feelings and needs once again, she'll do the first step ONCE AGAIN, only to shut this ugly feeling deep inside that makes her want to disappear.

AND IT MAKES SENCE because then Aziraphale can see how desperate Crowley and how wrong he was to just pretend that everything is fine between them, and Crowley can be confronted about this really unhealthy behavior and so on and so on

and just the thought that it makes sense and that it's in character MAKES ME SO AFRAID and so sad...

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #good omens 2 #good omens season 2 #anthony j crowley #gomens #go #azicrow #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #ineffable divorce #good omens 3

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olderthannetfic · 1 year

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Completely putting aside the queer rep thing, I'm curious: Do people who are not book fans generally like the Good Omens TV show? In the book fandom we've been hoping for a live adaptation for decades but myself and a lot of other book fandom olds were very disappointed by the show. I was hopeful and optimistic about it until the trailer with the wall-slamming scene came out, which was the first clue that the characters were going to have a different dynamic in the show. (Book! Azi and Crowley would never. No, I mean it.) And then as soon as I got to the dove scene - which the show messed up completely - I had a really bad feeling that they weren't taking the book's themes very seriously.

(In the book, Aziraphale suffocates the dove through negligence and immediately forgets about it because he's too busy fretting about the Apocalypse and the hellhound not showing up; Crowley notices it and takes the time to resurrect the dove. The seeming role reversal there of the angel carelessly killing an innocent creature and the demon taking the time to care about the sanctity of life even while scared out of his mind that the Apocalypse is coming (which would mean all humans and doves everywhere were going to die) is a wonderful little early symbolism of the characters being more than their official Evil/Good labels, of their flaws and virtues, and of the overarching theme of the book. But in the show, Aziraphale kills the dove and is then the one to revive it, which makes the point of the scene ?????)

There's a lot of little things like that where I wonder if the creators missed the point of those scenes or just didn't care, and the end result is that the characters become a little flatter, a little less like the stereotype subversions they're supposed to be. (I've long been irritated with the show fandom because it felt like many of them just projected their longstanding bad boy/puttering intellectual favorite ship dynamic onto the two and didn't look too closely.) In addition, the angel and demon are very nearly B-list cast in the book. They're scene-stealers but in terms of plot they actually achieve very little, their arcs are about how they accept that they've grown as people, not about how they contribute to the Apocalypse. Because that's the point. The whole point of the book is that humans don't need angels and demons to be good or evil. Humans stop the Apocalypse and arguably start it. When the show puts human characters in the background and both elevates Azi and Crowley and spends additional screentime on new characters like Gabriel, the overall message is retained but makes for far weaker tea.

So like... it is very hard for me to like the show as an adaptation (some manage to enjoy both book and show as separate things, and I'm happy for them). At the same time it feels silly saying that it's a bad adaptation, because things like Eragon and Artemis Fowl and basically most book-to-screen things are out there. But I can't help but look at Neil Gaiman's background and the things he usually writes about and feel like TV GO has been made too much into his work, rather than his and Pterry's, and is ultimately weaker for it.

So for me it's really hard to judge its actual technical value as a standalone thing, but I'm curious what other people think of it. If the above elements of "huh, that scene seemed kinda random, why was it even here?" and general diluted sense of theme was something people picked up on.

I tried to read the book a few times in the 90s because it was ubiquitous. I loathed it and never finished.

I thought the show was well acted and had delightful chemistry between the leads. The cinematography and editing were nice. The costume design was excellent.

It isn't a particularly deep show or all that memorable to me, but it looks pretty, and Michael Sheen is hot.

Honestly, I'm not really the audience for the original themes. They've been done a million times by now (and even by the 90s), and they just remind me how much people think I should care about a Christian world view and how much I profoundly don't. It's like when people want me to care about Watchmen because something something deconstruction of 80s comics I didn't read.

The biggest change between the 90s and now is probably that this particular flavor of Cold War spies who are buddies when their bosses aren't watching has faded into obscurity instead of being absolutely everywhere.

Oh, and Queen is cool again.

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characteroulette · 3 months

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👋 I left you a comment on AO3 earlier on the AA prosecutor meta, but seeing as you did cover the one-off prosecutors in Investigations (as well as the Paynes), I'm curious about your thoughts on Lana Skye especially. I really like RFTA as a window into the legal system's politics, and Lana as a character is especially intriguing in comparison to the other prosecutors we defend (e.g. Edgeworth/Blackquill/Nahyuta/Barok) because we never actually face her in court...but they still draw on RFTA's themes and character beats for some of those cases, especially in 6-5 and DGS2.

Oh hello!! Awh thanks for reading my meta essays I wrote mostly in the span of two days! XD

Lana Skye is a very interesting one, mainly because, as you noted, we never see her prosecuting style in court and that's really one of the biggest ways I draw characterisation notes from our rivals in these games. Seeing how they are presented to us as obstacles and how we are meant to slowly warm up to them was my main goal with those lil essays, but I definitely got off track a bit hahaha.

(Got a bit carried away here, too, so. Read more!)

Lana is an interesting case, though. She's our first defendant (if you play these games in order from the ds release on) we're really unsure if we can fully trust. She is trying to confess to the crime, and only by the grace of Ema's belief in her does Phoenix also agree to believe in her. She's short with us and pushes us away, giving the distinct impression that something is pretty wrong.

However, we also get told multiple times that this isn't her usual personality. That she "changed" once she became Chief Prosecutor. So it's a little harder to grasp her personality on top of take anything she says with a degree of belief. Her actions are more about sowing seeds for the mystery of why she would be so determinedly trying to get convicted instead of establishing a solid character for her. We do get the sense that she's a hard nut to crack, that she cares too deeply for Ema, but otherwise her cold and stoic personality is a complete front, we're told. A means of pushing those who used to care for her further than arm's length to keep them from discovering what's happened, to keep them from getting caught up in the splash zone.

There's also the odd note that she was close with Jake and Neil Marshall enough so that Ema was fond of them, too. Specifically the Marshall brothers, not Angel Starr or Bruce Goodman. I always found this interesting because Lana kept Ema away from Gant, but didn't mind letting her get close to the Marshall brothers. Gant was far more dangerous, especially as we learn about his all but framing Ema for Neil's murder, but it's still an interesting thing of note that comes up once at the beginning and kind of never again.

Even when you finally get a chance to talk with Lana about Gant before the final day of the trial, she's still composed and cool. Still completely under control. It's not until Ema is actively in danger of being found guilty of murder does she lose it. The final day of the trial is her at her most desperation mode, renouncing Phoenix's defence and running for that Guilty verdict. She has to keep Ema safe no matter what and it's interesting that the game lets us ruin that for her! This is probably why there is a slight bad end scenario where we don't play our cards right; it's all in service of these high stakes and connects to Lana's own desperation.

It is another interesting note how, at the end of the second trial day, she admits to the forged evidence. She has realised, on some level, Phoenix will claw his way to the truth no matter what. So she admits to this thing she knows would just get proven anyway. She's the one to cause the uproar and delay the trial one last time. It's all a part of her cool and calculated control, but it's also an admission that we've done well to get this far. It's a victory, but one delivered the same way she stabbed Bruce Goodman's body. The only person spared was Gant; everyone is going down with her.

It really is a fascinating mindset to see. I'm not a huge fan of the whole "stoic woman smiling at the end to show she's come out of her shell" anymore because AA uses it a bit too much (when will we get the male equivalent, huh??? Blackquill and Barok were right there!!! Make them smile, damn it!!!), but it is refreshing to see that Lana no longer has to keep her heart frozen over. She ans Ema hugging is the MUCH better payoff, even as Phoenix waxes poetic right behind them. XD

So yeah!! Despite this case saying on the surface that we shouldn't trust Lana, it really leads us along to trusting and liking her pretty much from the start. She's compared to Mia, after all. She is also the only defendant to date to turn their back to us and I still think that's funny as hell.

I... had more to say than I thought!! Hope this satisfies a bit of what you wanted!!

#Momo replies to things #Ace Attorney #Lana Skye #alto-tenure #Essay time for Momo #Oops went off #Momo is unhinged about the AA series

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variousqueerthings · 8 months

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@autistic-puffin i feel like i have nothing more to say about go2, like I excised my thoughts in one go 😭 especially considering it feels like so much meta/art has already been posted

(EDIT: AND THEN I WROTE THOUGHTS)

my main thoughts are also maybe a teensy bit hot take, because I'd assumed it was going to be a bit like certain narratives that are quite popular on here, but don't really do it so such for me, because they don't ground their queerness in anything substantial or they try to, but aren't informed enough to do it well (I admire the attempt and I have nothing against these pieces, I just don't personally enjoy them) and so it's more about the shipping or the memeable moments and that's not really what I get into things for

and it being disingenuous to fold it under narratives that are willing and fun enough, but ultimately made by people who haven't done toooo much work around queer themes before and fall (in my opinion) a bit for the simple narratives of "everything ultimately has to have stakes that aren't too high and play nice and don't distress their audience too much lest fragile LGBT+ people can't handle it" <- sweet narratives, easy to follow, a tad too candyfloss and ungrounded for my taste, often unbalanced in its comedy-to-drama scales and undermining sincerity by solving things too quickly and/or with too little delving into what these things mean

neil gaiman and john finnemore have been writing queer characters and themes for some time, and david tennant/michael sheen have played queer characters before (and heck, david tennant has at least one queer kid), it's not so surprising that this narrative actually isn't as mass-appeal as was assumed it was going to be before coming out (heh, coming out)

and by mass-appeal I don't mean that it doesn't have mainstream attention, but that there's seemingly confusion about what it's doing, when if you're into stories about non-conformity vs oppression (in this case mainly through a queer lens) it's pretty obvious, and I'm assuming very rewarding on subsequent watches

it's not fluff -- fluff works better for me in fanfiction than in original works, it's not aimless -- either in direction or in theme, it's not mainstream queerness -- although nina and maggie kind of have that "LGBT-unburdened-by-reality" kind of thing that I often don't vibe with, they're a part of three narratives about connection that ultimately ground queer non-conformity in action and feeling as explicitly dangerous to oppressive systems (in this case systems grounded in Christianity, which works very well)

there's a confusion in some reviews I've seen in the mainstream about why it matters that we follow these characters through thousands of years (well, millions technically, but the main thrust happens in the thousands), and coming to the conclusion that it's just because everyone's having a bit of fun, and then they're totally blindsided by the final 15mins and unable to place it in what they've watched previously

but it makes perfect narrative sense and I can pinpoint after one watch clues and foreshadowing leading to those final minutes, and why it matters that we follow the characters the way that we do, and (while I won't go too much into this because I think I'm late to the party and plenty of others have already spoken about it) threads that have been laid out that will clearly be picked up on in s3

I quite enjoy that this is a narrative about queerness that isn't so palatable to reviewers, and isn't for that matter so palatable to viewers who are used to measuring successful queer narrative via easy-to-follow tropes, I think that's one suggestion that it's done its job right in how it was constructed

I want especially straight mainstream reviewers to have to do the translation and if they can't, then it's not for them. that's a rarity in queer narrative that's released with so much attention and that also feels like part of the magic trick of the season -- am reminded of when black sails season 2 "revealed" that flint was queer and that this was a narrative centred around queer rage as an insight into other forms of oppression (which some things were done better than others of course, but that was the purpose, and madi really is that voice at the end!)

and how some straight dudebro fans felt cheated, while many queer viewers went... well yeah, obviously flint was queer, they signposted it (here I also note that some queer viewers didn't see it until that moment because we're also used to being signposted at and then not having follow-through because queercoding language is so ubiquitous to tv and film writing nowadays that many straight people don't know what it is or that they're doing it, or they went "hey we might do something queer winkwink" and then called fans disgusting for reading characters as queer ✌)

and that feeling is somewhat similar here in a way. "we thought we were in this for a bit of silly fluff, what's all this about themes? it's confusing, we don't like it, we're going to flatten it rather than acknowledge what is actually happening in the narrative, and then we're going to interact with that flattened version that we've created instead and call it self-indulgent and harmlessly silly."

so my hot take is that... it's not silly. well it is silly and fun and even at times indulgent, but it's also quite good at being a story that is Queer in ethos, and I prefer stories to be queer in ethos and not just have some ostensibly queer characters around saying the right words without knowing why or where those words originate

it's better than it's being given credit for, in ways it's not being given credit for, because it's not made palatable for a mainstream straight crowd or softened for fear of upsetting anyone

#good omens #good omens 2 #go2 #good omens season 2 #i also hesitate to post because then s3 comes out and it's really not that deep 😂#but s2 feels so deliberate -- but then you're used to seeing set-ups that don't pay off -- but then gaiman and finnemore are seasoned #so I think there's an instinct to keep something at arms length #or focus on the fluff and the shipping and not on the thematic depth #because what if actually all of that was done by accident and the writers/directors have no idea where to take it next #but this isn't aimless it's a set up to what comes next which has already been planned #and it plays really well with the first season which isn't quite as deep/could work as a fun standalone story #because it takes the deep questions of that season that weren't really delved into and takes the plunge #this is not to say i wouldnt critique things -- hell black sails is one of the best shows of all time and i have plenty to critique there #but i feel like the wrong things are being focused on

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dayurno · 5 months

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Hiiii sorry if you’ve talked about this before and I just missed it but like. Thoughts on Nicky and Kevin friendship???? I love them both sooooo much. I like to think they become like genuine, better friends after all the dust settles and just. Idk I would love to hear what you think about them

YESYESYES i dont think ive talked about this before on here i'm pretty sure i posted about kevnicky like a year or two ago but not in the platonic sense..... BUT YES I THINK OF THEM. often and dearly. my thoughts are separated in two different themes so let me try and organize them

first: i think canonically nicky was probably the monster kevin had the best relationship with, his lovehate with andrew and neil notwithstanding. nicky is the person who tells neil kevin and jean were friends and the one who calls kevin family ("we're keeping you just like we kept kevin"), and he's the one who has the most scenes where he's just Existing with kevin, things as insignificant as getting kevin ice cream at the mall and spending christmas together with matt in new york. i think there is something to be said about kevin and choosing to be friends with people who are chirpy and optimistic (namely nicky and jeremy, but also renee)

second: nicky has absolutely called kevin baby cousin before. you already know kevin is the minyard little sister and that he's part of the family, so :-) i think he will continue to refer to kevin as his cousin for years to come, and i think kevin will be silently pleased by it for just as long. he might even slip up and call nicky his cousin to other people, and if he does, you really can't blame him, can you?

#TL;DR: I LOVE KEVIN AND NICKY #i think they are cousins and friends and confidants and whatever. they're close #in my heart the monsters are all close to each other even though i know its not like that. but it is to me #and in my heart of hearts kevin is nickys baby cousin.#im writing this into my kerejean fic because the idea is really funny to me also.#nicky on the phone: BABY COUSIN HOWS CALIFORNIA TREATING YOU jean: hes your cousin? kevin: give me the damn phone #asks #nicky #kevin #kevin&nicky

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pix-writes · 1 year

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They also said David was right that he and Ellie have a violent heart and then compared Joel to him like a parallel. Like its purely to justify the second game/season beacuse he knows audiences wont receive it well in the first one.

Like its not in the first season beacuse it would ruin the story which is why they try so hard to justify their position to trick us into thinking seeds of violence were planted when they clearly weren't. If anything the actual show makes the second game look even MORE unrealistic.

And Neil recently reaffirming he does not care for people who dislike the second game. Like im sorry thats not a valid opinion he unironically based this game around Palestine and cycles of aggressive violence and promoted it through sabatoging beloved characters in favour of his new actual facist fave youre forced to play.

A good game is not devisive amongst the fanbase like the sequel was. Thats bad. And I think he will be in for a rude awakening at the reception to season 2. Beacuse general audiences will watch the show more then go out and play a game. Gamers paid already it doesnt matter if we stop playing half way through.

But TV shows with audience drop offs are much more brutal for a shows reception.

The amount of people already who refuse to tune in for a future season just from what ive seen on here is staggering.

Its a bad, brutal, punishing story with no mercy. And it'll be an even worse show.

I agree with these senitments, mutual!

I find it intersing making Ellie more used to violence (or using violence) in the TV series - of course she is a girl who's grown up in a miliatry school in a post-apocalypse, so it would make sense for her to be used or more ready to utilise violence in terms of survival. But I don't like the idea that she is violent like David is, or comparing his version of violence to Ellie's (or Joel's, for that matter) because its totally different - especailly as neither of them seek violence as a way of abusing people or to gain power like David most certainly does.

When I think of Ellie I don't think of her having a "violent heart" I think of her as a scared and yet feirce girl. I think the only thing David ever got right about her was that she is very loyal. I'd say that she has a loyal heart and one that puts loyalty into people who she cares deeply about & that show her that she can trust them/that they won't abandon her/that they can protect her.

^^^ I mean???!!!!??!!!!!! looook! the sweetest <3

Its intersting to hear Neil said that, I haven't seen much about what the creators have spoken about since the first game came out (/little snippets from the podcasts), to be honest, but its very disheartening. (And as a writer myself, I can't imagine having that perspective or lack of thought for fans by saying something like that publicly!)

I could go on about how I don't trust a lot of the men involved in this story (Pedro excepted ofc), for the way they treat David, like he's not an obvious predator, and how I didn't like that Joel doesn't intercept Ellie during the restaurant scene, but I'd just end up getting mad! ^^' and on top of that, the mentioned narrative that Ellie is 'forever changed' by what happens to her in her run-in with David & his cannibal crew (according to Craig/Neil). I've always taken issue with such things, as much as Ellie is a wondeful well-fleshed out female queer character (mad props to Ashley Johnson for being pivotal with that <3); and it makes me feel that tlou 2 was just made to be a rug-pull type story (as has been used in GoT and TWD) like 'oh you thought this? haha, well think again! your fave is dead because of tragedy!' --> its edgy for the sake of being edgy and missed out on being a meaningful additon to the first game & DLC and its themes...

I'm thinking the same, that the second season is going to be just as divisive - all the people who haven't been spoiled by the gameplay etc., are going to have a similar rude awakening to fans when tlou part 2 was released, and I don't think they'll get the reception they were hoping for (but then again, perhaps the writers don't care?). BUT it'll probably affect viewership dramatically, especiallly if (as I've heard other fans say) that they will sequence it much like in the game where it jumps back & forth in time/perspective (meaning *spoilers* - Joel 💀 in the first half of the series, most likely). I just can't fathom that going down well with general audiences. That's a recipe for a tv series bomb if ever I saw one.

... ... ....

Its probably kinda bad I do partly want the second season to bomb, isn't it? 😅 don't get me wrong, I love the first game/season, and the actors etc who've worked on it - but I just have so much issues with how they've handled the story since then/their interpretations of it, like I do with a lot of other tv series/tv in general right now, that I would just feel pure justified satisfction from it if it did!

#waffling #rambling #just a long answer bascally saying I agree to your v well thought out ask! ^^#anti tlou2 #tlou part 2 critical #(That said #dont come at me if you read this & do like tlou 2 #I may criticise it but it doesn't mean I hate on those who do like it)#i probably got too attached to the first game to feel about this story and series casually so #i don't trust neil craig troy or nolan ok there i said it they're on thin ice from now on #ellie and joel

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mostlymaudlin · 1 year

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Top 5 vs Personal 5

List your top 5 fics ranked by kudos on AO3. are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? then provide your ranking of your personal top 5 fics, and tag a few fellow writers!

ty for the tag @sillyunicorn :D this is cute and also interesting. i tag @starwarned @urban-sith @tea-brigade @fortheloveofexy @nanatsuyu @justadreamfox @jaydreams @halfpintpeach

im actually going to do my Personal 5 first because that's what i want above the read more cut 😂 no one is escaping looking at my babies.

Thorns (E), 18k, andreil // a post-canon fic where andrew and neil cope with doing a long distance relationship when u both have fatal levels of attachment issues lol. i spent a stupid long time on this fic for the word count, but there is love in every single word. i like this universe bc it's what i want for post-canon andreil. no one gave them the tools for this shit, but i love the idea that they will always figure out how to be together, even if its messy.

No Turning Back (E), 31k, andreil // this is perhaps recency bias, but i think this is the best thing ive ever written. i have a hard time summarizing it.. but it's an au where the conflict is almost entirely in andrew's head, which of course means he Causes Many Problems. i actually built this fic out from Andrew's fucked up internal journey, which was cool for me -- like, the main plot was developed to fit his character arc. i think that's probably not rocket science or unique but it was my first time doing it that way!

We Can Live Forever (T), 46k, andreil // i used to not like hs aus and then i wrote a huge one lol. its childhood best friends-lovers, and centered on this ridiculous lip sync serenade fundraiser ?? i made them all dance. a lot. sometimes its serious, but its mostly very silly. i wrote it w the intention of giving people that "read until 4am screaming into ur pillow bc cute aggression" feeling that so many fics have given me, and the feedback ive gotten implies ive succeeded, so im rly proud of that!!

Stoner AU (E), 21k, snowbaz // i'm cheating a bit because this is a series, but i almost consider this thing to be like a collection of sitcom episodes lol. it's a normal au, simon is a weed guy and baz buys from him and also falls in love w him. theres a lot of penny and shep and its all just very FUNNY imo. and they are all so fucking devoted to each other in kind of unhinged ways. i love rereading these fics.

I'll Come Back To You (T), 6.9k, andreil // ok, for 1: that's the exact word count. every time i fix typos on rereads i have to edit it to preserve the wc. but 2: this fic is Not Silly or Smutty LOL. it's probably my plottiest/most serious fic in some ways -- it deals w, like, multiple dimensions ?? and amnesia. and loneliness. i'm proud of the ambiguity, because i tend to be a writer that punches you in the face with The Theme. this one leaves a lot for the reader to figure out (to the dissatisfaction of some commenters lol), but i like that you have to think about it a bit.

ok, AO3 Top 5 under the cut!

all of these are andreil, because aftg fandom is a lot bigger than carry on </3.

boyfriend privileges (T), 4k // i should not have been surprised that this did the numbers, but i was kind of shook when my ao3 inbox blew up like never before. it's fanfic catnip -- a 5+1 post-canon with resolvable angst interspersed with soft moments. i wrote it in like 2 days and didn't edit, and aint that just the way of ao3 lol.

flashes of intimacy (T), 7k // this is a series of fifteen <500 word fics that i add to pretty often, so it also makes sense that it's got a lot of readers! ive always been proud of my ability to write short, so it makes me happy that it's up here. it wld probs be #6 on my personal rating.

Inside Thoughts (T), 1.5k // andrew gets his wisdom teeth out and is a goober about it. one of my first aftg fics -- i think it's up here bc it's almost a year old. i am not passionate abt it tbh, i wrote it kind of as a joke one night while i was high lmfao

Do Not Disturb (T), 2k // another of my first aftg fics that i kind of dont care much about hahaha. it's another catnip situation, a post-canon moment where neil panics & unconsciously calls andrew, similarly to how he does in canon. and then they r soft <3

Tequila Sunrise (M), 4k // i know people love this one -- it's also my most bookmarked. it's fun!! drunk neil!! but i almost can't read it anymore lol. there's some prose im proud of in there, but there's also some lazy characterization choices i made bc i had no idea it would get so many hits. its hard for me as the Characterization Guy to reconcile that hahaha.

ok as usual that was long-winded as hell. i love 2 talk abt writing :) also i feel bad 4 the lack of snowbaz representation here lol, but i think that i'm 1. better at writing andreil and 2. have gotten a lot better at writing while i was unemployed the last few months. i think a lot abt taking snowbaz for another whirl now, but consider: then i wouldn't get to write abt Andrew Minyard :(

#my writing #i overwrote this lol. oh well i had fun

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