#and yes I know Neil is not a ginger | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

willowbird · 1 year

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I've always kinda wondered, do you know why AFTG fandom has leaned so hard into Neil being ginger when I don't think he is canonically? Like, I wouldn't say auburn = ginger, especially not the neon orange a lot of fanart has. He even describes his natural hair color as a shade of brown — "Neil had dyed his hair brown from time to time, but never this shade [...] This was his natural color[...]" (TRK, CH 16) etc. Like, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter at all lmao but I read the books before I saw any fanart, so I was surprised when I saw Neil looking like a Weasley lol.

Okay so I will preface this by saying that I am not someone who has strong feelings about the Neil Josten Auburn vs Ginger "discourse" that occasionally pops up. When I was younger, and my hair was longer, and I actually saw sunlight on a semi-regular basis - my hair was described as auburn so when I pictured Neil I pictured him with dark reddish-brown hair that was "reddish" in the sense that it was warm and had that red-glow in the sunlight but at a glance would definitely be described as "brown".

Coming onto tumblr and seeing fanart with him with red red and/or ginger looks was mildly surprising but I liked the combo of red hair & blue eyes so it didn't really faze me.

But you asked *why* and I thought about it, and well, here's how I think it happened:

First, know that unless you have auburn hair or know someone who you've heard describe their hair as auburn - and it's distinctly brown - you probably only have a vague idea of what "auburn" means. Red-brown is kind of vague when you think about it. Just think of all the different wood stains in the red-brown category! There's like 50!

And when you Google auburn hair, this is pretty much what you get:

Which definitely implies that "auburn" is "dark red" rather than "reddish-brown".

Once you have it in your head that auburn is a classification of "dark red" it's incredibly easy for creative license and interpretation to open that up into "red hair". From which the leaning will be toward "ginger" as that's a very popular aesthetic in fiction. A lot of people think ginger when being told a character has red hair, despite there being a lot of different shades of red hair that wouldn't necessarily be considered "ginger". And yes, a part of this is probably because when you think of redheads in pop culture, you get characters (like the Weasleys) who are ginger and are described by the more broad classification of having red hair/as redheads.

And so, even if you KNOW people with red hair who aren't gingers, or with auburn hair who aren't redheads, the association between "hair with red in it" to "ginger" becomes pretty easy and commonplace.

At least, this is my interpretation. Fanlore likes bandwagons, so maybe an artist once went "Oh but I like the combo of ginger/redhead with blue eyes let's do that for Neil" and people liked it and so it stuck *shrug* I only joined this fandom in 2020 so I couldn't tell you exactly how it started.

Either way, I think it's cool to see the different ways people interpret the characters. The fandom has kind of universally decided that Dan & Matt are Black and Renee is often drawn as being Asian, which is really cool. Also, the incredible variety of interpretation of the Minyards. Sometimes they're twinks, sometimes they're stocky lil boulder men. Curly hair, straight hair, every shade of blond imaginable. There isn't really a consensus when it comes to them like there is with many of the other characters.

We all just love them so much, and so when we write or draw them, we imbue more of what we like/love into the designs. That's kind of the beauty of fanworks. You can take something you already like and then add more of what you like to it! And then share it with other people who like it too!!

Anyway, I'm gonna stop here before I go on an extended rant about how much I love fanfiction as a Thing. Hope that helped answer your question!

xoxo - Will

#aftg #aftg fanlore #asks #neil josten

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bisexualchaosdemon · 1 month

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Hope Was A Dangerous, Disquieting Thing

Chapter 20: Are you Listening?

Fun fact: her new friend was inspired by my daughter's own 'Pumpkin'.

Here's a quick look at Anastasia Josten from the latest hwddt chapter 🧡

(I picked this pose on purpose — She doesn't know ASL yet, but maybe she'll learn 👀)

My daughter was born in October, so I called her Pumpkin for my entire pregnancy. I got her this toy when she was born 🐰

Also, as a bonus, we have Ana with ginger hair too:

Yes I know she and Neil have auburn hair, not ginger, but the website didn't have that option shhhh

#anastasia josten #neil josten #trans teen dad neil josten #andrew minyard #hard of hearing andrew minyard #fan fiction #aftg fanfic #aftg #all for the game

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masivechaos · 2 years

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SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK

Steven Meeks x fem! reader

Request: yes / no

Synopsis: dancing with Meeks while listening to radio free america

Warning/content: swearing, a mention of a sex joke, fluff, my English

a.n.: 1.1k words- an au where Neil lives, he continued theater after the representation and fuck Mr. Perry, I struggle with writing long fics sorry, first time writing for my boy Meeks hope I wrote him well, title inspired by Joji song, I was away and kept this fic so I could post it in the week but my dumbass deleted a paragraph that's why I post it now.

masterlist/ dead poets society masterlist / navigation

── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.──

Meeks leaned forward and turned his head, verifying that no one was in the hallway. He walked the most silently possible and he winced when the wood cracked under his feet. The arms full of his radio, he turned around when he heard some footsteps behind him and bit his bottom lip to stop himself from letting out a sound.

“Boo!” someone whisper-yelled and Steven’s eyes widened for a second before sighing “Charlie! What are you doing?!” his jaw clenched “Could ask you the same” the dark-haired boy wiggled his eyebrows.

“I have a date with Y/n.” Charlie smirked “Ooh” Meeks rolled his eyes and grunted “Shut up. I don’t want to be seen,” he said with a low voice as he looked left and right, Charlie followed his gaze through the corridor “Calm, there’s only me. Go find your girl, I got your back” he winked.

He then left, not without making a sex joke to which Meeks only sighed. Steven took a deep breath and continued to walk. When he finally went out of the school and its gardens, he pulled out his flashlight like it could, his radio taking much place in his arms.

He reached the woods and tried not to fall, he swore as he tripped on a root “Fuck.” He stood up straight and stepped over it carefully, he bobbed his head, an owl hooting enthralling his attention. Meeks was grateful he knew the way by heart because he had to admit that the forest by night was kind of scary.

He saw a light from afar, coming from the cave. He smiled, knowing that it meant Y/n was already there. Y/n was his girlfriend of four months, she was in an all-girls school, the feminine equivalent of Welton.

They met at Neil’s theater representation, she was sitting two rows in front of him, and Meeks spent the evening looking at her from the corner of his eye when his friend wasn’t on the stage. He found her incredibly pretty, there where something about the way she laughed as her friend made a comment, the way she clapped at the end of the play and cheered when the dead poets society started to shout for Neil.

Y/n even made her way to compliment Neil’s acting. When Steven caught her eyes and she smiled softly his heart melted, Pitts looked down at him and nudge him. She then talked to the ginger boy, she was being so sweet. They quickly got along and promised each other to go out one day after Y/n gave him her phone number. Everything happening under the stare of six boys and an English teacher.

They met again during the Christmas break, a simple walk ending up in a snowball fight. They kissed on their third date, it was then February and they were hanging out, hand in hand, looking at each other, tucking a strand of hair behind the ear, biting lips to hide their blush.

Meeks had told her a lot about his friend group, they were apparently calling themselves the ‘dead poets society’ and having ‘carpe diem’ as their motto. He also told her about the cave their meetings took place. So, a few of their gatherings after she finally met his friends during one of them.

The poets liked her and were happy that Meeks found her, even if Cameron wasn’t thrilled by her presence at first thinking that a girl wasn’t really welcome in the club but they finished by getting along.

And today Meeks and Y/n had a date, after he talked about how he and Pitts succeeded to have Radio Free America for hours and hours and hours, he decided to listen to it with her.

He bent down a little to enter the cave without hitting the top, he smiled warmly as he saw her girlfriend. She was wearing one of the sweaters that he gave her. It was June and with the late spring, nights came a cold breeze. She got up, happy to find Meeks, but her head banged against the ceiling “Ow…” she chuckled as she rubbed her hair.

He came next to her quickly “Are you okay?” he asked a little worried, she nodded “Yeah, don’t worry.” She grinned and placed her lips against his for a small peck. “Hello pretty boy” she bit her lip, and he pulled her in another kiss “Hello pretty girl,” he said back.

“So?” Y/n asked, she tilted her head in direction of the radio he left on the ground earlier. With the biggest smile she ever saw, he set up the radio and handed her some headphones, and placed the others on his own head.

Meeks held out his hand for her and kept her close “Ready to dance?” he smirked. She smiled softly at him and wrapped her arms around his neck before capturing his lips in a lovely kiss, they swung their hips to the slow beat of the music. He placed his hands on her waist “Still don’t know how you managed to create this” she said impressed.

He laughed lightly “It’s not so complicated, it’s just time” she ran a hand through his hair “Just accept that you’re a genius lovely.” A bright red crept on Meeks’ cheeks at the compliment and Y/n chuckled at his flustered state.

The music changed to a more dancing song. They pulled away, a hand still locked with the others, and tapped their feet to the beat while singing the small number of lyrics they knew. Meeks brought her back against him and twirled her around.

They were all smiley, there was nothing around them, just two lovers enjoying each other presence during a night when they sneaked out. They were in their own world where nothing mattered, where they didn’t have to break rules, and met more than twice a month.

“I love you” Meeks blurted out, Y/n stopped at his words “What?” she couldn’t believe what he just said. She was so scared to say those three words, worried he didn’t feel the same, that he liked her and didn’t love her.

“I love you, Y/n,” he said again and cupped her cheeks, she swore she could cry. No one ever said something like that to her, she had friends but she sometimes felt like she didn’t really matter to them. She needed to hear these words, she needed to feel love.

She leaned in his touch “I love you too” she smiled softly and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and they then started to swing back and forth, letting themselves carried by the music.

She pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, Meeks’ thumbs brushed her cheekbones and he kissed her forehead before smiling widely. They kept on dancing for hours, unaware of the pairs of eyes spying on them.

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ryounyan · 7 months

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Ginger and blond are just hair colours. Blond is not a superior one. Ginger is not inferior or bewitched.

Person that know me only few years: You are... ginger?!?! You was blond. What happened to you?!?!

Me, that returning to ginger every seven years: Gingers are awesome.

Person, confused: No, I mean... Yes, they are... but You... all that... [pointing my hair].

Me, playing dumb card: Oh, you mean this?!?! That is all "Good Omens" fault. Blaming Neil Gailman for ginger's wave.

#good omens #good omens 2 #neil gaiman

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hepbaestus · 1 year

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Thoughts on Dead Poet Society (1989)

I've got notes to write so I'm going to be watching Dead Poet Society (1989) and writing whatever comes to mind.

1989, wow, this film is the same age as my eldest half-sibling.

Bagpipes!!!

This sounds like it's the beginning of a cult.

Ugh the Ivy League.

I'm so glad that I didn't have to wear a blazer at any of my schools.

There's always one kid who's sick all the time and needs all the medicine in the world

I like the alternative four pillars.

Knox Overstreet? Oof poor sod

Till he finishes medical school???? That's fucking years away, poor kid.

Ah yes the numerous bird shots

That Latin class seems so dull.

I do not envy them carrying around all those textbooks

That's not at all morbid.

Neil Perry's kinda cute.

Ah yes the pondering, writing on a piece of paper before scrunching it up and throwing it

Perry in the glasses, oooooo.

Ewwww the sound of chalk against a chalkboard

Nice the ruler method of ripping out pages

The lord's prayer, I forget sometimes that I was christened and did the whole confirmation thing. Was mainly doing it for the wine.

"Burn that. Especially my picture." Can relate with almost every photo of me before the age of 15

Neil and Todd. They're cute.

Scary stories time

Saying poems like they're raps

This is mockery upon the British accent, and I expect nothing less from Americans (we do the exact same tbf)

Poor Todd

Oh god midsummers night's dream, brings me back to 11 year old me where I acted in this play with the RSC as a fairy

Forging a permission slip?? Fair

Time lapse of teamwork in football with pretentious music as the background sound, not surprising, quite fitting actually

Jesus Christ Knox, bit extreme dude

I have a feeling this is going to end in shit; they're all too happy and the creative arts and the heads of their school are not going to be happy.

Oh no sad parent talk with friend

Rather aerodynamic? Nice way of saying you want to throw it away to break it.

The first women in this entire film with more than one line

Oh of course his night went to shit

Oh shit paddling

The boys share my sentiments about spaghetti and meatballs

It's always the child's actions affecting the adult's reputation and it's bullshit.

Poor Neil

Oh god it's the play

His father's there, awwww. I don't know whether this will end badly or not and I am scared

Oh no

Military school?? Oooo not fun

Don't cower to your father's will Neil

Don't jump Neil. Do not.

Okay phew.

Oh no

Fuck where is he

Oh shit there he is

Really taking the name of the film to heart there Neil

There was always some special connection between Todd and Neil and I'm glad ao3 writers agree with me on that (I was curious as to how many ship fics there were of those two as of me writing this, there are 1600+)

Kid deserved to get punched

Never trust a ginger

This meeting is gonna be painful

Poor Todd (a lot of this has just been me say "poor this person" I now realise)

Rebellion. Nice.

The paddling they'll get for this one is gonna hurt so much. Or not that's the end of the film.

WAIT A MINUTE

THAT WAS ETHAN HAWKE, MAYA HAWKE'S FATHER AS TODD ANDERSON

OH MY LORD I KNEW HIS FACE WAS SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR

Overall score: 7/10

Recommendations welcome!

#film reviews #film #film recommendations #dead poets society (1989)#dead poets society #disney #disney plus #recommendations welcome

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survey--s · 2 years

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388.

Have you ever had a computer virus before? Yeah, my first laptop, basically. It was kind of that time where anti-virus software was still really basic and viruses were absolutely everywhere. I basically just binned it and replaced it with something new eventually.

Are you dependent upon anyone? Well, to an extent - but Mike and I depend on each other, I guess - as our lifestyle is set up to take into account both of our salaries.

Are there any book characters you'd like to portray? Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

Who did you last text? Sam.

Is there anything on your bed right now? Uh, Mike is upstairs and I think Archie and Layla are both up there with him, but whatever other random crap he’s decided to dump on there lol.

When was the last time you went to the grocery store? Last night before I went to feed Benny.

What way would you like to die when it's your time? Painlessly and in my sleep.

What are you most afraid of in the world? Other people.

Have you ever been caving? Nope. There’s an underground trampoline centre type place near here in a cave and I’d absolutely LOVE to go one day.

Do you do well in math related things? I mean, I didn’t do BADLY but I didn’t really enjoy it or take much interest in it.

What is your favorite fruit? Honeydew melon, raspberries, cherries, mangoes.

If you had to choose, which sibling would you live with? I don’t have any siblings to choose from.

Do you have any tattoos? Yes, just the one.

Are you planning on getting any in the near future? No.

When was your last date? Mike and I went out for lunch maybe two months ago. Apart from last weekend, I’ve been at work every weekend so we’ve not had much free time together.

When did you get Facebook? 2007-ish. I was in my final year of school.

Are any of your family members in jail? Nope.

What was your first pet's name? Gizmo. He was a ginger tabby. We also had his sister Athena.

Are you good when it comes to computer issues? Yeah, fairly decent anyway.

Are there any people at your job who absolutely hates you? I run my own business so I don’t have to worry about all that drama anymore.

What was the last book you read? Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

Have you ever read any books in one day? Sure, I used to read several books a day when I was younger and wasn’t addicted to the internet, hahah.

What was the last thing you bought? Groceries.

What are your plans for tomorrow? Absolutely fuck all and I can’t wait, as next week is crazy busy.

Is there any jewelry you wear constantly? My wedding and engagement rings, plus all the jewellery in my piercngs.

Are your fingernails painted at the moment? No.

Do you prefer cool, warm or neutral colors? Warm or neutral.

What's the most boring movie you've ever seen? Nothing in particular is coming to mind right now.

Fact or fiction novels? Fiction, for the most part.

Have you ever suffered from depression? Yes.

Do you think you're a clingy person? Not anymore, but I was definitely clingy when I was younger and it caused a load of problems.

Have you ever been in a physical fight before? No.

How often would you say you disagree with your parents? Pretty much never, but I don’t live with them and that’s definitely made a massive difference to our relationships.

What color shirt did you wear yesterday? Grey.

Do you have a job? Yeah, I run my own business.

If so, do you like it? I absolutely love it. Honestly, even on the worst days I never regret it.

Have you ever been called a slut before? Yes.

What's something you've been craving? Pasta for some reason. I’m not normally a huge pasta fan but for some reason I REALLY wanted pasta this week.

Have you ever slept with your window open? Yeah, our window is open 24/7 unless it’s really windy.

Can you play violin? No.

Have you ever had a wild animal as a pet? No, just a dog and multiple cats.

Do you know anyone you talk to on Facebook but won't talk to in person? It’s not that I won’t talk to them in person, it’s that we live nowhere near each other so we can’t talk in person, lol.

What color are your mother's eyes? Hazel.

Do you have a best friend? No.

If so, how long have you been best friends? ...

Do you cry easily? Not so much anymore.

Have you ever been into a court room? Nope.

How many necklaces would you say you own? Maybe 2-3 but I never wear them as they’d be a hazard at work.

Do you plan on being strict towards your children? I have absolutely zero desire to have children. WAY too much like hard work.

Do you own any tie-dye shirts? No.

What would you say is your favorite day of the week? Saturday, as long as I’m not working.

Do you ever wear lipstick? No.

Do you own a pool? Ha, I WISH.

Do you have a Tumblr account? No. This survey is just entirely in your imagination.

Would you say you're overweight? A little, but nothing too concerning.

How many colors are in your hair? Quite a few at the ends, but it’s mostly my natural colour now.

Do you flirt with a lot of people? Nah.

Have you ever been falsely accused of starting drama? Yeah, back when I was in school.

How old are you? 33.

Do you attend church regularly? No, I never go to church.

Have you ever found a song that describes your whole life? Yeah.

What time did you wake up this morning? Around 8ish.

What time do you plan on waking up tomorrow morning? Whenever I wake up. I have no reason to get up early. What kind of car do you drive? I have a dark grey Hyundai i10.

What kind of car would you like to have? I’d love a Mini.

Have you ever been to Dairy Queen? No, we don’t have those here.

If so, what's your favorite thing to eat from there? ....

Ever felt like falling apart? When I was a melodramatic teenager, sure.

Have you ever been in an ambulance? No.

Do you tend to worry a lot? Not so much these days - thankfully my anxiety is generally well-controlled.

How old were you when you lost your first tooth? I have no idea, maybe five?

Do you remember your first time on the internet? Nope.

Which website do you email from? I have Yahoo! and Gmail.

#survey #surveys

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ankh-morpork-times · 3 years

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youtube

I wasn't planning to post this morning but this anecdote is just too funny to leave in my drafts folder. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman speak about adapting Good Omens for the big screen at NADWCon in 2011.

There are no captions so there is a transcript with image descriptions below the cut. Video duration 3:18.

[ID: Terry and Neil are sitting in armchairs on a stage with microphones in front of them.]

Neil: The um... So we, we... The... Probably the single worst experience that we went through was... was, I think, the film. Um, the first [inaudible] when it was bought by very nice people, who convinced us they were very nice 'cause we were absolute innocents, and I just remember going up for the first meeting with them and we... we were going up for the meeting and, um, Terry says, "Here, come over here." I said, "Okay." He said, "Um, look, I'm not sure about these people, and you're not sure about these people. If-" -this is our first meeting- "-If they're just completely barking, we should have a code word-"

[Audience laughter]

Neil: "-and if one of us says the code word, we both get up in unison and we leave."

[Laughter]

Neil: I said, "Okay, so we need a code word that neither of us could conceivably say in normal conversation."

[Laughter]

Neil: And Terry says, "Yes." I said, "Okay, what about 'Biggles'?"

[Laughter]

Neil: Now, 'Biggles', for those of you who don't know, was a-"

Terry: A famous Cardinal!

[Laughter]

Neil: He was!

Terry: They're young!

Neil: Of course!

Terry: That's the only one they know!

Neil: In... Captain W. E. Johns wrote books about Biggles, who was a WW1 flying ace, who with his pals, Ginger and Algy used to go around shooting up the-

Terry: [inaudible speech overlapping with audience laughter]

Neil: -the evil Germans. So, if any Germans are here, you're not evil, it was just in this book. So-

[Laughter]

Neil: The, um... So, I said, "What about 'Biggles'?" And Terry goes, "Okay, 'Biggles' it is." So we head off to the meeting, and we were sitting there around the table talking to what seemed to be terribly nice, sensible people, and then the executive walks in. And the executive in this case was a woman, who looked like she had mugged somebody twenty years younger than her and stolen her hair.

[Laughter]

Neil: And she walked in and she sort of like... [in an exaggerated American accent] "Hi Neil, hi Terry, it's lovely to meet you both. Now, I'm sure that the guys have been talking to you both about your book, Good Omens, and what we're thinking about. Now, okay, lemme just run some stuff, uh, past you. We figure the, the dynamics of this are: the kid, um, Adam, whatever his name is, uh, Newt, the Witchfinder, we see him as being maybe, like, Tom Cruise- [audience laughter in background] -young, good-looking, hunky, but he's looking for witches. And the witch- Athanema [sic], I think her name was... Okay, so there's Newt and there's Athanema-" And I look at Terry, I need to actually mime this- [Neil pauses as he stands]

Terry: Well, I think we should do it together- [Terry stands as well]

Neil: We should do it together-

[Terry and Neil stand facing the audience and mime flying like planes as the audience laughs and applauds. They sit back down at the end of the video]

#terry pratchett #neil gaiman #good omens #nadwcon #discworld conventions #biggles #gnu terry pratchett

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aftg-and-chaos · 3 years

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i want to do a teacher andreil thingy where andrew forgets his lunch and pro exy league neil josten yeets into the lecture to give him his lunch yes thank you enjoy

Andrew was a busy man. He had lessons to plan, essays to mark, and his mind was always full with things he had to remember for his students.

See, Andrew taught criminology at the local university, near to where he and Neil lived in their shared flat with Sir and King.

And criminology was a demanding subject, full of demanding students, who needed lots of things done, and extensive, complex lessons and lectures.

So this meant that Andrew was a little forgetful at times. Forgetting the simplest of things.

Like his lunch.

It was often his lunch.

But because Neil was pretty much always away with exy matches and the like, and Andrew was home alone, he just went without lunch. Or he would grab something from the students canteen if he was really hungry.

However, this was one time when Andrew forgot his lunch, but Neil was home.

Andrew woke up before Neil, and took this chance to watch Neil sleeping, the rarest of smiles on his face. He allowed himself a few extra moments in bed, playing with Neil’s hair, and kissing his forehead.

And this meant Andrew was going to be late to school.

Looking at the clock, he bolted out of bed, careful not to disturb Neil, got dressed, grabbed his school things, and was out of the house, on the road to uni.

He wasn’t too late to class. So that was alright.

The morning went smoothly, without any misshaps, and his lectures went well.

Well.

Apart from the lecture just before lunch.

It was half way through the lecture, and Andrew was doing one of the most difficult parts of the courses with his upper year, who were close to their exams.

When they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Andrew cut himself off with a sigh and glared at the door.

“Why. Why now,” He muttered to himself, “Yeah, come in!”

The door opened to reveal someone dressed in a Palmetto Foxes hoodie, black jeans, and white Vans. And this person had bright ginger hair, a face covered in scars, and a brilliant grin on their face.

Neil. Fucking. Josten.

The students’ mouths dropped open. Why was Neil Josten, Pro Exy League player, and famous rival of Andrew Minyard in their lecture. Taught by Andrew Minyard. His rival.

The murmurs started up then, students whispering to each other in shock, but they were soon silenced with a death glare form their Professor. (Who terrified all of them.)

“What?” Andrew sighed, looking at Neil, who just grinned.

“You forgot lunch,” Neil said helpfully, placing a black lunch box on Andrew’s desk, “So I made you some.”

“And you couldn’t have waited until lunch time to deliver this?”

“I have a meeting with my team,” Neil shrugged and grinned again.

“I hate you,” Andrew glared at him.

“I know you do. Can you make dinner tonight?”

“I made it last night.”

“Pleeeeeeeease?”

Andrew’s glare just deepened, “Fine. But you better make dinner for the rest of the week. This lot have exams coming up. I’m going to be busy.”

“I can do that. No worries. Good luck with your exams you lot,” Neil said to the students, his smile still in place even though all the students just looked back at him, shocked.

“Get out of my classroom,” Andrew rolled his eyes, and he kept his still face when Neil leaned in and kissed his cheek. (Which caused several mouths to drop open.) But to the trained eye, you could see a softness in Andrew’s eyes when Neil’s lips lingered on his cheek, and what none of the students could see, was Andrew’s hand squeezing Neil’s fingers quickly.

“See you later love!” Neil called as he left the classroom, sending one last smile to Andrew, and a grin to the students. Who were still all in shock.

Andrew turned back to his students when the door shut, and looking at the shocked expression on their faces, he sighed.

“Five minutes,” He said simply, and every single hand rose into the air.

I HOPE U LIKED THIS!!!!! :D

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poetofthedyingstars · 2 years

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midnight summer’s dream

link for ao3

Todd smiles as he looks at his reflection. He looks great, he thinks. This is the first time in a while that his hair gets to taste the hair gel again. Slick hair is for special days only, and today is not only special but important. It’s Neil’s Day! Tonight’s the night. The Midsummer’s Night Dream. They’re all excited to see Neil’s performance tonight. Todd has seen Neil act - he’s gonna do great. And when the play does end well, he’s going to do it. Profess his… feelings for Neil. He just hopes it ends well.

Todd fixed his coats before Cameron squeezed himself in front of Todd to see himself in the mirror. “Excuse me,” Cameron said. The ginger head carefully brushed his hair up before pointing at his own reflection and grinned. “Just a moment. Yes. You’re good.”

Todd laughed at him as he messed up Cameron's hair. Cameron docked and grunted. “Oh, come on, Todd. I’m trying to fix this.” Todd just chuckled before taking his coat.

“Come on, Nuwanda. We’re going to miss Neil’s entrance,” Meeks said.

“He said something about getting red before we left,” Pitts says as he keeps on brushing his hair.

“‘Getting red’? What does that mean?” Cameron asked.

“I -” Pitts tried to mumble something but nothing. “You know, Charlie.”

Speaking of the devil, Charlie opened one of the cubicle’s doors with a smirk on his face, a what seems to be paintbrush and a red acrylic on his left hand, his hair still messy and his necktie hanging on his right shoulder. Everybody looked at him.

“So, Charlie, what’s this ‘getting red’ bit?”

Charlie opened his unbuttoned polo and revealed a red drawing of a lightning on his chest. The room was filled with ‘oohs’ and laughs.

“Wha-” Todd stammered. “What is that?”

“It's an Indian sign for virility. Makes me feel potent, like I can drive girls crazy.”

Todd shook his head as he headed for the door. “Come on, Charlie. The girls are waiting.”

But, there was, in fact, a girl waiting. Not for Charlie - but for Knox. They six of them stared at the blonde girl in fascination. Unbelievable. Knox whispers as he approaches her and Todd can barely hear them. Keating called out for them.

“Go on, guys. I’ll catch up,” Knox said. Todd definitely wouldn’t want to stay there so he was the first to run to Keating’s car. Charlie and the others kept talking about it in the car. Todd tried to get in the conversation a few times but stayed silent for the rest as they made their way to Henley Hall.

Thank God they arrived early and didn’t miss anything. Todd felt giddy the whole time. He’s so proud of Neil and he can say the same to the other boys. Charlie almost did a standing ovation when Neil first showed up. By the time Neil started his monologue at the end, Todd felt a little uneasy. The play is ending which means Todd will have to talk to him soon. I mean. Oh my God. What’s going to happen then?

“... And Robin shall make amends.”

Right after he disappeared behind the curtain, a loud applause echoed through the auditorium. And when they opened the curtains again to give the cast one last sight, the crowd stood up as they clapped and praised the successful play. Ginny gave Neil a push to the spotlight and the Dead Poets shouted their “YAWP!” as a sign of support to Neil. At that sight, Neil felt a light baggage fall from his back. He felt relieved. No matter what happens to him, he knows that these people got him. Through success and trials.

Behind the curtains, everyone rejoiced. There was a lot of clapping and discussion about the play and Neil has never felt so happier. The phrase “You did great!” were tossed around the room so much. Not only to Neil but the other cast members, of course.

Their organizer approached Neil. “Someone wants to talk to you.”

Neil felt his color drained out of him and the baggage he lost a minute ago came back even heavier. Miss Cece didn’t specify who wants to talk to Neil but Neil already had the feeling that it’s his Father. It’s got to be and that terrified Neil so much.

He took his coat and his stuff before opening the curtains to face whoever wants to talk to him. To his surprise, he saw Todd leaning against a wall a few feet away from the stage. His hands were fidgeting and Neil could hear him mumble. It’s just Todd. His Todd.

Neil walked up to him. “Hey, Todd.”

Todd looked up to him and smiled. “Hey. Uh, you did great!”

“Thank you.”

“I… I need to tell you something.”

There was a moment of silence. Usually, they fill all that silence because they can talk about anything and if they do have The Silence between them it always brings lightness and contentment. But this one, it’s scrambled with ranges of emotions that both of them can feel. Todd knows Neil is bothered. Maybe now is not the right time to say it. Maybe it can wait. There’s always later, anyways. Right?

“I…” Todd hesitated. I don’t know if you noticed it too. But every time I’m with you, I feel this resurging energy that makes my whole skin vibrate, makes my heart beat in a mellow rhythm that nobody ever did before because I’m never comfortable to have some other presence other than mine. I also don’t know if you noticed it but I stare at you a little longer every time because I hope you understand that you’re really beautiful and I adore you. There’s so much to say about this and about you but I’m ending it by saying I love you. Todd wanted to say it but he held his tongue. He looked at Neil. The love of his life. Neil always made sure he’s there for Todd and now Todd’s going to make sure that Neil knows that. He can confess later.

“Nothing. I just wanted to say congratulations! You made us proud. Neil Perry, the master of seizing the day, huh?” Todd said.

Neil grinned at him. “Yeah, right, Todd Anderson, the master of words.”

They both laughed. “Now, come on! The others are waiting for you!”

Neil puts his arms around Todd’s arm as they walk to the exit and talk. For now, this is what’s going to fill their Silence. Contentment and a home.

TAGLIST : @emilythefern @theluminoussunflower @mrperryhatepage @love--persevering @marsbernn @justarandompjofan @mrdeadpoet @nee-naw-nee-naw-beepbeep @bobhunds @quartz-forest

#dead poets society #dead poets #dps fandom #neil perry #charlie dalton #richard cameron #todd anderson #steven meeks #gerard pitts #ace 🧱#sig writes #knox overstreet #john keating #dead poets society headcanons #dead poets society fics #dps fics #anderperry #todd and neil #anderperry fics

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castthy-nightedcolour · 3 years

Text

One- Shot: A Different Side (written as part of my series ‘don’t worry about a thing’ on AO3, link can be found at the bottom of the post as it won’t let me embed it)

Fandom: Good Omens

Characters: GN Reader, Crowley, a very annoying mouse

Warnings and Tags: snakes, animal death/ harm, swearing, uh oh we have a pest control problem, snake crowley, comfort , are they aren’t they

Summary: mouse traps, a skip full of rubbish and a broken down bus. not exactly your dream day, but your favourite demonic entity has a trick up his sleeve and behind his glasses to help you.

Word Count: 2778

Link to original: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31055930/chapters/81050182

If there was one word to describe your mood, that word would be vile. Tiny little irritants throughout the day had built to a simmering anger:

-Firstly, your bus into town had broken down about ten minutes away from your stop, meaning that you were forced to trek your way to the shops.

-Secondly, your trip to said shops wasn’t for any kind of retail therapy, but was instead to buy mouse traps. Your usually serene flat had been taken over by a little grey rodent who despite any humane efforts, was refusing to leave. You weren’t usually one for violence towards any living thing, but the little shit was out staying its welcome and had most recently been seen taking a bite out of a loaf of bread.

-When you did eventually get into town, it seemed to be the day for the world’s slowest walkers to take to the streets. Everyone was moving at about two steps per minute and you, being naturally speedy, were constantly waiting for gaps on the pavement to overtake. When you did manage to do this, there would be a whole new couple walking side by side, plodding along at a snail’s pace. You weren’t getting anywhere quick.

All in all, not your finest hour. This all came to a head on Oxford Street, or as you liked to call it, hell.

Your brain felt as though it were made of jelly, your temperature was rising, and someone stopped right in the middle of the street to check their phone. Slamming right into the back of them, you immediately let out something resembling a howl before running to your side off down Old Cavendish Street, somewhere slightly quieter. You leaned against the nearest wall, hot anger bubbling within you for what at the time, seemed like a life or death scenario of you getting out of town with the mousetraps, but in retrospect was just the culmination of various shitty things.

The last thing which you wanted to hear was any sign that you were being perceived, but a teenage boy riding past you on a bike shouting an obnoxious ‘WAHEYYYY’ at you was enough to tip you over the edge. You bashed your head back on the wall, feeling acid tears of anger falling, pedalled down your face by your short temper. Then, another shout came towards you from across the street.

‘Y/N? Is that you?’

You were ready to push yourself off the wall to lunge at this person until your brain caught up with recognition. Tilting your head forwards, your suspicions were confirmed when you saw floppy, ginger hair bouncing over the street atop a leather-clad frame. The sunglasses perched on his nose brought you a feeling somewhere between relief and fear.

You and Crowley had a relationship which can only be described as ‘are they? Aren’t they?’

You sure as hell couldn’t tell if he had any romantic feelings for you, and he gave off vibes so mixed that they were jumbled by this point. People always commented on the electricity between the two of you whenever you were together, but you tried not to get your hopes up and usually just put this down to his magnetising nature.

He’d told you about himself, and you thought that he must have trusted you somewhat to be able to disclose that he was a demon to you.

Then again, maybe he was just overly confident.

In the state you were currently in, you couldn’t decide whether to run into his arms to scream, or run as quickly away from him as was physically possible.

Your body chose neither and just stood there, open mouthed and gawking as the tears continued to fall with no effort from your eyelids. Crowley examined you, peering over the top of his sunglasses to try and decipher the scene before him.

‘Don’t tell me someone’s upset you, because I will find them for you, Y/N’ he started, rearing himself up as he spoke. You jumped in.

‘No, no. Not upset. I swear. Just… pissed off. Massively, massively pissed off. Short fuse today, y’see.’

‘Oh. Well, I know all about that. I’m quick to anger at any given moment but then again, ‘s in my nature. What exactly are you doing down here?’

You looked to your side at the gigantic skip full of building waste, then down to your feet where someone’s puke sat. You looked back up to the demon.

‘It was a quick escape, one that was made before I slapped someone in the face.’

Crowley looked slightly taken aback, not expecting any expression of violence from you considering your usually placid nature.

‘Ooookay. Well, I won’t ask for details but, here.’ He leaned over slightly and brushed away some of the tears which were still running down your face. You could swear that you both stopped breathing for a moment as he touched you but then again, you weren’t in a fit state for rational thinking.

‘Thank you,’ you breathed out. ‘I’m all good, I promise. Just need to breathe.’ You gave a reassuring smile to the demon and noticed him looking down to your hand, holding a flimsy plastic bag containing the mouse traps.

‘What you got there? Looks interesting.’ He said, tilting his head to try and get a closer look. You brought the bag up to your chest.

‘Oh, mouse traps. There’s a little shit thinking that he owns my flat who’s probably currently in my bread bin. Thought I’d stop the problem while I could, considering there’s that saying about seeing mice. Y’know, for every mouse you see, there’s always another one somewhere. Can’t wait to clean that up!’ Your words had somewhat of a bite, being spat like venom.

‘Woah. You really are pissed, aren’t you?’ Crowley responded, half smirking. For some reason, this set you off again.

‘Yes. Yes, actually I am. Because y’know what? This day has been fucking horrific! I genuinely don’t think that I’ve had two consecutive minutes of peace since the second I woke up. I can’t relax because of the mouse, then there was the bus, and the walking, and the pain in my feet, and the twat who decided to check his phone in the middle of Oxford Street. Sorry, who the hell does that? I just feel like I’ve been left out of any plans that the universe had to let people go about their day without a care in the world. So yes, I’m fuming.’ You gave a huff before realising that you were now crying again. Crowley stood slightly dumbstruck, shifting his weight between his feet. You glanced off to the side, watching the shoppers propel themselves down Oxford Street.

The demon then spoke, his voice low and sincere.

‘Can I give you a lift?’

—

After what felt like a windswept journey in the Bentley, Crowley screeched to a halt outside your flat. Jolting forwards slightly, the plastic bag containing the mouse traps crinkled between your legs.

You’d calmed down quite significantly, but now felt a combination of complete embarrassment that you’d had such an outburst in front of the being that you completely adored, and absolute excitement that he’d even offered you a lift. This wasn’t helped when you heard him say,

‘Let me walk you upstairs. Check that you’re okay.’

You felt fizzy, and as the two of you trudged up to your flat, you felt as though you could lift off any second. As you unlocked your front door, Crowley leaned on the doorframe, peering in to the hallway as you threw your bag on the floor. You suddenly regretted this as when the bag hit the floor, there was a scuttle from under your bedroom door, and the little mouse took one giant sprint off towards the kitchen. You screamed in shock as the little bastard took itself away, and Crowley grabbed onto your arm. This made you jump for a second time.

‘Woah woah there, calm down. It’s just a little mouse, we’ll sort this,’ Crowley sweetly spoke, lulling your heart back to a slightly normal rate. You looked down to his arm resting on yours and couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Crowley had a look on his face which would have read from ten miles away as one with a scheme brewing.

‘Look Y/N, I’m going to do something here which I don’t do very often, and all I’m asking is that you don’t freak out,’ the demon announced.

You couldn’t help but make a sarcastic joke.

‘What’s that then, the housework?’ Smirking, you looked up at Crowley who glared at you through his sunglasses.

‘Fine, you don’t need my help!’ He huffed, obviously taking the piss but you couldn’t help but tease him back into good spirits.

‘No no, sorry Crowley. What have you got for me?’

‘Snake.’

You stood there for a second, trying to make any sense of what he just said and burning up slightly as you wondered if this was perhaps his way of flirting.

‘A… a snake? You have a snake?’

‘Yes. Well, no. Well… yes. Look it’s complicated, can I just show you?’

Uh oh. Maybe this was him flirting.

You thought for a second before hearing an almighty crash from the kitchen, and from down the hallway you saw an entire loaf of bread fall to the ground, followed by a small army of mice. Again, you let out a scream as Crowley slammed the door shut behind the both of you.

‘How fucking many are there now?!’ You exclaimed, turning to face Crowley who was now quickly shifting between his feet. He suddenly grabbed your shoulders.

‘Look Y/N, tell me quick, do you have a phobia?’

‘Of mice? I think that’s pretty evident Crow-‘

‘No, of snakes. Are you scared of snakes?’

‘What is it with you and these snakes?’ You laughed. The demon then stood dead still and stared right at you.

‘Stay still. Don’t freak out please. I promise this will help.’

Before you knew it, Crowley’s hands had disappeared off your shoulders and he seemed to disappear entirely from before you. Confused, you looked down at the floor.

What you saw took your breath away for what felt like forever.

Rows and rows of black scales suddenly lined your hallway, flowing from side to side as the form made its way towards the kitchen. This didn’t take long, considering the snake’s body seemed to run on forever, there must have been at least 10 metres of the creature occupying your apartment.

You’d never really considered Crowley’s powers before. While you were aware that he was a demon, this thought didn’t control your every interaction with him. He was just Crowley- your friend Crowley- your possibly more than a friend Crowley- your Crowley. Shapeshifting had never been part of the picture.

But it was so, so beautiful.

Moving.

And snakes were never your favourite but this was just something else.

Squeals of mouse terror came from the kitchen as a massive shadow rose up throughout the whole apartment. Crowley was sitting up on his body, his head pointed towards any mouse that he could detect and a razor sharp stare in his luminescent eyes.

Your favourite part of this whole scenario was laying on the floor in front of you- Crowley’s sunglasses, sans Crowley for the first time ever. You smiled as you bent down to pick them up, your feet planted to the spot due to the inherently overwhelming nature of what was happening. You ran your fingers over the frames feeling the heat that was stored in them.

There was something so human about the lingering warmth to the metal, but that thing that made it so distinctively Crowley was the fact that the heat never seemed to fade.

The floor seemed to move as the scales once again shifted, with Crowley turning round to come back towards you. Cold fear seized your entire body, despite the oddly comforting and protective energy of this gigantic creature. His yellow eyes were right in front of your face before you’d even managed to properly react to him moving towards you.

You blinked and the Crowley that you knew and … ahem… was standing in front you, a live mouse swinging from his hand by the tail.

‘Consider those rodents dispatched.’

The mouse in his hand was thrashing wildly from side to side and while you hated the little shits, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. You went to protest but no words came out of your mouth.

You’d just witnessed something- something that couldn’t exactly be described as a miracle but to you- maybe?

Crowley noticed the panic in your eyes directed towards the mouse and realised what he needed to do. The mouse disappeared in another of your blinks.

There were so many pressing questions on your mind, but you only managed to actually articulate one of them.

‘Please tell me you didn’t eat those mice, Crowley?’ Your tone was somewhere between intrigue and massive concern.

The demon scoffed, ‘I prefer oysters normally, Y/N. No, I didn’t eat them. I can assure you though, they won’t be back any time soon.’

Palpable silence hung between the two of you. You naturally seemed to hold out Crowley’s sunglasses to him, staring directly into the eyes which served as a reminder of his other form as you did so.

Crowley went to slowly take the glasses off you, but in a snap decision, you snatched them back. Crowley wasn’t exactly thrilled by this.

‘Hey, don’t play games with those. They’re my-‘

He didn’t stand a chance of finishing his sentence before you jumped in, with your subconscious mind taking a grasp on your mouth. Maybe this was a trick of Crowley’s, but at least some of it came from your heart.

‘Do it again. Turn back.’

The two of you stared at each other as a smirk took over the demon’s face.

‘Really? It seemed to terrify you, dearest.’

The cockiness in his voice only persuaded you to carry on pushing.

‘Not at all! No no, it was just... well it was a shock at first. Obviously. Like who the hell else can do that? But no, not terror. It’s intrigue. I swear.’

You made sure to assert yourself in your voice as your brain convinced you that you would never rest again unless Crowley turned back into a snake. It was almost like the sheer shock had morphed into utter obsession in a matter of seconds.

And maybe you just adored every part of Crowley and him being vulnerable in showing a new side to you? Well...

Again, you blinked and he was gone for a moment, before the black reptile rose up to meet your gaze. He hadn’t continued to question you.

The presence was unexplainable, physically so big in the space but even just the idea of him just seemed to fill up every corner of the place. Moving the sunglasses into your right hand, you tentatively raised up your left.

‘Can... may I? Can I touch?’ You softly asked, mimicking a petting action in the air. Somehow, Crowley let you know that it was okay, pulling your hand towards him with some kind of magnetising energy.

Your fingers lightly brushed the scales on his head and you took a breath so deep you almost triggered hiccups. The texture was confusing, it almost seemed like it was shifting forms by the second- smooth then rough, hard then feather soft, but still always cool as marble. You fully rested your hand down as you glanced along the entire body, once again filling up the entire hallway.

‘Crowley, this is beautiful. I mean that.’ You whispered, transfixed on what you were seeing.

Then, the unimaginable happened. Your hand which had ended up resting on the snake’s head suddenly felt warm.

Was... was he blushing? You decided to test the water slightly more.

‘I didn’t even imagine that anything could be so magnificent but, well. Here you are. So gorgeous.’

Sure enough, another flush felt through your hand.

‘Crowley, are you blushing?’ You giggled. The heat on his face then took another rise, this time enough to hurt you slightly. You drew your hand away instinctually, but with a smile still on your face.

This was now a day worth noting. The day that started with a mouse in a bread bin and some unfortunately placed anger, and ended as the day that you made a snake blush.

And of course, he made you blush too.

A new side of Crowley. One that you couldn’t help but adore.

#good omens one shot #good omens #good omens x reader #crowley x reader #snake crowley #good omens fanfic #reader insert

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andrew-minyards-bitch · 3 years

Text

Conversations Renee and Andrew definitely had

Andrew, struggling on basic grammar: how do you differentiate between man and men?

Renee: mEn has an E in it which stands for Ego that Every men have

Renee: mAn stands for Audacity that some may posses but are too cowardly to show it

Renee: what’re you eating?

Andrew: a Twix

Renee, under her breath: ya fucking twink

Renee, anytime Andrew says or does something problematic: did you know it takes zero dollars to shut up and think before you speak or do?

Andrew: pay for my silence

Renee: bitch you think you’re worth the money? Also I’m broke so,,

Dan: why the fuck are you sitting on the sofa like that?

Renee, with her legs spread wide on the sofa so Andrew wouldn’t have any room: huh? What do you mean?

Andrew, clingy on the left corner of the sofa like a cat because he refuses to admit defeat: we’re both gay :)

Dan, is tired: *l e a v e s*

Renee: I think that men should show emotions more specifically crying <3

Andrew: yes I agree, like in media or literature men not showing emotions and painting them as monsters is so shitty-

Renee, stares in “you didn’t let me finish talking”: not because of gender equality and all that shit but because I just like seeing them cry, I see a man in pain and I’m like good, suffer

Andrew: I- that works too

Renee: I am sick and tired of “men don’t feel emotions” bullshit when society literally allows men to weaponize their anger and let it out in ways that physically harm another human being and last I checked anger is an emotion

Renee: I hate men

Andrew: good more for me

Andrew: enemies to lovers is only good when it’s gay

Renee, sometimes his reading partner: exactly because if I wanted to see a man and a woman arguing I’d simply go downstairs and have dinner with Coach and Betsy

Andrew, has TikTok: I’m gonna marry your son, make him my husband

Renee, deadpans: Andrew- Neil is an orphan you know this

Andrew: it’s a TikTok sound??

Andrew and Renee had a Disney movie marathon:

Andrew: look I get that everyone is freaking out over Nick Wilde from zootopia but like are we not going to acknowledge that Robin Hood was the literal blueprint?

Andrew: see here; same ginger fur, green eyes, is a criminal and the government wants them, attractive personality, dry witty humor that makes them even hotter- they are literally the same person

Andrew: Robin Hood walked, he walked, he strutted that runway so that Nick Wilde could run

Renee: I? Just? Want to? Marry? Maid? Marian??

Renee, watching 2017 beauty and the beast while the beast is singing “evermore”: break a man to the point where he sings songs like this

Andrew, trying to vibe with the song: I’m begging you to not, please

Andrew: why has no one made a joke about Flynn’s late name?

Renee: you want to Ride his dick so bad don’t you?

Andrew: I want to get kidnapped

Renee, slightly concerned: why?

Andrew: cause if they decide to starve me then I can be skinny

Renee: why don’t you just try dieting?

Andrew, eating a tube of ice cream: no I’m good

Andrew: *sends ten paragraphs of love notes*

Renee: *talks about something that’s completely irrelevant*

Andrew: did you not read what I sent you?

Renee: bitch you think I’ve got the time??

Andrew: I want food

Renee: no starve

Andrew: I want food but I’m too lazy to get up and cook

Renee: you should get a sugar daddy and then I’ll get a sugar mommy so then we won’t have to do anything again

Andrew: *already downloading the app before Renee could finish speaking*

Renee: Andrew go shove the snow, help the workers out

Andrew: no that’s a buff lesbian’s job and looking at the both of us, it’s clearly not me

Renee: you lazy fuc-

Renee: I hate you!!

Andrew: okay?!

Renee: *gets 10 snacks and gives it to Andrew five minutes later* I love you so much you have no idea, you are the light of my life and everything about you makes me a better person

Andrew: I don’t know if that’s sarcasm or not but your mood switch is freaking me out

Andrew: can you try not killing me?

Renee, sparing partners check: can your face not look so annoying and punch able?

#96% of these came from me talking to myself and locking myself inside my room because I don’t like interacting with my family #but hey at least we got these gems #this is basically a look into my brain #also Renee and Andrew’s friendship is simply superior #hope this was an enjoyable read #I literally do not know what I wrote #this has been sitting in my drafts for four days now :)#andrew minyard #renee walker #aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court

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poetrusicperry · 3 years

Text

Running Towards Nothing

Chapter One

a/n: hello !! @noelliza and i fleshed out an idea about if todd came from out of state (specifically, somewhere in the southern united states) to attend welton, so i wrote it heh. i’m not sure how many parts this will be (if people like it enough for me to continue posting lol), but i have the first like... five written haha. so yes, todd is from the south (alabama) and i don’t know much about the south bc i'm from the west coast, but i tried haha. hope you guys like it !! xx

chapter summary: something in todd’s past is the reason for his family’s move, leading to a new neighborhood, a new school, a roommate he was never expecting, and an overall shift in his life.

pairing: todd anderson x neil perry

warnings: none (i don’t think there are any in this chapter, but if anyone spots something, let me know !)

word count: 2479

–

If there was one thing Todd missed about home, it was the sky; the sun set differently over the rolling hills of Vermont than the grassy fields of Alabama. He was used to seeing all of the elongated, blue canvas sky that melted into bright shades of pink and orange along the horizon; there was nothing in the way of the creation, just a plain view of where the heavens met the earth. In the northeast, however, the sunset snagged on the seemingly-black pointed edges of trees and lush branches, interrupting the gradient leaving only soft blue and speckles of marigold.

But he had experienced his last Alabama sunset two days ago, and there was no going back. Not for a really, really long time (if ever). After the events of the past few months, there was no way Todd could ever show his face again, even if he really wanted to. Now, Todd Anderson and his family were living in the suburbs of Vermont, where, as his parents hoped, the past would stay hidden and they could build a new façade for the one Todd had recently, though unintentionally, demolished.

As Todd sat on the floor of his new, empty room, surrounded only by boxes and his bed (which didn’t have a box spring or frame yet), he gazed out of his window forlornly. Through the toothbrush-tipped trees that were jam packed along his new horizon, he could make out the silhouette of a church’s steeple. One that, no doubt, would be frequented by his mother and father while his brother, Jeffrey, was out of state at college, and Todd himself attended the prep school just a few blocks down the road. Out of all the cities in Vermont, Todd’s parents had picked the one with the lowest population and tourist pull, which meant not a lot of people inhabiting the city. However, on the flipside, there wasn’t a wide variety of schools to choose from. Back in Alabama, Todd had attended his local public high school, Nixon, and would have been an incoming senior there if certain... events hadn’t occurred. Instead, Todd was now forced to continue his education at what was deemed “the best all boys prep school in the United States” by his parents and surrounding boarding schools (no pressure).

Todd’s mind wandered through the recent weeks, pulling apart everything that had happened like rotten cotton candy. This was his life now: a new state, a new town, a new school, brand new everything. And yet, Todd felt stuck between wanting to start over and aching to hold onto his old life. If those five seconds could have gone differently, he’d be preparing for his first day of senior year with all his friends at Nixon. But his friends would never speak to him again, and he’d never walk the halls of Nixon High School ever again. Todd wondered what he could possibly be holding onto? There was nothing in a place he considered home and nothing in a new place that would likely never be home. So much of his past, he wanted to leave behind, but he just… knew that he couldn’t.

As he reached into the open box beside him, there was a knock on the door. When Todd didn’t answer, the door cracked open, revealing the familiar face of his older brother.

“Hey, I was going to go on a drive around town, maybe see some of the cool hangout spots if you wanted to come. I know I’m leaving for school in a couple weeks, but might as well check out some places anyway?”

Jeff always had a way of talking to Todd gently, never with any hints of condescension in his tone. After all, Jeff was the only person in the house who ever acknowledged Todd’s existence. And after everything that had happened, Todd was certain he was no closer to gaining support from his parents than a couple months prior; in fact, he’d been quite sure he was further from garnering any cent of respect, let alone support.

“Oh, uh… right now?” Todd spoke, barely above a whisper. He knew he didn’t need to feel embarrassed or nervous around Jeff, but that’s just how things were for him now. Anything he said or did felt… wrong, and he didn’t know how to fix it.

“Yeah, I think Mom and Dad went to pick up some dinner, so I was just thinking that we could head out for a few minutes. Maybe get a little familiar with town and stuff,” Jeff smiled at Todd, his perfectly straight teeth somehow still gleaming in the darkening light of Todd’s room, “Come on, I know you probably don’t feel up to it, but it’d be better than sitting in here while it progressively gets darker,” Jeff attempted to joke, laughing slightly.

Todd gave him a half smile, half grimace, “Alright. Think I need a jacket?”

“Want to drive with the top down, so probably,” Jeff smiled, smacking the doorway and turning down the hallway, “Leaving in five!” he called down the hall as he went.

While they rode leisurely around town, Todd kept his head mostly turned to the side, leaning his cheek on his arm and taking in all the things they drove past. Lots of houses on moderate pieces of land lined the streets; they were nothing like the spacious farms and open pastures of Alabama. Up until recently, Todd had always considered the south home. But truth be told, he wasn’t sure what home was anymore.

“Oh, sweet, Todd, look! There’s an arcade!” Jeff patted Todd’s shoulder with the back of his hand as he cruised down the street. The big neon lights were hanging over a brick building spelling “GAMES & POOL.” It looked like the marquees Todd had seen of New York City in the magazines. He just nodded at his brother’s sentiment as they pulled up to the red light. Glancing up at the bright sign once more, his gaze was torn away when the door to the arcade opened, revealing five lanky boys spilling out onto the sidewalk.

“I told you I was going to beat the high score and you punks didn’t believe me!” one with sandy hair said, walking backwards and facing his friends. His face was twisted into a mischievous grin and his voice ricocheted across the street as the boys seemed to be making their way to the movie theatre a few doors down.

“Charlie, no one cares that you beat the high score,” the tallest one replied; Todd noticed he had a flattop haircut, which is something no one in Alabama would have ever had; Todd thought it looked neat. The flattop’s sentiment earned a chuckle from all the boys, but a particularly loud laugh from a tall, dark-haired boy standing toward the front of the group. He wore beige slacks and a tucked in red flannel with black and white hi-top Chuck Taylor’s. And Todd noticed his dimples were deep into his cheeks while he laughed. As the boys walked down the sidewalk to the theatre ticket vestibule, the light turned green and Jeff began to drive. As the car passed the group, the dark-haired boy looked up and locked eyes with Todd.

“Neil, still five for Gidget?” the ginger one with glasses said. The dark-haired boy (who Todd could now assume was Neil) held Todd’s gaze for a couple more seconds before tearing his eyes away and nodding at his friend. Todd’s cheeks were ablaze as Jeff drove further away. Trying to not move his head, Todd simply looked back at the boys in the side mirror until they were simply blobbed figures standing under the light of the theatre.

When Todd and Jeff arrived home, their parents’ car was in the driveway, and the light in the kitchen was on.

“Hope you’re hungry,” Jeff turned to Todd as he switched the engine off. He just looked at Jeff blankly; his appetite had still not returned, so he didn’t feel hungry much anymore, “I know I am,” Jeff smiled, ruffling Todd’s hair and easing the tension between them. He nodded a little bit and opened the door, Jeff doing the same. As Jeff made his way up the steps, Todd trailed behind him, not wanting to be the first person his parents saw.

“Jeffy, is that you?” his mother’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, Mom, we just went to check out the neighborhood a bit,” Jeff called, slowing his pace, falling into step with Todd and slinging his arm around his little brother’s shoulder.

“Dinner’s on the table, dear,” she replied as the boys walked into the dining room.

“Smells good, Ma,” Jeff smiled, taking his seat at the table after patting Todd’s shoulder. Todd sat down tentatively and stared at the spread in front of him. His parents had gotten KFC for the second night in a row, and Todd was about as excited as he was the first time (that being not at all).

“I know we had it last night, but it really just reminds me of the food back home,” his mother said, pulling her napkin into her lap.

“You boys eat up, now,” his father said, gesturing to the bucket of chicken and sides in front of the pair. Jeff grabbed his food, and took extra care to offer Todd all of the things he picked up for himself. While their parents busied themselves in a conversation about the pie their neighbors had dropped off, Jeff nudged Todd lightly,

“Look, I know you’re not hungry, but have a biscuit at least, okay?” he muttered and held one out to his younger brother. Todd took it hesitantly, put it in the middle of his plate, and stared at it, “Come on, Todd. Please,” Jeff mumbled again.

“What’s that, Jeffrey?” his father turned to him.

“Oh, nothing, Pop, just telling Todd to have some dinner,” Jeff smiled small. Todd’s father looked at him with disgust.

“Eat,” he grunted. At the timbre of his father’s voice, Todd flinched slightly and picked off a part of the biscuit to nibble on while the conversation turned to Jeff’s plans for the fall semester. Fading into the background (as usual), Todd tuned out the conversation and focused really hard on his white Chuck Taylor’s, getting a flash of the tall, dark-haired boy’s face in his mind. Neil. Shaking his head slightly, Todd adjusted his gaze to the plate in front of him and waited for another painful dinner to end.

When the summer had wound down and the weeks in Vermont had become more familiar, Todd’s parents had busied themselves with getting Jeff ready for dorm move-in and paying little, if any, attention to Todd. Currently, Todd was up in his room, preparing for convocation the next day. Jeffrey had left the past Thursday, driving up on his own. He had told Todd to not take everything so seriously and to do the best he could (because he knew that Todd was capable of a lot of things). He also mentioned that he was just a call away if Todd ever needed anything (he wrote his telephone number onto a scrap of paper). Todd had searched the arcade and the theatre a couple times in the hopes of running into the group of boys he had seen on their second night in town, but to no avail.

Sitting in front of the mirror, Todd analyzed himself. His hair had grown out kind of long, and his mother hadn’t taken him to get it cut, so he’d have to deal with that, but everything else looked normal. Things certainly didn’t feel normal, but he was used to the discomfort by now. The only thing he was truly worried about was his stupid accent. He’d spent the last few weeks hanging around diners and spots with Jeff, and hadn’t heard a single southern accent. He knew his drawl would just make him appear stupid to all these super educated kids, so he’d put a lot of effort into controlling it. He was actually doing okay at it, he just needed to make sure he didn’t slip up. Todd didn’t need any aspect of his personality or appearance to be called attention to. He got up from the floor and crawled into bed, dreading what the next day and year would bring.

Convocation turtled by, two hours of sitting in a church pew and listening to some headmaster spout of statistics that Todd didn’t care about. As far as he was concerned, he wanted to finish his senior year and get the hell out of here; Todd had always wanted to go to California, but his parents told him it was a pipe dream (“After the stunt you pulled in Alabama, we won’t be funding your college anywhere!” his father had yelled).

“Ah, Mr. Anderson, is it?” the headmaster questioned when it was Todd’s turn to be introduced after the ceremony.

“U-uh, yes sir,” he mumbled.

“Well, we don’t normally take public school transfers, but you will fit in well here. Any major problems you let me know,” he shook Todd’s hand rather harshly.

“Thank you, sir,” he nodded and moved along.

Feeling his chest start to tighten, Todd made his way out onto the grass where he sat down against a tree and waited for his parents. After an uncomfortable and awkward goodbye with them, he roamed the grounds a little bit, practicing his newly-fashioned accent quietly to himself. As he rounded a corner to the courtyard, he bumped shoulders with a boy, and turned to apologize, dead-set on making his southern accent unknown (or as unknown as it could be).

“Ope- sorry about that,” the boy laughed nervously. When Todd looked up at him, it was the boy from outside the arcade all those weeks ago. Shit.

“S-sorry,” Todd mumbled. The boy nodded a little bit.

“It’s all good. I’m Neil Perry,” he smiled, holding out his hand, seemingly unaware or forgetting of the fact that they’d seen each other before.

“Todd Anderson,” he manipulated his tongue to sit flatter in his mouth, so as not to let slip his Alabaman background. He had trouble looking into Neil’s eyes, but when he got a good look, he realized they were dark, dark brown and incredibly deep.

“Oh, that’s you? I think that makes us roommates,” Neil said, patting Todd on the shoulder. Oh no, Todd thought, his cheeks flushing. Stop it, he thought to himself and cleared his throat.

“Oh… cool,” Todd nodded a little bit and pursed his lips.

“I gotta get going. See you soon!” he patted Todd’s shoulder again and took off in the direction he had been going when Todd bumped into him.

Yep, Todd sighed. This is going to be a long year.

tagging some people (especially those of you who said i should post this heh): @queertoddanderson @babytoddanderson @cupiiid @justarandompjofan @charliedaltonofficial @pretentious-strikes @aedan-mills

and a big thank you to @noelliza as always bc she’s the best and reads all my stuff before i even think about putting it anywhere on the internet lol <3

#dead poets society #anderperry #neil perry and todd anderson #todd anderson #neil perry #angelina writes

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