#I just need to know I need to read the trojans playing against the foxes for championship and Jeremy getting the win he deserves

[crazy-fangirl2524]

Tsc 2 should end with the Trojans winning the championship just like how tkm ends with the foxes winning

[humongousgothskeletonfarm]

TSC CHAPTER ELEVEN SPOILERS AHEAD

STARTING OFF THE CHAPTER STRONG AS FUCK DISASTER BISEXUAL JEAN MOREAU AWARENESS

picturing jean in a pair of raybans is good for my mental health

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“Missed a couple spots. Need a hand?”

jeremy u flirt

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do the trojans ever realise that jean is NOT IN FACT deaf and standing right in front of them when they are talking about him?

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oh ok so chapter 11 is in fact worse than chapter 10

if anyone reading this has ever believed that they deserved the abuse, trauma/suffering they’ve experienced, i’m here to tell u right now that nobody deserves that and it is not ever ur fault, no matter what others might say or try to convince u. whatever happened to u is unequivocally not ok. please seek help from a professional if u are worried about urself or others in ur life.

if u have ever felt uncomfortable or violated in certain situations just know that no matter how ‘big’ or ‘small’ the situation may seem (i use these terms loosely because i do not believing in ranking peoples traumas), ur feelings are 100% valid and u always always deserve to be respected and heard.

i hope u know that u are not alone and never will be.

sending lots of love to all of u

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wtff jenkins is a girl?? did we all know this or have i just read too many fanfics always thought jenkins was a guy?

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It was sacrilegious even in the privacy of his head, and Jean hunched his shoulders against a blow that never came.

fuck that’s a good line. traumatic as fuck and makes me wanna cry for all these boys have gone through but god as an ex-catholic raised queer person i can tell u this line struck hard even though i cant relate to the specifics of the scene

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Jean didn’t mind cooking, but he didn’t say that. This was the first time his room truly felt safe and right, and he was content to hold onto it for as long as he could. He closed his eyes again, but now his thoughts were snagged on Jeremy. At length he broke the silence to say, “Two beds would fit in here.”

jean moreau u are so loved

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“You are not them,” Jean said. “Kevin would not have sent me here if you were.”

THE PARALLELS IN THIS BOOK ARE FUCKING KILLING ME PLS NORA LET ME LIVE IN PEACE THIS IS TOO MUCH FOR ME TO HANDLE

ANDREIL EXISTS IN EVERYTHING

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Just because he had to meet with this man didn’t mean he had to speak to him.

jean, u diss aaron earlier in the books but really ur just the same as him

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betsy dobson to the mother fuckibg rescue someone get this bitch a ‘worlds best therapist’ mug

and jean, dude do u know how fucking similar u and neil are, seriously like u guys should be besties like-

“It was not my choice,” he sent back in warning. “I do not need counseling.” He didn’t trust her at all, but there was no point spelling it out.

CHAPTER TWELVEE

dude wtf is it with me and napping while tryna finish this book, literally just accidentally fell asleep for 2.5 hrs when i could’ve been reading

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“Imagine getting changed so we can practice,” Jean said.

king is fed uppp

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“It’s not about size, anyway.” ​“Defensive,” Jean said, tugging his glove straps with his teeth. ​Jeremy straightened in indignation. “I don’t have anything to be defensive about.” Jean lost his grip and bit his lip, and Jeremy hurried on before either of them could think too much about that double entendre.

OKKKK JEREMY I SEE U

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“That’s not—I do care. I want you to play with us, and I want you to have fun again. I want to see what you can do on the court and what you bring to our defense line. I want us to finally win this year after coming so close and failing too many times. But it’s just a game, Jean. Your safety and happiness will always be more important than our season.”

GOOD GOD ITS WHAT U DESERVE JEAN

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“Every time you say that you take a year off my life. I’d really like to live to ninety, so please knock it off.”

now the trojans understand how the foxes feel when neil whips out his ‘im fine’ line,, also i’m never gonna stop saying that neil and jean should be besties it’s literally just a fact

“I do not believe you when you are drinking such filth,” Jean said, with a disapproving look toward her drink. Laila stared him down as she sucked a long gulp through the straw,

this book is so devastatingly depressing and explores some of the most horrible traumatic things that could happen to a person but it’s interspersed with some of the funniest scenes that it gives me whiplash

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“Pat and Ananya have wanted to fuck Cody’s brains out for almost a year now. I really thought Cody moving in with them this summer was going to finally get that ball moving, but apparently not. It’s getting kind of pitiful.” ​“Pat and Ananya have been engaged almost as long as Cody has known them,” Laila pointed out as she fit herself against Cat’s side. “You can’t blame Cody for being scared of where they might belong in something like that.”

NORA GIVING US THE POLYAMORY WE DESERVE AFTER CUTTING KANDREIL FROM THE OG BOOKS LETS GO QUEER REP

YK THAT RUNNING JOKE THAT USC IS THE QUEEREST TEAM AND NOBODY HAS AS MANY GAYS AS THEY DO??? IM SO FUCKIBG HAPPY NORA HAS BASICALLY MADE THAT CANNON

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CHAPTER 13333

jeremy is so hopelessly crushing on jean and that’s real of him

meanwhile jean:

Threat assessment, he told himself, and it was almost the truth.

sureee buddy

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They’d arrived holding hands and dressed in matching cream-and-teal outfits. Even their gold-rimmed sunglasses and teal sneakers were identical.

well that is definitely an outfit!

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“Speaking of happy endings, has Laila bought you a sex toy yet?”

EXCUSE ME

this whole scene was so fucking random but jean deserves great friendships

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ANOTHER TRANS TROJAN LETS FYCKING GOOOOOO CONGRATS ON UR TOP SURGERY XAVIER

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‘i’m sure the ravens wouldn’t have taken neil in if they’d known he was the son of a mob boss!!’

uhhhhh…

i don’t know how to tell u this buddy

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dude i just cannot stop think about the whole new world of fanfics we’re gonna get now that tsc has come out like the aftg universe is expanding and becoming more detailed it’s gonna be crazy

chapter 14!!!

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Jean eyed him. “For what purpose?” ​Jeremy looked to the ceiling for patience. “For fun.” ​Jean sighed as if Jeremy was the one being unreasonable.

oh jean we’ll get there eventually

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Jean was a starving dog on a short chain who’d learned years ago not to bite back.

OH MY FUCKING GOD GIVE ME PEACE

MY CHEST IS ACHING AT THIS METAPHOR

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SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP THE PARALLELS ARE DESTROYING ME I CANT FUCKING TAKE IT ANYMORE

“You are Jean Moreau. Your place is here with me, with us. I’m your captain. You’re my partner. We’re supposed to be doing this together, aren’t we? Stop leaving me behind. Look at me.”

-

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that he hurt you, I’m sorry that you’re still afraid to talk about it, and I’m sorry that you think I’ll never understand. I’m sorry that he tricked you into thinking you deserved it. But I’m not sorry he’s gone. I can’t be.”

“Neither am I.”

TEAR MY HEART OUT AND STOMP ON IT NORA JESUS CHRIST

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everytime one of the trojans says ‘we’re here to listen whenever your ready to talk and open up to us’ and then they go and demand he tell them every secret he’s ever kept

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kevin and jeans relationship in this book is so fucking well written, it’s tearing me apart and giving me so much life

they have so much shared trauma and the relationship is so complex but they understand eachother so deeply

He is not used to having a voice, and he has never had power. I cannot promise he will ever talk to you.” ​“I will wait as long as it takes,”

“Be careful with it,” Kevin said. “Be careful with him.”

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“Night practices with Andrew and Neil,” Kevin said. ​“Obsessed,” Jeremy

exy fiend kevin day representation

also

“No, Jean is fine. As fine as he can be, anyway. Yes, I know.” (kevin when talking to someone ‘offscreen’) i just know he was talking to neil

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She crossed the room and leaned over, catching Jean’s head in her hands so she could plant a kiss to the top of his head.

this is the love jean deserves

chapter 15:

“Your fourth line has a smart mouth, Coach,” Jean said. “I was hoping he would bite his tongue off in the fall and save us both some grief in the long run.”

jean i love u

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Jean wished he had the common sense to shut up,

he’s so me

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“And keep Kevin’s name out of your ignorant mouth,”

THEYRE SO IMPORTANT TO ME UR HONOUR

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i keep forgetting that jean only learnt english after he moved into evermore and that kevin probably taught him but i love the subtle little reminders every now and then when he has to clarify a word, like when he has to ask what a ‘floozy’ is and:

due to egregious injuries.” ​Jean didn’t recognize that word, but since Lucas was already running his mouth, he didn’t get a chance to ask.

it’s such a good detail that just adds so much more depth to his character

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“Permission to break his face, Coach?” Jean asked. ​“Denied,” White said.

SCREAMING

THIS IS SO NEIL AND WYMACK CODED I LOVE IT

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JEAN MOREAU ON A MOTHERFUCKING MOTORCYCLE HOLY SHIT

catalina alvarez u wonderful human i love u

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jean realising how big the world is and the fact that he’s explored more of california than any other place he’s been before is making me tear up he never should’ve been kept trapped inside he deserves to see the world

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So long as she existed as fractured memories, she was safe and small and sheltered.

oh god don’t do this to me

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Jean gazed out at the endless horizon, feeling small and infinite from one moment to the next.

beautiful, just beautiful, absolutely immaculate

A cool evening breeze. Rainbows. Open roads.

A COOL EVENING BREEZE. RAINBOWS. OPEN ROADS

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SECOND LAST CHAPTER!!! LETS GOOO

“He is not going to hit you. Okay? We don’t do that here. You said you’d try to do better and that’s enough for us.”

starting off strong

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You’re one of my kids now.

don’t mind me i’m just sobbing

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no no no no no no no no no

holy shit no what the fucking fuck

don’t do this to jean rn oh my fucking god i’m sick to my stomach on the verge of fully crying right now

actually dreading reading on right now

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um ok yeah so i read it and to anyone who hasn’t finished the book yet beware there is a graphic violent scene followed by an intense panic attack in chapter 16 that’s is very difficult to read

i did cry and all i can say is thank fuck for lisinski’s timing

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Jeremy’s response was low but unhesitating: “I will not look away.” ​“I do not want you to look.” ​It frightened him how much it sounded like a lie,

-

only redeeming part of this chapter is that neil’s back but i’m still in so much shock over what’s just happened that i cant properly appreciate him

chapter 17 the finale:

feeling incredibly somber as i reach the end of the book

please god destroy anyone who has ever hurt jean moreau

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nora’s really filling in all the plot holes left from aftg - why did nobody question why neil’s hair was dyed after evermore ????? why did nobody question neil being at evernote in the first place???

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i’m laughing at neil’s map print-outs he’s so uncool, also i keep forgetting this is still meant to be 2007

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jean-yves moreau oh my fucking god

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“says who?” Stuart asked. “The dead kid?

stuart hatford u are so funny, is this where neil inherited is sarcasm from?

stuart hatford says fuck riko and so do i

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Neil shrugged. “Do you have anyone who can take on local work?”

NEIL JOSTEN U ARE MY HERO I LOVE U U BADASS MOTHER FUCKER

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Neil offered her a disarming smile that would never sit quite right on his face.

devouring these scraps about my boy

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YOOOO WTF NORA RLLY JUST WANTED TO GIVE JEAN THE WORST FUCKING DAY HE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE HUH?? JUST DROPPED THE FACT THAT HIS SISTER IS DEAD MY POOR BOY

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Neil filled in the finer details with an ease that would have been impressive to listen to any other day

- yes neil is incredibly smart, thank u jean for confirming to us

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The only thing left to ask for was something he barely understood: “I want to go home.”

oh the complicated nature of home and one’s sense of belonging that persists throughout these books will never fail to make me feel absolutely everything. nora knows exactly what i want in a book

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“I can see the kitchen. There should be a door out to where the dumpsters are. We can make it back to the garage from there.”

to be loved by neil josten is to be offered a way to evade the fbi together

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“Tedious,” Neil said. “I’m trying to eat.”

my hero

Neil waited until he was done before deciding he wanted to finish his drink. Neither agent was impressed with their absolute lack of urgency,

i love u neil josten pls give me ur autograph

Neil, being the person he was, pointed at the fire hydrant adjacent to its front bumper and said, “That’s illegal, just so you know.” ​“Shut up and get in the car.”

i wish neil josten was real

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He couldn’t fear a government who was so easily infiltrated and manipulated

FUCK THE GOVERNMENT

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Neil flipped his takeout box open and started eating. “I’m allowed to visit people.”

he’s everything to me 🥰

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“You’re one to accuse others of intolerable attitudes,” Browning said, and Neil only shrugged indifference.

and—for once—without any of your usual bullshit.”

- browning u love him just like the rest of us don’t lie rn

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ngl i’m never getting over the fact that jean and neil are the same age like this is crazy to me nora whyd u have to do this i cant cope

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“The more people I hold onto, the less of a threat I am, because I won’t want to endanger them by acting out.”

oh neil look how far uve come, i’m so proud

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“Lock your door tonight if it will help, but Grayson will never bother you again.”

THANK U LORD FOR THE BRILLIANT NEIL JOSTEN HES ANSWERED MY PRAYERS U BEAUTIFUL WONDERFUL HUMAN IM SO THANKFUL FOR UR PRESENCE

all my favourite bamf! neil fics have him taking out a hit on someone for the benefit of the people he loves and i’m so glad that’s canon

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i’m going fucjing crazy i didnt think it was possible to love neil anymore than i already do

best friends ❤️

-

jean tearing up and throwing away the notebooks and realising he trusts the trojans and the four of them going to eat one of cats new recipes after they waited up last midnight for him

A COOL EVENING BREEZE RAINBOWS OPEN ROADS AND FRIENDS

!!!!!

I CSNT BELIEVE ITS OVERRRRR I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS HOLY FUCK

[fallingin-like]

november 27

thick skin, an elastic heart by @badacts ​ [requested by @foxsoulcourt​ and @sig66​]

see which other fics i’m reviewing this month! / my review request post!

an incredible jerejean fic that focuses on jean’s transition to the trojan’s and how jeremy struggles with falling in love with him. this fic is funny and emotional and includes a lot of really interesting introspection.

this is an amazing amazing fic, i wish i had read it sooner (but i don’t read many jerejean fics). i was immediately invested and could not stop reading. you provide a lot of valuable insight, and it was really interesting seeing these characters that i’m not too familiar with interact and grow closer and further and closer. i love the song elastic heart and it fits the story you’re telling.

parts that stood out to me:

”it’s unspoken trojan policy that everyone keeps their doors open during the day” this is so interesting! no wonder the trojans work so well together. although i suppose the ravens have a similar rule, but for a different purpose

”while the trojans can be a little too much to deal with en masse, it’s better than the alternative” oh no are the ravens the alternative? jean, your standards are too low, that team was really messed up

”jean, rustiness or no, is very good at what he does” i bet he is, and i bet that, under these better conditions he will be able to grow and be even better than before

”your stamina needs work” interesting, i wonder how long he used to play with the ravens? i would have thought that the brutal practices were enough that jean has pretty good stamina (although game situations are often more intense than practices… well maybe not for ravens)

”he’d been bedridden for weeks after everything, and had spent most of his summer in palmetto running to get his fitness back” oh this is rough, at least jean has had time for a full recovery, likely a luxury he never had in the nest

”that version is a pretty sharp contrast with jeremy right now, though��� woah for a second i forgot about the conversation that they were having, it was so easy to get sucked into jean’s thoughts along with him

”jeremy goes from flushed to dead white in a few seconds” LOL

”but had been heavy on the literal slavery” AHHHHHH JEAN

”jean is a survivor, but he was a rebel first” i wonder if jean considers surviving itself an act of rebellion?

jeremy blushing so hard and being so flustered is the biggest mood every

”less because of the obvious parallel, and more because of the fact that by now jeremy’s used to jean inviting himself straight in” oh i love the way you did this. it introduces the familiarity between jean and jeremy and that they’ve had this sort of interaction enough times that there’s an expected behaviour of jean

”they’re - friends, now. they’re definitely, definitely friends, after months of jean adjusting to the trojans and jeremy as his captain, hard-won and satisfying. though jean’s watching him right now from an angle like he’s doubting all of it” woah this is a great paragraph. has jean ever had friends before? surely teammates yes, but people he’s considered friends? not sure. also love the subtle pov change.

”jean, jeremy has found, has very little interest in the opinions of other people” INTERESTING

”jean’s stare is penetrating. jeremy has to wonder why he’s so intense. it becomes obvious when he says, ‘you’re being weird’” i like this. but have no reason (that i can put into words) why

”jean goes on like jeremy hasn’t spoke. jeremy feels it like a shot to the gut, and tries to keep that off of his face” oh i think i missed something. such an intense reaction

”just as jean claims to know jeremy, jeremy knows him back” !!!!

”’you’re imagining things,’ jeremy says, which is perhaps not the nicest thing to say to jean moreau, a survivor of years of gaslighting” oh

”who is still and stoic and takes every step forwards like it might be the one to send him hurtling back to a place he desperately doesn’t want to go” woah. imagine being this well read by someone, gives me shivers. also i love this description

THEY KISS AHHH

”it’s kind of hard to think when he’s getting so little oxygen to his brain” LOL

”the reason becomes suddenly and brutally clear when it swears in french and gropes for the phone, shoving it into jeremy’s chest” LOL

”jeremy feels cripplingly awkward by comparison, knowing that jean will leave and this will all be done” nooo jeremyyy ;-; (also, cripplingly awkward is what someone would say if asked to describe me in two words lol)

”but jean is so beautiful he swears his heart might stop at the sight” ahhhhhhh

i forgot that jean also has scars!! i wonder what jeremy thinks of them…..

”the trojans have their record of avoiding red cards because they’re smart, not necessarily because they’re nice” this is true. they are also one of the best teams, and you don’t get to that point just by being nice.

JEREMY KNOX JUST GOT A RED CARD OHMYGOODNESS

”he acknowledges them with a raised racquet, but jean knows without seeing his face that there’s no smile there. that’s less surprising than people might imagine it to be” i’d love to know what’s going through jeremy’s mind in that moment

on chapter 5: i love the way that you write this, how immersed i become in jean’s thoughts and how the game only seems to be going on in the background. the way that outside events happen (siren going off) and break apart paragraphs, but jean’s thoughts continue. it puts me in a certain mindset and establishes tone in a really interesting way

”his life really should have removed any idea of fairness from him, any concept of justice and valor. he can’t explain why it hasn’t” this is so interesting to me. in a way, i can understand this.

wait ohmygoodness, what number is jean on the trojans?

JEREMY MAKING MISTAKES AHH

love the lines you have on jeremy avoiding jean

SEEING WHY THE RED CARD WAS GIVEN AHHHH

”the feeling of losing a friend is unfamiliar” and “he shouldn’t really call the feeling unfamiliar, anyway. pain, for jean moreau, is anything but” broke my heart, how dare you write that

dang, i have never really thought about laila, but the way you write her, wow i love her a lot. knows exactly what to do “her voice is soothing, which is an indicator of how jeremy must look right now”, as a person with a negative EQ, i want to understand people like she seems to

JEREMY JUST BLURTING OUT THAT HE SLEPT WITH JEAN AND ALSO THAT HE’S BI I LOVE IT

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN JEREMY AND LAILA’S SOFT CONVERSATION THAT ENDS WITH HIM ASKING HER NOT TO TELL ALVAREZ AND ALVAREZ BARGING INTO JEAN’S ROOM YELLING IS AMAZING

”’please, keep yelling,’ jean replies without looking up from his book, voice dry as sawdust” ooo i like the way that you write jean

”he stands. his height and size forces alvarez back a step more by necessity than any actual threat, but she looks like she doesn’t like making the concession.” i’m really impressed by this because i could picture this so well in my head (doesn’t happen often) and not just the scene and the actions described, but the tone of their body language too, the way that jean stood up and alvarez moved

”it’s what he wants. just like her leaving is, just like her closing the door more gently this time than a wall-rattling slam is. it makes no sense that it makes him feel worse. or maybe it does. it’s been a while now since he really felt alone” uhm excuse me i thought you broke my heart before but now you really just took the pieces and smashed them up even morE. THESE PARAGRAPHS HURT TO READ

”jeremy has always had a little problem with acting first and thinking later - jean once unfavourably compared him to the foxes’ resident rebel, neil josten, which jeremy thinks is pretty rich but perhaps not entirely untrue” LOL and also i love the wording you chose here

JEREMY CAN PICK LOCKS WHAT ARE THE LONG LIST OF REASONS

oh, the nightmare scene is so perfect, exactly the kind of thing i like (not kidding, i live for angst). this part? “the lock reengages before he can get back inside his room. it’s like a gunshot in the quiet” oh it’s so good. both sides are so understandable. jeremy’s reaction, his desire to help and recklessness. jean’s mistrust, disgust, he’s so used to having his privacy disregarded and this time he thought it would be different but it’s not and that makes it even worse, especially after a nightmare

”that means jeremy has to obsess over the only things he can control - how he acts, and how he feels” this is a lot easier said than done (says me, a person who has spent a lot of time trying to repress their feelings)

”obviously riko is never going to play again” THIS IS THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY. RIKO IS NEVER GOING TO DO ANYTHING AGAIN (except maybe rot lol)

”maybe one day he’ll realise he’s playing for himself. maybe neil josten, another one of their kind, will teach him how” oh this is good

”jean is a survivor, but that’s muscle memory too, learned the hard way just like he learned most everything else. underneath it all, his natural tendency is not caution” wow, i don’t even have the words to describe these sentences. i’m learning so much about jean. i feel like often times he’s seen as in between kevin and neil (coward vs instigating coward), but i’m starting to appreciate more and more who he actually is. jean was playing the long game, and it looks like it’s starting to pay off

“it turns out that survival and rebellion have one intersection - they don’t produce nice people” this!!!!

THE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN JEREMY AND JEAN. definitely reminds me of the beginning of the series, with neil blowing out his arms against andrew, although this time it ends in success on jeremy’s part.

”then you’re nothing like riko moriyama… and don’t assume you understand what i’m afraid of, or what hurts me” THIS WHOLE SCENE IS AMAZING. jean has been through so much, i don’t think jeremy can even begin to imagine the suffering, the pain

”doing the wrong thing by you. hurting you. you hurting me. losing you” i think that jeremy should understand that being afraid of these things already makes him way better than riko and everyone who has hurt jean before

”’i’m in love with you!’ jeremy says, because he can’t listen to this, and because he’s always been terrible at restraining himself when he gets emotional” WHAT. EXCUSE ME WHAT

”jean pauses, almost a double-take” YEAH ME TOO JEAN

hello i cannot belieVe you ended the chapter like that!!!! how dare yoU

”do i seem like the type of girl who holds a grudge? honesty, my attention span is like twelve seconds long” ME TOO

alvarez!! i need someone like you in my life!!! “so tell me about your problems, white boy.” LOL

”it’s not jeremy he’s doubting” ooooooh

”don’t agree with me. prove me wrong” THIS IS GOOD

”jean forgets that, as part of the ‘perfect court’, he’s famous too” that is true. he’s mostly stayed out of the media’s eye, but he was just involved in everything as the rest of the ‘perfect court’

”i say that because you’ve been playing terribly and i was surprised” JEAN!!!! I’M LAUGHING SO HARD

”of jeremy saying, ‘you never cover your scars,’ and jean replying, honest, ‘i’m not ashamed of what people did to me.’” oh this is amazing

”’how do you know… that you’re in love’ ‘experience’” i have no words

jeremy waking up, it’s so soft ;-;

oh no jeremy is back to being terrible on court BUT HE’S SO HAPPY IT’S ADORABLE

”i do know what broken ribs feel like” ohmygoodness, jean, you’re killing me

”are you sleeping with a lamprey now?” I HAD TO GOOGLE WHAT A LAMPREY WAS BUT WHEN I SAW A PICTURE I LAUGHED SO HARD

the nightmare, jeremy comforting him, these boys are so good for each other :”)

LOL I LOVE THAT JEREMY KEEPS BRINGING UP HIS RED CARD

ah, i have read probably one jerejean fic before this (yeah yeah terrible i know) but i really should not have expected anything less than amazing writing from you. you did an amazing job balancing out the push and pull between jeremy and jean, the alternating support from the girls, and how long conversations and dialogue contrasted the action of exy. i am so impressed by your exploration of this relationship, and the detailed introspection you included. you were able to integrate the thoughts of jeremy and jean so well into the flow of the story and i learned a lot and thought a lot. there is still so much that i wasn’t able to cover in my review.

i loved the characterization, jeremy’s uncertainty and his blushing, jean’s somewhat stoic and confident on the outside appearance. the way that both their pasts shaped who they are and influences their actions and how they make decisions, and how their personality types affect those as well. it was so interesting for me to see such an in depth study of jeremy, his sweetness, but also thoughtful in a more serious way, how jean is so much more than what happened to him in the nest. that he is a rebel and isn’t afraid to stand up for himself after so long of not being allowed to do that. i laughed and i hurt and i was comforted. thank you so so much for writing this!

[jsteneil]

familiar stranger (strange family)

leave all pretense of realism at the door pls here’s a thing

“It’s only two hours,” Neil says.

If looks could kill, he probably would collapse on the floor right here and then. Aaron only stops glaring daggers at him to bury his head back in the toilet seat.

“Why is he even here,” he asks after dry-heaving for a minute. “Go away.”

Neil rolls his eyes so far back that Andrew can see the whites. He pushes at Neil’s arm gently in direction of the door: Neil is Neil, and Andrew trusts him, but this isn’t the kind of situation he’s helpful in.

“I’m just saying,” Neil says, “you’ve played full Exy games through worse—”

“You’re starting to sound like Kevin,” Andrew tells him.

“Sometimes he’s right.”

Something hits the wall a good foot left of Neil’s head and Andrew turns back to his brother’s prostrate body.  

“Leave,” Aaron all but growls.

“I hope you throw up on yourself,” Neil snaps, but he steps outside.

Andrew waits until he can hear the suite door opening and closing, then he steps closer to his brother, reaching for the glass sitting on the sink.

“Drink,” he says, thrusting the glass at Aaron once he looks up.

“This is Matt’s.”

“I’ll wash it.”

Aaron spills a little down his shirt as he takes a long sip, closing his eyes against another bout of nausea. Andrew swipes his phone from the vanity, quickly enters the password he’s learned a long time ago, and pulls up the browser. He dislikes having to see the background picture of a certain smiling cheerleader, but his own flip phone doesn’t come with internet access. The phone buzzes; Andrew swipes away the text notification when he sees the name of the sender. Aaron even added a heart after her name; this is an unfortunate depth of sappiness Andrew hadn’t predicted.

“What are you doing?” Aaron protests when he hears the buzz. They both know Andrew has never taken his phone off silent. “Give me that.”

“Drink and shut up.”

The first site he checks is unhelpful; they advise deep breathing to fight off nausea and drinking water to prevent dehydration. He nudges Aaron’s thigh with his foot. “Small sips.”

As if to prove him right, Aaron vomits back up the long gulps of water he’s just drank.

“I’m calling Abby,” Andrew says. “You’re not going to that final.”

If possible, Aaron looks even more panicked. “No, I have to go.”

“With a bucket?”

“Powell hates athletes, he’s been waiting all year for an opportunity to fail me. He won’t accept a note from Abby.”

“Tragic,” Andrew says, composing the number.

Aaron’s hand on his wrist stops him. “Andrew.”

Andrew jerks away but locks the phone. He meets his brother’s gaze, crumpled on the floor next to the toilet, his face sweaty and ashen gray. It’s a familiar sight: it brings back up memories of long days spent outside the bathroom at Tilda’s, before Nicky got them away from the place. It seems they always go back to this: silent show of support and hard-won care.

“Andrew,” Aaron says again.

Their high school years were a blur of barely restrained hostility and ambiguous protection, but Andrew also remembers what having a twin felt like; the invisibility of looking exactly like another person, the usefulness of it all.

“No.”

The word is final. Like more and more often, Aaron doesn’t care. “You have to,” he insists.

“Have to nothing,” Andrew tells him. “This does not benefit me.”

“If I’m held back, you’ll graduate without me. I know Powell will do everything in his power to fail me even at the makeup test.”

He’s learned where to strike. Unbelievably, Andrew can feel his resolve crumbling under the what-ifs.

“I’m not a Biochem student.”

Andrew’s specialty is crime and violence. He doesn’t care about the intricacies of the human body he’s damaged time and time again, others’ or his own.

“My notes are on my desk,” Aaron insists. “You have four hours. It’ll just be a multiple-choice quiz, he told us.”

Andrew’s mind is already drafting a pro or con list. He can recognize the battle he’s lost.

“Call the cheerleader,” he tells Aaron, chucking his phone at him. “You need saltines and water, and I don’t have time to baby you.”

Aaron’s head whips up, the look on his face surprised. Andrew inwardly scoffs. He should know better by now only to try and fight battles he knows he can win.

“Thank you,” he says.

“Take a shower,” is Andrew’s sole response.

Andrew settles on the couch with Aaron’s thick pile of notes. He knows his brother’s handwriting almost as well as his own, as well as his note-taking habits. The information is always clearly presented, easy to read and grasp. Easier even to retain, for someone like Andrew.

She knocks on the door thirty minutes after he’s left Aaron in the bathroom. The water has cut off a few minutes ago, but apart from one sound of retching, Aaron has yet to make any noise or an indication that he’s leaving the room any time soon.

“I brought medicine and crackers,” she says when he opens the door.

She has the good sense not to smile at him.

“Don’t talk to me,” Andrew warns her. “He’s in the bathroom.”

She goes without another word, returns soon for plastic bags and a bottle of water, then Aaron slowly inches out of the bathroom into the bedroom, and she closes the door on them.

Andrew goes back to the stack of notes he’s learning. Aaron’s final is early in the afternoon; since Matt called them in when he left for one of his own, it leaves the entire morning for Andrew to try and learn three years’ worth of a subject he doesn’t take. Luckily, he has Aaron’s textbooks for any concept he might not know, and good memory of the course he had to take in freshman year for his gen eds.

Matt comes back sometime around ten, followed closely by Dan. Andrew checks the time. Neil should be going for his last final soon.

“How’s he?” Matt says when he sees Andrew.

Dan, always more suspicious of her players called Minyard, asks: “What are you doing?”

“Bedroom,” Andrew tells them, checking his phone.

A message from Neil, timestamped from five minutes ago: I’m going now. See you for lunch?

Aaron’s final starts at one, Andrew sends back. Neil will understand.

Don’t make him do too well.

“Oh, fuck,” Dan says, leaning over the couch to look at Aaron’s notes. “Andrew, you’re not serious.”

“Go away.”

“If you get caught—”

“It’s not your team anymore,” Andrew reminds her, because they lost against the Trojans in semis two weeks ago.

“What’s happening?”

“Andrew is going to fill in for Aaron. Andrew, I know you don’t care about legality, but you do know the consequences of you getting caught, right? You’ll both be kicked out, at the very least.”

“Funny,” Andrew says, “he didn’t seem to mind when he asked me earlier. Now go away.”

Dan swears violently, and trudges into the bedroom.

“Babe,” Matt calls, jogging behind her. “He’s really not well—”

The door closes on the rest of their conversation. Aaron’s state must have weakened Dan’s anger; by the time they come out of the bedroom, she’s calmed enough to leave the suite without talking to Andrew.

It’s not like Andrew minds.

When the clock hits half an hour before the start of the exam, Andrew’s had time to read all of Aaron’s notes twice. He feels confident, if only because it’s the only way he knows how to feel for accomplishments he’s set his mind to. He’ll walk in the room, take the test, get Aaron to pass, and come home to collapse on his bed with Neil, who’s been far too stressed lately. Neil’s not the best student, mostly because he never learned how to study, and the weight of Exy in regards of his academical results is too heavy for him to ignore.

Luckily for Andrew, he doesn’t care.

He goes into the bedroom to look for Aaron’s book bag, putting in the notes and too many pens. Aaron always prepares for the worst on exam days. He adds a bottle of water and swaps his phone for Aaron’s.

The whole time, Aaron lies in his bed and watches him without speaking.

“Clothes,” Andrew asks.

“Left side of the closet.”

They dress mostly alike, in dark colors and heavy fabrics, but Andrew leaves behind his armbands, too recognizable, and his boots. Aaron favors lighter shoes, black high tops with dirty white soles. He parts his hair the way Aaron does, lower on the side. He doesn’t have to hide his natural look anymore: without the manic grin, their expressions are similar.

“Good luck,” Aaron says finally, tucked into his blankets.

“You owe me.”

“I covered for your shit so many times—”

“No,” Andrew insists. “I have three finals tomorrow. You owe me.”

“Alright. Don’t let the other students to catch you—”

Andrew doesn’t answer. They’ve done it enough time in high school for Andrew to know how to pass for someone he’s not.

“Wait, Andrew—” Aaron’s tone of voice makes Andrew stop, one hand on the knob. Aaron takes a breath and says: “It’ll look weird if you don’t at least wait for Katelyn at the end.”

“I’m not touching her.”

“That’s okay, you can say you’re not feeling well. I’m going to be stuck here for a few days anyway. Just—don’t blow her off in front of everybody, alright?”

“I left my knives.”

Aaron’s glare is withering. “You know what I mean.”

Andrew killed for Aaron; he got into a car accident, and he accepted to join college and play Exy even when he was sure he was going to kill himself before their time was up. But this might be too much.

Andrew arrives almost at the last minute to avoid being roped in a conversation with Aaron’s classmates. The cheerleader, who left Fox Tower a little before noon to get something to eat and prepare for the exam, is watching anxiously from her seat in the middle of the room.

Their seats are assigned in alphabetical order. Andrew signs in as Aaron at the list near the door, and makes his way to her, since her last name places them next to each other. He supposes it might be a comfort for them usually; but she looks uneasy enough that Andrew hopes his presence makes her fail.

He’s barely taken out a pen when the exam starts. Aaron was right, at least: it is a multiple-choice quiz, but a long one. Despite his memory and Aaron’s notes, Andrew has to make up some answers when he finds himself unable to even understand the question.

He finishes early. He’s not the first one to leave the room, but the clock indicates an hour of time left. The cheerleader glances up when he gets up: she’s still only halfway through, which means Andrew leaves the building and her behind without a second thought about his cover. Waiting an hour is a waste of time he cannot be bothered with.

Aaron is sleeping soundly when Andrew comes back. He doesn’t stir even when Andrew changes back into his clothes, drops the bag and switches their phones again.

Andrew nudges him with his foot.

“Fuck off,” Aaron mutters in the pillow.

“I’m done.”

Aaron wakes up properly. “How did it go?”

“You’ll pass.”

“I need to have good grades for med school.”

“Should have thought of that before getting too sick to move,” Andrew says, unsympathetic.

“You’re a jerk.”

“I’ll ask you for something later.”

“How could I forget.” Aaron drops back down into his pillow. “Thanks,” he says more seriously.

Andrew slams the door when he leaves the room.

Neil is waiting in their suite, buried in a bean bag with an Exy match playing on the television. His eyes flit over to Andrew as soon as he opens the door, though, an indication that he’s not actually paying any attention to the screen.

“How did it go?”

Andrew shushes him, collapsing in the bean bag next to Neil’s. Neil drags his a little closer, lying down so their legs are touching from the thigh down.

“That bad, uh?” he says.

Andrew slaps a hand on his mouth to keep him quiet. He feels exhausted, drained more than he thought he would be after an hour of exam. It’s a good thing Neil can understand the command for what is: a prayer of quiet.

Neil kisses Andrew’s palm when he’s too slow to take it off his mouth, and Andrew opens one eye to glare at him. He has that look in his eyes that promises tenderness, even though they’re both still learning that language.

Andrew closes his eyes again, drawing strength from the smooth feeling of Neil’s shirt under his fingers. Neither of them turns to the television again for the rest of the evening, but it doesn’t matter.

[aftgficlibrary]

Coffee Shop&Cafe

The smell of coffee and respecting boundaries. Love it.

Only Fools by KazBrekker_morelike_KazWrecker (E | 19,833 | 20/20)

A flower shop/coffee shop AU that no one asked for but appeared in my brain and had to get out. Neil never played Exy and never met the Foxes at PSU, but his story with his father remains the same. Neil doesn't like people much but neither does Andrew and everyone knows coffee brings people together

I'm Young and In Love by elenawrites (T | 1,942 | 1/1)

Allison's pining over the cute girl at the coffee shop. Dan finds it hilarious. Renee notices everything. For reneewalkerx for the tfcfemslashnet exchange, title from Lana Del Rey's 'Love'.

The Smell Of Honey by lilaliacs (T | 11, 601 | 4/4)

Martha's was a cozy little coffee shop that always smelled of honey, lilacs and something that couldn't be described as anything less than home. And that's what it was to Jeremy, who had spent his childhood sat on a stool at the tiny bar, coloring in the patterns of the menus, or watching his mother creating the most beautiful cakes and pastries that he had ever seen.

The place was filled with good memories and everyone who came in could sense the atmosphere of peace that seemed to fill the soft light falling in through lacy curtains at any time of day. In fact, multiple patrons had stated that they came in for exactly this, for a break from their everyday stress, to just grab a coffee and absorb whatever magic the smell of Martha's cakes emitted and it was something Jeremy's mother was very proud of. It was also something Jeremy was very proud of, and the reason for him to put his all in making the customers' time there worthwhile. He never thought that one day, doing that would be a challenge. (AU in which everything is the same only that Jeremy isnt captain of the trojans but works in his mom's coffeeshop instead)

I Want You To by minyrrds (T | 21,385 | 8/8)

The Foxhole was a hole in the wall, quite literally. It was painted a muted orange with a series of white paw marks trailing across the wall that glowed under the pale yellow lighting of the café, with a small curled up fox painted right up against the counter. The sign said open, and the lights were on (well some of them were), but there was not a soul else in the café. The chairs were still stacked on the tables, and the register appeared to be turned off. Neil checked his watch, it read 5:26, and he figured he would have to get moving soon to keep to his schedule (even though there was nothing that required him to keep that schedule), coffee cart coffee wasn’t terrible (only it was), and maybe Renee had messed up and meant to tell him a later time (even though he had gotten his hopes up for halfway decent coffee entering his life).

(A fake dating coffee shop au blend!)

Stayin' Up Til We See The Sun by minyrrds (T | 5,184 | 5/5)

It's hard, figuring out a relationship when neither Neil nor Andrew wants to deal with their own problems, but here they are, trying to figure things out anyway.

(a coffee shop, no-longer-fake-dating au!)

you are what you love, not who loves you by gaypeach (G | Incomplete | 1/?)

andrew doesn't even drink coffee. yet he finds himself at a coffee shop with the tackiest orange and white paint in the history of paint.

the neon signs read "the foxes' den" with a trail of pawprints flashing in a pattern that made it seem like they were walking away from whoever was reading the sign.

andrew debates between entering or ending his life right then and there.

(he opens the door anyways)

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence

to know a man by moonix (M | 47,928 | 8/8)

In which the Foxes all work at a coffee shop run by Wymack, Neil is their newest recruit with a dark past, Andrew is obvious, Neil is oblivious, and everyone ships it apart from Aaron, who just wants to study in peace. With guest appearance by a stuffed jellyfish called Josephine.

The Girl with the Dyed Tips by reecesronan (Not Rated | 2,821 | 1/1)

Allison works at a small coffee shop downtown and she has a crush on one of their regulars - the girl with the dyed tips.

Tastes Like Damnation by deathanddestruction (Not Rated | Incomplete | 8/?)

Kevin Day didn’t like his job at the local coffee shop. He didn’t particularly hate it either, but he could count the number of reasons why on one hand and still have extra fingers. One - the hours left him plenty of time for exy. Two - the discounts. Three - a certain customer named Andrew Minyard.

weight of it all by azneara (G | 2,534 | 1/1)

the first time Andrew meets Neil he is not Neil. he has black hair and his eyes are green and his name is lost to the rumble of chatter in the coffee shop.

the boy with the ever changing face and the boy with the face that never changes have nothing in common. except they do.

ink over flowers by stardusting (Not Rated | Incomplete | 1/?)

there's a flower shop opening up across the street and that shouldn't change anything. it really shouldn't, but maybe it does.

sky blue sky by jaylocked (T | 3,709 | 1/1)

Neil collects the cup a moment later, almost absently, as he thinks back to the nightmare that had started his day. He takes a sip, planning to turn away, and is almost assaulted by the sheer quantity of sugar in his drink. Who knew coffee could taste that sweet? It’s disgusting.

Neil looks back to Andrew, who is once more leveling a blank gaze at him, hazel eyes deeply unimpressed. Neil quirks an eyebrow, confused. It’s definitely not worth it to say anything. After all, it’s been engrained in him not to draw attention to himself, to order whatever is blandest and least interesting, to get in and out best he can.

He can feel the weight of Andrew’s gaze on his back as he leaves the cafe, but he tries to ignore it.

start a war by jaylocked (T | 3,213 | 1/1)

Andrew pretends that it’s out of spite that he pours a ridiculous amount of sugar into the drink. He pretends that he’s not disappointed at the lack of reaction when the boy merely raises an eyebrow at Andrew before leaving the shop. He pretends that he doesn’t think about the mystery boy later, trying to decode his careful movements and haunted eyes.

(He’s never been good at pretending, no matter how unreadable the rest of the world finds him.)

i would rather look at you (than all the portraits in the world) by BurningFairytales   (G | 1,814 | 1/1)

Jeremy smiles as he slides the cup closer to him and hands him the receipt. That smile, Jean notes distractedly, makes his eyes appear brighter.

(On the backside of that receipt, written in neat handwriting, is the word ‘Cariño.' )

Give It a Try or Give It Up by Anathennadevice  (G | 534 | 1/1)

Anonymous said: Neil and Allison being great friends?

Neil has so many BFFs, but Lord knows he needs them.

[nekojitachan]

so, I know you're not on prompts, but I suddenly really feel like reading some neil with a british accent, and I already reread your stories, and I am going around asking this from all of my fav authors, so if you're ever in the mood or have the time, could you perhaps bless us w some neil w a british accent and the team losing their shit over it???

Hmm, I wouldn’t say that I don’t take prompts, it’s just I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to do them? I’m trying to change that (and find a good prompt list to post).

*******

It was the reporter’s fault, Andrew supposed. With the fall semester winding down and the Foxes securing a spot in the spring championship playoffs despite being weighed down by the new rookies, Wymack had informed them at the start of the week that there would be a reporter coming to interview them to help build up some publicity, so everyone had better mind their manners and watch their mouths (that might have been directed at a certain sophomore with a tendency to self-destruct whenever his lips parted and sound came out).

At first Andrew had been a tiny bit bemused with the prospect of spending Thursday’s practice listening to the Foxes go on about how hard they’d worked so far that year and their chances to hold on to the division’s title against the Trojans while everyone waited with baited breath for Neil to spout off his usual bullshit (especially if it meant that Andrew didn’t have to do much more than stand around for once). Kevin was his usual fake smiles and torn between gushing about Knox and Moreau and talking up the Foxes, the rest of the upperclassmen were positive as always about the team - Dan was more poised that year and going on about the ‘legacy’ she was leaving behind as well about how Neil would be a great captain once she was gone.

Nicky was a hyper idiot, the freshmen were still unused to doing any sort of interviews and so Wymack hung around to keep their sessions brief and to the point. Aaron managed (barely) to not come across as a surly asshole, and Matt gushed equally about Dan and Neil in a sickening manner. By the time the earnest young British man from Extreme Exy got to Andrew, all he did was give the reporter a flat look while he was asked questions about his goalkeeping record so far that year, his thoughts on which teams would be in the final three and who was his favorite professional Exy team.

Neil so owed Andrew for him putting up with this ridiculousness.

Of course the Foxes gathered around as if a crowd waiting near the bottom of the gallows when the reporter finally got to Neil. Perhaps the young man knew about Neil’s reputation, perhaps he was a bit rattled after dealing with Aaron and Andrew, but his smile appeared a little wan and the hand holding the recording device trembled a little when he began with his questions - Wymack had insisted that nothing about the Ravens be brought up, but that still left a lot of leeway for Neil to drag people.

“Ah, after a bit of a rough start, the Foxes are now second in the Southeastern district. Do you foresee any difficulties heading into the playoffs?”

It felt as if most of the Foxes were holding their breath as they waited for Neil to respond, as Wymack stared intently at Neil as if he could mentally will the idiot to think before he spoke (Andrew could tell the man that Neil would just come up with more inventive insults then). Neil eyed the tall, dark-haired reporter for a moment before he shrugged. “I won’t lie and say that it won’t be a challenge, not when so many of our players are so new, but we’ve gotten this far so I’m confident that we’ll do a good job.” He smiled as he brushed aside the hair falling onto his face. “We’re Foxes, after all. We do best under adversity.”

“Oh my god,” Pris exhaled, while beside her Michalyn nodded in agreement and Sheena stared on in disbelief. As for the upperclassmen, Dan’s eyes were wide and her mouth agape, Allison was grinning as she jabbed her right elbow into her friend’s side and even Renee appeared surprised. Matt… Matt was gazing at Neil so intently that Andrew felt the strong urge to go over and smack the backliner. Hard. Hard and repeatedly.

“What’s up with the funny accent?” Aaron asked as the reporter, with a slight, puzzled smile on his face, asked Neil another question - that one about what Neil thought about the Trojans’ improved defensive line with Moreau on their team.

“I think we’re going to have a real challenge on our hands when we play them again - we won last year because of them wanting to face us with an even number of players, and now we have a bigger line-up. But we’ve learned a lot, too, so we’ll each bring something new to the court,” Neil said, his British accent growing stronger with each question.

“His mother,” Andrew answered his twin as he gritted his teeth over the Foxes’ ongoing reactions; somehow, Allison had managed to sneak a phone out on court and was filming Neil’s interview while Nicky leaned against an almost drooling Matt as if swooning and fanned himself.

There was another question about their upcoming game against Binghamton, which Neil glanced at a stern-faced Wymack for a moment before giving (for him) a mild answer about how the Foxes intended to continue with their winning streak against the team. Still speaking in that damn accent which made Andrew furious over how their moronic teammates were acting and twitchy with the need to grab a certain idiot and find a quiet spot to ask him ‘yes’ or ‘no’. To keep him from speaking with that accent - well, other than a few choice words.

“I will give you anything for a copy of this vid,” Nicky crooned to Allison, who continued to smirk as if very pleased with herself. “Anything.”

“Hell yes,” Matt agreed with a rough voice as he continued to stare fixated at Neil.

“This is stupid, he just wants all the attention,” Jack sulked, his glare strengthening when Pris, Michalyn and even Sheena shushed him.

The reporter for Extreme Exy paused a moment before he asked another question. “So, are you going to be cheering for Cambridge or Nottingham this weekend?” He waved the recorder around a little. “Ah, your mother’s side of the family is British, right?” When Neil stiffened at the question, he had the sense to pick up on it right away. “Oh, right, I wasn’t supposed-”

“Edinburgh.” Neil’s answer cut through the man’s frantic apology. “I actually favor Edinburgh’s team, though they’ll play this week’s winner.” He managed a half-smile as the reporter recovered and Kevin took to scowling in the distance in blatant disagreement. “Their defense is a work in progress, but their goalies are top notch and their offense incredible.”

“Ah, yes!” The reporter laughed a little as if in agreement. “I’m partial to Manchester myself, so let’s hope those two make it to the finals!”

Wymack stepped in to wrap things up then, which left Neil standing there with an oddly open expression on his face. Before Andrew could move, Nicky and the upperclassmen closed in on the junkie.

“Oh my god, that was amazing!” Nicky exclaimed as he draped his arms around Neil’s shoulders. “How do you do that? Can you do that like, always? That sounds so hot!” It was right then that Andrew had joined them, and he spared no force in slamming his right arm into his cousin’s abdomen. “Ow!”

“Thanks for closing another bet for me,” Allison said as she reached out to tousle Neil’s hair as if she had every right to be so affectionate. “Actually, two, since you got through today without dragging anyone through the mud for once.”

“We had every faith in you,” Renee murmured as she tugged Matt out of Andrew’s way before Andrew could ‘accidentally’ ram his elbow into the tall backliner’s left kidney.

“Well, not Jack, Sheena, Aaron, Nicky and Roy, but there’s always a sucker or two when it comes to bets,” Allison said with evident glee as she held up her phone. “Between them and this little gem, we’re going to enjoy a nice spa weekend or two.” That was directed toward Renee.

Renee dragged the dealer away before something ‘happened’ to her phone, while Nicky left before he earned another hit and Dan had the sense to remove her boyfriend as well, leaving Neil alone with Andrew. “I seem to remember a time when you didn’t want attention,” Andrew remarked as the rest of the Foxes broke apart and began to walk away, practice seemingly over now that the reporter was gone. “Those were the days.” He wouldn’t mention what type of days, though.

Neil shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I didn’t… it’s habit, I suppose. I used it all the time in Europe unless we were somewhere and spoke French or German. I used it when it was just me and my mum.” His expression was a bit guarded then, since he knew that Andrew didn’t care to hear anything in regards to Mary, to a woman who had fucked up Neil in so many ways and failed to protect her only child. The woman who had abused him even if Neil didn’t readily admit to that fact.

“It’s stupid, don’t do it again,” Andrew told him as he thought about how the Foxes had reacted to it just then.

At first Neil frowned at that, and then he smiled as he stepped forward and brushed his fingers lightly along the hem of Andrew’s oversized goalie jersey. “Don’t do it again, or don’t do it while in public, hmm?” The British accent crept back into his voice as he gazed at Andrew with that almost-smirk on his lips. “I think maybe you like it, just a little. Perhaps you need to hear it again to make up your mind when it’s just the two of us.”

Andrew felt that urge to drag Neil off somewhere private once more, the urge to both kiss him quiet and hear him call out Andrew’s name. “I hate it and you,” he settled on as he shoved his hand in his idiot’s face. “And stop staring.”

Neil laughed as he took a step back. “That’s a ‘yes’.” He hummed a little as they headed toward the locker room. “Okay, later then.”

Andrew shoved him forward, but he didn’t say ‘no’.

*******

Eh… I’m working on keeping things short. ‘Working’. I hope you like it!

Now off for more Ravens Partner….

[ohsweetflips]

hawk in the raven nest, chapter thirty (final chapter)

chapter summary: Class I Exy Spring Championships: The Palmetto State Foxes vs. The Edgar Allan Ravens

tw(s): violence, gore, character death

A/N: please see beginning/end notes on ao3 :)

read on ao3

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read from beginning

chapter list

When the Ravens travelled to Palmetto for their game against the Foxes, Nathaniel found the orange rather obnoxious.

He wondered how the Foxes liked all the black.

Tonight was the end. It was the closing game of the Class I Exy season, the Spring National Championships. Tonight was the night that everything they worked towards would come to a close. Every bit of pain and grief and trauma they endured would come together.

Or fall apart.

Nathaniel would admit it: he was nervous. He needed the Foxes to win. He needed Riko to realize what he had done and how he wasn’t going to get away with any of it.

He needed to get out of the Nest with Andrew at his side in one piece.

It was two hours before first serve and Nathaniel should have been in the locker room or the lounge or anywhere that wasn’t his dorm. Ravens were supposed to travel as a team, he should have been up with them practicing drills or sitting and waiting for something because Tetsuji didn’t do anything anymore. Their coach checked out, and Nathaniel knew it was because Tetsuji knew that he truly, royally fucked up. His end was just as inevitable as Riko’s.

But he couldn’t get himself to move from sitting. Sitting and staring. He stared at the walls and they stared back and Nathaniel wondered what a life without these four walls would be like. Nothing had been set in stone, but it was accepted as common knowledge that there would be no Edgar Allan Exy team for the incoming fall semester. Nathaniel didn’t know where he was going. He knew who he wanted to be with, but he hadn’t considered where the tragic Ravens would be put afterwards. He didn’t think he could be just a regular student at Edgar Allan. He didn’t know how.

He had grown up in an environment where he was conditioned to work in groups. You won with someone at your side, failed with someone at your side, and breathed sharing two lungs. The thought of adapting to the campus that Nathaniel had rarely actually been to caused his throat to close in the sudden panic of that things were finally going to change, and things were going to change now.

For the first time, Nathaniel found himself fearing a life outside of the Ravens. A life inside was doomed to abuse and manipulation. You were never your own person and to try to be was suicidal. Every athlete that had left the Ravens had carried some sort of baggage with them, whether it be the inability to work with others who you have not grown with or detrimental coping hazards that might kill you years sooner than anything else should. Nathaniel thought of Kevin, the only person to change and grow outside of the Ravens, and Nathaniel didn’t think he would have a support network like David Wymack and the Palmetto State Foxes.

But a life outside the Ravens? Nathaniel didn’t even know what to expect. He told Jean they would survive, he told Andrew he wanted a life, but what was a life when he never had the opportunity to have one? He never had so many choices and right now, staring at his wall, two hours before first serve, there seemed to be too many choices.

Everything was happening. Everything was happening now and fast and things were going to be different and Nathaniel didn’t know what different could entail.

There was a knock on the door. “Nathaniel.”

The voice registered in Nathaniel’s mind and, instantly, his chest began to loosen. “Come in.”

Andrew Minyard walked in and Nathaniel turned to him. He breathed easier at the sight of Andrew, and perhaps too many choices could be limited to what Andrew would do.

“Staring,” Andrew noted.

“I know,” Nathaniel said. “This is it.”

“I know,” Andrew said. He then lifted his phone, which Nathaniel hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. Nathaniel saw that he was currently in the middle of a call. “Kevin wants to know why you’re not answering him.”

As Andrew moved to sit by Nathaniel, Nathaniel reached over to check his phone and saw that, yes, he had multiple missed texts and two missed calls from Kevin.

Nathaniel took the phone from Andrew and put it on speaker. “You have a phone so that you can use it,” Kevin said.

“Apologies for the fact that I have a life outside of answering your calls,” Nathaniel quipped. “Where are you guys?”

“We just got in your guest locker room,” Kevin said. “Wymack wanted us here earlier to prepare. We have a long night ahead of us.” Nathaniel nodded even though Kevin wasn’t able to see him. “Are you ready?”

“We have to be,” Nathaniel said. “We all do. We have no other choice.”

“Do you remember our deal, Kevin?” Andrew asked.

“Of course,” Kevin said. “You better be prepared to put up a fight, Minyard. We’re not losing this one. Not now, not again.”

“We all have to be ready to fight,” Nathaniel said. “It’s not just about winning anymore. It’s about everything. It’s about what Riko has done to all of us. He can’t leave this earth knowing that he got the final word after all. This can’t be all for nothing. We have to fight until we have nothing left to give because Riko took everything from us. He can’t die taking one final thing away from us. Everything we put out on the court today, it’s all for the game, all for the people who Riko thought he could take and bend and break and destroy. He can’t take anything else from us. He can’t have this. Not anymore. Not ever.”

Nathaniel expected a quip from Andrew about his obsession with exy, but he nodded in agreement.

“Riko’s not prepared for what we’re about to do to him,” Kevin said.

“Riko’s going to regret everything he has done over the past year,” Nathaniel said. “But his biggest regret is going to be stepping out onto the court tonight.”

“We all know what we have to do,” Andrew said. “What’s left is just meeting on the court.”

“We’re ready,” Kevin said. “See you there.”

They hung up.

Nathaniel was ready to breathe these four walls down and escape.

“I guess it’s time we head upstairs,” Nathaniel said.

“I guess it is,” Andrew agreed.

--

By the time it was ten minutes before first serve, the news had already spread through the Ravens. Kevin Day had covered up the two on his cheek with a chess piece: the queen.

Nathaniel had never seen the Ravens angrier. They had suffered through Kevin leaving them for the Foxes, through Jean becoming a Trojan, through the Foxes getting to Championships. But this, this, was the final straw. This was Kevin Day cutting his ties with Edgar Allan and finally removing himself from their narrative. Finally making it clear that he was no longer a Raven, and he was ready to take down the King and take what was always rightfully his.

At seeing the Ravens’ rage, Nathaniel couldn’t hold back his grin. In fact, he refused to. Let the Ravens see how he was overjoyed with their demise; let them know that he was a part of it. They had no power anymore.

They were waiting in inner court, a huddled mess of black and red. Tetsuji had just left to deliver his starting line up, and he had left his team with no words of encouragement. It didn’t matter to Tetsuji if they won or loss; he knew that he was finished.

Nathaniel, Andrew, and Riko would all be out together during the first and fourth quarter. Then, for second and third, Nathaniel and Riko would be switched off. Andrew would remain on for second, and then be taken off for third to recuperate. Having the three best players of the Ravens be off court for at least one quarter could give the Foxes time to fix any errors they could make, but only if they played their game right. Ravens subs didn’t play significantly worse, and would put up just as vicious of a fight as Riko would.

Kevin and Andrew’s deal only lasted for first half, when Andrew was on for both quarters. He hoped that Kevin and Seth Gordon would score the six points they needed and would use the quarter without Andrew to get it higher.

Nathaniel didn’t know if they would be that lucky. But he still found some small part in him with hope.

Riko then stepped to the middle of the huddle. His eyes stopped on each of his teammates. His look was brimming with hatred, as if he blamed the players in front of him instead of himself for what has happened, for what was about to happen.

His cold eyes stopped at Nathaniel. “Don’t fuck this up,” he said. His words were to the team, but Nathaniel knew that the core of his message was to him. “The Foxes are somewhere that they shouldn’t be, somewhere they were never supposed to be. They are going to try to take this from us, thinking that they have the skills to do so. You all better prove to them that they’re wrong.” He scanned his eyes again. “Make them know that coming here will be their biggest embarrassment yet. They think that they’re suited to play here because they have a traitor on their line. They’re going to leave here knowing that Kevin is just as worthless as them, and that showing up was suicidal.”

“Maybe it actually will be,” someone said from inside the huddle and Nathaniel had to clench his fists to stop from swinging.

“If we lose this,” Riko continued. “You’re just as worthless as them. If they win, none of you deserved to be on this court in the first place. Don’t let that happen. Don’t let them have what was always rightfully ours.”

Nathaniel would laugh if he hadn’t reached his limit for hatred.

The Ravens were called out first. The cheers from their fans were deafening at Riko being announced, and they only got louder from their. The sea of black and red was just as ready to see the Foxes fall as Riko was. They were just as shocked that the previously last-placed Palmetto State Foxes were currently on their court for Championships. They wanted to see the Foxes crumble and break just as much as Riko expected them too.

Nathaniel hoped that the pressure wouldn’t get to the Foxes.

The stadium then filled with cheers of excitement and roars of displeasure as the Foxes were announced. Captain Dan Wilds took every cheer and jeer with pride because she, unlike the other captain on the court, she knew that her and her Foxes deserved to be here. The cries only got louder with Kevin because he was returning to his roots, only this time he was ready to tear them up. The rest of the Foxes’ starting lineup followed out, and Nathaniel actually felt excitement boiling in his gut at the sight of his opponents. Matt Boyd and Aaron Minyard were the starting backliners, and Nicky Hemmick would most likely be switching on for one of them in the second quarter. Nathaniel was glad to see that Aaron was back on court, but it also furthered his desire for Riko’s destruction because he destroyed the Minyards. When Renee Walker took her spot in goal, Nathaniel hoped that she could feel his gratitude for what she had done for them across the court.

The Foxes had first serve and Dan Wilds was currently in possession. There were ten seconds on the clock. Nathaniel’s assigned striker wasn’t Kevin Day, but Seth Gordon. Perhaps Tetsuji didn’t trust Nathaniel to stop Kevin, but he didn’t realize that Nathaniel wasn’t the one giving up his game. That came down to Andrew and Kevin, and the phrase ‘giving up his game’ was used very loosely when applied to Andrew. Andrew was still putting up as much of a fight, but Kevin had to put up just as much of a fight for Andrew to succeed a point.

Nathaniel still thought that Seth was a worthy striker for him to guard. Despite everything he had heard from Kevin about Seth being stubborn at best, offensive at worst, Nathaniel could recognize a good striker when he saw one.

Nathaniel looked back at Andrew in goal and nodded. He gave one in return.

The starting buzzer rang out, Dan served to Kevin, and the game began.

Nathaniel realized that these Foxes were not the Foxes they saw in October. In October, everyone, Fox, Raven, spectator, knew that the Foxes would lose miserably. The season had only just started, they only had eight players on their lineup, and even having Kevin as an assistant coach, they weren’t meeting his high standards and fought him and each other as much as they fought their opponents. They played the Ravens in October because they had to; they were in the same district now, they had no choice. But now, now they played the Ravens after months of training. Kevin joined their team as a player and drilled them with Raven drills and pushed them as hard as they pushed him. The Foxes knew that they deserved to be here, and they were going to fight to the death to make sure that they made everyone know that, that everyone would see them walking out with a trophy declaring them National Champions.

Nathaniel wished them the best, but he still had to play like a Raven. And the Ravens were angry. He could feel their toxicity bubbling up and out of them, seeping onto the court and ensnaring those who touched it. They were angry that the Foxes got back to them, and now they would do anything to keep them from succeeding. Nathaniel and Andrew made a deal, too, and if he wanted Andrew to keep his with Kevin, Nathaniel had to play like he was just as angry.

When Seth Gordon moved to shoot on goal, Nathaniel checked his stick last second and popped the ball out of the net. Seth cursed at him as Nathaniel scooped the ball up and served it to Jenkins.

He was going to piss off Seth, he was going to play like a Raven, but the least he could do was serve the ball to the lesser striker.

The game didn’t take long to turn violent. With the battling of anger and determination, sticks barely missed hitting bodies and helmets, and each check got rougher as the first half went on. The teams narrowly missed yellow cards, and red cards weren’t far along the horizon. Tetsuji always played their red cards, using them as an excuse to bring players with more fuel left onto the court. It wasn’t going to be long before fouls would start being called.

It pained Nathaniel to fight back against his striker mark because Seth hadn’t even been able to score one point yet. Kevin was having more luck, but that didn’t mean that he was having an easier time. Despite having the lesser backliner mark, Nathaniel could hear the things being shouted at Kevin each time he scored. He saw each check his backliner delivered and panicked that the vibrations were going deep into the bones of his hands. The Ravens knew Kevin’s weakness now, and they would do anything to use it against him.

And then Andrew. Nathaniel didn’t know how Andrew decided what goal was worthy and what wasn’t, but he seemed to have a method to it. He and Kevin seemed to have some sort of connection that would tell Andrew to let this one score, but not that one.

Nathaniel could tell that the Foxes were giving everything that had for the first half, but even the drive that had ended up not being enough. Their backliners weren’t able to stop the strikers’ scores, the strikers had difficulties getting past the backliners and Andrew, and Nathaniel couldn’t tune out the goalie wall lighting up red with each score from the Ravens.

Andrew and Kevin were holding up with their deal, but the first half still ended in seven-four, Ravens.

The Ravens filed into the locker room for the fifteen minutes they had before second half. Nathaniel could feel their pride seething off of them because there was no way the Foxes could make a comeback, and it sickened Nathaniel. Of course they would take pride in this, they would take pride in watching the Foxes die if they could see it.

But there was something else to it. Something else that added to the twist in his gut and the anxiety in his mind. Because perhaps his teammates were right, perhaps the Foxes couldn’t bounce back from a three point lead to the Ravens.

Andrew and Nathaniel lingered behind the chattering Ravens. They were still angry that these were the events unfolding for their Championships, but now there was a viciousness tied to it. They had the lead, and they were going to do anything to keep it.

“That wasn’t six points,” Nathaniel whispered.

“It wasn’t,” Andrew replied.

“Andrew-”

“I did what I told Kevin I would,” Andrew’s voice was low. “I told him that he would get six points but he had to fight for them. You might not know what that means, but he did. We’ve spoken about it before. I told him to play his game well. It was between him and I, and he knew that this could be what happened. He knew that you weren’t going to be giving up your game, and neither was I.”

“Andrew,” Nathaniel repeated, pleaded.

Andrew then studied him, ran his hazel eyes over Nathaniel’s face, which must have looked quite pitiful. “We’re both off for the next quarter,” Andrew finally said. “So is Riko. The Foxes can use this as their chance to bring the score back up.”

It was the closest Nathaniel could ever get to reassurance, and he couldn’t have appreciated it more. It was enough to show that Andrew cared, really, truly cared, and that he wanted this for the Foxes as much as Nathaniel and Kevin did. Nathaniel never doubted him, but it was still nice to hear it.

Andrew, Nathaniel, and Riko were sidelined for the third quarter, with Andrew standing in between Nathaniel and Riko. Despite Andrew being the shortest of the three, he would be the one most likely to stop any brawls if Riko (and Nathaniel) couldn’t keep their mouth shut.

But, really, Nathaniel was too caught up in the court to even pay attention to Riko. The second half was just about to begin, and the Foxes were filing into their starting positions. His pulse thumped hard and loud in his body. The Ravens would be going into the second half with an entirely new lineup, but the Foxes were used to playing full games by now.

Nathaniel just hoped that they could close the three point gap, and then some.

When it was Kevin’s turn to enter the court, he hesitated and Nathaniel could see the smirk on his face. He then touched the butt of his racket to the floor and switched it from his right hand to his left.

“Holy fucking shit,” Nathaniel said, unable to hold back as the stands, spectators for both Ravens and Foxes, lost any shred of composure they had left. Kevin Day, broken Kevin Day, left the Nest with a shattered left hand and the daunting exy-less future ahead of him. He eventually returned to the court as a right-handed player who spent more time worrying about reinjuring himself than anything else. And the Ravens called that, that, and let Kevin fester in their minds as a weak, breakable, pitiful, lost thing.

However, they seem to have forgotten that Kevin Day was stubborn before anything else, so of course he would return to his left-handed roots. They forgot that Kevin was just as determined to succeed and come out on top as they were; so, they learned the way he played right-handed. They adjusted the way they played so that they could use it against Kevin’s right handed-style.

And now, Kevin Day was ready to destroy every plan that they had for the rest of the night.

Suddenly, closing the point gap seemed a closer possibility than not.

The second half began, and Nathaniel’s heart hammered in his chest as he watched the game unfold before him. The Ravens were ready to put up a fight, but the Foxes were ready to fight back. The Foxes’ current backliners, Matt and Nicky, were now working on pushing the Raven strikers farther up the court and away from Renee in goal. The Ravens had the tendency to gang up on the goalie; it’s why they could score so many points in such a short time. The Foxes now worked to break that offensive line.

Kevin scored in the first minute and thirty seconds of the game. Then again six minutes later.

Nathaniel smirked. “Didn’t expect this, huh, Riko?” he said over Andrew’s head and Riko shot daggers at him.

Andrew also side eyed him, but Nathaniel pretended that he didn’t see that. He could practically hear Andrew in his head to stop running himself into Riko’s fist, but Nathaniel had a bit of an attitude problem.

The Ravens fought against Kevin like Nathaniel knew they would. They had thrown strategy out the window, since none of it applied to Kevin anymore, and with it came violence. Again and again their strikers tried to score on the Foxes, and again and again Renee fired their shots back and Matt and Nicky pushed them farther away. It was obvious that Kevin had spent time working with the Foxes on adapting to the Ravens’ speed, and it was paying off.

Kevin and Seth, now not having Nathaniel to step around and Andrew to shoot past, were able to get around the Ravens’ backliners and shoot on goal. They didn’t make every shot, but at Nathaniel, Andrew, and Riko’s return to court, the score was eight-seven, Ravens.

There was one quarter left. If Renee continued to shut out their goal, the Foxes just needed two more points and they would win. At the transition from third to fourth quarter and the reappearance of Riko, Coach Wymack switched out Nicky for Aaron and Nathaniel hoped that they were enough to push back Riko.

Nathaniel couldn’t throw him game. Andrew wouldn’t. Riko wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

But the Foxes weren’t giving up their fight either. Battling the Ravens’ anger was the Foxes’ fight, and even from across the court, Nathaniel could tell that their determination added an extra boost of energy.

Right before the fourth quarter started, Nathaniel turned back to Andrew in goal. Andrew instantly caught his eyes, and they gave each other a small nod.

It was the final fifteen minutes. Everything they fought for would come to its conclusion in fifteen minutes. Nathaniel wanted nothing more than to watch the Foxes win and tear down Riko’s reign before his very eyes.

Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Kevin scored again, tying the game at eight-eight, and Reacher finally broke and swung at him. He knocked Kevin’s helmet off and his fist connected with his jaw. Whistles from all referees were blown furiously and court door echoed as they slammed open, but that didn’t stop Kevin from shoving back at Reacher.

Reacher was given a red card and removed from the court while Kevin was given a yellow one. If a team got enough red cards, they would be eliminated from the game and the other team would win by default, but Nathaniel knew the strategy Tetsuji was playing. When their coach was actually desperate about something, he would welcome red cards. It gave the opportunity to switch out players as he needed, allowing players with more energy to replace the faltering ones.

When the Ravens were given another red card for checking Walker, Nathaniel knew that that was the strategy that Tetsuji was taken. It was risky and uncalled for; the Ravens were once again up ten-nine with ten minutes left of the game. To check the goalie was perhaps the most offensive move a player could do; a goalie’s gear was to protect them from balls being flung at them, not the weight of a person.

When Renee was checked into the wall, the goal lighting up red, Nathaniel panicked that that was it. The Foxes didn’t have another goalie, and if Walker was done, so was the game. But she persisted, and the Ravens were red carded, and the Foxes soon got their revenge.

It was when Seth was coming up the court. Allison had just served to him. Kevin, when he had just joined the Foxes, said that Seth could actually be an amazing player if he wasn’t so antagonistic to everyone. He had heard that Kevin and Seth got into enough fights in the first month of Kevin’s arrival to last the entire season, primarily because two great strikers were put on the same starting line, one who was trying to bounce back from the bottom and one who couldn’t work with someone long enough to make progress.

Perhaps, though, Kevin’s words finally got through to Seth. When Seth shot at the goal, Nathaniel couldn’t stop him.

Nathaniel then heard the goal ring out across the court.

The score was ten-ten, a tie between Ravens and Foxes.

There was a minute and thirty seconds left of the game.

Nathaniel’s heart pounded in his chest so hard it made him feel sick. The game continued and no one scored. Barely legal stick checks threw the ball between both teams but neither pair of strikers could get close to the goals.

They couldn’t go into overtime. The Ravens could handle overtime; they had players on the court whose fourth quarter was their first time playing all night. They had the energy to handle it. The Foxes, though, had their capacity at an hour and a half of playing time. Even Kevin had expressed that the endurance training was tough to last that long. To go an extra five or ten or thirty minutes would mean that the Foxes would decline, and decline fast.

If they finished the fourth quarter out at a tie, Nathaniel didn’t know what he would do with himself. The Ravens would outscore the Foxes in overtime. He didn’t realize how much he needed the Foxes to win until now, when it seemed like they couldn’t. Riko would surely kill him and Andrew for what the two of them had done to Riko. The Ravens would be exposed no matter what, but in the end, Riko would have won. He would have the final word, and Nathaniel didn’t know if he could handle hearing them.

The ball was in the Foxes’ possession. There were twelve seconds left. Allison passed to Kevin. There were ten seconds left. Kevin narrowly missed being tripped by his backliner. There were four seconds left.

Then, time seemed to slow.

Kevin moved to shoot. Throughout the night, he had been shooting over Andrew’s left shoulder, and Andrew anticipated this. At the start of the fourth quarter, he adjusted himself to Kevin’s playing style and used what he could to block Kevin’s goals. Kevin and Andrew no longer had any deals; Andrew wasn’t holding anything back to stop Kevin.

Kevin anticipated this, however, and as he went to shoot for Andrew’s left shoulder, at the last second he twisted his hand.

And sent the ball flying past Andrew’s torso on the right as Andrew lunged for the anticipated left shot.

The goal lit up red.

There were two seconds left.

Nathaniel heard the screams burst out from around and on the court, and then he heard the final buzzer.

Nathaniel, slowly, for if he moved too fast he thought he might break, turned to stare at the scoreboard.

Eleven-ten, Foxes.

He did it. He really did it. Of course he really did it. Kevin Day, Kevin fucking Day, scored in the last two seconds of the game.

The Foxes’ screams could be heard over everyone else’s. Turning to look at his opponents, the new National Champions, he saw that all the Foxes were piled together in one large, obnoxiously orange, elated clump.

All but one Fox, who was currently standing in front of Andrew’s goal with his helmet off, a huge grin on his face, and a queen chess piece on his cheek.

Nathaniel smiled.

His happiness was short lived, however, for he felt a claw grip his shoulder and pull him around. Riko glared down at him and Nathaniel stared back. Riko had threw his helmet somewhere in a fit of rage, and Nathaniel only had his own to separate them. He wore a manic grin on his face and his eyes tore Nathaniel apart piece by piece.

“You know how it is, Nathaniel,” Riko growled, knocking off Nathaniel’s helmet. “I go down, you go down with me.” He then threw Nathaniel to the ground and he felt something pop in his shoulder as he smashed against the ground. The only thing Nathaniel could register as Riko swung his racket above his head was that this was what Kevin must have felt like all those months ago.

Before Riko could swing downwards, a large, black racket smacked into Riko’s left arm and even Nathaniel could feel the crack that ran down it. Riko let out a scream, a painful, ear shattering scream, before collapsing to the ground.

Check.

Andrew stared down at Nathaniel. Nathaniel stared back.

“You’re welcome,” Andrew said, deadpan. “Weren’t you taught manners, Nathaniel?”

“Not really,” Nathaniel breathed and Andrew pulled him up. Nathaniel winced at the pull in his shoulder, but it must have been nothing compared to the pain Riko was feeling.

Good.

The game was over and fans were dismissed, but the teams themselves weren’t allowed to leave. Ambulances and the police were called, since that seemed to be the common trend among the Foxes, and Riko was whisked away in an ambulance that Nathaniel assumed would bring him to a hospital owned by the Moriyamas.

The Ravens and the Foxes were kept separated. If they couldn’t hold back fighting each other on the court, there was no way they were going to be permitted to sit near each other after the Ravens lost their title as Champions for the first time since their creation.

Players from both teams were questioned. Mostly about what happened between Riko, Nathaniel, and Andrew. After hearing enough stories, Andrew’s swing at Riko was deemed as a defending one, since Riko was ready to bash in Nathaniel’s skull.

Tetsuji was not present during any of this.

Finally, at just past two in the morning, the Foxes were permitted to leave and the Ravens were sent into their locker room. There were guards standing outside each door, ready to burst in if they heard a fight break out. But by the time the Ravens entered, they were too tired and shocked to make any moves against each other.

The locker room was so quiet, Nathaniel could hear everyone’s heartbeats.

The Perfect Court had naturally put all their lockers by each other. One year ago, their section of lockers were occupied by five people. Now, only two remained. Things had become so different.

The silence was broken when the locker room phone rang. Almost all the Ravens were fully dressed, and Nathaniel was just finishing towel-drying his hair. Everyone stared at the blaring phone, yet no one moved to answer it. Finally, Nathaniel stepped forward and answered it.

“Nathaniel Wesninski speaking,” he said.

“Wesninski,” a heavily accented voice said. Nathaniel easily connected the dots of the Japanese accent and the call coming from inside Evermore and knew that it was one of Lord Ichirou’s people. “You must report now to the tower. A guard outside will escort you. Do not try to escape.”

“I’ll be right there,” Nathaniel said and, once permitted, hung up.

Andrew stared at him. Nathaniel stared back. “I’ll be right back,” Nathaniel finally said.

“You better be,” Andrew said, and Nathaniel walked out the locker room doors.

--

The ride up to the tower was about as ominous as Nathaniel knew it was going to be. He knew what was about to happen. Everything was pointing in one singular direction than Nathaniel knew what was going to happen, but one, paranoid voice in the back of his mind kept telling him to start counting down the minutes just like he did in Baltimore.

There were actually two guards sent for him. That added to the ominous atmosphere. Ever since Nathan Wesninski was killed, Lord Ichirou had been in a panic, cutting ties and killing those who he thought were traitors. Nathaniel guessed that, even after his vow to Lord Ichirou to remain loyal, Lord Ichirou still was paranoid that he would run. It made sense to send two guards; one to catch him, and one to do the killing.

But Nathaniel didn’t plan on running, so he let the atmosphere choke him as they travelled up to the tower in dead silence.

When the elevator arrived to the top floor, Nathaniel stepped out and was followed by the two guards. The elevator doors closed, and the two of them stood in front of them. Nathaniel then realized that it wasn’t only him that they were keeping from running away.

Lord Ichirou stood at the window that looked out to the court. He stared out of it with as much intensity as if there was still a game going on. Other guards and people of the Moriyamas stood around the borders of his room, so still that they could have been statues. Tetsuji and Riko were sitting on a leather couch in the middle of the room. Tetsuji stared ahead as if there was no one else in the room with him. Riko had never looked more broken and haggard, and Nathaniel saw the cast around his left arm poking out of the sling. No one seemed to notice Nathaniel’s entrance.

Nathaniel didn’t move and everyone remained silent. Nathaniel counted the seconds, and he got to two minutes and three seconds before Lord Ichirou finally moved. He removed a gloved hand from his pocket and held it out to one of his guards. Wordlessly, the guard walked over and gave him a handgun. Lord Ichirou took it and stepped forward until he was an equal distance from both the couch and Nathaniel.

Lord Ichirou then turned his icy stare onto Nathaniel and that paranoid voice in the back of his head suddenly seemed more realistic. He prepared to plea for his life once again, was ready to give Lord Ichirou all his earnings if it meant he could live, when Lord Ichirou turned away from him and stepped towards the couch.

Lord Ichirou first stood in front of Tetsuji. He spoke quietly to him, quiet enough so that Nathaniel could barely hear him. He was only able to pick up a few words in Japanese, but not nearly enough to put together the context of what he was saying to his uncle.

He then figured it out extremely quick when Lord Ichirou put the gun to Tetsuji’s forehead and pulled the trigger.

The shot was deafening, but Nathaniel found himself wincing more at the blood splatter across Riko and the couch more than the noise. Tetsuji slumped back on the couch. With his other gloved hand, Lord Ichirou pulled the body forward and let it fall on the floor.

Lord Ichirou then took one step to the side and crouched in front of Riko. The two brothers looked at each other for the first time, and Nathaniel realized that the coldness he saw in Lord Ichirou’s eyes was the same coldness he used to see in Riko’s.

Now, though, Riko looked at him, crushed and utterly defeated. “Ichirou,” he barely choked out, his voice drowned in emotion. Lord Ichirou just stared at him.

Riko looked at if he was about to say something else, but he didn’t get his words out in time. Lord Ichirou put the gun to Riko’s temple and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered and Riko’s body slumped.

Checkmate.

Lord Ichirou carefully placed the gun in Riko’s limp hand and Nathaniel put together the plan the Moriymas had in mind.

Lord Ichirou then turned to Nathaniel and stepped up to him. “It seems that our common enemies are finished,” he said. “Are you satisfied?”

Nathaniel nodded. “I am,” he said. “Thank you, Lord Ichirou.”

“Remember what I told you, Wesninski,” Lord Ichirou continued. “You cannot go anywhere where your roots won’t lead you back to us.”

“I won’t forget that, my Lord,” Nathaniel assured and Lord Ichirou nodded.

“You are dismissed, then.”

Nathaniel being led out of the tower and back into the elevator was a blur. He didn’t register any of his surroundings, but he could feel the grin on his face. It was over, it was finally over, and Riko got what was coming for him for a long, long time.

When he arrived back in the locker room, it seemed like all the other Ravens had flocked elsewhere, until he turned to his locker and saw Andrew waiting for him. Nathaniel flashed him a smile and Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you so happy?” Andrew asked, his stare intense on Nathaniel.

Nathaniel cocked his head to the side and felt his grin grow wider. “We won, Andrew.”

--

The Edgar Allan Ravens’ Exy team was not deemed mentally or emotionally fit to join the student body for the last couple weeks of the semester. Having just lost their coach, their captain, and their team, the school board saw that another sudden change might hinder the Ravens more than help.

And yet, things felt lighter, easier, in the dorms. No one spoke to each other, yet no one fought. For the first time in their college careers, some for the first time in their lives, they did not have someone breathing down their necks. They were free to make their own choices. Eventually. For right now, they were to stay in the Nest with near constant supervision. Except this time, the supervision was to make sure they didn’t fall apart, instead of constantly bending and breaking them.

The Ravens were to finish out their spring semester, and come fall, there would be no more Edgar Allan Raven Exy team. The athletes were free to just be students or to transfer, but the school board didn’t believe it to be just to let the Ravens’ Exy team, a force that had grown from powerful to manipulative and abusive, to continue.

Riko’s death was ruled as a suicide. By the time he and Tetsuji were found, Lord Ichirou and his men were long gone. Anyone who saw the staged scene put the pieces together and found their conclusion: Riko Moriyama, captain to the former National Champions Edgar Allan Ravens, in a manic frenzy of not being able to cope with the bad news on the Ravens and losing his title of Champion, shot his uncle and then himself. Anyone who had seen the news and heard of what happened down in the Nest believed it, which was basically everyone.

Except Nathaniel. Nathaniel knew what really happened. But that would have to be his own little secret, unless he wanted Lord Ichirou to do the same to him.

Nathaniel stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His scars had healed and he traced his finger over the one that ran just below the three tattooed on his cheek. Eventually, he would have to make up a story for how he got those scars. Or maybe he could tell the truth. Nathaniel had time, though. The Exy season was over, and Nathaniel didn’t even know if he would have a collegiate Exy season in a couple months.

He still hoped he would play, though. There had been a few pro teams waiting for Nathaniel in the draft, and maybe that could be where he turned.

Still, though, Nathaniel had time. He smiled at himself in the mirror at the thought.

The bathroom light flickered and he turned on his heel to leave. The black hallway was vacant, but Nathaniel knew that his fellow Ravens were in their dorms and in the lounge. They were probably attempting to find peace in not having to move as one collective unit, or at least trying to cope with it.

Nathaniel pushed the door of his dorm open and found Andrew waiting for him in the desk chair.

“I thought you would have learned to not leave your door open,” Andrew said. “Anyone could walk in.”

“Well, I’m glad that it was you,” Nathaniel said, shutting the door behind him and stepping up to Andrew.

Andrew stared up at him. “Watch it, Nathaniel.”

Nathaniel smirked. “What percentage am I at now?”

“One-hundred-and-twenty,” Andrew said. “Very high.”

Nathaniel shrugged. “As it happens.”

Andrew then reached up for him. His hands stopped right before the collar of Nathaniel’s shirt. “Yes or no?”

Nathaniel gave Andrew his affirmation and, rather quickly, Andrew pulled Nathaniel down into a kiss. Nathaniel’s hands immediately found their place in Andrew’s hair, and Andrew’s own bunched Nathaniel’s shirt in his fists.

Nathaniel was glad he closed the door, because only a couple seconds later, there was a knock on it.

Nathaniel pulled away and Andrew breathed out what seemed like a sigh of annoyance. “Sorry,” Nathaniel said with a slight laugh before going to open the door.

The Athletics’ Director stood on the other side of it.

“Oh, uh, hi,” Nathaniel said, unable to keep the confusion from his voice.

“Hello.” The Director looked at Nathaniel and then Andrew. “Good, you’re both here-” Nathaniel quickly looked back to Andrew. “There is a David Wymack here to see both of you.”

David Wymack, as in Kevin’s father, as in the coach of the Palmetto State Exy team. Here. For Nathaniel and Andrew.

Nathaniel and Andrew shared a look before wordlessly following the Director up to the court. David Wymack was waiting in the inner court, sitting on one of the benches and reading over two files in his hands. He looked up when the other three entered.

“I will be in your late coach’s office if there are any issues,” the Director said before making his way to Tetsuji’s office. Neither Wymack, Nathaniel, or Andrew spoke until the Director left the court.

“What are you doing here?” Nathaniel asked, his mind running too fast to be able to put together pleasantries.

Wymack sighed, standing up. “I should’ve expected after Kevin showed up that I wouldn’t get any manners here,” he said, approaching them. “But I don’t think we need introductions.”

“No,” Andrew said. “We don’t.”

“So, I’m going to cut to the chase,” Wymack said, presenting the two files in his hands. NATHANIEL WESNINSKI and ANDREW MINYARD were written on them in large, slanted letters and Nathaniel’s mind finally processed what was about to happen. “I believe that we all have something that could benefit each other. You are two skilled Exy players with no team, and I am a coach with openings on my lineup.”

Nathaniel blinked down at his file before finally looking up at Wymack. What Wymack was presenting worked out too well. The Ravens lose their Exy team and all of a sudden Wymack is here offering them a spot on his team. There had to be a flaw in his plan. Things never worked out this easily, and they sure as hell weren’t about to start.

“But you really only need a goalie,” Nathaniel began to ramble. “You only have Renee. Having Andrew would mean a better defense because Renee wouldn’t have to extend her energy over an hour and a half. But you already have three backliners, and Matt isn’t graduating for another two years, and Nicky and Aaron the year after that. Really, you need a striker since Seth is leaving your line. But I’m a backliner. And you… you have three, already.”

Wymack arched an eyebrow at him. “I see you’ve done your research,” he said. “But, frankly, I don’t give a damn about anything you just said. You two meet the two qualifications for my team, and I will admit, I am not the only one who wants you two. Kevin practically begged me to get you two on our lineup for next season. Of course, he mainly saw it as bettering our playing strategies, but I don’t think even he would be against having some familiar faces on the line.”

“I don’t think I can deal with you and Kevin obsessing over Exy again,” Andrew muttered, but when Wymack presented two contracts, he took the one with his name on it with no hesitation.

“But also, my team is about second chances,” Wymack continued. “I’ve heard of what goes on down here from Kevin, and specifically what happened in this ‘perfect court’ that was created. And, personally, I think you two deserve another shot in life to be who and what you want to be without someone telling you what that ‘who’ and ‘what’ is.”

And, personally, I think you two deserve another shot in life to be who and what you want to be without someone telling you what that ‘who’ and ‘what’ is. They were words that Nathaniel had said to himself time and time again to give himself hope that, one day, he would escape the Nest. But he never thought someone else would see that potential, too.

Nathaniel, with a shaking hand, took the contract being presented to him.

All he wanted was a future out of the Nest, following Andrew wherever he went. He never considered a future like this, though. A future having another team and a number; a future doing what he loved without the pressure to be better than everyone else, but to not usurp a king. A future with Andrew at his side, not because he followed him, but because they were both wanted.

“But, with that being said,” Wymack continued. “You two do have a choice, and it’s one that I can’t -and won’t- make for you. I’ll be with your Athletics’ Director, come talk to me when you two are ready.”

Nathaniel and Andrew wordlessly watched him leave.

Nathaniel then turned his stare back to the contract in his hands. A full scholarship to do what he wanted to do, with people who understood. A future of orange and white.

Nathaniel liked those colors much more than black and red.

“I want this,” Nathaniel whispered, crinkling the edges of the paper in between his fingers. “This is what I’ve wanted all along.”

“Then take it,” Andrew said. “Nothing, no one, is here anymore to stop you.”

Nathaniel thought of his old life compared to the one laid out in front of him. The life behind him left him with scars from fights and traumas. The life before him gave him a chance to become a new person. A second chance, as Wymack dubbed it, to leave behind the life that hurt him and beat him and told him that he was never going to amount to anything more than a number.

Ghosts would follow him wherever he went, and they might never really leave him. Kevin and Andrew would stick with him, but Nathaniel didn’t consider them ghosts.

Nathaniel turned to Andrew. “I don’t want to be Nathaniel Wesninski anymore,” he said, his voice barely over a whisper. It felt odd to hear those words leave his mouth. His father had put the Wesninski branding on him the moment he was born, but he found that he was not his father. He was someone better. He wasn’t violent by nature, guided by hate and a cleaver. He just knew when to fight back for what was right, and who to fight for. He was not his father, and now he had the chance to leave the Wesninski name behind him.

He wanted to take Andrew with him and start a new life as a new person with a new team.

“Then leave him behind,” Andrew said. “Let him die with the Ravens, let him die with Riko and your father.”

“I don’t know who I want to be yet.”

“You don’t have to. Just keep moving forward.”

“I want you with me,” Nathaniel admitted.

“I will be.” It was the first time that Andrew didn’t deny their relationship. Nathaniel found himself smiling, and for once Andrew didn’t tell him to not look at him like that.

Andrew’s eyes flicked over Nathaniel’s face, and something that could have been a small smile turned his lips up. “One-hundred-and-twenty-four percent.”

Nathaniel laughed. Everything felt real. Not everything was okay, and maybe things wouldn’t be okay for a while, but things were real. Kevin, Nathaniel, and Andrew came out of this whole situation alive, and they were now going to be teammates again, except this time wearing orange instead of black. They would need time; time to heal, time to get to know each other out of the Nest, time to adjust to a life of not having violence and torture held over their heads.

But things were real, and things were progressing.

For now, though, Nathaniel and Andrew had to find Wymack. They needed to talk about when practices would start, and what new equipment they would need, and when they would be meeting their new teammates as Foxes instead of runaway Ravens.

First, though, they needed to sign those contracts.

Nathaniel went to follow in the direction Wymack went, and Andrew fell into place next to him.

While walking, Nathaniel Wesninski traced the three on his cheek. At a younger age, the marker would have smudged under his touch; however, the ink, scarred into his face, held up. The permanent ink, for so long, was an ever constant reminder to Nathaniel that he was not a person, but just a mere number destined to be a servant to the Ravens and the Moriyama family. For all his life he had been a thing, a machine, a number. He had been a lackey, a punching bag, an ally under circumstance. Now, though, perhaps the mark could be a sign for what he survived. He was finally going to be seen as a human being, and he was alive to see it.

If life had gone different, he would never have had any of this. He would have never suffered through the Ravens. He never would have had to know Tetsuji and Riko Moriyama and endure what they had done to him. He would have lived a life that he hoped would have been semi-normal.

But life had not been different. And he couldn’t change the past. He couldn’t change what he had done, the promises he had made, and the promises he wished he could have kept. He couldn’t change the scars and the bruises and the nightmares that would be an ever constant reminder of the life he had to live.

For the first time in his life, though, he had the chance to change his future. His past couldn’t have been different, but his future could be. He had the opportunity to do what he wanted, finally not governed by a forceful hand. The only thing left indebted for was to do what he loved, and he found that a great way to start the rest of his life.

And he was going to do it. He was going to make a new life for himself with new people and a new identity, and he was going to do it with Andrew at his side.

He continued off in search of Wymack, and Andrew was next to him, and occasionally their hands brushed, and Nathaniel was happy.

[jojen-hewitt]

Here's my @aftgexchange summer gift for @boydsten , who asked for Andreil with kids!

I hope you like it!

I've included some personal headcanons about this particular Minyard-Josten child under the cut, but I will also recommend these two amazing kidfics; A Legacy of Two by ninaalegre and Noah Minyard-Josten by Aleekae, if you haven't read them yet. Admittedly a few of my headcanons are borrowed or inspired by them so.. Yeah.

Happy Summer! :D

I have a lot of headcanons about Andreil and this kid, and sweet heavens this became really long and rambley, but I think I got the important stuff covered, so enjoy at your leisure. 

His name is was Kyle Wicker (now Minyard-Josten) and he was brought to them when he was seven after he was abandoned by his adoptive parents at Renee's church.

She lives a couple cities over and when she realizes her two former teammates actually live closer to Kyle's old school, she gets it cleared with all authorities to have him reside there until other arrangements can be made.

Andrew tells her not to get any clever ideas, it's just temporary (he gets one look at how scared, scarred, and young he is, Andrew and Neil's inner Wymacks kick in, and rather suddenly he turns back on his statement to Renee)

Kyle is freaked out by people bigger than him, (when he first meets Kevin he actually cries, but Matt went smoother just because Matt is ... Matt) so the rather short heights work in their favour; although it takes a while for him to open up or trust them.

He first does with Andrew after he has a nightmare a few days in and Andrew just makes him a hot chocolate and they don't really talk in detail about anything, but they kind of reach an understanding that Andrew gets him and he's safe here. He knows not to touch Andrew and Andrew returns that in kind until they just naturally accept casual contact from each other. He understands Andrews blank nature and doesn't take the apathy personally as he gets older.

With Neil, the bonding is a bit easier (despite Neil's discomfort with kids for the most part) since they automatically connect through the Exy thing ("Good Christ, not another one.") and their similar burn scars (not going into detail, but his old foster parents' extremely sick sense of humour and his last name Wicker lead to some pretty permanent reminders of those years with them). The two share stories and Neil feels like he's playing the Truth game all over again, but it fits nicely.

Once Kyle learns partially how Neil got his scars/his past, the kid just embraces Neil as his own personal Batman or James Bond, fighting the evil mob bosses and surviving to roast someone on tv the next day. Neil is a little proud of this (at least he doesn’t scare the kid).

Neil and Andrew have a rocky start taking him in and adjusting; something that would have been much worse if they didn't already have some experience babysitting the other Fox kids. They both are relatively new to the whole idea of "happy" or "safe" or "family" so providing that to another, smaller, more easily affected human being with his own personal baggage (that may or may not bring back up their personal baggage) is, to put it simply, tough. It's not the easiest ride for any of them, but they find a way to adjust and live together in relative peace and comfort.

Also Kyle loves the cats. Like LOVES them! He accepted himself as one of them the minute they first came into his new/then guest room to cuddle. When he's older he tells people that the cats raised him (to which Andrew says than the cats can buy him his new fucking racquet next time, but he only half means it).

He calls Neil Dad (and Neil at first and for a long time kinda freaks out inside and with Andrew about it, but he's fine now... seriously fine too, not Neil fine) and he calls Andrew Vati (because papa and the like just sounded off directed at Andrew, but so did just calling him Andrew, so when he learnt from Nicky that Vati or Vater is dad in German, they all collective decided that worked)

When they adopt him, and he opens up a bit more, they find he grows up to be like a scary combination of Neil's snark (Exy gods help the press that harass this boy; they already call him Josten 2.0), Andrew's immovable patience and blunt honesty, and Matt's carefree smiles and kindness - towards people he likes at least ("How did he come out so nice?" "I don't know, Aaron. Almost like he grew up in a decent place and has the genetic material of other people, huh?")

Speaking of, Aaron and Matt are tied for favourite uncle (Aaron sneaking by because he's most like Andrew, personality wise, and also he gets him cool books for Christmases and birthdays)

He likes Nicky too, since Nicky helped him learn some important facts and phrases about Germany for a school project and Kyle agrees to rat to him whenever he catches Vati smile, so fast friends 

(even though there was that brief stunt where Andrew and Aaron -with Neil's help, the traitor- had straight face convinced Kyle Nicky preferred to only be referred to as Uncle Pavo... which is rude, and Nicky rightfully would've bitched at his cousins if Kyle didn't look so happy and confidant saying it when they meet).

Obviously he loves the girls (and he would be pressed to argue who his favourite Aunt is, but it would probably be Renee because she gave him this life to begin with technically. Plus she died his hair orange and white when he was 16 for his school championships -and to help grease the wheels for Aunt Dan, but more on that later-)

(Also, as pictured above, Andrew knew and was chill with it till he saw the colour... Damn orange will haunt him for life. Neil didn't know, but loved the colours. They're a balanced family, you see.)

Grandpa Wymack and Grandma Abby take a while to earn those titles just because he's still rather nervous around older, taller, and in Wymack's case, tougher looking people when they meet the first few times (and they don't Skype like the rest of the Fox family, so it takes a while for him to accumulate to them), but they eventually become the go to confidants about anything he doesn't want to bother Andrew and Neil with (from secret gifts for the dads to "I'm scared I'm making the wrong choice in courses" to "oh my god I don't know how to ask this person out and Vati said just threaten to shove them off a roof, help!")

and they have the couch to crash on when he's in South Carolina

Jean and Jeremy are the cool family friends who send nice cards and sometimes French hot chocolate and strangely, but rather full heartedly, encourage the "cats raised you" mentality (Jeremy because he thinks it's adorable and Jean because he laughs at how indignant Neil gets when he hears it).

He's cool with Kevin (despite the crying and the vague starstruck attitude he first had with him), but - and maybe this is the Andrew influence talking - he sometimes finds the constant Exy talk to get too overwhelming. He's known to just call it Stickball around Kevin's family with all seriousness just to annoy them (Andrew sneaks him extra dessert when he does) He gets along with Kevin's offspring too, even if he has also adapted his dads' tolerance for being bossed around the Exy court (or backyard court) by a Day; see: none.

Speaking of Exy, Kyle loves it (in the 7 year old way of he loves the sport, likes his favourite team, but has no clue who any player is but Kevin and Kayleigh Day, so was shocked and kinda in love with the fact that Neil used to play for said favourite team), but he never played himself until he moved in with Andreil.

He started his first couple years of little league as a striker - he's great at it and this makes Neil smile more than he thought it would (damn Kevin for being right, it is kinda great watching a future champion grow up) - but switches to goalkeeper when he's 10/11.

(which Neil complains about only a couple of times ("But he was so good, Andrew." "Yeah, so? You were a backliner in little league. The kid changed his mind, accept it." "You're right you're right... Just he's so fast." "Ugh!") but he accepts that it's still Exy and at least Kyle and Andrew can bond more.)

Plus even if it wasn't Exy, they would've been cool with it.

Plus plus, he's an even better goalkeeper than striker, as a mix of Minyard tactics with Josten Exy enthusiasm. 

Foxes are Kyle's favourite animal aside from cats (even before he meet the team, but it definitely amplified once he did).

He stole his dads old fox merch (mainly Neil's) when they officially adopted him, even when it was too big for him.

He painted his room orange and white. He had a bunch of stuffed foxes (all unofficially named after former team members).

He watched almost every Fox game of his dads' years, especially the ones against the Trojans and the Ravens.

He almost chose to have Fox as a middle name when they gave him the option during the adoption (he went with Robin though; 1) Aunt Robin is awesome 2) He's kinda a not so secret Batman nerd and when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up the answer was "An Exy player or Nightwing" and 3) because like hell Andrew was allowing the obsession to go that far).

He wants to the join the Foxes when he's in college.

But, like the rest of the Foxes, and despite Neil's fears (and Andrew's hesitance in his capabilities as a caretaker), he's turned out to not qualify for a spot on the team.

So of course he tried other tactics like the hair and he once tried to plead to Aunt Dan that in fact the first five years of life that he can remember should be enough reason to allow him to join ("Sorry kiddo, no dice. You're too Kit now to be a Fox.")

Sorta side note, the children of the old Foxes are all called Kits and Allison sends them all handmade "Palmetto State Kits" jerseys with their parents numbers (Kyle got 13 because 10 and 3; a number he carries through all his Exy teams) When he's young, he wears his to school whenever he can and only stops when it needs a wash or he grows out of it.

He's very close with Matt and Dan's family. Their middle child is his age and they talk all the time. When their teams face each other in Exy matches, they always run and talk to each other in the middle of the court between goals and halves. Basically Boyd/Josten Brotp 2.0

Matt usually sits with Neil in the crowd during these games (when they can) and cries every time the game brings them close ("Oh my God!! Neil, did you see your baby block my baby's shot?!” “Yeah Matt! I saw! Beautiful.” “That was beautiful! Holy shit! It happened again! Are you seeing this?! They highfived!!" “KYLE! Hug the competition after the game not when they make a goal!” “That was a great goal though!” “Agreed, but still!”)

they still hug it out whenever one of them does a cool thing. Their teams hate when they play each other because of it.  Not like they don’t try to slaughter each other game wise, but again, they celebrate each other’s badass moments without pause. And when one wins, you would think the other was on their team too with the exuberance they congratulate the other.

He grows up to be about Kevin's height, much to the shock to some who were expecting another tiny Minyard-Josten.

He also inherits Andrew's sweet tooth to the point where Neil's kinda convinced he's never going to win the "should we get ice cream on the way home from practice" debate ever again.

I'll stop there. Again, there is a lot more, but I definitely have already rambled enough. Sorry.

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 7

As you read this for the first time in what seems like ages Steven Montez is not throwing an interception. Enough about that, it’s Red River Shootout Rivalry week! Kind of sucks that they stopped calling it a shootout right when every game in the Big XII became a shootout.

This isn’t the best version of “Red River Valley” much like this year’s game isn’t the best version of the Red River Shootout but we have to love the ones we’re with.

Why am I putting so much of this post into a game I don’t give a shit about? Because Miami already played (and won!) and I haven’t actually looked at the rest of the schedule yet. We’ll find out together what’s going on this week! Schedule copied from FBSchedules, gambles copied from Vegas Insider, thoughts are intended to be original. I’m sorry.

Saturday, October 12

Matchup                                                       Time (ET)                  TV/Mobile

6 Oklahoma vs. 11 Texas (in Dallas, TX)    12:00pm                       FOX

Wait, get the fuck out of here. This is the first game listed to top it all off? Bookmakers are fucking with us to have the o/u at 75.5 but Sooners -10.5 seems smart to me. Note to theoretical new readers: nobody who writes on this site about gambling is right more than 15% of the time.

Maryland at Purdue                                     12:00pm                       BTN

B1G action! It sucks!

23 Memphis at Temple                                12:00pm                     ESPN2

The race for the group of five BCS bid (is that what we’re still calling it?) is a madcap so far and Temple is still in it. Wild, right? Manny Diaz might have chosen the less talented team this year when he decided to leave Temple at the altar. Memphis is the favorite for this game and the AAC championship and probably #2 in line for the big bowl money among the sisters of the poor but this is an interesting game for a whole host of reasons. Go Tigers.

Miami (Ohio) at Western Michigan             12:00pm                    ESPNU

I think I’m doing the italics wrong for this post. I won’t go back to fix it, though.

16 Michigan at Illinois                                  12:00pm                      ABC

Michigan is pure entertainment to me but only in theory. I don’t watch their shitty games but every outcome fills me with glee. Nobody likes them, especially Michigan fans. Keep it going, Captain Clutch.

Mississippi State at Tennessee                   12:00pm                     SECN

Miss State isn’t total trash, are they? I feel like no but I can’t tell you why. And, yet, they are only favored by 6.5 over Tennessee. I can’t believe there’s a reason beyond gambling to care about this game.

Rutgers at Indiana                                         12:00pm                     BTN

If you find yourself interested in this game for any reason whatsoever please call 800-522-4700.

South Carolina at 3 Georgia                          12:00pm                   ESPN

Is Coach Boom on the hot seat? I really don’t know what’s expected of him. Can he say that his shitty QB that got hurt would have made a difference in this season? Will school officials believe him? Georgia -22 seems like great value to me.

Toledo at Bowling Green                                12:00pm                  CBSSN

Bowling Green is very bad. Are they +26.5 at home against Toledo bad? Absolutely they are.

Georgia Tech at Duke                                      12:30pm                   RSN

Georgia Tech football makes me sad. Let’s not dwell too long on them.

Ball State at Eastern Michigan                        2:00pm                  ESPN+

Ball State is not baller at all. One of life’s great quandaries.

Old Dominion at Marshall                                2:30pm               Stadium

This must be the first game of the year on Stadium unless I’ve just completely stopped paying attention. What a debut!

New Mexico State at Central Michigan           3:00pm                ESPN3

Washington State at 18 Arizona State              3:30pm            Pac-12N

Holy hell, what a shit year this is. Arizona State crept up to #18 and there is nothing interesting about their team on the field. They aren’t even undefeated. It’s just Herm Edwards yelling inspiration to some kids you’ve never heard of and it’s mostly worked out so far. This game is a pick ‘em which is probably what every Washington State game should be until Mike Leach rides off into the sunset.

Florida State at 2 Clemson                                 3:30pm              ABC

When Cabbage exposed Jameis Winston’s pay-for-play thing a few years ago Jameis was probably taking money for point shaving, too. I kind of feel like Trevor Lawrence is doing the same thing this year but it’s more dangerous for him because he still has to play in college for another year. How off has Clemson looked so far? I’m entertaining thoughts of FSU pulling the upset here. Technically they can do that just by staying closer than 26. That’s the best kind of upset, really.

NIU at Ohio                                                           3:30pm            ESPN+

Even in the lowered expectations world of MACtion 2019 this is a sad affair.

Kent State at Akron                                             3:30pm             ESPN3

Maybe all MAC games are particularly sad this year.

Michigan State at 8 Wisconsin                           3:30pm               BTN

The pain isn’t close to over for Sparty but a nice moral victory here would only mean keeping Jonathan Taylor under 200 yards and 5 TDs. Or even scoring. One out of two seems possible.

25 Cincinnati at Houston                                     3:30pm            ESPN2

Holgo to Houston seemed so natural but things haven’t really clicked yet. Fickell at Cincinnati, on the other hand, has been perfect and immediate. Vegas has some faith in the Cougars still, though, so maybe I just haven’t caught up to the now. The Bearcats are favored by 7 but that seems low to me, even on the road. Maybe stay the fuck away from this one.

1 Alabama at 24 Texas A&M                                3:30pm              CBS

aTm is going to lose by 40 and somehow rank #15 on Sunday.

BYU at USF                                                            3:30pm            CBSSN

BYU is starting a black QB for the first time in school history. That’s kind of a jarring headline in 2019 for any school, isn’t it? 

UConn at Tulane                                                    3:45pm            ESPNU

Let’s run away from all the uncomfortable thoughts that go with BYU and gather together to laugh at UConn. It is wild that Tulane is favored by 34 over anybody. Willie Fritz is going to get offered a lot of money to go somewhere else for 2020 and I hope he stays put. Having a good coach and the occasionally best uniforms in the country is a cool combo.

Rhode Island at Virginia Tech                               4:00pm            ACCN

Virginia Tech won one of the most cursed games of all time last week and it would surprise basically nobody if they turned around and lost to the Fightin’ Lamar Odoms this week. Before you ask, yes, Rhode Island is bad even for a AA team.

Texas Tech at 22 Baylor                                         4:00pm             FS1

Baylor is ranked. Gross.

San Jose State at Nevada                                      4:00pm          ATTSN

If you’re a fan of Last Chance U, tune in to see Malik Henry take over as Nevada’s QB. The offense has been a shambles so far this year but the Wolfpack are still 3-2 and alive in the MWC so maybe the formerly big name recruit can provide a nice jolt.

UNLV at Vanderbilt                                                  4:00pm          SECN

People like to make jokes about the SEC not playing any good non-conference games and never going on the road to play out of conference.

Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic                    4:00pm          ESPN+

FAU is going to sneak into a bowl game this year and Lane Kiffin is going to get hired by like Florida State or some dumb shit. Looking forward to it all.

Iowa State at West Virginia                                     4:00pm          ESPN

The line opened at -7.5 for Iowa State and it’s moved up to -10. Both these teams are kind of messy and it’s being played in Morgantown. Somebody please enlighten us all in the comments.

Georgia State at Coastal Carolina                          5:00pm          ESPN+

This afternoon stretch is mostly pretty bleak for watchin’ ‘em up.

UAB at UTSA                                                             6:00pm          ESPN+

This game doesn’t change things much for the better. UAB should rock UTSA but this is on ESPN+ anyway, so it’s not like anybody will be watching it.

UMass at Louisiana Tech                                          7:00pm         ESPN3

Peeking down the page a bit, the night schedule actually looks pretty good. This one won’t be in the rotation. La Tech is good this year but UMass is pure trash. The 31.5-point line is a warning sign to stay away unless the game gets way the fuck out of hand really early.

Mississippi, Oxford at Missouri                               7:00pm          ESPN2

Kelly Bryant is, at long last, looking pretty good. Missouri’s offense is theoretically a good training ground for the NFL, so I’m happy for Bryant on that level, but I really just want to see extra misery (npi) poured on Mississippi.

North Texas at Southern Miss                                  7:00pm         Facebook

I swear to you the good games are on their way.

Fresno State at Air Force                                         7:00pm          CBSSN

We aren’t quite there yet but this is at least a cool looking game. The stadium, the uniforms, the offensive schemes. This is degenerate football.

Charlotte at FIU                                                         7:00pm            ESPN+

Butch Davis’s kids finally showed some signs of life last week but it’s still for the best that this one is on ESPN+ and out of sight.

Army at WKU                                                             7:00pm           Stadium

I don’t think you’ll need it but this is some pretty nice alternative program if the brand name stuff goes sideways.

10 Penn State at 17 Iowa                                          7:30pm             ABC

Two programs with very different histories dealing with disadvantaged kids clash in primetime. Here’s to another few years of contract for Kirk Ferentz following a minor but important upset victory.

USC at 9 Notre Dame                                                7:30pm             NBC

USC is great because they actually have a similar amount of talent to Notre Dame but they haven’t had a coach for the last few years. Nice to see one of college football’s storied rivalries played on the first weekend of October. I’m trying to believe the Trojans can win but honestly it would feel like a miracle if they keep things within spitting distance of the 10.5-point line.

Arkansas at Kentucky                                               7:30pm           SECN

Both of these teams are 2-3 and going nowhere but Kentucky -6.5 seems like a steal. Somebody talk Beer out of this one.

Louisville at 19 Wake Forest                                     7:30pm           ACCN

Wake Forest is the weird secret hope that at least one ACC team can stay in the top 25 all year long to make Clemson’s schedule just good enough to make the playoffs. If I know my ACC, Louisville is going to run all over them.

Navy at Tulsa                                                               7:30pm          ESPNU

I’m still not sold on this edition of Midshipmen football but maybe I’ve been too harsh on Malcolm Perry. We’re getting into the “pound the over” part of the year for Navy and I, possibly stupidly, feel pretty good about them winning this one. Which would make them 4-1 against the spread with three straight overs.

Nebraska at Minnesota                                               7:30pm            FS1

Undefeated and unranked Minnesota might be catching Nebraska at a bad time. The Huskers aren’t good but they have a little bit of fight in them. Which is what they hired Scott Frost for in the first place. Leaning Nebraska +7.5. Make of that what you will.

7 Florida at 5 LSU                                                        8:00pm           ESPN

What upside down version of the world are we in where Florida’s vicious defense is pitted against LSU’s unstoppable offense? This is the kind of place where the U.S. president would lay down the project of empire to let some pissant remnant of Alexander the Great’s conquests bomb American troops for the sake of... building some hotels somewhere, I think? This game is guaranteed to end well past midnight East Coast time.

15 Utah at Oregon State                                              8:00pm         Pac-12N

Well, Herman Munster, the Utes are people of the Great Basin whose ancestral homes covered most of present day Colorado and Utah. And the Utah Utes are gonna fuck Oregon State shit all up. Utah -14.5, under 59.5. Beware, all Pac-12 After Dark prognostication is functionally useless.

Hawaii at 14 Boise State                                            10:15pm        ESPN2

God do I want to sex this particular game. Hawaii vs. Boise on the blue turf, kicking off well after most of the country has gone to bed? This is what West Coast football is all about. Boise is the much better team but Hawaii still has the wild offense, so keep an eye on this even if the score looks one-sided at halftime.

Wyoming at San Diego State                                     10:30pm         CBSSN

In recent years this matchup has been the key to the MWC season but for some reason it got scheduled mid-season for 2019. Both are still in contention for the conference title and one of them is likely to get serious top 25 consideration tomorrow. SDSU has my heart but an o/u of 38 makes this one sound painful.

Washington at Arizona                                                11:00pm           FS1

Pac-12 scheduling baby! Why is it designed to make people not see their best teams and most dynamic players? Who knows but it’s a tradition now. UDub has sort of fallen apart after their preseason top 10 ranking but nobody is going to look to Arizona for consistency. The line has moved down, which suggests people are betting in decent numbers, but you have to got serious problems if you think this is a good ride to take.

[markonasurface]

41/50 - “What are you doing in my house?”

Fandom: All for the Game/The Foxhole Court Characters/pairings: Jeremy, Jean/jerejean Summary: Jeremy’s had a hard week and Jean wants to talk.

A/N: I’m kind of indifferent to jerejean but I tried. Thank you for the prompt - messy or not;)

**warning: Jean talks about being raped.**

Jeremy sat down on the couch of his childhood home and sighed. It had been a trying day - no, week. He was just glad it was over.

He thought of his team. All of them working so hard to play hard but not using any unnecessary excessive force. He was proud of them. They were set to win the Day Spirit Award for the ninth year in a row if last week’s game didn’t ruin it.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He was one of the few people who believed in David Wymack’s cause. He didn’t scoff at it or view it as a publicity attempt.

David Wymack gave Jeremy hope. Restored his faith in humanity some would say.

If David Wymack could risk his team’s status year after year to give troubled youth another chance, Jeremy figured the least he could do was take on just one more Raven onto his team.

He had thought, “How bad could it be?” The former Raven had only been a freshman when the Exy world was rocked by the scandal of their treatment in Castle Evermore. How much damage could one year really do?

Jeremy had learned the hard way that one year was enough to tarnish the Trojans’ reputation for never having received a red card. If getting their first ever red card had happened first, maybe Jeremy wouldn’t have done the other thing that was ruining his week.

Or maybe his words would have been viewed as desperate instead of just misplaced.

Jeremy wasn’t one to dwell but it was his fifth and final year with the Trojans. It was supposed to be his best year, yet.

He sat up, removing the glass cork from his father’s favorite bottle in his crystal set. He began pouring whisky over the ice in his glass when he heard a thump. He startled, spilling alcohol on the coffee table.

Setting the crystal bottle down he turned slowly, flinching at the sight of another person before breathing out a huge breath. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his heartrate.

“What are you doing in my house?” he questioned.

Jean walked around the couch and sat at the other end. “I remembered you saying your parents were out of town.”

“Ever hear of knocking?” Jeremy took a sip of his drink, face pinched in an unusual display of annoyance.

“Door was open.” Jean shrugged and Jeremy pretended his heart didn’t do backflips at the sight. He finished his drink quickly and poured himself another. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Jeremy refused to let himself feel hopeful. Jean probably just came to tell him he’s leaving the team. The Foxes would take him, which meant Jean rather deal with the shit he went through with Kevin than the awkwardness of sharing a dorm with Jeremy.

Jean reached out and grabbed Jeremy’s glass to get his attention. “Can we? Talk?”

“Honestly, I’ve had one of the worst weeks of my life,” Jeremy sighed, taking his hand back and finishing his second drink. He inwardly cringed and said, “I know it’s nothing compared to probably your worst week but -”

“Doesn’t mean it didn’t suck,” Jean finished for him quietly.

His steady gaze was unnerving, grey eyes always a storm that made Jeremy feel torn between quickly averting his own eyes and never looking away. His fingers itched to push his black hair away from his face or trace the tattoo under his left eye.

Instead he poured another drink. He hesitated then asked, “Do you want one?” Without waiting for an answer, he stood and went to get Jean a glass and some ice.

Jean accepted the glass from him but didn’t drink. Jeremy was acutely aware of Jean’s eyes on him but he was too flustered to look again.

“Look,” Jean finally broke the brief silence. “I’m sorry.”

Jeremy choked on his drink and asked, “Sorry? What -”

His spluttering didn’t deter Jean who continued, “I didn’t mean to be so harsh in my rejection ... I just - I like you.”

“As a friend ...” Jeremy tried to show Jean that didn’t bother him even when it was clear to both of them that it did.

“Yes,” Jean said fiercely and Jeremy’s heart fell. “But - more - I think?”

“Best friends?” Jeremy moaned miserably.

Jean sighed and stood up. He put his glass down though he was tempted to start drinking to make things easier on himself.

He moved closer, sitting on the middle cushion. He grabbed Jeremy’s hands in his. “More than that,” he said, cheeks turning pink.

“But you -” Jeremy leaned in, confused. “This whole week I thought -”

“I owe you an explanation,” Jean said, feeling slightly sick.

Jeremy must have noticed how uncomfortable he was because he quickly said, “Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.” He rubbed the back of Jean’s hands soothingly and Jean was reminded why he was doing this.

“When I joined the - when I was sold to Riko I liked girls,” Jean forced out over the lump in his throat. “I was still young but there were only one or two girls on the Ravens at a time. There was also a girl our age, a daughter of a friend of the Master who came to help us with our homework sometimes.”

Jean took a moment to remember to breathe and continued, “She kissed me and Riko broke my finger. Kevin explained that we couldn’t have distractions. Feelings - we weren’t allowed to have feelings.”

Jeremy gently stroked the most crooked of Jean’s fingers. “That’s -”

“It’s why feelings don’t make sense to me sometimes. Having feelings scares me because growing up in Evermore we weren’t allowed to have certain feelings and if we did Riko used them against us.

“When I was fifteen I started thinking I might like - I might be gay,” he quieted. “And it wasn’t okay. Riko wasn’t a very tolerant person so I knew it was wrong. It was okay that the Ravens were all fucking each other because there were no feelings involved; it was just sex. But Riko said when he decided it was time for us to lose our virginity we would only be allowed to fuck girls.”

“Jean,” Jeremy said, eyes wide and he realized he was squeezing his hands too tightly.

Jean let out a shuddery breath and loosened his grip. “Sorry, I just -”

“It’s okay. I get it.” He pulled him slightly closer.

“No.” Jean shook his head. “That’s not it. It’s not all.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Jeremy moved a hand to his shoulder.

Jean closed his eyes and said, “I want to - if that’s okay with you.”

His heart skipped a beat but he nodded. “Of course it is. No matter what, I’m here for you.”

“Sorry, I need your hand - down here,” Jean’s voice was weak and he tried not to be embarrassed. Jeremy complied, placing both hands into Jean’s.

Jean forced himself to look into Jeremy’s eyes. “When I was sixteen,” he whispered. He cleared his throat. “He - Riko made - guys from the team fuck me.” He spit it out like he couldn’t get the words out and away from him quick enough.

“Oh, no,” Jeremy said sadly and had to resist the urge to pull out of Jean’s grasp.

“I begged him not to do it to me.” His words were rapidly spilling out now. “I begged and begged and it made it even better for him. He laughed. He held me down and told me to shut up. Then he would beat me for being disobedient before sending for another and they would fuck me because he told them to.”

“Jean,” Jeremy said, voice thick, unable to look away from his unblinking eyes.

“He only stopped when I laid there silently and took it.” A tear slipped down his cheek. “Then he hit me because I didn’t make it fun for him. He let Kevin fix me up before the same men scrimmaged with us.”

Jean gave Jeremy a bitter smile that hurt both of their hearts. “So I’m sorry for freaking out when you asked for a date and I’m sorry for hitting you when you kissed me.”

“No,” Jeremy squeezed Jean’s hands even though his fingers were going numb. “I’m sorry. I read the situation all wrong and I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

“I wanted you to,” Jean admitted, hanging his head. “It makes me feel sick. I want you and don’t all at the same time and I feel like - I’ve been feeling like I’m going crazy for awhile now.”

“Jean - can I?” His hand hovered in front of his face and Jean nodded. Jeremy lifted Jean’s head with a finger under his chin. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Everything is -”

“No. None of that was your fault.” Jeremy brought his hands up to cup Jean’s face. His thumbs ran over old scars put there by Riko. “Where do I start? It’s okay to be gay. You knew I was and you’ve never treated me different because of it. Or Dermott or Alvarez.”

He swiped a tear off his cheek. “Riko and all those men were wrong. They were all sick. No one ever should have touched you without your consent. They should be ashamed, not you. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You were wronged.”

Tears were falling down Jean’s cheeks, too many, too fast. Jeremy ducked his head to peer into Jean’s eyes. “I like you, Jean. I really like you. I hope you didn’t think this would scare me off.”

He smiled and Jean gave a wet laugh. He tried to cut off a choked sob but failed.

“Can I hug you?”

Jean collapsed in his arms and Jeremy held him. “I’m here for you, however you want me. However I can help ... if you need boundaries or space ... if you want me to make you an appointment with Timothy. I’ll bake you a hundred cupcakes. Or some beignets - you like those, right?”

He felt Jean tremble and said, “Or I can just hold you. Is that alright?”

Jeremy rubbed a hand down Jean’s arm while he cried into his chest. “I’m here.”

[wesawbears]

Can u write jerejean where the trojans have an upcoming game against the ravens so a few select ravens who in particular have a bad history with jean show up to usc in their true cult fashion and try to psych him out in a way the trojans dont really understand but he (and jeremy) knows Exactly what they r talking about and when they leave he is just kind of stoic and scary looking and acts unaffected infront of his team but later when theyre alone jeremy comforts him and makes him feel better

I may have gotten carried away. I really liked this prompt lol. Thanks anon! It’s 1.4 k, so more is under the cut.

Warnings for mentions of sexual assault/slurs. Not graphic, but consistent with Jean’s past.

--

Jean wakes with a pounding headache behind his eye. It was most likely because he hadn’t slept all day, but no one needed to know that except him and his therapist. Tomorrow’s date on the calendar loomed the way a prisoner’s execution date might.

It was the day USC was scheduled to play the Ravens in a wildcard game before the playoffs. Jean had been mentally preparing for it for weeks, but as the date drew closer, his heart felt more and more constricted in his chest. The team noticed in the way he checked harder at practice and Jeremy had been sending him concerned looks all week, but they all knew better than to ask.

Jean sighs and unlocks his phone so he could make a call. He knocks his head against the headrest of his bed, but clicks call all the same.

He taps his foot impatiently as the phone rang. Just when he begins to hope that he wouldn’t pick up, he hears Kevin’s impatient voice go, “Jean? What’s going on?”

As if he doesn’t know. As if the Ravens’ schedule doesn’t run through his head every goddamn day.

Jean sighs. This was a wretched idea. “I have to play them tomorrow.” A beat of knowing silence passes before Jean follows up with, “How did you do it?”

He hears Kevin exhale and what he assumes is Kevin sitting down followed by, “It was the court. They couldn’t hurt me there.”

“They can always hurt you. You know that,” Jean deadpanned.

“And you know them. Beat them at their own game.”

“I didn’t call you to ask how to win a fucking game.”

“Then why did you call?”

Jean tries to remember a time when the sound of Kevin’s voice didn’t feel like salt in an open wound. “It’s not as though I have an abundance of other options.”

Kevin laughs humorlessly. Jean’s about to hang up when Kevin says, “I’m sorry I didn’t take you with me.”

Jean closes his eyes. “You’re really not.”

“I’ll see you at finals.”

He hears a click to signal that Kevin hung up. Jean realized that it was the closest to encouragement that he’d ever get from Kevin. It’s enough.

Jean’s standing on the sidelines and he doesn’t want to move. He knows the second he steps on the court every Raven will be gunning directly for him. He knows this because it’s exactly what he would do. It’s exactly what he did do when he played the Foxes a year ago. It feels like another life.

He looks down the line and sees Jeremy and Sara and Laila and every other starting Trojan standing there with him.

He is not Kevin and he is not afraid.

When his name is called, he steps onto the court and walks unflinchingly to his place. The new Raven captain is an unremarkable player Jeremy’s age. He wasn’t part of the inner circle, so Jean’s memories of him are hazy. However, his memory is jogged when he passes Jean and murmurs, “Slut,” just loud enough for him to hear.

Jean’s blood freezes in his veins, but can’t choke in front of them, so he keeps his eyes forward. Jeremy’s too far away to hear what was said, but calls out, “Let’s have a clean game, shall we?”

Jean squeezes his eyes shut. When he opens them, colors dance across his vision, but he’s able to focus enough to have a decent first half. There are a few sloppy shots that get past him, but he’s learning to let himself be human. The second half goes better and the Trojans manage to win by 3 points. Jeremy beams at him before crashing into Jean for a hug. In the moment, Jean forgets himself and hugs back for a bit too long. Long enough to get the Ravens’ attention.

A group of five Ravens walk up to them in their signature V. To his left, Sara coughs, “Cult.”

The Raven at the front grins and says, “Worked your way into the starting lineup, huh?”

Jean’s smile fades. Jeremy takes the bait and says, “Jean is an asset to any team. We’d be stupid not to put him on as a starter.”

A player behind the captain smirks. “That’s adorable. Prince Charming come to save the day. Too bad he’ll get sick of you once he realizes you’re damaged goods.”

Jean grits his teeth to avoid drawing attention to himself. Sara steps into the guy’s face and says, “And your entire team is full of washed up has beens. You lost. Go lick your wounds off of our court. No one needs to see that pathetic display.”

The Ravens smirk at them before turning and walking off the court in unison. Laila lays a hand on his shoulder and Jean says, “Thank you.”

Sara snorts. “You’re family. We don’t let assholes talk to our family.” She pats his back and heads off to the locker room. Jean shrugs and follows.

--

The walk home is spent trying to keep his mood up amongst the adrenaline high Trojans, but the moment the door to their room closes, Jean sinks heavily onto his bed. He doesn’t feel on the verge of a panic attack, which is an unexpected grace, but he feels exhausted down to his bones.

Jeremy hovers next to his bed, unsure of whether his company is wanted or not. Jean pats the spot next to him and in a moment of vulnerability, he rests his head on Jeremy’s shoulder. Ordinarily Jean was wary of people above him in any context, but Jeremy’s body felt like a shield and for once it was comforting rather than frightening.

“You did great tonight,” Jeremy says, breaking the silence.

Jean’s tempted to list all of the mistakes he made that night, but he counts to ten and decides it’s a conversation better suited for practice on Monday.

“Thank you.” The underlying, ‘for putting up with me’ hung heavy in the room.

“You’re not damaged goods,” Jeremy says definitively.

“I know,” Jean says.

Jeremy frowns and a crinkle appears between his eyes. Jean reaches up to smooth it out. “I know, Jeremy.”

Jeremy pouts. “I had a whole speech singing your praises prepared.

Jean gestures. “Go on, then.”

Jeremy laughs. “Well...you’re funny, which I didn’t expect.” Jean chuckles. “And you’re one of the smartest people I know. I still don’t know how you read those giant philosophy books.” Jeremy turns Jean’s face up to look at him. “And you’re the strongest person I know. You’re stronger than all of them. Fuck what they have to say.”

“That doesn’t sound like Captain Sunshine,” Jean teases.

Jeremy laughs raucously. “Shut up.” Jean joins him until they wear themselves out laughing.

“Are you good to sleep?” Jeremy asks.

Jean nods and Jeremy stands to go over to his bed. He checks that Jean is settled before switching the lamp off.

--

Sleep was not Jean’s friend. As he drifts off, the Ravens’ words swim in his head, filling him with a mix of black memories and new images of himself failing, of Riko alive angry, of Jeremy, walking away with a pitying headshake.

When he thrashes awake, his hands are clenched in the sheets and he struggles to ground himself until he sees the glow in the dark stars Jeremy kept on their ceiling. He exhales. It was a dream, but the feeling still clutches his chest in an uncomfortable way.

“Jean?” He hears Jeremy stir. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Just a bad dream.”

“Do you want me to come sit with you?”

Jean makes a noise of assent.and Jeremy climbs in across from him and lays his hands palm up on the covers for Jean to hold when he was ready. They wait a few minutes until Jean lays his hands on top of Jeremy’s.and breathes.

“There we go. Do you think you can fall back asleep?”

Jean nods and Jeremy moves to return to his bed.

“Wait,” Jean says, keeping a light hold on Jeremy’s wrist. He was still feeling a bit raw from the image of dream Jeremy walking away from him. “Stay with me?”

Jeremy smiles and crawls into the still warm space next to Jean. “Of course.”

Jean uses the rise and fall of Jeremy’s breath and the constancy of the neon stars to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.

[soullessminyard]

 @palesandwichobject asked for a part 2 of the Andreil Twilight AU (part 1) (special thanks also goes to @alecolightwood )

Neil needs some time to adjust to his new vampire body

He is still surprised when his body moves faster than he anticipates

Stupid accidents in school happen

Like Neil just disappearing and then showing up at the other side of the room a few seconds later

The other students think he is even weirder since he started hanging out with Andrew

They are also concerned because the two of them seem really close now

Who would voluntarily want to spend time with Andrew (he is scary af)

But the Foxes are worried too because if Neil keeps acting like that they´ll have to move soon

Riko may be dead but if they call too much attention to themselves the humans will soon start to notice that they aren´t normal

And if other vampires (possibly members of Riko´s clan) become aware of the fact that they have revealed their true nature this could start yet another war between the Foxes and the Ravens

So they decide that it´s time to move

Nicky wants to move to Germany because he wants to move in with Erik again

But he´s overruled by the rest of the Foxes

Kevin suggests moving to Alaska and living with the Trojans a clan who has a similar lifestyle (Kevin is also close friends with the clan leader Jeremy)

Andrew of course chooses Kevin´s side

Neil doesn´t care (he just wants to be with Andrew) so he votes for Alaska

Most of the other Foxes also really like or at least tolerate the Trojans so most of them are ok with moving to Alaska

It takes some time to pack all their stuff (Allison has a lot of clothes and Kevin wants to take all his Exy gear with him)

They also need to make up an excuse about why they are moving in the middle of the school year

It takes about a month and a half of preparations until they are ready to move

At first Neil didn´t really care about moving because he´s been on the run for most of his life but when moving day rolls around he is actually pretty excited

The last few month were exhausting

He always had to pay attention to not blow their cover and to get used to all of his new abilities

Neil had to come to terms with his new scars

Andrew gave him a matching set of armbands when he found Neil silently tracing his scars one night

Neil has been wearing them ever since

He was also very busy figuring out his relationship with Andrew

There has been a lot of kissing and figuring out each others boundaries

They figured out that Andrew is ok with Neil touching his hair and neck and even his shoulders on most days

But the most important thing that Neil has discovered is the spot Neil has to kiss to make Andrew shudder

It happened one night when they sat on the roof together (like most nights)

Andrew had a cigarette between his lips and Neil´s new sense of smell allowed him to inhale the smell from just sitting next to Andrew and watching him smoke

Andrew looked good

The pale glow of the moon illuminating his straight nose, strong jaw line and long eyelashes

The smoke curling around Andrew´s expressionless yet beautiful face

Neil couldn’t resist

He leaned even closer inhaling some of the smoke surrounding Andrew

When Andrew didn´t shy away Neil moved another few inches closer

“Is that ok?”

“Yes”

Neil leaned in and gently kissed Andrew´s neck

His skin there was just as cold as the rest of him but Neil couldn’t help but think that Andrew`s skin is particularly soft there

Andrew´s hair tickled Neil´s skin while he explored Andrew´s neck

But then something happened

Andrew has been stock-still the whole time but when Neil reached the

spot right behind his ear his body shuddered and Andrew made the most beautiful little noise (almost a sigh)

Neil smiled against his neck

“You like it”

“Shut up”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No”

Neil still grins whenever he thinks back to that moment (it has its advantages that  Andrew can´t read his mind because he would just glare at him 24/7 if he knew what Neil is thinking about most of the time)

Yes, the last few month weren´t always easy for Neil but that just makes moving more exciting

He is now ready to build a new life with the Foxes and especially with Andrew

Even tho Andrew gave him a key and a home the house never felt like a real home to Neil

Andrew´s room has always been Andrew´s room even after Neil moved in with him

Now they can finally start over and built a new home together

Neil can´t wait to do that

Andrew and Neil drive to their new home together (they were supposed to take Aaron and Nicky with them but Andrew just started the engine when they were going back for the last bags that were still in the house)

Neil got used to Andrew´s driving style by now

He actually really enjoys going on road trips with Andrew

This always means quality time and at least a few kisses when they have to stop for gas or Andrew simply gets bored

They are the first to arrive at their destination

Jeremy stands in front of the house to greet them

Nothing seems amiss but Andrew has a weird feeling and his instincts are right more often than not

He can smell something or rather someone

Jean

Andrew grits his teeth but can`t stop the hiss from escaping

“What is he doing here?” snarls Andrew

“He is one of us now”, answers Jeremy calm as always

“Then we won`t stay here”, states Andrew before he turns and starts walking back towards the car

“Andrew wait”, Neil runs after him (his new abilities allow Neil to reach Andrew before he can leave)

“No!” Neil protests when he reaches him

“I´m not letting him near you. Maybe you forgot but I still remember everything”

Just when Neil opens his mouth to say something Jeremy catches up with them

“When Riko died Jean came to us asking for help and a shelter. We decided to give him a second chance and if you can´t accept then I´ll have to ask you to leave. But I hope that you´ll think about it before you make a hasty decision”

Andrew just stares blankly at Jeremy and then continues walking towards the car

Neil jogs after Andrew

“Please”

“What?”

“Let us stay here. At least for a little while. If something goes wrong we can always leave immediately”

Andrew looks at him before he nods

He turns around to look at Jeremy “If something happens to him I´m going to kill you all”

Jeremy ignores Andrew threat and just proceeds to show them the house and the property

After a few difficulties at the beginning Andrew and Neil soon settle into their new room

It takes some time for both of them to adjust but they manage eventually

Kevin and Jean fight a lot the first few months after the foxes have moved in but after some time and a few talks they decide on a truce

Andrew and Jean still don’t really talk and Andrew almost killed Jean twice but other than that everything seems pretty chill

Neil FINALLY gets to play vampire Exy

To say he is excited is an understatement

He loves every second of it

Andrew and Neil stay with the Trojans for a few years until they decide that it´s time to move on

They want to live on their own (without the others breathing down their necks every second)

Having their own house instead of just having their own bedroom

They want to settle down far away from the civilization; somewhere in the woods (They are tired of changing identities and pretending to be human. They just want to be left alone)

After some research they find the perfect house in middle of the Canadian forest

It´s very remote and the next village is a three hour drive away

They choose their final identities so they can purchase the house

When Neil checks the new passport he splutters

“This says Josten-Minyard?”

“I am aware”

“We´re not married”

“You´re exceptionally clever today”

“Do you want to get married?”

Let´s be real Neil definitely thought about it more than once but he never imagined this could be something that Andrew wants as well

“Yes or no?” Andrew looks like he couldn’t care less when he asks the question but Neil sees right through him

He sees the slight shimmer of nervousness in Andrew´s eyes and the way the corners of his mouth twitch in anticipation

“It´s always yes with you”

This is how Andreil decide to get married

They don´t want a ceremony (their passports already say that they are married and the simple agreement that they want to acknowledge that fact is enough for them. They know that they are each others forever. They don´t need to prove that to anyone)

Renee saw their talk in one of her visions and when Andrew and Neil come back she doesn´t even need to ask Andrew how Neil reacted

She can see that her vision came true in Andrew´s eyes and can hear it in Neil´s carefree laughter

Renee doesn´t tell the other foxes about it because she knows that Andrew and Neil don´t want to make a big deal out of it

It´s actually Neil´s fault that the foxes catch up on what´s going on

Sometimes he just needs reassurance that all of this is true

That he doesn´t need to run anymore

That Andrew is his home

That Andrew is his husband

So he takes out his new passport sometimes to look at it and make sure it really reads Josten-Minyard there

In a house full of people it only takes so long until someone catches him doing that

It ends up being Nicky who walks in on Neil just quietly staring at the little booklet in his hand

“What is that?”

“Nothing”

Neil tries to hide the passport behind his back but Nicky is faster and grabs it right out of Neil´s hands

“When did that happen?” Nicky asks barely able to contain his excitement when he reads their combined surnames

“What do you mean?”

“Don´t be stupid. When did you and Andrew get married?”

“Uhm technically we didn´t get married. We just changed our names on the passports so it would be easier to buy the house”, Neil tries to downplay the whole thing in the hope that Nicky will just forget about it

But of course he won´t

He tells everyone he comes across about his new discovery and after a few hours everyone in the house knows about it

When they all sit together in the evening Nicky of course mentions how sad it is that Andrew and Neil didn´t have a proper wedding and that it would be a nice way to say goodbye before they move

Andrew and Neil immediately disagree

They don´t need a ceremony

Not to mention a ceremony planned by Nicky

But Renee gives Andrew a look and a few seconds later he can see the vision she had earlier that day

It´s an image of Neil in a nice black suit standing at the end of an aisle decorated with flowers, waiting for Andrew to join him

But what strikes Andrew most about the vision is the smile on Neil´s face

It´s so radiant and bright

His dead heart clenches at the sight

Renee nods her head in Neil´s direction (a gentle gesture that says just think about it)

And Andrew knows that he would do everything to make Neil smile like that (even if that means having an actual wedding)

So it´s decided that they will get married on the day they move

Their belongings will already be a on the way to Canada and will wait for them there when they come back from their honeymoon

The ceremony is simple and nothing official

Just an exchange of vows in the garden

But that didn´t keep Nicky from going all out with the flower decoration

Sunflowers line the way to the makeshift altar (it´s a table with a white tablecloth) and at the end of the aisle an arch of yellow and white roses completes the ensemble

Allison choose the suits

They are both black and very fashionable

Wymack officiates the wedding

All the Foxes and Trojans are invited (even Jean)

There are several betting pools on how the whole thing will go down

They bet on a lot of different things but no one expected them to actually take the wedding seriously (except from Renee but she is not allowed to bet on anything because she probably already knows the outcome)

Neil is nervously standing in front of the altar waiting for Andrew

They are already married on paper but that doesn´t make the strange feeling in his belly go away

And then the music starts

It´s a lovely song but Neil doesn´t really pay attention because Andrew´s just arrived

Bee is walking him down the aisle

He looks breathtaking in his black suit with the white dress shirt and his silver tie

When he reaches Neil he puts out one hand and Neil is glad that he has something to hold on to

Andrew is his anchor

He holds Neil in place and will never let him go (Neil is glad for that)

Neil can´t help but give Andrew his biggest, brightest smile and he is pleased to notice that Andrew´s eyes soften the tiniest bit

Wymack gives a heartfelt speech

Saying goodbye to both of them and wishing them the best for their future

If vampires would be able to cry there would be only a few dry faces

Then it´s time for Andrew and Neil to exchange vows

Neil goes first

“Andrew, you gave me a place to call home and a new life. I promise that I will never forget about the second chance you gave me and that I will cherish that gift until the end of my existence. I promise to trust you and that I will stay by your side. And if should feel the need to run I´ll always come back home to you”

It is short but still more than anyone expected

When it´s Andrew´s turn they all sit stock-still and no one dares to make the slightest noise

Neil giving a little speech was surprising but Andrew saying something he actually means in return seems entiretly impossible

The silence stretches for a few more moments

Then Andrew opens his mouth

His voice is quiet but clear

His face entirely impassive

“This means something”

Neil doesn´t need to breathe anyone but he still gasps at Andrew´s words

“I vow to never bring you any harm and to protect you for the rest of my existence”

If Neil´s heart was still beating it would be jumping right out of his chest

His knees feel weak

He is not the most emotional person but this is the first time Andrew admitted that there is something between them

And he offered his protection

AGAIN

All Neil can do is hold on tighter and hope that Andrew will keep his promise and never let go

Andrew of course notices that something is going on

He squeezes Neil´s hand and tucks him forward

Neil stumbles a bit but Andrew stops him with two hands on his shoulders before he barrels into Andrew

“Alright?”

“Yes”

Neil stares at Andrew for a few more seconds until Wymack interrupts their moment to continue with the ceremony

Renee stands and comes up to them

She has a little velvet box in her hand

Andrew and Neil turn their heads to look at her

While Neil´s mouth opens wide in surprise Andrew merely raises an eyebrow

“I saw you consider it and thought I´ll help you to make a decision. You don´t need to take them if you don´t want to. What you do with them is your choice but I just wanted to give them to you”

She smiles gently at them

When Andrew extends his hands towards her she places the box in his palm

Then she goes back to her chair

Andrew lets go off Neil`s hand and opens the box

In the box are two plain gold rings

“Yes or no?”

“Yes”

Andrew takes one of the rings and puts it on the ring finger of Neil´s right hand (later Neil wears his on a chain around his neck because he is scared to lose it on a hunt)

Neil does the same with Andrew´s ring

“Andrew and Neil by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and husband! You may now kiss!”

(They don´t really need that part because it´s not an official ceremony but Nicky insisted it is mandatory)

Neil is unsure if Andrew is comfortable with kissing him in front of everyone

So he waits what Andrew will do

Andrew holds out his hand again

They intertwine their fingers and walk down the aisle together

They´ll save the kisses for their honeymoon

The wedding reception is short and mainly consists of saying goodbye to everyone

Andrew and Neil will spend their honeymoon on a small island in the Caribbean

Their flight is on the same day so they need to get ready to leave soon after the wedding

Nicky put a big Just Married sticker on the car they will drive to the airport but Andrew and Neil don´t care

They get into the car and Andrew starts the engine

Neil waves a last goodbye to his new family

When he can´t see them anymore he turns back around to find Andrew looking at him

He isn´t smiling but it´s a close call

Neil fiddles with the ring on his finger and smiles back

He can´t wait to spend his forever with Andrew

[thecoroutfitters]

Ever since computers became popular, there have been those who wanted to hack their way in and find their secrets. For most of those early hackers, the thrill was in the chase, and the victory was in breaking in.

Most of their work was benign, with hackers being content to have succeeded in doing what they weren’t supposed to be able to do.

As computer use grew, so did hacking. But it changed as well.

With the massive connectivity and easy access that the internet offers, more and more hackers found their niche in life. These newer hackers weren’t content with merely breaching security for the sake of breaching security, they had nefarious intent in their work.

Whether that was the spread of viruses, identity theft or simply data mining for profit, it looked at the millions of computers connected to the internet as targets for attack, not just for play.

Malware has become a major threat on the Internet today, with countless hackers and even companies creating and distributing it across the world. While some is merely created for commercial purposes, placing ads on people’s computers, there is much more that spells real danger to individuals and companies worldwide.

It couldn’t stay that way though. Governments everywhere hold with the idea that only they can pursue illegal activities. While they work to keep their citizens from committing those acts, they are quick to adopt them themselves, and use them covertly to further their country or political party’s agenda.

Such has been the case of hacking and malware in general. The first to see the value of it were the Chinese, who created a cyber-warfare branch in their army. They immediately started working to find ways into other countries computers, especially those of opposing governments and their military branches.

They didn’t limit it to that. They sought out ways to attack critical infrastructure, such as disabling power plants or bypassing the failsafes on nuclear power plants.

While China got a head start on the rest of the world, other countries have been working to catch up, including the United States of America.

Rather than making cyber-warfare a branch of the military, it seems that we’ve left it up to our intelligence organs, most especially the CIA and the NSA.

Once it moved behind the walls of intelligence operations, any efforts towards U.S. development of cyber-warfare became very hush-hush. Few knew about it, and even fewer admitted it was happening.

The vast majority of Congress was left in the dark, as they had no oversight of intelligence operations. And with Congress in the dark, the American people were totally cut out of what was happening.

Vault 7, the US Government and Cyber-warfare

The most recent Wikileaks dump, cryptically called Vault 7, has breached the secrecy of US government involvement in cyber-warfare for the very first time.

Specifically, the first 8,761 documents demonstrate the CIA’s involvement in creating millions of lines of malware code, including viruses, Trojans, weaponized “zero day” exploits, remote control systems and other forms of malware.

In total, there were over 1,000 different hacking systems, Trojans, viruses and other “weaponized” malware. While the actual code does not seem to be part of the data dump (and that’s a good thing), documentation about its existence and descriptions of its capability have been released.

All of this was produced by the Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), a sub-agency of the CIA’s Directorate for Digital Innovation (DDI). This directorate, the most recent addition to the CIA’s organization chart, comprises over 5,000 registered users, many of whom are programmers and expert hackers.

The release of this information is a major blow against American cyber-warfare; but apparently it’s one that needed to happen. I say that, even though I’m not entirely comfortable about it, because according to Wikileaks, the CIA has recently lost control of the majority of their digital arsenal.

This extremely dangerous code has been circulated amongst former U.S. government hackers and contactors in an unauthorized manner.

Notice that I said “former,” not current. That’s the information that Wikileaks has, and also the means by which they were given access to this amazing data. Apparently one of those former workers felt the public needed to know what was going on behind closed doors.

A CIA spy secret that anyone can use to keep him or herself safe – straight from an ex-CIA officer!

The Malware Market

Should this code make it out into the dark Internet, the results could be disastrous. Apparently there is quite a market for all sorts of malware, with customers willing to pay large sums, even into the millions for programs which will permit them access to things they shouldn’t have access too.

But that’s not the biggest problem. The big one is that once out in the open, this malware could spread around the globe in mere minutes, used and targeted by an army of individual hackers.

Unlike other weapons systems, electronic weapons don’t explode and disappear. If anything, their “explosion” causes them to multiply across computers and networks, infecting more and more as they go.

While it may be possible to take them off a particular computer, usually by scrubbing the hard drive and doing a global reinstall, they never really go away. The same electronic weapons can be used over and over again.

This code got out into the open, we can’t count on the good graces of the people who have it. While some of those CIA contractors and employees will act responsibly with what they have, invariably there will be those who will see an opportunity to use it for nefarious ends or perhaps for personal gain.

There’s another aspect of this, which is even scarier than what hackers will do with the CIA’s digital arsenal. That’s what the CIA themselves have done with it.

In 2013, Edward Snowden came forth as a whistleblower, informing the country that the NSA was spying on American citizens, in contrary to the law. This new batch of information tells us that the NSA aren’t the only ones doing that. The CIA is doing so as well.

There have always been rivalries between the various intelligence agencies. FDR created the OSS during World War II to combat this problem. Yet the OSS and later the CIA haven’t managed to eliminate that rivalry. Rather, they’ve become part of it.

One of the results of these rivalries is overlaps in areas of responsibility and multiple departments performing the same task. Such seems to be the case here, with the CIA performing its own version of the NSA’s work. Yet without knowing who ordered the CIA to do this or when it was ordered, there’s no real way of knowing whether this is an authorized operation or not.

Video first seen on Fox News. 

But there’s more than just the CIA spying on our communications, like the NSA does. Apparently they’ve developed malware that targets iPhones, Android phones, smart TVs and even Microsoft Windows. This malware invokes thoughts of Orwell’s 1984, if anything does. With it, the CIA can turn on these devices and use them to spy on their owners.

For some reason, Samsung TVs in particular have been targeted by the CIA. Their malware, called “Weeping Angel,” which was developed in conjunction with the United Kingdom’s MI5, allows the television to operate in a “fake off” mode, where it appears to be off to the owner, but a microphone in the unit is recording everything said in the room and forwarding it to the CIA, via the internet.

This is just one example of the types of “back door” malware programs which the CIA has developed. Similar malware can be used to hack in to smartphones allowing the CIA to determine the owner’s location, read their e-mail, their text messages, search the phone’s memory and activate both the camera and microphone.

Quite literally, they can spy on anyone, anywhere, anytime they choose, and we can’t do a thing about it.

Even encryption won’t help, as the CIA has means of accessing the data, before it is encrypted. So much for the various communications platforms out there, which claim to encrypt your communications. If the CIA can access the information before it is encrypted, the encryption is useless. The government will know what’s in your communications, perhaps even before you do.

Before We Panic

All of this capability was probably developed with the best of intentions. The CIA, like other intelligence agencies, is involved in the war on terror. As terrorists tend to hide in the population and use the same communications that many of us do, it is necessary to develop the means of penetrating those communications to investigate the actions of those terrorists.

But where does it stop? What’s to say that they aren’t amassing files on each one of us? It’s already been reveled that the NSA is doing that, storing all of our communications in their massive data storage facilities. Snowden told us how that information is misused by analysts breaking the rules.

Those analysts aren’t the real issue though; the real issue is the government that is stealing our privacy. Spying on American citizens is a clear betrayal of our Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.

Yet we, the American people, are routinely subjected to a level of surveillance that the Founding Fathers couldn’t have imagined. Even those of us who are not doing anything illegal have things in our lives, which we would rather not have known.

Even if the CIA can demonstrate that they haven’t broken our Fourth Amendment rights, how can we trust them? There is literally nobody who has access to their files. So there is no way to prove that they are telling the truth.

The only information we would have access to, is that which they release, with the intention of demonstrating their innocence. Not exactly something you could take to a court of law.

There is only one solution for those of us who want privacy. That’s to foreswear the use of all modern means of communications. While not exactly practical, there may come a day when we need to; especially if the government starts misusing our information.

I just know one thing. I’m going to be careful about what I put out over the Internet, over my phone and through any other electronic means of communications I find myself using. There’s no reason to give anyone ammunition, which might find its way back, being used against me on some future date.

Click here to discover your part in this important “undercover operation” to protect the lives and privacy of thousands of Americans!

This article has been written by Bill White For Survivopedia. 

References:

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/03/08/cia-cyber-spying-toolkit-now-in-hands-hackers-worldwide-wikileaks.html

https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/cia-files-wikileaks-vault-7

from Survivopedia Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[ohsweetflips]

hawk in the raven nest, chapter twenty-four

chapter summary: tragic: causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow

A/N: hey guys!!! im so sorry that i had to postpone today's chapter, i was had classes and then a swim meet and was out from 8am to 11pm last night and passed out the moment i got in

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Ever since Kevin began his time as a Fox on the starting line, the Ravens made it a habit of watching their games. Riko was the one who enforced that. Their teammates believed that it was so Riko could laugh at Kevin’s misfortune; Kevin left the best Class I Exy team for the last place Foxes, what was there that Riko couldn’t laugh at? Nathaniel, however, knew it was because Riko was paranoid. Kevin was always a threat to Riko, but before the Foxes, Kevin was a threat that Riko believed he could beat down. Now, with Kevin as an opponent, and an opponent who was drastically improving a team meant to amount to nothing, Kevin was a danger to Riko.

Riko became obsessive when watching the Foxes’ games. He kept note of every win and loss, the length of each point gap, which team they were playing and how they had fared against the Ravens. With each game that the Foxes won, and with that each large point gap, Riko grew less and less happy with his results.

With the Foxes winning game against Binghamton, Riko’s nerves were through the roof. He was past the point of a violent outbreak; at this stage, everything was internalized. His hands were clenched on the arms of his chair, his knuckles white. His eyes stared blankly at the screen as their teammates chattered around him in the lounge. Maybe they were nervous, too, but didn’t want to let on; maybe they didn’t see Kevin as a threat yet. Either way, Riko was panicking because championships were getting very close and the Foxes were going to be in the death matches. With the path they seemed to be going on, they might be able to get past Penn State. The Trojans could be the ones that stop them, but even that was too close for Riko’s liking.

Attention was brought back to the screen when none other than Kevin Day came back on it. He was the one who the reporters decided to interview that night. He was sweaty, with some pieces of hair clinging to his forehead. His green eyes shone with victory, and he flashed an award winning grin at the camera. The two on his cheek stared at them all, showing where he had come from, and where he was now.

“Kevin, what an amazing game the Foxes played tonight!” the reporter beamed, happiness obvious on her face at being able to interview Kevin Day.

“Thank you,” Kevin grinned, swooping his hair out of his face. “We’ve all worked really hard for this game.”

“Talk about working hard!” she exclaimed. “Look at you! Last year, no one thought you would ever step onto a court again. Now, here you are, right-handed, and picking up speed with the Foxes, who finally seem to really deserve their Class I rank. It seems that you’ve really been pushing your fellow teammates.”

“Actually, we all push each other. You see, while I definitely push the Foxes to be better, they push me, too, not just with their own drills, but with stamina in a game. The Foxes are really big on endurance training. Coach Wymack really emphasizes on it considering how few of us there are, some of us are out here playing full games with no subs. So, yeah, when I got here I was getting good training in. Not only was I coming off of not being able to play for months, but I also hadn’t gone on long runs in forever. Years ago, before we were even on the Ravens, Riko and I would go running around campus. But once we were official Ravens and had night practices, we haven’t done it since. We had no time, we would spend our time on the court before we would even think of going running. The Foxes and Coach Wymack really helped me get back to where I needed to be, I’m so thankful to be able to play again.”

The reporter wouldn’t realize what Kevin had said, and how it didn’t match up. She would realize it when she went over tapes, or had someone write an article about Kevin bouncing back from a hit and run that happened while Riko and Kevin were on their usual late nights runs. While she was talking about it, or someone was writing about it, they would realize the discrepancy in that story when they noticed that Kevin said very clearly that he and Riko hadn’t ran together in years.

At that moment, though, she just nodded along with a grin on her face. Captain Danielle Wilds came into view, but Nathaniel didn’t catch what she was asked. All eyes were on Riko, because while the reporter wouldn’t catch the discrepancy, it was all the Ravens noticed. They were told by Riko himself that something terrible had happened to Kevin, by Tetsuji that Kevin was struck by a car while they were on their usual run. Yet, Kevin himself, the injured party, blew that truth out of the water in just a couple sentences.

“Didn’t you say that you and Kevin would go on runs all the time?” Jenkins asked.

“He doesn’t know what he’s saying,” Riko managed out, his eyes locked on the TV.

“He seemed very confident in what he had to say,” Andrew unexpectedly said from besides Nathaniel.

“Shut up!” Riko shouted, and Nathaniel didn’t miss some of their teammates flinching. He wondered if Riko felt his own validity crumbling to pieces. Riko looked over at where Nathaniel and Andrew were sitting, except his eyes weren’t on Andrew. He was staring directly at Nathaniel. Riko didn’t know that Andrew knew everything, he didn’t know that Nathaniel and Andrew were constantly speaking with Kevin; Riko thought that everything that really happened with Kevin was just a secret between him and Nathaniel. He was waiting for Nathaniel to say something, to say anything that would give up Riko’s crumbling alibi. It was a threat; if Nathaniel said one wrong thing, Riko would kill him. Riko wanted to see if Nathaniel was smart enough to stay quiet.

Nathaniel had an attitude problem, but luckily for him, he knew when to save his remarks for a later date when they would be more beneficial. To reveal the truth now would give Riko an opening to destroy Nathaniel; Nathaniel was smarter than that.

Nathaniel met Riko’s eyes and said nothing. For right now, he would leave Riko the satisfaction of thinking that he scared Nathaniel into silence. He would let Riko try to convince his teammates that Kevin was delusional, because inevitably he would fail.

The lie that had been formed was finally being broken apart. The end never looked so clear and bright.

--

In the morning, Tetsuji was forced to call off another practice. Instead of practicing, the Ravens were corralled into their lounge. Nathaniel was sitting on one of the loveseats with Andrew at his side. Riko was alert, sitting tense on one of the recliners. The rest of the athletes were groggy with sleep, but anyone with a mind could see what was happening.

The door from above swung open, and all heads turned to the staircase. Down walked Edgar Allan’s Director of the Board of Education and the Athletics’ Director. After them came Tetsuji; he looked emotionless, though Nathaniel had a feeling it was just a facade. Even he had to know what was coming for them.

The Education Director stared down the athletes. “After the departure of two of your athletes, one with severe injuries, one in need of ‘time away’, we grew suspicious. We planned to have done this already, but we were told it would have been of no use,” he said, sliding a look to Tetsuji. “Now, though, it either seems that it was of use, or one of your top athletes doesn’t know how he broke his hand. We have a warrant from the board to search through your dormitories-” He held up a piece of paper. In his other hand were black garbage bags. “-You all will stay here as we do so, and no one is permitted to take anything from their dorm or leave.” He paused. “This team is in hot water right now. Even if all of you are confident in that nothing incriminating is in these dorms, it would bode best for all of you to listen and comply.”

Nathaniel hoped that they would see Riko as incriminating evidence, but he didn’t know if they could remove a person and take him to the Board of Education for inspection.

The Athletics’ Director looked over the athletes in front of him, and his eyes came to a stop at Nathaniel. It had only been a few days since Riko hit him, and the bruise on his jaw was an unmissable, ugly green. The Director didn’t say anything, but Nathaniel imagined that he would take note of that.

Both directors waited a moment longer, a dare to see if any of the athletes would disapprove. When they were satisfied with no one’s response, they headed down the hall that led to the red dormitories. They were the dorms for the athletes with two digit numbers; the ones suspected to leave no impact on the Exy world. They weren’t the reasons for the Directors being down in the Nest, but maybe the two of them hadn’t heard about their corrupt captain.

It wasn’t long until the Directors came back to the lounge. The bags in their hands looked empty, perhaps one or two items that were prohibited thrown in, but nothing major. Nathaniel didn’t expect them to find anything there in the first place. The black dormitories would grant them much more success in their search. The single digit players were the ones expected to yield success, five (now three) of which were expected to be stars in the Exy world, three of which were expected to earn the Moriyamas money, one of which was a Moriyama. The Directors would have fun in that wing.

Nathaniel believed some bloodstained clothes were still tossed in a pile somewhere in his room. Laundry was such a hassle sometimes.

Nathaniel also knew that Riko had knives somewhere in his room, along with who knows what else, and that Kevin’s belongings were still in their shared room.

The Ravens watched as they entered the black wing. Nathaniel shifted his eyes to Riko, who was staring blankly down the hall. The tension in the room seemed to shift from bad to worse. Just twenty-four hours before, the Ravens who were not Perfect Court hadn’t expected anything. They believed that Kevin broke his hand in a hit-and-run. They knew Riko was violent but they didn’t know the extent of it. Nathaniel found himself wondering if they knew what he did to Jean. He wasn’t going to ask to find out.

But now, everything had changed. Kevin had revealed that perhaps Tetsuji -who was standing perfectly still, watching over his team- and Riko had lied about what happened to him. Their rooms were being searched for evidence that the Ravens were a corrupt team, and how it was to be found in their captain’s room. Nathaniel always knew the corruption in the Ravens and how it tiered down from the Moriyamas, and he saw how blind they all were to it when they all believed Tetsuji’s words with no question, but now they couldn’t trust who they were forced to.

In this room, everyone’s lives were being flipped around. The rest of the Ravens couldn’t be blind, or play blind, any longer. Their team was at stake, and if Nathaniel knew any of these people, they either played Exy or they died. There was no way they could turn away from the corruption and the violence when there was a chance they would lose their only way of breathing easy.

What a tragic life these Ravens lived.

A couple minutes passed and the directors came back. Their bags were significantly more filled. The Athletics’ Director sweeped a cool gaze over everyone in the room before landing on Tetsuji. “We need to speak with you about some of the… belongings your athletes had, specifically in that room at the end.”

The room at the end was Riko’s.

Tetsuji nodded once. He followed them up the stairs.

When the door swung close, eyes shifted from one to another but, in the end, they fell upon their captain. Nathaniel turned to Riko and opened his mouth. The words he said next could have been borderline suicidal if Riko wasn’t under such heavy scrutiny. His next words told Riko that he had no secrets any longer; everything that he had done was bound to be brought to surface:

“Careful Riko, everyone’s watching.”

Riko said nothing, but he did tense his jaw. Out of his peripheral vision, Nathaniel saw Andrew give the smallests of nods to Riko.

It was enough to show that this secret between Riko and Nathaniel was never really between them at all. It was a sign that Riko was never as subtle as he hoped.

Nathaniel wondered if Riko’s stomach flipped at his fall from grace, or if it fell freely because, in the back of his mind, he knew everything would come crashing down at one point.

[ohsweetflips]

hawk in the raven nest, chapter twelve

chapter summary: do you really get used to all the orange. do you really.

A/N: thank you for reading!!! feedback is appreciated!!!

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There were many things Nathaniel did not like about the Palmetto State Foxes. He didn’t like that they were a team of rejects that received so much publicity when it should be going to teams that deserved it, like the Ravens, or even the Trojans. He didn’t like how they managed to keep their Class I rank after all the failures they have had. He didn’t like how they barely came together as a team for games; he felt like he saw more fighting than playing. He didn’t like how the weather was still so warm, even in October; he couldn’t necessarily blame the Foxes for that, but he was still bitter.

Most of all, though, he hated how orange everything was. Everything was too orange and too bright and he was getting a headache. At least the darkness of the Nest was easy on the eyes; being at Palmetto was like being blinded. Between the shining sun, heat, obnoxious fans, and even more obnoxious colors, Nathaniel really just wanted to kick the Foxes’ asses and go back to the Nest. The only thing keeping him here was the fact that, for the first time in months, the Ravens would see Kevin as a coach instead of an athlete. None of the Ravens were concerned about losing. The Ravens hadn’t lost a game yet, which surprised no one. They weren’t even concerned that the Foxes had won five out of their seven games; most of them were close calls. No, the Ravens thought more about how their coach and Perfect Court would react to seeing Kevin, and what the reporters would end up saying. Nathaniel could already hear the grating questions thrown himself and the rest of the Perfect Court about how they felt about this “betrayal” or if they’re worried about their rank or if they think they’re better without Kevin.

Frankly, Nathaniel was just hoping to see that Kevin was healing and well. He wasn’t worried about the game in relation to their plan. Kevin had told Nathaniel and Andrew to not worry about whether or not the Foxes beat the Ravens. The Ravens could completely destroy the Foxes and the plan could still go as they wanted it to. Kevin just kept saying on every phone call that his new team was getting a new athlete in November, and then things would hit the ground running. Nathaniel was still wary in trusting a random new athlete, but the confidence Kevin had was uplifting.

The game itself would be a pain in the ass. But at least Nathaniel had Kevin watching from the outer court observing how to make the Foxes more efficient in playing against the Ravens, and he had Andrew on court with him, a stabilizing force for him with all that had been going on.

Nathaniel was slightly less bitter about their current situation when he entered the locker room. Slightly. Him, Andrew, and Kevin all being in the same vicinity helped sedate his annoyance, even when affronted with bright, white lockers and orange paw prints printed everywhere in the guest locker room.

That bitterness subsided even more when Andrew took the locker one away from Nathaniel. Riko had the locker across from Nathaniel, and Jean next to him, but with Andrew so near to him, Riko’s presence didn’t feel so damning. Nathaniel felt a smile pull at his lips and turned back to his locker before people could see.

When Nathaniel had his gear pulled on, save his helmet and gloves, he closed his locker and found Riko waiting for him at the end of the row. He was waiting for all of them, eyes flicking from Nathaniel, to Andrew, to Jean.

“Tonight, we’re making Kevin realize that leaving the Ravens was the biggest mistake of his life,” Riko started. It wasn’t an inspirational speech before a game, it was a command to make Kevin regret everything he had done in the past couple of months. “He thinks he can pull this worthless team out of the gutter? Instead, he’s going to find out that Kevin Day died the moment he walked out of Castle Evermore.” Riko spoke like the other three in front of him were all on his side; Nathaniel wondered how he would react if he knew that all three of them, along with Kevin, were plotting his demise. One day, Riko would realize that the mistake made wasn’t Kevin leaving the Ravens, but it was Riko’s own over-consumption of power and pride.

Instead, they just nodded along, because tonight Riko expected the Ravens to win. The Ravens would win. In March, when they all met again, except this time for the Championships at Edgar Allan, the Ravens would not win.

Nathaniel was used to being on his guard. Very rarely could he turn to a person and know that he trusted them. The way his life had folded out had caused him to believe that there were few people in the world deserving of trust. But this situation, right here right now, was so much different. Nathaniel wasn’t used to putting so much confidence in something, in a person, in Andrew Minyard. But this felt right, trusting Andrew felt right. Nathaniel gave Andrew his back, and finally he felt like someone wasn’t holding a knife to it. Andrew took Nathaniel and, no matter how much he denied it, gave him an alliance that formed not due to circumstance, but because both boys believed that the other was trustworthy. Then Kevin got involved, more than he already was, and Nathaniel realized that their King was going to be outnumbered.

Nathaniel was so ready for the collapse of Riko’s kingdom that his chest ached with want.

The team collected their rackets from the foyer. No one spoke, not even Tetsuji, who was just sweeping his eyes over all of them. Tetsuji was never one for motivational words; he leaned more towards threats. But a game like this required none

Nathaniel could hear the voice of the crowd before they even reached the court. He heard the Foxes’ fight song playing and assumed that their opponents had just entered the court. The Ravens entered not long after, and their arrival was immediately signaled by their own fight song, consumed with drums and power. Their song was not the Foxes’. The Foxes’ was loud, overwhelmed with horns and too much enthusiasm for a team like theirs. The Ravens’ was powerful, a reminder to who they play against that they are not to be taken lightly. His ears buzzed with the drums and the screaming. He ran his eyes over the court and the audience that awaited the most anticipated show. Everything was still very orange, but Nathaniel did not miss the clumps of black. Right above the Ravens’ bench was a reserved section for their fans, and their voices only grew when their eyes found the team. Stragglers who weren’t included in that section scattered throughout. Mourners of the Riko-Kevin split held signs that read “1 - 2”.

It was always one and two. It might always be one and two. Nathaniel hoped that one day Kevin would be his own person.

Nathaniel’s eyes finally brought him to the Foxes, who were already by their bench and watching them. A pitiful team of only eight, they shouldn’t even had been allowed to play. But when Kevin Day said to wait because he had someone coming, the ERC tended to listen.

Kevin Day, the man of every reporters’ and sports fans’ interest, stood with his head coach (and father, unbeknownst to the head coach) David Wymack. From where Nathaniel stood as they walked to their own bench, he couldn’t see any bandages on Kevin’s left hand. He could only imagine the scars that marred it.

Nathaniel didn’t get a long time to stare, for Tetsuji sent them on their warm-up laps. They took the inner court and ran in the opposite direction of the Foxes. How their laps usually went was that Riko and Kevin would take the front, Nathaniel and Jean right behind them, and then Andrew right behind the four, with the Ravens then trailing behind him. It was to show who dominated the team, who the Ravens fell in line behind. However, with Kevin gone, Nathaniel found himself being pulled up besides Riko. Andrew ended up next to Jean, and the team followed behind like nothing had changed.

“Do not look at them when we pass them,” Riko said over his shoulder. It was said to the entire team, but directed towards the Perfect Court. Reporters, fans, everyone expected them to be besides themselves with their loss for Kevin; Riko wanted to show the world that the Ravens’ were better off without him. When Riko received nods and a couple of comments of affirmation in response, he seemed satisfied and continued with leading the laps.

The Ravens did not look at the Foxes when they passed, and the Foxes did not look at the Ravens. Riko did not look at Kevin when he passed, and Kevin kept his eyes on the clipboard in front of them. Nathaniel would admit to having snuck a glance at their former striker; he hoped Riko did not notice.

Tetsuji then separated the team into those who would continue laps, and those who would start drills. All strikers and dealers were pulled to shoot on goal, while their defense line continued running. Nathaniel always thought it was useless to shoot on an empty goal, since now Jean and Andrew were leading the pack, but he figured Andrew wouldn’t have done much. The Ravens, even with a smaller team on the court, still outnumbered the Foxes by multiple bodies.

When warm ups were called to an end, the only players remaining on the court were Riko, and the Foxes’ captain, Danielle Wilds. Kevin had said that Danielle had admirable qualities as a captain, but needed to work harder as a player if she wanted to bring her team to success. After seeing Danielle with her toothy grins with her teammates and determination on the court, however, Nathaniel thought that perhaps Kevin underestimated the captain, and Nathaniel found himself with a growing respect for her.

It doubled when she met Riko at half-court for the coin toss and gave him a wide grin. The two had met before, and she had to know that Riko was, at best, an asshole. And yet, she met him with kindness, even if it was perhaps fake. Nathaniel didn’t think he could fathom doing what Danielle did.

The Ravens got first serve, so the Foxes got home side of the court. Both coaches readied their starting lineup. For the first time in playing for the Ravens, Nathaniel was looking at the back of Riko’s head instead of Kevin’s. The lineup had already all pulled on their helmets, but Nathaniel still felt the difference. With Kevin, Nathaniel was once able to call him a friend before he was just a fellow Raven. Riko was no friend, and with him looming in front, Nathaniel felt like he was being lead to doom. But with Andrew behind him, he felt like he could escape and leave Riko in hell.

The subs walked wordlessly past the lineup and out to the benches. Riko looked over his shoulder and said, “Don’t fuck this up.” The words seemed directed towards the line of athletes behind him, but Nathaniel knew they were for himself, Jean, and Andrew. For Riko, this game was a statement that the Ravens would prosper. For this game, Nathaniel won’t disappoint him; he can make no promises for later.

Nathaniel hadn’t realized that he missed the Foxes’ starting lineup being called out until Tetsuji motioned for them to go forward. He barely heard Riko be announced when he stepped out onto the court; the crowd went wild for the sons of Exy.

“Number three, Nathaniel Wesninski.”

Nathaniel stepped onto the court, trying to tune out the cheers that followed him. His ears rang, and he didn’t need this distraction at the moment, he didn’t want it. As he walked to his starting point, his eyes skimmed over where the Foxes were set up. He found Kevin, looking down at a clipboard in his hands. Even from here, Nathaniel could see that his knuckles were white. A woman next to him was speaking intently. Coach David Wymack had his eyes switching from his own athletes to their opponents; he knew what Ravens were capable of.

His eyes then scoped out his opponents. Despite the helmets and heavy gear protecting each body, he knew the Foxes’ starting lineup. The Ravens could list the lineup of each team they played; knowing the lineup determined whether the game was actually worth their time. This one, determined by the Ravens as one, was not. The Foxes had strong players, such as Matthew Boyd, Seth Gordon, and Danielle Wilds, but as a group they could barely pull it together. Danielle became their saving grace when she took on role of Captain, but even then the Foxes hardly have any coordination.

Renee Walker was currently in goal. Allison Reynolds and Danielle Wilds were in their positions as defensive and offensive dealers, respectively. Seth Gordon and Janie Smalls were on as leading strikers. Kevin told Nathaniel that he believed Smalls would end up benched before the season was halfway over. Matthew Boyd was on as one one the starting backliners. Nathaniel’s eyes then froze on a jersey with the name MINYARD in large, orange letters going across the back.

Nathaniel hadn’t thought to mention Aaron Minyard to Andrew after their conversation that night in the locker room. With everything that had been happening, with sneaking around to talk to Kevin and finding out ways to sit in the locker room, and still just being a Raven, Andrew’s brother and the thought that they would soon be seeing each other slipped Nathaniel’s mind. For a split second, Nathaniel wondered if Andrew felt anything towards it. If he expected some brotherly reunion, or even a simple nod towards each other. But then he remembered what Kevin said about how Aaron barely mentioned Andrew, and how Andrew had only mentioned Aaron twice in his time on the Ravens. Once, when he talked to Nathaniel in the locker room. Second, when he first got to the Ravens in his drugged state and said that his black armbands were to tell him and Aaron apart, despite being in different states. Andrew had said that he sent Aaron to Palmetto because it would be what was best for him. Nathaniel couldn’t help but wonder what Andrew was keeping Aaron away from.

The ball had been passed to their starting dealer, Engle. There were ten seconds on the clock and counting down. Despite the fact that there was no reason to feel any fear or nerves for this particular game, Nathaniel felt a jolt go through him. It was times like this, when he was watching the clock tick down and the crowd was roaring, that he remembered how much he loved Exy. Life could be shit, everything was being pulled apart at the seams, and if things went terribly he could be dead in a couple months. But he felt alive on the court. When he and Jean helped to guard goal, everything that wasn’t Exy washed away, and he was able to just focus on the one thing that he could truly use the word “love” to describe how he felt.

The buzzer rang through the court, signalling the start, and the sound had barely cut off before Engle served the ball. Nathaniel didn’t watch where it went; instead, his eyes were on Seth Gordon. Gordon was the strongest striker the Foxes currently had, and from the way he was racing towards him, Nathaniel assumed he was Gordon’s mark. Gordon had height on Nathaniel, but that meant nothing when their skills were compared.

Allison Reynolds had gotten possession of the ball and served it to Renee Walker in goal. Walker shot it back to Danielle Wilds. From there, she served it to Seth, who had now put what he deemed enough distance in between himself and Nathaniel.

It still didn’t stop Nathaniel from intercepting his pass and rebounding it back to Engle.

The ball was now near the Foxes’ goal, and in Riko’s possession. Then, in a pass that went from Riko to Engle to Jenkins and then back to Riko, the wall behind Walker lit up red. They were two and a half minutes into first half.

That was a sequence that continued through both halves, and by the ending buzzer, Nathaniel was left staring up at a scoreboard that read fourteen-three, Ravens, and three of those four points for the foxes were scored when Andrew wasn’t in goal. The stands roared around them, and he had a feeling that most of it was expressions of hatred for his team.

Nathaniel wasn’t surprised that the Ravens had crushed the Foxes. He knew it was going to happen, as did Andrew, Kevin, and ninety-nine percent of people. He was surprised with the Foxes, however; they put up a fight. They were more organized than usual.

It pleased him to know that Kevin was making a difference.

Nathaniel found himself without worry for how the next couple months would proceed.