#Maryland Black Car

[services7781]

[lyftpickup]

[michaelwriston]

Oliver. Baltimore, MD. 2023.

Michael Wriston / Tumblr / Flickr / Instagram / Print Sale

[caitlinfawphoto]

Soldier's Delight

Owings Mills, Maryland

March 2020

Fujifilm Neopan SS 135-36

Nikon FE2

[istandonsnowpiles]

In the shop

[limousineservicebaltimore]

 7 Essential Tips to Choose the Best Limousine Service

Looking for a reliable and luxurious limousine service? Discover 7 essential tips to help you choose the best limo service for any event or business travel.

Whether you're planning a special event, business trip, or night out, choosing the right limousine service can make all the difference. With numerous providers offering a variety of services, knowing how to choose the best option is essential for a smooth, luxurious experience. Here, we’ll walk you through 7 essential tips to help you select the perfect limousine service that meets your needs.

(1)Check for Licensing and Insurance

Tip Overview: Before hiring a limousine service, ensure the company is properly licensed and insured. Why It’s Important: A reputable limousine service should have up-to-date licenses to operate legally and carry insurance for both the vehicle and passengers. This ensures your safety and protects you from liabilities in case of an incident.

(2)Evaluate the Company’s Reputation

Tip Overview: Researching a company’s reputation is critical for understanding the quality of service you can expect. How to Do It: Look for online reviews, testimonials, and ratings on platforms like Google, Yelp, or the Better Business Bureau. Positive feedback about professionalism, punctuality, and customer satisfaction indicates that the company can be trusted for your special occasion.

(3)Inspect the Fleet

Tip Overview: The variety and condition of a company’s fleet can reveal a lot about its reliability and commitment to quality. What to Look For: Ensure the company offers a range of vehicles, from luxury sedans to stretch limos and party buses. Inspect the vehicles in person if possible or request detailed photos. The best limousine services maintain clean, well-kept, and modern vehicles to ensure a comfortable ride.

(4)Inquire About Chauffeur Experience and Training

Tip Overview: Your experience hinges not just on the vehicle but also on the quality of the chauffeur. Details: Ask about the training, background checks, and qualifications of the chauffeurs. Professional, courteous, and experienced drivers enhance the experience by offering a safe, seamless journey. Ideally, the chauffeur should have extensive knowledge of the local area to avoid traffic and ensure timely arrivals.

(5)Compare Prices and Understand the Cost Structure

Tip Overview: Pricing varies widely between limousine services, so it’s essential to compare quotes and understand what you’re paying for. Things to Note:

Hourly vs. Flat Rate: Some companies charge by the hour, while others offer flat rates for specific services.

Additional Fees: Check if the quoted price includes gratuity, fuel surcharges, tolls, or other potential fees. Hidden fees can turn an affordable ride into a costly experience.

(6)Verify Customer Service Standards

Tip Overview: Excellent customer service is a hallmark of a top-tier limo service. What to Assess: How responsive and helpful is the company during your inquiries? A business that is attentive and eager to answer questions, clarify doubts, and offer recommendations is likely to provide superior service on the day of your ride.

(7)Look for Customized Packages and Additional Features

Tip Overview: Some occasions require unique services, so consider a provider that offers tailored packages. Examples of Customization:

Event-specific amenities: Packages tailored for weddings, corporate events, or prom nights.

Entertainment options: In-car Wi-Fi, audio systems, and refreshments.

Special requests: Ensure the company can accommodate requests such as specific pick-up or drop-off arrangements or vehicle decorations.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the best limousine service involves more than just picking the lowest price or most popular company. By evaluating the service's licensing, reputation, fleet, and chauffeur expertise, you can ensure your transportation is luxurious, safe, and reliable. Don’t forget to ask about customization and transparency in pricing to tailor the service to your specific needs.

Ready to experience premium transportation for your next event or business trip? Contact us today to book a reliable, high-quality limousine service that puts your needs first.

for more information visit the site: http://www.executivecls.com/

[mcmansionhell]

namesake mcmansion

Howdy folks! Today's McMansion is very special because a) we're returning to Maryland after a long time and b) because the street this McMansion is on is the same as my name. (It was not named after me.) Hence, it is my personal McMansion, which I guess is somewhat like when people used to by the name rights to stars even though it was pretty much a scam. (Shout out btw to my patron Andros who submitted this house to be roasted live on the McMansion Hell Patreon Livestream)

As far as namesake McMansions go, this one is pretty good in the sense that it is high up there on the ol' McMansion scale. Built in 2011, this psuedo-Georgian bad boy boasts 6 bedrooms and 9.5 baths, all totaling around 12,000 square feet. It'll run you 2.5 million which, safe to say, is exponentially larger than its namesake's net worth.

Now, 2011 was an anonymous year for home design, lingering in the dead period between the 2008 black hole and 2013 when the market started to actually, finally, steadily recover. As a result a lot of houses from this time basically look like 2000s McMansions but slightly less outrageous in order to quell recession-era shame.

I'm going to be so serious here and say that the crown molding in this room is a crime against architecture, a crime against what humankind is able to accomplish with mass produced millwork, and also a general affront to common sense. I hate it so much that the more I look at it the more angry I become and that's really not healthy for me so, moving on.

Actually, aside from the fake 2010s distressed polyester rug the rest of this room is literally, basically Windows 98 themed.

I feel like the era of massive, hefty sets of coordinated furniture are over. However, we're the one's actually missing out by not wanting this stuff because we will never see furniture made with real wood instead of various shades of MDF or particleboard ever again.

This is a top 10 on the scale of "least logical kitchen I've ever seen." It's as though the designers engineered this kitchen so that whoever's cooking has to take the most steps humanly possible.

Do you ever see a window configuration so obviously made up by window companies in the 1980s that you almost have to hand it to them? You're literally letting all that warmth from the fire just disappear. But whatever I guess it's fine since we basically just LARP fire now.

Feminism win because women's spaces are prioritized in a shared area or feminism loss because this is basically the bathroom vanity version of women be shopping? (It's the latter.)

I couldn't get to all of this house because there were literally over a hundred photos in the listing but there are so many spaces in here that are basically just half-empty voids, and if not that then actually, literally unfinished. It's giving recession. Anyway, now for the best part:

Not only is this the NBA Backrooms but it's also just a nonsensical basketball court. Tile floors? No lines? Just free balling in the void?

Oh, well I bet the rear exterior is totally normal.

Not to be all sincere about it but much like yours truly who has waited until the literal last second to post this McMansion, this house really is the epitome of hubris all around. Except the house's hubris is specific to this moment in time, a time when gas was like $2/gallon. It's climate hubris. It's a testimony to just how much energy the top 1% of income earners make compared to the rest of us. I have a single window unit. This house has four air conditioning condensers. That's before we get to the monoculture, pesticide-dependent lawn or the three car garage or the asphalt driveway or the roof that'll cost almost as much as the house to replace. We really did think it would all be endless. Oops.

If you like this post and want more like it, support McMansion Hell on Patreon for as little as $1/month for access to great bonus content including a discord server, extra posts, and livestreams.

Not into recurring payments? Try the tip jar! Student loans just started back up!

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #26

July 5-12 2024

The IRS announced it had managed to collect $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats. The program focused on persons with more than $1 million in yearly income who owned more than $250,000 in unpaid taxes. Thanks to money in Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act the IRS is able to undertake more enforcement against rich tax cheats after years of Republicans cutting the agency's budget, which they hope to do again if they win power again.

The Biden administration announced a $244 million dollar investment in the federal government’s registered apprenticeship program. This marks the largest investment in the program's history with grants going out to 52 programs in 32 states. The President is focused on getting well paying blue collar opportunities to people and more people are taking part in the apprenticeship program than ever before. Republican pledge to cut it, even as employers struggle to find qualified workers.

The Department of Transportation announced the largest single project in the department's history, $11 billion dollars in grants for the The Hudson River Tunnel. Part of the $66 billion the Biden Administration has invested in our rail system the tunnel, the most complex Infrastructure project in the nation would link New York and New Jersey by rail under the Hudson. Once finished it's believed it'll impact 20% of the American economy by improving and speeding connection throughout the Northeast.

The Department of Energy announced $1.7 billion to save auto worker's jobs and convert factories to electronic vehicles. The Biden administration will used the money to save or reopen factories in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia and retool them to make electric cars. The project will save 15,000 skilled union worker jobs, and created 2,900 new high-quality jobs.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development reached a settlement with The Appraisal Foundation over racial discrimination. TAF is the organization responsible for setting standards and qualifications for real estate appraisers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics last year found that TAF was 94.7% White and 0.6% Black, making it the least racially diverse of the 800 occupations surveyed. Black and Latino home owners are far more likely to have their houses under valued than whites. Under the settlement with HUD TAF will have to take serious steps to increase diversity and remove structural barriers to diversity.

The Department of Justice disrupted an effort by the Russian government to influence public opinion through AI bots. The DoJ shut down nearly 1,000 twitter accounts that were linked to a Russian Bot farm. The bots used AI technology to not only generate tweets but also AI image faces for profile pictures. The effort seemed focused on boosting support for Russia's war against Ukraine and spread negative stories/impressions about Ukraine.

The Department of Transportation announces $1.5 billion to help local authorities buy made in America buses. 80% of the funding will go toward zero or low-emission technology, a part of the President's goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050. This is part of the $5 billion the DOT has spent over the last 3 years replacing aging buses with new cleaner technology.

President Biden with Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and Finnish President Alexander Stubb signed a new agreement on the arctic. The new trilateral agreement between the 3 NATO partners, known as the ICE Pact, will boost production of ice breaking ships, the 3 plan to build as many as 90 between them in the coming years. The alliance hopes to be a counter weight to China's current dominance in the ice breaker market and help western allies respond to Russia's aggressive push into the arctic waters.

The Department of Transportation announced $1.1 billion for greater rail safety. The program seeks to, where ever possible, eliminate rail crossings, thus removing the dangers and inconvenience to communities divided by rail lines. It will also help update and improve safety measures at rail crossings.

The Department of the Interior announced $120 million to help tribal communities prepare for climate disasters. This funding is part of half a billion dollars the Biden administration has spent to help tribes build climate resilience, which itself is part of a $50 billion dollar effort to build climate resilience across the nation. This funding will help support drought measures, wildland fire mitigation, community-driven relocation, managed retreat, protect-in-place efforts, and ocean and coastal management.

The USDA announced $100 million in additional funds to help feed low income kids over the summer. Known as "SUN Bucks" or "Summer EBT" the new Biden program grants the families of kids who qualify for free meals at school $120 dollars pre-child for groceries. This comes on top of the traditional SUN Meals program which offers school meals to qualifying children over the summer, as well as the new under President Biden SUN Meals To-Go program which is now offering delivery of meals to low-income children in rural areas. This grant is meant to help local governments build up the Infrastructure to support and distribute SUN Bucks. If fully implemented SUN Bucks could help 30 million kids, but many Republican governors have refused the funding.

USAID announced its giving $100 million to the UN World Food Program to deliver urgently needed food assistance in Gaza. This will bring the total humanitarian aid given by the US to the Palestinian people since the war started in October 2023 to $774 million, the single largest donor nation. President Biden at his press conference last night said that Israel and Hamas have agreed in principle to a ceasefire deal that will end the war and release the hostages. US negotiators are working to close the final gaps between the two sides and end the war.

The Senate confirmed Nancy Maldonado to serve as a Judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Maldonado is the 202nd federal Judge appointed by President Biden to be confirmed. She will the first Latino judge to ever serve on the 7th Circuit which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Bonus: At the NATO summit in Washington DC President Biden joined 32 allies in the Ukraine compact. Allies from Japan to Iceland confirmed their support for Ukraine and deepening their commitments to building Ukraine's forces and keeping a free and Democratic Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. World leaders such as British Prime Minster Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, praised President Biden's experience and leadership during the NATO summit

[limousine-service]

[shegatsby]

Hello

Could I request this idea where Hannibal goes to see the “Swan Lake” ballet and becomes obsessed with the reader who plays the swan queen

Let me know what you think of the idea

A/N: Hi!!! Thank you for this request. Thanks to you I've watched the Black Swan on youtube here is the link;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rJoB7y6Ncs&t=1561s

this is the old version ofc. Love you all xxx

Doctor Hannibal Lecter climbed out of his car and headed towards to the building. Tonight was a special night because he was going to see The Swan Lake, it was a big production and last time he watched it was in Italy, this time he was in Baltimore, Maryland due to his work. He was excited for tonight, he liked being among high society, he was a classist who believed that people who belong to the upper class should have the higher power in politics and other aspects of life. He had grown up in this environment and to his bones he felt a sophisticated gentleman. He was well educated, he had a profound knowledge of art and literature, he respected all his life and he rewarded himself with treats such as opera nights or ballet such as tonight.

He was wearing his tuxedo, black and white with a dark red handkerchief on his jacket’s pocket. He slowly approached to the building, the entrance had red carpet, the doors with golden handles were opened for him, he smiled kindly to the workers. ‘’May I see your ticket?’’ the young lady at the front desk, ‘’Here you go.’’ He liked having tickets, or tangible things in his life. He liked living analog, of course he didn’t denied how technology made his life easier than before. ‘’You may proceed.’’ The lady smiled but didn’t reach her eyes, most workers had the same expression due to the fact that they worked minimum wage or even under. It was the way of the world, some were more fortunate than others.

The seats were dark red, he took his place. He looked around to see the dress code, everyone wore clothes accordingly which pleased him. He took a certain joy in order and people following it. The upper class he belonged to had always followed rules like these but for the other… they were the ones who would like to be ‘’different’’ and rebel against the system.

He crossed his legs as the lights dimmed and curtain opened, as soon as the music hit his ears he smiled to himself. The seat next to his was empty, for a split second he envisioned a woman next to him, wearing a dress he had chosen for her…. No. he stopped himself and focused on the stage.

Soon the Queen Swan entered the stage and Hannibal felt his breath hitching at his throat, she was wearing the same white dress as other women but she had a dark red feather sticking from her tied hair, she was the queen and they needed to show it to the audience. Her movements on stage were so elegant, without realizing Hannibal leaned forward on his seat, he couldn’t believe his dark eyes, she had total control of her delicate body which he admired and found it very powerful.

When the first act ended he immediately got his phone, ordered a bouquet of black and white tulips that had a red rose in the middle. He wanted the bouquet to represent the Black Swan and also the Queen Swan. He also wrote a note and asked the delivery guy to bring it to the Queen’s dressing room.

The ballet lasted for an hour and half, later he was approached by the director of the ballet, Lisa-Macuja Elizalde, he bowed in front of her. ‘’For an hour and 30 minutes I have experienced pure bliss. Thank you so much for your contribution Madame.’’ He kissed her hand, the woman smiled with pride. ‘’You’re welcome Sir. I’ve heard that you had sent flowers to our queen. Would you like to meet her?’’ with this question he couldn’t hide the grin he had. ‘’I would love to.’’

‘’Follow me please.’’

He followed her to the back stage, it was crowded, together they approached a door which didn’t have her name on it, on the door it said ‘’The Queen Swan’’ was she show off? Only one way to find out. Madame knocked on the door and they heard a soft voice say ‘’Come in.’’

She was sitting in front of the mirror, her make-up off, she had a long satin black nightgown, her hair was still tied with the dark red feather sticking out. She got up with a swift move, turned to them. ‘’Doctor Lecter?’’ she asked because the note she had on flowers had his name. ‘’Yes,’’ he extended his hand which she gladly took. ‘’I would love to learn the name of this enchanting Swan Queen, If you don’t mind of course.’’ He kissed her hand, ‘’Y/N, Y/L/N.’’

‘’Y/N… such a unique name.’’ he praised, ‘’Thank you.’’

Hannibal was an observant man and during this interaction he carefully watched her, Madame Lisa-Macuja Elizalde left them alone she excused herself because she had to attend to some of the dancers.

Hannibal and Y/N sat on the velvet couch and talked about ballet, classical music and fine arts. He never had such an elite and uplifting conversation with anyone and at the back of his dark mind he could hear his wicked thoughts such as;

Where does she live?

Is her home safe?

Most importantly… does she have a partner?

How long has she been performing?

Hannibal, deep down, knew that it was over for them both because she belonged to him now. He was going to make sure she had no one to go to but him at the end.

Thank you for reading. :)

[uzumaki-rebellion]

An Alex Cross Joint Mission

Alex Cross & The Heartbreak Brotherhood Part 1

Main Cast: Alex Cross, John Clark, and Terry Richmond, Black Female OC.

Warning(s): 18+, Explicit Sex, Violence, Murder, Mystery, Thriller, and Drama. Grown Folks Shit.

Summary: Homicide Detective Alex Cross must join forces with former elite Navy SEAL John Clark, and former marine MCMAP instructor Terry Richmond to solve the mystery of a murderous stalker seeking revenge on all three of them. The only connection the men have to each other is a sexy femme fatale they each had an intimate relationship with recently.

Word count: 1.8K

Dedicating this one to @nahimjustfeelingit-writes !

"Six minutes

Six minutes

Six minutes Doug E. Fresh

You're on…"

Doug E. Fresh—"The Show"

Alex Cross bounced around in the front seat of his Ford Explorer in time to the old Hip Hop song blasting on his radio. From the rearview mirror he glimpsed his nine-year-old son Damon and seven-year-old daughter Jannie rolling their eyes at him.

"Y'all don't know nothing about this. Nana Mama used to play this for me when I was little to hype up my day."

Both of his children ignored him as he bobbed his head in time to Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew's "The Show". He told a little white lie to them. It was his mother who used to play it for him when he was four years old, before she passed away from a drug overdose. Alex avoided mentioning his mother because it would remind his children of their own mother, who died in a drive-by shooting a couple of years ago. The pain was still tender, yet he wanted to get them excited about going to a church picnic with Nana Mama and other children from the community center he volunteered for.

Alex had other plans for himself that afternoon. He was going to meet a beautiful woman he'd been spending time with for the past six weeks whenever she was in town. A fellow doctorate in psychology, Sasha worked for a global PR firm and traveled a lot for her job. They'd recently become intimate, and the sex was mind-blowing for him. Nothing interested him more than a sexy, intelligent woman with a body for days. He'd been reluctant to take the next step with Sasha, preferring to keep their sporadic dates platonic and fun. Spending time with her without a commitment allowed him to dip his toe back into the dating scene without pressure. She was flexible, not put off by him being a widow with children, and seemed to always know when to give him space for his home life. After four weeks of seeing each other, he crossed over into intimacy easily with her. Sasha was hard to resist. Forty-two days in, he had an itch for her that needed scratching.

He pulled into the parking lot of the Holy Comforter- St. Cyprian Catholic Church. Nana Mama stood by her Blue Honda Accord with her best friend Mrs. Whitman, waiting for them. He turned down the music and watched his children jump out from the back, grateful to be freed from Dad's old-time music. He stepped out of the car for a minute.

"I'll see you guys later…hey, have fun today," he said.

Damon and Jannie nodded, running over to Nana Mama's car. Alex's grandmother had to do some earlier prep work at the church kitchen and he agreed to drop his children off later, before he met up with Sasha at the National Mall.

"Are you sure you and Sasha don't want to hang with us? We'd like to meet your new girlfriend," Nana Mama said.

She gave him a teasing grin, and Mrs. Whitman chuckled.

"No, I'm not ready to bring people around the kids yet," he said.

He leaned over and kissed Nana Mama's cheek. Jumping back into his car, he waved at Damon and Jannie. Changing the music on the radio to something more adult contemporary, he headed for a grown-up picnic on the National Mall. He'd also been a little proactive in reserving a luxury hotel room. The four times they'd had sex had been in hotel suites that she booked while in town. She lived in Maryland when not traveling, and they both stayed cautious with their personal lives interacting just yet. They were still in the getting-to-know-each-other phase with fucking thrown into the equation now. He made plans to wine and dine her later that evening after a long "nap" at the hotel. Nana Mama knew not to wait up for him because he wanted to spend as much time with Sasha as he could before she jetted off to solve some other public figure's national reputation.

Traffic slowed him up, but he didn't fret. It was a sunny day with blue skies and he was on his way to have some adult fun after a stressful week of work. He had some vacation time stacked up, and he wanted to convince Sasha to run off to Vegas for a weekend. Janet Jackson would start her music residency there and he snagged some tickets because Sasha was a huge fan.

He parked his car in the visitor parking lot on Ohio Drive and strolled toward the spot where they would meet, carrying a fancy bottle of wine in a bag. Sasha texted a picture of herself to his phone, blowing him a kiss, letting him know she provided all the goodies for their day. All he had to do was show up. This was part of Sasha's routine on their dates. She'd plan something special or spontaneous and give him the locations to meet her where she'd make him feel like a king. He reciprocated when he could, but Sasha was part of the jet set, often overseas. Most of their time together had to be centered on her schedule of availability.

Alex wandered past other people who had the same plans to picnic in the sun. He looked around for the familiar gorgeous face with the dark mocha skin as soft as a rose petal and those lush lips he so wanted to kiss right then and there. Sasha was so fine that it made him step up his dating game, which had always been above solid before he was even married.

Checking the location pin she sent him, Alex surveyed the surroundings. She had to be late, or moved to a different spot. Quite a few tourists meandered about taking pictures. Perched on a picnic table, a light brown-skinned Black man in expensive maroon jogging fits stared at his smartphone. He glanced at Alex with green eyes and gave the international Black man head nod of "W'sup." Alex returned the nod and moved past him, keeping an eye out for his date.

Another Black man glanced around the area near Alex, checking his phone, too. He eyed Alex and dropped his gaze back to his phone as it dinged a message for him. The man grinned at his phone and faint dimples popped in his cheeks. He had on comfortable tan cargo pants and a tight, long-sleeved white shirt.

Alex sported a light blue sweater with pale blue drawstring casual pants. D.C. weather was always fickle later in the fall. Warm one minute, chilly the next.

Ten minutes went by and Alex started fidgeting while waiting. He finally pulled out his smartphone from his pants pocket and called her number.

"Sasha, I'm at the spot for our picnic. No worries if you're running late. Just wanted to make sure I'm in the right location," he said.

The green-eyed man on the bench stared at Alex when he said Sasha's name out loud. So did the dimpled dude near him. He heard a distant sound of something popping like a firecracker or a whip snapping suddenly. One woman let out a terrifying scream as her companion, another woman, fell face forward onto the ground. Dead.

A sharp, hot pressure radiated in Alex's left shoulder and several more people screamed as a blood stain bloomed like a rose and ruined his good sweater. The shock of being shot hadn't registered in his brain yet as he noticed the dimpled man near him take a grazing on the hip from the same bullet that exited Alex's body. Another shot tried to take the stranger down again, but the dimpled man jumped behind the picnic table as the green-eyed man dove over the side joining him, just missing getting struck himself by another two bullets that went through the picnic table and bench.

Alex dropped to the ground and yelled at other potential victims to run and hide. From his position on the ground, he pressed a hand against his shoulder, using his sweater to help staunch the flow of blood.

"You okay, man?" the dimpled man asked.

"Yeah, clean shot through me…you?"

"I'll live. Bullet that hit you nicked me."

Green eyes used his phone to call 911. The dimpled man looked in the direction of the gunshots.

"That's a roof shot with a high caliber rifle. A good mile away. I'm guessing the museum over there from this angle," dimples said.

Police sirens blared in the distance, so did fire trucks.

No more shots were fired.

The green-eyed man glanced at Alex's wound.

"Keep putting pressure on it," green eyes said. "I think we should stay here until help arrives. Those shots weren't random. The first shot that hit that woman was meant for me. It looked like she got in the way by accident. You were next…and then you. This was a planned hit. Someone aimed all those bullets at us."

"I'm Alex," Alex said, lifting himself to rest against the picnic bench.

He needed to collect information from these men.

"I'm Terry," green eyes said,

"John," the dimpled man added reluctantly.

"Who would want the three of us taken out? We don't even know each other," Alex mumbled to himself.

"I heard you mention a name when you made a phone call before the shots happened…Sasha," John said.

"Yeah, she was my date today," Alex said.

"What she look like?" Terry interjected.

Alex grunted and pulled out his cell phone with his right hand. He swiped a screen to the last text photo he received.

"That's her," Alex said.

Terry's eyes narrowed, and John's lips curled down into a frown. They each pulled out their phones and showed Alex the same photo and text from Sasha.

"What the hell is this?" Alex said.

Cops and paramedics arrived on the scene. Alex left Nana Mama a message on her phone, and then contacted his best friend and partner on the force, John Sampson, who arrived soon after the paramedics lifted him onto the back of their ambulance. Terry stayed around to answer questions, but John had disappeared.

On the ride to the hospital, Alex wracked his brain trying to figure out who his lover Sasha really was. Had she set them all up for murder in one fell swoop? What had he done to warrant her plotting something like that? Or was someone else behind it? John vanished without a trace, and that seemed suspicious, but would he take a chance of getting wounded like that if he were part of the nefarious plot?

Alex closed his eyes.

The first chance he got, he was going to investigate the two men that were marked for death with him.

A.N.:

Giving y'all a taste now. I'll be working on adding updates in spring of 2025, so bookmark it! I have so much to write in other fandoms, lol! I haven't watched the series yet, but Aldis is that dude and I have been waiting to write something for him. So combining him with two other hot men is a treat!

[deluxewhump]

Nightfall

August

CW: just vampire and bloodbag dynamics. a playful “threat.”

**

The interstate was quiet. Even the night air was a balmy seventy degrees in the final weeks of summer. He slept though the days the same as his master now, but if he woke briefly he could feel the heat of them, a haze that turned the blue sky white. Insects trilled in the grass all day long.

The trees in the distance appeared black against the orange cityglow of the sky. Eighty-five felt like nothing in Maxim’s sleek silver car, gliding through the air like the edge of a knife.

Carlo put his foot on the dash and took it swiftly down again. Maxim had reprimanded him for that once. At first he'd assumed it was out of a sense of preservation for his pristine car. He’d burned in shame for not having thought of that himself. It was a rude, childish habit. Yet in the next breath, Maxim told him it was because it was unsafe. And he was only mortal, after all. 

“Before any of this, I thought I’d rather a new vampire feed from me than an older one,” Carlo said. He was bored, and boredom made him chatty these days. “No offense, but the older you get, the stronger you get. And scarier.”

“And what about now?” the vampire asked neutrally. 

“Not now so much,” he answered. “The new ones are so… hungry. Rough.”

“It’s harder for them to control it when they’re newly made,” Maxim agreed. “Even the ones who want to control it.”

“Control what?”

“The reflex. When a vampire bites, it triggers a series of impulses. Immobilize, incapacitate, and feed.”

Carlo turned to watch him in the driver’s seat. The now-familiar shape of his profile in the dark was lit only by the orange high mast lights that lined the highway. “Every time?”

Maxim glanced at him and returned his gaze to the road. “Yes."

“But it goes away, when you’re an older vampire?”

“Mm. No.”

“You feel that?”

He hesitated, but it wasn't like him to be dishonest, even in the interest of placating Carlo. “I do.”

He changed lanes to pass a sluggish flatbed truck. Another Maine plate. Carlo had been counting, and it did not seem to be confirmation bias that there were an inordinate number of them on the Maryland roads. He forgot to add this one. 

“That disturbed you.”

“No,” he lied. “Sorry. I just didn’t know that.”

“Does that change something for you?”

Sometimes he got the sense that Maxim asked him things out of a very general curiosity. Like he was taking notes for a far future that didn't include him.

“No,” he said stubbornly. “I just didn’t realize you had the urge to incapacitate prey still.”

“Prey is an interesting word choice. And urge is the wrong word entirely. It’s information. Biological. It might be too generous to even call it a coherent thought. I notice it, it passes. I hardly observe it anymore, let alone wrestle with it. I have absolutely no conscious desire to hurt you, Carlo. Quite the opposite.”

Carlo nodded, arms crossed over his waist. He put his right foot on the dash. Maxim didn’t correct him.

“I’ve got instincts too,” he said after another mile of empty highway. “Sometimes I’m still afraid of you. Not you, but what you are. It comes out of nowhere.”

Maxim took a hand off the steering wheel and set it in Carlo’s hair, giving it a soft caress before returning it to the wheel. “Of course you do. That’s very deep in human subconsciousness. It’s just survival instinct.”

“So the word prey does apply!” he argued.

“Such an antagonistic little thing. Can I start making threats to keep you compliant, or is it too soon?”

Carlo turned his face toward the window so the vampire would not see his smile. Maxim had easily, graciously forgiven his human nature, blamelessly saying of course you do. He should return the gesture and forgive the vampire’s nature. It had never been anything but loving to him. The hand was on the back of his head again, checking to see if he was truly upset. 

“I am compliant,” he insisted playfully, and laid his head back in the vampire’s palm. 

“Good. I don’t have to send you to the trunk then.”

Carlo smiled as the vampire gently squeezed the back of his neck.

[saltsicklover]

Slamming Doors - BRB - Broken House

This was written as a oneshot but I have an idea on how to expand the story if there is interest for it! Please let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you!

Title: Slamming Doors

Series: Broken House

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2700+

Rating: R

Warnings: Talks of death, sick parent, car crash, pet names, lots of crying, lots of yelling, ANGST, misunderstandings.

Doors aren't meant to raddle on their hinges. Doors aren't meant to be slammed that hard. 

Honey like to think it's always better to be on the in swing of the door, rather than on the out swing. 

If she is on the in swing, Bradley would be storming in. It is like this often, the picture frame hung next to the door perpetually crooked from how often that damn front door is slammed. The corners of that frame are even chipped from the time or two it hit the tile floor. 

At least, if he is coming home, she has a chance to calm him down. To take his face in her hands and comfort the man she loves. To kiss his lips and agree that the Captain is a dumbass who doesn't have a damn clue about how to do his job. She is always there to comfort him, to take the weight of the day off of his shoulders when things have been bad. 

Hell, it isn't even always bad. Sometimes, maybe more often than sometimes, Hangman or Phoenix would be toting Bradley in, his arm held tightly over their shoulder, and he would drunkenly kick the door shut, the front of the house rattling with the abrupt closure. He would slur his words and hiccup, but always be happy to leave his friend's arms the moment he spots her. 

It is different now, though. 

Now, Honey is on the out swing. Bradley has her walking out after a fight, too heated to work it out. 

The front door slams again, the picture frame rattling lightly against the wall. Bradley walks into the living room before dropping his duffle bag in front of the couch. It is filthy, he is filthy. The arms of his flight suit are tied low on his hips, his white t-shirt completely stained with grease and gear lubricant. It looks angry, deep brown and jet black against the stark white of the cotton. Days like this, Honey would be in his arms as soon as his bag hits the floor, but today is different. 

Honey stands on the other side of the room, her back to her lover. 

Bradley and Honey are somewhere between whole heartedly committed and casual. She practically lives in his small home with him when he isn't away on deployment and there to take care of his plants when he is. It has been this way for almost two years, a little house right down the road from the beach in Pensacola. 

NAS Pensacola isn't home to Bradley, and Florida isn't home to either of them. They met by happenstance, both stranded in a storm at a little bar-motel in Maryland. He was there for work, she was there trying to track down information on her father. One drink turned into three, one night turned into a long weekend, and the two have been intertwined ever since. Honey followed him to Florida, still on her search for her father, who she never called by name. She'd said it was too painful and she wasn't ready to talk about him until she could talk to him. They hadn't intended on dating, and Honey had intended on getting the information she was looking for and then be moving on. But they had to go and fall in love. 

"Honey?" Bradley finally looks up at her, taking in the slump of she shoulders. The whole energy in the house wrong. There is no candle burning on the coffee table, the blinds aren't open to let the sun in, and Honey hadn't found her way into his arms yet. Something is most definitely wrong. 

He bends down to untie his boots as he waits for his lover to answer his call. She doesn't move to turn around, nor does she say a word. Her eyes are locked on the photo of Bradley and Nick, his father, that is hanging up on the wall. In it, Bradley sits atop Nick's shoulders, both wearing grins so big she could practically see the ache in their cheeks. Her eyes trace over the frame, then Bradley, down to Nick, then back up again to repeat the process. Honey has been standing there, eyes glued to the photo for the better part of the last hour.  

Before she found herself in front of the photograph on the wall, she had been staring at the photo in her hand for much too long. She has been holding it so long that there are fingerprints on the glossy side of the photo, both in full and partial prints not kept to the edges. 

Honey had been dusting the mantle earlier that afternoon, her body poised on a stepstool to get the shelves above the fireplace too. As she was cleaning, she bumped a framed photograph of Bradley and his mother, Carole, posed together on his High School graduation, shortly before she had passed away. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his frame, partly out of love, partly to keep herself standing upright. She had insisted on standing for the photo, even though Bradley wanted her to stay in her wheelchair. 

Bradley had told Honey about his mother so many times before. He loved showing her the photographs and telling her stories. He is so proud of his parents; but Honey knew he was a Mama's boy. That was likely because she was the only parent he had for a majority of his life, between deployments and his father's untimely passing. 

The relationship he had with his Mother was special. It was something that allowed Bradley and Honey to bond over when they first began dating. Her father walked out on her and her Mother before she had her first birthday. Honey was a Mama's girl too- her Mother passed away five years prior due to a driving accident. Black ice in the middle of winter was no joke, and Honey's mother should not have been out driving in the first place. 

Both effectively orphans, the pair bonded quickly. Lack of family tended to do that to people. 

Bradley tired to get Honey to talk about her father, to share just a little bit of information about him. All he ever managed to learn was his Navy association. He grimaced when he found out, knowing just how many deadbeats there are in the Military. 

After Honey had knocked the photograph off the shelf with her elbow, it hit the floor and shattered. It took her ages to clean up the glass, and she even managed to save the photo of Bradley and his mother from being ruined. What she was not expecting was the photograph hidden behind it. 

In her hand, she clutches a photo of Pete Mitchell and Bradley at his high school graduation, both smiling and happy. Bradley has the hope for his whole future in his eyes, that much is clear enough to see. Pete has an arm around Bradley, pulling him close as he holds a photo of Nick in his other hand.

The photograph lead her to where she stands now, unwavering in her place, even as Bradley calls her name again.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Bradley crosses the room, his untied shoelaces hitting against his boots with small clinks from the plastic aglets. He reaches a hand out to her, gently pulling her hair over her shoulder. "Honey?" 

She turns to him, eyes glassy. The sight of Bradley swims, tears distorting her vision. Her cheeks are red, like she has been straining to hold back her tears. Quickly, he eyes the rest of her form, taking her in in her entirety, trying to pinpoint her distress. His eyes land on the photo she has creased in hand. Gently, he takes the photo from her hand before pulling her into his chest. 

The grease smeared shirt across his chest becomes a home for a lose tear as he brings her into his frame, her face pressing into the expanse of his chest, near his shoulder. 

"I broke a frame while I was cleaning," Honey begins, her voice so quiet he almost misses it, "I'm sorry, Bradley," 

"Oh, Honey," Bradley coos lightly, "You don't have to be sorry, it's okay. The frame can be replaced, no need to be upset, Sweet Girl,"

Honey sniffles against his chest, bringing a hand up to try and brush a tear from the fullness of her cheek. She almost chides him for thinking she would be upset over something so small, but she can't find it in her to make the joke out loud. 

Bradley smiles to himself, thinking about how caring his girl is, but the smile immediately disappears as he looks at the photo he had taken from her moments before. This is not the photo that was on display. Bradley would never have a photo of Maverick up in his house, not after the older man pulled his papers for the academy. Absolutely not. 

"Honey," Bradley pulls back, his eyes glued on the photo, "Where did you get this?" 

"It was in the back of the frame- behind the- behind the photo of you and your Mom," She hiccups through the sentence, anxiety rising up in her chest again. The taste of bile is sour on her tongue as she looks over Bradley's expression. His brows are furrowed, eyes narrow and angry as he locks eyes with the photograph. 

"Who is that?" Honey asks, even though she already knows. 

"Pete Mitchell," Bradley's voice is laced with so much venom it gives her goosebumps. She raises her eyebrows but Bradley doesn't need prompting to continue. "He flew with my Dad, was the reason for his accident. If they didn't have to eject, my father would still be here today. And then, when I applied for the Academy, he derailed my career by years when he pulled my papers. I haven't spoken to him since," 

A noncommittal hum is the only thing Honey can muster in response. Honey can feel her skin flush hot and cold but tries to push the feeling aside. 

"I need to talk to you about something," Honey's words sound heavy coming off of her tongue. The tone snaps Bradley's eyes right up to her, the picture being abandoned on the coffee table. 

"What is it?" 

There are so many things Honey wants to say. She wants to plead for Bradley to tell her everything he knows about Maverick. There is a part of her, deep inside, that is still eight years old, still the same little girl who realized for the first time that her father wasn't coming back not because he couldn't but because he didn't want to.  

Honey wants to tell Bradley that Maverick is her father, to explain that the man standing next to him, clad in a leather jacket and dark washed jeans is her father. The man who didn't want her. She wants to bond over their appeared shared hatred of the man. Honey wants to curse his name and burn every photo of him that the two are in possession of. She wants to say fuck you to Pete Mitchell all together, with the man she loves by her side. 

But instead, the words that leave her mouth are much, much worse. 

"You can't talk about your father anymore," 

The words aren't tactful, but they aren't exactly a lie either. She has always had a hard time listening to Bradley talk about Nick. There has always been something so fucking bitter inside of her whenever he would talk about him. The knowledge that her father is a Naval Aviator, just as Bradley's had been was just too close for comfort for her. But now? Knowing that the stories of his father are also stories of her father. That broke her. 

"Excuse me?" 

The statement catches Bradley off guard so much he almost feels dizzy. If it weren't for the clunky air conditioning unit in the window behind Honey humming away, he might've blamed the feeling on stifling Floridian humidity. But, unfortunately for them both, he heard her correctly. 

"That's not what I meant! Shit!" Honey starts, but Bradley's expression doesn't turn any more pleasant. 

"I mean, fuck, I can't listen to you talk about your father anymore!" That sentence isn't any better. Honey can hear her own blood rushing through her ears, the same way she can feel the heat rising to her face with it. 

"What?" 

The venom is back in Bradley's voice, anger is beginning to boil behind the color in his eyes. Suddenly Honey wishes she could rewind time, just two fucking minutes. 

If there is one thing for sure, Honey may just be fragile like that picture frame, but Bradley is fragile like a bomb. 

Bradley's fists ball at his sides, knuckles going white as he squeezes them tight. Honey can't take her eyes from his face, from the vein that bulges in the side of his neck. She notices how his lip curls forward, his mustache sloping downward with his frown. 

"I just-" Honey takes a deep breath; it's ragged as it goes in and back out, catching on the broken pieces of her heart, "I can't have flashbacks from memories that aren't mine- I can't have this image in my mind of a man that I didn't know," 

Bradley is fuming now, listening to the words as they come out of his lover's mouth. He already had a shit day, having come down on new assignment back to TOP GUN. He didn't want to tell Honey, worried about what she might say. Worried that she might not pack up her life and go with him, or worse, that she wouldn't be here waiting for him to come back. 

Honey isn't explaining herself well, but he doesn't know that, nor can he calm down enough to figure out exactly what she is talking about. At face value, she is bad mouthing his father, the great Nick Bradshaw, mother Goose, and Bradley won't stand for that. He misses the words coming out of her mouth and the new tears that have made their way down her cheeks. 

"Shut up!" Bradley yells, his hands coming up to grip tightly in his hair. The words cut Honey off mid-sentence, and she obeys the command, more out of stunned compliance than choice. 

"Brad-" 

"No!" He points a finger right into her face, anger fully taking him over. He hasn't been this angry since Mav pulled his papers, the almost forgotten feeling burning beneath his skin. Honey's lip quivers, but she pulls it into her mouth, between her teeth to keep him from seeing it. "You do not get to stand here, in my house, and talk shit about my father!" 

"No! Brad-" Honey holds out her hands, pleading for him to just listen, for just one second. Just long enough for her to get this mess of a miscommunication figured out. 

"Enough!" Bradley's voice practically shakes the room, "Get out!" 

"What?" Honey's voice is so unbelievably small now, like she doesn't trust herself to speak. 

"Get. Out. Now." Bradley can barely look at her. Honey knows when she has lost a fight. So, she moves past him, grabbing her purse from the couch on her way past. She makes it to the door, her hand still on the handle before she speaks one last time.

"You like to think you are so much like your father, all good heart and good man, but in reality, you are just like mine," 

Honey slams the door behind her, the sound echoing though the house. She doesn't stop long enough to hear the picture frame fall from it's place on the wall, the glass shattering against the tile. 

There is too much left unsaid, the words that made it out taken to far and just wrong. Nick was the kind of man she always wished her father would have been. Kind, good, loving. And when she didn't find that in her own father, she found it in Bradley instead. Bradley liked to say that his father would have loved her, enough for both himself and her father combined, and she believed it too. But now, as she walks away from Bradley, she can't help but know just how disappointed Nick would be in her. 

Because, doors aren't meant to raddle on their hinges. Doors aren't meant to be slammed that hard. And now, Honey knows exactly just how much better things are on the in swing of that front door. 

[chewingonsneakers]

ALL FOR THE GAME IN-DEPTH CHARACTER CHEAT SHEET

@themaxbox you asked for this

[MAJOR SPOILER WARNING]

ALL FOR THE GAME:

THE FOXHOLE COURT, THE RAVEN KING, THE KING’S MEN - NEIL JOSTEN AS MC POV

THE SUNSHINE COURT, UPCOMING TSC SEQUAL - JEAN MOREAU/JEREMY KNOX AS MC SPLIT POV

~~~~~

AUTHOR - Nora Sakavik (pen name) She/Her

~~~~~

TIME PERIOD - 2006-2007

~~~~~

CHARACTERS:

Neil Abram Josten -

He/him. The narrator, from a limited 3rd person POV.

Neil is 19 years old, 18 at the beginning of the books. Neil has naturally auburn hair and chilly blue eyes, both of which were covered with black hair dye and brown colored contacts throughout the first and some of the second book. Neil is 5’3”.

Neil Josten is not his real name, at least not until he had the FBI legally changed it in book three. Neil Josten is his twenty-second name ever used.

Neil Josten’s father is a serial killer known famously as The Butcher of Baltimore, or more realistically, Nathan Wesninski. Nathan works under a large and very wealthy Japanese Yakuza gang known as the Moriyamas. Nathan is named for his method of killing, usually chopping or skinning people using a butcher’s cleaver. He also had a wife and a son; Mary Weskinski and Nathaniel Abram Weskinski. Nathan and Mary’s marriage was likely arranged. Nathaniel was born in England to Mary and Nathan, though spent the next few years in Baltimore, Maryland, so his father could relocate and hide better. Nathaniel then grew up alongside the yakuza leader’s son, Riko Moriyama, and Riko's brother Kevin Day. They played on a little league Exy team run by the Moriyamas. The Moriyamas had trained them every day to become the greatest Exy players to live, in order to gain money and control. When Nathaniel was ten, it was decided that if he couldn’t prove his athletic potential through a solo practice session in front of the Moriyamas, he would be executed. The night of his solo practice, Mary stole five million dollars from the Moriyamas and took Nathaniel to flee through hidden tunnels. They spent the following seven years bouncing through countries and identities, all throughout Europe and America, most notably Germany and some time in France. They each had multiple fake passports and identifications, new appearances each time. Nathaniel cycled through 22 different identities, including the names Alex, Stefan, Rafael, etc. But when Nathaniel was seventeen, Mary had been found and captured by Nathan. He had begun to slowly kill her before she managed to escape, but she only made it halfway across California before she bled out and died in the driver's seat of their stolen car. So Nathaniel said his goodbyes to his mother, took the duffel bag of money and supplies from the backseat, left his dead mother in the front seat, and set the car on fire with a can of gasoline and a match.

He put his mother’s bones in a backpack and buried it under the blacksand of a California beach.

Nathaniel walked along the road with his bags for the next two days and made it to Salem before he collapsed and vomited, the shock of what happened catching up to him.

While a young child still under watch of his father, Nathaniel did not lead a happy life. His father’s hideous blonde henchman, Lola, forced him to kill small animals, skin, and gut them for practice, training him to become like his father in the future, to carry on the legacy. Nathaniel, Riko, and Kevin had once found Nathan messily chopping an innocent man into hundreds of pieces of flesh right on Moriyama property.

The first book starts immediately off with “Neil Josten let his cigarette burn to the filter without taking a drag. He didn’t want the nicotine; he wanted the acrid smoke that reminded him of his mother.”, a first look into his mind as he sits on the bleachers of the Exy court of a small community college in Millport near the house he had been squatting in illegally. A man named David Wymack approaches him and tells him he’d like to recruit him for the Palmetto State Foxes Exy team. after a brief conversation, afraid of how this man knows of his existence and what it could mean, Neil attempts to run up the bleachers and into the locker room to get away from the potential danger. He is stopped by an Exy racket slamming into his stomach. Wymack catches up, once again asks to recruit him, Neil looks to the side and spots his old childhood friend Kevin Day watching him. It scares him, he is worried Kevin may recognize him all grown up under the hair dye and contacts. Being previously caught by his Millport Exy coach sleeping nights on the locker room floor, supposed evidence of abuse going on in Neil’s “home”, this is used against him to convince him to come along and join the Foxes.

More personal info abt him:

He has zero style, from life on the run. faded and mellow colors were best and he took what he could get. A running joke is how he wears raggedy jorts quite often. Neil still has millions of dollars left that he keeps in his duffel bag, which he brings absolutely everywhere and never lets out of his sight unless safely locked away. Neil has only kissed one girl before during his life on the run but upon his mother finding out, she beat him to teach him the consequences of connecting with people or falling in love. He once wore a bulletproof vest for ten days straight out of fear and only stopped wearing it because after his mother cut it off him to wash it. He used to sleep in the same bed as his mother, with a gun under each of their pillows. Neil’s favorite color is gray. Neil still remembers the names of the two boys he stood by as he watched his father kill a man, and has a binder full of information, magazine cut outs, printed interviews, and pictures of Kevin and Riko to keep tabs on them. Neil loves fruit but hates vegetables because of what was easily available during life on the run. Neil dislikes sweet foods. Neil doesn’t drink or do drugs because he doesn’t want to lose control and let slip some important information about who he really is. Neil only buys cigarettes so he can light them and hold them to smell the smoke, only actually smoking them very infrequently. He doesn't care for the nicotine. He just smells the smoke and thinks of his dead mom. Neil is covered shoulder to toe in a war zone of scars from his father and his henchmen and the Moriyamas’ workers and life on the run. Some of these include a very large road burn scar that spans from his left shoulder to right hip from when he rolled out of a moving car, a healed gunshot wound on his left shoulder, and a large burn scar on his right shoulder in the shape of an clothing iron from a time when his father lost his temper. Others include smaller or longer or thinner ones covering some of his arms and most of his legs and torso. Neil has never had a friend before. Neil doesn’t consider anyone to be like family to him besides his mother (this changes eventually as he comes to terms with how his mother was not good with him). Neil has zero social skills but in a kind of funny way. He doesn’t understand slang, is in the dark on most pop-culture, and is sort of strange to talk to. Neil is unaware of having any sort of sexual orientation; it’s never been something he's spent time thinking about before. Neil’s skin color is a couple shades tanner than the twins’. He is jersey number 10, a striker on PSU’s Exy team.

Andrew Joseph Minyard - [TW: SA, SH]

He/him. 19 years old at the beginning, 20 by the end. Andrew has short light blonde hair and hazel (almost yellowish) eyes. Andrew is 5’0”.

Andrew is identical twins with Aaron, who I will introduce afterwards. Andrew and Aaron were placed into the foster care system after birth, but after only two weeks, their mother (they had an absent and unknown biological father) felt guilty and decided to take back only one of her babies. She randomly picked and chose Aaron. So for many years of his life, Andrew was a foster child. not a happy one at that. Andrew jumped from family to family, and he only says that none of them were good homes.

When Andrew was seven years old, he was raped by a male member of his current foster family. In the third book he admits during a conversation with Neil that the reason he hates the word “please” so much is because the man who raped him, Stephen, had told him he would stop if Andrew said it, but then didn’t stop.

— "Who said 'please' that made you hate the word so much?"

Andrew gazes at him in silence for a minute. "I did… He said he would stop if I said it."

"You believed him," Neil guesses.

"I was seven," Andrew says. "I believed him.” —

We know that similar incidents happened multiple times after that from different men of his following families, (Jesse, who liked to choke Andrew so he’d be quiet. Samuel, who called him a whore and told him he liked it.) but the most noteworthy is another absolute monster named Drake Spear. Drake, who found out Andrew was ticklish and used that against him.

Drake was a member of his final foster family. He was supposed to be an older brother to Andrew. Drake was in the military, he was this big muscle-y tattooed guy who was perceived as kind and gentle by his mother and the only foster mom Andrew had ever cared about, Cass Spear. What happened is that when Andrew first joined this foster home, he was twelve years old, and Drake was away at his station. After lots of trust gained, he grew to love Cass and see her as a real mother. She was very kind to him despite his bad behavior, which made him feel loved and act out less. One spring, she told Andrew that her son was coming home. Andrew didn’t like that but he trusted Cass so he didn’t make an argument. The day Drake came home, he was kind to Andrew, giving him candy and keeping his distance. But he wasted almost no time in destroying that trust and very quickly began the abuse. almost every night, Drake snuck into Andrew’s room to take advantage of him. It became too much quite quickly, and Andrew eventually took blades to his wrists to try and make his body his own again. While living with the Spears, Andrew first learned that he had a twin brother from a cop named Hidgeons who mistook Aaron for Andrew. The cop, who was confused as to why “Andrew” was with a woman besides Cass and ended up learning about Aaron’s existence, told Aaron about Andrew and then told Cass to tell Andrew about Aaron. Aaron, wanting nothing more than to meet his brother, wrote him an excited letter asking to meet him. Andrew responded with a simple “fuck off”. What Aaron doesn’t know is that Andrew did want to meet him as well, but refused to let that happen due to sexually violent and disgusting twin fantasies Drake would tell Andrew about after he found out about Aaron. Soon meeting his breaking point, Andrew snapped and got himself caught breaking the law just so he could get into juvie and could finally be away from Drake. He was saddened by the loss of Cass, though, who he considered a true mother to him. In juvie is where he finally met Aaron, during visiting day, where his twin came to see him for the first time. Long story short, Andrew wasn’t too kind to Aaron the first time they met. After serving his sentence, Andrew finally came to live with Aaron and their mother, Tilda. This is when Andrew found out that Tilda has been beating Aaron and is a drug addict and got Aaron hooked on drugs alongside herself. Andrew’s response? To take their mother for a lovely scenic drive where he reached over, grabbed the wheel, and steered the car down a hill wrecking it with intent to kill. Tilda died. Andrew survived. He's not so sure he wanted to. But anyways, it was considered a simple accident and he wasn’t caught. So the twins get a new guardian, now living with their cousin, Nicky. Nicky buys a house in Columbia and houses them both with little money and little support from the twins. While under Nicky’s care, Andrew tries to get Aaron sober, and his method of doing this is by locking Aaron in their bathroom for eight days and sitting in front of the door the entire time, only leaving canned food inside for Aaron. Andrew tried to ignore his twin’s screaming, banging, and vomiting from withdrawals and yes, it did actually get him sober in the end. Andrew is offered a PSU Exy scholarship because of the goalkeeping talent he displayed while playing in juvie, but refuses until they eventually give Aaron and Nicky scholarships as well as a deal. Nicky got Andrew and Aaron jobs as bartenders at a club/bar joint called Eden’s Twilight, lying about their age to do so. Andrew formed a small connection with fellow bartender Roland, and started hooking up with him in the employees-only back room. However, it was technically stautuatory rape, as Andrew was only seventeen and Roland was 23. Roland knew this and he still agreed, which is why i have many words on how much i hate his guts.

Once during a shift, four guys began harassing Nicky for being gay, beating him to a pulp on the sidewalk outside. Andrew took care of the situation by beating every single one of the guys nearly to death.

This little incident got Andrew on court-ordered antipsychotics and they all quit their jobs. but he’s not psychotic. This caused some extreme side effects of the medication. So for months and months, (this is before and throughout the first two books) Andrew walks around with a big manic smile on his face. He makes dumb little comments and laughs at bad times. His strict filter is completely removed. He absolutely hates taking them, but if he’s caught off of them he will be punished by law, so he made a deal with Wymack which allows him to be off his meds for half of every game before withdrawal kicks in. He also goes off them every night to sleep, and has Kevin keep hold of them. But by the time he begins vomiting and shaking from withdrawal, he begs Kevin to give them to him. In The Raven King, during a Thanksgiving dinner with a few teammates at Nicky’s parents’ house, Andrew has another incident with Drake, who was paid by Riko to find and assault Andrew once more for his own sick reasons. As the assault occurs, Neil and Aaron, Exy racquet in hand for protection, come looking for Andrew and end up breaking down the bedroom door. Almost instantaneously, Aaron enters the room and swings, slamming Drake through the skull and bludgeoning his head in, killing him. Later, following this incident, Andrew is sent to a rehabilitation center to get clean of his improper medication, as it has prevented him from properly coping with what happened to him, instead forcing him to turn it all to smiles and empty laughter. the doctor assigned to Andrew is a lackey for Riko, paid to inflict more pain onto the blonde. Dr. Proust uses everything in his power to destroy every last bit of Andrew’s dignity. In a shocking additional bit of information from Nora herself, we learn more details, such as; drugging him to make his head fuzzy and his body weak, using ward restraints to keep Andrew defenseless with the excuse that he’s a danger to himself and others, biting the scars on his wrists till they bruised, reenacting scenes from Andrew’s own trauma from details Riko paid to dig up, and, most of all, filming every single time it happened and sending the tapes to Riko. Andrew is the one who stops Neil from running away by slamming him in the stomach with an Exy racket.

More random info: Andrew says he doesn’t really care about Exy as a sport, he says he just plays it because it’s less boring than life. This is not known to be true or untrue. Andrew is a goalie with a number 03 jersey. Andrew wears pretty much only black, from muscle tees to turtlenecks to pea coats, basically all black all the time. Supposedly black platform shoes and such. For the first two books, Andrew has never received any consensual sexual touch. Andrew looks identical to Aaron, their only visible difference to most is the black armbands Andrew wears from elbow to wrist. Exy fans think it’s just his way of distinguishing himself, but Andrew really wears them to both hide his self-harm scars and sheath knives underneath them. Andrew smokes way too many cigarettes a day. Andrew’s favorite food is ice cream. Andrew has a very high alcohol tolerance. Andrew is very afraid of heights and sits on the roof of the dorm building to “feel something”. This makes plane travel for away games very difficult for him. Andrew hates the word “misunderstanding” almost as much as he hates the word “please”. Andrew speaks fluent german. Both the twins are very pale. Andrew is an absolute god at goalkeeping. Andrew is the second most buff person on the team, behind Matt.

Aaron Michael Minyard - [TW: substance abuse]

He/him. Same age, height, and appearance as Andrew; they’re identical twins. It is explicitly stated that they look so similar that the only way people can tell them apart is by either Andrew’s black armbands or Andrew’s manic smile.

Aaron is studying to become a neurosurgeon, and takes med classes. In the first book, Aaron begins seeing a Vixen (PSU cheerleader) named Katelyn Mackenzie. When Aaron and Andrew were still living with their mother, they made a deal that they will put each other first before anything, including relationships. Aaron did not break off this deal with Andrew beginning to date Katelyn, and for this Andrew despises Katelyn. Her appearance is not stated, but a majority of the fandom agrees as a running joke that she looks quite similar to Neil, in a funny bit that the twins may have the same type, though her appearance is up to personal interpretation. Most agree that she is taller than Aaron no matter what. She is also planning to attend medical school with Aaron after they graduate PSU. Aaron loves her, and in the future (after the books take place) the author confirmed that they get married and adopt a dog, a pug named Po, but they do not have kids. His mother, Tilda, was very physically abusive towards him. When Aaron was a young teen Tilda introduced him to drugs. She’d take them in front of him, therefore encouraging him to try.

He started taking any drug he could find to get himself high, including drinking cough syrup, but his biggest addiction was to painkillers. Tilda would get angry, but not because he was doing drugs, but because he would steal her cash to pay for them, or steal some of her own. Aaron was hooked and couldn’t quit, so when Andrew killed Tilda and they both went to live with Nicky, Andrew locked Aaron in their bathroom. For days Aaron tried any means to escape, pulling drawers out and throwing them at the door, punching the walls, and was in major withdrawal pain, crying and wailing on the floor and throwing up, he was a mess. He screamed for Andrew to Please let him out, please, but Andrew couldn’t hear that word without silent spiraling into his own mind. He eventually came out the other side clean and he had stayed that way since then. He considers it the worst period of his life, although he’s secretly thankful to Andrew for getting him sober. He still takes one drug, but it’s non addictive (i know, that’s why it’s fictional). Cracker Dust is a fictional drug in powder form that a few of the Foxes take; it is sweet like sugar and gets the user high like a mild version of cocaine, but has non-addictive qualities. He drinks a lot, too. At the team’s trips to Eden's Twilight, Aaron usually gets wasted and takes cracker dust before going off to the dance floor with a couple of the others.

More random info: Aaron has intricate unique handshakes with each of the bouncers at Eden’s. Aaron is 05, a backliner on the Exy team. Aaron blames Andrew entirely for the death of Tilda, and it takes a lot to even consider forgiving him. Aaron can be frequently found in his dorm room playing video games with Nicky and/or Andrew. Aaron wears simple clothes, with the exception of nights he spends at Eden’s, where he wears black clothes, oftentimes with leather. Aaron is quietly homophobic, most likely due to the strong christian views his mother and Nicky’s parents expressed around him, but he tries to get over this in therapy and, post-canon, eventually learns to get over it almost completely. Aaron also speaks fluent German.

Nicholas Esteban Hemmick - [TW: homophobia, suicidal ideation]

He/him. Most often nicknamed “Nicky”. Nicky is 5’10” and 23 years old. He is the cousin of the Minyard twins, and his parents are Luther and Maria Hemmick. Nicky is openly gay and proud, and his boyfriend of multiple years, Erik Klose, lives in Germany. Post-canon, Nicky stops playing Exy to move to Germany and in with Erik and gets a job working alongside Erik at a business firm before getting engaged and married, and adopting a dog together. Nicky is half Mexican, with light brown skin and shaggy almost-chin-length black hair and dark brown eyes. Due to Nicky and Erik’s long distance, they have come to an agreement that they can kiss other people, but do no more than that. Luckily, they stick together in the end because they’re very in love. Nicky is also a backliner, he is number 8 on the team. Both Luther and Maria, who were strict Christians, hated him for his sexuality. They still consider him a sinner and believe he has strayed far from God. They verbally abused him because of it when he was a child, possibly physically, though it was never confirmed or denied.

He was sent to conversion camp for six months to try and cure him when he was a teenager. While in that camp he very nearly killed himself and was horribly depressed. To get away from this bad familial situation, he took exchange classes for two years in Germany and stayed in a house with a family who took in exchange students, where he then met Erik, the caring son of the family. Nicky taught Erik more English than he already knew and taught him to speak fluently, and Erik taught him better German, and after a while of pining they got together. Nicky was uncomfortable and hesitant for a while because he believed everything his parents said about his sexuality, and often would escape to the nearest church in the middle of the night to pray for forgiveness about his “sinful thoughts” until Erik came looking for him, found him in the pews, and took him home. Eventually, Nicky forgave himself as much as he could and let himself be in a relationship with Erik, and it just got better from there. But when Tilda died, Nicky dropped the entire life he had built in Germany with Erik and moved back to America to take care of the twins. He was heartbroken to leave Erik but he loved his cousins more than anything. He treated them like his own kids and worked days and nights to pay for their house and food. He continued to love his cousins despite how badly they would treat him, often getting nasty homophobic remarks from Aaron or plain silence from Andrew. Nicky is sensitive, and struggled a lot with taking care of the twins, considering Aaron’s addiction, and Andrew’s violent stubbornness.

It was especially hard when he had to try and go about his day hearing Aaron yelling and sobbing in the bathroom in pain, because deep down he knew he needed to keep Aaron in there until he got better. It got more difficult when Andrew tried to protect Nicky and ended up in court, but he had Erik to call and talk to through it all. Nicky takes cracker dust with everyone else and dances drunk with Aaron and a couple others at Eden’s sometimes. Nicky, although he doesn’t have any romantic feelings for Neil, he is physically attracted to Neil and very open about that in the first book, often stating his attraction in sometimes predatory ways. It gets to the point where he holds Neil in his sleep (Neil does not know this until he wakes up with Nicky wrapped around him), makes out with him drunk despite Neil trying to push him away and telling him to stop, and says things like “Don’t let me get too drunk tonight,” while looking at Neil’s body, to which Andrew responds by holding a knife to Nicky’s stomach. As creepy as his actions were, he later gives an honest apology and Neil easily forgives him. It doesn’t take away what he did, but he understands now that it was bad.

More personal info: Nicky and Erik made a list of the five celebrities they’d each be allowed to hook up with if ever given the chance; Kevin Day, his own teammate, is #3 on Nicky’s list. Nicky is hyper and doesn’t know how to keep a secret (unless it’s genuinely very serious). Nicky can be quite sensitive but stands up for himself in the face of homophobia, unless it’s coming from his parents, where he tries to fight it before tucking his tail between his legs. Nicky is the reason the twins learned German in school. Nicky, although he takes Exy seriously and is a very talented athlete in the game, complains constantly while having to run laps. Nicky hates being alone in silence because it gives his thoughts a chance to catch up to him. Nicky covers up his lingering symptoms of depression with smiles and hyperactivity, though it gets especially hard when he’s really missing Erik.

Kevin Day -

He/him. Kevin is coach Wymack’s son, though he is the only one of the two who knows this until halfway through the third book when he finally decides to tell Wymack. not even the coach knew he had a son. He is 20 at the start of the trilogy and 21 by the end of the third book. Kevin is a striker, jersey number 2. Kevin is 6’1”. With dark hair and green eyes, Kevin is half Irish (thanks to his mother, Kayleigh Day), and half something else (thanks to Wymack).

Kayleigh Day invented the game of Exy before having a son. Kevin grew up with his mother and lived a good life until age five, when she was killed in a staged car crash. He was taken by the Moriyamas who staged the crash and was made to live alongside Riko and Nathaniel. Wymack got Kayleigh pregnant without knowing, and they didn’t stick together for long enough for him to find out, hence why he’s unaware of the fact he has a son. Riko, having the privilege of being the true son of the Moriyamas’ boss (and actually being very very talented at the sport) was given the title of number one. Kevin became known as number two, second best player ever under Riko. Riko was absolutely brutal on Kevin despite them being the same age. When they were teenagers, Riko forcefully tattooed a small number two onto Kevin’s left cheek to match the number one he put on his own face as a self absorbed act of control.

When Kevin was nineteen, Riko, in a fit of rage, broke Kevin’s dominant left hand. Kevin then left and signed with the PSU Foxes. He got an easy scholarship to attend school and play Exy at Palmetto State due to his talent and fame. Having joined the Foxes a year before the first book, he has taught himself to be ambidextrous to more easily play after his broken hand couldn’t heal properly due to lack of medical attention. Kevin has also created a lie to tell to the public when they ask about his hand; he says “I broke it in a skiing accident”. Kevin however didn’t leave all of the Raven’s behind, and is in a long term (and long-distance) relationship with one of their players, Thea Muldani. We don’t know much about her, as she only appears once, but what we do know is that she is an African American woman, often portrayed by fandom with long braids. The author said that later in their lives after the books, they marry and have a daughter. Whether their marriage is born out of true love or simply convenience, we still don’t truly know for sure. I vote for love because i like to be optimistic.

The author once said that although Kevin and Allison are not interested in eachother, if they had to hook up with someone else on the team with would be one another.

Kevin expects a lot from the rest of the team when it comes to their abilities on court. He takes Neil to the court practice late at night (like 10pm to 2am) and Andrew will come along 90% of the time just to watch from the bleachers and maybe once in a full moon join in as goalkeeper. Kevin believes Neil will make it to US court after college, he believes in his skills and abilities.

Kevin got in good with Andrew and his lot almost immediately after coming to PSU and Andrew became his bodyguard of sorts. They have a deal; Andrew will protect him from the Moriyamas no matter what unless Kevin asks him explicitly otherwise to break the deal. Although spending years with Neil when he was Nathaniel, Kevin does not recognize Neil as he’s older and under disguise. Kevin doesn’t realize that Neil is technically Nathaniel until Riko points it out (Riko knew the whole time of course) and mocks Neil for being the butcher’s son and Kevin hears and looks at Neil again and it clicks.

More random info: In earlier drafts of the books, Kevin Day was not dating Thea, and was instead actually dating both Neil and Andrew. A good chunk of the fandom headcanons Kevin Day as a repressed bisexual. The Foxes all know Kevin is really hardest on himself, that’s why they all let him push them to their limits on the court. Kevin Day is an alcoholic, but almost no one acknowledges it and it’s quite sad. It has become almost a joke now when it’s a genuinely serious issue. He most often drinks straight vodka.

Jean Moreau - [TW: heavy abuse, SA, suicide attempt]

French. Tall.

He/him. Jean is another one of the Ravens, 19 years old. Jean was born in Marseille, France. Jean is a backliner and jersey number 3 on the Edgar Allen Ravens. The Ravens’ dorm tower is called Castle Evermore, or more commonly, the nest. With pale skin, black hair, and gray eyes, Jean stands at 6’2”-6’3”. Jean, under Kevin, is Riko’s number three, meaning that he is in the inner circle with Kevin. Jean has a small number three tattooed under his cheek similarly with Riko and Kevin. Jean grew up in Marseille with his parents, but after they failed to pay off debts to the Moriyamas, they quickly decided to give up their only son as a replacement for the money. Without a second thought they gave up Jean when he was fourteen. Jean is a great Exy player, but due to Riko’s strict ratings of people, he’s deemed less worthy than Kevin. Jean’s partner, the Raven whom he must share classes and a room with, was named Zane. Jean has been tortured so much by Riko, it’s horrifying. Under Riko's supervision, Jean has broken six fingers (three that Riko made him break himself), was pushed down the Evermore stairs four times (bashing his head open two of those times), was waterboarded ten times for Riko's enjoyment, and was sexually assaulted five times by other Ravens under Riko's orders while Riko watched and sometimes helped restrain him. Riko didn't order a sixth time because the fifth time it happened, Jean gave up and didn’t protest, so Riko didn't find it amusing anymore. Jean was never given a single day to recover from these injuries before he had to be back on the court. One of the Ravens who assaulted him, Grayson Johnson, who was over eighteen at the time, had continued to hurt Jean after the first ordered assault.

Luckily, in the third book, Renee (another one of the foxes) sneaks into the Ravens tower and takes Jean from Evermore and brings him back to PSU, where he sleeps and recovers in the guest bed of the Foxes nurse, Abby. During his stay with Abby, he considers death by overdose on sleep medication, death by burning, and death in general. He is doing awful mentally, he has convinced himself that he is nothing if he’s not with the Ravens, that it is his place. He gets help becoming less pessimistic with Renee, who stays with him often.

In The Sunshine Court, Jean moves to LA, gets a scholarship in University of Southern California, and joins the USC Trojans. He moves in with team captain Jeremy Knox’s best friends and iconic lesbian couple Catalina Alvarez and Laila Dermott, later rooming with Jeremy when he stays with them once classes begin. After struggling with living without a partner, Jeremy offers his partnership to Jean, which he gratefully accepts. Jean grows close with the girlfriends, letting himself be taught how to cook and how to ride a motorcycle. He slowly learns to build trust with new people and find beauty in his life again. The Trojans help Jean through his trauma and Jeremy teaches Jean how to live and be a human. A ship between Jean/Jeremy is close to being confirmed and 100% expected as a definite thing to happen in the next and final book, though so far it’s just been tension.

More personal facts: Jean still speaks fluent French and has an accent, but Riko hated when anyone spoke a language he couldn’t understand and punished Jean if he heard him speak french. When Riko wasn’t in the room, Jean would teach Kevin French and they would speak to each other using it. While still in the nest, Jean had a solid plan to kill himself on graduation night. This plan was stopped when he was saved by Renee. The author said that the final draft was the only draft where he didn’t go through with that plan at the end of the book. In one of the late drafts, for this idea, he would have killed himself whilst on the phone with Kevin, traumatizing him more as well. The author said that Jean harbors some romantic feelings for Renee that are reciprocated, but Renee has a heartfelt conversation with a silent Jean saying that they’re the right people, but it’s the wrong time. Jean had a crush on Kevin while in the next and thought he was beautiful. It is unconfirmed whether or not Kevin knew about this and whether or not those feelings were reciprocated. Kevin knows Jean has had a crush on Jeremy for a long time now.

Riko Moriyama -

He/him. Japanese. Black hair, brown eyes. 5’5” in height. Kevin Day's “adoptive” brother. Son of Moriyamas’ boss. A striker on the Edgar Allen Ravens, jersey number one. Riko, alongside Kevin, is nicknamed “the son of Exy”. Riko was raised by his uncle, Tetsuji, in Castle Evermore. He was raised to only focus on becoming the greatest. Riko, Kevin, and Jean would have tutors come to them to teach them just so they didn’t have to leave Evermore for school. Riko was inseparable with Kevin throughout their youth, always on camera together. Riko has the number one tattooed on his left cheek, similarly to Kevin’s two and Jean’s three. Riko used a subtle form of control where he would never leave a Raven completely alone at any time. There were always at least two people in a room. This caused Jean great stress and discomfort when he was left alone in his guest room at Abby’s. Riko, as a result of the abuse he himself endured as a child, grew up to inflict the same on the rest of his team. Riko is a narcissist with a god complex, the number on his face symbolizing his supposed greatness as the best player in the history of Exy. Riko would make the team practice until they literally dropped like flies, passing out, and not letting them take breaks no matter the extent of their inflicted injuries.

After the highly anticipated Ravens vs Foxes Exy game at the end of book three, the Foxes won after no one ever having beaten the Ravens before. After a conversation with Neil, Riko’s brother, Ichirou, decided Riko was just a complicated nuisance who didn’t have any benefit and only made things worse. So he called a meeting at Evermore tower with both Riko and Neil, and had Neil watch as he shot his own brother, Riko in the head. He then placed the gun in Riko’s hand, leaving the rest of the world to believe it was a suicide, burdening Neil with the confidential information about the real cause of his death.

One extra fact: Riko speaks fluent Japanese and taught Kevin and Jean, too.

Natalie Renee Walker - [TW: SA]

She/her. Birth name Natalie Shields, most commonly referred to as Renee, Renee stands at 5’4” with white chin length hair dyed in pastel rainbow colors at the tips. Her race is mostly unspecified though she is almost always portrayed as having pale skin. She is 24 years old in book one. She is the Foxes other goalkeeper, jersey number 09. She rarely wears makeup and when she does it’s very little. She dresses in non revealing, more conservative clothes. Aside from on the court, she is otherwise always seen wearing a delicate silver cross necklace. When Renee was ten years old, her father murdered her mother. Renee ran away and was lured into joining a street gang. She slowly proved herself and went up the ranks, because she had nowhere else to run to and devoted herself to her life in the gang. After a short matter of years, she got into a violent conflict with a fellow member of the gang who had been sexually assaulting her and other girls before her. She knew he would continue on with other girls if she didn’t stop him. She knew the man’s favored weapon was the knife, so she practiced on her own knifing skills and eventually used the learned skills to kill the man in a physical fight. Unable to hide the death of a member, the gang found out about why she murdered him, and the gang leader didn’t get angry. He actually raised her status even more and played it off to the man’s family as if he was murdered by a member of a rival gang.

One day she was caught by the police on the streets for drugs, and put in the foster care system. She was soon adopted by a kind and supportive woman named Stephanie Walker who introduced Renee to Christianity and the sport of Exy, ultimately saving Renee’s life. Playing Exy became an outlet for Renee. She quickly deemed herself a Christian. In high school, her and future Foxes teammate Dan had a long-standing rivalry due to being captains of two rival Exy teams, and continued the rivalry for a little while after being recruited to the Foxes by Wymack. They eventually decided to be civil in order to hold their ground alongside Foxes teammate Allison against the sexist men on the first Foxes team lineup. By the time book one begins, all aspects of their rivalry are long gone and they are kind with one another. Upon attending PSU, Renee decided to major in Religious Studies. Despite her calm and careful demeanor, she is actually Andrew’s best friend on the team, though Andrew would never admit that to anyone else besides her. She says that although her religion won’t allow her to see everything eye-to-eye with Andrew, she respects and understands him more than anyone (other than Neil. She stays out of fights among the Foxes other than to try and mediate and deescalate the situation. She’s often referred to as a “sweetheart” by various members of the Foxes.

More random facts: Renee and Andrew are sparring partners and will spar with each other when Andrew is upset. Renee is never seen drinking in any of the books, likely due to her religious ideals. Renee loves orchestral and classical music. Post-Canon, Renee joins the Peace Corps, where she meets fellow volunteer Emilio, whom she falls in love with and has children with, the youngest of whom having the name Patrick. There are bets among the Foxes that Andrew and Renee are seeing each other in secret, mainly fueled by their close friendship and Renee asking Andrew to the Winter Exy Banquet as friends in book two, though she makes a promise to Allison that she will never date him, even explicitly telling Neil in book one that she “doesn’t date heathens”. After getting arrested, Renee’s father was soon killed in prison.

Danielle Leigh Wilds -

She/her. Usually referred to simply as Dan, she stands at 5’4”-5’7” with brown eyes and short brown hair that never goes longer than her ears. She is African American, age 21-22, and PSU Foxes Offensive Dealer, jersey number 01. She is assistant captain of the Foxes Exy team, under Wymack. She is very passionate about the people she cares about and refuses to tolerate people talking bad about the team. She is strict on the team, but in the way that she just wants them to cooperate (not kill each other) and work their hardest. Growing up, Dan lived in a mobile home with her usually pregnant Aunt, Cathey Wilds, and her Aunt’s children. To pay off their debts and keep from being homeless, Dan purchased a fake ID in high school and worked as a stripper. Her stage name was “Hennessy” and she had such a close relationship with her fellow strippers that she still refers to them as her sisters. Cathey had many men she would take home often, and when Wymack shows up at her home to recruit her, she quickly comes to the conclusion that he is there to sleep with Cathey, before he shoots her down and tells her his true intentions. She is initially in disbelief because she had been told that women do not get recruited for Exy. She was the first woman to be on an NCAA Exy team, and for this the public despised the Foxes even more than they already had (they were considered the worst team in the league) and her misogynistic male teammates insulted her openly. But she was very talented and the rest of the team eventually fell behind her. When the cousins arrive at PSU and join the Foxes, they take Dan to Eden’s to test her loyalty and she gains their trust/respect. Dan initially does not want to join a relationship because she feels targeted by the nasty looks men give her as everyone knows of her past in sex work, but then Matt joins PSU and the Foxes, and after a long time of gaining trust and building friendship, they fell in love. They have a very healthy romantic and sexual relationship, often sharing fierce hugs and kisses on the court after successful games.

More personal facts: Dan sees Wymack as a father figure. She did not like Allison for a long time, but without realizing it, they became close friends and the three girls shared a dorm. Dan treats Renee’s bruises and cuts after sparring with Andrew. Dan admires Neil’s hard work and, post-canon, makes him the next team captain after her graduation. Post-canon, Dan and Matt marry and have children together. Dan does not have a good relationship with the cousins or Kevin, and considers Andrew to be psychotic, although treating him an equal member of the team while on the court. It isn’t until the third book when she’s able to hold a civil conversation with Nicky. But despite her dislike of them, she is rarely overly nasty to them and supports their athletic career. Dan majored in Athletic Training and minored in Coaching.

Matthew Donovan Boyd - [TW: substance abuse]

He/him. 21 years old. Most commonly referred to as Matt. Standing at 6’4”-6’5” with Black gel-spiked hair, brown eyes, and chocolatey brown skin, Matt is a PSU Backliner, jersey number 04. He’s mostly seen with the girls, but upon Neil’s arrival he starts to consider him his best friend. Matt grew up in New York and his parents, Randy and Donald, split up when he was young. Randy, his mother, is a boxer with an irregular schedule which means Matt lives only with Donald, his father, who is a doctor. With Randy’s absence, Donald falls into a dangerous party scene involving drugs and alcohol, and encourages young Matt to join in and take part with him. Because of this, Matt becomes addicted to both cocaine and heroin at a young age, but upon Randy’s return, she decides to stay for a while to rehabilitate him. She taught him how to box and play Exy as a distraction, and over this time they bonded. When Matt is recruited to the PSU Foxes, he struggles to stay clean, and Randy administers Andrew’s help in getting Matt to stay sober. This is done by Andrew, the other cousins, and Kevin, taking Matt to Eden’s and giving him Speedball (a strong drug which consists of a combination of Heroin and Cocaine which is then injected into the skin). Matt suffers greatly from the near-fatal drug and almost dies. This scared him straight, showing Matt the true danger he was in and he quit once and for all. Randy took more time off of work to help him recover during this. Matt, although not happy about how it went down, does not hold a grudge towards Andrew for this as he understands that it helped him and he would be dead without the intervention.

More personal info: Nicky thinks Matt is physically attractive. Matt is buff and built strong but his personality is friendly and he’s the teddy bear of the group. He owns a large blue truck that Neil, Renee, and Allison ride in the bed of during Summer practices. Matt majored in Business Administration. The first time Donald met Neil in the third book, he rudely suggested that Neil have plastic surgery done on his face. Matt has faded but obvious track marks on the insides of both his arms.

Allison Jamaica Reynolds - [TW: ED]

She/her. Age 21-22. Allison is a PSU Foxes Defensive Dealer, jersey number 07. Standing 5’4”-5’7”, Allison is white with long platinum blonde hair and smokey-gray eyes. She often curls her hair. She often wears elaborate makeup and her closet is entirely designer clothes. She is proud and not stingy with money. She was a former heiress to the extremely wealthy Reynolds family, who is rich from owning luxury resorts and worth billions, who cut her off after she chose Exy over the family business. She was disowned and removed from the will. Before and during the first book, Allison is in an on-again off-again relationship with teammate Seth Gordon. She loves gossip, especially revolving around romance. Allison grew up with a severe case of bulimia and was hospitalized for it as a teen. She has since fully recovered as much as possible, with Wymack’s help.

More personal info: Allison enjoys modern pop music. Nicky once called Allison a “catty bitch”. Allison’s best friend is Renee, and although a good chunk of the fandom ships them, the author confirmed that they are just close friends. Allison drives a pink convertible. Allison majored in Fashion Design and minored in Marketing. Post-canon, Allison created and owns her own line of Fashion and makes a lot of money off of it. Post-canon, Allison loves dressing Neil in nice clothes.

Bryan Seth Gordon - [TW: substance abuse, implied suicide]

He/him. Age 24. Usually only referred to as Seth. Standing at 6’-6’2”, his appearance is almost entirely unspecified. There are many different head canons on what he looks like. A fairly common one, and my own personal one, is picturing him as white with a buzzed haircut and sharp cheekbones. Seth was a striker, jersey number 06. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Seth was the fourth of seven sons to parents Bryan and Rebecca, who never married. He was named after his father. When Seth was eight years old, his father left, hence his mother switching to calling him solely by his middle name. Rebecca worked three jobs and his older siblings raised him, but were very troubled and not good replacement parents. Seth was a problem child, and began playing Exy in fifth grade. He grew very close to his fifth grade teacher Mrs. Everetts and her husband, spending many nights having dinner with them, until they moved and “abandoned” him with no warning whatsoever. Between them and his father, when he joined the Foxes, Seth always believed that Wymack was bound to leave him too. Seth is clinically depressed and struggles with drug use. At the start of the books, Seth is the only male member left from the original PSU Foxes Exy lineup. Seth dislikes everyone on the team except for his on-and-off girlfriend, Allison.

He dislikes Neil from their first meetup and refuses to talk to him until Neil scores a goal against Andrew. Seth and Allison’s relationship is not all that healthy, and they have never dated for more than a few months at a time. Their first hook-up took place before the first book, and what happened was that they had gone to a frat party off campus and a man had tried to assault Allison and she had been too drunk to react, before Seth pushed the guy off and carried Allison back to her house and laying her in bed before settling on her couch. They hooked up the day after. When they are dating, they are sweet and just fine, but during the times when they’re not, they’re nasty and insulting towards each other. When they’re fighting, Seth tends to take time away and hang out with Matt. An incident at the end of book one occurs, and Seth is killed by Riko’s doing. It is staged as a suicide by drug overdose, he’s found laying on the dorm bathroom floor choked and drowned to death with his own vomit, but the Foxes have their suspicions as to what really happened. Allison keeps his ashes in an urn and is a mess for the following couple weeks. She eventually has his urn built into the fountain in her front yard.

More personal facts: Seth hated the effect that fame has on a person and said “I’m not worth less just because I’m less talented,”. Seth was majoring in Park, Recreation, and Tourism Management. Seth hated Nicky the most for his sexuality but also despised Kevin for his fame and frequently got into physical fights with the both of them, spewing insults and slurs. Seth was disgusted by the idea of Andrew and Renee becoming a couple due to how much he hated Andrew. Seth was easily provoked, and had a bad temper. Neil assumed his mood swings are the result of drug use. Seth was one of Neil’s roommates in the dorms in book one.

Erik Klose -

He/him. Erik has short dirty blonde hair and, (in my personal opinion bc he’s very lightly described), light stubble on his face. Assumed to be around age 24. Nicky’s eventual husband. They are so in love and it's very sad how they have to be an ocean apart for so long. Erik and Nicky frequently engage in facetime sex on their laptops. Nicky calls from his room in the Columbia house after nights spent at Eden’s with the team, Erik calls from his apartment in Germany. We know this both because Nicky is very open about his sex life. Erik is mostly fluent in English but most always speaks in German unless necessary otherwise. Erik and Nicky mot of the time only speak to each other in German. Erik grew up in a Christian family and continues to love God, but he grew up with the kind of religious family that believes homosexuality isn’t unnatural or a sin. Erik helped Nicky be comfortable with his sexuality and his religion. Nicky still loves God and himself now because of Erik’s support. Erik also helped Nicky recover from his severe depression and suicidal thoughts that occurred following conversion camp.

David Vincent Wymack - [TW: substance abuse]

He/him. Wymack grew up with a violent and angry father. As an adult, he vowed to make his Exy team a safe sanctuary for troubled young adults. His trauma caused him to become a borderline alcoholic and angry, but he makes it clear in the first book that even though he likes to yell and throw things, he will never, ever, hurt anyone without being provoked. His race is unspecified but most, including me, headcanon him as Native American for various reasons. Wymack has tribal flame tattoos on both his forearms. He cares for all the Foxes more than he’d ever say out loud, he cares for them like children. He’s hurt when he learns that Kevin is his son, because he realizes that his own son was getting abused and harmed throughout his childhood (by Riko) and he had no idea and couldn’t help him. Wymack is one of the first people to catch onto Andrew’s physical attraction to Neil, but he just says “this is below my paygrade” and inwardly groans to himself. His father was an alcoholic and started the genetic train of alcoholism that still affects Wymack and Kevin. Wymack’s step father tried to kill his mother, which landed him in prison.

Abigail Marie Winfield -

She/her. Most commonly referred to as Abby. Her appearance is mostly unstated aside from a blonde mid-length ponytail. She is the Foxes Exy team nurse, and Wymack’s former assigned therapist. She is kind and sweet but confident and will not hesitate to order someone around. Abby makes Nicky stop Andrew from drinking while on his meds, but Nicky isn’t great at enforcing this. When she does her first required physical on Neil in the first book, despite reassuring Neil by saying that she’s “seen worse”, she is obviously shocked by the excessive scars on his body. During the cousins’ first year at PSU, she housed the three and Kevin at her place off-campus. The Foxes have bets that Abby and Wymack are sleeping together due to them interacting a lot, Wymack making the passcode to the court Abby’s birthdate, and other various small things. This is confirmed in book three, and they are in a romantic relationship that lasts the rest of their lives. She has motherly instincts and pretty much thinks of the Foxes as her kids.

Betsy Jo Dobson -

She/her. Commonly nicknamed “Bee” by Andrew. Commonly agreed upon that Betsy has pale brown hair that goes to her chin, and she has relatively pale skin and a pudgier build. She has laugh lines on her face and wears narrow-rimmed glasses. She is the PSU Foxes team psychiatrist and the only therapist Andrew has ever trusted. When Andrew was put on his meds, he was assigned court-ordered weekly therapy sessions. He has never trusted or liked a therapist in the past and it started that way with Bee, but after he noticed that she treated him with more humanity and was a more favorable personality to him, he started to open up and now he tells her everything. At the start of every session, she makes both Andrew and herself a mug of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. She has a collection of glass animal figurines on her laptop stand that Andrew buys for her as an apology because during their first meeting he broke the ones she had by knocking them off her laptop stand and throwing them at the wall to see how she would react and felt guilty when she stayed completely calm and didn’t get angry with him. He continues buying her more every time he finds one she doesn’t have. It’s required for everyone on the team to see her at least once a semester, though they can schedule an appointment any time. Betsy previously worked in counseling at juvenile detention centers until she got her job at PSU. In juvie, she worked mainly on suicide watch. Betsy has OCD and her office is very neat and orderly. She is close friends with both Abby and Wymack. Neil does not trust Betsy because he does not trust therapists in general. He is, however, entirely supportive of Andrew’s relationship with her and understands that he needs her sometimes.

Zane Reacher - [SA]

Zane, with an unknown age and appearance, was Jean’s partner in the nest. When you had a partner at Evermore, whether you hated them or not, it was required to share your classes and strictly on-campus dorm room with them. Zane desperately wanted to make number 4 on Riko’s perfect court, directly behind Jean. Zane, fully aware of the sexual abuse Riko was inflicting on Jean, tried to protect him from it although he could not fully stand in the way of it without violent repercussions. He quickly learned about Grayson’s perseverance, understanding why he frequently showed up to their room at night, and he despised him for it. He and Jean had an agreement where Zane would try to keep Grayson away from Jean as much as he could. However, in a turn of events, Zane made the jealously-fueled selfish decision to turn his back and keep quiet when Grayson came to their room the next time, just telling Jean to keep it down. Fell in love with Raven teammate Clarissa, despite extreme hardships when it came to romance in the Nest.

Jeremy Knox -

Jeremy Knox is 23 years old. Shaggy caramel hair, white and tan from the SoCal sun, 6’1”.

Jeremy strongly dislikes being reminded of his last name, for reasons currently unknown. Jeremy’s parents are divorced and he lives in a large house with his mother, congressman stepfather who he separates himself from as much as possible, his sister Annalise, and his older brother Brayden whom he avoids at all costs. It is implied he has another sibling, though he refuses to discuss this even in his own point of view for similar unknown reasons. He also refuses to talk about a supposed incident at his first fall Banquet for which he was the subject of many vague rumors. Jeremy is gay, and it's implied that he has only had quick hookups in the past, no genuinely romantic relationships. On the outside, Jeremy is sunshine on Earth, just a very silly guy. A very silly guy who avoids cops like the plague for more related unknown reasons. We will learn much more about his very ominous past in TSC2.

One extra fact: It is confirmed that Jeremy is a service top.

Jack & Sheena -

you may hear these names sometimes in the fandom. these are two characters only mentioned in the author’s extra content. they are future Foxes, becoming part of the team when Neil is captain. very angry, very homophobic people. always trying to get a rise out of Neil, Jack with his snarky comments and Sheena with her sharp laugh like a hyena. you won’t usually see their names ever except for in fanfiction (same as below).

Robin -

again, another future Foxes member as described by the author’s extra content. Robin had a rough childhood growing up in captivity. when she joins the Foxes she becomes an honorary part of The Monsters (see below). She becomes a close friend of Neil’s when Andrew graduates and she helps Neil feel less alone. i like to forget she exists a lot not because i don’t like her but just because i don’t have really any feelings about her existence.

The Monsters -

the group name for Andrew, Aaron, Kevin, Neil, Nicky. the ones that go to Eden’s and Columbia together.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

1. Woman who was walking to work because her car was broken finds $14k in a bag and turns it in to police, who return it to newlyweds who lost it. Crowdfund for a new car up to $14k so far.

Dianne Gordon was walking home from work on Jan. 21 when she saw a plastic bag on the ground and inside the bag she could see piles of money. Although she was in need of a vehicle-- her car broke down last year -- Gordon contacted police and returned the money immediately.

Police were able to track down who the money belonged to and discovered it belonged to a newlywed couple and have since returned the money to the couple. As for Gordon, her good deed wasn’t overlooked by people who heard her story, as the spouse of one of the police officers involved launched a crowdfunding campaign to help secure a car for Gordon. As of Thursday morning, the campaign has raised $14,500

2. Washington D.C.’s free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit systems take off

Washington, D.C., has enacted a zero-fare bus bill into law.

The policy eliminates the $2 fare for all the city’s buses starting this summer.

It is the largest city to institute a fare-free transit system and part of a growing movement nationwide.

3. Mom and son graduate college together, fulfilling 18-year promise

Carolyn and Immanuel Patton, a mother-son duo from Maryland, have graduated college together, fulfilling a promise the younger Patton first made to his mom when he was 5 years old.

Two years after they started the path together and about 18 years after Immanuel Patton vowed to graduate alongside his mother, they realized their collective dream.

4. A homeless mother left a note with her dog for whoever found her. An animal shelter reunited them.

This pup named Lilo came to McKamey Animal Center off the street - with an added surprise – a note.

"Please don't abuse me." Cool, totally wanted to be crying at work right now.

The shelter staff posted about Lilo on social media, hoping to connect with her owner when they got a call from someone saying they were Lilo's mom. While centers like McKamey provide shelter for dogs, they also provide resources for families who love their pets, but might not be able to keep them due to cost. Mann said they'll give food and supplies to families struggling to pay for their pets' needs. They'll even help the family find a pet-friendly home.

5. Campbell Johnstone reveals himself to be first openly gay All Black.

In a momentous moment for New Zealand's rainbow community, Campbell Johnstone has outed himself as the first openly gay player to have represented the country's most influential sporting brand.

All Black No. 1056 has publicly revealed his sexuality – in a brave bid to “open up that door and magically make that closet disappear” – for the first time on TVNZ's Seven Sharp programme on Monday evening. Johnstone, who played three tests for the All Blacks all in 2005, did confide in some teammates and his family during his playing days.

6. 92 year old flood victim reunited with lost cat

Valerie Axtens thought she had seen the last of her beloved cat Mendelson as she was being rescued through a window from rapidly rising floodwater. Valerie Axtens was rescued during the February 28 flood.

After the floodwater receded and one of her sons was able to return and check on the mud-covered house, he discovered — much to everyone's surprise — the cat had survived.

7. Slovenia becomes first eastern European country to recognise same-sex marriage

The legalisation of same-sex marriage has officially come into effect in Slovenia, in a huge win for LGBTQ+ rights in eastern Europe. 

The bill, which saw Slovenia’s Family Code updated, officially took its place amongst the country’s other laws on Tuesday (1 February). The historic moment followed a decision by the country’s top court in July, which found that banning same-sex marriage and adoption violated the country’s constitution, which prohibits discrimination

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Have a great week ahead :)

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 8 June 1961, a group of Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, including Kwame Ture, Gwendolyn Greene and Joan Mulholland (pictured, l-r). Freedom Riders fought government non-enforcement of the ban on segregation in public transport in the US South by riding in multiracial groups. They faced intense violence from local police and white supremacists, including the Ku Klux Klan, until eventually winning in December that year. Ture (born Stokely Carmichael) became a central organiser in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and later the Black Panther Party. He was targeted by the FBI's COINTELPRO operation, and "bad jacketed" – falsely painted as a CIA agent and expelled from the SNCC. Greene (who later changed her name to Britt) had also been arrested in 1960 for refusing to leave the segregated Glen Echo Amusement Park in Maryland. With others, she confronted counter-protesters from the American Nazi Party and continued picketing until the end of summer. The park then agreed to abolish segregation before reopening the following year. Mulholland, then aged 19, had participated in numerous civil rights sit ins, for which she was disowned by her family. In 1963, she was travelling with four other activists in Mississippi when their car was attacked by the KKK, who had orders to kill them, but they managed to escape. Mulholland remains active to this day. Image from the excellent @ZinnEducationProject More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10819/freedom-riders-arrested https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=640538474786038&set=a.602588028581083&type=3