#and neil and andrew are too short for basketball

[yourcrumblingsaikiisnotmyproblem]

Being a writer means I can think about writing an aftg fic where the only major plot twist from canon is that they do ice skating instead of exy

[jemej3m]

Yo. Yo. Yoo. A Highschool musical au. Yeah you heard me.

bruh cross clique relationships are my jam

pt. 1? maybe

*

When they’d first met, Neil had been hiding from everyone else on the roof of the ski lodge. Wymack had brought him on holiday and encouraged him to join in with the teen party going on in the karaoke lounge with Dan and Kevin, but he’d taken one look and noped the hell out. 

Curled into a ball, he had never expected his angsty teenage silence to be broken by another short, bad-mannered boy, equally as distasteful of loud gatherings and soda-stupid teenage shenanigans. 

There had been something very familiar about him, like Neil had seen him before.

He also had a pack of cigarettes. 

Neil had yearned for one, like he yearned for his mom, and Andrew had asked for his name in exchange for the lighter. They’d sat in silence, letting the dulled sounds of music and cheers wash over them like a particularly persistent draft.

When Neil flinched away at the first pop of the fireworks, Andrew had frowned. And when Neil had explained they sounded too much like gunshots, Andrew gave him his number, scoffing at Neil’s old flip phone. 

Then he’d proceeded to bitch about his cousin, the one who had dragged him and his twin brother on a ‘bonding’ trip, and was then forcing him to move across the country so they could all live together. it distracted Neil from the gunfire overhead: whether or not that had been Andrew’s intention, Neil thought he’d never know. 

He assumed he’d never see Andrew again. 

But then school started up again.

Guess who was the new kid?

*

Andrew didn’t think that high school movies were actually grounded in reality till he moved to Palmetto State high. But the minute that he walked in through Palmetto State High’s front doors, he was instantly proven wrong. 

Aaron, who had already done his freshman year and half his sophomore year here, seemed unfazed. He was a generally unfazed person, expect when Andrew purposefully ignored him and then smashed his ass at Mariokart. Then he’d lose his temper but ultimately be angrier at himself, because he didn’t want to be anything like his mom had been. 

Andrew never had the chance to meet Tilda. She’d died just before they met: her will was the only reason that Aaron had found out about Andrew in the first place.

Aaron shoved his glasses up his nose and neatly ducked past a set of boisterous jocks who were bouncing a basketball to one another. 

“I already hate it here,” Andrew muttered, following after his brother. 

“It gets worse,” Aaron sighed. “Wait till you see the Exy jocks. The cheerleaders are - ” his face screwed up for a second. “Not all bad.” 

“What are you?” 

“We,” Aaron insisted. “Are nerds. Did you think you’d be able to escape the fact that we’re identical?” 

“I’m not a nerd,” Andrew muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets to hide the bracelet he wore. Bee had given it to him as a parting gift: it was the solar system, to scale, with the space between the planets made out of carbon fibre. 

“Are you kidding? The only thing you moved in with was a box of books.” 

“Whatever.” 

They brushed by the office, Aaron ignoring the freshman’s offer to take Andrew on a tour of the school. Her name-tag read Robin and she was clearly unfazed by their complete disregard of her presence. 

“History first,” Aaron huffed, squinting at Andrew’s timetable. “Good, we’re together. History sucks: we have Mr Moriyama, and his shitty nephew Riko is in that class too.”

“What’s so shitty about him?” 

“You’ll see.” 

Fantastic, Andrew thought. The day was shaping up to be an absolute nightmare. 

“Mr Minyard,” drawled a nasally man who lingered by the door. When he saw Andrew, his eye twitched. “And Mr Minyard. So the attendance sheet wasn’t an error.”

Aaron just muttered something under his breath and dragged Andrew by the sleeve. The tables were set up in spaced-apart rows, but the back was already claimed by a group of delinquent-looking attention vacuums. The others were all crowded around one boy, who had his feet kicked up on the table in front of him and an uncanny resemblance to the history teacher. 

He looked between Andrew and Aaron and sneered. Before he could open his mouth to say something, his uncle clapped his hands and called the class to attention. 

Just as Mr Moriyama was about to start the lesson, what could only be described as the human embodiment of disaster. 

When Andrew recognised him, his cheeks went red. 

“Mr Josten,” Mr Moriyama said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How is it that you are always late to my class, when your brother’s already here?” 

The brother in question looked nothing like Neil. He was taller, paler, with black hair and green eyes. He was also glaring at Neil, like that was going to make a difference. 

“My bad,” the red-head shrugged. 

“Detention,” Mr Moriyama said. 

“I have practise,” Neil retorted. And - oh, god, he was a jock. A smart-mouthed sporty boy. Fuck. Andrew thought he’d never see the boy from the rooftop again, but here they were, sitting in the same history class. 

“Should have thought about that before you were late,” the greasy man sneered, sending Neil on his way. Neil slumped his way past the desks till he saw Andrew sitting behind his brother, eyes widened with shock. 

Andrew, involuntarily, found himself giving Neil a small salute. Neil’s lips quirked up as he slid into his chair, letting the first lesson of the day finally begin. 

*

Neil jogged into practise late. This wasn’t surprising to anyone, least of all Wymack, who was leaning against the plexiglass with a knowing frown. 

“Could you stop antagonising Mr Moriyama’s own nephew in his class?” 

“In my defence,” Neil admitted. “Today’s detention was because I was late, not because I accidentally spoke my thought about Riko out loud instead of reciting them in my head.”

“Get on the court, you little shit,” he said, though not without fondness. Neil had been adopted by the Exy coach at the end of his freshman year, when he’d figured out why Neil was breaking into the changerooms to sleep. 

He jogged up to Kevin, who was less than impressed as he stood by the goal. 

“What the hell, Neil?” 

“The only reason I was so late was because Gordon still hasn’t forgiven you for getting him kicked off the team and he likes to hang around my locker to take it out on me!” 

Dan, Wymack’s other adopted child and team captain, was standing nearby and laughing. “Don’t try and flip this on Kevin: you just like picking fights with Seth.” 

Neil grinned at her. “It’s so easy.” 

“Oi!” Wymack called out. “We running drills or not?”

When he saw the blonde head of hair bobbing up and down, Neil’s grin faltered slightly. He was still in shock that Aaron had a twin, that the twin had moved here, and that twin had been the exact person Neil had met on the roof of the ski resort a few weeks ago. 

No wonder he’d found Andrew’s face so familiar. He was truly an idiot for not picking up on it.

Andrew sat down, high in the bleachers. Neil felt a strange prickle at the back of his neck, like he had when they’d talked for hours up on the roof. 

Practise went too fast after that. Neil stayed behind to help his coach pack up, Kevin and Dan bickering about plays as they went off to the showers. 

Coach went off with the equipment, giving Andrew a cursory glance. Perhaps he recognised Aaron’s face: the boy had nearly done tryouts for the team at the start of freshman year but chickened out. 

Neil skipped the steps, leaping up three at a time. Andrew was lounging on the bleachers, head cocked to the side. 

“So,” Neil said. “You never mentioned that you were moving to Palmetto.”

“We were in a random Colorado ski lodge,” Andrew rolled his eyes. “What were the chances?” 

“Clearly high enough.” Neil perched on the seat beside him. “So, Aaron’s brother, huh?” 

“Obviously.” 

Neil grinned. “Give me some slack: it was dark. I suppose you’ll be following him around, at first?” 

Andrew just shrugged. “I don’t have anything better to do.” 

“Do you like Exy?” 

His eye twitched. “I’ve played before. Why?” 

Neil felt his grin widen. “You should try out.” 

Andrew crossed his arms over his chest. “Aaron says I’m doomed to be stuck with the nerds, so long as I look like him. Apparently that’s a big deal here.” 

Neil faltered slightly. “Well, yeah. Everyone kinda sticks to their own. I’ve always wanted to join the Olympiads, but they’d never let me on the team. I’m good at math and physics, but I’m on the Exy team. They don’t associate with jocks.”

“Olympiads,” Andrew mumbled. “Jesus Christ.” 

“Hey!” 

“This entire school is a disaster,” Andrew said, notching a cigarette between his lips and spun the lighter between his fingers. “I don’t give a shit about their stupid cliques.” 

Neil felt something warm in his chest. He’d always felt the same. “Careful. If Riko thinks you’re kicking up dust, he’ll retaliate. He likes to think he owns the place and prefers that everyone just sticks to their own.” 

Andrew trotted down a few steps before looking back over his shoulder at Neil. “Well, he can just get in line.” 

Huh, Neil thought, when he couldn’t get Andrew’s smirk out of his mind for the rest of the day. This is new.

*

gosh, teenagers r so melodramatic 

@filteredred don’t call me out on hypocrisy 

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Teen Witch

Controversial opinion: stories about witches are the best stories. Just look at WandaVision - bitches ate that UP because it’s about WITCHES, which means it’s ultimately about loss and trauma and female (literal) empowerment in the face of those tragedies (and I mean there’s some complicated stuff in there about inflicting trauma upon others, even accidentally, and that’s kind of a witch thing too). And Sabrina is all well and good and everything, but what if you want your witch story to be a little less Dark Arts and a little more candy-coated? Have I got the film for you! Wes requested Teen Witch as part of his quest to expand my cheesy 80s cult classic knowledge, and boy did this one deliver. How 80s-tastic are we talking? Well...

The basic story is this: Louise (Robyn Lively) is a typical teen girl who occupies the nerd level of the high school hierarchy. You know the type - soft-spoken, nerdy best friend, has a crush on the cutest guy in school (Dan Gauthier), made fun of in gym class by all the cheerleaders. One day she crashes her bike in front of a psychic’s home/place of business and goes inside to use the phone, but gets her palm read first. The psychic, named Madame Serena, (Zelda Rubenstein, playing, I’m assuming, herself) tells her she will soon come into some witchy powers on her 16th birthday. When Louise’s birthday rolls around, you guessed it - witching aplenty. She gets the popularity, she gets the cute guy, she ditches her nerdy friend; it’s basically The Princess Diaries without Queen Julie Andrews. But then, y’know, she learns a valuable lesson about the high price of popularity and how important it is to be true to yourse--wait, no she doesn’t, she takes off her magic necklace and smooches with the boy she likes at the school dance and that’s how it ends.

Some thoughts:

This slow motion credit sequence is incredible. See, we just don’t have this anymore, where the movie starts and you have no fucking idea what’s going on. The 80s really knew how to draw an audience in. Is this a dream? Is this a music video? No one knows! That’s why it’s exciting!

Why are tv and movies so obsessed with a completely made-up depiction of what takes place outside a high school’s entrance before the first bell? Apparently there’s a busker festival going on at this high school every day - there’s guys doing BMX tricks, an all white rap group, I think I saw some jugglers.

I’ve actually taught in both middle and high school, so I know this English teacher (Shelley Berman) wouldn’t be fired for being such a shitty teacher, but he should be. 

Is this like...a musical? First there was the terrible rapping, now there are cheerleaders doing “the new cheer” which is literally a song just saying “I...LIKE...BOYS!” and there’s a dance routine on top of lockers - there’s a lot of towel choreography. It feels like a musical in the sense that it’s nonsensical, but I don’t actually think it IS a musical. Genre-defying!

It’s kinda creepy that Louise is watching an extended montage of Brad (Gauthier) working out shirtless from the shadows but like...same, girl. Damn, Brad.

Aw, at least Brad is reasonably nice. Louise, show some backbone! You shouldn’t have been too proud to let him drive you home after he ran you off the road on your bike accidentally!

I am just mystified by the market for roles that were appropriate for Zelda Rubenstein in the 80s. What is this niche? Which came first, Zelda Rubenstein, or these characters? 

I am also mystified by this gremliny little brother (Joshua John Miller) who seems to be obsessed with eating cake and never washing his hair. He’s like a goblin trapped in a diminutive nonbinary body made of pizza and spite. [ETA: I now feel a little bad for finding him so repellent in this, as the actor wrote one of my favorite meta horror movies, The Final Girls, in 2015. So at least he grew up and made something cool of himself.]

OMFG did Brad just hit the soda machine for her like the fucking Fonz? 

There is (temporarily) a Very Good Dog who is not harmed in any way.

In what universe does Louise see what her date, David (Jared Chandler), is wearing and be like “he’s such a geek” when she looks like an extra from Leave it to Beaver. 

The DJ just said “OK guys, grab your wallets, it’s a slow song.” What...does that even mean? Is he implying that slow dances are expensive? Ooh or even more nefarious, that there’s a rampant pickpocketing problem during slow dances?

Did Louise...just imply that the number of light years away a star is dictates how soon a wish you make on that star would come true? Listen. I’m no astrophysicist. But I have read enough Neil Degrasse Tyson tweets to know that that’s not how any of this works. 

OK I take back what I said, David is a fucking CREEP. Drag his ass, Louise. However, I think she may have straight up murdered him by making him disappear. David is never seen or heard from again in this film. 

Obsessed with the dad’s sweaters both because they are ridiculous and because he is the lesser Darren from the original Bewitched. 

It feels weird that Louise’s revenge involves forcing Mr. Weaver to take his clothes off in front of the class.Who wants that? Like I get that it’s humiliating for him, but really, you’re only punishing yourself here Louise. 

There is a rap-off that is meant to convey electric sexual tension between two nerdy ass white kids. 

I don’t know what it was like at your school, but I can tell you for sure that at my high school no one ever applauded when the most popular girl in school walked into the classroom like she’s Kramer making an entrance on Seinfeld.

Why is Brad taking her to an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere? And why is she wearing heels?

Oh god she took the heels off and now she’s barefoot in this decrepit house, that’s so much worse! TETANUS EXISTS LOUISE.

Wait are they going to fuck in the abandoned house? Brad has a girlfriend! You brought heels, but did you bring condoms?? I guess she has bigger concerns than tetanus now. Also I feel so bad for these actors, they are both DRIPPING sweat. That must have been a miserable shoot.

I’ve said this before, but the 80s were such an incredible time for himbo fashion. Crop tops, those tank tops with the giant holes for the arms, teeny little basketball shorts. In the 90s all we had were JNCOs and weirdly “urbanized” Looney Tunes characters on baggy t-shirts. Gen X has no idea how good they had it re: male fashion. 

I’m genuinely obsessed with the idea that popularity means the school just has banners all over that say “LOUISE” and she gets like, cards and fan mail that say “Louise U R the best.” This feels like if you ask a kindergartner what being popular means.

Madame Serena just said “the real magic is believing in yourself” which is exactly what Louise’s dad said like 15 minutes ago, but I guess he wasn’t a 3-foot-tall witch so no one paid attention when he said it. 

Y’know for an 80s prom outfit, Louise’s dress is pretty cute. 

I cannot stress enough that Brad’s girlfriend is at this dance while he and Louise are kissing! Does no one care? Were high school attitudes toward monogamy just way more flexible in the 80s? 

Did I Cry? Shyeah, right. 

This is such an odd, mostly charming, but wildly perplexing little movie. There was no antagonist or real conflict here, at all. Louise barely struggles with any sort of tension or remorse about having her powers and what it means for her life, she just kind of decides at the end that she’s over it, and she still gets the guy and no actual negative consequences from bending the entire school to her will for the past few months. I mean, in The Craft, when people use magic for their own gains, other people fucking DIE. I was definitely entertained, but a lot of it was due to me saying, “What? How? What?” loudly at the screen. I can see how this has gained a cult following in much the same way that other oddball 80s fare like Better Off Dead or Girls Just Wanna Have Fun did. Watch it once, then watch it again while you get drunk with your friends (in a post-Covid world, obviously) and you’ll probably have a pretty great time. 

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

[thegreenerartist]

Okay okay guys wait

Just I M A G I N E

The Foxhole Court,,, but set in the Philippines (they’ll all still be the same characters but it’ll just take place in the Philippines!)

The Filipino & Filipina Foxes!

Okay so Neil is still on the run, with 5 mil ($) in his pocket, but think about it. There are 7,641 islands. 7,641. His father would have absolute HELL trying to find him and his mother (until she died oop) (probably somewhere where they are trying to sneak into Luzon?) So then Nathan will be stationed, not in Baltimore, but maybe somewhere in Luzon (it being the central island and all)

Neil would know how to speak English (universal language duh), Tagalog (common Filipino language) and maybe Ilongo? Or Ilocano? For Luzon, but then he’ll probably know the common languages too, like Bisaya and Cebuano for Visayas, maybe he’ll know Arabic or Islamic for Mindanao? (I highlighted the ones I think he would most likely know, but most Filipino langauges tbh sound similar. Takes maybe a few months, weeks if you’re good, to learn a language like a native)

So idk how to segúé (how to even spell??) to him meeting the Foxes bUT HE GETS THERE

Soo let’s say the Cousins (yes thats their official tital no I don’t take critisism) know how to speak Arabic while Kevin is the one who speaks Bisaya. Everyone can speak English and Tagalog because Filipinos are taught English and Tagalog early on oop

Okay fine this will still be an Exy universe (but can yall imagine? Street basketball?)

They’ll probably be learning somewhere in Luzon, most likely NCR for plot because it’s probably where Nathan and his men are too

They meet and stuff, cool shenanigans

(Their backstories might be a tad rougher than in canon because,,, yeah. It happens here)

Okay so I just wanna get to the fun stuff, since that’s what I originally planned for this post

Nicky and Allison will deffo be like those ladies who wash clothes and gossip, i.e. spreading chismis

Nicky reminds me of the gays here that go “oH HEY MGA BES!”

Andrew is THAT dude who goes up to an ice cream guy and asks for, “Cornetto. The sweetest one you have”

He wouldnt like dirty ice cream. It’s too bland and milky, not sweet

Neil would fit right in. Everyone here wears shirts and pants/shorts. Some guys dont even bother putting a shirt on

Dan and Neil go bonding to the palengke (wet market) since most of the other foxes have been raised in middle class

Matt buys those birds in the cages so he can set them free like the good boy he is :)

Renee is a BOSS in chinese garter

Allison was the heir to,, idk probably something like SM or something

Aaron is every asian parents’ dream tbh

Also I love the idea of them getting houses since Filipino houses here look basic as heck but look SO authentic, as in yall could go, “wow that looks like a normal house” but then,,, yall would know. That’s a Filipino’s house right there

Everyone get’s THOSE houses where there are literal bars on the windows and the fence is so goddamn tall

Except for Kevin and Allison

Those two would get the classy stuff

Like Allison would probably be living in those houses that were during the Spanish Colonial Period (with Renee because duh)

Kevin will get a private resort or something somewhere in Boracay or Palawan or something (with no one because I fully support aro ace Kevin [ but bi Kevin is awesome too though don’t get me wrong {sorry Thea}])

I would love to propose the idea of Neil calling Andrew ‘mahal’ or ‘love’(THEY ARE MARRIED HERE LET ME LIVE) (ILL JUST SAY THEY GOT MARRIED IN THE US OKAY)

In the morning, when they wake up and Neil goes, “m’hal, pakibukas ung bintana” “love, can you open the blinds?”

(Fun fact, the prefix paki is a polite way of asking someone to do the action, the same way you say ‘may’, ‘can’ and ‘please’)

But then ‘mahal’ ALSO means ‘expensive’ in Tagalog. I find it funny because Andrew is truly, very, absolutely expensive

“My god napakamahal naman yan’ Drew’!”

“Oh my god Drew’, that’s so expensive!”

“mAy stAnDArdS akO excUSE Me!!11!”

“I have standards excuse me!”

“M A H A L ‘W A G”

“L O V E , N O”

I love the idea that they play basketball in their free time with neighbourhood kids, as in street basketball

It starts with Andrew and Neil

They were outside, holding hands (it’s ok Philippines isn’t SUPER homophobic) (and even if someone was stupid enough to talk them down, they have knives :)

And these,,, kids go up and be like, “laro?” “play?”

Because kids right?

And BOOM it becomes a thing (usually on their breaks :)

Renee joins because Peace Corps (actually no. She did it out of the kindness of her own heart)

Then Dan, Matt and Nicky wanted to join

Allison was dragged there by Renee

Katelyn wanted Aaron to come too

Kevin decided to go since it’s the off-season and he has nothing to do, yaba daba da he actually misses his foxes

He keeps mumbling, “buti pa kapag nilaro nila an Exy *grumble grumble*” “it would be better if the played Exy instead *grumble grumble*”

They are happy :D

Okay so yall know how Kevin is a health freak

So one day Andrew will eat one too many goSH DARN AICE AND KEVIN WILL HAVE A F I T

Andrew doesn’t care

Until he does

Kevin can go on and on about how unhealthy some foods are and blah blah blah

But yall cANNOT TELL ME that that boy does NOT eat those streetfoods

Im talking about fishballs, squidballs, siomai, tokneneng, ALL OF THAT JAZZ

(That’s what happens when yall let a person who never played in the neighbourhood try streetfood) (they get OBSESSED) (I can tell from experience lol)

Then Andrew keeps that footage for blackmail

Just imagine. Kevin Day. Eating. The oiliest. The most unhealthy. Goddamn streetfood

I’ll probably make more :P it was fun to write this!

I would love it if this were liked and reblogged 🥺👉👈 I would appreciate that very much because I spent some time on this and I need validation 🥺🥺

[bloodthirstyreviews]

The Raven King (aftg 2)

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 

Neil joins Foxes, for the most part they don’t like/ don’t trust him. They really suck as a team. Lots of mystery backgrounds and identities. Some Yakuza for whatever reason on the east coast. I still want to know what sort of medication makes you manic for a couple of hours and then wears off and makes you murdery. Like I’m pretty sure you would suffer from severe (circle all that apply) liver/organ/tissue/nervous system damage from something like that but okay. I’ll let you have your plot device until I get a decent answer. 

Spoilers my dudes. 

I like how the apathetic guy on said drugs is kind of holding them all together. Kevin is his bitch, Neil confides in him with the almost truth first. Andrew is usually the voice of reason? For how uncaring he’s described, it really doesn’t show in actions/dialogue. I do really love the dynamic of Neil and Andrew’s relationship, however. I was super sad that Andrew kinda got benched as a character for the last stretch of the book, he’s really the redeeming factor for this series. 

I feel like a lot of the character originality was lost. The dialogue had more effort put into it in book 1, even if it was sloppy. Now it feels like “you know who the characters are and enough about their personalities, so put their emotions in it yourself”. It’s also quite choppy like thoughts got derailed and she went on a tangent and the editor clipped it instead of merely rewriting. The first half+ was snorezone littered with enough interesting tidbits to keep you going. ugh. It was choppy and awkwardly fast-forwarded through parts to get to the “interesting” parts. She improved her writing in parts, definitely grammatically, but more issues popped up. I guess you can’t win them all.  or can you with a decent editor

Even if character originality is lost, we really get to dig into the plot. Tragic backstories are what I live for, and this is rife with them. Like dude, shit gets real. like in the end. way late. but at least we got there. The end was extremely awkward. Neil is getting tortured and bam! suddenly he’s home. It had the potential to be a beautiful climax but really, it fell short. It felt like she just wanted to be done with it and get it published. Like nah we don’t really need to say what happened between point A and point B it’s fine. We’ll probably get more of an explanation in #3 but still. I feel like we trudge through so much boredom and then the last 3 pages are like !!! action. it happened in tfc too. 

I was definitely glad to see an explanation of Exy at the end of this book, though I still don’t completely understand how Lacrosse On A Basketball Court became as/more popular than football in a short span of 30 years. Why didn’t we get this on book 1...? unless my copy was just bizarre. Maybe it took her 2 books to figure out herself. 

[myblessedeyes]

Listen, I’m touch-starved and I can’t stop thinking about these Andreil headcanons, so I gotta write them out and hopefully someone else will like them as much as I do:

*This is all imagined to happen after “yes or no”s have come up less frequently when it comes to casual shows of affection because “no”s have been thoroughly proven to be respected*

Andrew getting into the habit of spreading his legs every time Neil makes a motion to sit down in their living room and any of the other foxes’s living rooms so Neil can settle on the floor between them and sometimes lean his head against his thigh and his fingers will tangle in his hair and sometimes Neil will lean his head back and sometimes he gets a kiss and other times he gets a roll of the eyes and a few times he’s gotten a slap on the forehead along with a mumbled, “Fucking junky”

After getting a “from the hips up,” Neil spending an entire morning just tracing the lines of Andrew’s spine, the curve of his waist, the bulge of his bicep, following the movement of his back’s muscles moving as he leans a little more into Neil’s chest with his eyes closed in his peace

Neil just slumping on top of Andrew’s back whenever and wherever their standing and nuzzling Andrew’s neck when he’s particularly tired and trusting that Andrew can carry him without particularly paying any mind to the stares

Does this a lot in the morning while Andrew’s fixing them their coffees

Winter is sometimes a moisture sucking monster and makes it impossible to go a day without lotion, so take the time to imagine Neil hearing the sound of dry hands rubbing together and bringing out the bottle of Bath & Body Works lotion Renee gave him for his last birthday and pouring a whole shitload on his hands, asking for Andrew’s hand and just rubbing the lotion into his hands and higher depending on the outrageous amount he poured out

Andrew Minyard walking around smelling like Japanese Cherry Blossom gives me peace alright

Limbs, everywhere:

Andrew’s leg over Neil’s shoulder as their sitting in the living room scrolling through their phones

Legs weaved together, with Andrew rubbing his foot up and down Neil’s recently shaved legs in bed while they’re doing homework

Allison “accidentally” switched his lotion for a Nair’s bottle

Neil laying on Andrew’s ass while Andrew’s reading out of his Advanced Psychology textbook out loud to help him concentrate with Neil’s hand massaging his hips and thighs after a particularly hard leg day and a “yes”

Andrew laying between Neil’s legs, head smooshed into Neil’s chest  and hands under his sweatshirt and following the outline of his back muscles as Neil watches one of Kevin’s many “assigned” Exy games to study

Neil laying across Andrew torso with one arm wrapped over his shoulder and the other around his waist with his head on his chest while Andrew smokes with the window in their bedroom open above him with a hand on his back tapping along to the rhythm of the music playing from one of their iPods

Neil in Andrew’s lap with his legs wrapped around his waist with Andrew’s hand up Neil’s basketball shorts indulging Neil (and not himself tysm) in a thigh massage

Arm over Neil’s shoulder with his hand inside his shirt

Arm around Andrew’s waist with his fingers curled around his belt loop and finger hooked inside the waist band of his jeans

Andrew just sitting on Neil’s lap, with Neil’s head leaning against the sofa’s backrest, eyes closed as he’s soothed close to sleep, and just spending a good hour just combing back his hair, eyes staring uninhibited at the small pimples on his chin, the car lighter scars, the knife scars; one goes from his eyebrow to the bottom of his jaw, the other one crossing across to the bridge of his nose and the deepest one going from his temple to the top of his cheekbone, his thick eyebrows, his long, thick eyelashes, the soft smattering of freckles from his runs outside in the middle of summer, the line of his nose, the way the sunlight coming in contoured the sharp line of his cheekbones, the way his square jaw looked from every direction he could look at it from, his beautifully stupidly marked cupid’s bow, the small scar at the corner of his mouth from the one time his mom had slapped him hard enough to bleed when he had screamed to loud when she was stitching up a particularly painful cut, the small nicks from where his mom’s nails had cut him on his jaw and cheek from his lessons. Every single detail, Andrew making sure to memorize

Neil returning the favor and helping Andrew in his shower 

Don’t think he’d ever do it while Andrew is injured... Too vulnerable. Triggers have a tendency to rise when feeling like injuries can keep you from properly protecting yourself

Andrew taking an Anatomy class and having Neil as reference because working out had helped in making his stupid muscles become obscenely marked and having Neil naked in his bed and draped in his cotton sheets as he follows the line of the muscles he’s trying to memorize really isn’t helping but god- does it make it hard to forget just where the semitendinosus or the sartorious is and- God, does he wish he was doing this with his mouth.

he passed the course with flying colors

he would have been able to do it with the book alone

would have definitely saved him the embarrassment of having an inappropriate boner in the middle of class that’s for sure

Andrew making a habit of braiding his hair after Neil had come back from a sleep over with the girls with a pair of french braids and had really liked how they looked on him

i just really like braids and i really like the idea of Neil walking around campus with long hair and braids in his hair ok

Neil making a habit of giving him head massages when they’re sitting side by side doing shit together

It’s 4 am and this is all I can think of.

Part II

[neilljxsten]

aftg dancer!au

dan is the captain of the dance team and she was chosen because she understands many dance styles. took ballet when she was very little but moved on to tap and salsa. is their most versatile dancer, though she specializes in jazz and modern dance. 

neil as a contemp/modern dance master. he travelled a lot on the run so he’s susceptible to many styles, but since he never stays long enough to master them, he’s learn to take what he learns and incorporate it into what he already knows.

aaron is classically trained. that means he’s been in ballet since he was six and if anyone gives him shit for it, he crushes them with thighs honed by 10+ years of plies. also does hiphop because his body coordination is 12/10

renee is all weirdly bent feet and skinny limbs as a result of years and years of ballet. is trained in russian ballet but is trying to break away from the strict structure and try more modern styles. can get down if warranted. breakdancer-in-training.

matt and nicky as your classic bboys with the basketball shorts and the too-long socks and the scuffed up shoes. kevin likes to say they have scuffed up heads as well. they specialize in props as well, and their hat trick routine has the most views on the foxes’ youtube.

speaking of kevin his mom has put him in dance classes since he was a kid and he’s convinced he knows all the right ways to do hiphop. is the most technical of the hiphop dancers. hates those dark contemp pieces with 40+ dancers and heavy beats with a passion.

allison is jazz/contemp oriented. used to be a cheerleader so she knows how to put the sassiness into her moves. hates the structure of ballet but cannot conform to the flowiness of lyrical. started in her early teens so she still focuses more on improving her technique. has the best basis for choreography on the team, though.

andrew is in charge of choreography, and he performs the least out of all of them. when he does, it’s with quick and powerful but detailed moves that draw from a variety of hiphop influences. by some ironic twist of fate he is the one who does trend dances the best, even though he does them once every blue moon and never where the public can see. can also tap dance, but no one but neil and aaron have seen this skill.

[takenews-blog1]

These Athletes Have Pre-Recreation Secrets and techniques That Maintain Their Heads In The Recreation

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These Athletes Have Pre-Recreation Secrets and techniques That Maintain Their Heads In The Recreation

Sports activities video games are lengthy. MLB and NFL video games usually final 4 hours and NBA video games can push three. It might’t be straightforward for athletes to maintain their focus, particularly once they’re huffing and puffing on the sidelines. The important thing for a lot of athletes to remain targeted is to first hone their focus with their pre-game rituals. Listed here are a few of the finest, worst, and weirdest.

You gained’t imagine what Yankees catcher Jorge Posada used to do earlier than squatting behind the dish!

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Michael Jordan is arguably the best NBA participant to ever play. There are rumors that as a baby he would shoot 100 free throws in a row in his driveway earlier than going to mattress. Whether or not that’s true or not, one factor is true, Jordan by no means forgot his previous. In truth, the rationale he performed in such dishevelled shorts was that earlier than each recreation he would placed on his College of North Carolina shorts for good luck. That’s proper, Michael Jordan would play in each his faculty workforce’s shorts in addition to his Bulls’ shorts! There isn’t a affirmation whether or not he would additionally put on his House Jam shorts.

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Ray Lewis was an unbelievable linebacker and workforce chief. Successful the Tremendous Bowl in each his rookie and closing season within the NFL was no small process. Lewis, to his credit score, was not a small persona both, utilizing his vitality, lion volumed yell, and sheer presence to pump himself up, in addition to his Baltimore teammates throughout his pre-game speech. Requested about it, quarterback Joe Flacco claimed he by no means understood a factor Lewis yelled however knew the fiery linebacker meant each phrase. In Lewis’ case, his quantity spoke louder than his phrases ever may.

The linebacker developing subsequent didn’t have time to talk between cookies.

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Brian Urlacher recorded 1,229 profession tackles in his NFL profession. At 6’four″ and 258 kilos, each a kind of tackles should have harm. Earlier than video games, nevertheless, Urlacher was a delicate large, selecting rest over adrenaline. What was his weapon of selection? Chocolate chip cookies and nation music, after all! How else do you assume he made eight Professional Bowls? Figuring out he needed to watch his determine, Urlacher additionally practiced self-control, limiting himself to 2 cookies pre-game. He had his preferences too, solely munching on Well-known Amos snack cookies whereas jamming to Keith City. Actually a diabolical union that helped result in a sure-fire Corridor of Fame profession.

Billy Weiss/Boston Pink Sox/Getty Photos

One of the crucial superstitious Baseball superstars of all time was Wade Boggs. The Boston Pink Sox Corridor of Fame third baseman had the identical pre-game ritual for all 162 video games he performed a season. Sitting at his locker earlier than a recreation, Boggs would eat fried hen and write the phrase “chai” over and over. The Jewish phrase interprets to life, one thing the fried hen should have crammed him with as he completed his profession with greater than three,000 hits.

Whereas Boggs was scarfing down fried hen, one other athlete had a a lot weirder ritual a couple of hundred miles north.

Ezra C. Shaw/Allsport/Getty Photos

Steven “Turk” Wendell should have believed within the energy of the Easter Bunny throughout his enjoying days for the New York Mets. The quirky reliever didn’t have a pre-game ritual per se, however he did have a pre-appearance superstition. For an MLB reliever, that’s principally the identical factor. As he would come out to the mound to pitch, Wendell would leap over the baselines. Stepping over the white line and messing it up would have been again luck. Even stranger, Wendell wouldn’t go an inning with out brushing his tooth.

Then once more, brushing one’s tooth is extra sanitary than what our subsequent athlete did…

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In the course of the Yankees dynasty of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, two issues had been sure; Mariano Rivera would shut the sport and Jorge Posada would catch the ultimate out. Posada, for his half, would inform you there was a smelly motive he was so good. Earlier than each recreation he would urinate on his palms, claiming it helped construct calluses. Oddly sufficient, Moises Alou would do the identical factor, however solely within the offseason. Who is aware of if the science behind the speculation is sound, however Jorge Posada behind the plate was completely sound because the ball would hit his glove for strike three.

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Kobe Bryant’s identify will reside on for so long as the NBA exists, possibly longer even. The “Black Mamba” grew to become greater than only a participant in his 20-year profession, he grew to become a legend. His greatness prolonged the size of his profession, which he ended by scoring 60 factors in his closing recreation. Earlier than that recreation he carried out his pre-game ritual one final time, strolling on the stadium ground 4 hours earlier than tip-off. It’s there, alone, he may focus, solely caring concerning the sound of the ball hitting wooden, the backboard, the rim, and the web. This was Kobe Bryant’s peace, his “calm earlier than the storm.”

Kobe Bryant by no means performed a recreation with out his ritual, similar to this subsequent athlete would by no means begin a recreation earlier than consuming his signature meal.

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The San Francisco Giants gained their second World Collection in 2012, and journeyman pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was a giant a part of that. Initially drafted by the Giants in 1998, he shuffled across the minor and main leagues earlier than coming again residence in 2011 and cementing his spot within the workforce’s rotation. In 2012 he would reside out his childhood dream, pitching 5.2 shutout innings in recreation three of the World Collection. When requested concerning the secret to his late profession success, Vogelsong thanked the ability of enchiladas. The evening earlier than each begin, together with the postseason, Vogelsong would eat the identical enchiladas from the identical restaurant. In 2018 he shall be inducted into the Giants wall of fame, proving his pre-game meal was price each calorie.

David Banks/Getty Photos

Retiring from the NFL whereas nonetheless in his prime, former Lions vast receiver Calvin Johnson was the perfect at his place for brief time within the league. He credit yoga as the rationale he tortured opposing workforce’s secondaries. Launched to Johnson by Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton, Johnson is aware of yoga isn’t for everybody however says it labored for him. He would apply yoga earlier than video games and through warm-ups, utilizing it to loosen up, stretch, and relieve bodily ache. The one ache it didn’t relieve was shedding, which is the rationale it’s believed he retired at simply 30-years-old, lacking out on his probability to get into the Corridor of Fame.

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Simply the best ladies’s soccer participant of all time, Mia Hamm can also be one of many best athlete’s of all time. Being the face of American soccer couldn’t have been straightforward, and Hamm reportedly had fairly the superstition to take care of her anxiousness, particularly earlier than video games. When she would lace up her cleats she must tie them proper lace over left lace each time. If the ritual was damaged she must begin over or face the results of enjoying a horrible match. Contemplating her two World Cup championships, that mishap not often occurred.

In case you assume that’s obsessive, simply wait…

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Not a reputation acquainted to American sports activities followers, Neil McKenzie is a well-known South African cricket participant whose pre-game ritual was too unusual to not share. As a solution to put together himself for a recreation and rid himself of any unhealthy luck, McKenzie would tape his cricket bat to the ceiling of the locker room and put the bathroom seat down on each rest room. What’s actually nutty is that he wouldn’t simply do that earlier than each recreation, he would do it earlier than each at bat! In 2004 he was minimize from the nationwide workforce and returned in 2008 claiming he had recovered from his self-diagnosed obsessive-compulsive dysfunction.

Andrew Weber/Icon SMI/Icon Sports activities Media/Getty Photos

LeBron James is nothing if not probably the most polarizing figures in sports activities at this time. The Cavaliers homegrown famous person as soon as belted the town of Cleveland for the sunnier seashores of Miami. After enduring years of hate, he returned to open arms and introduced the town its first skilled championship within the fashionable sports activities period. When he initially left Cleveland, he additionally left behind his pre-game ritual, a powder toss designed to pump himself up. Not discovering the success he wished in Miami, James introduced the powder toss again and gained a number of NBA championships. In truth, LeBron James has appeared in each NBA finals for the final eight years. It’s clearly all as a result of he chooses to toss powder earlier than each recreation to rid the air of unhealthy mojo!

Nonetheless, some basketball gamers take their rituals a step additional.

Barry Chin/The Boston Globe/Getty Photos

Kevin Garnett will make the NBA Corridor of Fame, he simply won’t bear in mind the profession that received him there. You see, Garnett has one of many extra violent pre-game rituals, selecting to bang his head into the padding across the hoop earlier than each recreation. Whereas that may not sound very concussion-inducing, it’s in actual fact repeated head trauma for 82 days a yr, extra if his workforce made the playoffs, which they normally did. In truth, Garnett made the playoffs 14 occasions in his profession, profitable one championship. He may need a violent pre-game routine, nevertheless it unquestionably helped him earned his spot within the NBA Corridor of Fame.

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Curtis Martin is the fourth-leading rusher in NFL historical past with 14,101 profession yards. Over the course of an 11-year profession, he averaged 12,800 yards per season. If somebody had been to ask him what the important thing to his success was he would give the plain athlete reply of “God.” Not like most athletes, nevertheless, Martin took his devotion to the lord a step additional. Sitting at his locker earlier than video games, Curtis Martin made it his common apply to learn Psalm 91, a extra passive entry within the Bible asking followers to declare their belief within the lord. That belief helped lead Martin to one of many best careers for a working again in league historical past.

Our subsequent athlete believed one thing apart from God helped him run quick.

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Usain Bolt’s legacy is simple. He usually made monitor races non-competitive along with his blazing velocity. He was, in any case, the quickest man on this planet. Earlier than a race, although, Bolt wished to speak about something apart from the game he was revolutionizing. A number of of his favourite issues to speak about had been music, ladies, and vehicles. We assume he favored his vehicles quick, however gained’t ask to be secure. The rationale Bolt refused to speak about racing earlier than a race was easy, he didn’t need to overthink it. All he wanted to win was his pure velocity, a really particular bodily reward.

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One other lesser-known star with a giant pre-game routine, Jill Kintner is a BMX Olympic medalist and four-time BMX world champion. She retains her routine easy and tight, prepping together with her coach, she drinks half an vitality drink and rides up the chairlift to the place the race will begin. As soon as there she checks her gear; goggles, elbow pads, and footwear. After the fundamentals, she flicks rocks with the entrance wheel of her bike, actually getting herself within the zone. Proper when all that ends she strikes to the gate and begins her race. Possibly not the craziest pre-game routine, however the satan is all within the particulars on this one, and people particulars imply all the pieces to Kintner.

Hyoung Chang/The Denver Submit/Getty Photos

Three-time mountain biking 24-hour solo world champion Rebecca Rusch places on a present for her neighbors earlier than each race. Undoubabltly among the finest aggressive mountain bikers on this planet, Rusch takes her routine straight again to when she was child imagining herself profitable the large race. We’re not mendacity both, sitting on her bike within the driveway exterior her home, Rush pretends two little stone pillars are the end line. She visualizes the win as she rides via, going so far as to lift her arms in celebration of her pending victory.

Not a nasty solution to get able to race, not as bizarre as kissing your teammates earlier than video games both…

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France is soccer world energy. Probably the most recognizable face of French soccer is Zinedine Zidane, who as soon as headbutted an opponent within the chest through the World Cup. A lesser-known French participant is Laurent Blanc, a member of the 1998 French workforce who had among the finest pre-game rituals ever. Earlier than each match, Blanc would seek out the workforce’s goalkeeper, Fabien Barthez, and plant a giant fats kiss on his bald head. Barthez should not have minded, and the pre-game routine labored because the 1998 French males’s membership gained the World Cup that yr. This routine goes down within the pre-game ritual Corridor of Fame!

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Texas Rangers pitcher A.J. Griffin is multi-talented and makes use of his many abilities to assist put together for a recreation. Very similar to Usain Bolt and Brian Urlacher, Griffin doesn’t need to take into consideration the sport earlier than he has to. To assist take his thoughts off issues he performs guitar. Whereas his teammates heat up on the sphere taking batting apply and enjoying long-toss, A.J. Griffin hangs again and lays down a couple of candy licks. Considered one of his favourite bands to play is Led Zeppelin, whose tabs preserve him targeted on something however Baseball. The technique labored whereas in Oakland for the primary two years of his profession, though his final two years in Texas may need him strumming a brand new tune with an ERA over 5.00!

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Ending up our listing of pre-game rituals that vary from the distinctive to the bizarre is three-time world Ironman champion Chrissie Wellington. Figuring out how critically she takes her sport, she prefers to remain lighthearted and unfastened throughout her pre-game ritual, watching family-friendly motion pictures and writing poetry. Her favourite film to observe earlier than a race is “Seabiscuit,” the identical identify she gave her race bike. When she wants a bit of further assist, she writes down the phrases to Rudyard Kipling’s poem, If on her water bottle. The inspirational poem by the writer of The Jungle E book tells the reader to think about themselves it doesn’t matter what. The religion that Wellington has in herself, and this pre-game ritual, has taken her far in her occupation. In truth, all of the athletes on this listing used their pre-game rituals to attain success of their extremely worrying and aggressive sports activities. Who is aware of, possibly certainly one of their rituals will be just right for you too!