#andrew: oh so you love exy more than me?

[ravlykpavlyk]

so au in which andreil meet before canon:

andrew is still doe

abram is running for his life

but they still meet and they still fall in love

and everything is gay and happy until mary reminds that they need to run

andrew is devastated

abram is angry bc he has FINALLY found something good for him, someone good and kind (in his own way)

but andrew understands it, of course he understands

so he makes abram promise him to write as often as he can

abram agrees

yes andrew won't write back bc it's not safe, but at least andrew will know that the love of his life this idiot is alive

abram and mary run away

andrew stays and waits for letters

and

andrew is waiting for abram's letter

he's waiting patiently

and HERE it is!!!

a letter from abram!!!

after a few weeks of nothing

andrew is happy

andrew is making some kind of stupid happy dance and he will deny it for the rest of his life

BUT

here's angst

OF COURSE HERE'S ANGST

andrew is sent into another family

and then another one

so andrew is sending his new addresses to abram's old one bc he wants his letters from abram okay?

soon andrew changes his surname to minyard

which is ALSO mentioned in his letters

however andrews doesn't get any more letters

right after he was sent into another family abram stopped writing

and andrew ... andrew loses his shit

but he has brother, who is certainly in trouble, and cousin, and mother??? holy shit

andrew doesn't forget abram, of course not

but he tries to live and get at least something what is left from his family

andrew is moving on

kinda

but hey he is trying!!!!

until one day he goes to shit hole millport to get kevin some exy boy

and here is his abram

angry gay (andrew) hits him into stomach with exy racquet to stop! the love of his life! from! running! away! again!

abram, or neil now, is shocked

KEVIN is shocked!! andrew is holding a racquet voluntarily!! yes to hit new kid but still!!

but neil is having some kind of mental breakdown

andrew: so here he is

neil: andrew,,,,,, (with his usual 'i am in love with you' eyes) you are here

andrew: i am here

andrew: bc you forgot your own promise

neil is stunned, like wtf andrew????

neil: wtf andrew???

andrew: i. has. got. only. one. fucking. letter. for. all. these. fucking. years.

neil:

neil: wtf andrew????

neil: i wrote at least fifty of them???

neil, in his head: for half of them I got beaten to shit by my mother

neil, still in his head: and once nearly killed by my father

andrew: i. have. not. received. any. of. them. stupid. abram.

neil: maybe bc you've changed houses!! and your fucking name???

andrew: so what if I did?

andrew: i told you about it!!

neil: w h e n could you possibly tell me about it?

andrew: in my fucking letters!!!

AND here is SILENCE

and silence again

until neil says in completely low voice

neil: what letters?

andrew loses his shit bc wtf??? what does abram mean with this 'what letters'????

but then it hits him

abram didn't receive any of his letters

bc he probably sent his own letter right before moving to another place

and andrew didn't even think about it bc he's grumpy little gay

but once they solve their little gay problems neil signs with foxes

wymack can't care less about this gay drama (he cares a lot okay?)

and kevin 'it is easier to stay straight' day. is. crying.

bc HOW can EVERYONE be GAY IN THIS FUCKING TEAM? H O W

his father coach has the best gaydar in this world

andreil kill nathan, rescue jean and kevin and neil and win exy shit game (neil and Kevin are having heart attack at this line)

and andreil live their happy little gay life

[bisexualchaosdemon]

His Brother's Real Laugh

(A look at Andrew and Aaron pre 'It runs in the family')

A little over three years after graduating from PSU, Andrew gets a call from Aaron. It isn't one of the scheduled times they usually have calls, but Aaron is calling to see if Andrew can visit soon. Andrew is in the car before he has even hung up, never mind that his twin lives two states away.

Unsure of how to react to Andrew appearing his doorstep mere hours after Aaron asked him to come, Aaron points out that he is meant to be at practice with his fancy Pros Exy team. Andrew flipped him off and didn't bother with a proper greeting either, "What's wrong?"

"What?" Aaron frowned, confused. "Nothing is wrong."

"Something must but up if you couldn't tell me on our normal brotherly bonding call." Andrew insisted.

"It wanted to speak to you in person, but nothing's wrong," Aaron sighed. "Just come in, I'll make coffee."

"If you try to give me decaf again, I'm going to kill myself on your wife's nice white rug." Andrew warned.

Aaron laughed as he led the way to his small kitchen. "I made sure we had regular coffee when you said you were coming and hung up,"

Andrew nods and watches Aaron make their coffee. Katelyn doesn't appear to be home, but it's not unusual for their schedules to shift out of sync with their medical school graduation now less than a year away. And Aaron didn't look upset or hurt at all; just a little nervous.

Andrew allowed his brother a moment to collect himself, just until they sat down with their drinks. "What's going on, Aaron?" He asked again.

"Kate's pregnant," Aaron answered at last.

Oh. Andrew had not been expecting that. He didn't react outwardly, unsure what reaction was appropriate here.

"Is this good news?" He asked.

"I think so?" Aaron shrugged. "I've spent the last week freaking out, in all honesty. We are meant to finally be starting our careers now so the timing isn't ideal, and after everything with Tilda... But, I think it's good, yeah. I think I can do this, if it's Kate I'm doing it with."

"If anyone can pull off becoming a doctor and a mother in the same year, it's Katelyn." Andrew acknowledged. As much as he had hated Katelyn at first, he had come to understand why Aaron loved her over the years. They weren't besties, but Andrew had been Aaron's best man when they got married.

"She is a force of nature," Aaron smiled into his coffee. The twins have never, and would never, admit that they shared a love of fiery redheads.

"And you are more capable than you give yourself credit for," Andrew said. "I know you can do this, irrespective of timing or what happened in the past."

"I–" Aaron blinked at Andrew in surprise. It was a minute before he was able to answer, "Thank you."

Katelyn came home later on while they were chatting, and Andrew extended her that same congratulations. She thanked his brightly as she came to join them, plopping down next to her husband and putting her feet in his lap. Aaron started rubbing them without even pausing their conversation.

"You don't need to thank me for the truth." Andrew gave him a small, rare smile. "Congratulations, Aaron."

Aaron insisted that Andrew at least stay the night once they were done talking. Andrew agreed after texting his own husband to assure the silly rabbit that he was actually alive, if in a different state than when they last spoke. And that he hated him, after Neil had responded with something sappy in Russian.

It was the next morning that Andrew had suggested Aaron and Katelyn move to be in the same city after graduation. He could see the surprise and hesitation on their faces and held up a hand to stop them responding. They had nine months to figure it out, but he wanted to help if he could and he missed living in the same state as his brother. He just wanted them to consider it for now.

They put a pin in the topic there. They talked about other things over the coming weeks instead. Any high or low, Andrew listened to anything Aaron wanted to talk about. He even ordered food to be delivered to Katelyn a couple of times when Aaron was worried she wasn't taking enough breaks from studying but didn't know how to help.

So when Aaron's name popped up on his phone the same afternoon he knew Katelyn's first ultrasound was due to take place, Andrew was on high alert immediately. "Is something wrong?"

"What?" Aaron was just as confused as he had been last time Andrew greeted him in that manner.

"Katelyn had her scan today and you are calling," Andrew explained. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Aaron breathed out the slightest chuckle. "No, not wrong."

"But there is a reason you called," Andrew prompted, not quite a question.

"Yeah, uh," Aaron sounded dazed. "We're having twins."

Things so rarely went well for the Minyard twins, it was a startling relief that Aaron wasn't calling with bad news. He was just calling to freak out about the shock of finding out he was having twins when he only just stopped panicking about having one kid.

"Maybe it runs in the family," Andrew remarked. He thought Aaron having twins was objectively hilarious.

"Maybe the universe is just fucking with us," Aaron suggested with a playful groan.

And Andrew laughed. A real, genuinely happy laugh. Aaron had never heard his brother laugh like that before. "Us? No, this one is all you, brother mine. I've never been so happy to be the gay twin."

And then Aaron was laughing too. "You're the asshole twin, is what you are."

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 13

PREVIOUS

“I can’t believe you would go out on Black Friday to grocery shop but I guess thanks for going out on Black Friday to grocery shop.” Aaron greets him with as FF moves over to the table.

Andrew and Captain Neil had apparently went out shopping.

Andrew and Captain Neil had apparently come back and have been in Andrew’s room for the past couple hours.

“Josten probably wanted to go to Excites for some gear. I don’t know what my brother sees in that Exy-obsessed jerk.” Aaron says as he eats his own smiley eggs and bacon. FF hears the sound of a hammer and a drill from Andrew’s room.

Heart in his throat he forces himself not to think about what Andrew and Captain Neil COULD be building.

(A guillotine, an iron maiden, that weird wedge thing that splits people in half at the groin, He should NOT have taken that Spanish history class. Oh god it’s probably a fence so he can’t escape whatever hunting ground Andrew is going to drag him to if he can’t buy his continued existence via baked good.)

“Shut up, they’re actually really sweet to one another.” Nicky chastises before turning to FF, “Because of that your final serving goes to Smithy. He deserves it more than you.” Nicky says and slides the final plate of eggs and bacon.

“He’s just as bothered by it as I am!” Aaron scowls.

“By what?” FF asks because there are a lot of things that bother him so Aaron is going to have to be more specific.

“By those two being all close. I’ve seen the way you turn and walk away.” Aaron reaches across the table for his bacon but FF just pushes the plate closer to him. The two plates he had already eaten were more than enough, especially after the full dinner that they’d had the night before. “You’re grossed out by it too right?” He asks as he goes to stab the bacon.

FF slides the plate away and Aaron stabs the table.

FF is NOT HOMOPHOBIC.

His gran raised him better than that.

“I don’t agree with you.” He says because he doesn’t but can’t bring himself to say anymore. He’s in Aaron’s house, he stole Aaron’s keys that morning to lock up the house.

(it was so rude but what if someone broke in because he left the house unlocked? What if someone got hurt just because he wanted to ensure his own survival? Isn’t it better that he just borrowed Aaron’s keys to make sure that no one in the house got hurt? Does FF still believe with every fiber of his being that Andrew Minyard is trying to murder him in this exact house? Yes. Can these concerns coexist peacefully? Also yes.)

If anything he finds Captain Neil and Andrew to be an incredibly nice couple. They talk about things together, they make plans about their future, their PDA was actually pretty minimal (especially in comparison to Aaron), and he had figured out the weird code Andrew talked in so he was pretty sure that Andrew and Neil loved one another.

The only issue he has with the couple is that they are out at a store probably buying supplies to torture and then kill FF.

Otherwise they were perfectly fine.

Aaron scowls, “You can’t be serious. You walk away faster than you run on the court when you see the two of them getting all gross.” He points with his fork and tries to grab the bacon again.

FF frowns deeper.

“I walk away even faster from you and your girlfriend.” He returns because Aaron and Katelyn are the couple who have been the MOST guilty of initiating something in front of him when he was in ‘Visible only when the sunlight strikes him at the exact right angle on the summer solstice’ mode.

 He had tried to clear his throat to get them to quit quite a few times but…well…he has heard Katelyn mention that one of her and Aaron’s favorite ‘hang out’ spots might be haunted….so he hadn’t been overly successful.

“PDA makes me uncomfortable in general. Captain Neil and Andrew are a very nice couple who you shouldn’t talk bad about.” He defends as one of the only people who would know exactly how thoughtful the two were to one another.

He hopes his Gran is proud of him for saying something.

Aaron looks at him with a twisted mouth for a while before relenting, “Fine they’re not that bad. It’s just a big brother thing.” Aaron rolls his eyes.

FF swallows down some acid in his throat and pushes the smiling eggs and bacon over to Aaron who smiles back at the breakfast and proceeds to eat it.

A big brother thing.

FF gets up and heads over to the final bag that Andrew had left out on the counter. FF had bought some additional offerings for his mortal soul to tide Andrew over while he made the brownies. It’s also where the incense and his latest two five hour energies should still be.

He finds the incense, wonders if he hallucinated the five hour energies (very possible), and hands Nicky a box of sour patch kids to distract him when he comes over.

“Smithy, why the hell are you lighting incense?” Nicky asks because the sour patch kids were NEVER going to be enough to distract Nicky. That would take something on the level of Swedish Fish but he’d been more focused on avoiding the candy thrown by an irate woman towards a member of Target staff because the grocery department couldn’t get her the redemption coupon for one of the flat screens in the Electronic department so he had FAILED to procure them. He’d even seen a box sail through the air is bullet time because his brain was too hopped up on Five Hour Energy but he’d let it go believing he could just grab a box at check out. THEN HE ZONED OUT IN THE CHECK OUT LINE AS HE STARED AT BOTH THE FUTURE AND THE PAST AND FORGOT HE WAS IN THE PRESENT WHERE HE HADN’T GOTTEN THE DAMN SWEDISH FISH.

“I’m going to make my Great Grandma’s brownies.” He says in response, “I’m hoping to channel her so I don’t mess up.” He says.

“Oh! More grandma baking goodies?! I can be your assistant baker! What do you need?” Nicky says visibly vibrating with excitement at the prospect. “We can listen to Mariah and I can lick the spoon!”

There is a noise of revulsion from the kitchen table.

“Don’t let him lick the spoon Smiths! He gets WEIRD about it.”

“That sounds like what someone who wants to lick the spoon would say.”

“Oh shut up!”

“That’s not a NO!”

The cousins continue to argue about spoon licking rights as FF gets started checking to make sure that the kitchen has all the necessary equipment to even make his brownies. He’d been so tired (last night? This morning?) that he hadn’t thought about even checking that the cousins would have things like a glass bowl, an baking dish, pie tin, etc.

Thankfully FOR ONCE luck is on his side and FF does not have to walk back to the Target.

So he finishes pulling out everything he’ll need, getting the oven pre-heated, and pulling out the ingredients for the brownies from the fridge.

He lights some incense with the stove top burners sends a quick prayer up and wonders if maybe a ouija board would have been better but if the Home Goods section had been a dangerous spot then the toy section would have been like walking into an active war zone. There are no laws as far as parents are concerned when it comes to getting the ‘it’ toy for their kids. FF has watched the highs and lows of humanity in the Barbie aisle more than once.

So he melts chocolate, he sifts flour and sugar, he separates eggs, and he uses every muscle that Kevin’s insane work out regiment had given his arms to whip those egg whites into stiff peaks. He knows his great gran is with him when Nicky and Aaron continue to argue (they are now talking about the ethics of licking the spoon vs. licking the bowl? He doesn’t quite get how they got there but alright) so Nicky doesn’t hear him say “Stiff Peaks Acquired” to himself because he knows Nicky well enough to know that he would have NEVER heard the end of it.

He uses all of the delicacy his gran had ever tried to teach him to fold those egg whites into the chocolate and then to fold in the flour and sugar. There are more steps, more ingredients, but unless you are family then those are CLASSIFIED.

Great Gran had always been the suspicious sort.

The oven beeps to let him know it’s done pre-heating as he’s carefully transferring his great gran’s life’s work into the baking dish.

He was so focused that he hadn’t even realized that Andrew was back until he turned to do the dishes and found Andrew holding the bowl and running his fingers through the scant remaining mix and shoving it into his mouth.

He is surprise that the scream remains in his head. He’s even more surprised that he stays upright. Maybe the nap did him some good even if it let Andrew and Captain Neil build whatever torture device they were intending to use on him.

He really needs to drink some pepto. He doesn’t think that Andrew will pause their ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ recreation to let FF manage his ulcers. Andrew is staring straight at him.

Andrew offers him the spoon.

FF declines. Raw eggs, sugar, and chocolate? With THIS stomach? He’d almost prefer to be chased through whatever enclosure Andrew is going to drag him to.

“When did you wake up?” Andrew asks.

“Hour ago.” He answers.

“Hm.”

“I’ll make the pie tomorrow.” he ventures trying to extend his life by another day.

Andrew shoves the spoon into his own mouth after that and walks out into the dining room. FF hears both Aaron and Nicky’s cries of anguish.

FF looks at the brownies in the oven at the incense burning on the counter and wonders if that was Andrew’s way of confirming his stay of execution.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

Per your requests:

@i-have-three-feelings @blep-23 @dreamerking27 @andreilsmyreligion @belodensetdust @rainbowpineapplebottle @yarn-ace @iwouldlikesometea @lily-s-world @obscureshipsandchips @booklover242 @whataboutmyfries @sahturnos @pluto-pepsi @dreamerthinker @passinhosdetartaruga @leftunknownheart @aro-manita-muscaria @hologramsaredead @Chaoticgremlinswishtheycouldbeme @tntwme @tayspots @nick-scar @crazy-fangirl2524​ @blue-jos10​ @stabbyfoxandrew​ @splishsplashyouropinionistrash​ @sammichly​ @the-broken-pen​ @bitchesdoweknowu​ @very-small-flower​ @ghostlyboiii​ @its-a-paxycab​ @bisexual-genderfluid-fan​ @cheesecookie​ @theoneandonlylostsock​ @foxsoulcourt​ @blueleys @adverbialstarlight​ @elia-nna​ @can-i-just-stay-in-the-corner​ @nikodiangel​ @foxandcrow-inatrenchcoat​ @hallucinatedjosten​ @satanic-foxhole-court​ @vexingcosmos​ @chalilodimun​ @insectsgetcooked​ @angry-kid-with-no-money​ @queer-crows​ @lilyndra @themugglemudperson​ @readertodeath​ @apileofpillows​ @mortalsbowbeforeme​ @hellomynameismoo​ @next-level-mess @youreonlylow​ @interstellarfig​

As stated before if you’re up here and I spelled it right but you didn’t  get a notification there might be something switched around in your  settings that won’t let me tag you properly?

[stick-ball]

What would make for easier life for Neil? Living on the run with his mother(canon) or staying in Nest for few years ?

Okay listen, im sorry, but Neil's level of woobification is the sole and only reason i cannot respond to this in depth without retching blood. The only way the girlies will get me is over my dead body. So, instead I offer you this:

To cite a classic, Neil is gonna be fine either way. The kind of spirit he has will prevail what life throws at him, he's got the nerve and sheer determination to limit his focus at will, to imitate and conquer. Both paths will be dark, but neither will be stronger than his spirit.

Because his true and sole horror is Nathan.

So, instead of crying over the delusional, sociopathic, murderous psycho (can you feel the love?) that is Neil Abram Josten, I want to consider what would change for others if he ended up at the Nest.

Andrew- that ship would probably never set sail, so there's that. I am not gonna go all teary eyed over this bcs the last thing I wish on Andrew is the Nest tbh.

Jean - would have a partner, he wouldn't be the cast aside to both the Ravens and the Sons of Exy at once. That would mean more nerve, less suicidal thoughts.

Kevin - is more likely to end up dead than with a broken hand but that's bcs he's not important to the plot anymore in this scenario. Alternative is if he ends up maimed and running to daddy he most likely ends up in a relationship with Andrew instead, but it does not last because they are eachother's destructive tendencies.

Riko - oh this is my favourite can of worms. Because of Neil's uncontrollable attitude problem and ultimate daddy issues Riko would have a someone to butt heads with instead of slap around. Think what that would do to him. Neil gets so much extra angst points for the fact he is a first born son. He's like an amplifier and balm to Riko's issues at once. Does that mean he has a chance to be better? Does it mean he is worse? Thats a game of russian roulette! I love even the odds end up in this scenario though!

Nathan and Mary - more likely than not Nathaniel ends up an orphan sooner rather than later. I would say more but I think your imagination will paint a similiar picture.

The Foxes - well, Seth is alive, I think that's a happy ending?

[simonsrosebud]

kevaaron cause why not

kevneil (both are acespec )

Matt/Nicky (I stan bi matt) Erik and Nicky are still friends but we're previously in a relationship, Erik has moved on (maybe nickys first love??)

andrew/Roland pre -series (theyre like a year apart cause I'm not sure how old Roland is but I've always thought of him to be a gay middle-aged man, but Andrew would be like underage and that's a nono)

Kandrew (acespec kevin?? Maybe on the demisexual spectrum??)

Renee/Allison/Dan or some variant/combination in the same au as Matt/Nicky

Jean/Neil , demisexual spec Neil

Kevin/Jeremy cause they were never given a chance and KEVIN I KNOW THERE'S GAY IN YOU demispec kev

Choose whichever pairing that inspires you most but PLEASE tag me in the writing cause I need more aftg in my life <3

okay i may definitely tag u if i do others but for the first one i couldn't help but do jeremy and kevin I JUST LOVE THEM

The thing about Jeremy, Kevin supposes, is that he really thinks that he could’ve been a Raven if someone had been paying attention all the way in West Virginia.  He had the same talent and stats that other strikers did when joining the line, had more of a height advantage than Riko ever did.

Being a Raven would have broken his spirit.  Kevin doesn’t think he’d ever forgive himself for that, knowing that he probably would have contributed to it at some point.

But then he wouldn’t be this, free and spirited and so fearless in showing unabashed joy.  Here, sitting in Kevin’s car, babbling on about California and how Kevin really should visit him next time so that he can show him around.  “I’m glad the sun has finally reached you,” he’s saying, “You look good with a nice tan.”  And it’s taking too much out of Kevin to keep his eyes on the road.

Jeremy’s hotel is just off campus, but it’s not far, and Kevin does have time, so he leans against the hood of the car while Jeremy lifts himself up onto it because “the height difference isn’t fair”.  It's only three inches, Kevin doesn't dare point it out. And suddenly Kevin is reaching out to smooth his fingers through Jeremy’s hair, soft and smooth and golden in the setting sun.

“Maybe it’s all this hair weighing you down,” he says.

Jeremy smiles, wide and lopsided and lazy, and leans into his touch.  “Never.  The hair is part of my charm.”

Kevin settles his hand on the hood of the car, then, all long legs and tall torso leaning so casually, and he’s pretty sure Jeremy’s eyes linger on his arms for a second longer than normal.  It makes his chest fluttery, so he says, “That’s what I used to tell Jean.”

And oh, Jeremy lights up.  “Yeah?  He tells me it’s unbearable.”

“He’s an idiot.”  Why would anyone ever say that?  “I used to talk about you a lot… in the Nest.”  He doesn’t really know why he says it other than he and Jeremy won’t be in the same place forever and Neil told him to stop holding back just because he’s scared of getting a letter in the mail from Ichirou himself.  So long as you send them their money and stay out of jail, your free time is your own.

With the way Jeremy preens at his confession, he thinks it’s the right call, anyway.  He taps Kevin’s closest finger with his pinky.  “What, about exy?”

“No.”

Surprise.  “Oh.”  Jeremy’s skin is honey gold and bronzed from the constant California sun, but Kevin’s never seen him sunburned.  The tinge of pink on his cheeks may be as close as he’ll get.  “Can I tell you something embarrassing?”

Oh no.  Kevin steels the lead in his stomach.  “Sure, anything.”  He can feel it coming, the inevitable, I feel flattered, you know, but I just don’t-

“I used to have a poster of you in my bedroom at home.” 

God, this was even worse.

“But I took it down once my older brother caught me kissing it goodnight before bed.”

Oh…?

Kevin opens his mouth, but doesn’t know what to say.  Instead, a smirk starts taking over his lips.  “You had… You used to kiss me?  Every night?”

Jeremy’s blush has traveled the length of his neck, but at least he laughs softly.  “Until I was, like, almost sixteen, yeah.”  Kevin taps his pinky finger back.  “Now I just do it in my head.”

Pause.

Kevin whips his head back up, shock surely coating his face.  “You what?”

And Jeremy’s face falls.  “I-I just mean- sorry, I didn’t- oh god, I just made this super,” he slides off the hood of the car, “awkward.  That’s not- I just meant that, like-“

Kevin grabs his hand when he gets too far.  Jeremy freezes, but doesn’t dare move.  Kevin works on his words, lets his mouth fish open while he tries forming them, and eventually says, “If I had a poster of you,” he frowns, “I’d, um…” he looks up at Jeremy, vulnerable and confused and maybe, possibly, the least bit hopeful.  “I’d kiss you goodnight, too.”

Grinning, now, Jeremy lets his hand fall further into Kevin’s, and gives it two squeezes.  “You can, you know,” he whispers.  He meets Kevin’s eyes slowly.  “If you want.”

Nothing could stop the jackhammering in Kevin’s chest, or the rushing of blood in his ears from how red his face probably is, but Jeremy’s voice comes through right as rain regardless.  He gives his hand a tug, pulling Jeremy closer, and steps towards him so that he has to look down at him.  Those three inches are going to kill him.

But Kevin must be taking too long, because then Jeremy’s hand is sliding up the side of his neck and pulling him down, and Kevin’s hands go flying to his sides, falling into the dip of his waist and wishing they could run up along his skin.  Jeremy sighs a bit into his mouth and drags his tongue along Kevin’s bottom lip, and then Kevin is pulling him closer until their chests are flush and his hands can slide underneath the thin t-shirt, hand splaying on Jeremy’s lower back and wanting to curl itself into the skin there.

Jeremy’s tongue is warm and slick and Kevin tries not to be embarrassed when he moans lightly into his mouth.  It makes Jeremy smile against his mouth, which really is Kevin’s own fault because he did not want this kiss to end.  Jeremy tucks back in for one more kiss, shorter but sweeter, his fingers gently scratching at Kevin’s scalp, and searches Kevin’s face from only inches apart when Kevin subtly tilts his head into his hand.

“I kinda had one more embarrassing thing,” Jeremy pants a little, a warm smile poking through, and god, everything about him is warm and sweet, so so sweet.  His skin underneath his shirt is warm like a fresh batch of cookies; tongue like a melted marshmallow daring to fall apart in your mouth;  smile like a rainbow after a hot summer shower and disposition of one that reminds Kevin of his mother’s comfort, of Abby’s hugs and his father’s safety.

Jeremy himself is a son of Apollo, Kevin is sure of it.

But Kevin doesn’t trust his own voice, right now, so he just nods and hums in encouragement.  He holds Jeremy close more decidedly, taking advantage of the contact and flattening his palms along the bare skin of his back and waist below his shirt.  He thinks for a moment it sends shivers down Jeremy’s spine.

For this, though, Jeremy goes up on his tip toes and tilts Kevin’s head to grant him his ear.  He nips at it, first, sending a shiver down Kevin’s spine, and says, “You’ve been number one on my list since I was fourteen.”

“God.”  It’s not intentional, but Kevin doesn’t even care at this point.  He’s heard all about these lists from Nicky.  He knew what it meant.

Jeremy laughs, quiet and contained and goofy, and props his elbows on Kevin’s shoulders to shelter them in.  “Would you like to come up to my room?”

[mostlyvoid-partiallyflowers]

Okay I just speedran The Sunshine Court in like 12 hours. I will be rereading it soonly and giving more coherent thoughts but here’s my main takeaways:

- Thought #1: Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck this book exists. I am on the floor I’m so fucking excited.

Spoilers below the cut

- I absolutely love that we get both Jean and Jeremy POVs. It’s great especially because Jean is an oblivious and traumatized and if we just see things through his eyes we would never get to see Jeremy PINING like an absolute icon. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s about the pining, the waiting, the yearning. I’m simple man, I like my books gay, angsty, and with tension you could cut with a knife. This delivers on all accounts.

- I love getting to see the end of tkm from Jean’s perspective. Getting to see him watch the Foxes v Ravens game was incredible. I’m a very big fan.

- Renee and Jean time! Renee giving Jean her cross necklace. I’m in tears, I’m dead, I’m on the floor. It’s not the right time for us 😭. Excuse me? I’m unwell.

- Kevin Day, queen of my heart! Getting to see how someone other than Neil canonically sees Kevin is an absolute treat for me. Jean’s weakness for beautiful men has become known. Me too Jean, me too.

- Jeremy, light of my life, I can’t believe you’re rich. At least your family sucks because I don’t think I could take it if your family was wealthy and nice.

- Jeremy + Jean meeting for the first time. Jeremy trying and failing to play with a yo-yo. I’d die for you. They are ADHD 🤝 Autism solidarity me thinks.

- Montana has a pro Exy team which is not at all plausible but I’ll let it slide because one Montana mention for the win and two the team is called the Rustics which is absolutely what we’d call a pro sports team if we had one. The only reason Montanan’s at large would commit to indoor lacrosse is that Kayleigh Day was Irish and so solidarity.

- Laila and Cat, my beloveds. The description of their apartment has me yearning for the same. They have a bay window with a window seat okay. That’s like in my top three desires for a home.

- Carboard cutout dog with a classic Nora pet name. I’ll love Mister B forever. I love how Jeremy keeps moving him around. I love how Jean hates it.

- Trans characters! Poly characters! Nonbinary characters! Nora, my birthday has come a little late but damn this was a gift!

- I am absolutely pronouncing Jean wrong in my head probably 70% of the time.

- I’m so fucking angry at the Ravens. My blood is boiling and I want to cry. Jean deserved better, Kevin deserved better, Riko deserved better. All the Ravens deserved better. I want to put Tetsugi Moriyama into a blender and feed him to the crows.

- Jean was 16. I’m absolutely incandescent with rage.

- Jeremy is so patient with Jean and I will forever love him for that.

- This book was a lot shorter time frame than I was expecting, mainly because I keep forgetting there’s going to be another one.

- The food control but is driving me crazy. It makes me so fucking mad. Let my boy eat. I want him to be happy.

- Jeremy has seen Jean looking 👀 ummmmmm hello? “More exclusively than you do, I think.” I’m on the floor.

- Laila buying Jean a sex toy?!? Oh my god. What would she even get him? I feel like he deserves a vibrating cock ring or something fun like that. That way service top™️ Jeremy Knox can use it on him when they finally get together.

- I love seeing Neil from Jean’s perspective. It’s funny how different he is from my perspective and Jean’s/everyone else’s. I’ve spent so much time thinking about him from Andrew’s pov that it’s weird seeing him through anyone else’s. Everyone is like this scrappy irritating son of bitch is gonna get what’s coming to him, and Andrew is like, well I can’t not fuck him.

- The second Jean mentions Drake to Neil. And then Neil immediately calls a hit out on Gr@yson. Neil, you will always be famous to me.

- Jean-Yves! I hope he starts using his full name again at some point.

- Elodie :(((((( I can imagine what Jean’s going through and I am so afraid for him. If he keeps pushing all these feelings down he’s going to break sooner or later, but probably sooner.

- Jeremy’s unconditional support of Jean has my whole heart. Jean has friends now. I’m crying.

[perfecteggpartyland]

im not the other anon but ig when compared to other characters kevin can come off as a coward. and i do think "Kevin is a coward" and "it's completely normal for kevin to be afraid of riko" can exist at the same time.

but when pitted against neil for example. i can see see how kevin might seem that way. neil does run away from his father, but ultimately, he only really does that while under the control of his mother. Neil explicitly doesn't want to keep running. and stops very soon after his mom is dead and she can no longer force him to. and the decision does frighten him, I mean he has panic attacks about it, but he keeps doing it despite that. he plans to stay even before Andrew offers him protection, so he doesn't need that crutch like kevin does.

neil also isn't afraid of riko, even when he should be or when he's literally torturing him. he's not afraid of tetsuji either. or even really ichirou. even scenes with his father and lola, I mean he says lola looks like a whore to her face when she's about to torture him 💀 he says "fuck you" to his father when he threatens to cut the tendons in his legs. and he does try and fight Nathan and the others like he punches lola in the throat 😭 I'm just kinda listing of neils actions, but hopefully it makes sense? like I'm not saying neil is always unaffected or unafraid cause its not true, but he has more bravery than I think most ppl do cuz i know I wouldn't be cursing out these ppl if I was face to face with them.

and when we see compare Kevin's behavior to that a lot of it can come off as cowardice.

I think the real problem is seeing coward as a bad thing to be. which maybe sometimes it is. but it seems odd for the fandom to say "oh it's okay to be afraid" and then act like it's an insult to call Kevin a coward. its not bad if he is one. it's just a personality trait, it doesn't make him a bad person. I don't think anyone who calls Kevin a coward is attempting to make some moral judgement of his character, they're just noting a personality trait they observed in him.

Ok the problem is that a lot of people who call Kevin a cowerd ARE making moral judgements of his character; Kevin is rightfully afraid of riko and a literal Yakuza; he grows up in the nest where Neil spent two weeks and as further more traumatized; a lot of people don't take that into Consideration . Kevin not spouting up insults like Neil is not cowardance. he can keep his temper in check; neil is being hypocritical too cause like as u said his mom abused him yet he loves her ; and Kevin grew up with riko and still sees him as a brother figure; that's normal not to mention Neil is afraid of his father and think Kevin is coward. for Kevin his fear is riko. I think it all depends on what you think bravery is; Neil can't keep his temper in check and all his roasts and "bravery" has had awful consequences a lot of times. if Kevin was really coward he wouldn't tell Neil to run away while in the middle of season once he found out his identity knowing game would be at risk; he still offered to talk to Neil about riko when he's rightfully terrified and had a panic attack after seeing him. He never gave up on exy learned to play with his other hand and in the end he manages to stand up to riko; and beats him. It just pisses me off when Kevin's characters good traits are all ignored in favor of him being labeled as a spinless coward ; when that's not the case. Bravery is not only shit talking or knife swinging to me. And I hate the world coward generally; he's traumatized just as much as the other foxes and other than his rightful fear of riko and actual Yakuza he's not a coward and in the end he does stand up to him/them so he's not even a coward anymore. It shouldn't be such a large part of Kevin's description in the end at least ; by that logic jean is also a coward? And I've never seen someone call him that badly over the years.🤷

[mitskihost]

aftg show but it has shameless style precaps

- kevin, watching freshmen practice from the bleachers: “well? you sure as fuck weren’t at practice last week so where were you? you think you deserve a recap? go fuck yourself

- aaron, hunched over a textbook late at night, visibly disgruntled: “i play exy on the same team as kevin, i’m fucking pre-med and i still tuned in for last week’s episode. what the fuck is your excuse?”

- nicky, collecting empty beer cans from under a couch: “wait, you missed last week? thank god, me too. blacked the fuck out. i’ll let you have this just don’t tell andrew kay?”

- dan, putting her gear on in the lockeroom: “im incharge of the messiest exy team in the history of the ncaa and even i made time to watch the show last week. you think you get to be lazy? i won’t accept excuses next time? roll the fucking tape”

- allison, carefully painting each of her finger nails: “you want me to tell you what happened here last week? do i look like your fucking mother? you wanna get spoonfed all the time? get the fuck out of my sight and watch the damn recap”

- renee, sweaty, sparring with andrew casually: you missed last weel huh? i’m not an aggressive person yknow, i like to avoid fights. but if i hear you miss another week, my blade will not show you mercy. i’ll give you a pass this time, go on then (andrew in the background: you done playing nice walker? we gonna get started anytime soon?)

- seth, smoking outside the court, allison next to him looking annoyed: “you missed last week huh? look, i couldn’t care less. but i’d love a reason to punch your teeth in. you don’t wanna give me that reason again next week. now get lost.”

- matt, walking out of the lockeroom where everyone else is sitting in a shit mood: oh hi, yeah you don’t wanna be here. they got to know you missed the last week. kevin might tear you a new one if he sees you. maybe….watch the recap? i think that might help

- neil, during the hitchhiking scene in book1: look at me right now. fucking look at me. you missed last week and you cant even give me a ride. fuck you. make yourself useful and watch the recap.

- andrew, smoking on the roof, looking visibly unimpressed: i don’t care about most things that happen around here, and i still tuned in to watch the episode last week. now get lost. i don’t want witnesses to what i’m about to do to josten.

-wymack: nothing you could be doing last week was more important than the kind of shit ive been dealing with. get your shit together, asshole. better not see you asking me this stupid shit next week.

[starsandgutters]

Flash Ficlet requests! Oh okay thinking time now…Kevin hopelessly pining after Aaron…I love all of your writing…what to say, what to say…

May I ask about Kevaaron meeting each other before Neil gets recruited? (honestly I’d be happy with anything the way you write them brings me so much joy anytime I read any of it <333)

I wasn't sure if you wanted this canon based or in an AU where they get together instead of Aaron with Katelyn, so I've just left it open ended. I actually think Aaron really didn't like Kevin at the start, and Kevin just didn't care about Aaron. He was too insignificant to him for him to have feelings about.

CWs: Implied abuse Depiction of an anxiety attack Blood mention

Aaron has seen Kevin Day before. Through a screen, yes, multiple times, but also when he came to try and recruit Andrew. As much as he made an impression of a stuck up, arrogant, conceited bitch, Aaron could admit that he knew how to play. His speed and strength on the court were impressive, but he had grace as well, movements fluid despite his size.

Mostly. Aaron noticed sometimes he tensed when he moved too suddenly, or that certain moves held a stiffness to them. Aaron recognised that. Aaron spent a lot of his teens moving around like that, after all. It could have just been injuries from training, the Ravens were hardly known for their clean games, but it made Aaron wonder. 

His suspicions are confirmed when Wymack brings Kevin to the Foxhole Court for the first time. Gone is the superior facade. Kevin Day has been stripped down to a damaged, skittish animal, clutching his injured hand to his chest and warily eying the team. Wymack runs through introductions, tells them Kevin’s going to be assistant coach going forward. A feeble excuse to get him a scholarship, Aaron’s sure. Special privileges for exy’s special little boy. He keeps his gaze set on Kevin the whole time, watching how he holds his left hand in his right, thumb rubbing over the support bandage around it. 

Kevin does not look at Aaron. People rarely do. So he is free to observe all he wants.

*

Any ounce of sympathy Aaron may have managed to scrounge together for Kevin quickly evaporates once he finds his voice. He’s an absolute ass, meticulously tearing each of their play styles apart, heavy on the criticism and light on the constructive. The Foxes are vicious to him in response, and Aaron can’t blame them. He mostly stays out of the arguments, unless Kevin turns his yapping on him directly, then he bares his teeth and snaps back.

Andrew seems endlessly amused by the whole ordeal. He acts unaffected by Kevin’s attitude. Regardless of how hard Kevin tries, he cannot get Andrew to care about this game. Aaron could have told him to save himself the hassle. Andrew doesn’t care about anything since they doped him up on those fucking meds. Aaron thinks they’ve done more harm than good.

Off the court Kevin is only fractionally less irritating. He makes stilted, awkward attempts at conversation, always giving the impression he thinks he’s above them, that he’s lowering himself in talking to them. He never asks anyone questions about themselves, either. Just talks about his interests. Aaron takes any chance he can to contradict him.

“You’re not working on the things I told you to,” Kevin says.

“You’re not my coach or my captain.”

“I’m your assistant coach.”

“We all know that’s just an excuse for Wymack to keep you here after your little boo boo.”

“What the fuck is your problem? Is it the height? You’ve got some kind of Napoleon complex?”

It is, ironically, a low blow. Kevin’s leaning over Aaron, expression warped into one of anger. In spite of the responding anger stirring in Aaron’s body, he smirks. 

“Napoleon was actually around 5’6, which was average for French men of his time. And the Napoleon complex has been disproved. Studies show short men are actually less likely to lose their temper compared to taller men. Maybe you should check your facts before you open your mouth.”

Kevin blinks, like he didn’t expect that, like Aaron has caught him off guard. Of course. Everyone always underestimates him. What else is new?

“Then what’s your excuse?” 

“I don’t need an excuse. You’re a dick. I’m just reflecting your energy back.”

*

Kevin goes from an annoyance Aaron has to deal with for a small segment of his day, to enemy number one when Andrew decides to adopt him. They’ve made some deal that ends up with Andrew and Kevin attached at the hip, meaning Aaron is now faced with Kevin Day everywhere. In the car, at Eden’s, sleeping on the couch in their fucking house, the one place that should have been Aaron’s sanctuary. Andrew had made a deal with Aaron first. Just the two of them, sticking together until graduation, but apparently Kevin gets the special privilege of being an exception. 

What’s worse than Kevin trailing Andrew around like a lost lamb is when Andrew leaves him with Aaron. Aaron really feels that at his big age Kevin should not need babysat, and yet that seems to be what happens on a frequent basis. 

Aaron has mastered the art of sitting in stony silence with people, but petulant princess Kevin Day can only last so long before he talks, and talks, and pushes at Aaron’s buttons until he finally responds. And okay, maybe Aaron doesn’t really talk to people that much outside of school, bar Nicky. Andrew barely looks at him, and their deal keeps him isolated enough that making friends is a challenge. Aaron reflects spitefully on how this is yet another thing that doesn’t apply to Andrew, who befriended Renee during their first year. 

Fuck double standards, actually. Maybe he should just allow that spite to direct him into befriending Kevin as a petty pushback at Andrew. I made a friend too, and what’s worse, mine is your little pet project. 

“Fuck sake, Day, don’t you come with an off button?”

It would probably be a more effective endeavour if Aaron were not an asshole.

*

A glass shattering in the kitchen makes Aaron start. His heart rate rockets up. Years of smashed glasses, plates, slamming doors come rushing back to him, jangling his nerves. He breathes shakily. Reminds himself she’s gone now, he’s okay, it’s just Kevin in the kitchen. 

“What did you break?” he calls, but gets no answer. Cautiously Aaron gets to his feet and makes his way to the kitchen. Kevin is standing by the broken remains of the glass, staring down at it. He’s clutching his left wrist, hands trembling as he hyperventilates. There are tears in his eyes but he hasn’t let any of them fall. Aaron was not prepared to see Kevin’s vulnerability put on display like this, such a far throw from how he’s used to seeing him. He feels his skin tighten and tense with discomfort as the hateful image of Kevin in his mind starts to splinter and crack apart. Kevin’s head turns towards him, eyes wide like a cornered animal. He ducks down towards the glass, still gasping breaths. 

“Don’t.”

Too late. Kevin’s in no state to be cautious with it, and the first shard of glass he touches slices his finger open. He draws it back swiftly. Aaron thinks it’s probably a shallow wound, but it’s bleeding a lot already. He catches Kevin by the arm and hauls him up, pulling roughly when Kevin tries to resist. 

“I’m helping you, dickhead. Come on.”

Kevin tries to glare at him, but with his watery eyes and short, gasping breaths, he’s really not intimidating. Aaron pushes him down into one of the kitchen chairs. He wraps some kitchen roll around Kevin’s bleeding finger, guiding his other hand over to press against it. Kevin’s hands are surprisingly warm against Aaron’s, whose fingers are always cold. 

“Stay. Keep pressure on that,” he says, and runs off to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. The only movement Kevin does in his absence is curl in over himself, his back visibly shaking when Aaron comes back. “No, no, you need to sit upright. Come on.”

Aaron pushes at his shoulder, but Kevin resists, curling tighter into himself. Aaron represses a sigh. He tries to soften the impatient edge out of his voice. He can do this. This is what he wants to do, after all. Look after people. He tries to imagine he’s talking to a frightened child instead of Kevin, tries to envision how he would approach that differently. 

“Hey. You’re going to be okay. Kevin, do you hear me? It’s going to be okay, but I need you to sit back for me now. It’s harder to breathe in that position. If you sit up straight it’ll open your airways more. Can you sit up for me?” Aaron tries again, this time with a more gentle touch to Kevin’s shoulder, guiding him up instead of pushing. Kevin looks at him, eyes unsteady, face blotchy. Aaron holds his gaze, trying to keep his face even. “There. That feels better, doesn’t it? Next you need to get some more air in.”

Kevin lifts his hands without letting go of the bloody kitchen roll. He taps them against his chest. Aaron nods.

“I know your chest is hurting, but that’s because you’re not getting enough oxygen. We’re going to do some deep breaths together. You just follow me. The first few are going to suck, but they’ll get easier.” Aaron makes a show of breathing loud and exaggerated. Kevin struggles to mimic him at first, still only getting small, jumping breaths. “Come on, Kevin. You can do this.”

Gradually Kevin’s inhales get longer. Aaron keeps going until Kevin is breathing deep and steady, though there’s still a slight rattle on his exhales. 

“Good. That’s better. I’m going to clean your finger now-”

“I can do it.” Kevin pulls his hand back when Aaron reaches for it. Aaron gives him a flat, unimpressed look. 

“I’m sure you can, but I’m going to.” He grabs Kevin’s forearm. He knows most of the damage was done to his hand, but there are that many connections to the wrist, Aaron’s sure he probably feels pain there too. He’s seen Kevin clutching it a few times. It’s harder to get the leverage to pull his hand back with his forearm, but Aaron manages. “This might sting when I disinfect it.”

Aaron is sure it does, but Kevin sits silent and impassive as he cleans up the blood. He gets a better look at the cut, and like he thought, it seems fairly shallow. It’s just bled a lot. Aaron puts a bandaid on it just in case the movement of Kevin’s hand causes more bleeding. 

“Keep that on for tonight, then put a fresh one on in the morning.” Aaron takes a strip of bandaids out of the kit and hands them to Kevin. Kevin takes them without thanks, but he does meet Aaron’s gaze, something unrecognisable in his face. It’s a world away from the haughty expression that is usually cast Aaron’s way. 

*

Padding downstairs as quietly as he can, Aaron makes his way to the kitchen for a drink of water. He’d startled awake from a bad dream with dry mouth. There’s light from the living room as he passes through. Kevin glances over from where he’s sitting on the couch. There’s an infomercial playing on loop on the TV.

Aaron brings his water through and sits on the armchair. He lifts the remote, glancing at Kevin, but Kevin makes no protest. He looks like he’s just been zoning out with the screen on. Aaron flicks through channels until he comes across Jurassic Park. He doesn’t know why they’re playing it as this god awful hour, but he leaves it on.

“I loved this when I was little,” Kevin says after they’ve been watching for ten minutes.

“Yeah? Me too. What’s your favourite dinosaur?”

“T-Rex. Obviously.”

“Ugh. Basic and predictable.”

“Why, what’s yours?”

“Ankylosaurus.” When Kevin stays quiet, Aaron elaborates: “It’s the armoured one with a club on its tail.”

“I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was little.”

“Makes sense.”

“What did you want to be?”

“A lot of silly things.”

“Like what?”

“When I was really young, a zookeeper. Then a vet. Astronaut lasted quite a while. Marine biologist was only for a few years, before high school.”

“What did you end up studying?”

Aaron looks across, surprised. He didn’t realise Kevin doesn’t know what he’s studying. He probably should have. It’s not like Kevin ever asked, or like he’s shown any interest in Aaron before. It just feels like such a big presence in Aaron’s life, it’s strange for others not to know.

“I’m pre-med. Majoring in bio sciences.”

“Makes sense,” Kevin says after a moment, and graces Aaron with one of his rare smiles. Aaron blames the sleep deprivation for the way he instantly smiles back.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

happy wednesday :3 can we get some mafia restaurant?

WIP Wednesday (1/31) | Mafia Front Restaurant AU (Part 94)

“I always thought you transferred to USC because Jeremy Knox was there. I know you always admired him,” Neil says, not knowing how else to contribute to this conversation. “And the Foxes were so... dysfunctional. I figured you just wanted a better team.”

“I liked PSU. It was nice there. But I couldn’t stay after that. Andrew would’ve hated me. And that would’ve meant Nicky and Aaron hating me. And the rest of the team already did…”

Neil frowns at that. Oh, he can easily understand how someone could hate Kevin. He’s annoying and bossy and a perfectionist and generally unbearable when he’s even the slightest bit inconvenienced. But he’s Kevin Day, the son of exy, the greatest striker in the world. He’s allowed to be a bitch if he feels like it. At least, that’s how Neil feels. (Most of the time.)

“You should’ve told David Wymack you’re his son before you left,” Jean interjects. "Maybe... right after the game. Instead of going to your dorm..."

“Jean…”

“I mean it.” Jean says with a huff. “What better way to celebrate a historic win than announcing to the world that your coach is your father? It sounds like something in a film. Much better than sneaking off to swap spit with a delinquent.”

“To be fair, that also sounds like a movie,” Neil says, moving to sit with his legs crossed under him. Jean glares at him.

“I’m sorry.” Kevin says.

“I know,” Jean lets out a breath and turns to smile softly at Kevin. “I love you more than anything, even if you have shit taste in men.”

“I love you, too.” Kevin laughs softly before leaning forward to kiss Jean. It’s then Neil finally puts two pieces together.

[starrycassi]

Alice (my Andreil daughter) grows up and never ever hears anyone say "please", not her family (that is mostly the foxes) and not her parents. He hears it here and there, on the street and on the TV, but never really uses it as a word.

And then, on preschool, everything is "pretty please" this and "please and thanks" that. One day, she simply says "Dad, can you please give me a cookie?"

Andrew freezes. He never told her that he didn't like the word, just assuming that she would never use it if they didn't. Motherfucking kid shows, with their stupid obsession for saying please. He hands her the cookie while trying to come up with a way to communicate to his seven-year-old daughter that he doesn't like the, probably, most used word for any kid.

"Alice. Hare" he starts, slowly, kneeling down to be at eye-level with her "I have a request of you. A very important one"

She perks up, looking at him seriously, despite the crumbs on her lips. "Anifing fur u" she manages to say trough the snack in her mouth.

"Can you avoid using that word?"

Alice frowns. Then quickly chews the rest of her cookie, and swallows it whole.

"Wich one, Dad?"

"The one that you learned in preschool. The one that me and Neil never use"

She connects the dots quickly, and Andrew is oh so proud of her. Just like Josten. Quick to understand.

"Please? That one, Dad?"

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Yeah. That one"

"But- my teacher, she said it's a nice word. She lied?"

It is. It's a nice one to everyone but Andrew and his family, who all have sort of understood that the P word is never to be said around him, even if they did learn that lesson at knifepoint. But he can't threaten his Hare.

"I don't like it" his voice comes out a bit rough, so he clears up his throat "you know how everyone loves peanuts but you are allergic to them? It's the same. It's a nice word to other people, but I don't like it. It's a mean word, to me. Makes me feel... not good. I don't want you to use with me, but you are free to use it with other people. Like your teacher"

Alice, just like Josten, always just like him, catches the idea in less than a minute, humming while she thinks. Her little hands are playing with the hem of her shirt when she nods again, this time, with pure and deep decision painted in her expression.

"I understand. I will behave and never ever ever ever say it again" bit much, but okay.

Neil, who had been eavesdropping, comes up to them and kneels down too.

"You can't be rude either, little Hare" he says, pretending to care about manners, as if he isn't the most feared man for Exy-reporters "Say something else, like 'Can I' or 'Am I allowed to', 'would you be so kind to', perhaps just smile, big and cute. Everyone loves your smile"

To prove this point, Alice smiles. It's definitely not a cute smile, per se. She opens up her mouth too much, showing her all of her teeth and all the crumbs on it. She also opens up her eyes a lot, in a sort of scary way. Just like Josten.

" Okay, Dad. Okay, Papa" She stops for a second, and then smiles even more "Would you be so kind to give me another cookie?"

They give her one. And Neil picks her up, kissing her cheek.

[the-s-exy-squad]

Another headcanons list for the PSU Monsters.

Neil

During his depressive episodes, he just starts acting like a complete idiot. Using emojis excessively when he texts (which the amount greatly increases during these times) or makes posts on the internet or the team socials.

He also frequently makes unprompted jokes about his trauma. During a bonfire, "Oh damn, just realized I could have had smores when I burned my mothers body in her car".

During a movie night to a character, "Hey, your dad tried killing you too? Same! Twins???"

During a math exam, "Well damn, this 'x' is so good at staying anonymous he may as well have been me on the run" (to which his teacher goes, "Excuse me What?")

Andrew

Andrew starts talking to Bee for advice and not just to talk about everything and she suggests exposure therapy for the touch, writing or some creative activity for the emotions, and music to help him regulate when he gets overwhelmed.

Andrew interprets this to standing with Nicky's hand on his upper arm for one singular second more than the day before. If he could suffer through Nicky's touch a little more every day, it was improvement and that's all he cared for.

For the creative activity he decided to start learning archery. He also drew but he enjoyed the feeling of success when he hit his target and the only way to get that with his drawings was to show people and he'd sooner die.

As for the music, he decided purchasing a loud as hell pair of discreet earbuds and putting them in literally all the time was the solution to that. If he couldn't hear the problems, they weren't his problems. (He thinks its hilarious that the rest of the Foxes think he's just ignoring them.)

Aaron

He drinks a religious amount of coffee. He was a full time med student, an athlete, fighting the mafia in a angry version of Lacrosse, and too busy keeping himself out of the Foxes internal drama to sleep.

His go to drink for emergency energy is a black coffee with seventeen sugars and eight creamers, but when he was drinking it to wake up after a good quality nap or a once in a century night of sleep, he'd go with something sweet.

Once Aaron tried getting Andrew to lay back on the cigarettes and Andrew told him to lay back on the coffee. He wouldn't so Andrew kept his cigarettes.

Nicky

Nicky loves reading classics. He sometimes gets them in German to practice reading German, but when he does he gets the English version too.

He's a whore for Shakespeare's works. His favorite is Hamlet and that one where the identities get mixed up. He keeps a log of all the books he read and rates them on a scale of Andrew to Jesus. Andrew thinks him being a rating is funny but will never admit it.

He's gotten to the point where he can understand Shakespeare's work and diction without needing a second to process it or a translation like most of the rest of team.

Kevin

Terrible driver. Not because he was never taught how but simply because he gets too worked up over everything and thinks there's too much to focus on. Other cars, street signs, speed limits, turn signals, road construction, pedestrians, other cars. (very important to him because no matter how good of a driver you are you can still get in a car accident and die because someone else isn't.)

He lets Neil sit in the front seat and just chills in the back with Aaron but when Aaron gets his own car, Kevin starts riding with him places because (gay) he doesn't like third wheeling Andrew and Neil.

He jokingly decorates Aaron's passenger seat with Exy stickers (at least five are USC trojan themed), a compartment between the seat and the center console to hold his stuff because he drops them a lot and they fall into that gap, a sun glasses clip, and jokingly pinned a picture of the trojans on the sun visor.

[jtl-fics]

ahhh I love your math nerd AU & andrew first AU soooo much. i think about them in the back of my head wayyy too much. I was thinking about math nerd AU today (again) and picturing andrew just yelling “oh MOTHERFUCKER” for like six months after he’s back-back and remembers some specific moment from before he was back-back that takes on new meaning now that he has all his memories and is neil’s andrew again (although the thought does cross his mind that he was ALWAYS “neil’s” even without his memories, no?). And then I was picturing him needing to blow off some steam before he can fully process whatever he’s now seeing in a new light, but he can’t go to neil to blow off some steam because he’s mad at him. and he can’t go spar with renee because he’s more skilled with his memories back than he was before and doesn’t want to hurt her. So he drags kevin to the exy court and makes kevin fire on him in goal until he’s worn out. kevin is like “wait, for real???” when andrew first drags him to court but gets over that real quick and shifts into “i am a god” mode and is all smug afterward about “i knew i could do it - i knew i could get you to care. god, first i pick the best striker ever and now this??? what can’t i do 😏” and andrew can’t now safely shift his anger to kevin and go back to neil to blow of steam. 😌 - @neil-jostenminyard

Neil was constantly checking to see if Andrew was HIS Andrew. Even all the way back when he signed and let the pen roll off the bench he was hoping Andrew might catch it. Andrew is a combination of both pissed at himself (why didn't he wake up sooner) and pissed at Neil (why were you doing this to yourself Junkie??)

Kevin would be absolutely over the moon to have Andrew blow off steam in such a way. I love Kevin just being so smug about everything XD like yes Kev you had a whole huggy bunch to do with what has occurred here.

Also Andrew definitely goes back to Neil after this and Neil's like "AND YOU DIDN'T INVITE ME???" and Andrew has to make out with him for 2-3 hours on the roof, it'd be illegal not to.

I'm so glad you like it!! Math Nerd is definitely a fun write (even if I hurt myself sometimes thinking about Neil's quiet resignation until Andrew does wake up)

[turquoisepolo]

Fight So Dirty, Chapter Three

Chapter Summary: Neil is introduced to the rest of the monsters and his long lost love, Exy

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Warning(s): Implied violence

Neil wasn’t sure when he fell asleep, only that he’d done so stupidly with his contacts in and was dealing with the consequences. He huffed and fished out eye drops from his bag and used them. It lessened the pain somewhat, but still, Neil knew he’d have to remove the contacts as soon as possible. 

He got up and stretched, sliding out of bed and running a hand through his hair. He looked at the alarm clock and saw that he’d only slept for two ish hours. Neil relaxed at that, thankful that he hadn’t slept the entire night through without changing and with his contacts in. Neil walked out of the bedroom and headed to the general area only to see three new strangers had arrived and he immediately tensed up.

Andrew had spotted him first, only sparing him a brief glance before turning his eyes back to the television. Then, what seemed to be a picture copy of Andrew looked at him and frowned, looking over at the others for an answer, and suddenly the other two were staring at him. Neil was fairly sure he looked stupid just standing there, but wasn’t sure what else to do really, and let them look their fill.

It wasn’t long until someone spoke up, that someone being Nicky Hemmick. Neil hoped he hid the “oh shit” feeling well. One vampire hunter was bad enough, now two? He’d fucked up majorly, unfortunately Neil knew that dashing out the door would be nothing less of suspicious, especially after the incident with his pulse earlier. 

A wide grin spread across Nicky’s face. “Andrew! You never said the new guy was such a looker!” And Neil had to resist the urge to frown, immediately deciding that Nicky was somebody to be cautious around. Nicky didn’t seem to pick up  on Neil’s discomfort and made room for Neil in the same bean bag as him. “Come on, sit down, we don’t bite!” Neil glanced at Andrew who seemed to be ignoring the entire exchange. Maybe not bite, but definitely stab. 

He accepted the offer and walked over to an empty bean bag, and saw Nicky’s smile twitch at that. 

“So,

Neil carefully surveyed the room and racked his brian to remember what he had known about each bounty hunter. Andrew and Nicky’s profiles were easy to recall however the other two were more difficult. Having 4 pairs of eyes watching him didn’t make it any easier.

Aaron Minyard. 20 years old, and the (somewhat) identical twin of Andrew. Unlike Andrew, Aaron didn’t wear twin bands with knives, nor did he appear to lift as much as Andrew. Although Aaron seemed less dangerous than Andrew (and although that’s probably true), he’s lethal in his own way. 

It was no secret that Aaron was in a premed program and was excelling in his medical career. His skills were demonstrated on the hunts with Andrew where Aaron would use the power of chemicals and toxins in bullets that would release once the poor vampire was hit, effectively injecting the quick release poison. If the bullet didn’t kill the vampire, the poison would.

Andrew was the brawn and Aaron was the brains it seemed. However, Neil couldn’t help but second guess that assumption when meeting the honey filled hazel that seemed to see through him. 

Kevin Day. 21 years old and six feet of toned muscle. His appearance was deceptive in that the short blonde dressed like a funeral attendee was much more deadly statically, however no matter what numbers say, a threat is a threat regardless. Especially to me, mused Neil. 

The vampire hunts weren’t new, but the increase in number of victims certainly skyrocketed after his transfer from Edgar Allen to Palmetto State. The reason would be unknown to the public, perhaps just a lack of competition would be the widespread idea. Neil knew better. He remembered keenly the bloodthirsty smile on Riko’s face the first time he saw him nearly a decade ago. Even more so, Neil remembered the way he treated his “younger brother” Kevin. There was no doubt in Neil’s mind that Riko kept Kevin firmly placed in second place.

Whether it be attributed to Kevin’s lack of confidence or efficiency’s sake, the taller man’s weapon of choice was a simple hand held pistol. 

Unlike Nicky, none of the other hunters in this room would be inclined to give Neil a chance to run. Not even Kevin. Especially not Kevin if he realized who Neil was and what his presence here in Fox Tower meant.

“Do you play?” Neil was startled out of his thoughts by Kevin’s unexpected question. He furrowed his brows and frowned.

“Play?”

“Yes. Play.”

Neil stared at Kevin dumbly, resulting in a scowl from the latter. “Play what?”

“Exy.”

He froze. Kevin knew. He had to know, why else would he ask? Neil shifted in the bean bag, sitting up just a little straighter. He could lie. He could lie and no doubt that would lead to more questions that he wouldn’t have the answers to. Or, Neil could tell the truth..which would result in questions he did have answers for. Answers that he couldn’t give.

“I can,” Neil slowly said, “but not like you” he quickly added.

Kevin snorted. “Obviously.” 

Neil wanted to wipe the amused look off the arrogant bastard’s face. Kevin beat him to the challenge. “Show me.”

It wasn’t a suggestion, and Neil found himself in a corner. Refusal wouldn’t be accepted. “I don’t have gear,” he argued feebly and was met with an unimpressed look from both blondes and Kevin and laughter from Nicky. 

“That’s a weird concern, don’t worry Neil! We have a bunch of extra gear, different racquets too!” Nicky offered eagerly, making Neil wish he never woke up from his nap.

He forced a smile onto his face, feeling the muscles in his cheeks groan from the effort of forming such unfamiliar features. “Oh. Perfect.” Neil knew his voice was flat, but he was tired. Sure maybe his plan was doomed from the start, but he didn’t expect it all to go downhill so fast. The moment Kevin figured him out this would be over. 

Still..Neil strongly remembered the weight of an exy racquet in his hands. He knew the rush of adrenaline when the ball got caught in his net, or rebounded off the plexiglass walls. Furthermore, Neil could feel the euphoria when the goal turned red with every shot made. 

In the end, Neil was just a boy. 10 years old again, the world still bright, playing in the little league with Kevin Day and Riko Moriyama, unknowing that the racquet in his hands would become a gun, aimed to kill.

Neil was just a boy, without his mother. In the end, Neil followed Kevin and the rest to the Foxhole Court.

[capcavan]

AFTG tfc ch1 Re Read by cavan

(i do not remember any details so its almost like im reading it first time lmao) tumblr does not give me read more cut off option so deal with this i guess sorry #CavanrereadAFTG if you need to block it chapter 1 "She'd beat him to the hell and back if she saw him sitting around and mopping like that" is quite violent way to phrase "she woudl be displeased to see him .." so was neil casually beaten by his mom or we only on page 4 of neil backed up trauma management and im already thinking about scene where this boy will finally brek open and admit how much he wants normal life and not having to hide his emotions and you know live a little without this whole batman personal covering his face already hit by brain made connection about how exy is what took rikos life away from him and how it's the thing that kept neil alive through the worst of his here i am making it about this little cunt already but what else were you expecting of me?

learning new things about English language always nice! neil "its cool my mom died i can finally stay in one place for a bit" how had this boy not murdered this woman himself is beyond me fr ,, please go away" neil wymack already adopted you just haven't got the adoption papers yet I wonder if Janie Smalls is taller than Andrew Minyard "her best friend found her bleeding out" okay but - who is Janie's best friend is it one of foxes? what if it's seth ? Makes sense for it to be seth nvm friend explained to me that potential recruit means she was not at palmetto at the time " Typical of a fox " see riko would make amazing fox that's boy self destructive af in all of my head cannons

broadening my vocab nice nice Notorious for their tiny size i know it's bc there only 9 of them but i will stay believing it is bc everyone is short math time, had not seen kevin in 8 years neil is 18-19 now so he was 10 ok will remember Neil: i need to be very sneaky about my past wymack: do you need a pen? neil: i can't play for you because you signed kevin day wymack: ....... ??????? I LOVE HOW ANDREW WAY TO SAY HI IS FUCKING CRUSHING NEILS LUNGS AGAINST HIS SPINE ????? forgot how radioactive they are bc of how cute they are welp things align riko broke kevins hand andrew beat up neils internal organs for no reason at all! i love when all my ships are fucked up

assailant here is the word i keep using but spelling "assultant" lmao , man im learning so much ,, Andrew was blamed for kevins recent transfer" - kandrew is strong with this one ppl in universe just assumed kevin fell in love on first sight and they ARE RIGHT

i cant tell if im here to study cannon or english but like i know what those words mean but i don't know their definitions does that make sense? OH THIS IS SO CUTE I WILL DRAW THIS FUCK YES LETS GO he slammed motherfucker with his own racket dfghsdjfhgg Hernandez is literary the only normal person over the course of those 3 books andrew *assults someone as hello* wymack: Andrew's a bit raw on manners / my dude with this reading speed it will take me half year to go through those books but im having actually a lot of fun here neil: i already said i can not sign with you wymack:OK BUT YOU STILL NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY KEVIN DAY IS THE ISSUE HERE did kevin heard it lmoa i wonder if kevin heard the ,, do you need a pen - YoU sIgNeD KeViN DaY no wonder kevin was bitch to neil he thought the lil bitch hated him on the start lmao Andrew was only here because Kevin day never went anywhere alone here you go with your raven programming <3 YEARS SINCE THEY'D WATCHED NEIL'S FATHER CUT A SCREAMING MAN INTO HUNDRED BLOODY PIECES Kevin / Dark hair and green eyes, black number 2 neil saw that number and wanted to retch He and his adopted brother Riko Moriyama wrote the numbers one and two on their faces with markers, tracing them over and over anytime they started to fade. ok so were they drawing their own numbers? it sound like kevin was drawing his number too also this is the only mention i think of riko being reffered to as kevin,s brother in the books anyway I have case to make assuming kevin and riko were doing those numbers form young age pre 10 ... it just makes sense the system they use would be Arabic not roman i just can't imagine small kids knowing roman numbers when they were neglected in nest i think this is best case i can make for it. friend provided proof that in book the four tattoo neil get's is introduced as "4" so ok arabic canon moving on Riko nad Kevin were inducted to national court 1 year pre aftg story starts They were champions and neil was a jumble of lies and dead-ends on one hand it's funny how desperate they all are to sign neil on other hand i deeply believe they just see the desperation in his eyes, we know that neil wants it and those contact lenses do not hide it , they know that he wants to say yes, they are just confused about what the fuck makes him say no (kevin's bitchiness) or at least i would make this be the case if neil didn't just got assaulted and if they didn't literary phrased it as ,, we are not living without you signing this" like .. kidnapping with extra steps much ???? playing like he has everything to lose is not excuse for you all to harass this poor man like that OK HOLD ON A SECOND "He'd remember the scrimmage interrupted by that man's murder"

what man what murder the man nathan butchered for them? did nathan murdered someone during game?

WHAT HAPPENED

the moment kevin would start looking at him funny- he already is ngl im only on page 12 and i just hate neils mom i have no phrasing for it but the fact that every choice neil could make for his happiness is meet with ,, mom would be sooo mad" is really frustrating to read about... what is the point of even being alive for this boy fr???? i wonder if theres any specific place they would have been safe it? kind of would be fun to have au where neil and his mom go to japan and end up getting protection form yakuza F BOMB 1 F BOMB 2 COMBO fuck i love those characters so much okay like all of them It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you"

David "idealistic idiot" Wymack wymacks sincerity is what lets foxes trust him , wymack is the first adult in their lives that understands Savge yank of her hands in his hair here we go fuck he has so much guilt over trying to live a little this is so un fair "I'm sorry"he gasped out between wet coughs. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

[knickknacksandallthat]

i just finished dead of night(it was so goood!) but did non of the foxes (especially andrew) see a problem with thea being 5 years older than kevin and them being in a relationship (cause they didn't know it was fake) that started when kevin was 16 and thea was like 21?

Ahhh, tysm! 🥰 I’m so glad you liked it!!

And oh boy…*rolls up sleeves*…get ready for some ridiculously in-depth character analysis that I’m sure you weren’t looking for.

(Quick PSA to say these are *my* opinions only and are related to the specific AU I wrote. Folks are 100% welcome to enjoy and analyze any fictional character/relationship how they like! This is just my take on this.)

So Thea/Kevin’s relationship always raised red flags for me in the books - and it definitely played into the way I portrayed them in Dead of Night (as you’ve already read). So the way I break down the Foxes and their perceptions/assumptions about Kevin’s “relationship” is this:

Neil - let’s just start off with our infamous redhead bc he’s had the least amount of time to be able to think about and process that relationship. Freshman/Sophomore years? Neil has Zero Cares™️. Dude has enough on his plate to worry about, has his demisexual /Andrew tunnel vision on when it comes to romance, and does Kevin’s relationship relate to Exy whatsoever? Nope. So it simply doesn’t register for him. It’s only junior year where I think he starts getting comfortable and curious enough to look around at other relationships more and start asking questions (especially after the events in Dead of Night). But Andrew is there to bounce said questions off of so…we’ll get to him in a minute.

Matt/Dan/Aaron (& Seth RIP) - solidly in the don’t know, don’t care group, esp when they were in college and how they interacted with Kevin back then. They found the dude annoying, arrogant, and obsessive - they did not care about his love life. (Esp bc it was so public and a seemingly “steady” relationship - no “mystery” to be had.) If they ever did think about it, it might have been a fleeting, curious “huh, that’s kind of odd” moment before they simply moved on.

Nicky - so I think Nicky’s downfall when it comes to this topic narrows down to two specific things - how he tries to find the positive in all situations and his over-exuberant curiosity about other’s love lives. He wouldn’t look at Kevin’s/Thea’s relationship off the bat as wrong - I think he’d simply be thrilled for Kevin that he had it, esp with the horrors he hears of the Nest. He’d think of it as a “ray of light in a dark place” for Kevin - something that never should have happened but did. (Nicky is a total romantic.). But this happiness would be superseded by him asking Kevin 1200 questions about Thea, their sex life, what she’s like, how they got together, etc. - and I think this demand and pressure on revealing his private life would have made Kevin completely close off. So it becomes a topic that Nicky marks under the “don’t talk about it” file in his brain (where a lot of Andrew moments live) and he simply doesn’t - going about his day and only teasing Kevin about it once in a while for fun or when he’s annoyed with him.

Renee - Opposite to Nicky, Renee knows when not to meddle. Just as she knows there’s something about this supposed relationship that’s off. She doesn’t ask Kevin about it, though, seeing as she knows how he reacts to Nicky about it. And ultimately, it’s not her concern. Kevin is under Andrew’s protection, so it’s up to him to do something about Thea if need be. So in the end, she follows her newfound religion’s ask to not judge others and simply prays that if it is a legit relationship, Kevin is getting the love and support he needs. And if it’s not…Andrew will let her know. And they will take care of it.

So that leaves us with our two final foxes - Andrew and Allison.

Andrew - similar to his cousin, Andrew finds it strange that this supposed relationship was both born and approved of in such a corrupt, manipulative place. It reeks of deception. And Andrew’s smart - he adds the numbers up. He gets the age difference. He knows at its best, this is infatuation on Kevin’s part and tolerance on Thea’s, but is more than 100% likely manipulation on Riko’s or Tetsuji’s end. It makes him cautious and wary of the backliner, a solemn promise that he will not let that bitch touch Kevin if she dares step on campus. But over time, things don’t add up because Andrew is with Kevin pretty much 24 hrs a day…and Kevin never talks about her. He doesn’t talk about her, and they rarely text or call. And neither Kevin nor Thea has ever talked about going to visit the other - not once. If he didn’t know better, Andrew would almost label the calls obligatory for both parties. But Andrew’s deal is purely about Kevin’s safety. There is nothing he can do about the past, and unless Thea becomes an active threat, there’s no reason for him to take any action toward her. So when DON happens, things make a little more sense to the goalie but it still doesn’t answer every question. It still doesn’t explain Kevin’s reaction to the news. But at this point, Andrew and Kevin are estranged, so Andrew knows this secret won’t be his to uncover. He just has a small modicum of relief that Thea can no longer hurt Kevin, intentionally or not, once and for all.

Allison - Allison also thought Kevin and Thea’s relationship was bullshit, but this was due to two completely different factors. The first was her knowledge of PR and the fact that there’s no way in hell a well-known public figure who also happens to be a high school/college student would be “announcing” their relationship to the public. The violation to their privacy would be enormous, and Allison knows how hard she fought sometimes to keep her love life under wraps in the past (when she was still in her parent’s world). The second, however, was due to Kevin’s reaction to the exact same test she gave Neil when he first arrived at the Foxhole Court - and just like Neil, Kevin was completely disinterested. (To the point where the man actually got up and moved across the room - like she smelled or something. Complete ass.). So she knew something was up.

To Allison’s credit, though, I think she was the only one who ever confronted Kevin about it - in both a blunt and cryptic way. I think it would have been around the time that Thea came to visit Kevin on campus in The King’s Men. Like she would have seen the way they interacted leaving the dorm, would have noted the Raven necklace Thea still wore around her neck, would have watched the way Kevin was trying to plead with her. And I think, when she saw him come back later alone, she would have asked him something along the lines of, Is it love or fear that makes you stay with her? And, you are not a child anymore, Day. You can make your own decisions now. Don’t let anyone take that power away from you - especially when it comes to your own body.

But, of course, Kevin has bigger worries to dwell on then, and of course Allison is sticking her nose in other people’s business, and who the fuck asked for her advice anyway? So he ignores it and she never clarifies. (But she does make a bet with the other participating Foxes on how long they’ll last. And, as usual, she wins that bet.)

So, there you have it! That’s my thought on how each of the Foxes see Kevin/Thea’s relationship (and its issues). As you can tell, I’ve clearly put no thought into it at all 🤣😅

Thanks for asking, anon! ❤️. Hope this answered your question and that you enjoy the rest of the series!