#kevin/rhemann

[dayurno]

what makes Kevin Day/James Rhemann truly work? i am. fascinated. need legit excuses to foam at the mouth for them.

in canon: absolutely nothing at all

in this fic specifically: rhemann has been trying to convince the usc board to fund the trojans' exy team as much as it funds the football team for about as long as he's been a coach at usc, and one of the first thing kevins offers upon visiting is to help him achieve that goal. kevin specifically offers to help by talking to the board, which rhemann finds amusing if a little preposterous because he knew kayleigh once and it sounds like the kind of nonsensical proposal she'd make based on her name alone. he only really takes kevin's word for it once coach wymack vouches that indeed kevin managed to convince the entire psu board to sign on neil on the sole promise that kevin would make him court, which is truly nothing but at this point in his career it might be the last hope he has. rhemann and kevin (and jeremy) spend a lot of time together drafting a proposal to the university and going over the trojans' finances, which puts them at close contact, sometimes well into the night, alone, with kevin day in glasses,

more so i think it's probably to me the dynamic of. first of all hope. rhemann is closer to retiring than he cares to admit and he'd lost all hope of seeing the trojans achieve their full potential during his career, and kevin acts both as a balm to that and a last resort that Feels like what rhemann was missing this entire time. on a more intimate level i made rhemann and kayleigh friends once; he was never in love with her but he spent a non negligible amount of time living in her shadows as a fellow defenseman, and the age difference aside kevin makes him feel just as uncertain about the future as kayleigh had, once, and the similarities astound him. there's also a little bit of it being years since rhemann has last actually played exy: i made him an ex-goalie who retired peacefully and gracefully to being a coach! his career wasn't much to look at so he's very surprised once kevin actually remembers that rhemann played and for what team, remembers his stats and his successes and failures and thinks that if rhemann had stayed on track and worked harder he might have been able to make it as a player. i Really wanted to have a scene where kevin convinces c rhemann to play with him at least for a little bit even though it's obvious that on a shootout against the best striker in the league kevin is wiping the floor with him, and i think that scene is a turning point for both of them because it establishes a little bit of trust and a little bit of wonder and hopefully a lot of unresolved sexual tension

[ashestoashes7]

The Trojans mention Bark Bark where the other teams can hear a few too many times (talking about sneaking him around, hiding him…) and the others are now all certain the Trojans are secretly harboring a dog but no one is going to tell on them because they’re the Trojans

Kevin buys dog food and gives it to them which Jeremy nods along with like he understands.

[bisexualchaosdemon]

Okay, but what if Colleen's death causes Zane to become completely disillusioned and despise the Ravens? He had already shown that he is willing to go for the throat when he feels wronged. He just lost the woman he loved and he's already graduated, so what has he got to lose?

What's to stop him from exposing the horrors of the Nest? The isolation, the lack of autonomy, the sixteen hour days, and the harsh punishments... I get that there are a lot of things that it would be unrealistic for him to share but–

What if he tells the world about Riko sitting the defence line down and asking them to break Jean? What if he names all of the men who volunteered to assault a minor?

[ninyard]

I have to say I truly just love in-universe outsider perspectives on the aftg series.

Trojans fans finding out about the lineup change. The other coaches reading the news and suddenly finding out one of PSU’s players killed somebody. Kathy Ferdinand fans who’ve never watched exy before. Exy fans who don’t watch the NCAA league hearing about the Riko/Neil beef. The ravens outside of the Perfect Court learning about Kevin’s transfer. The Minyard’s biological dad hearing about them and knowing they’re his kids, or not knowing and not giving it a second thought. Allison’s family. People who knew Seth before he went to PSU. The cops who were bought off by the Butcher in Baltimore. Bee watching Andrew break Riko’s arm. Pig Higgins getting the call from Wymack. Neil’s teammates in Arizona.

All these different people hearing about everything that happened for the first time, out of the blue, no context, no warning. I want to be inside of their brains.

[detectivebambam]

random lines I'm still thinking about after TSC

Rainbows

Run.

Contrition, Coach

He'll be Court

Will you teach me when he's not watching?

If you fail, I will bury you alive

A small bear with a red beret

Nineteen?

Did you think you were special?

I didn't ask

I will not fail

I will endure

How much must I?

[margareturtle]

Rhemann calling Wymack after he drops Jean+Co off at the end of TSC

Wymack: hey James, what’s up? Is Jean ok?

Rhemann: that’s the issue, David, see he always says he’s “okay”

Wymack: ahh I see, the “I’m fine song and dance routine”

Rhemann: the what?

Wymack: We have a name for it at the foxhole court, Jean sounds like a classic case

Rhemann: oh well what do you do about it? I can clearly tell he isn’t fine!

Wymack: ah well I’m afraid you are going to have to threaten him with less court time for any better results.

Rhemann: What?! No I’m not threatening one of my players

Wymack: it’s the only thing that worked with Neil. Though I suppose it doesn’t have to come from a coach just someone they look up to.

Rhemann: Well I don’t want to put this on Jeremy, he’s been trying enough, and they seem to be getting on pretty well

Wymack: No not Jeremy, he’s a great kid but I don’t think he’d hold his ground in that way. You know what, I’ll get Kevin to give Jean a call.

Rhemann: Kevin? Are you sure, David?

Wymack: Yes, I’m can’t guarantee that it will put an end to the “i’m fine song and dance routine” but it will at least make Jean think for a second before saying “I’m okay”

Rhemann: Thank’s so much David, I don’t know how many more “accidents happen in scrimmages” I can hear. Have a good night.

Wymack: happy to help, call anytime. I don’t have all the answers but I do have experience. have a good evening, James.

[o-vera-nalyzing]

just had a dream that there was a scene in tsc where jean bummed a cig from kevin to share w jeremy but like the way he said it was so homoerotic that coach rhemann blushed

[codename-adler]

hi queen what is the aftg x tlou 🧎 my two obsessions <3

this was the fricking hardest to answer bc it goes so deep and my love for tlou runs even deeper, and it's still in the works and very much not written, but at last! i have summoned enough brain power to give you this!

it all started here because of thanks to my love @cielalune and her beautiful beautiful turn out the lights ♥️♥️♥️

now in no particular order nor sense

the final starting lineup:

Wymack as Joel

Kevin as Sarah

Rhemann as Tommy

Abby as Tess

Neil as Ellie

the goal is a Wymack-centric fic. i want him love him need him so bad, i'm gonna dedicate a fic to him and ruin his life. ain't no other love language baby. all of the fic, except specific episode-chapters like Bill & Frank, or Ellie & Riley, will be from Wymack's pov. no unreliable narrator Neil i'm afraid beloved. i fucking challenged myself and i'm beginning to regret it.

Andreil?

perhaps a smidge, that sweet sweet baby carrot dangling before the mule, but it is in no way an Andreil-centric fic. sorries.

what about other ships and characters?

hehe. i am having FUN. i'm breaking glass ceilings, tearing down walls, pushing through barriers. some unique flavors one might say. don't worry you'll have your fill of lengthy cameos. mouth zipped shut for now tho. unless i'm persuaded...

Exy?

i hardly know her... eh tbh i have no idea yet what kind of world pre-Cordyceps i'm going to play with.

game or show?

both. HBO TLoU + game pt. 1 + pt. 2... ouchies. the fic will not be a series however. it's going to be long af, but one fic only. i know the end.

the itinerary?

canon tlou, to the south. 10 locations for now. same route shape. aftg canon relevant. figure it out.

the soundtrack?

BANGER. OMNIPRESENT. you know it. the HBO show soundtrack is my reason to breathe. they get it. they sooooo get it. - teaser 1: the code is 70s for "nothing new" / 80s for "new message" / 90s for "trouble" because that's when all the youngsters of our beloved aftg cast were born ;) (subject to change tho, but as of now the songs and plotlines involving this code work well) - teaser 2: the main/theme song i'm feeling for the fic is

trying to come up with a title around that, so far no luck. the wip title remains "aftg x tlou", sadly... yikes.

coming to ao3 when?

not soon at all. 3 chapters are outlined so far, and they cover three fourths of episode one. each chapter works as an episode. one episode of the HBO show equals to several chapters/episodes of the fic. i'm combining game 1 & 2 into one biiiiiiiig stretch like i said so. i'm screwed.

[kweenkday]

A tiny snippet of tonight's update of Kevin being scolded by his dads. 🤭

Wymack/Rhemann/Kayleigh supremacy! 🤩

[dayurno]

suddenly i am in love with kevin/rhemann. what have you done to me

SORRY ITS RLLY not true not true at all no basis in canon no truth to it…… but they can be something. if we make them so

[joejhang]

thinking about how neil says jean is a survivor not a fighter and thinking about how jeremy says he is a starving dog and thinking about kevin saying "if you tell him to submit he will" and thinking about jean giving rhemann the racquet and thinking about contrition and thinking about jean asking and expecting to be punished and not fighting back AND ALSO thinking about how nora said jean went to evermore angry and betrayed like if you shoved a cat into a box closed the lid shook it and opened it again and how the cat is jean and thinking about how jean was angry and all claws and teeth when he first showed up at evermore and thinking about jean saying he would tear out kevin's throat with his teeth and thinking about jean wanting to punch jeremy for treating him with too much caution and thinking about jean biting back every time lucas insulted him and thinking about how jean is at once defeated and depressed and unwilling to fight back or fight for himself and also so insanely angry all of the fucking time and how he had (has?) so much passion and emotion and rage that got tortured out of him during his time at evermore but did it really?

[deeppenguinstudent]

thinking about if coach rhemann says what do you need when Jean's on the verge of breaking the fuck down and all he says is Kevin's name repeatedly like a broken record

[fortheloveofexy]

no thoughts except I love you Foxes. I love you Trojans. I love you Cat and Laila and Jeremy and all of Jean's beautiful new friends. I love you Neil Josten and Kevin Day and their creepy little goalkeeper Andrew Minyard. I love you Wymack and Abby and Rhemann and Bee.

Most of all, I love you Jean Moreau. You deserve everything that was denied to you and so much more and I hope one day you see that.

[otdiaftg]

The King's Men - Chapter Sixteen (18)

Day: Friday, April 5th / 6th* Time: 7:40 PM PST

Jeremy holds a folded piece of paper up. Instead of taking it Kevin walks him back to the Foxes. Jeremy turns it over to Wymack, who unfolds it and skims the printed list. "Our line-up," Jeremy explains. "It's late to be getting it to you, I know, but we were trying to avoid as much of a backlash as possible." "Backlash?" Dan asks. Wymack hands her the sheet and watches her face go white. When she looks up at him again Wymack shakes his head and turns on Jeremy. "Your pity's a little misplaced. Tell Coach Rhemann we don't want handouts." "This isn't pity," Jeremy says. "We're doing this for us, not you. Your success this year has us rethinking everything about how we play. Are we second because we're talented or because we have twenty-eight people on our line-up? Are we good enough as individuals to stand against you? We have to know." Kevin snatches the paper from Dan's hands and looks at it. Matt leans over his shoulder to see and says, "You're joking. You're joking. You're not?" he asks with an incredulous look at Jeremy. Allison yanks hard on his sleeve, wanting an explanation, so Matt says, "There are only nine names on it." "Two goalies, three backliners, two dealers, two strikers," Jeremy says. "You've made it this far with those numbers. It's time to see how we'd fare in that situation. I'm excited," he says, with another toothy smile. "None of us have ever played a full game before. Hell, most of us don't even play full halves anymore. We don't have to because the numbers are always in our favor." "And you called me a crazy fool," Kevin says. "You'll lose tonight if you play like this." "Maybe," Jeremy agrees, unconcerned. "Maybe not. Should be fun either way, right? I don't remember the last time I was this psyched for a game. Look at this." He holds his hands out to them and laughs. "Bring it, Foxes, and we'll bring it too." He leaves them staring after him, his head high and his smile honest.

Art used with permission by Rainbowd00dles. Thank you @rainbowd00dles!

*Due to the Leap Year, I have opted to highlight the day rather than the date to keep the events in occurrence to the 2007 year. I will continue to mark both days accordingly.

[fuzzballsheltiepants]

A (very) incomplete list of things I loved in TSC: (obviously, spoilers)

Jean having no sense of time at the beginning. he has literally zero idea how much time has passed and has no frame of reference. it feels like weeks; we only know because we read the original series

the shift once again, this time from Jean's POV, from Nathaniel to Neil! it being a mark of respect

seeing how Neil really relayed the deal with Ichirou to Kevin and Jean (that Neil totally glossed over in TKM)

all of Jean's internal and spoken insults for everyone around him but especially all the Foxes

Jean's complete and utter disdain for short people and how many there are, just, everywhere. why are short people allowed? they should be illegal

Andrew's single word in the entire book being, "Leaving." just classic

the whole scene where Jean watches the final game? where he is so invested in how the Foxes are doing that when they win he shoves the tv?

Jean mentally adding Andrew into the Perfect Court because they need a goalkeeper, deciding that if Kevin and Riko die it would be ok because Jean, Andrew, and Neil were enough to rebuild around

Jeremy standing at baggage claim playing with a yo-yo until he gets it tangled in his headphones

Cat teaching Jean to cook

Jean being adorably horny and constantly swayed by beautiful people

Cat thinking Renee is hot

Jean just...not understanding how people function if their every move is not controlled at first? and then starting to come around?

Jean buying clothes! picking out things for himself!

Jeremy buying people in need gift cards because he can

Barkbark von Barkenstein being the silent unwitting center of a tiny war between Jean and Jeremy

Rhemann starting to realize what Jean/the Ravens have been going through at the hands of their coaches and needing to take a minute or fifty to get over it

Jean finding himself adopted into a queer family and just rolling with it

Jeremy and his complete and utter avoidance of every possible personal problem. nothing to see here, folks

Jean's glee when the Trojans first curse, being absolutely certain that this is revealing some deep well of depravity

the Trojans' techniques for staying sportsmanlike on the court (while really aggravating the fuck out of their opponents)

the fact that Neil and Jean together are basically a buddy comedy (which I NEED MORE OF)

Neil from an outside perspective as a weird little man who can negotiate without flinching with dangerous people, navigate an unfamiliar city after briefly studying printed off Mapquest instructions, coolly order a hit in the middle of a restaurant, and develop a convincing lie at the drop of a hat

Neil's tactless but relentless kindness?

"A cool evening breeze. Rainbows. Open roads. Friends."

[jeanmoreautemple]

what characters are you hoping to see more of in the second and third book?

Sorry for the wait! Welcome back

Basically anyone with a meaningful relationship with Jean. Besides Jeremy Cat and Laila there’s:

1. Kevin ofc. That interview is gonna be T E N S E. Will he find out about Grayson? Did Neil tell him? Will we get a confirmation about how much he knew about what was Riko doing to Jean? I’m very scared.

2. Neil. Cause I’m actually invested in the mafia plot line. This guy just arranged a murder for Jean too. Maybe some more info on Elodie through Stuart. I want them to start texting.

3. Lucas. I know he’s a brat and was being a piece of shit out of jealousy and hurt but idgf, I need him to crawl and beg for Jean’s forgiveness once he finds out about what his brother had been doing to Jean. Someone on this hellsite brought up that he might be given Grayson’s possessions after his “suicide” so he might find some form of evidence, like a video or pictures. I’m scared.

4. Thea. Will she find out about those backliners she played with? What they did to her Parisian duckling? How will she feel about calling it Jean’s “old tricks”? Cause it’s not a “no harm no foul” situation anymore. I hope Nora just starts suing people who harass her online and finally tells the story she wants to tell about Thea.

5. Rhemann + other Trojans. I need Jean to have a good adult figure for once. Wymack has his hands full. Excited to see all those named NPC Trojans come to life and adopt Jean.

6. Grayson and Zane + other ravens. Wanna see them pay.