#neil is talking about jeremy

[andrew-03-minyard]

jean and neil meet up for lunch:

jean: so why the fuck him?

neil: me?! why the fuck him?

[rise-deepseamonster]

hi just a reminder the bandage Kevin wore on his queen tattoo to the last game was Jean's bandage.

[adamsrcnan]

OKAY OKAY here we goooo an annoyingly long-ish post about all my thoughts on The Sunshine Court

Spoilers Spoilers Spoilersss you've been warned

First things first it is so interesting to see Nora writing from not one but TWO new people's perspective. Jean's perspective is just devastating being inside his head is heartbreaking the constant fear and panic and how much of his energy is used on just pushing down every memory of what was done to him. His coping mechanisms are terrifying and i truly do hope by the end of book 2 he has a healthier way of dealing with it bc baby boy stop hurting yourself :( Every sentence was so painful to read. But also his resilience the entire time to get through it no matter what, god i fucking love him!!! He is a fighter.

Jeremy's perspective is sooooo refreshing. He is such a little sweetheart i could cry. The fact that he sends hand written letters and he's so caring and genuine but he can also be so stern. When he dropped that "i asked you a question" to Lucas fkehdjdfjdh OK SIR. I'M SAT. His relationship with the family butler is so endearing as well i need more background on that for sure! My only one criticism is that he didn't have enough pov chapters and i'm hoping we'll learn more in the second book of course because there's still so much about him and his (dysfunctional? toxic?) family dynamic that we don't know yet but also i'm greedy and i wanna know EVEYTHING about him !!!

Kevin and Jean are so just tragic it actually breaks my fucking heart like "you didn't have to slit my throat on the way out" JEAN??? and "promise me you won't try again. I can't lose you." KEVIN??? And the fact that Jean to this day is still keeping that promise. Also Jean's obvious but secret long term crush on Kevin the way it's subtly dropped every time Jean has to stamp down on his desire's and "temptations" GOD PLEASE I CAN'T STAND IT

SPEAKING OF!!! BISEXUAL JEAN ??? BI JEAN??? BI JEANNNN !!!!

Neil and Jean oh my God like where do i even start?? The guilt Jean feels at what happened to Neil in the Nest and him finally calling him by his name after Riko's death and telling him his game was good. And Neil seriously needs to give himself more credit for how much of a caring person he is because the way he indirectly told Jean that he thinks he is worth saving and didn't even hesitate before asking Stuart to send someone after That Guy after what Jean told him. Neil Josten the man that you are!!!

Jean's little sister Elodie what a beautiful name. Them being so close and him reading to her. The way he found out about her death jolted me differently. It was so awful and i'm so sorry Jean didn't get to see her grow up and meet her again.

Renee and Jean oh my god. Jean thinking she's beautiful (bitch me toooo) And the whole right person wrong time ugh i can't stand it. Him wearing her necklace all the time, enough that Jeremy always notices it. And unabashedly stealing her picture from the foxes lounge. Like he did not give a fuck. He said this one is mine. One good reason to stay alive being rainbows i'm gonna FKSJSKDHDH. Theirs would be such a soft love.

Speaking of soft loves Laila and Cat are EVERYTHINGGGG. God they are so cute with their little domestic life and their rich gay boy son who crashes on their couch with his cardboard cut out dog. That whole friendship dynamic is beautiful. Their fierce protectiveness and care over Jean as well and the patience they have with him even after the little kitchen incident. When Cat took Jean out for a drive on her motorcycle god that was such a heart warming moment and Jean helping them cook as well and becoming the girls' little sous chef it's so cute so endearing !!!

FINALLY FINALLY THE JEREJEAN DYNAMIC

PLEASE I'M GONNA SCREAM

Jeremy being the one who told Jean that Riko was dead i don't even know what to begin with THAT like hhhhhhh. The way they're both stupidly attracted to each other but won't/can't do anything about it. THE WHOLE "say yes Jeremy" SCENE WTF WAS THATTT I WAS GOING INSANEEEE. Both of them having to stop mid sentence when they catch the other looking FINE as hell. Jean being so obvious that even Lucas picks up on the way he looks at Jeremy. Jeremy being there to ground Jean in a Moment and helping him come down from it. Grabbing his face and telling him he's okay. Moving into the room with him to make him feel more comfortable !! The way Jean grabs Jeremy's chin (boiiiii). Jeremy constantly reminding Jean that he is NOT A RAVEN ANYMORE no matter how many times he has to say it. Jeremy saying he'll wait as long as it takes until Jean speaks to him. JEREMY GIVING HIM A HUG AND JEAN CLUTCHING DESPERATELY TO HIS SHIRT FUUCUFHDHSJHSSUHDH and then the "will you help me?" And the "Anything you need" AND THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE A CERAMICS CLASS TOGETHER?!?!?!!!! i can't i can't i can't i caaan'ttt

There's so much more to say but i'm gonna leave it at this for now because i need to go re-read it again and take my time with it this time round but i really could not have asked for anything better Nora truly outdid herself here !!! I'm forever grateful she blessed us with this after so long.

[our-king-bree]

it's the fact that Nora didn't erase nor change any of the kandreil interactions, she let them as they were for when they were a throuple and THEN she expected me to believe that Kevin is happily married with a Raven? yeah no well thanks for the story Nora but Kevin belong to us now and he's a bisexual king on a poly relationship

[shorlinesorrows]

qpr jean and neil. that's all i'm gonna say.

do you see my vision?

[jtl-fics]

You said you had something queued for the non-specific reality show AU?

WIP WEDNESDAY

"Welcome to Ugh." Andrew says while sitting in a perfectly white room on a simple black chair.

"We're your hosts, I can't believe I'm still alive to suffer through this, it's Jean Moreau." Jean says pouring half of a bottle of wine into a wine glass and handing the rest of the bottle to Andrew before taking a sip.

Andrew accepts the bottle, "And Contractually obligated by the Real House-spouses of Exy to say I'm happy to be here, Andrew Minyard." Andrew says.

"Today's segments include, 'No Kevin just because it has Exy in the title doesn't mean any of us want to hear about changes in player stats'" Jean says tiredly.

"And ,of course, 'Is it fashion or is Neil just hot enough to pull it off?' The answer may surprise you."

****

Thanks @ittyybittybaker for goofing around with me in messages about this yesterday lol

[carcrashgf]

listen to me. every main character in the aftg universe would get with Kevin in a heartbeat if he ever expressed he wasn't straight

[nspolaris]

read the sunshine court and have never been more impatient in needing a second book my god

[heartstringgs]

Nora saying Neil would have stayed at the Nest for Jean. Jean and Neil both hating Betsy on sight. Neil and Jean both being sold to a higher family like a commodity. Neil gently taking the phone from Jean's hands and saying'I've got him coach' to Wymack when Jean starts to panic. Neil asking Kevin if Jean was okay when Jeremy called. Jean wishing Neil had stayed just so someone could be with him during the harshest times of his life. Kevin being sure that Neil will be helped by Jean. Neil giving Jean time to get it together when the agents arrived. Neil protecting Jean from his abuser. Jean silently cleaning up Neil's wounds and speaking to him in french when no can hear them. Jean asking Neil to tell him that Riko is truly gone and Neil confirming without a moment of hesitation. Jean and Neil both automatically resorting to saying they're okay—I'm fine, there's nothing to talk about—whenever someone asks them. Neil originally being a backliner just like Jean. Neil telling Jean it's okay to take off the tattoo. Neil reminding Jean he's worth saving. Neil looking over his shoulder out of instinct thinking Jean would be there near him. Neil being Jean's what-if. The 3 to the other's 4. A broken promise. The misplaced forever partners.

[ionlydrinkhotwater]

See one of the unrealized beautiful things about Jean and Neil's friendship is that the more they hang out, the more their boyfriends have to hang out, too. Andrew and Jeremy actually have a lot of potential as friends, Andrew actually likes nice people, i think Jeremy is capable of getting Andrew to talk with him, they are both blonde Californians with dark taste in partners, they hate cops, they have weird relationships with their siblings, but they take mental health seriously, and they dont make Exy their whole personality. While Jean and Neil are having a complicated crime filled lovehate, "we are brothers from the same messed up family" friendship. Jeremy and Andrew could actually develop a really nice, uncomplicated friendship where they babysit the others' bf when they are in town.

[inadvisablebutinevitable]

I think that in the future when the US court for Exy is first announced and the entire internet is talking about the roster, some reporter will go up to Neil and be like “so how does Kevin feel about being on a team with so many gay athletes? between you and Minyard, Alvarez and Dermott, and Knox and Moreau, there are three gay couples on the US team, some fans are speculating that it is perhaps too many—“

and then Neil cuts him off and goes “yeah, and between me and Jean there are two children of mobsters on the fbi watchlist. Between Andrew and Jeremy there are two convicted felons, and between me, Kevin, and Jean, there are three former perfect court members who said fuck that and got our tattoos removed or replaced. We can all count buddy”

Neil loses his press privileges before practices even start

[back2beesness]

In TRK ever single fox is like, Neil how strange that Andrew gives you whatever you want, what could this possibly mean and meanwhile Neil knows about Andrew’s sexuality and is still like, huh idk what’s up here versus in TSC as soon as Jean finds out Jeremy is into men he’s like ah yes this was what Lucas meant when he made that snide comment, we’re talking two completely different levels of social intelligence here

[ninyard]

it’s kind of wonderful to watch Jeremy handle Jean’s trauma because the foxes are so used to each other being fucked up and problematic that when blood spills out of Neil’s locker and he says that he doesn’t want to talk about it they go okay fucked up but sure. Jeremy is so insistent with Jean’s issues and thinks that he just needs to talk about it and pushes and pushes and just begs him to tell him what’s going on. Because that’s the world of trauma he’s used to. He’s used to a problem shared is a problem halfed and being a shoulder to cry on that when Jean says “I’m traumatised” he thinks, “talking about it will make you feel better.”

He handles Jeans trauma with this messy heavy hand and he means so well but his version of trauma, his perspective on trauma is so far removed from the trauma the foxes or the ravens are used to. Every single minute detail Jean reveals is shocking and insane and fucked up and he’s barely scraping the surface. How do you tell someone who thinks you can talk through your problems that you’re afraid of water because you were waterboarded, or that you are so used to your body being used that it’s no longer that Jean feels as if he deserves his abuse, it’s no longer that he thinks his punishments were normal. They are facts. They are core unmoving beliefs so ingrained in him they are set into his skin like the tattoo on his cheek. They’re going nowhere. Jeremy will never understand that, and every thing Jean tells him disturbs him more than the last. He’s so empathetic and compassionate - I think if Jean told him the truth, it would destroy him. It would destroy his spirit, his belief in others, his faith in kindness. It would make him angry. It would make it impossible not to annihilate the Ravens for what they did in the dirtiest, meanest way possible.

And I cannot wait to watch that all happen.

[lily-s-world]

There is something we need to address before The Sunshine Court drops in a few days, and that is the reality that at least 70% of whom Jean and Jeremy are as characters it is based purely on fanon from the past decade. Their canon appearances are limited in the trilogy, and their descriptions are superficial because Neil is not the best when talking about something that isn’t Exy or Andrew.

The reason this is important to mention is because the new book may change a lot about how we view them or the idea we had of them, and I have noticed a lot of the people in this fandom don’t like their fanon contradicted. Best example is how Nora explained Thea character and story and still people decided to ignore it and continue their fanon that Thea is an awful person.

Basically, what I am trying to say is leave your toxicity behind for this new book. It is okay if you don’t like it or didn’t enjoy it, but don’t come at others for not agreeing with you. Especially, don’t attack the author just because she didn’t follow 10 years of headcanons about a character. Just be open to the idea that the canon can and will differ from your own expectations.

[aftgphoenix]

Hehe have a short Jean, Cat, and Jeremy story!

Neil: Back at the airport. Flight lands at 3pm

Andrew: k

Kevin: How is Jean?

Neil: Alive. Talk later.

...

Andrew and Kevin were waiting for him at the airport when Neil landed. He was exhausted. After he'd dropped Jean off back at his house, Neil had gone to meet Stuart at a hotel room where they had talked strategy late into the night. He'd verified that his hit on Grayson had reached the right people and would be taken care of in the next day or two. And he asked Uncle Stuart for one extra favor. He went to the airport after that and slept on the plane.

He gave them a brief rundown of what had happened, omitting the parts about Grayson and Elodie. He wasn't sure Jean would want him sharing about that with Kevin. He'd fill Andrew in on the rest later, when they were in private. 

A week later, a package was delivered to his school mailbox with no return address. Neil ignored all of Kevin's questions about it. The next day, he dragged Andrew down with him to the school post office and mailed off the package to Jean.

...

Cat grabbed the mail from the mailbox before she went inside the house after practice. It was more of the same, junk mail, a bill for electricity, some catalogues, but at the bottom is a large white envelope. There was a Palmetto return address but no name and it was addressed to Jean. Curious, she beelined for the boys' room.

They were both in there. Jeremy was afraid to leave Jean alone after what had happened with Grayson. That was only further complicated by Grayson's second suicide attempt. This time he'd succeeded and it had sent Lucas into a spiral. Jean had barely reacted, which only served to concern herself, Laila, and Jeremy even more. 

"You got a package, Jean. Looks like it's from Palmetto," she said, handing the package to Jean. He took it tentatively, like he was scared to find what was inside it. Cat hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should stay or let him open it in peace. She decided that if he wanted to open it alone, he could set it aside. Instead, he carefully lifted the tape that was sealing the envelope closed.

He waited a moment before he slid the contents out on the bed. It was a pile of photographs.

"Wait, is that you?" she asked as she caught sight of a familiar scowling boy about ten years old. It was strange seeing him without his 3 tattoo. Jean didn't answer but instead gently reached his finger out to touch the little girl next to him in the photo.

"She was so young," he whispered. Jeremy had moved over to Jean's bed as well.

"Do you want to look at them alone?" he asked.

Jean hesitated a moment, then shook his head.

"Stay," he said, almost too quiet to hear. Jeremy sat down next to him and Cat sat on the other side.

"Who is the girl?" Jeremy asked. 

"Elodie," Jean said. "She was my little sister."

Cat felt her blood run cold as she realized what Jean was saying. Neither she nor Jeremy said anything as Jean slowly flipped through the small pile of photographs. Each one was of him and Elodie. In some, he was holding her hand or playing with her. In one, he was glaring at the camera and holding her protectively against himself. In the last one, Elodie was crying and Jean looked angry. He was hugging the girl. It was the oldest he looked out of all the photos. Cat didn't say anything when she saw a tear slip off of Jean's nose and splash onto his arm. She leaned her head against him comfortingly.

As Jean set the last photo aside, Cat saw there was a note underneath it. In messy handwriting was scrawled a short message:

You're worth just as much as she was -N

ao3 link if you want to save it

[embraceweird]

The last day in tsc is A LOT but can you imagine it from Jeremy, Laila, and Cat's perspective with no context.

First you watch Jean slowly becomes more and more irritated during practice. So much so Jean eventually lashes out at Jeremy and seeks contrition. Which wtf were the Ravens doing to him before?

But before you can talk to Jean about that he disappears with Lucas. 5 minutes later he's been attacked, he's bleeding, and he looks like he's about to fly off the edge. But again he won't let you in. He shuts down, pushes you away, and locks himself in his room.

An hour or so later he says a visitor is coming? It's Neil Josten, that scandal clad striker from SC? Jean does not look thrilled to see him but still leaves with him. Now you're left to sit at home riddled with anxiety and wait for Jean's return.

Hours go by before Jean finally comes home and he looks worse than when he left. Without saying a word he barrels to the study and starts ripping up his notebooks. And sure you've been wanting him to get rid of those wretched things but not like this. Not when Jean looks like he's about to spiral out of control. Finally you get his attention and the first thing he says is "if I asked you to kill me, would you?"

No wonder Laila kept her foot wrapped around Jean's seat and Jeremy pressed against his shoulder. After this I'd never let go of him again either. Having the context and living through this day with Jean is painful but not having a clue what's going on would be so much worse