#but he did make to the exy leagues

[plutoslvr]

sibling dynamic foxes is the best thing ever and no its not a headcanon this is canon to me.

like the foxes and Kevin? siblings if I ever saw any. They would relentlessly bully Kevin and Kevin would just bully them back but the moment anyone tries talking shit about either of them it's absolute hell.

Reporter 1: Kevin, what do you think about the Foxes as a team? I'm sure they can't compare to your old team, The Ravens and Ri-

Kevin Day best Exy player in the league, holding his Exy racquet like a weapon: the fuck did you just say to me?

or

The foxes: man FUCK Kevin

some exy hating loser: yeah screw that guy

Bisexual defender Allison holding enough money in her pocket to end their life: No. You don't get it.

NOT JUST THEM are you guys trying to tell me Matt and Nicky aren't best friends? Are you telling me they don't have gossip Fridays where they share everything together whilst Dan listens in on them. Are you telling me Nicky doesn't read the upperclassmen to filth about their fashion sense (except Allison who joins in on making fun of them).

And of course we have the twinyards (YES THEY HEAL IDC NORA CAN CHOKE ON AN EXY STICK) and they're fucking dickheads to each other its insane. The first few months everyone's slightly on edge but then they realise its all bark and no bite.

Andrew: I'm going to stab you.

Aaron: Do it coward

Andrew: *jabbing him with a mechanical pencil*

Aaron: Fine, not so much of a coward I guess.

Oh and the foxes 1000000% make fun of Neil for living in Britain. They're constantly talking to him in a British accent and when the Queen died they all showed up in his room offering gifts of condolences.

"This is a hard time for you, we understand if you need space but we'll always be here for you."

"It'll get better buddy trust me."

"It's better if you cry and get it out now, we know how important she was to you."

They also make sleepover nights mandatory. The first few years they just had the og foxes let into the dorms but after they all graduated Kevin made a whole separate room just for the foxes where they have sleepovers. It's decked out with beanbags, weighted blankets, stuffed animals and his favourite photos of the Foxes printed out and framed and a TV.

He says Jeremy picked it out but secretly it was all him and he would rather die than let them find out. Somehow they did (Jeremy ratted him out) and Kevin's nickname was permanently changed to softie. No they did not secretly feel giddy with happiness, no they didn't think this was the best thing Kevin Day has ever done absolutely not.

#omg kevin would never choose the foxes over exy #theyre so found family guys #everyones like YOURE WRONG #like trust me on this guys its basically canon #they all hold each other so dear to them idcidc IM RIGHT #kevin: you guys are so dear to me #foxes: what was that? #kevin: you guys fucking suck at exy #andrew: maybe i dont completely detest your entire beings #the foxes: awwwwww <3 #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #andrew minyard #kevin day #aaron minyard #nicky hemmick #matt boyd #aftg kevin #aftg shitpost #aftg neil #aftg series #aftg textpost #allison reynolds #renee walker #dan wilds

[inlovewithkevinday]

Matt: oh my god this website posted the top ten best looking EXY men in our league.

Nicky: WHAT? DID I MAKE IT???

Matt:you got 8th

Nicky: god damnit there is no way there are 7 better looking guys then me.*looks around the empty room*…did I beat the monsters?

Matt: * gives a remorseful face* sorry bud

Nicky: You’re KIDDING me! Kevin hardly even brushes his hair!

Kevin *walking in*: what are you yelling my name for?

*matt turns the computer to face him while nicky sulks.*

Kevin: oh this is completely humiliating. This is a disgrace to EXY. Whoever made this is a waste of space.

Nicky *sullenly*: did you make top 5?

Kevin * rolling his eyes*: 3rd

Nicky: THIRD? THIRD? This is completely ridiculous I want a recount you have a face tattoo for gods sakes don’t these people have any CLASS?

Kevin *sends nicky a death glare and then lays back into a beanbag.*

Matt: nicky if it makes you feel better you beat rico

Nicky: rico is DEAD.

Matt: we’ll it’s something isn’t it?

Nicky: don’t mock me! Wait. Are the twins on there? Neil?

Kevin * letting out a laugh* Andrew got second actually.

Nicky *screaming* Oh you’ve GOT to be fucking kidding me. That freak?! He’s the size of a 7th grade girl and doesn’t even show his face to the cameras. This is fucking ridiculous.

Aaron *entering the room through the front door.*: nicky I can hear your yelling from down the hall,do you have to make it more embarrassing to be related to you than it already is?

Nicky: THIS WEBSITE CLAIMS I AM ONLY THE 8TH BEST LOOKING MAN IN EXY AND YOU WANT ME TO STAY CALM?

Aaron: what? What did I get?

Matt: 6th.

Kevin *cackling*sixth?! Andrew got second.

Aaron: SECOND? WE HAVE THE SAME FUCKING FACE. Who else beat me?

Matt: Jean is first, then Andrew, Kevin, neil, jermey, than you.

aaron: are you telling me that NEIL who’s face is half burned off is higher up on that list? That’s just fuckjng great.

Nicky: sorry cuzzo. Neil is a catch and so is his little boyfriend.

Aaron: stop saying that.

Nicky: what? Andrew and neil are dating.

Aaron: no you saying neil is a catch. It’s making me nauseous.

Neil and Andrew walk in, sweaty from running. Neil is wearing a thin black t shirt that is clinging to his chest and his muscles are erect and flexing all around his chest and legs. His hair, along with Andrews, is wet with sweat and sticking in all kinds of directions. Andrew presses his hand to Neil’s rapid chest and it makes neil laugh. His smiling revealing all of his straight white teeth and dimples.Andrews arms flex on their own and he uses his hand to cover Neil’s lips.The room goes quiet and neil looks up.

Neil: what are you guys doing?

Nicky: I need some air.

Matt: me too.

Aaron: god fucking damnit

#all for the game #andrew and neil #andreil #aftg #aftg incorrect quotes #the foxhole court #aftg fanart #aftg kevin #aftg shitpost #aftg trilogy #aftg headcanon #kevin day #neil josten #aftg art #aftg au #andriel #kevandreil #aftg andreil

[foxhopfics]

Jason Todd as a Fox instead of a Bat

Request for anon! I took a little bit to turn this over in my brain because the timeline for aftg is so tight and Jason's timelines are... All over the place. So for reference purposes, I'm calling this an AU where after coming back from the Lazarus pit, he was still trained by Ra's Al Ghul and Talia, however instead of returning to Gotham to become the Red Hood, he takes a detour, quits his life of crime, and signs up for exy. (It's a bit of a stretch but I think I make it work. This also lowkey made me end up shipping Kevin and Jason) I'm putting this under a readmore because it accidentally got SUPER long

Jason was first introduced to exy as a pastime sport the trainees from the league of assassins would play. It's good for endurance training, muscle building, etc. etc. and it seemed like a good outlet, so he gave it a shot

His portfolio, much like Neil's, came in the form of a video. He copied and stole the security camera footage from the court they used.

As he gets more into exy he also starts to learn about the teams that are out there and kind of realizes he's not doomed to a life of crime. He can escape this, if he's smart.

And the Foxes are an underdog team. Not many eyes will be on them, so it will be easier to remain hidden if anyone comes looking for him.

The next week, he gets an acceptance email from the school, and a "welcome to the team, see you in a month!" message from a man named David Wymack

(Little did Jason know David would become more of a father to him than Bruce ever was.)

Things aren't exactly rough when he gets there, but he's definitely lived in more pleasant places. The dorm rooms are just fine by him, but the other members of the exy team make him jumpy

Most of them ignore him at first, and he kindly reciprocates.

They get along well enough in practice, Jason preferring to use his larger stature to play a good, solid defense. He's great at planting himself in the way of the oncoming strikers, and they always underestimate his speed because of his size.

(He was always taught to defend and protect, after all...)

It's not until about the events of TFC when Neil starts to bring the team together that Jason really starts to get to know everyone. Kind of reluctantly, since he was happy being on his own with a provided cover story.

But Neil pushes and he gives like a broken dam. There's still that little kid somewhere stuck in there that wishes someone would just care for him.

Eventually he starts to open up on his own to the others, ending up really connecting with Kevin. Kevin and him were both raised by men who wanted the best from them, expected no less, and met disappointment with hard, frozen stairs.

Jason could count on his fingers the times Bruce had smiled at him or told him "good job". Kevin couldn't even name one time the Moriyamas ever did.

And as he opens up he begins to see his family in the faces of his new friends. He sees the bubbly positivity in Nicky that reminds him of Steph. He's hearing the same logical calculations that Tim would make come from Aaron's mouth instead. He sees Dick in every move Matt makes, both of them born for teamwork and support. He sees a flicker of Renee out of the corner of his eye and for a second can swear it's Cass.

While he tells him the things that have happened to them, they're met with stunned silence. But honestly, Jason is grateful for everyone to accept it and go, considering Neil's past is still chasing him. Jason's isn't, at least, not right now

It's not until after the first time Kevin and Jason end up in bed together and they're both shirtless that it really hits them both how fucked up they are. Both their bodies are littered with scars and old injuries.

But there is love and care in healing damaged things and Kevin traces his fingers along the angry lichtenberg scars left by the Lazarus pit.

Anyway they are shortly interrupted by the mob coming after Neil and Jason is basically like "jesus i could take care of this in 0.5 seconds but im not a murderer anymore and Matt has accidentally instilled a moral compass in me"

and then Neil gets fucking KIDNAPPED? and everyone gets roughed up by the crowed and gets taken to the hospital except for Jason who actually kept track of Neil during all this madness knowing there were literal people coming for him and his Vigilante Senses turned on.

NYWAY he tracks Neil to Nathan's hideout and he's basically the one who called it in because he's used to having to do such things from his time as Robin.

Basically Jason would take the place of Neil's uncle because where the fuck did HE even come from and this works better imo.

I decided I didn't want Jason to change much in the story because with his past and ESPECIALLY his time in the league of assassins, he could very easily become an OP Deus Ex Machina instead of a character in a story with ups and downs. But this also made me want to a) rewrite the whole series but i do NOT have time to do that. but also b) i may end up writing a more in depth fic about Jason and Kevin and if that accidentally evolves into a series then WHOOPS! Anyway hope you enjoyed!

#dc #jason todd #red hood #aftg #all for the game #kevin day #tfc #the foxhole court #FT: headcanons

[go-foxes]

Location: The Foxhole Court Date: Wednesday, August 11th Time: After Afternoon Practice (open​)

He didn’t get a lot of practicing in over the summer. Not with—everything. 

He’s maybe wishing that he did, somehow. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and he doesn’t know what kind of one he’s making. The gym’s pretty easy, but on the court he feels a step behind, trying to shake off the rust from a summer spent worrying about things so much bigger and realer than Exy, trying to learn a new system and new drills on a new court in a new league. 

It just another thing that never seems quite fair. Like he’s never been able to give as much of himself to Exy as he wants, because life keeps getting in the way. Like he’ll never know how good he could have been.

But it’s not like Wymack’s going to send him back to California now, so he’s being hard on himself. Whatever happened, whatever choices he made or had life made for him, he’s here now. He’s going to play Class I, he’s going to make plays and score goals and do it all with Mateo at his side. 

He just has to get through summer training first.

The court feels huge, bigger than anything he’s ever played on before. It’s hard to believe that in just a few weeks there will be fans in the stands—whether they’re fans of the Foxes or not—camera crews broadcasting them for people to watch. It buoys him as he sucks down water, bracing himself through the burn in his muscles, the shaky feeling in his legs like they’re not quite sure if they want to hold him upright after yet another session on the court. If he were any less proud, he’d be on the floor.

“This is brutal,” he says, like saying it out loud is owning it, making it into something self-deprecating instead of something that’s just embarrassing. “Tell me it isn’t always like this.”

#foxesstart #you know i love a court starter #TK. #TK: INTERACTION

[chaoticfoxes]

Date: Sunday, August 8 Location: Room 315 Time: Morning (open)

Ever since his mom died, Mateo doesn’t have any emotional attachment towards his massive house or all the expensive shit that comes with it, shit he asked for, but as he surveys his new room, he actually misses his bedroom and his king-sized bed. 

There’s bunk beds, like they’re going to fucking summer camp or something. While there’s a living room and kitchenette, this entire dorm room is probably the size of his bedroom, and with four boys living here, they’re going to be on top of each other’s shit all the time. 

If it was up to Mateo, he probably wouldn’t have gone to college at all. It’s not like he actually needs the degree, and he definitely doesn’t need an Exy scholarship. He has a guaranteed job for life, not that he’ll ever give his dad the satisfaction of taking it, but the point is it’s there if he needs it. Heir to Hotel Montes--all the “fuck you money” and job security he could ask for but doesn’t give a shit about.

He’d rather spend the rest of his youth traveling the world--going to the Red Light District in Amsterdam and laying on the beach in Thailand. Instead, he’s a Fox, the worst team in the Class I division. They only won one game last season, and he’s supposed to be excited to be here? The only reason he is, is because of TK. 

TK’s been his best friend since little league. Even when he basically vanished from Mateo’s life for a few years, he considered him as his best friend. Now it’s so much more than that, he’s his brother, something Mateo actually takes seriously. He would follow his adopted brother anywhere. No questions asked. He’d put that tall as fuck kid on the back of his motorcycle and drive him wherever he wanted to go, but did it have to be Palmetto, South Carolina?

Mateo stares up at the top bunk and wrinkles his nose. There’s no way in hell he’s sharing with anyone other than TK, and he’s not going to make him climb up there. He might get a concussion before the season starts. Standing on is tippy toes, he throws his tempurpedic pillow up there to claim his bed for the year.

“That one’s mine,” he declares to the room, leaving no room for an argument.

#foxesstart #this felt like a dialogue below the gif kind of starter #aaaaaand here he is #thread: mateo #mateo

[knickknacksandallthat]

I know you told us how the foxes felt about Thea, but we’ve never really seen how Jean and Jeremy feel about her. Hell, how did wymack feel?

Ooh, another good question, anon! Hmm, let me see...I think I can answer how Jean/Jeremy felt about Thea before Dead of Night and not spoil anything. Anything after that is plot-relevant so...it's a no-go. Then I'll tackle Wymack next cause...hoo boy.

Again, the incredibly long, detailed synopsis that I'm sure no one wanted. 😅 (And all my own opinions, based on the au I created! Feel free to hc differently if you want to!)

T/W: Discussion of assault, age gaps, non-consent, and character death below

*Also spoilers for DON below!

JEREMY: Jeremy has been a fan of Kevin's from the beginning. We're talking 14-year-old Jeremy putting-posters-of-Kevin-Day-on-his-wall-and-kissing-it-goodnight kind of celebrity worship. So when Kevin started dating Thea, Jeremy was bummed but also swooning because that's his idol! Dating an older woman! Who's one of the best backliners in the league! They're literally Exy royalty! OMG how cool!

For a long time, I think he was swept up with the rest of the world in the glamor of it. He saw Kevin dating a mature woman and was just so impressed and in awe of him. I think it wasn't until he met Kevin in college and Kevin became a "real" person to him, that Thea also became "real" as well. Despite the ease with which Jeremy brushed Kevin's rejection off at the time, it ached for a while after. During his bounce back, he dove into Kevin and Thea's relationship, watching them in interviews and games, reading about them in magazine and internet articles...and that's when I think he started to question their dynamic. Like why would Thea be interested in someone that young? What did they have in common? Why did they act that way toward one another? When did it start? And wait...um, that's not okay, right?

Then when Jean arrived? Broken and angry and so so so hurt? And Jeremy learned more about that relationship from Jean's perspective?

He became really conflicted over Thea indeed.

(But he has absolutely no idea what happened between them in the Nest.)

JEAN: Oh, Jean. Poor, poor Jean. As everyone knows, Jean's life in the Nest was absolute hell. And here he had this one ray of light - this one person in the entire world who looked out for him, who watched his back, who did whatever he could to help him. Who also happened to be devastatingly handsome and nice and intelligent, and learned Jean's language just so they could talk in private, and looked at him like he had stars in his eyes and - wait...did he actually look at him like that? Wait, he actually likes him? Wait, he wants to kiss him, and be together, and-

And then his world falls apart.

Because, overnight, Riko takes everything. In one night, he completely destroys Jean because not only does he attack and assault him - he hurts Kevin as well. He ruthlessly shatters Jean's dreams, ripping the roots of that romantic relationship up before they even have time to grow. And the worst part for Jean is (what he believes to be) the absolute erasure of this attraction by Kevin. It felt like Riko brainwashed him - that overnight, the simmering heat between them simply fizzled up like smoke.

And to put the final nail in the coffin, Kevin started dating Thea. The girl he said he didn't like only a couple weeks before. That terrifying fourth-year that barely spoke to anyone. Jean had asked, just to make sure, but Kevin had confirmed it - that they liked one another.

And so Jean had nothing left. Nothing but the tendrils of friendship between Kevin and him that he clinged to, for years.

He couldn't fault Thea, of course, for liking Kevin - that would be hypocritical of him. But still, he didn't like her - a move that he instinctively recognized as immature and irrational but unavoidable all the same. (But understandable when faced with a love rival, I think.) He did respect her, though - he respected her Exy skills, respected her transparent and direct communication, and the careful way she seemed to treat Kevin in public. (Did he find their dynamic a little cold, strange, and standoffish? Yes. Did he think he could do a better job? Also yes. Could he do anything about it? No.)

He had absolutely no clue that the age gap was a problem. How could he? He was too young to know these things before being handed over to the Moriyamas. It wasn't until Jeremy asked some careful questions, and the winces and scrunched-up looks he received in return for his answers that he began to suspect something might be wrong there.

He also has no idea what happened that night in the Nest because Kevin never told him. (And he still hasn't...yet.)

WYMACK: Kevin was a small, small blip on Wymack's radar before he called him that fateful night he escaped. Something wistful and nostalgic, and interesting to read up on in his free time. So he didn't really spare much thought to Kevin's relationship. (He had bigger things to worry about.)

And yet, there was something that twisted in his gut, even when he didn't consciously acknowledge it.

It wasn't until Kevin was recuperating at Abby's that Wymack really got the sense something was strange between the two. It happened after the first time that Wymack offered to get in contact with Thea - the striker's supposed long-term girlfriend.

And the answer he received in response was a panicked wheeze, a frantic shaking of the head, of eyes opening wide as Kevin shouted, "NO!"

It...confused Abby and Wymack to say the least.

It's late at night when he comes over to visit Abby only to find her frowning in the dark in her kitchen. "You said they've been together for four years, right, David?" she asked, still staring at her laptop.

"Who?"

"Kevin and Thea."

"Yes?" he answered, confused.

"So they got together when he was sixteen."

"Right."

Abby looked up at him. "That means Thea was twenty-one."

And suddenly bile rushed up Wymack's throat because - that's a seven-year-age-gap. That meant Kevin was underage. That meant he couldn't consent.

That was almost exactly what happened to David's mother.

There will be many, many more twisted and dark things he'll come to learn happened to his son. (A fact that he doesn't even know until two years later.) And by the time they're in a place where they've dealt with the more pressing, immediate nonsense that Riko brought to the table, and the aftermath his death causes, Wymack will feel stuck. Because what possible leverage does he have to influence a now-adult that his relationship originated from fuzzy, uncomfortable, and possibly non-consensual means? He's been his father for .5 seconds - a fact that he discusses several times with Betsy. How can he hope to create a father-son relationship with Kevin when he's already undermining his decisions in an environment where he basically had no choice? Things are precarious enough as it is.

But Betsy was firm and direct with David (in her own Bee-like way) - she kept encouraging him to approach the topic. It's just that Wymack didn't have time - and he didn't have a good way to bring it up. He couldn't find the right moment to say - oh, how did the two of you get together anyway? Did you actually have a choice in that decision? Or is this another story I'm about to hear that will tear me up from the inside out? Isn't it a little strange the way she treated you when she came on campus? Why are you having to grovel to a girlfriend for being abused and manipulated, and why didn't she reach out to you to help when she learned you were here? Why is it she still wears her uniform number around her neck? Why do you never talk about her or call her or seem to think about her in any decisions you make?

But he waited too long. And suddenly the relationship was no longer a problem. Suddenly they were simply broken up. And Wymack doesn't see a change in Kevin's demeanor. He doesn't see him grieving or pining away for the love he lost. So he thought that was that. A juvenile relationship that ran its course. He's relieved. He tries to tell himself that if Kevin wanted to talk about it, he would.

And then DON happened.

(And there was one more thing Wymack regretted in his life.)

So...yeah...again. Not like I've thought about any of this AT ALL in my writing LOL. Thanks for the question, anon!! ❤️ A pleasure to be able to think through all of this! 😊

#fic asks #lovely people #dead of night #kevin day #thea muldani #jeremy knox #jean moreau #david wymack #my works #aftg #all for the game #abby winfield

[chronically-peach]

Mommy Dearest

Andreil, rated G, 915 words.

Andrew was no stranger to mommy issues. The blonde had enough of his own to last him a lifetime but he often found himself thinking of Neil’s.

Mary Hatford was a despicable woman, her only redemption being keeping Neil alive for as long as she did and Andrew did not agree with her methods for doing so. To Andrew she was a mother in title alone, much like Tilda had been to him.

It was months into the two dating when Neil opened up about his mom. The younger boy was laid on his back in bed, eyes closed but fingers trailing lightly across Andrew’s shoulder. With his head against the redheads chest Andrew could hear his heartbeat clearly and he basked in the sound, a reminder that his boyfriend was alive and safe.

He was almost asleep when he heard the slight increase in Neil’s heartbeat and he counted the beats as he waited to see if he would be needed. Sometimes Neil wanted to keep his anxiety to himself, hiding any discomfort he had from Andrew so it could marinate in his brain. Other times he would tell the blonde about whatever thoughts were eating away at him. Andrew had decided early on that it was best to ignore it until Neil came to him about it, if he wanted comfort then his boyfriend was more than happy to give it to him but the older boy refused to pry.

“I’ve been thinking about my mom” Neil said, his voice gravelly and low. Andrew hummed in acknowledgement, waiting for his boyfriend to elaborate. “Betsy asked me about her in our session today. I mentioned how happy Kevin was when he talked about his dad being at every one of his games. Bee asked me if my parents had ever seen me play. I told her about my little league Exy games, the only time I saw my mother smile.”

Pain spread through Andrews chest as he listened to the redhead, squeezing his hand to let him know he was listening, scared that if he spoke Neil would stop.

“She asked if I thought my mother would be proud of all I had accomplished since her death.” Neil’s hand on Andrew’s shoulder stilled abruptly, a sign he was going somewhere in his head that the blonde wouldn’t be able to reach him. “I told her no. I didn’t question it for a second. My mother spent her life keeping me hidden in plain sight. Neil is the embodiment of everything she tried to force out of me. If my mother hated Abram than she would despise Neil. She’d make good on her promise to kill me herself if I ever stepped out of line.”

Looking up Andrew could see Neil’s eyes were open but glazed over, the blinding blue a much darker shade than usual against his tan skin. His boyfriend was trapped somewhere far away from reality, a realm far different than their bedroom in the Columbia house.

“I think she loved me in her own twisted way. Whether out of necessity or maternal instinct I don’t know. She protected me but she also hurt me. She turned a blind eye to Nathan’s abuse but she spent eight years trying to keep me alive. That has to count for something.”

In that moment Andrew decided he hated Mary Hatford. Anger overtook his body as he thought of young Neil on the run, scared and reliant solely on his mother. Young Neil scared of being found by his father but equally scared of disappointing his mother. He thought of all the things the redhead missed out on, the instincts he smothered to follow his mothers rules.

It wasn’t often that Andrew felt the same hatred he felt for Tilda after he found out about what she had been doing to Aaron but he swore in that moment he would’ve killed Mary himself had she still been alive for him to do so.

“Drew,” Neil said softly, his voice barely a whisper. “I miss her. She was cold and violent when she felt she had to be but she was the only person I had for so long.” The redhead was crying now, his chest rapidly rising and falling as he struggled to get the words out.

Slowly Andrew removed himself from his boyfriend’s chest and sat up in bed so he could run his fingers through Neil’s auburn curls. The room stayed silent for a while besides the occasional hiccup or sniffle from Neil and Andrew continued to play with the younger boy’s hair until his eyes were no longer glazed over.

Comforting words were never the blonde’s forte but he was desperate to find the right words to say to Neil, to show him his confession wasn’t lost on Andrew.

“Little rabbit” he said, looking directly into Neil’s sad eyes. “You’re allowed to miss her, you’re allowed to mourn. You can both miss a moment and not want to relive it. You can mourn a person without wanting to resurrect them.” Without saying a word Neil nodded his head and turned onto his side, content with what his boyfriend had said.

They didn’t talk about Mary Hatford for a while after, and for that Andrew was thankful. He tried his hardest to support Neil in his grief but deep down he knew he would never feel anything but despair when it came to Mary and he swore to never let those feelings show.

#all for the game #the foxhole court #the raven king #the kings men #Andreil #andrew minyard #neil josten #mary hatford #andreil fanfic #all for the game fanfic #aftg #my work

[halothief]

exy addicts are fucking horrifying. yet here he is, surrounded by them in a new city with a new number; pro leagues. in a delicious turn of irony, andrew’s a spinning top on a planet without gravity, endlessly caught in a loop others only dare whisper for in their dreams. that he holds more talent in his indifferent pinky finger than most hold in their entire body is worthless to him — his sense of accomplishment starts and ends with his ability to finally escape kevin day’s fucked up addict clutches. happy graduation to him. 

— honestly, there’s a firm belief the ability to shotgun beer is a far more impressive feat than hitting a ball with an elaborate twirling stick. he says as much to his new coach, who for some reason, thinks he’s making a joke. oh well. he’ll learn.

after he’s signed, andrew’s stuck playing daytime tv host to a range of weird personalities. introductions, management calls it. annoyances, andrew glares. but at the end of the day, one character-trope is still absent from the greetings. on the court, a new teammate says with affection, as if it’s some kind of admirable to make your entire personality exy. he’ll be on the court.

and because the universe is in on some kind of cosmic joke, here andrew is, watching another exy addict practice until his fingers bleed. there’s a stop-start moment where he’s struck with a firm realisation: whatever he did in a past life, no matter how horrifying, did not earn this.

     ‘ you know... most people get hooked on drugs. ’

@daylighter​ ♡’d

#; jesus this is rusty. anyway here's This Asshole. #; what a line to start off a thread with. #daylighter #daylighter : kenneth vareck #` ▒░ ANDREW MINYARD. #╰ . ◦ ` ･ﾟ ANDREW. ——— it's terrible to want something. ╱ VERSE : PRO LEAGUES ! #☆⠀•⠀ STARTER. #☆⠀•⠀ INTERACTIONS.

[thespineoftherighteous]

Katelyn.

headcanons cause I have Thoughts about her

she's super into exy (as a fan more than as a cheerleader) and actually follows exy teams and leagues, more than most of the foxes even do (she 100% had a proper fangirl moment over Kevin)

(after they get married she teases Aaron that she's been playing him the long run this whole time and the only reason she ever dated him was because she was counting on the fact that eventually he would have connections to get her free tickets to watch pro games. which he does. begrudgingly. which means he goes to every one of Kevin, Andrew, Neil and Matt's games when they play in the area. begrudgingly.)

it's canon that she is very talkative, especially around new people, and though she has a way of it being not annoying to most people, she's never fazed with being told to pipe down

on that note, once her and Nicky are properly acquainted and get to know each other they immediately hit it off and it's family family

but that's nothing to how she is with the girls

although the girls have been through things together that Katelyn could never really understand, they immediately took her in once Aaron became more okay with bringing her around

Dan tells Katelyn how grateful she is for her because, well, obviously Neil is not the only one who noticed how much lighter Aaron gets when Katelyn is around. and Dan tells her as much and that, even though he still tends to act like he can't stand the rest of them, Aaron is still one of her foxes, someone she considers family. so to know that he has someone he can lean on is very important to her

(Katelyn does not get maybe a little bit quiet or emotional hearing this and she does not maybe say something to Aaron about that later and that does not surprise or confuse Aaron even a little bit to know that Dan thinks about him like that. not at all)

they have sleepovers regularly. sometimes they gossip about the boys, sometimes they gossip about the vixens, lots of times Allison and Renee end up throwing pillows at Dan and Katelyn because how did the conversation turn to exy stats again, sometimes (if they get drunk enough) Katelyn tries to teach them cheers. most of the time Allison ends up strutting around in Katelyn's uniform and whining when she has to take it off.

her relationship with Andrew is something that always troubles her. given her own background and her experience with the Foxes, she recognizes how delicate their situation is and even though everyone tells her to leave it be she still wishes there was something to do to make one of the most important people in Aaron's life hate her..not so much.

idk if it's the fanon that's affected me but I like to think that the vixens have similarly (to some extent) fucked up backgrounds as the foxes, so Katelyn has sharp edges to her and is notorious for snapping at people and has often had to be pulled back by someone on the squad and away from a fight she was having with a crowd member

Neil had no intention (zero) or desire to ever befriend her past the point of general decency. but they end up developing a very casual siblingish type relationship and are very easy around each other. (she's one of, like, five non-Foxes whose number Neil has)

she's wicked smart and does really well in school

but she's amazing at putting on the Dumb Cheerleader act to fuck with assholes or to get shit out of people

she's one of those girls that always smells really good and when you walk past them on the street you do a double take because omg

she goes nuts when Aaron picks her up (esp after games, like in tkm)

one time (for spirit week or some shit idk) the vixens decided to wear the jersey of their favorite player to encourage fans to buy more jerseys. Aaron told her he'd give her one of his real ones [ ;) ] so she wouldn't have to buy one but she insisted that it would be 1. not fair given that the rest of the squad had to buy theirs and 2. hypocritical, given that the whole intention was to get people to buy more

you can imagine his indignation when homie showed up to the pregame chaos with the other vixens, not in a 'Minyard #5' jersey but a 'Wilds #1' one, grinning devilishly at him as he paused on his way to greet her

Dan brushed past him with a "haHAA looking good girly" and got to Katelyn first, smothering her in a hug

"that is...not what a supportive girlfriend is supposed to do."

"sorry babe," she responded gleefully. "but if makes you feel better you were definitely my top third choice."

"i- third??"

"well the captain was first, obviously. [winks at Dan] and then, well every Kevin Day fan should have a Kevin Day jersey and you know how big of a fan I've been for years"

*disgruntled Aaron noises*

Matt passes by as he runs laps to warm up and Katelyn waves and turns around to point at the name on the back of her shirt. he stops for an approving fist bump and a: "nice fit. I might need to steal that."

Katelyn: only if I can steal your girlfriend

*more disgruntled Aaron noises*

Dan joins Matt as he continues his laps and Aaron finally greets Katelyn properly

"next game I'll wear yours, I promise." her voice is muffled from within their hug. "and the next one and the next one and the next one..."

"yeah yeah." maybe he's smiling a little now too

"that is, if you're still willing to give me one of yours?"

"absolutely not. buy it yourself."

I digress

#this chick oh my goodness #once aaron stops hiding her from the foxes because of andrew he contemplates hiding her from them because of THEM #he was not banking on the fact that they would all (even josten) steal her like that #but what a babe #and the neil/katelyn duo will never get old #katelyn #aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court #aaron minyard #neil josten #dan wilds #matt boyd #mine aftg #mine fave

[jeanmoreaudefensesquad]

When the Nest is being cleaned out, someone finds an old box of VHS tapes that Tetsuji left behind. Upon watching them, it immediately becomes clear who they need to go to.

Kevin usually doesn't pay much attention to his mail--everyone and everything he needs is at Palmetto already, anything ordered for exy ships to the stadium, and he gets a not insignificant amount of fan mail through his university mailbox (I'm saying this works like my university did, where technically anyone could have sent me anything by addressing it to my name and the university's address). So he isn't particularly interested in the package, until he sees the return address. He'd recognize the address of Castle Evermore anywhere.

His dorm doesn't have a VCR, but he knows that Wymack has one, so he takes the box over to his apartment. He doesn't know what are on the tapes, but it's from the Ravens, so even if it's terrible, he has to watch it.

Wymack offers to leave to let Kevin watch alone, but Kevin shakes his head. If it is terrible, he wants someone there to catch him when he breaks.

So they put the first tape in.

Someone sets up the camera and then immediately runs back, and both men recognize the person at once. Light brown hair, green eyes, bouncing on the balls of her feet with a wide grin--this is Kayleigh Day.

The tape has clearly been made to send to Tetsuji, as a documentation of her efforts to spread exy in Europe, but that doesn't much matter. It's seeing her there that is important. She has a racquet in her left hand and is passing back and forth with someone who starts off-camera, but soon moves into frame.

Wymack has aged since then, made ancient by his players' tragedies, but he is recognizable on the screen nonetheless. Looking at his younger self, Wymack can see just how much Kevin takes after him, and he has to take a moment to compose himself.

Other people come and go, though they aren't recognized and therefore unimportant. What is interesting, however, is a tape or two later when it becomes clear Kayleigh is pregnant.

She doesn't scale down any more than is absolutely necessary, and it is obvious where Kevin got his fire and dedication from.

And then, a tape later, a child starts appearing.

He is maybe one the first time he's captured on film, tiny racquet in his left hand and concentration on his face as he takes shots at a handful of children's books stood up. Every time he knocks one down, Kayleigh cheers from behind the camera.

"Good work, Kevin!"

They need to pause there for a break. Neither one will admit to the tears in their eyes, but they don't need to. They both cry for missing Kayleigh, but Wymack will never admit that the majority of his tears are for this tiny boy he never got to be a father to. For seeing Kevin learn to play, for imagining being there himself to be his second coach, after his mother.

A little while later, one of Kevin's little league games is filmed in its entirety. Even at that age, maybe five, it is clear that Kevin is better than everyone else on the court, and the dedication that drives his teammates to fits is present as well.

(And if it makes Wymack emotional, the confirmation that that came from Kayleigh and not from Tetsuji, well, no one needs to know.)

Interspersed with exy are a few clips of mundane things, a jolt of reminder that Kayleigh and Tetsuji were friends. There's Kevin's sixth birthday, a day out on some lake somewhere, just some mundane puttering around the house.

Wymack should have figured that Kevin grew up with an Irish accent, but somehow it never occurred to him.

It is dark out by the time the last tape comes to a close. It is Kayleigh waving goodbye to Kevin as he sets out on a school trip, serious little face breaking into a bright smile as he runs back to give his mom one last hug.

"That was the last time I saw her," Kevin says, voice thick with emotion. "She died while I was away. A week later I was at the Nest."

He can't be more than seven, and Wymack takes a moment to be angry on his son's behalf.

"I wish I had known," he says, choking down everything he wants to say about Tetsuji Moriyama. Kevin doesn't need to hear that now. "I wish I could have been there, been a part of your childhood."

Kevin fixes green eyes on him, Kayleigh's eyes.

"You're here now," he says, deadly serious. "And that is what matters."

#this got more emotional than I intended #give me more Kevin&Wymack father/son bonding please #aftg #tfc #kevin day #all for the game #palmetto state foxes #david wymack #dadmack #kayleigh day

[blog-of-frontiers]

Anyway girls.... Check Please/All For the Game live reaction starts here

Blacklist "college sports fuckery" if you want but don't because I'm funny

Installment 1: CP Episodes 1&2 and The Foxhole Court Chapter 1

(under the cut bc it's very long. Also warning for flashing GIF)

Hey Eric Bittle is a very cute young man and I am adopting him. But also you can tell this comic started in (checks date) wait 2017?? I thought for sure he'd be saying ermahgerd here

Southern people calling northerners Yankees.... Like I know Bitty is a good boy but. Triggering behavior

Like I read a romance book that takes place post-civil war and the heroine is a southern woman who tracks down the hero bc she thinks he killed her brother in the war... Anyway long story short she was REAL proud to be southern and no they did not bring up slavery the whole book

Anyway I hate the word Yankees it makes me feel like you're... You Know

One of the first instances we see of Shitty he's calling Bitty "ya lil fucker" sir, your hand in marriage NOW!!

Also I'm surprised there weren't more instances of people making Bitty-and-Shitty jokes??? They are literally rhyming

RANSOM SAYS PUSSY?? TWICE RIGHT IN HIS INTEO PANEL HELLO??

Okay! Young love!

Conclusion: they are baby

.... Why am I scared to open this kindle book

I'm doing the hype up hyperventilation here we go

"Neil Josten let his cigarette burn to the filter without taking a drag. He didn't want the nicotine; he wanted the acrid smoke that reminded him of his mother. If he inhaled slowly enough, he could almost taste the ghost of gasoline and fire." so it really is like this from the very beginning

You put the killing thing in your mouth and you don't give it the power to kill you etc etc

Hello 2013 I've missed you

But really though I tried to read that to Roommate and I literally could not get through it. Everyone ask @esgaypism. I'm roping you into this

"It fell to the bleachers between his shoes and was whisked away by the wind. He glanced up at the sky, but the stars were washed out behind the glare of stadium lights." "A crew was already dismantling the court, unhinging the plexiglass walls and rolling Astroturf over the hard floor. When they were done it'd be a soccer field again" Nora Nora Nora. I am dying to know if we are fucking outside or inside. What is the purpose of putting an Exy field outside instead of inside except to have this scene where Neil is pensively smoking because he can't do that inside. I am in hell and my brain is also in hell

She wants me to believe that this town has less than nine hundred people and can still afford, and can scrounge up the players, to play this highly dangerous, clearly expensive, and /less than 25 year old sport--/

22 names in eight years... I love Neil Josten, I adore Neil Josten, he IS at the end of the day somebody's edgy 2013 oc

Immediately we know from this first chapter that his mom is dead and he associates her with cigarettes and gasoline, and that his dad is in prison and Neil will quite Literally Die if they meet again. Okay!

Again... If we are outside why is he trying to escape through the locker room... You manufacture scenarios to achieve images that appear in your head. I know this well

"Andrew Minyard didn't look like much in person, blonde and five feet even, but Neil knew better. Andrew was the Foxes' freshman goalkeeper and their deadliest investment." gotta admit. Short King Actual Murderer Rights. If I actually liked Andrew this moment would mean more to me

Every time Nora calls them "man" I feel the need to bite something. At 18 you are a baby. These are kids, my god

Girl there is literally so much exposition and backstory here. Also why are you, a man, watching so closely the careers of other men,

The fact that there are EXY LITTLE LEAGUES--

I was expressing my love of Kevin Day to Roommate and they were like "of course you love him, he's you" now what the fuck does that mean

"If Kevin remembered him, he'd know that file was a lie. He'd know about Neil's little league teams. He'd remember the scrimmage interrupted by that man's murder." I fully forgot about this. This is an insane thing to write and then immediately move on from what the fuck

Wymack... Dilf of the year 2013 I love this man

"It sounded like a dream; it tasted like damnation." Hey, it's the quote from the 5,000 orange and white and black edits!

Well! Um, this was not as nice and even as I would like, but as I recall the CP episodes get longer as they go, and I'll get quicker on the AFTG chapters as they get less Expository. For now though I'm going to rest my brain, and I leave you with this summary thus far:

Bitty: howdy YouTube! I'm a vlogger from the south, and I play hockey, and I'm clearly gay and I'm Not like the other boys. I hope they like me...

Wymack: join my sports team

Neil: NO I am eighteen and I have a batshit amount of trauma and I'm going to explain all of it and who two of the other major characters are in excruciating detail via internal narration

Wymack: join my sports team

Neil: fine. FUCK! Okay.

#college sports fuckery #installment 1 #aftg #check please #all for the game #the foxhole court

[play-exy-be-sexy]

genre of books the foxes read

Neil:

why would neil want to read when he could be playing exy?

no, the only books neil read are textbooks

and books about exy plays and strategies

it drives andrew mad.

he’s been trying to find a book that neil will read for years

hasn’t happened yet

Andrew:

it’s fanon knowledge Andrew loves reading.

i think andrew reads all types of books

his favorite genre is like deep fiction books.

ones that make you think ya know?

examples: ishmael, secret history, idk i don’t read books like that

when he doesn’t want to think too hard he reads cheesy mysteries

he always solves the cases before the people in the book

he’s also a whore for sad gay romance books

and psychology books

give andrew a book and he’ll probably read it

he also has read like all the classics

he had a good hs english teacher but we won’t talk about that rn

random note but andrew is a potterhead...

Kevin:

we already know what Kevin reads but i’ll elaborate

Kevin loves history books

fiction and nonfiction

give him a mythology retelling and he’ll love you forever

or just mythology in general

i’m a firm believer kevin’s studying ancient greece and rome in college

but he also likes all mythology

he’s very fascinated in asian mythology too

when he learns he’s native american(wymack had to tell him because the raven refused to acknowledge it) he takes a few native american lit classes and really enjoys learning about those myths and history

he loves coyote stories and creation myths

also he could go on for hours about how the us constitution is based on the iroquois league constitution.

he’s read it like five hundred times. it’s so pretty

he also likes books about certain people from history.

recent and long ago

like the ones that go over someone’s whole life ya know?

i have one about john lennon that he definitely read

kevin has always really enjoyed reading but never really does it

so when he starts to learn the life isn’t all about exy, you can find him reading constantly

the foxes make fun of him but they are actually really proud

Aaron:

you think aaron has time to read for fun as a pre med college athlete?

hell no

the only things he read are ones about microbiology and anatomy

and not by choice

he doesn’t even have a specific genre he likes because he’s never had the opportunity to explore genres. sad but true...

Nicky:

give nicky allllll the gay chick flick rom com books

he refuses to read anything serious

ever

all he wants is happy summer reads where the characters end up together

all fluff

but only contemporary. he doesn’t like fantasy or anything

if the main character isn’t hot. he doesn’t want it

andrews’s all reading “the mental health crisis in predominantly white countries”

and nickys over there with heart stopper

he’s not ashamed(and he shouldn’t be)

Renee:

renee is very similar to andrew

she reads all stuff

but she really likes fantasy books

especially like ya/middle school ones

she didn’t really get to read them when she was a teen so she want to catch up

but she also reads newer ones

the raven cycle, simon snow triology, grishaverse. all the basics.

she also reads a lot of the same as nicky.

but maybe sadder? sometimes.

and finally books about like inner peace and happiness amd all that

how to befriend trees

gardening books even though she doesn’t have a garde

ya know peacecore-y stuff

Allison:

smut

it has to be sexy

like bad

acotar

bridgerton

fucking wattpad

fairy porn

mafia shit

idk what else

yeah, it appalls the others

and she can just like read it with a straight face in PUBLIC

“whatcha reading, Ali?”

*looks over her shoulder*

“HE DID QHAT TO WHO?”

allison proceeds to explain in detail

the team is concerned for her mental well being sometimes

she doesn’t give a fuck

Dan:

she likes easy reads

nothing that makes her think too hard but things she can enjoy

she reads for fun and to relax

unironically reads murder mysteries

andrew gives her side eyes all the time

historical fiction

like 1700-1800 royalty stuff

lots of ya

just whatever looks good at the bookstore really

definitely judges books by covers

same tho

she’s not picky

as long as it’s easyish

she doesn’t really like series tho

she wants to read one book and be done

Matt:

matt reads sport fiction

i’m sorry but it’s true

he doesn’t really read that much

he’d much rather play video games or watch a movies

but when he does it’s about sports

he was the boy in hs who REFUSED to read so their parent bought them a book about michael jordan thinking they might read it

and they do. and then it’s the only book they read for five years

yeah that’s matt

and we love that for him

#this was much longer than expected #but it’s fine #i don’t think i’ve written a long aftg post in months so go me #ig #anyway i selfprojected on like half of these #it’s fine #aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #kevin day #exy #tfc #the foxhole court #andrew x neil #andreil

[jingerhead]

I'm back I thought of more soft andreil headcanons

Neil becomes obsessed with dragons. Nobody knows when, how or why this started, but he absolutely loves them. He starts buying any books about dragons he can find, even if they're children's books, and bought a small bookshelf that only had his dragon books. Andrew ends up getting him a little glass one that sits on the bookshelf. He thought Neil was going to cry when he got it.

Andrew enjoys bubble wrap. Whenever they get a new package in the mail, his eyes always light up at the sight of it, and he messes with popping all of the bubbles for hours. Not because there's that much to pop, but because he's determined to make it last that long.

One impulse buy is a ukulele, which Neil starts to learn how to play. At first it was tricky to get his fingers in just the right places, but he slowly improves and purposefully learns some melodies that make the cats purr more and that Andrew closes his eyes to.

They love thunderstorms. Not at first - they'd both had fears of loud thunder for a while, but they slowly got better with the noise, eventually learning to to enjoy it. Andrew falls asleep more easily on rainy nights. Neil likes to watch the flashes of lighting. Their apartment has large enough windows that they can sit in front of to watch the storm, high enough to have a good view. Whenever they're home during a storm, they sit in front of their windows to watch it in silence.

They go to a museum one day as a trip (since they enjoyed it so much last time) and Neil discovered the butterfly exhibit. He really wanted to go through, and Andrew hated to admit he was nervous about it at all because he doesn't like bugs, but he followed Neil inside, anyway. Neil was too excited to look at all the butterflies to notice how tightly Andrew was holding his hand at first. When a little butterfly landed in Andrew's hair, he froze and made Neil shoo it away. Butterfly exhibits are banned after that.

("It's just a butterfly - " "A monster." "Jeez, I knew you were scared of spiders, but little butterflies too - ?" "Neil.")

They have a thing called the 'rock jar', which is basically a huge mason jar that they put small pebbles from places they've traveled to. It started when they went on their first road trip and Neil gave Andrew a rock as a joke, but Andrew kept it so Neil did it again. And slowly it just evolved to them needing a large jar to hold the amount of rocks they had.

While they don't want kids, they're good with them. Neil has made visits and later in his career helped teach little kids how to play little league exy. Andrew waves to every child that looks at him for more than ten seconds. When the original Foxes start having kids, they turn up to birthday parties with elaborate gifts and make sure to check in on how the children are doing every once in a while.

Neil admires Andrew's hands. He enjoys holding them, he enjoys looking at them, he enjoys tracing every vein and knuckle he can. He starts kissing Andrew's fingertips and knuckles when they hold hands, which always makes Andrew's heart pound faster. Why do those feel so much different from any other kiss they've shared?

(Aaron explains after given very vague details that there's lots of receptors in fingers. Andrew hangs up on him and despite asking a few more times, Aaron never gets the full story.)

Andrew gets really into musical theater and plays. There's nothing more to this, I just really like the idea of Andrew enjoying that.

And finally more Harold headcanons because I'm fully invested in this ghost thing: Andrew has never seen one of those 'fully-body apparitions' of Harold, but he has seen some glimpses of him. Harold is taller than both of them, wears a large top had and vest with a pocket watch. Andrew's pretty sure he's a poltergeist given the amount of mayhem he causes, but he's never tried to kill anybody, so who really knows? Neil hates talking about Harold like he's real but Andrew keeps tricking him into mentioning the ghost.

I don't know how long I stopped doing these for but I missed them. Thanks for reading, lovelies! I hope you enjoyed them!

#aftg #aftg headcanon #tfc #tfc headcanon #all for the game #all for the game headcanon #the foxhole court #andreil #andreil headcanon #andriel #harold is back #i missed doing these but my creative juices have not been flowing very much recently #idk todays a weird day #i wanna write but #jinger's works

[24-0z]

Please don't think about how Mary on her last dying breath most likely had all the memories of Neil's childhood coming back to her . Not the ones on the run, but the ones when he was a baby, while silently singing "Slipping through my fingers" in her mind .

Grabbing the steering wheel like a life line while thinking

Schoolbag in hand, he leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

I watch him go with a surge of that well-known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while

With the memory of Abram's smiling face because she had managed to properly kiss him off on his first day of school even when Nathan had prohibited leaving a loving kiss in his forehead.

The feeling that I'm losing him forever

And without really entering his world

I'm glad whenever I can share his laughter

That funny little boy

When she cheered at his first little league match, she had been so worried, it was Nathan's idea that Abram started exy and that wasn't a good sing on its own but he was also always speaking with Kengo's brother while looking at his son's smiling face while running along another kid named Kevin this isn't good she thought.

Slipping through my fingers all the time

I try to capture every minute

The feeling in it

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Do I really see what's in his mind

Each time I think I'm close to knowing

He keeps on growing

Slipping through my fingers all the time

The first time she had to patch Abram's stomach because of one of his lessons with Lola and the stubborn look on her son's face when he refused to cry even when fat tears were rolling down from the pain.

Sleep in our eyes

Him and me at the breakfast table

Barely awake, I let precious time go by

Then when he's gone

There's that odd melancholy feeling

And a sense of guilt I can't deny

On his 9th birthday, things were getting dangerous, she had to think of some way to get Abram out of this but she still went to his room silently, hours before Nathan woke up and wished him a happy birthday doing a secret trip to the kitchens to have Abram eat some of the cake that he wouldn't be able to eat at his actual birthday party , just to watch him go with a little smile on his face, tiredness in his eyes and a limp on his leg that he would have cover tomorrow.

What happened to the wonderful adventures

The places I had planned for us to go

Well, some of that we did but most we didn't

And why, I just don't know

The beating she took just for that Abram could make a trip with her out of Baltimore to see some close family, it's was the best excuse she could think of so that she could plan their leave without rising suspicion and to ask help from family and friends , but Abram's eyes glowing with wonder when he traveled in an airplane for the first time, snatched a sad smile from her face if everything goes right we will be doing a lot of this in the future honey she thought.

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture

And save it from the funny tricks of time

Slipping through my fingers

She was sweaty all over and with tears rolling down her face, she couldn't actually feel the pain but she was so tired. It had been almost 6 hours since they all came to the hospital in rush . All of her family was there plus Nathan by her side and his and her family's bodyguards at every door in the building , he was texting on a phone but every now and he asked how she was holding on funny he only cares when I'm finally in bloody labor she thought. Stuart was running up and down the room like he was crazy, and came rushing to her side whenever a contraction had her screaming.

The nurse was telling her to push, and she did, but when she finally heard that agonizing little cry her world turned mute. She closed her eyes and counted to ten to recede the pain and gain some self control, but all her efforts were in vain when they finally gave her the baby. It was so little and red, desperately crying for confort and falling into her arms like the last piece of a puzzle . She was still crying but it was no longer from the pain . All his little fingers were opening and closing trying to grab for something, anything . Ten little desperate baby fingers. Her baby's fingers, his little boy finally here with her.

She awkwardly started breastfeeding him and only when he finally calmed down his hunger and relaxed he opened his eyes. If she didn't know Nathan ,she would have thought that those were the bluest eyes she had ever seen, but looking at the little being in front of her, she couldn't see Nathan at all. Even with an angry face of crying and Nathan's very same features in front of her, he didn't look anything like him.

It was mesmerizing. Suddenly it became very clear. Ah this is it she thought this is what I have to protect, my beautiful baby boy, my little Abram .

She took a hard left to the beach just to actually land on the sand. She was so tired. They had fucked up her sutures and they had fallen in the persecution. She could feel the blood from her stomach sipping through her leg to the floor of the car. Ah , this is it isn't it . She stopped the car to take a look at her son . He was so scared, she could see it. Even after all the times she told him to lie and run she always caught him lying to her. When he told her he wasn't sick and that they could keep on walking. The few times he kissed girls when she told him not to.

He was trembling while looking through the first aid kit he had snatched from the back of the car looking for bandages that she knew wouldn't help a thing.

With a hiss of pain she took her backpack and his duffel bag and poured all her papers and money with a quick gesture. With this, he realized that she knew this was the end of the line for her.

Slipping through my fingers all the time...

Schoolbag in hand he leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

I grabbed him the shoulders and looked into those same blue eyes I had seen so many years ago. A tear slipped from my eye.

I'm sorry my baby, I wasn't enough.

Abram...

"Abram... run and never look back... no matter what. Promise me this"

I love you.

#im sorry #i get the feeling she would be an ABBA fan #with this im not saying what she did wasnt wrong this is just what i think would be the culmination of her life #just a song and regret #this was also kinda long sorry for that #neil josten #mary hartford #aftg headcanon #andrew minyard #andreil #andriel #all for the game #the foxhole court #aftg #aftg series #sadnees

[andrewsleftknee]

some family headcanons with Aaron, Katelyn, and their twins

Aaron was excited to find out that he and Katelyn were having twins because he wanted to give his kids the life that him and Andrew weren’t given. he wanted his kids to have a bond that him and Andrew wouldn’t be able to have.

the twins looked very similar when they were born, so while Katelyn was in the hospital after giving birth, she asked Aaron to go to the store and get some embroidery floss so that she could make bracelets so everyone knew who was who. Amelia’s bracelet was yellow, and Alex’s bracelet was orange.

Aaron and Katelyn didn’t usually dress their kids in matching outfits. they only did for their monthly progression pictures, where they’d usually wear the same thing but in yellow or orange respectively.

they got a dog a few years before the twins were born, and he loves to lay near the twins at all times. when the twins got older, he would let them ride around the living room on his back. Amelia fell off once, but they weren’t too concerned after they heard her and Alex giggling.

Katelyn has her sister make baby jerseys for the girls, so when they watch Neil and Andrew play, they can all be wearing their jerseys. Katelyn sends Neil pictures of them both in Aaron’s lap, Amelia with Andrew’s jersey and Alex with Neil’s. Andrew demanded that Neil send it to him so he can frame it and put it it in the entry way of their apartment along with other pictures of the twins.

there was a period of around two months when the twins were a year old where they wouldn’t fall asleep unless Andrew called to say goodnight because he used to do that on occasion when they were younger. Andrew rarely answered his phone for anyone who wasn’t Neil, so some nights resulted in Andrew having several missed calls from Aaron, and him having to call Neil to get Andrew on the phone. by then Aaron is frustrated, and when Neil answers the call Aaron just asks for Andrew. Neil passes Andrew the phone, and all Aaron says is “please get my kids to stop crying.”

they go on a family vacation with Katelyn’s sister and her family when the twins are three. they spent the week splashing in the lake and trying to teach them how to swim. Alex got the hang of it pretty quickly, but Amelia took more time. their dog swam with them too for a little while.

Katelyn makes their birthday cakes from scratch every year. she wasn’t super talented at baking, but the cakes turned out pretty good. when Andrew started teaching the twins how to bake when they got a little older, they’d help Katelyn bake their birthday cakes. it became a tradition.

Alex liked drawing and painting, and got quite good at it the older she got. Amelia wasn’t as good at art, but she liked to read. for their birthday, Alex would draw Amelia her favorite characters from the books she read. Amelia tried to draw pictures in her cards, but she’d get upset because it wasn’t as good as Alex’s. Alex always loved the drawings her sister made.

the girls were both interested in exy when they were quite young. they grew up watching Neil and Andrew on tv or going to their games. Aaron asked Neil if he could teach them the basics when they go over to his and Andrew’s house. Andrew also helped teach the twins, and even told Aaron that he should sign them up for little leagues when they were old enough. Aaron was happy that Andrew and Neil were to help teach his daughters in the little free time they had.

#aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #aaron minyard #aaron x katelyn #amelia minyard #alex minyard #amelia and alex minyard #aftg headcanons #aftg headcanon #aftg hc #i might write something more about aaron’s twins and exy #i’m enjoying writing about them :))

[palmett-hoes]

I like your meta and I got to thinking about all the stuff in these books that requires the suspension of disbelief to roll with and tbh the biggest thing Nora ever asked us to overlook is Riko's entire schtick. Tell me who in real life looks at a short, West Virginia college freshman, even the ones who are good athletes, and says 'oh yeah they are definitely the authority on who should be thought of as the best players in the league, the tattoos are normal, he's normal' Like !??? Hello???

yea i personally have a lot of questions about the moriyamas as they’re presented to us in canon. i think they’re a very confusing detail, and also a not-exceptionally well-considered one on account of the unfortunate racial implications

personal take: the moriyamas should have been russian bratva instead of japanese yakuza. it would change absolutely nothing about the story, but would fix a dozen small details that i’ve been leaping through flaming hoops to justify watsonianly in how i flesh out the extended universe

nora is VERY much a character writer, not a world-builder. her characters are SO nuanced and life-like, but her world-building often feels random, disjointed, and unaddressed

that being said though, i don’t think riko’s schtick is really one of these details

calling riko just a “short, West Virginia college freshman” is very uncharitable to exactly what he is. riko is a celebrity, the ward of a celebrity, and he’s been in the media eye since he was born. it would be accurate to compare him (and kevin) to people like blue ivy carter and north west kardashian, children of a-list, instantly-recognizable celebrities who got added to their guardians’ brand as children. blue ivy is nine-years-old and has already won a grammy

(i don’t want to imply that either the knowles-carter or the kardashian-west family, or any other celebrity i might mention here are abusive like the moriyama family. while there are plenty of concerns about the psychology of child stars, i’m not talking about their personal lives or the way these children are being raised, because that’s none of my business. i’m talking about them from the perspective of their media visibility and the legitimacy that gives them with the public)

journalists LOVE celebrity kids. every argument and wardrobe choice is headline news in a-list houses, and why some celebrities (like famously michael jackson) have to go to such extreme measures to give their kids even a modicum of privacy, because they're hounded by reporters and photographers every time they step outside.

tetsuji, however, took much more of the joe jackson approach and turned his nephew and ward into a public brand and set them loose on the media circuit as soon as he was able

you have to think about exy as a global movement, one with two distinct figureheads at the helm. it came out of nowhere and completely reshaped the world of sports in an extremely short amount of time. think of kayleigh and tetsuji as being like mark zuckerberg or steve jobs: innovators and figureheads

and even if they’re “just” sports celebrities, they’re sports celebrities on a tier with people like babe ruth, michael phelps, tom brady, serena williams, usain bolt, lance armstrong, the rock, muhammed ali, john cena. people whose sports celebrity is SO great their names enter the mainsteam. that’s the MINIMUM level of fame and influence they have

it's no stretch of the imagination for me to think that the Princes of Exy brand was inextricable with the rapid growth and popularity of the sport. kevin and riko were mascots, ambassadors, and symbols, not just for the ravens but for exy itself. the sport viewed as coming of age alongside them

even if it seems ridiculous to us from outside their universe, inside it people have been hearing about the Perfect Court for over ten years. it’s something their sportscasters and news anchors talk about. you’ve heard it on every early-morning and late-night talk show. it’s a tagline on the covers of magazines and up on billboards. every little league kid who picks up an exy racket dreams that they’ll be the next pick and wear that three or four on their jersey

riko and kevin may have been two of the most famous children in the world

and with celebrity comes extensive forgiveness of... “eccentricity.” remember when jared leto started a cult and everyone just,,, let that happen? gwyneth paltrow’s new age wellness pseudoscience brand? tom cruise is literally a scientologist? even if it’s absolutely ridiculous, it’s okay if a celebrity does it

in-universe, riko isn’t just a “good athlete,” he’s a house-hold name with a consistent vision, every tool at his disposal to get it done, a massive platform of people listening to his every word, and the mainstream media spreading it for free

some tattoos at 16? that’s nothing. ESPECIALLY if they’d been drawing them on for years before

once you think about these things in the context of things that are familiar to us, rather than strange and random and contextless the way they (admittedly) come across in canon, riko starts to make a little more sense

also, while i think it could have been pushed more, i think that nora actually did a pretty decent job of conveying this idea of Celebrity as a theme in the books. there are a lot of very consistent references to kevin and riko’s fame and influence. however, because of how much of an unreliable narrator with such a narrow scope of interest neil is, it’s a detail that can slide past you especially if you haven’t read the books in a while and you mostly engage in the fandom. fandoms tend to be character driven, not theme driven, so a lot of the recurring themes and imagery of a work tend to get lost over time

however i try to keep in touch with the canon. the last time i fully read the books was less than a year ago (and i’ve been in the fandom for like,, 5 years?) and i fact check it often for posts, meta, and fic beta-ing. at some point i’d really like to do a series of scene breakdowns and literary analysis of the lesser-acknowledged themes bc ideas like Celebrities In The Public vs Private are interestingly approached and i think we’re missing out a bit by only talking about them from a character-first perspective

i think one thing i would LOVE about getting some kind of visual-media adaptation of aftg (animated series or visual novel preferred) would be all the passive worldbuilding we could get that neil declines to describe to us. things like billboards and magazine covers and t-shirts and commercials for exy and the Princes of Exy in particular. i really think it would push so much more dimension and context into the story for us to really SEE these things

#aftg #tfc #kevin day #riko moriyama #kayleigh day #tetsuji moriyama #meta #my posts #my meta #im talkin #long form post #ask