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birlcholtz · 3 years

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Fic Questions

tagged by @the-lincyclopedia thank you!! (fun game: watch my writing get progressively less formal as the post continues. by the end it’s like what is capitalization)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

77!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

434,378 as of this week but it does go up quite regularly

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Okay so in terms of what’s on my AO3, I have Check Please, All For the Game, Sharp Zero, HP, and Miraculous Ladybug. I also have The Forbidden LOTR and PJO Fanfiction (as in, I’ve written it, but it’s never seeing the light of day)

(technically there is a PJO fic out there that has seen the light of day but I orphaned it because I was tired of getting comments asking about when it would be updated)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

and then i met you (and the whole world changed)

for the better

Knew It Was You

come home (to you, to us)

sin bin schematics

All of these are Check Please and all of them except Knew It Was You are part of my Zimbits Airport AU!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! It’s actually a very recent thing that I’ve started not responding to literally every single comment. Mainly I respond because I love talking about my writing so I am going to seize that opportunity when it comes up

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh, DEFINITELY Happy Birthday (HP). Check out that MCD tag ahah. (I say HP but what I really mean is that I write fic about Regulus Black. The Regulus Black-centric tag is my home in the HP fandom)

fun fact: this is a very short fic that I wrote when I was 15 and basically forgot about until recently, and then I reread it recently and went holy shit?? I pulled NO punches????

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the wildest one you’ve written?

Not a ton? I think a lot of the fandoms I write for don’t really mesh that well. That being said, the aforementioned orphaned PJO fic is actually a PJO/ML crossover, so there’s that

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope! Sometimes I get comments that are just.... really confusing? And a more common thing is that in my AFTG fic I’ll get comments from people who are so focused on Andreil (or the most common ships in general) to the point that like. they miss the point of what I actually wrote. Those are annoying but they’re not hate, they’re very enthusiastic, they’re just... enthusiastic about a story I’m not writing? So it’s a bit frustrating.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No sjflskgjhgf I struggle enough to write kissing, I think if I ever tried to write smut my brain would just shut down. I’ve managed some fade-to-blacks (which are mostly in WIPs that haven’t been posted) but they rely HEAVILY on the powers of implication

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, although I have occasionally made a brief go of it, not to post, more as an exercise for myself in a language that I’m learning. Anyway I never finish them so I’m gonna say no

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really? I’ve definitely group brainstormed fics and then written them (the best example of this being Q&A (AFTG), which was the product of a truly off-the-walls group chat), but I tend to do all the actual writing myself. I think the way I write would drive a co-writer up the wall since it’s very disorganized and I don’t write stuff down because ~I know what’s gonna happen I don’t need notes~ and it would infuriate me if I was co-writing with me lmao, so I won’t inflict that on someone else

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I regularly move through ships I’m SUPER focused on, like it’s kind of a rotation. I will forever and always ship Percabeth though.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Okay so if you follow me at @birlwrites you may know this already, but i have this ‘warmups’ document that is just like, random ideas i get that i don’t necessarily want to finish but i just want to try out for a bit? and i have a rule that once a ‘warmup’ is more than 10 pages long (so 11+) then it has to be moved to its own document, just to make scrolling through the warmups doc easier. but usually, a warmup only passes 10 pages when i’m INTO it. so i have a bazillion wips i will probably never finish. i complain about this a lot. i have so many wips. i don’t need more.

here’s one: it’s titled ‘interrobang doesn’t know they’re dating’, it’s basically a full outline for a chowder/tango fic and it would be SO cool if i could ever like. get around to writing it. but i am constantly swamped with writing projects, so it’s probably not gonna happen. if anyone’s interested in adopting it though i’d be down for that!! i think it’s a fun idea i just almost def won’t write it myself

15. What are your writing strengths?

SNAPPY DIALOGUE AND SNARKY INTERNAL MONOLOGUE. my writing is COMEDIC, 90% of my ideas are based on a funny snippet that popped into my head, a lot of my worldbuilding is based on ‘hey you know what would be hilarious’ (whenever i explain how larai selects a chosen one in the rainfall universe i start laughing, which is a STARK contrast to how it plays out on the page), i love writing funny stuff!!

also i think my writing sounds nice, a lot of the time i pick words/syntax based on sound and flow so there’s that too. and i have lots of ideas! i don’t struggle much with writer’s block because a) i have a lot of strategies to deal with it and b) i have a lot of ideas to help get around it/work with it

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

PHYSICAL INTIMACY LMAO, sometimes in my end notes on shippy fics you can see me complaining ‘it took me literally 4 hours to write that very brief kiss’. also sometimes the humor in my writing gets in the way a bit, i have to very consciously put it away so characters can actually have serious, genuine emotions. also i don’t like outlining and i tend not to get betas for fanfiction so like..... i do my best continuity-wise but having really tightly plotted stories is just not my focus lol. (and i do put more effort into that for original stuff, it’s just fic where i kind of go wild)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If the reader’s supposed to know what it means, then writing it in another language is iffy for me. (stuff like terms of endearment which come up a lot in fic are fine imo, you can just put a note in to translate them and your reader will prob remember)

If the pov character isn’t supposed to understand it, and it doesn’t matter if the reader understands it, then ig it’s fine? but unless you already speak the other language (and i am NOT confident in my ability to translate english into literally any other language), then i think it’s way easier to just note that a character’s speaking x language and provide tone indicators, body language cues, etc. so the reader understands as much as the pov character.

That being said there are def times when it’s used super effectively--the dialogue in spanish in cemetery boys comes to mind! that’s not fanfic but it’s still creative writing so w/e

so i guess it comes down to: does actually writing out the dialogue in the other language serve a purpose? if it doesn’t, then you’re filling up the screen with words your reader isn’t likely to understand, which i try to avoid doing

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

so the first fandom i actually *wrote* for was PJO, but i distinctly remember creating warrior cats OCs when i was little. i never actually did anything w them but i had them and my favorite was a riverclan warrior named shellstream i remember this VIVIDLY

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

oh boy. okay so this is hard because i feel like i’m continuously improving as a writer. like in the sense that my writing is getting closer and closer to really matching my own taste? my favorites tend to always be my current projects as a result. and i do really love set those ghosts alight (HP) but it feels a little like cheating to say a fic i haven’t even finished writing yet. even though it’s def not cheating, that’s just the direction my brain is taking it.

i’m gonna say and then what? (OMGCP) because i’m super proud of the prose (especially ch 2 aka the first actual prose chapter), survived by (HP) for SUCCESSFULLY WRITING AN EMOTION and making readers cry :), and Q&A (AFTG) because i’m literally the one who wrote it and yet it still makes me wheeze. those are all fics i reread occasionally, because i’m big enough to admit i enjoy rereading my old stuff! (just like. to a point. some of my old stuff i can’t look at anymore because all the mistakes stick out to me like they have spotlights shining directly on them)

this was fun!! i’m gonna do an open tag because i just started my fall semester and brain tired. i know sometimes people see open tags and assume the op didn’t really mean it but I MEAN IT, PLEASE DO THIS AND TAG ME!!!!! YES YOU READING THIS

#tag games #long post #birl talks

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hephaestiions · 3 years

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thank you @stavromulabetaaa for tagging me in this wonderful game!! it’s so much fun and such a lovely way to get to know the people behind the blogs that make the fandom experience better <33

1. why did you choose your url?

why did i choose this url? i saved the url way before i made the blog, and the reasoning is a bit foggy but i do remember wanting to be very clear on it being a drarry blog (makes the anon who sent me the ‘why do u rb so much drarry’ ask that much more hilarious) and added the ‘oh’ because it expresses a certain sentiment that most drarry shippers are intimately familiar with 😂

2. sideblogs?

this blog is itself a sideblog, my main is @yesperfahey . that said, i am going to be embarrassingly exposed, but: @kitchenism (aesthetic sideblog where i rb reference photos, aesthetic images, web weaving posts, etc.), @geetstudies (studyblr), @yusufalkasayni (for films/tv shows, it was supposed to inspire me to watch more stuff but it’s languishing inactive mostly), @doriangray (dark academia, classics, pretty edits + moodboards + occasional fashion inspiration, etc.), @psykhes (mythology), @andrewminyyard (for aftg and trc) and @stevenroguers (for marvel and stucky). i have a few others but they aren’t particularly relevant or active and i don’t want this to go on forever.

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

i think about 5/6 years.

4. do you have a queue tag?

yes!!! it’s potteresqueue !! i have a separate queue tag for every single one of the blogs you’ve seen up top but this one is one of my favourites.

5. why did you start your blog?

i started my main because tumblr was the fandom hub and i was neck deep in drarry as a teenager, but this specific sideblog happened when i started segregating my interests into separate blogs and wanted to be more active specifically in the drarry fandom.

6. why did you choose your icon?

it’s a picrew of me from my favourite picrew!! it’s too slytherin from back when i thought i was a slytherin and i might change the colours a little to fit the ravenclaw vibe better, but the slightly grumpy lesbian is here to stay <33

7. why did you choose your header?

i searched up drarry headers and this was one of the first ones i found. i think i’m going to change it, because while it does fit the aesthetic of my blog, i’m all about desi!harry. much as i love dan radcliffe, he’s stopped being the harry i imagine in my head.

8. post with most notes?

this one which is surprising, because i posted it,,,, two days ago, i think? people seem to enjoy me writing fluff, who would’ve thought. i’m not a big blog and i don’t create a ton of original content on tumblr, so it’s not objectively a ‘big post’ but it makes me happy either way to know a bunch of people chose to spend their time reading what i had to say <33

9. how many mutuals do you have?

tumblr’s system for checking this is... very basic and full of holes so i have no idea but i get very excited whenever an url i recognise likes/reblogs/comments/tags me in anything, so if you’re a mutual, then please know i cherish you deeply and you make my day whenever i see you in my notifs <33

10. how many followers do you have?

tumblr hides this for a reason, i choose to not share this <3

11. how many people do you follow?

520. i used to follow upwards of 900, but i purged many inactive blogs a few months ago so we’re at 520.

12. ever made a shitpost? not with that specific intention, i don’t think, but the #geets.txt tag on this blog and others feels plenty shitpost-y to me.

13. how often do you use Tumblr each day?

😬 i’m... very online. tumblr is my safe space on the internet and i spend a great deal of time on here with little regret.

14. did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog?

i don’t think so? i’ve got a couple rude anons, but those don’t count, right? there was a whole Situation on my main once upon a time, but i stay pretty chill on this one and i hope it stays that way.

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

i choose to ignore that line if it’s there. if i agree with the message and think it’s an important one to have on my blog, then i reblog, but if it’s a post that’s either fishing or guilt-tripping or being threatening, then i scroll past. i understand where the sentiment comes from but there’s a better way to phrase these things.

16. do you like tag games?

i love them, they’re so much fun.

17. do you like ask games?

yes!! ‘someone thought of me?? someone remembered me? someone went into my askbox to say this???? i am a puddle of love’

18. which of your tumblr friends/mutuals do you think is famous?

fame on tumblr is a myth, honestly

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? so many tumblr crushes. So. Many. everybody is so lovely, so welcoming, so full of excitement and appreciation for art and creativity, how could i not?

tagging @shealwaysreads @tackytigerfic @dragontamerdame @onbeinganangel @the-starryknight @orange-peony @drarrymybeloved @amortentiaboys @hogwartsfirebolt if they want to do it/haven’t already done it. this was quite a bit of fun so if you want to do it and i haven’t tagged you, then this is an open tag for you too <3

#geets.txt #tagged

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dayurno · 4 years

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I have thought about the kevin parallel everytime time I listen to liability and I am so glad someone out there agrees with me

*wiggles my grubby little fingers* ANON...... PLEASE............. liability by lorde is not only the best song ever released in the last decade but also the perfect representation of kevin's character and the way he is treated throughout the series as an object the other characters keep ricocheting between each other when they get tired of him, always because he is too much of this or not enough of that.

some parts are self-evident (The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy / 'Til all of the tricks don't work anymore / And then they are bored of me), but the part i feel like matches him the most is the very first verses, where she describes herself as "the only love i haven't screwed up" while simultaneously claiming that even with the knowledge that she can't please anyone else (They say, you're a little much for me / You're a liability [...] / So they pull back, make other plans / I understand, I'm a liability / Make you wild, make you leave), the person she struggles to please the most is herself, even if she is the person she keeps coming back to after her lovers leave her.

this in particular reminds me of the time neil said he could more or less forgive kevin's brutal training because he saw how kevin has the cruelest to himself. furthermore, i also think this plays a huge role in the way he sees himself: kevin was brought up as a product, a toy for riko to play with, and he is constantly seen putting his body/wellbeing in second place for the sake of maintaining that belief that he is, indeed, an object for people to use, something the characters often comment on and (sometimes) even encourage through ignorance or neglect.

i also think a lot about kevin being deemed too much — you can't touch on this topic without considering the implied fact that he has been trained his entire life to make himself smaller and easier to deal with not only to riko but to the public. kevin is simultaneously awful at filtering himself and constantly being asked to do it, and while that does come with its bad sides, we see how much repression of his passions he is put through during the series, be it exy, history or the times he tries to reach out and care for the other characters (though clumsily, given he is a sheltered cult survivor with very little people skills) and is immediately shut down.

the last verses of the song are (You're all gonna watch me disappear / Into the sun), and, honestly, i want to point out that there *is* a reason why so many fics include kevin letting go of the foxes or disappearing in one way or another. kevin's character was written out to be a plot point; an unresolvable enigma; he was not written to heal and his existence was more or less to point out the positive traits in the other characters. the readers see that, and it causes this avalanche of fancontent where kevin finds liberation by disassociating with the life that he is given in the books by lashing out at others and/or himself. all of those fics are cathartic and give us a sense of conclusion, because they directly go against the way kevin was written to be, and instead solve the enigma: they give him a chance to heal; a sense of finality to all of his problems that we surely didn't get to see in the books. we have all agreed that it's okay if kevin wants to disappear in the sun one day, and that we'd watch it happen.

tl;dr: kevin day is not only an abuse survivor with severe issues regarding his body image and the way he perceives himself as an object for others to own and dispose of, but he was written out to remain that way forever. which is why, in return, every fancontent that goes opposite to this thought is met with immense positive feedback.

tl;dr pt 2: liability by lorde absolutely fucks and would be kevin's comfort song if it existed in the aftg timeline

#asks #i delivered an essay as i said i would and i am at peace with the fact that i am crazy and off in the head #kevin day #aftg #txt #i wrote so much for the ask i wont even leave tags. it be like that #but also: i am TIRED of reading kevin liability... when will we get kevin green light #when will we get liberation for him that isnt based on suffering. when will we get him being happy and healing #im tired girls.... im tired of seeing an abuse survivor suffer over and over again to prove a point

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xoscarlettlox · 4 years

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So uhhh, I have written a lengthy and completely self edited fanfic about my take on the aftg world, I posted the very first chapter on Ao3 a couple of months ago and decided, why not post it here as well!

Neil Josten has been on the run for 10 years now, him and his companion Raven Lirette only have each other and Exy, a sport that they would undoubtedly die to play; Raven Dumott is the daughter to the Lola Malcom, the butcher of Baltimore’s right hand and one Neil and Raven’s tormentors.

••••

“Neil, we have to go.”

Raven’s voice snaps Neil back into mental awareness, they are both standing on a black sanded beach, the smell of ocean and saltwater thick in the air; mixed with the smell of putrid smoke and gasoline fumes that makes the air unbreathable, his whole body feels the weight of every breath that his body makes, every hiss of the wind on his wind chapped lips, and it makes him remember who is not here and will never be; his nails bite into his palms, breaking skin to keep him here, in the now with Raven, raven who is still here but won’t be if you don’t move now!; his mind screams at him, “I know.” Neil says, his voice coming out as a shock, a sound that reminds him of shattering glass on concrete.

He forced his gaze that was transfixed to the coal stained sands up to the 1970 Volvo that used to be a boring monotone brown that has now been turned into a blackened husk of a car, his mother’s charcoaled bones have long since been buried deep into the Californian earth near the highway just up the hill, a highway they should have been on and away from hours ago.

He looks over at Raven, her long hickory curls made almost the color of pitch in the inky midnight, he looks at her tear stained face, not from emotional attachment to his mother but from the fumes that were emitted from the destroyed car that had made Raven’s eyes water and Neil cry even more, he gazed at the crimson cut on her right eyebrow which was just as umber as the rest of her hair and tried to memorize the features of the only living person Neil knew who would kill for him and Neil would do so in kind for his longtime companion; and finally said “what do we do now?” His voice was raw, but less so then before, she didn’t reply right away instead marched her way up the sandy hill towards the highway, Neil followed her obediently in his numbed haze. Halfway to the top she says “we do what we always do, we run.”

-1 year later-

Neil and Raven were perched on the bleachers, Neil nursing the acrid smoke of a cigarette and trying not to remember the peel of a body glued to a leather car seat slathered with scarlet, and Raven silently sucking down her second cigarette in the last 10 minutes, her fingers were cool on his cheek, a show of affection that he leaned into, tonight was the Millport dingos last game of the season, to Neil it was a farewell to something that hadn’t made him feel alive in forever, Neil needed Exy like everyone needed oxygen to breathe, Neil knew Raven felt the same way, but less so. They tapped their cigarettes at the same time, the ash falling gracefully into the chilly Arizona winds, he glanced up at the blacked out sky and not for the first time- he wondered if his mother was up there- looking down on him and willing herself back to corporeal reality in order to beat the stupidity out of his entire being.

Neil and Raven jumped into high alert as a door creaked open, they both shuffled their respective duffles beneath their feet further under the bleachers stands, Raven reached for the knives stationed in her thigh sheaths, but paused as they saw who had invaded their cocoon. Coach Hernandez propped said door open to plop onto the bleacher in front of the teens.

“I didn’t see your family at the game tonight.” Hernandez said.

“they’re out of town.” Raven said lazily, she lied almost as good as Neil if not better.

Hernandez quirked a graying bushy brow at them, “Still or Again?”

Neither, but not Neil nor Raven could reveal any of this to their coach, the sorry excuse had been well expired and they’re teachers and Coach were tired of the recycled lie, but it explained why the Jostens weren’t ever in town, it also made it 10x easier to say Raven was his cousin that had moved in with Jostens due to the death of her family two years ago, it patched up any lose ends on why they were both eighteen.

Not to mention that Millport Arizona was basically where the half dead retired until they were actually dead, no one asked questions since everybody knew everybody; it made for a sublime place to hear who came in and out, which worked out for both Raven and Neil to get them the hell out of dodge in case his father decided to cash in his threats of death and torture to the both of them.

Suddenly Hernandez reached out for both of their cigarettes signally with a quick flick of his fingers to hand them over; Raven ignoring his hand, ground hers out completely but not before taking a strong drag, Neil obediently handed his over and watched as Hernandez crushed it beneath his sneaker which clanged obnoxiously on the metal bleacher before he tosses the destroyed bud aside;

“I thought they would at least make the exception tonight” He said.

“No one knew it’d be the last game,” Neil says, looking over at the court.

Raven snorted beside Neil, they both knew it was a lie. Millport’s loss was a sting but not an unexpected one, it had booted them from state championships two games away from finals, again it was not a surprise, the dingos were a terrible team; they barely kept up their winning streak because of Neil and Raven alone, but the missed possibility still clawed him raw. And now the Exy court would become the Soccer court again.

“We’ll call them later with the score,” Raven said, because Hernandez was silently waiting for an answer and Neil wasn’t going to answer anytime soon, “they didn’t miss much,” she finished off.

“Not yet, maybe,” Hernandez said.

“There’s someone here to see you two.”

Those seven words were all it took for both of their hearts to seize in their chests, and have them scrambling for the duffles beneath their feet and up off the bleachers towards the nearest exit, a scuff behind them revealed that they were indeed too late to escape. When they turned they were met with a beast of a man, adorned in a stark white wife beater and tribal tattoos encroached in flames on both biceps, one hand was concealed within his jeans pocket and the other was holding two suspicious vanilla colored folders, Neil notes that his stance was casual but his mahogany eyes had a look of intent.

Neither Neil nor Raven recognized him, not likely to be one of his fathers men then, it was unlikely that his father would send anyone else but Lola and her brother to the task. And with 900 residents in Millport, he definitely wasn’t the sort Neil or Raven would forget about. He looked over at Raven to confirm, brows furrowed, she shook her head slightly.

“We don’t know you,” Neil said.

“He’s from a university,” Hernandez said. throwing it into the tense silence. “He came to see you both play tonight.”

“Bullshit,” Raven seethes, “No one recruits from Millport. No one knows where it even is.”

“There’s this thing, y’know called a map?”

The man said, “You might have heard of it,”

Hernandez sends both Neil and Raven a reproaching look, Raven gazes back with nothing but ice in her eyes, Hernandez gets to his feet, “He’s here because I sent him your file. He put out a note saying he was short on his striker line, and I figured it was worth a shot. I didn’t tell you two because I didn’t know if anything would come of it and I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

Neil just stared.

“You did what?” Raven asked, her voice was all ice but Neil could hear the fear and hope that she tried to smother.

“I tried contacting your parents/guardians when he asked for a face-to-face tonight, but they haven’t returned any of my messages. You two said they would try to make it tonight.”

“They did,” Neil Finally said voice even, “They couldn’t.”

“I cannot wait for them,” tribal tattoos said clomping down the steps to stand beside Hernandez, “ It’s incredibly late in the season, I know that; but I had some technical difficulties with my last striker sub and it was pure luck that I had come across you two. Your coach says you guys don’t finish till fall, works out just peachy doesn’t it? I need the both of you on my line and you need a team. All you have to do is sign here, and are mine for five years.”

Neil’s throat felt as if it had been stuffed full of cobwebs, he cleared his throat a few times, “You can’t be serious.”

“Very serious, and very out of time.” The man said dearly grave.

He tossed the folders onto the bleacher nearest to them, a lifeline dangled in front of people holding onto the thinnest of threads-a future, a promise of something besides surviving. Neil and Raven both knew they couldn’t take it, but the want and the “what if” sucker punched them both nearly in half. They both knew in 5 weeks when they graduated they’d be long gone, Raven Dumott and Neil Josten would be no more, nothing besides two slight smudges in a hopelessly messy abstract painting.

He should have gotten used to this, the bottomless pit of disappointment, and the ever present reminder that his father could still torture him without even being there to touch a blade to his skin. Raven and Neil had twenty-two past lives each to themselves, but Neil Josten felt real for the short period of time that he was him; Raven felt the same way, Neil could tell by the way her brown eyes never strayed away from the folders as if by her own sheer force of will she could be able to hold onto this fable and make it into a reality worth living.

They both knew what it would cost, being still and stable; signing this contract was essentially signing their deaths, but a voice in the back of his head that he could not silence whispered, what about mother? We ran and ran and they still got her, you know it’s death either way Abram. Neil turned to Raven, she shook her head, even though the glint in her brown eyes revealed she was thinking the same thing-had the same voice in her head. His father was in prison, but his father’s henchman weren’t, the risk was too high for Raven and Neil, they both knew they were pulling at strings that would inevitably be cut.

“Please go away.” Raven said, her voice rang out a bit pleading but hard.

“I know it’s a bit sudden, but I have to have an answer by tonight, the committees been on my ass since Janie got committed.”

Both his and Raven’s eyes snapped up to meet the man’s, his stomach dropped to his toes and pooled at his feet;

“The foxes.” Neil said incredulously, “Palmetto State University.”

Tribal tattoo’s- Coach David Wymack, looked taken aback at how quickly Neil had figured it out; it wasn’t a coincidence that he didn’t outright say he was here to recruit them to the lowest ranked team in Class I Exy, The palmetto state foxes.

“I guess you the saw the news.”

“Hmm, technical difficulties you said,” Raven said voice technically a glacier, “Funny way to say that your striker sub almost committed suicide.”

David Wymack was well known to give the chances to those form broken homes and fucked up pasts.

The Foxhole Court was known for the fractured isolationists who couldn’t move past their egotism to actually win a game, They were notorious in the NCAA for not only how small and meager the team was in numbers but the fact that they barely scraped by to hold their Class I ranking. As Wymack had said the committee was tired of his shit.

Then former national champion Kevin Day, joined the line. It was the best thing for the foxes in-ever. Which meant he and Raven were absolutely not signing with them. Raven caught and held is gaze and nodded towards the exit, they both knew now without a shadow of a doubt this was a door they absolutely did not want to open.

“You can’t be here.” Neil said.

“Yet here I stand.” Wymack said “Need a pen?”

“No,” Raven said voice all steel, “We’re not playing for you.”

“I mishear you.”

“You signed Kevin,” Neil says.

“And Kevin is signing you both-“

Raven and Neil did not wait to hear the rest.

They bolted towards the locker room, ignoring both coaches surprised sputters, and continued down towards the exit, metal clanged loudly beneath Neil’s ratty sneakers and Raven’s black boots, All that mattered was getting the hell away from the empty promises, Coach Hernandez and his hopeful and worried gaze; forget everything besides running until the disappointments and missed opportunities felt like a dull hum of background noise.

Raven was in front of him, she was halfway through the locker room when a loud curse echoed through the cement walls, someone was waiting for them, but Raven anticipated the hit right before it hit her sternum, she grabbed the hideously yellow base of the racquet and held on with a death grip, and looks down at the assailant, Neil tried to move by but she holds him in place with her other hand.

“Fuck off.” Raven grits between her teeth, just then Wymack bursted in.

“God dammit Minyard! This is why we can’t have nice things.”

“Oh Coach,” someone said in front of Raven, “If they were nice they wouldn’t be any use to us, would they?”

“They are no use if you break them,”

“Au contrair Coach, this ones feisty.” Neil had finally had enough, he stepped around Raven to reveal, her and a blonde midget in a tug-of-war match with a racquet; said blonde midget suddenly let go of the racquet entirely making Raven stumble only the slightest bit.

The midget turned towards Neil, who wore a sickeningly blinding white grin on his face that made Neil’s stomach turn; Andrew Minyard, goal keeper for the Palmetto State Foxes and a national threat to society. Neil could tell by the way Andrew bounced on the balls of feet and the way that manic gleam in his eyes never strayed from his own and Raven’s that he was high off his rocker.

Raven moves to stand next to him, silently willing him to get the hell out of here; Andrews manic smile seemed to stretch out even more,

“To be continued, I suppose.” Andrew said with an awful glint in his eyes as he regards Raven with intrigue, he then brought two fingers to his temple in a mock salute.

“Whose fucking racquet did you steal?” Raven seethe.

“Borrow.” Andrew said turning his gaze back towards Neil, “Seems as though your raven, is actually a bodyguard.”

“ Neil, Raven are you alright?” Coach Hernandez said, him catching up to them and stands next to Wymack.

“Just peachy Coach H, you try getting your sternum almost knocked out of your body and see how you like it.” Raven said sarcastically all ice, she must’ve been imagining that it was Neil who was in front of her instead. Neils skills in fighting only went so far since he was not trained as hard as Raven was before they ran, Mary had made sure to keep them in top fighting shape; but Neil knew he’d never be as good as Raven.

Wymack’s gaze darkened a bit on Andrew but he held his tongue against what he really wanted to say, “Andrew’s a bit raw on manners,” coming around to stand in between blond haired midget and and the two teens. Andrew apparently was able to read clear warnings in his drugged state of mind, he backed a way with his hands upturned and backed away to give them space.

“He break anything?” Wymack said, looking at Raven.

“Nope.” Raven said looking straight at the exit.

“We’re fine and we’re leaving, let us go.” Neil said.

“We’re not done.” Wymack said.

“We are and we don’t care.” Raven chimes in.

“Coach Wymack-“ Hernandez starts, warning evident in his voice.

“Just give us a moment, will ya?” Wymack said.

Hernandez is hesitant to leave but he does, “I’ll be out back.” Hernandez said, Looking from Neil to Raven. They both nod knowing they won’t be needing him.

They waited for the steps to recede into the night, the rattle as the door was unhinged from where it was propped, squealed shut, and then clicked.

“We already told you, we are not playing for your team, you have the answer that you needed, so now we leave.” Raven said.

“You don’t know the whole entire offer,” Wymack said “If I paid to have three people flown out to bumfuck Arizona, the least you could do is give me five minutes of your time.”

Neil’s stomach was again pooling at his feet, the blood was gone from his whole body, leaving the world cold with shock and fear, Raven clasped onto his forearm centering him here, even though she was feeling the same icy hot fear Neil was feeling. He should have put it together once he realized Andrew was here.

“You brought him here?” Neil said, numb.

Wymack stares hard at them, confused; “Is that a problem?” He said.

“We’re not good enough to play alongside a champion.” Raven lied easily, everyone who was in the room knew that they were.

A scoff was heard somewhere behind them, “Partly true, but irrelevant.”

Raven was stock still at his side, and Neil’s heart was basically beating in his throat at this point. They turned around at this same time, their bodies supposedly on autopilot.

Kevin Day was centered in the middle of the entertainment console behind them, and he was haloed by papers that were scattered haphazardly around him, apparently watching the whole debacle unfurl in front of him, judging by the cool measured look he sent Raven and Neil, he was wholly unimpressed with what he was seeing.

Neil and Raven had not seen Kevin since that brutal day at Evermore ten years ago, when they had seen his father and Lola brutally torture and slice a man into one hundred bloody ribbons, and by then both Neil and Raven were desensitized to the gore of their families occupation, but he’ll never forgot the sheer terror on Kevin’s face as he regarded him and Raven after it was over.

It was as though Kevin had not changed, as though they had just taken child Kevin and stretched out his body to be an adult, he had the same dark almost black hair, same emerald green eyes; and when Neil’s gaze snagged onto that damn tattoo, he swore he stopped breathing, he wanted to retch until he was numb.

A memory resurfaced, tiny Kevin putting a black sharpie to his small rounded face that was taken up by saucer green eyes, and traced a two on a chubby cheekbone that he retraced when the former had faded, telling Neil and Raven that they would make court someday with him and Riko, #1,#2,#3, and #4 they had recited over and over.

Kevin and Riko reached the stars; while Raven and Neil dunk into the trenches of the deepest pits of the ocean floor, fighting for any patch of air that could be found in order to avoid completely drowning.

Neil wanted to bolt, to run until he could no longer stand. He looked over at Ray and could tell she was itching to do the same, her hands twitched towards the knives at her thighs.

Neil knew Kevin could not recognize them, at this point Raven and Neil had to be unrecognizable, they both were concealed with hair dye and dark contacts; so why was the Kevin Day in a backwater retirement town in bumfuck Arizona? Had he and Raven fucked up somehow, fucked up besides playing Exy at all that is.

“What are you doing here?” Neil asked.

“Why are you leaving?” Kevin rebutted.

He asked you first.” Raven stated.

Kevin’s eyes flicked over to her impassively, but Neil saw a spark of something Neil couldn’t name, so he forced himself to pay attention to it.

“Coach already answered that question for you,” Kevin said annoyingly impatient, his eyes flicked back over to Raven’s for a second before turning back to Neil’s scrutinizing gaze, “We are waiting for you two to sign the contract, Stop wasting all of our time.”

“Nope,” Raven said with emphasis on the P, “There are a thousand other strikers in the U.S. that would love to play for the great Kevin Day.” She said mockingly.

“Why don’t you bother them?” Neil added. Kevin’s face flushed slightly, he huffed and Wymack chimed in before Kevin could undoubtedly unleash his wrath.

“We saw their files,” Wymack said “we chose you two.”

“We won’t play with Kevin.” Neil said.

“You will.” Kevin huffed.

Wymack shrugged his shoulders at Neil. “Maybe you noticed but we are not leaving until you guys say yes. Kevin says we have to have you two, and he’s right.”

“We honestly should have ripped your coach’s letter to shreds the moment we saw your statistics, they are subpar at best and not what we need on our line.” Kevin said, Neil notes that he did not look at Raven as he said his piece, “Lucky for you he sent us a tape from one your past games, you two play with skill that is unexpected and with some fine tuning and a lot of practice we could actually turn you into something acceptable to be able to play on our court. You both play like you have your lives on the line.”

Raven is stock still and silent; “So that’s why?” Neil asked.

“What else would you want in a striker?” Kevin said.

Relief hit both Neil and Raven like a freight train, this was all just a sick twisted coincidence, the universe was a cruel and demented thing. This was a sign, a sign to not stay in one place too long, an example of what could happen for the still and non runners, what would happen if it was Lola next time? Or even worse, his father himself? They couldn’t take that chance, this should be an easy choice, to listen to his instincts and his dead mothers dying wishes, but a big part of Neil wanted this so badly he ached with the need to say yes.

“This works out for the better anyways, No one besides your coach knows that we are here to recruit you guys,” Wymack explained, “That way the ERC won’t be on your guy’s ass with news spreads and interviews until the semester starts in late August.”

“We didn’t say yes.” Raven said.

“But I have feeling that your going too.” Wymack stated matter of factly.

Neil turned toward Raven fully,

“This is not a good idea.” Neil said.

Raven ignored him completely, “If we sign we will get complete anonymity until the semester? As well as housing?” Raven asked.

Wymack nods his head, “You can’t move into the dorms until June 13th when the rest of the foxes get there. But yes to both, to answer your questions.”

“Five years?” She asked again.

Wymack nods.

“We need a pen then.” Raven said, an air of finality was clear in her voice. Cutting a look to Neil that dared him to speak up, her gaze was piercing enough to get the message, we would be absolute idiots to turn this down. Neil nodded, suddenly angry with a mix of sick excitement.

Wymack gives them a wide grin, incredibly pleased; Neil nor Raven looked at Kevin again, now that their panic had subsided they didn’t care or want to have anything to do with him besides Exy.

Wymack pulls out the envelopes and gives them their respective pens; then Neil Josten and Raven Dumott are forever inscribed into a legally binding contract and are officially Palmetto Foxes.

Link to the rest of the chapters:

#aftg fic #aftg fanfic #andreil #tfc fanfic #andrew minyard #neil josten #the foxes #kevin day #matt boyd #allison reynolds #dan wilds #nicky hemmick #aaron minyard #renee walker #long post

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knox-knocks · 5 years

Text

Fanfic Writer Questions

I was tagged by @fuzzballsheltiepants ! thank you!! <3

Author Name:

knox-knocks (tumblr) and ennui_ephemera (ao3)

Fandoms You Write For:

Right now I only write for aftg but I did write and post a couple fics for a TV show I used to be obsessed with and one (1) wolfstar fic which I orphaned on ao3 when I started writing aftg fic sdhjskd (although I do wanna write another wolfstar fic, but who knows if that’ll ever happen fhkjsd)

Where You Post:

I post any chapter fics/long fics and a couple oneshots on ao3 but I also have a couple that are on tumblr that can be found somewhere on my blog

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story:

Restart by faaar. It completely lapses everything else I’ve written in hits, kudos, and bookmarks (It’s also the longest fic I’ve ever written! for now >:3)

Favorite Story You Wrote:

Hmm Restart was my baby for over a year so I’m always going to be really fond of it, but I also really love i think i’m falling, i’m falling for you. Also Timeless will always be in my heart, despite how hard it was for me to write it (and the amount of times I thought about giving up and abandoning it completely!) I’m really bad at picking favorites so have these three fjdfkdjs

Story You Were Nervous to Post:

Timeless! I always get nervous about writing “major character death” fics despite writing so many of them them (usually) having happy endings and with Timeless there was a LOT of angst but I really hope the ending paid off! I was (and still am) nervous about posting Things That Go Bump in the Night for personal reasons and because it’s a little darker and there are some parts I’m nervous about writing because I’ve never written them before

(There’s also loads of fics I haven’t posted at all cause I’m nervous about it hsjkd)

How Do You Pick Your Titles:

On a wing and a prayer. Picking titles is definitely the hardest thing for me about writing fic and half the time I don’t even like the title but I couldn’t come up with something better. (I despise “pull me closer (and hold me in your arms)” as a title because I think it’s clunky and it reminds me of that chainsmokers song)

Do You Outline:

Yeah! Usually just for chapter fics, but I like having an outline to help me out a bit. I have hundreds of notes in my phone for several different fics/fic ideas so it helps to have something to keep me organized (even when I sometimes throw the outline completely out the window and write something else. Y’all should really see the original outline for Things That Go Bump in the Night compared to what it is now)

How Many of Your Stories are Complete:

14/17 fics are completed, one is in the works, and the last two will unfortunately remain unfinished

In-Progress:

Things That Go Bump in the Night! I’ll have the third chapter up on Tuesday and the last chapter will be posted on Halloween!!

Coming Soon:

I’m participating in the remix so I’ll have that fic up in October and then when Bump in the Night is over I’ll be posting another spooky fic in November! After that it’s really up in the air, but I do want to write a sequel to falling for you and a winter cabin fic. i’ve also been eyeing the ghost apocalypse au and the superhero au again so I might start working on those too!

Do You Accept Prompts:

It depends! Sometimes I’ll ask for them and I’ll get a whole bunch in my inbox but I feel bad a because it takes forever for me to get through them all and a bunch sit there for ages so I don’t do it a whole lot djskhd

Upcoming Story You’re the Most Excited For:

The spooky motel au! It’s the one that’s gonna be posted in november and I’m suuuper amped for it. It features motel owner!andrew, ghost!neil, and detective!kevin

#i have no idea who to tag so if you wanna go ahead and do it #do it!!#tag me cause i'd love to see :3 #thank you again for tagging me fuzz <33 #me #knox talks

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aftgficlibrary · 6 years

Text

100k +

All the aftg fics over 100k. Grab a drink, get comfy, these stories might take you awhile. (Note: ranked in descending word count, highest-lowest).

Way Down We Go by nekojita (E | 620,923 | 46/46)

How would things be different if Nathaniel and his mother had been in Seattle early enough to put him in California the same time as Andrew? What if their paths had crossed back then? What if Andrew's first promise wasn't to Aaron but to Nathaniel?

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

Armies by nekojita (E | 341,918 | 20/20

Upon Mary Hatford's death, Nathaniel Wesninski makes the call to his uncle Stuart rather than continuing on the run and ending up in Milport, Nevada. Upon graduating university, Andrew Minyard turns down all offers of a professional Exy career and muddles through a 'normal' life, until the boredom and inanity of it all wears him down and he accepts an offer of a break to spend some time with his cousin Nicky in Stuttgart, Germany. There he meets Abram Hatford, a handsome and broken young man who has more in common with Andrew than he suspects, and nothing's normal anymore.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

Heartlines by nekojita (E | 291,539 | 17/17)

The Fae king and queens have gone away, closing the knowes behind them and abandoning their offspring to the mortal world. As the Fae have spread far and wide, their bloodlines thinning if not vanishing forever as they flee from mortal persecution... two Fae have found a way to reopen the knowes - Kayleigh Day and Tetsuji Moriyama. The Fae regroup once more, the balance of power shifted amongst them, and 'changelings' appear now and then in the mortal population.

Andrew Doe is one of those changelings, a young child suffering in the foster system, shunned by his peers for some reason and hearing voices in his head.

Alex - the latest name gifted to him by a charm - is on the run along with his mother from his father, using their talents as shadow walkers to slide between worlds and stay one step ahead of the powerful Fae. Except even that is not enough anymore. Except that's not Alex's only talent.

******* An urban fantasy where I throw Fae, necromancy and magic at TFC characters, pretty much!

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

The Odds Are Never In Our Favor by MalikShah (M | 258,621 | 29/29)

“A truly exciting development here in District 12. Let’s see who will be the other brave tribute traveling to the Capitol this year.” She simply grabbed the first slip she encountered and walked back to the podium. Neil didn’t even have time to wish for his own safety when she read the name.

“Neil Josten.”

A simple The Hunger Games AU because apparently the Foxes haven't suffered enough already.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

The First Breath by nekojita (M | 180,524 |18/18)

Death is presented with an interesting challenge - to live among the humans whom he finds so confusing for a short time. Normally he wouldn't consider such a thing, content to spend his days constantly wandering around while doing his job (and avoiding his father, Destruction), but this time, he's found one human in particular to be of interest so he decides to give it a try, to stay in one place for at least a few days. What can go wrong?

Only a Fury and a Virtue (or three) are determined to 'help' him out, for reasons of their own, and nothing is ever simple when so many powers that be start plotting. Death may very well regret giving in to his curiosity, along with the humans around him.

Basically, my take on the Sandman universe with TFC characters.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Black As Is The Raven, He’ll Get A Partner by nekojita (M | Incomplete | 10/?)

When Wymack, Kevin and Andrew came to recruit Neil Josten in Millport, Neil decided to say 'no' instead of 'yes' to joining the Foxes and does what he does best, which is runs. Unfortunately, that brings him to the attention of the Moriyamas, who return him to to his 'rightful' place.

Now Neil has to learn how to survive at the Nest with his only ally another 'asset' long kept under Riko's heel.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

Raven to Fox by Andrw_Jstn for AsfaHan (Not Rated | Incomplete | 36/?)

AU: Neil's mom ran without him, he was sold off to the Moriyamas soon after, growing up with Kevin and Riko. It'll all be explained in the prologue.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

Doe & Josten: Deductionists by SpangleBangle (M | Incomplete | 17/?)

Andrew Doe, rude but brilliant consulting detective, thought he had no need of a partner as he worked slowly away at dismantling the largest crime family in the country, helping out with other cases on the side to relieve the tedium. That was, until a scruffy runaway with a stupid amount of secrets stumbled into his life. Or, more accurately, broke into his kitchen.

/Rape/Non-Con

a switchblade is my preferred weapon by badacts (M | 150,134 | 48/48)

The Foxes take on an injured Kevin Day, and get a Raven-trained backliner with a point to prove into the bargain.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

shooting for the stars, desperately reaching for something in the dark by cryptidkidprem (T | 146,073 | 22/22)

"He just won't be back in black."

A look at Jean's first year with the Trojans, and his slightly rocky path to recovery.

A Hole In The World by lscar123 (E | Incomplete | 29/?)

An accomplished FBI agent. A young runaway who is more than he appears to be. A serial killer that's haunted both of them for years.

The City of Angels just got a lot more interesting.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence

The Unkindness of Ravens by crazy_like_a (M | Incomplete | 29/?)

After Kevin publicly announces his intention to play for the Foxes, Riko sends Nathaniel Wesninski to convince him to return to the Nest. Unfortunately for Riko, Nathaniel has other plans.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence

A Chance To Start Again by eikoexe (M | Incomplete | 6/?)

Andrew Minyard was a consulting detective - probably one of the best. He lived a life alone and only kept well to his demands, solving more crimes than nobody could think possible. Wymack usually said he was stuck up on the job, Renee has been suggesting he finds himself someone to live with, just so he won't live a life full of solitude. Andrew said he doesn't need it, doesn't want it, that he was perfectly fine the way he was. But what if one day he met a boy who stubbornly tripped into his life? Who has been wanted by his father for running away? Who needed a place to stay... and who needed home?

And so Andrew's life changed when he met Neil Josten.

Or alternatively, a Sherlock AU where instead of Johnlock solving crimes, we get our Andreil boys.

Lessons in Cartography by crazy_like_a (E | 121,706 | 37/37)

Nora mentioned in her extra content that Neil slowly maps out Andrew's body and then this fic happened. Starts after The King's Men.

No Mourners, No Funerals by gluupor (M | Incomplete | 44/54)

In Ketterdam’s pleasure district you can find anyone. A wayward son trying to escape his past. A pampered noblewoman who chose a different life. A recovering addict who can’t turn down a bet. A stranded pirate in need of a boat. A deserter who is looking for a place to belong. A Grisha assassin who wants to be a better person. A convict looking to regain her life. A runaway who has become a killer. A survivor who has become something worse.

These fractured isolationists must cooperate and trust each other to achieve their goals. An impossible heist with a big payout. A revenge scheme years in the making. A high stakes con that could start a war if it goes wrong. They probably deserve better, but if they got what they deserved then they wouldn’t be Foxes.

A Six of Crows AU where the Foxes are a gang, Neil’s good at disappearing, and Andrew Minyard is the Bastard of the Barrel.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence

The Road to Nowhere by emmerrr (M | 118,526 | 30/30)

The population has been decimated by an epidemic, society has fallen, and no one is safe. But Neil has never been safe to begin with.

When the death of his mother finally leaves him with nothing left to lose, Neil inadvertently stumbles across a miss-match group of people living and working together despite the odds.

Sometimes it takes the apocalypse to find out where you truly belong; the hard part is holding onto it. And when so much of him is held together by lies, Neil might have to learn that you can never outrun your past indefinitely.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Connection through pain by sacchan (T | 106,373 | 3/3)

Nathaniel was six years old, and he was in pain. His body ached, but the one actually in pain was his soulmate. Their connection started when he was born, but he noticed its existence only now, and the reminder was very cruel. From now on, Nathaniel would experience the pain and the nightmares of this other person, as they would do the same with his. Till one of them died.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

fear in a handful of dust by flybbfly (M | 104,521 | 26/26)

“I need to talk to Minyard,” Neil says, sipping at a soda. “How do I make that happen?”

Kevin chokes on his whiskey. “You don't.”

In which Neil doesn't have Kevin Day to convince him to play, so he becomes a sports journalist; Andrew is a keeper in more ways than one; and Quidditch is the sport du jour. Featuring a frankensteined team, eternal roommate Matt, and hawkish sports section editor Dan. Oh, and Andrew has a shady past (present? future?) that Neil can't quite figure out. But that's nothing new for Neil, who is constantly hiding everything about himself anyway—this time with magical abilities greasing the way.

A Raven's Chance by abernathy (M | Incomplete | 17/?)

[PREVIOUS TITLE: SELLER OF SOULS] Raven!Neil; Nathaniel Wesninski has lived his entire life in the shadows at Castle Evermore, but now that star-player Kevin Day has deserted, he's the newest replacement for the Edgar Allan Ravens. Stuck in a city he hates and suffering through a lifetime of abuse from Riko, Nathaniel finds his only way out is through a promise with the most unlikely of allies.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

the letting go by WingsOfWax ( E | 100,409 | 12/12)

Goofy version: "In another life, Tilda fucks up even more than in canon and Aaron literally goes through Hell(tm). Can the Foxes help him help himself with the powers of Therapy and Friendship?? Vote now on your phones!"

Serious version: "In another universe, Tilda abandons both the boys and Aaron is sold into a life that isn't really worth living. However, the Foxes are drawn together in every world, and they're not giving up on him. Can they convince him not to give up on himself?"

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con /Major Character Death (AFTGFL note: This fic has a multitude of trigger warnings, so please be careful everyone)

#aftg #aftg fanfic #aftg fanfiction #masterlist #andreil #andriel fanfic #andriel fanfiction #andrewminyard #andreil fanfic #andreil fanfiction #all for the game #the foxhole court #100k+#theme:slowburn #theme:100k

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rose-of-the-court-blog · 6 years

Text

A Little Bit of Gay History

Inspired by this hilarious post: x

I took some (a lot) of liberties with this, especially with the beginning, but I hope no one minds! This is my first fic for the aftg series, so hopefully the characters aren’t too ooc :’)

By the way, I don’t necessarily like writing Kevin as a constant drunk. So this is a one-time dealio. My next fic will be ab him overcoming his dependency on drinking <3 I love Kevin Day y’all

Neil Josten was used to nights out in Columbia. He enjoyed the drive, the house, and the time spend with the Monsters, his family. It was a time where all five of them could relax (sort of). Neil had gone with the Monsters a dozen nights and expected the same order of events to happen each time: drive, Eden’s Twilight, dragging Nicky, Aaron, and Kevin’s drunk asses home, then properly relax at the house. What he wasn’t expecting tonight, however, was a drunk ass Kevin practically clinging to Neil by the end of the night.

Earlier in the evening, Kevin and Aaron had done competitive shots and did so many they lost count and couldn’t tell who won. Next, Kevin joined Nicky at the bar to try out some of Roland’s new mixes. Then Kevin shared a quiet drink with Andrew after he’d been dancing. It was around this time that Neil noticed that Kevin’s green eyes had gone a bit hazy and his stance a but wobbly.

Andrew had silently gotten up, which meant Neil and Kevin did too, but he motioned for them to stay. Neil figured he was either going to the bathroom or going to find his wayward twin and cousin. Normally, Neil was fine with being alone with Kevin. Tonight, however, has turned out to be a different story and had Neil fervently wishing Andrew to make a hasty return.

“Neil, I need you to listen” demanded Kevin. “Listen!”

Kevin grabbed Neil’s shirt and shook him a little, as if he could make Neil magically listen to his profound insights by force. He’d been trying to gain Neil’s attention for the five minutes. Even though Neil was with him and listening to his rambling the entire goddamn time.

Neil closed his eyes. He had a headache.

“Do you understand? Neil, do you understand anything at all?”

Kevin may be family, but that didn’t mean Neil didn’t want to sock him right in the throat.

Neil took a deep breath. “No, Kevin, I don’t understand. I don’t understand anything of what you’re saying. Do you know why? Because you have yet to get to the fucking point you useless vodka-fucking bastard.”

“You can’t fuck vodka.”

“You’re right. It’s a talent only you’ve personally achieved. Congrats”

“How would that even work? Vodka is a liquid-- wait. Lubricant.”

Neil couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He could do nothing but stare as Kevin drunkenly pulled out his phone to google it, almost dropping his phone three times in the process. Neil wanted Andrew to hurry back more than ever.

Andrew.

The very thought of Andrew, Aaron, and Nicky coming back to Kevin spouting nonsense about using vodka for motherfucking lube was enough to make Neil desperate. He didn’t want to think of the consequences of Kevin and Nicky bonding over hypothetical alcohol-based lubricants. No. Just...no.

Reaching up on his tiptoes, and hating himself and Kevin all the more for it, he made a desperate grab for the phone. “No. Shit, no. Hold still. Kevin don’t you dare--”

“Apparently,” Kevin loudly began, easily evading Neil’s grabby hands thanks to his gigantic asshole height. “vodka as a lubricant would be very unpleasant thanks to the acidic properties. What a shame.”

Neil grabbed Kevin’s arm, yanked it down, and then used Kevin’s newly healed hand to slap Kevin in the face with it.

“Stop that,” Kevin hissed. He yanked his arm back, harshly, from Neil’s grip and overbalanced, falling back into the wall with a thud. Kevin blinked. Then slowly began sliding down the wall to the floor in all his drunken glory.

Neil wasn’t impressed. “You deserved it.”

Kevin’s eyes were still hazy, but he managed to scowl all the same. “If anyone deserves to be smacked it’s you. You haven’t been listening this entire time.”

“That’s because you never got to the actual point. You’ve just been talking nonsense at me this entire time.”

“Nonsense?!” Kevin spluttered. “the gay history of the world isn’t nonsense!”

What.

“What?”

Kevin scoffed. “You never listen.”

Neil was two seconds away from committing murder. Family be damned.

When Kevin opened his mouth to speak again, Neil was quick to interrupt him. “You can tell me all about your history stuff later, but right now Andrew is coming back and we need to start heading back to the tower.” That last part was a lie, but Kevin didn’t need to know that.

“The junkie is right. Get up, time to go.”

Neil startled so badly that he nearly toppled over and landed on Kevin. A hand shot out and grabbed Neil’s bicep and pulled him back abruptly. He turned and gave Andrew a grateful look, who squeezed his bicep gently before releasing him.

“Jeez, Neil, be careful!” Nicky laughed, arriving out of nowhere to Neil’s right. Seems like Neil was correct in assuming Andrew went to look for his family. When Neil turned back around he saw Aaron lifting Kevin up and putting one of his arms around his shoulders. Privately, Neil thought they looked ridiculous with two drunk-out-of-their-mind men leaning on each other, with one being pint sized and the other a giraffe with a queen tattoo, but wisely chose not to say anything.

Wymack would be so proud.

Andrew turned, having established that Aaron could handle Kevin, and led them all through the exit to the Maserati. To home.

Neil had all but nearly forgotten the Incident That Shall Not Be Named by the time Monday rolled around. Andrew had perfectly distracted him all weekend, with witty remarks and truths and kisses, that Neil didn’t really give Kevin’s odd ramblings a second thought.

Andrew had subtly asked him what Kevin was on about when he’d arrived, but Neil had been stubbornly silent on the matter. Neil wasn’t going to be repeating any of what he heard to Andrew. He didn’t want to relapse into another headache.

Now, though, Neil was coming back from his morning jog. The day was starting off nicely. He’d woken up, limbs entangled with Andrew from their chests to their toes, the closest they’d ever held each other. A morning kiss (and the subsequent complaint that Andrew would never allow this again because morning breath wasn’t worth it. Neil knew better though). Being allowed to wear Andrew’s favorite hoodie while out on his jog. The crisp, cool morning air--

Ping!

Neil stopped. It took a moment, but then he remembered the iphone Allison had bought him. He rarely used it, but he knew the sound the his email notification going off. It was frustrating how every little sound the device made gave Neil small bouts of fright. Ridiculous.

Scowling, Neil pulled the damn phone from his lower pocket in his cargo shorts (jorts forever banned by the Foxes’ collective effort -- even Aaron’s). Pulling up the email, however, Neil quickly became confused. Why was Kevin e-mailing him?

To: Neil Josten

From: Kevin Day

Subject: The Affair of Radu III and Mehmed

Surely, this was a mistake? After all, Neil distinctly remembered Kevin rambling on about a paper he was doing on a man named Radu III. Neil hadn’t paid much more attention beyond that detail because it was about history and honestly? Fuck that.

But why was the subject titled “The Affair of Radu III and Mehmed” then? What kind of history essay was this?

What the fuck, Neil thought. What. The. Fuck.

...

Neil clicked it.

“DELETE IT!” Kevin roared. “NEIL, I’LL MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL IF YOU DON’T DELETE THAT RIGHT NOW!”

With a shit-eating grin, Neil dodged Kevin’s tackle and made a break for it.

“NEIL!”

Everyone was staring at them.

Neil didn’t dwell on this. There was no point. In the matters of life and death there was only you and the mean of survival. For Neil, that meant getting to the other side of the court and into the goalies post as fast as possible.

A jump over some fallen exy balls, running in zig zags through his teammates, a mad dash to the goal--

“Andrew!” Neil called, breathless, coming closer to him. Andrew was there, watching the entire chaos unfold, and making no effort to help him. Neil slowed down.

A fatal mistake.

A hard body collided with him, tumbling them both down to the court, with Neil face-planting right at Andrew’s feet.

“Got you, you shitty little gremlin.” Kevin spoke menacingly in French.

One moment Neil was wheezing and gasping for air, and in the next, the body was suddenly off of him. Neil took the opportunity to turn on his back.

Andrew had grabbed Kevin and lifted him off Neil and was now leveling a severe gaze at him. For once, Kevin ignored the threat Andrew posed in favor of the one Neil had.

Neil slowly grinned up at him, and responded in French. “Gay history, huh?”

Kevin made to lunge at him again but Andrew put his arm out and stopped it.

“What the hell is going on?” Dan demanded.

“Kevin and Neil both messing around during practice?” Allison peered down at them, haughty, but curious. “I have to know what’s going on. Come on, tell us the drama.”

Renee put a placating hand on Allison’s arm and put herself in the middle between the three around the goal and the rest of the foxes. Her smile was kind but her voice was firm. “Their business is their business. You all should know that by now.”

“We know that,” Matt protested, who was looking very bewildered right now. It’d be comical if only Neil weren’t facing Death By Not-So-Heterosexual-Kevin right about now. “But come on! We can’t help being curious. Exy is like their life blood, they never do this.”

“Some things are more important than exy,” Kevin gritted out. A shocked silence filled the court.

“Holy shit.” someone whispered. Neil was too focused on Kevin’s deepening scowl to investigate.

“Do you think this has anything to do with what Kevin was talking about at Eden’s?” Nicky loudly whispered to Aaron, who shrugged.

“What happened at Eden’s?” asked Allison.

“Nothing,” stressed Kevin.

“Nothing, huh?” Neil snorted.

“You stay quiet.”

Neil opened his mouth to tell Kevin to fuck off but just as he was doing so Wymack burst in.

“What the actual fuck is going on here? Dan, Kevin, Neil, explain. Right now.”

Before Dan or Kevin could speak, Neil took his chance. “Kevin accidentally sent me his history essay this morning instead of his teacher. It was a 7 page analysis on the gay relationship between Mehmed and Rabu III, the brother of Vlad the Impaler, and how historians continuously overlook their affair due to heteronormativity.”

“Excuse me,” Nicky cut in. “What.”

Neil shrugged and waved his harm towards Kevin dramatically. “Not-so-heterosexual-Kevin is real.”

Kevin narrowed his eyes at him. “I never said I was heterosexual. Just that is was easier.”

“So, like, you’re what? Are you bi?” Allison asked.

“Smooth.”

“Hush, Dan. I need answers.”

“Same,” Nicky agreed.

Kevin rolled his eyes. “Me being bisexual has nothing to do with the game. Leave it alone and get back to practice. A year later and I’m still disappointed in your subpar playing.”

“Hey now, you can’t just write an entire essay on the gay affairs of royalty figures, drop that bisexual bomb, and then tell us to drop it!”

“I can, and I will, Nicky.”

“And I don’t have enough whiskey for all this,” Wymack said. He had his hand covering his face as if that’d protect him from the stupidity he was surrounded by.

Suddenly, Nicky grinned. “Dark Kevin, tell us all how gay history really is.”

Kevin sighed. He looked to the ceiling as if the heavens could save him and then closed his eyes. “Everything. Everything is fucking gay.”

#all for the game #neil josten #kevin day #andriel #the foxhole court #aftg

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cherubikscube · 7 years

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Rules: answer all questions (that you can), add one question of your own and then tag as many people as there are questions (let's be honest i'm not doing that) ……….. tagged by @serendipitous-fate bless her soul ……….. 1. coke or pepsi: neither but i really love mtn dew 2. disney or dreamworks: if we're being honest here i can never tell which is which but dreamworks makes me automatically think of UP so... that one. 3. coffee or tea: tea because it fucks me up considerably less 4. books or movies: movies!! used to be books idk when that switched ? 5. windows or mac: windows probably but i don't really care 6. dc or marvel: DC because @serendipitous-fate says so 7. x-box or playstation: we'll say PS 8. dragon age or mass effect: i'm not a scaly 9. night owl or early riser: night owl..... i can sleep dead 13 hours don't test me... waking up early is not something i've ever done NATURALLY but when i force my ass up i usually don't REGRET it 10. Cards or chess: wizard chess.... 11. chocolate or vanilla: chocolate! 12. vans or converse: converse but vans are nice as well! currently getting over a thing where i feel like my feet look weird in any shoes ASIDE from converse .. it's been a journey 13. avellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar: seeing as i have no clue what that means i'm gonna say the one that sounds coolest SO avellan 14. fluff or angst: N/A 15. beach or forest: forest but bugs give me panic attacks LOL ... well tbh idk now that i think about it probably beach because i have good memories from there (GO LISTEN TO BEACHED EP by Glow Ghost on bandcamp wink wink) 16. dogs or cats: cats because i have one 17. clear skies or rain: rain 18. cooking or eating out: eating out because i always want random shit 19. spicy food or mild food: spicy ??? or am i just saying that because i don't want to be lame...... uncertain 20. halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas: halloween 21. would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: cold because sweaty is not my aesthetic 22. if you could have a superpower, what would it be: EhHhhhHhHh i don't know.... teleportation i guess 23. animation or live action: animation 24. paragon or renegade: N/A 25. baths or showers: baths but if i think about them too much i get kinda grossed out... i usually shower anyways our bath part of the shower is broken LOL 26. team cap or team ironman: N/A 27. fantasy or sci-fi: Hnngg neither??? i suppose fantasy 28. do you have three or four favorite quotes, if so what are they: let's just pick a couple highlights from my #quotes tag, shall we? -"Grow from the dirt that they left you in" (@difficultsuggestions) -"When looking at the world through rose colored glasses those red flags don’t seem as alarming.” (@thunder) -"If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table not a taller fence." (??) -"it's okay that you're not who you thought you would be" (@asoftwrongness) 29. youtube or netflix: netflix because youtube as a concept i love but youtube when i think more about it i want to set aflame 30. harry potter or percy jackson: HP but i DID have a crush on the cyclops guy 31. when you feel accomplished: when i make music! 32. star wars or star trek: N/A 33. paperback books or hardback books: paperback 100% 34. to live in a world without literature or without music?: who the fuck made this question 35. who was the last person to make you laugh?: myself because i was telling a story about this kid in my class singing "i'm indePENDennTtt" 36. sour or sweet candy: depends but i'm starting to lean more sour than i ever used to 37. dawn or dusk: dusk 38. piercings or tattoos: tattoos but i do want a nose piercing 39. girls? HOT?????: yes 40. snow or fog: i don't fuck with this question. 41. do you sleep facing the wall or the room?: shiit what does this even mean... i usually sleep facing the door 42. TRC or AFTG: the royal chicken or always fucking trolling gays? what do you think? 43. horror or drama: drama. .... sometimes horror is okay but it messes with my head with that """""based on true events""" shit 44. ocarina of time or majora’s mask?: you've caught me... i'm a fake gamer... i only play sims... 45. would you rather live in an area of more nature or city?: city! i like things to be easily accessible and i have this future in my mind of walking everywhere or biking (that's a reach i know but it's fine) and i'd have to bike twenty miles for that shit around here.... the prairies aren't worth it (to me) 46. what’s your addiction right now?: i'm not sure actually let me think... probably just ... spacing out for hours on end and accomplishing nothing whenever possible 47. what languages can you speak?: lmao english if i'm lucky. 48. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?: probably canada in a city... i don't really know yet but i hate traveling so not like across the planet 49. sun or moon?: moon 50. potato bread or banana bread?: potato bread sounds like some irish shit but yeah banana 51. are horses good?: as long as they don't kick me in the head 52. Edward Elric or Alphonse Elric?: N/A 53. Logan or Deadpool?: haven't seen either but i watched a gameplay of deadpool it was amazing (i know it's not the same thing let me live this is the best i can do) 54. Pokémon or Digimon?: N/A 55. One-shots or lengthy fics?: i don't have the patience so let's go with one-shots also that sounds like an alcohol term lol 56. Immortality, yes or no?: i'll pass because i feel like it'd just give me an excuse to NEVER get shit done because "i've got all the time in the world" also it'd be exhausting to make meaningful friendships every ninety years or whatever and it would be sad 57. are you more proud of your blog's meme content or aesthetic?: if you see this and feel compelled to, participate! but i hate tagging people because nobody seems to enjoy these things except me

#tags #food mention #about me

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