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lesbiansoncaffiene · 2 years

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AFTG As Shit Me And My Friends Have Said (pt. 2)

Y’all like the last one so much (it’s my most liked post as of rn so thank you!!) that we now have a part dos

Also features quotes from my gov class and from my (twin) brother

Matt: I am very happy to declare pawnshops as “EBay irl”

Dan: dear god

——————————————

5:24am

*Nicky named the chat Toothpaste Man Fanclub*

5:25am

*Andrew left the chat*

—————————————

Renee: I cannot believe I have to say this, you’re not allowed to cut into a cake baby

Aaron, his scalpel ready: goddamit

——————————

Matt, drunk: Me when I cut off my ear for the lols

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The AFTG fandom: Gender, in the state of this nation? I think the fuck not

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Wymack: Wow I have a lot of white in my beard

Abby: It’s because you’re old

Kevin: Well the alternative is dead so..

Wymack and Abby: ..

——————————

Aaron, to Katelyn, who always falls asleep during Marvel movies: do you wanna watch a Marvel movie?

Katelyn: *snorts*

——————————

Seth: What if you’re pregnant and go to China, and your baby is born while you’re in China

Renee: You can’t fly in a plane during your 3rd trimester of pregnancy

Seth: Yea but what if you drove

*disappointed sighs*

———————

Kevin: omg I found a picture of my best friend in PreK

Kevin: The one who told me Satan was gonna eat me

Matt: ….I’m sorry what-

————————

Nicky: My only goal in life is to piss off my ancestors by going to the spice section in the grocery store

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Kevin: someone tried to mansplain on me in my history class, I hope they know that I’m a self-diagnosed autistic bisexual with a god complex who is going to prove him wrong

Dan: yep time to call Betsy

——————————

Jean: listen I’m aroace but if Mothman ever wanted to fuck…..

Laila: shut uP, ShuT UP-

——————————

Aaron: we have to take care of these egg baby’s in my healthcare class *shows eggs with goggly eyes attached*

Andrew, looking it dead in the eyes: eat it. Eat the baby

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Nicky *on the bus*: SCOOBY DOOBY DOO

Matt: WHERE ARE YOU

Neil, from the back: emotional hell

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Jeremy *about some gossip*: omg what a plot twist

Alvarez: that only happens in books

Jeremy: shhh I’m projecting

——————————

Renee: wow, that was great parallel parking, you must have aced your drivers test

Andrew: my what

——————————

*3am on a school night*

Dan: Don’t you think it’s weird that getting lab work done is basically walking into the doctors office and asking them to take your life juice?

Allison: if you don’t shut up and go to sleep I’m calling Wymack

————————

Neil: I hope Wymack lets me make Jack do the little lad dance for missing practice

Seth: that would bring all the serotonin that I’m missing back into my life tbh

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Andrew: I’m a very slow reader, I should not start a 10K fic at 2:35am

Neil: You going to anyway aren’t you

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Allison *showing Renee a meme*: Why was my first thought when I saw this ‘I should send this to my therapist’

Renee: Because you’re mentally ill, babe

———————

Andrew: Why make good decisions when arson is an option?

Aaron: Is arson… not a good decision?

———————

Nicky: okay so how do we let Andrew know that we know he’s gay. I have a few ideas-

Renee: well, we should be subtle-

Nicky, already pulling out a full on rainbow costume: do we /have/ to?

———————

Allison: is my straightener in your room?

Neil: I don’t think anything in my room is straight but you can check

———————

Andrew *on a rant about Adam Levine’s voice*: it sounds like he’s been hit in the balls

Wymack, who woke up two minutes ago when he thought someone was breaking into his house at 3:38am: what the fuck

————-

Neil: My lungs thought it would be funky and fresh to stop working when it is in fact not funky nor fresh

Matt: You just had an asthma attack, can you shut up-

———————

Aaron: I have therapy today

Kevin, trying to be supportive: that’s hot

————————

Renee: I love you but your pizza cutting skills are enough to ward off God

Dan, who cut the pizza into squares: yeah that’s fair

——-

Dedicated to Jess who read these and approved 100% *sorta*

——-

Part 3? Possibly?? If y’all like it???

——-

Part 1:

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play-exy-be-sexy · 3 years

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the foxes roles in the gc

Neil:

Replies when necessary or if he is in a good mood.

It's always short replies.

If it's an ongoing conversation he'll say one thing and then leave.

It usually goes something like this:

"Oh! Neil's active, hi Neil!"

"Hi, I agree with Renee."

...

"Wait, did he leave already?"

Andrew:

You probably guessed this already but he never answers.

Even if the question is directed at him he won't say anything.

Occasionally you may get a yes or no.

Or he'll like the message but that's it.

The poor foxes will always get their hopes up when his little texting bubbles show up.

But he literally just key smashes to make them think he's going to say something.

Asshole, yeah we know.

Neil finds it funny so Andrew keeps doing it.

Kevin:

Kevin won't engage in "meaningless" conversation.

If the messaging is about exy, he'll always be one of the first to answer.

But as soon as it turns to something else he's gone.

Unless it's to correct someone's spelling mistakes.

He never fails to do that.

He's constantly messaging the foxes reminders and updates and their schedules.

He texts very professionally though.

Like it's an email.

He doesn't abbreviate or anything.

Grandpa Kevin

"Good morning, a reminder to be at the gym in 10 minutes dressed and ready. Neil, if you forget your water bottle again you're running ten extra laps."

"We have a game in two days, night practice at approximately 10 p.m."

Aaron:

Aaron is worse than Andrew.

He will answer questions directed at him but only if they are very very recent and he happens to be on the group chat.

King of thumbs up

and

"OK"

Nicky:

Nicky is singlehandedly keeping the group chate alive.

He's that one person in the group chat who's constantly sending TikToks, Instagram posts, recipes, people he finds hot, Pinterest inspo boards, etc.

He's steering the conversations.

He's starting them back up when it starts to die.

He's sending cat memes 24/7.

He's ranting at 3 in the morning when no one is active.

He's giving everyone a play by play update on his day.

He's doing it all.

And we love him for that.

The others may complain about it, but they actually enjoy it.

And they know it makes Nicky happy to have people listening to him, especially when those people are his friends.

Plus, he just really loves texting and the internet.

Matt:

All the upperclassmen are active in the gc, including Matt.

I mean, it was his and Dan's idea, so they kinda have to be.

Matt types like this:

Y do u h8 me, Kev?

"Maybe, it's because you type like you are incapable of spelling out 'you'."

He's also the local meme provider.

Any kind of meme you want, Matt probably has it saved in his camera roll.

LOTS of exy memes.

He saves those for when Neil or Kevin haven't been saying anything for a few days.

Sometimes he'll get scared to send one.

So, he runs it by Dan first.

She always tells him to send them.

He's very good at finding funny and fitting posts.

Dan:

Dan is probably the most active on the gc, other than maybe Nicky.

But the foxes tend to answer her more.

No offense to Nicky...

Her captain-y privelge transfers to text too ig.

Dan will send the gc good morning texts, reminders(ones Kevin forgets about or isn't to be bothered with), articles about the foxes, workout videos, etc.

She loves sending compilations to the group chat.

Like:

"10 Times Neil Josten Flips Off teammate, Kevin Day."

"Or Matt Boyd and Dan Wilds Cutest on Court Kisses."

"Dan didn't you mean to just send that to Matt."

"NO! I thought you all would like it!"

She also sends them not so fun things.

If a bit of bad press is released she is the first to know and immediately sends it to the gc.

Also things like:

"Traffic on the way 2 court is bad, leave early."

"Crazy man on the corner by the parking lot, be careful!"

Dan is the group chat mom and we love that for her.

Allison:

Allison will not start conversations but she is always a part of them.

LOVES to start drama in the group chat.

and talk about gossip.

"did you guys see what neil was wearing today?wtf*puke emoji*"

"Allison, I can see this."

"good, maybe you'll listen to me then.*kissy emoji*"

She likes to text just in emojis sometimes.

Lots of kissing emojis.

And middle finger ones.

She also sends selfies when she feels like it.

Or when she likes her outfit.

"Allison we don't want to see your slutty outfit."

"stfu nicky, ur just jealous.*middle finger and kissy emoji*"

She doesn't type in uppercase.

Kevin is appalled.

Overall, she's a pretty standard group chat member.

But add some *richness*

Renee:

Renee does her best to stay active on the chat.

exy and non exy related conversations.

She tries to answer every one, like the sweetheart she is.

She likes to send cute things.

and motivational things.

or aesthetic pictures.

"I thought you guys would like this picture of a baby goat, have a good day!"

She tries to send good morning messages every day.

sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't.

She tries, that's what matters.

A lot of the time the conversations are just her and Nicky.

Like in real life, she is usually the mediator when things get heated or bad.

"Allison, was the emoji really necessary?"

"reneeeee, babe, we are supposed to be on the same team!"

If she knows someone has a test or something important coming up she'll message them "good luck" on the gc.

Mainly so the others will do the same.

"Good luck on your test, Aaron!"

"Oh, yeah! You got it, man!" (Matt)

"If you pass, we can skip half our laps:)" (Dan)

"No, we will not."(Kevin)

"Literally, no one asked you Kevin."(Andrew)

"Whoa! Andrew said something!*excited squealing*" (Nicky)

*Andrew Minyard has left the group chat*

*Renee Walker has added Andrew Minyard to the group chat*

Wymack:

Matt added Wymack as a joke.

As soon as Wymack saw what it was, he left.

Nicky had the nerve to add him back though.

"Add me to this shit show one more time and I'm signing you all up for five marathons."

*sends an article about all upcoming marathons*

*Matt Boyd has kicked David Wymack out of chat*

I think this is my first super long post in ages! It started as a little post but I got inspired(which hasn't happened in a very long time either!). Anyway, I hope you like it! Also, I'm sure this has been made before so if you have done this I promise I didn't steal your idea:)

#aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court #neil josten #andrew minyard #kevin day #the foxes #andreil #neil x andrew #exy #also im not rereading this #so hopefully there aren't a lot of errors lol #there probably are though

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i-never-even-wanted-to-be-here · 3 years

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I really wanna hear Neil and co. speak German. So have some German hcs

"Neil was fluent in German" and I think that's very sexy of him. I bet he doesn't really have an accent because he probably had to stay stealth in Europe and therefore perfected his accent. But I think if you listen closely you might hear how he still slightly struggles with our R and CH.

He can do a Swiss accent, which is hilarious.

I'd love it if he used Austrian words instead of the German versions! (I'm Austrian, let me have this) Imagine Neil addressing a rude reporter with "Oida" cause he's just done with them.

Dan asks him to translate that but he somehow can't find a good translation for it. (Because I can't)

I am aware that he doesn't know memes but "Bruder, muss los" (basically Ight I'mma head out) is his entire situation.

Nicky would call him "Dicka/ Digga" (dude) cause they're jocks.

And I'm begging for Neil to call Drew "Schatz" (darling; lit. treasure) just ONCE. He'd get a glare in return but I feel like Andrew would secretly gay panic.

Nicky's accent would be good, pure high German, since he's studied it for a long time and Erik gave him good experience. I bet they love hearing each other speak German and Erik is super supportive.

S*x happens in English tho because German dirty talk sounds DISGUSTING.

Der/die/das Nutella? They start fighting and betting until they think to ask Erik, who doesn't know it either but joins in on the discussion because he's highly opinionated on the topic. They're yelling, team bonds are being destroyed. The other Foxes think they've finally lost it.

Neil refuses to say "Schulz". Andrew considers breaking up with him about this but has a reputation to uphold so he pretends to dislike that rule as well.

Erik would show Nicky the movie "Schuh des Manitu" to culture him and they'd jam to The Superperforator Commercial because it is indeed a timeless bop.

Aaron and Andrew definitely have an accent. Apparently they have strong vocab because they use big words. I can imagine them struggling with articles and grammar tho. Andrew not so much because of his eiditic memory ofc.

Aaron wonders why tf "bitte", "so!" and "tja..." are being used in so many different contexts.

Nicky keeps a list of strange German words like Handschuhe (gloves, lit. hand shoes) and Kabelsalat (lit. cable salad) because he finds them funny.

One day Aaron behaves unusually upset and when Nicky asks him about it he says that he's mad that Haribo does NOT make him happy. Nicky joins in on being upset now. Andrew is in the back eating Haribo, unimpressed. The artificial flavours hit different that day.

manic!Andrew will directly translate German expressions like "How much clock is it?" or even worse "This is sausage to me". It annoys everyone. Most of all me.

Aaron mixing up the ways to say Why. When do you use which one? Ugh screw it, just say "warum".

When is it ss and when is it ß? Do it randomly, it is now süss and müßen (technically not wrong but you sound like a boomer)

Neil: Paradeiser (Austrian word for tomato)

Andrew: Tomate (German word for tomato)

Neil: -.-

Andrew: nobody fucking says Paradeiser ketchup!

Neil: Erdapfel (potatoe)

Andrew: that sounds horrible. It's Kartoffel.

Neil: Gelse (mosquito)

Andrew: it's Mücke

Neil: okay but get this... Polster (pillow)

Andrew: I will murder you

Nicky calling the shorter foxes Knilch, Schlingel and other cute, stupid expressions for which he gets ignored. Once he says "Füchschen" (little fox) to Andrew and that's when he snaps :)

"Stop! It all stays as it is, whether you're here or not!", Nicky yells. Neil looks very tired. It's one of these rare moments, in which he makes eye contact with Aaron and in that second, only that second, they feel a deep connection based on shared inner pain.

Anybody could be Manuel Neuer at this point and it is driving them crazy.

Aaron messes up and says "schwul" (gay) instead of "schwül" (humid) and Nicky laughs really hard at him.

Whenever one of them uses the Dativ instead of Genitiv the others immediately jump in and correct him. "It's wegen+Genitiv, you moron!!"

German jam sessions in the car on their way to Columbia. "Ich muss durch den Monsun, hinter die Welt" and "Du sitzt im Maserati Mercedes und siehst aus wie ein Loser", throw in some Trailerpark and Bausa too. They have a whole playlist with different artists and all the iconic songs. Kevin is suffering, as always.

Something is in the street and one of the boys yells "umfahren!" (run it over/ drive around it) but Nicky doesn't know which one is meant so they awkwardly swerve while screaming.

Aaron knows that German anime openings are the best. One piece, Digimon, you name it. They use anime as a form of confrontational therapy for Kevin. The two of them would watch an anime in Japanese with German subtitles.

Nicky once accidentally addressed manic!Andrew with "Sie" (formal you) instead of "du" (informal you) and Aaron would mock him going "Ihr" (very formal you) and "Eure Majestät" (your majesty) so Andrew is like "That's right, Riko can leave, I'm king now", which actually gets a little laugh out of Aaron. Nicky is really happy that they had a brief bonding moment.

"Alles bäm?", Nicky asked. In that moment Neil could've sworn he was back on German soil with his mom, drinking the clearest water, while making his way down to Stuttgart. "Läuft", he responds blinking tears away. He hadn't thought anything besides torture could make him cry.

Aaron calls Riko "Hurensohn" (son of a bitch; very common insult) once and at some point teaches Kevin how to say it.

Andrew's famous "That doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you" (Das heißt nicht, dass ich dir nicht einen blasen würde) in German sounds kinda nasty imo. But Neil's shocked "You like me?" (Du magst mich?) is honestly pretty cute.

When they're in Germany Erik once makes a stupid reference "Warum liegt da Stroh?" (Why is there straw lying around?), which is a porn reference that somehow everyone in Germany knows, even if they haven't watched it. He is surprised when, of all people, Aaron is the one who reacts with "Why are you wearing a mask?", who now has to hastily explain that in high school German class someone mentioned it and he wanted to know what it meant so he unwisely looked it up.

Erik sends Kinder Surprise Eggs to Andrew to earn his trust.

Nicky makes up stupid German sayings. "You know in situations like this they say This is really flipping my pancakes right now but at least the pigs fly high". Neil thinks it sounds fishy but doesn't know for sure because German expressions are weird so he doesn't say anything. The others just have to believe it. One day Andrew brings it up in front of Erik to impress him but Erik just blinks at him in confusion. Andrew is angery. Nicky has to hide for the rest of the day.

+Bonus

Matt finds their German conversations very fascinating and asks for a few words. Neil makes him say "Eichhörnchen" (squirrel) but Matt fails miserably.

#aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court #nora sakavic #neil josten #andrew minyard #twinyards #nicky hemmick #aaron minyard #andreil #jerejean

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livingasaghost · 3 years

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okay so i always see a bunch of ridiculous aftg headcanons soooo i decided to put my hat in the ring and try it out

this is all about the foxes and their chaotic as hell groupchats

so let’s imagine for a second that this series doesn’t take place in the early 2000s so smart phones exist

periodically the foxes have exchanged numbers with each other - obviously each of the cliques can contact each other, but then throughout that first year there are little things that cause people to give out their numbers

like at some point nicky lets it slip that he’s having trouble with his stats class and out of the blue allison offers to meet up with him because she’s surprisingly like really great at math? so the two of them start up a little text chain where they just shit talk everyone and start a few random bets

and then dan gets katelyn’s number from one of the other vixens and the two of them initially just start texting about game details...which turns into bonding over make-up and girl talk and eventually dan starts inviting katelyn to hang out with her and the fox girls

at first renee is the only one who has everyone’s number because she’s the only one who everyone likes

but then after their big win, renee just puts everyone in one massive groupchat so no one gets left out and they can all bond and it’s just as chaotic as one would expect

at first everyone’s just trying to figure out who’s who, but not everyone has an iphone so all the iphone users are really pissed off at the green bubbles

aaron’s the only one with an android because of course he is

he refuses to switch to an iphone even when the rest of the team BEGS him to bc he “doesn’t see the point”

for the whole summer after neil’s first year, the team keeps trying to pressure him and andrew into upgrading their phones because the team is so sick of what it’s doing to the groupchat

neil doesn’t really know how it all works because he’s still getting used to having a phone and having friends to text, but then everyone starts sending him emojis that don’t show up properly and his phone won’t load any photos they send and the rest of the foxes are so FRUSTRATED bc neil doesn’t seem to notice

eventually, in a shocking turn of events, andrew gets so fed up with the chaos of everyone texting his flip phone that he’s the one who gives in

he shows up at the dorm one day and just hands neil a little baggie with his new iphone

they’re just starting to get it set up when nicky strolls in and IMMEDIATELY takes over, showing neil all about emojis and changing your phone background and saving all the fox contacts

neil is, unsurprisingly, very overwhelmed and slightly terrified, so andrew reaches over and does it all for him, and nicky just looks put out

it takes neil like six months to change any of his contacts or backgrounds or settings because he just doesn’t care

eventually he does manage to set his lockscreen to a really bad photo he took of andrew when he wasn’t paying attention

andrew notices it one day and chooses not to say anything

(he secretly loves it)

when the groupchats start heating up.......neil realizes it’s kind of fun to have a smart phone because it feels like the foxes are with him all the time

after neil and andrew get iphones, the rest of the team decide to make a separate groupchat for just apple users bc no one really texts aaron regularly anyway

at first it’s just a place where people drop details about practices

dan shares news from wymack and abby and then kevin starts giving orders about what the foxes can do better

and somehow that is the tipping point

because everyone hates when kevin starts talking exy

(except neil)

so everyone jumps on him and it’s the perfect icebreaker

nicky is the obnoxious one who sends a ridiculous amount of emojis and gifs and reaction images (neil never knows where he finds them all) - he also sends the most tiktoks. usually ones that are super inappropriate or just plain stupid.

allison texts a lot because she’s always attached to her phone ready for the tea and sometimes she’ll send a really raunchy meme just to spice things up

neil doesn’t really know what’s going on half the time - and he never really scrolls up to see what he’s missed - so if and when he does respond, it’s usually just to ask clarifying questions or give a thumbs up

matt is the one who always checks in to make sure everyone’s doing okay - he’ll send really encouraging texts that people like andrew shit on

one time matt sends everyone a really sweet text over the holidays about how much they mean to him....and then dan just kicks him out of the gc and goes “okay enough of that bullshit i hate u guys xoxo” and andrew gives it a thumbs up

sometimes when he’s bored andrew will just kick out everyone but renee and neil bc why not

kevin is the one who gets kicked out the most

sometimes it’s because he texts about exy, but eventually it just becomes a running joke that they’ll kick him out randomly

like they’ll be in the middle of a conversation and then allison will just boot him out of the gc just to see what he’ll do

usually when this happens kevin will just send an angry message in one of the other gcs telling neil to add him back

it’s usually neil or renee who adds someone back bc they feel bad that people get left out of the gc

renee has this weird obsession with tiktok and she sends them CONSTANTLY like usually they remind her of certain teammates

she’ll send these at all hours of the night bc she has trouble sleeping and that means more time to scroll through the app from hell

and even though it gets on everyone’s nerves, no one can hate renee so they all just kind of....watch the videos and then everyone’s obsessed with tiktok

dan will send memes and things but only when they’re like so ridiculously funny that they get the whole gc wheezing at midnight on a school night

and usually they’re SO ridiculous that they only make sense to dan

“Dan you do realize we have practice tomorrow?”

“matt shut up this girl is talking like MARGE SIMPSON I CANT BREATHE”

most of the foxes text without proper capitalization or punctuation but matt and kevin and neil (and aaron) are all very proper with their texting

dan makes fun of matt all the time bc he doesn’t seem like the kind of person to Use Proper English but matt doesn’t understand why everyone can’t just use capitals when it’s automatic (he doesn’t know how to turn it off)

neil uses proper grammar just bc it doesn’t occur to him to do anything else

andrew uses lowercase bc it reads like a monotone to him and he thinks it’s ~cool~ and he also likes making kevin mad

sometimes he’ll use the wrong punctuation and grammar on purpose just to get kevin to reply to his texts

eventually nicky realizes he can change the group name and the group photo so he starts the most chaotic conversation by dramatically changing it to a snapchat screenshot of neil asleep on andrew’s lap and calling the gc SEXY EXY BESTIES 👅💦

it stays like that for all of two minutes before kevin notices and quickly changes the name to The Foxes

and then it becomes a free for all as everyone tries to be smart and snarky and ridiculous

stans of kevin’s left hand

the foxwhore court

🧡 Neil Josten Fanclub 🧡

life’s like a game of exy🥍

periodically throughout the week someone will change the name as they see fit - normally it’s something stupid but sometimes they’ll start an actual conversation by changing the group name

The Ungrateful Foxes

fuck you kevin

Guys plz be nice to Kevin

YOU KNOW, I GET IT—

The Worst Team in the NCAA

fuck you kevin

GO TO SLEEP NEIL!!!

one time after they’d spent like two weeks being called wymack’s whores, andrew decided he’d had enough of that so he just renamed it 🖕🏻🦊

and they do have a separate gc with wymack (they just don’t need to bother him with all their shitty commentary)

but funny enough, they’re almost worse in the wymack gc

at first wymack tried to control everyone by kicking people out who misbehaved, but then it just kept happening until it was him, kevin and renee left and he had to let it go

now all the foxes will text him at the most random times with the most random of questions

they also have a running joke where they all call him dad

kevin hates it, but wymack secretly thinks it’s hilarious and sweet

“hey dad can we get pizza after practice tomorrow???”

“dad nicky’s being a bitch can you make him run extra laps”

“WAIT DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT WYMACK IS KEVIN’S ACTUAL DAD??? *blinking man gif*”

kevin starts leaving the gc instead of waiting to be kicked out

#should i do another one of these #this was SO FUCKING FUN #aftg #aftg headcanon #aftg hc #tfc #headcanon #mine #personal

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quensty · 3 years

Note

five and seven for the end of year fic writer ask meme!

can i just start this off by saying i love u. if ur not following lizzy ... what’re u doing tbh

which of your fics do you wish was more successful?

counting my blessings. no contest. i actually came up w a plot for that shit, worked really hard to nail the characterizations, and thought i did pretty good w the aesthetic of a renison wild west au. i mean the three ppl who have read it have been fantastic and really kind to me about it, but man. i really wish it were one of my more popular fics yk?

what’s your favorite piece of description or narration?

i was THIS close to choosing one of the parts from the above fic (the “it just reminds [allison] that renee is right” paragraph) (if u know what i’m talking about i want to kiss you) but i think this part from on strike against god beats it very narrowly

There was a time when Nicky would prostrate himself at every Sunday mass, and he did it because he liked it. He liked confessions, liked the apologies and the promises to do better. He loved the portrait of Jesus above the tabernacle, but that was before Jesus gifted Nicky with his crown of thorns.

Before every Sunday became a routine crucifixion.

Before Nicky was told to sit down and bare his wrists. Get on his knees, let the blood trickle down his neck, and call it penance. Call it the cross on his back, call the sermon the last nail, the one that rings through his body and leaves a nauseating hum.

It’s not fair. Jesus only had to do it once.

You’re free of it, he says as if Nicky will ever be able to pass off this cup, as if he can ever go another Sunday in his life without thinking about big, echoing churches. Nicky will never be able to shake the sound of Maria’s voice or untie the noose Luther has so expertly fashioned. As if Nicky’s life hasn’t just been a parody of the Book of Job. He figured out a long time ago that his life isn’t a test of faith as much as it is a long-running fucking joke.

You’re free of it. It clashes against: You can’t escape God, Nicholas.

u know what i changed my mind. its my right as a bisexual to hate picking favorites of anything. here’s the part i was talking about from counting my blessings:

Allison’s ranch echoes with their absence. Empty rooms, empty stables, and too much newfound space in the bathroom. Dan, Matt, and Wymack regularly send letters. Sometimes they’re social, and other times it’s a rushed note asking if she’ll cover a case a few towns away. No matter what bullshit Dan spits out, old habits die hard, which means Allison bitches at Renee about feeling like a fucking errand boy every time Dan asks, then sends back an equally bitchy letter to Dan saying she’ll do it.

Renee typically tolerates this, though she does sometimes remind Allison that she doesn’t have to say yes, that their lives belong to them now. She’ll pause from where she’s cooking breakfast or sponging her horse’s fur or cutting her hair with a steak knife over the bathroom sink to watch Allison silently. We could leave this behind, she says, sometimes out loud and sometimes with her gaze, whenever we please.

Allison never responds, mostly because it just reminds her that Renee is right. Both of them have choices now. They could leave and start anew somewhere else. Nothing ties them here anymore, which means there’s nothing stopping Renee from putting all this behind her, too, maybe buying a train ticket somewhere and disappearing. Any moment, she could pack her bags and walk out the front door, and the only thing worse than her going through with it is Allison breaking down to demand when Renee plans on leaving because Allison is sick of waiting. Her anticipation and dread are like a festering disease.

Renee might think their moorings are built on sand, but Allison knows down to her bones she’s permanently hooked. She’ll never leave this place, not as long as Renee lives in it. Maybe not even then, not while Renee’s memory still haunts it, suspended over dust.

#ty lizzy!!! 💖💖💖💖💖#mutuals #quen gets a question

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nekojitachan · 4 years

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For the ask meme thing, circus au, with marriage proposals or braiding/brushing hair. (Although I am parshal to a non angsty "it's not you, it my enemies, because, well its *Neil*)

*******

Last one!

Ha, this turned out more like an actual story?

Hmm… well, the last one had braiding hair in it so….

Very brief references to violence and a tiny bit of gore (not explicit), fair warning.

*******

Andrew is content as is possible for him (or so he thinks), traveling with the Foxes’ Court circus; he has his brother and cousin with him, the others know to leave him and his alone, it’s a different city every week or so, and it’s the safest he’s been in his life.

He helps set up and tear down the tents as well as handle any customers who get out of hand, while Aaron assists Abby, the crew’s healer, and Nicky helps draw in the crowds. They each have a job they do well, have found a place in Wymack’s ragtag crew of Foxes.

And then the bleeding heart bastard had to go and hire a new animal tamer.

Neil Josten arrived with a bag strapped to his back, two large felines (a black panther and a mountain lion) and such a strong aura of danger that set Andrew’s nerves on edge at mere sight of the young man.

Nicky said it was just his hormones reacting to a major hottie and nearly got stabbed.

The majority of the Foxes were their usual idiot selves and fawned over their newest recruit, desperate to get Neil to reveal something about himself, but not Andrew. He noticed how Neil was careful to never let any real details about his past slip, how his black hair had an odd sheen to it at times, how the dark strands normally fell onto his (too attractive) face to hide his (too pretty) pale blue eyes, and how he never went without his costume’s mask when the circus was open to paying customers.

How well he treated his overgrown pets (Sir and King, what ridiculous names) and put up with a prattling, attention-starved Nicky.

There was a lot of downtime when the circus wasn’t putting on a show, so Andrew took to hanging out around Neil (normally found with his cats when not dragged off by Matt or Allison). At first Neil ignored him, but when the mountain lion (Sir) showed an interest in Andrew (surprisingly not to eat him), Neil enlisted Andrew’s help with the oversized furballs.

While he pitched in to clean their enclosures, feed them and (safely) play with them, Andrew and Neil exchanged a few simple truths – Andrew being fostered out while an infant, Neil traveling around with his mother, who taught him how to raise and train the cats, various likes and dislikes. He pondered how to get to the real truths (who the hell are you?) when there started to be little ‘accidents’ around the circus.

Accidents like rigging coming loose, one of Dan’s horses escaping its stall, Robin realizing that the safety net for the trapeze act wasn’t set up properly….

Odd how it all started after Neil joined.

Odd how Neil grew withdrawn and took to walking around at night with his cats.

Andrew ‘allowed’ his coworker his space at first; after they set up in Binghamton, he snuck out one night to follow Neil and the cats at a distance, only to watch them run between the tents where Bee read cards and Abby sold her potions. There was an odd sound similar to a choked-off cry, which made Andrew curse and burst into a run himself, visions of Neil being harmed in his head as he rounded the corner to find….

To find King mauling some stranger while Sir batted around… something that had once been attached to said stranger. Andrew gulped then scowled at Neil, who was poking around in a leather bag, and felt a return of that ‘danger’ sense when the bastard smiled at him.

He ended up helping to bury a mauled body that night.

Still, unwanted exertion aside, it helped to break the rest of the ice with Neil, who apologized while shoveling and told Andrew that it wasn’t him making Neil so standoffish, but his enemies. It seemed that he and his mother had really been on the run all those years from his powerful and abusive father, and she’d trained the cats to protect Neil.

She’d managed to kill his father a couple years ago (and died in the process), but some of his people were still after Neil – not many, but some. So he continued to run and hide, and picked them off one by one when they came after him. He’d seen the advert for the circus and, tired of running, thought why not try something new?

After that, things changed between Andrew and Neil (funny what burying a body together could do to a relationship). Andrew told Neil more about his childhood (about the abusive foster homes – not everything, but Neil was smart and figured things out after a while, especially after the ‘please’ truth), spent more time together until Sir allowed Andrew to groom him and feed him by hand.

Until Andrew dared to ask Neil ‘yes or no’ and be told ‘yes’, and discover that Neil could be as careful with him, as mindful of boundaries with him as he was with the damn cats.

The Foxes Court traveled around the country and put on show after show, and every couple months Andrew had to help bury a body (he didn’t understand why Neil didn’t let the damn furballs eat everything, and was told it wasn’t good for them – well, being up half the night burying a pile of shredded human wasn’t good for him… at least Neil made up for it during the rest of the night).

It was during their show outside of Belmonte when the Malcolms struck – the last two loyal followers of Neil’s father. Neil had gone to check on the cats one more time before bed, when Andrew heard a faint knock on the door.

It turned out to be Renee, who’d noticed something ‘odd’ while on her way back from returning something to Dan, and so she’d come to Andrew. Suspecting what that ‘odd’ was, Andrew slipped free a knife and went in search of his wayward boyfriend. Renee, who hadn’t always been the darling of the trapeze (more like the terror of the slums back when she’d been Natalie Shields), quickly followed.

The Malcolms had Neil trapped between them, right outside of the cats’ enclosure; he had managed to fend them off until then, not exactly defenseless without his cats to back him up.

Andrew and Renee were more than adequate substitutes for the furballs.

Renee, the bitch, left without helping to bury the bodies.

Neil was in a bit of a daze for the next few days as it sunk in that with the Malcolms dead, he should finally be free of pursuit from his father’s people. Andrew waited on tenterhooks to see if he’d leave the circus and settle down somewhere, and when a week passed finally worked up the nerve to do something.

He marched into the cats’ enclosure where Neil was grooming King and stood in front of his boyfriend. At first he tried to ignore Sir, who leaned against him and demanded that his ears be rubbed, but it was difficult to do that with such a large cat so he obliged while glaring at Neil and asking the gorgeous idiot to move in with him.

To share the same caravan.

Neil might have only been with the circus for about a year, but he knew what it meant when a couple officially shared the same caravan; he gaped at Andrew for several seconds before he stuttered out if Andrew was sure, if it was a joke or not – and got yanked forward.

Andrew said he was not joking, and asked ‘yes or no’. After a slight pause, Neil smiled, a truly beautiful sight to behold, and said ‘yes’ before he leaned in for a kiss, one which Andrew savored right up until they both went down beneath the weight of two overgrown, purring furballs.

*******

Ah, I had fun with these.

#nekojitachanfics #fantasy mashup prompt #aftg #andreil #neil josten #andrew minyard #circus au #sir and king!#sorta #proposal!#renee walker #courting your loved one through the burial of bodies #mumbling into the void #i think we all can agree that i have issues #but that's fine because these boys have issues too

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melonoverlord · 4 years

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Ask meme for Violet

Which parent do they look the most like?

Violet doesn’t know what either of her parents looked like, but from what she knows about biology (which admittedly isn’t a lot, she knows more about robotics) she assumes that she must’ve been a mix of both parents.

Is there a name they were almost given (either by their parents or during character creation)?

Her name has always been Violet and was the first option for her. She doesn’t know if another name would have been better for her, but she likes it well enough. To her, it’s symbolic of where she’s come from.

What were they like as a kid (if they’re currently a child, what would they be like as a teen)?

She doesn’t remember much of anything of when she was a child, but just based on how she is now, she would be very surprised if her younger self was more exuberant or charming than she is currently.

What’s their drinking tolerance and what kind of drunk are they?

As an aasimar, it’s very hard for her to get drunk off regular alcohol (remedials are another story) so she has a very high tolerance, but when she does manage to get drunk, she feels so much and doesn’t want to handle any of it, so she will find a corner to be alone (and if people want to find her and keep her company that’s their prerogative)

Where do they like to be touched?

Violet only loves touches from Perri, and the barest of brushes from Rev, but she secretly likes having her hair played with. It’s so soft and smooth and when it’s played with, she short circuits and becomes a sitting lump. Only Perri knows this fact.

What’s their favorite position (top/bottom/switch/pillow princess/etc.)

As a prostitute she’s played everything from the bottom blushing virgin to the dominant seductress (all under the influence of jubi and tempo of course because if she had to seduce by herself the best she could come up with is ‘dan nicky your bobbies’) but in terms of being in an actual relationship with someone, she’s a top who ranges from a nervous service top to a soft but firm dom. Whichever way so goes, she speaks so gentle and lovingly.

What are their kinks?

Violet’s fairly vanilla. She’s always so chilly that she has a fondness for temperature play (whether fire or wax) and deep down she just wants to be praised. What did you expect from a 19 int, 17 wis artificer? She’s prideful as hell.

How do they feel about adrenaline (roller coasters, extreme sports, etc.)?

In Felicity, there’s not much opportunity for roller coasters or extreme sports, so really the most adrenaline things she gets is when she’s working on machines and there’s the anticipation that comes with putting a potentially explosive device on Perri and seeing what happens. She likes that.

What is their fight or flight response?

Probably more on the freeze end. She doesn’t want to get in trouble and doesn’t know how to react to something unless it’s something she knows she can win against (which is more an intellectual battle). Then she’s more a fighter.

What’s their pain tolerance?

Despite being stronk, Violet does not like getting hurt and bruises pretty easily. It takes her longer to bounce back from pain. She has a constitution slightly higher than a Victorian orphan, but she will make a thousand year stare if she gets hurt.

What character archetype are they the most like (the Innocent, the Hero, etc.)

The Creator, which fits Artificer well. She doesn’t care about fixing the world she’s in, but she knows she has the brains to make it just a little bit more livable. She’s prideful in her brain, and she wants to create machines that can do things that make human labor hard. Also she really just wants an army of robotic alligators, ravens, and black cats.

What TV-Tropes trope would they be?

Eerie Pale Skinned Brunette. She looks like she’d be a vampire (and if there was an official vampire race/class in dnd I would’ve made her a vampire) but she’s just tall, skin white as snow, hair black as night, and a vibe creepy as fuck. But if you get to know her, she’s just extremely awkward with a penchant for machines.

What John Mulaney quote/bit do they most embody?

“Was there ever really a ghost, Mother? Or was the dead Victorian girl you saw just me all along?”

With the exception of love interests and immediate family, who are they closest to?

She’s not sure what Perri is to her. She’s never had a family but he’s been the most important person she’s ever known. She would do almost anything for him and there is no place she goes that she doesn’t want him with her.

What is their moral alignment? What would have to happen for it to shift?

True Neutral. She only cares about her and Perri’s survival and although she has a moral line she doesn’t want to cross (such as murder), she is willing to make a lot of personal sacrifices to make sure she and Perri can eat (such as cons, prostitution, and being bought as a bride).

Are they a morning person? What are they like before 8am?

Violet loves being awake as long as possible, so she tries to be up very early so she can take walks around Felicity. She feels more peaceful in the early morning, so she actually smiles a lot more, but its all real soft smiles. She also loves walking around markets to see people starting to sell food because its fresh.

What are they like when they’re tired?

A tired Violet is a frustrated Violet. She doesn’t often speak against people, but when she’s tired she’s always five seconds away from snapping and telling people they’re all dumbasses and they need to let her sleep.

What are they like in arguments?

Violet doesn’t usually get into arguments, either because she scares people too much for people to stay long enough to argue with her or because Perri calms it down. The only way she gets into arguments is if someone is being absurdly stupid and wrong and she’s just “I’m not even going to dignify that with a correction... actually if I do not it will drive me insane, you are a fool.”

What is their dominant hand?

Right

Out of 10, how happy are they? How happy do they think they are?

She’s happier than she was at the brothel, that’s for sure. She lives somewhere that’s not flooded, not selling her body for food, she has her first workshop and she lives with Perri and a man who although is an emotional mess, is not insufferable (and maybe even her friend?) Of course, she knows that Rev could get tired of her at any time and kick her out, so she’s trying not to be too hopeful. So overall 6.9/10.

#imaturtlebug #violet neoma #submerged campaign #my characters

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itsstickball · 5 years

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How do you imagine ppl/teams reacting when they eventually figure out the ‘my husband’ comment¿¿(I love your rivalry hc!!)

I think there are three groups of people who notice the comment at all.

Group number one: The conspiracy fans. They’ve been fighting over which of Neil’s teammates he’s been secretly dating for years. The ship wars started in earnest his fifth year of college and never really died down. Is his husband one of his current teammates? Is it one of his former teammates? Is it the supposed boyfriend of one of his teammates? There’s that weird tension he has with Jean Moreau too, they could totally be fucking. Unsurprisingly, a large portion of people ship him with Matt - despite the numerous articles and pictures that cite him as the best man in his and Dan’s wedding several years prior. (Neil really can’t even say he’s surprised by the fans who claim he’s married to both of them). Half of them are ecstatic that their ship could be the right one and the other half are mourning the swift sinking of their hetero-titanics.

Group two: Gay right warriors.Now this is technically two groups of people. There are those who find the footage and make every type of rainbow-overlaid gif you can imagine. They write posts and articles about bravery, about being gay in sports (it’s mlm, not just gay, a small remnant of them chide), about how they’re inspired to live boldly by Neil. They are internet denizens, news anchors, sponsorship deals, fans.And, unfortunately, just as loud, there are the homophobes. They also talk about homosexuality in sports, about Neil’s troubled past and tenuous relationships with teammates. They exist in the same crevices as the people they spew hate against. They bring up a God twisted into their own image and weaponize their words. As opposite as they are, both factions have the same effect. It’s not Neil they care about, not really. They push, and use him as an example, but really, they’d do the exact same thing if it was Oprah. For them, it’s about the agenda.

Group three: Those in the know.Predictably, the Fox group chat blows up. Neil stops even trying to read after Nicky starts typing out his exclamations one letter at a time. He also receives several texts from his current teammates, a call from his manager that he ignores and seven voicemails from Kevin that lead to him turning his phone off altogether. The ride home is quite pleasant after that. When he turns the device back on the following morning (after letting it vibrate non-stop on the counter for twenty minutes while the rest of his missed messages queued up), he finds mostly a lot of support. Nicky, of course is indignant because he never quite got over the fact that they hadn’t told him they were getting married at all (He’d found out three months after the fact) and here he was, getting blindsided by the announcement again. Neil smiled at the various messages of support from the old Foxes, including a gruff warning from Wymack to stop giving him grey hairs. The smile morphed into an eye-roll at Kevin’s messages - four of which got deleted without him even listening to them (a good thing probably, the sixth one was just Kevin complaining that Neil insulted his dick on live television). He did call his manager back and promise to come in early before their next practice to talk PR. Not all of his current teammates knew he was in a relationship with another man, but of those who didn’t he’s confident he can handle any negative reactions without benching anyone. Mostly, he knows, management just wants to make sure everyone is on the same page. It’s one of the reasons he likes this team.

Ironically enough, big fans of the rivalry don’t think much of it. Unless they fall into one of the above categories, they’re far more interested in the fact that Andrew effectively blew up his twitter for the sole purpose of getting Neil Josten to insult himself on live television. If that isn’t peak rival behavior, then they don’t know what is. He insulted his appearance, his attitude, his obsession with exy. And again, he had to flood his twitter and the mean tweets tag in order to monopolize Neil’s airtime. Before this (and after, tbh), they were lucky if they got one tweet from him a year. The “he’s ugly too” tweet becomes a meme and shows up on many a glitter posterboard in the opposing teams’ sections at Neil’s games. (He likes to take pictures of them and send them to Andrew to be annoying). He doesn’t ever comment on who his husband is, though.

In the end, of course the only reaction that matters is Andrew’s.

Ten minutes after he turns his smart phone off and two after he walks into the door of his apartment, a dingy, cracked plastic brick of a flip phone tries to rattle its way out of the top drawer of Neil’s nightstand. He doesn’t bother looking at the caller ID before flipping it open. Only one person knows he has the thing, let alone remembers the number for it.

“I didn’t know you’d taken up writing love letters.” Neil says into the receiver, his smile evident in his voice.

“I didn’t know you were planning on announcing your relationship status to the world.”

Andrew’s rebuttal is calm; he’s not angry. Neil can tell even over the phone. Still, he sits down hard on the edge of the bed.

“Oh.” He says, scrubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands as his words from earlier come back to him. Even with all of the hubub from the Foxes, the implications of what he’d said hadn’t really sunk in. He tells Andrew as much.

Andrew, thankfully is neither surprised nor tired of dealing with him. He hums non-committally then tells Neil he’s trending on twitter.

“Still think no one likes a smart mouth?”

Neil grins into the silence, imagining the way Andrew’s mouth flattens into a line when he thinks his husband is being particularly bothersome.

“What I think is that I’d still rather hear you choking on a dick.”

“Yeah?”

Neil’s grin grows to the edges of his face and he flops back onto the bed. He had other plans for the morning before meeting Kevin for lunch, but they can wait. Andrew is transferring to his team in three months. But until then, he’s going to soak up every possible opportunity to spend time with him. After all, he is Neil’s husband.

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keatondj · 5 years

Text

My Personal Ranking of Enya’s Discography

Before I really started getting into pop music and the music of today, before I was a true Little Monster or Arianator, before all of that, I had one true music idol: Enya. Enya is one of the most divine artists of our time, I think.

I knew many of her songs from dancing to them at ballroom concerts or gigs (such as It’s In The Rain, Dreams Are More Precious, and Wild Child), but I never took the time to listen to how beautiful they were. I dug out Watermark from my parent’s CD cabinet one day in my junior year of high school, and became completely enraptured. I wouldn’t go a day without listening to her; yes, I would even fall asleep to her music. I just think she has the most incredible ear for rapturous orchestration, otherworldly vocal arrangements and layering, and heavenly melodies. I always look for music that is just beautiful, and she is the epitome of that for me.

Certain albums speak more to me than others, but all of her work is just absolutely divine. I’d love to share my thoughts and express my gratitude for her incredible work.

Reminder: this is my opinion. Everyone has a different ear, and certain sounds and songs resonate with different people. I’m just sharing my personal thoughts and experiences with these albums.

8. And Winter Came... (2008)

Although Christmas is my favorite holiday and the holiday season is just a sweet time of year, I’m not terribly fond of holiday releases. Other than Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”, many modern holiday releases are not noteworthy, and can’t live up to the true holiday classic we know and love. This album, unfortunately, falls in that category.

As a whole, this album just falls flat compared to the majesty of the rest of her work. Certain songs just don’t gel with me like “One Toy Soldier” and “My! My! Times Flies”; the use of the electric guitar in the latter just sounds corny, and I don’t enjoy it.

The album has its moments: “Dreams Are More Precious” as I mentioned is one of my introductions to Enya and it’s also one of my favorite songs of hers, the title song follows the tradition of a killer title song on an Enya album, and the “Oíche Chiúin (Chorale)” is Enya vocal-layering at its best, and it’s wonderful to hear such a beloved holiday hymn in another language.

It’s not an awful album; it’s not just heavy in my Enya rotation, we’ll say.

Favorite Songs: “And Winter Came...”, “Journey of the Angels”, “Dreams Are More Precious”, “Stars and Midnight Blue”, “Oíche Chiúin (Chorale)”

7. Amarantine (2005)

This is another album that just doesn’t stand out too much for me. I actually think it’s quite a lovely album, and the fact that it has the first use of the Loxian language that Roma Ryan invented is exciting; “Water Shows The Hidden Heart” is probably my favorite song on the album from the use of the language and the fact that it’s just a really gorgeous song.

I don’t have a lot to say, really. It’s a fine album, but it just doesn’t resonate with me as much as her other albums.

Favorite Songs: “Amarantine”, “It’s In The Rain”, “If I Could Be Where You Are”, “A Moment Lost”, “Water Shows The Hidden Heart”

6. A Day Without Rain (2000)

This is an interesting album for me. It contains some of her strongest work and some of my most favorite of her work, but it’s not a favorite of mine either. I think the album artwork just speaks to quintessential Enya (and may be my earliest picture of Enya in my mind, I’m not sure), but it’s not my quintessential Enya album. The critics of the time absolutely hated it; I don’t necessarily agree with them, but I think I understand.

The album is incredibly top heavy, in my opinion. The title song is pure bliss, “Only Time” obviously took the world by storm for good reason (and unfortunately in the meme world as well, which I don’t appreciate), and “Deora Ar Mo Chroí” is one of the most beautiful and tragic songs I’ve ever heard. After “Flora’s Secret” (another song I danced to in ballroom), it really loses steam and power. I can hardly ever finish the album for this reason.

It’s musically one of her most gorgeous albums, but it’s not the most impactful or inventive.

Favorite Songs: “A Day Without Rain”, “Only Time”, “Deora Ar Mo Chroí”, “Flora’s Secret”, “Pilgrim”

5. Enya (1987) / The Celts (1992)

At first listen, I really did not like this album. I thought it wasn’t pretty enough, it didn’t have the key Enya elements, and it was too weird. Listening to it more and more, those are actually the reasons I really quite enjoy it now.

It’s nothing like the rest of her work, which makes it so unique. She was just starting to find her musical sound and sensibilities, and this involved a lot more experimentation on her part. It’s so musically interesting and diverse, and so wonderfully late 80′s. It is a compilation of songs used on the show The Celts, but the fact that it holds up so well as an album itself is remarkable.

This album was a perfect starting point for the rest of her career and it holds up as a great album now.

Favorite Songs: “Aldebaran”, “Deireadh an Tuath”, “Fairytale”, “Boadicea”, “Dan y Dwr”

4. Dark Sky Island (2015)

You have no idea how excited I was to be getting a brand new album from Enya after I started being a huge fan. I wasn’t sure if we would get a new one after And Winter Came..., and little 19 year old me was geeking out too much at the thought of a new Enya album. To say the least, I was not disappointed at all.

This is one of her strongest releases in a long time; 7 years break from releasing music really benefited her, and she came back more powerful than ever. This is such a solid album, and I definitely had it on loop when it first came out.

I will say that none of my favorite tracks stand out against her earlier work, and there is no true powerhouse of the album. It is a very cohesive album, however, and that is how it is so successful. It’s a pleasure to listen to from start to finish.

I sure do hope we get more records from her in the future. I would be so eternally grateful if she could bless us just once or twice more.

Favorite Songs: “The Humming”, “The Forge Of The Angels”, “I Could Never Say Goodbye”, “Dark Sky Island”, “Diamonds On The Water”

3. The Memory Of Trees (1995)

I got this album for Christmas a few years back along with And Winter Came..., and believe me, I was listening to this album non-stop. This is the album that solidified my status as a true Enya fan.

For a while, this was my favorite Enya album, and maybe my favorite album of all time. However, my opinion has shifted, and I realize that I was just devastatingly in love with a few certain tracks. Like A Day Without Rain, this album is very top heavy for me, with the last few tracks not carrying the power of the beginning of the album.

“Athair Ar Neamh” took my breath away when I first heard it; I think it is her most beautiful song to date. I was just absolutely ravished by the haunting nature of the song with the signature Enya production behind it. It’s a song I can always throw on to feel comforted.

All in all, this is an absolutely gorgeous album, and it’s part of the reason I’m so in love with her work.

Favorite Songs: “The Memory Of Trees”, “Pax Deorum”, “Athair Ar Neamh”, “Hope Has A Place”, “Once You Had Gold”

2. Watermark (1989)

This is the album that catapulted Enya into international stardom, and for good reason. This entire album is ethereal and blissful perfection. It really creates its own world and transports you on a journey filled with desire, contentment, and adventure.

It’s the first full Enya album I listened to, and I can always find joy and comfort in its gorgeous melodies, her haunting vocals, and the spectacular production on Nicky Ryan’s part. “Evening Falls” and “Na Laetha Geal M'Óige” were the two songs that established my sensibility towards Enya’s softer and slower songs, and I hold every other song to their standard, basically.

There is not a bad song on this album, and it definitely could take the number one spot. This is the perfect starter album for anyone trying to get into Enya, and it’s one of the most beautiful albums ever made.

Favorite Songs: “Watermark”, “On Your Shore”, “Exile”, “Evening Falls”, “Na Laetha Geal M'Óige”

1. Shepherd Moons (1991)

This is the quintessential Enya album in my opinion. It checks every mark, and then some. Everything about this album is just so perfect, incredible, powerful, etc. This is where she hit her stride, and delivered her most incandescent work. I can truly escape into another world when I listen to this album. It’s an album I need all the time; it’s one of the albums that really defines me.

Every song is just so good; there’s not a dud at all. The ones that impacted me the most are “Caribbean Blue” and “Marble Halls”; both epitomize the qualities I love most about Enya. They are my two most favorite songs of hers, but I’m going to say that “Marble Halls” takes the cake for the top spot. It’s not an original work of hers (funnily enough), but it’s just the most gorgeous song ever. Nothing else to it; it’s absolutely flawless, divine, and any other adjective meaning “perfection”.

I love this album so much, and I will forever be indebted to Enya’s brilliance and majesty because of this album.

Enya is an absolute goddess of music, and I hope she knows how much impact she has to all her fans around the world. She is just amazing, and I will love her and her art forever.

#enya #watermark #shepherd moons #the celts #the memory of trees #a day without rain #amarantine #and winter came...#dark sky island

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happyminyards · 6 years

Note

Hey there. I'm one of those folks reposting your break-up-wait-why-did-we-break-up posts. Because they are SO GREAT! Part of what draws me in is how this/your Andrew finds another way to respect Neil's boundaries + agency. You said you're primarily writing academic work now. Well, IF you are so inclined/have time to make room, would you consider writing more in this vein? Maybe what happens next when they *are* calling + visiting? Maybe they try sexting? Don't care WHAT, but I do care for MORE❤

arrives seven months late with whatever this is, part 1 here but not really needed, this is just long distance shmoop and feelings

hello yes one order of long-distance communication coming up. thank you SO MUCH for your kind words!!

“You know Aaron actually send me a meme yesterday, you think he’s forgiven me?” Neil asked, curled up at the end of the couch, his laptop on the coffee table showing Andrew’s somewhat pixellated face.

“Aaron said he’d steal my knives and stab you himself if you, and I quote, ‘mess this shit up again’,” Andrew replied, leaning back against his pillow, “I told him that I called dibs on that five years ago.” he shifted again, probably trying to get the blanket wrapped around his feet like he refused to admit he liked, and Neil ached to brush his fingers over the skin behind his knees

“I’m still putting memes down as progress, and according to Robin it was a good one at that.”

“There’s a ranking?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m just a lowly exy captain with no taste in internet humour, apparently” Neil smirked when he hears Andrew huff a laugh, but looked down, swallowing to build up the courage to ask “Hey, Drew?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I keep the phone on again tonight? Just. It’s been a weird week.”

Maybe Neil imagined it, but the corners of Andrew’s eyes seemed to soften the tiniest bit, “Yes, you can. I don’t mind.”

Neil had left Andrew’s place with a new stolen jersey, two worn soft hoodies that he didn’t plan to put into the wash, and his emotions in a swirling mess

They had spent the weekend talking, slowly rekindling themselves, Neil doing his best to skirt around the issue of basically no sleep and trying to keep the rest of the Foxes from figuring out his slow collapse. But Andrew could still see through his smoke and mirrors, could draw out a sigh and an honest answer with the touch of his thumb to Neil's cheekbone

So they talked about the future, where they’d go from here.

“It’s simple. every time you thought about telling me something, sending me a message or a picture, you do that. You don’t ignore it, you just send me a picture of that stupid sign at the coffee shop.” Andrew had summed it up, the way he stared at his cup for a few seconds before the only indicator of his unease with the open talk. He had gotten better at it over the years, but Neil suspected that the break hadn’t exactly helped in healing old wounds.

“I just don’t want to annoy you. Or distract you.”

“Neil. as much as you annoy me sometimes, I much prefer that over not knowing whether you’re about to keel over from sleep deprivation.”

Neil blew out a huffed breath “That’s not what I want it to be about. We’re not doing this because I apparently function better with you around. If I send you something or call you I want it to be because we both enjoy it.” he shifted uneasily, keeping his toes tucked under Andrew's thighs, trying to ignore the way Andrew kept drawing small circles on his ankle almost unconsciously, “I don’t want you back just so I can sleep. I could have figured that out. I want you back because having you there makes everything easier, yes, but it also makes everything better. I love having you around, I want to talk to you just because it’s you and you’re, well, you’re my favourite person.”

He knew his head must have been fire engine red at this point, and his eyes kept flickering over to the book on the shelf, the cat dish by the door, the picture of the twins at graduation day on the wall

(He remembered Nicky beaming at finally getting a picture of the two of them, how he kept calling out obscene things to try and get them to smile until Aaron finally cracked and started laughing, leading to Andrew throwing his brother a look that could be called slightly bemused, the corners of his mouth twitching. He also knew Nicky had his own copy of the picture at his house in Germany, and according to Erik kept showing it off as “My cousins, the doctor-to-be and the exy star”)

Andrew looked at him, his hand closing around his ankle, biting his lip before letting out a slow breath: “I have pictures on my phone. Of the cat, and some random Exy magazine with Boyd’s badly photoshopped face on it that I wanted to send to you. It could fill a whole wing at the damn MOMA at this point. I told you yesterday that I would have driven down to see you. I’m not here to be your sleeping pill, and I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do.”

And Neil had inched forwards, dropping his head on Andrew’s shoulder and pressing a kiss against the hinge of his jaw. “It’ll work this time, right?”, he whispered against Andrew’s skin, slightly timid in the face of his own vulnerability.

“We want it to,” Andrew replied, pushing his nose into Neil’s hair, “We’ll make it work.”

[n] - “i hate this.”

“i’ll be home in ten, i’ll call you.”

[n] - “no, don’t. it’s fine. i’m fine. i just.”

[n] - “i miss you so goddamn much.”

[n] - “i just want to see you. no pixels no phone no anything. just see you”

[n] - “sometimes i wake up and i think you’re there because the blankets you left when you moved out are all bunched up behind me and i can feel them at my back and i go to touch you and there’s nothing.”

[n] - “and it just hurts.” [n] - “but it’s almost worth it because for that split second i think you’re there. i dream about you and then i wake up and for a second you’re actually here.”

[n] - “but you’re not.”

[n] - “i’m sorry. i know you’re busy and this isn’t the right place. and it isn’t your fault. this is all just screwed up.”

“i miss you too”

[n] - “andrew”

“i’ll call you, okay? i’m almost home.”

“I can’t believe you actually send me a care package.” Andrew drawled, but Neil could hear the undercurrent of amusement and found himself squishing the phone closer to his ear

“I have half your closet in my drawer at this point. Figured it was time to even the score a bit,” he replied, lazily stirring his pasta around and watching the bubbles break at the surface.

“That explains the jersey and the hoodie, but not the rest.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t been missing those bars, the café basically went bankrupt without you buying up their stock.”

Andrew had gotten weirdly obsessed with the chocolate oat bars the small coffee shop just off campus sold in his fourth year, and Neil blamed Renee entirely. She had dragged him there the first time, after all. Neil still found the occasional crumb in some of his jackets from Andrew smuggling those things, “And the book looked like something you’d be interested in, that’s all.”

“It is,” Andrew answered after a small pause, and Neil considered how he could manoeuvre around draining his pasta one-handed before he decided to just drag it off the heat. Let it be soggy. The speaker on his phone was rubbish anyway.

Neil leaned back against the counter, absentmindedly rubbing at a stain with his thumb. “Do you like it? Not just the book, the whole thing. I just thought it’s one of those things, right?. I wanted to send you some of my clothes. And I wanted you to have those bars and the book. Just like the pictures.”

Andrew huffed a small breath, his voice quiet, and Neil wanted so badly to just see his face, “Yeah Neil, I liked it.”

They stayed silent. Neil in his shoddy dorm kitchen, his pasta slowly turning cold and mushy, his roommates discarded plate in the sink. He could imagine Andrew in his house, on the couch or just out the back door, twirling a cigarette between his fingers. He had given up smoking before graduating, but his hands still needed something to hold on sometimes. Or maybe he was in his bedroom, the unpacked contents of the package around him. Neil wanted to be there, regardless.

“The cat toy was unneeded though.”

“That cat needs something to play with, even I know that.”

“She’s not my cat, Josten.”

“You sent me a picture of her sleeping on your chest literally a week ago.”

“That was confidential.”

“That was adorable, Andrew. I made it my home screen. She’s your cat. Take the damn toy.”

Neil woke up with a start, only realizing his phone vibrating on the bedside table had woken him up after a second of startled panic, picking it up and squinting at the brightness of the screen

[andrew] - “can i call you?”

He hit call on Andrew’s number before he could even think about it, dread rising back up at the back of his throat.

“Neil.” Andrew’s voice was low, and it took Neil a moment to place the forced calm in it.

“Hey,” he replied softly, scooting out of bed quietly and making his way to the couch in the living room. There was a blanket on there that Nicky had left behind when he went back to Germany that always reminded Neil of him, and he wrapped his legs in it now, “Hey, I’m here.”

There was nothing on the line apart from Andrew’s shallow, fast breathing, so familiar to Neil after years of sleeping in the same bed and waking up to nightmares creeping at the edge of the window.

“D’you want me to talk?”, he asked, voice soft and quiet both for the sake of his roommates and Andrew.

Neil could hear Andrew shifting, the almost-not-there sound of his feet on the wooden floor of his bedroom as he went over to the window, the slight creak in the handle as he turned it to let some air in.

“Yeah. Talk.”

“Dan stopped by today, she was on her way to a conference,” Neil knew this game from too much practice, knew the exact sort of topics and tone to use, “Some of the freshmen wanted to pin her down and force her to be our new coach, but I guess that’s what happens if you don’t know her drills”

He could hear Andrew huffing and felt himself relax the tiniest bit. Reactions were good, and he didn’t know if he could live with himself if his voice wasn’t enough tonight.

So he kept talking, about Dan’s commentary on the team’s form, about her ruffling his hair when she hugged him goodbye, about the pictures Allison had sent him from her trip to Portugal.

Nothing too complicated, nothing too emotional. Nothing about how he’d had a nagging worry at the back of his head all day when Andrew didn’t reply to his messages, or the fact that he had once again found himself staring at the prices for last minute plane tickets, toying with the idea, the team and school be damned. Neil could see the clock in the corner lazily shifting from 2 to 3 am, and settled in deeper into the couch cushions.

“Oh, and Dan brought me something, actually,” he found himself saying, the end of the sentence trailing off into the darkness of the room.

“What did she bring you?” Andrew asked, his voice rough but had lost the tension that was all over it just 15 minutes ago.

“Some pictures, of your graduation party.” Neil could basically feel the slight hitch on Andrew’s next breath and leaned his forehead on his drawn up knees. He hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but the night apparently made him lose his head just a little bit. “She hadn’t sorted through them yet when she was here the last time, but she found a few she thought we might want. She’ll send the rest to Nicky and Aaron.”

Dan had mentioned the rest of the pictures, of Nicky in his sparkly graduation cap chugging a bottle of champagne at 3am and Aaron falling asleep on the couch next to his twin, snuggling an oversized plush toy bear dressed as a doctor that the cheerleaders had gifted him. But Neil had only nodded, staring at the pieces off glossy photo picture she had stuffed into his hands.

“There’s a few of us,” he started, clearing his throat slightly, “On the armchair. I don’t really remember it, it must have been late.”

“During the karaoke.” Neil could basically see him, the faint light from the streetlights spilling on his hair, the cowlick near his ear that always appeared after sleeping, the crinkles in his old faintly blue sleep shirt and he closed his eyes, willing to keep the longing at bay.

“Probably,” he replied, shifting his head on his knees so he wouldn’t muffle the phone, “they’re not perfect, some of them are out of focus and the colours are all weird from the lights the girls dragged in but,” he cut himself off, pressing his mouth closed. This had never been supposed to be so hard.

He could hear Andrew breathing out again before his voice came through the phone, “You were in my lap, sideways. You had been wound up all day, but you were relaxed then. Laughing at Boyd murdering Holding Out For A Hero. There was glitter in your hair from all the horrid party hats. Your shirt kept slipping off your shoulder because you mixed them up and put on the bigger one that morning.”

“You kissed me,” Neil whispered, not wanting to interrupt Andrew but the words slipping out anyway, “When Nicky and Katelyn were doing Summer Nights. Dan got it in the background. Everyone’s looking at the two of them, but we’re just. There. Together. Your hands are under my shirt”

“I didn’t want to leave,” Andrew said, and the words seemed to crackle in hundreds of miles between them.

“I didn’t want you to leave either,” Neil replied, feeling his heart clench, “I thought about that night a lot, you know. When we were,” he paused, biting his lower lip, “Not us.”

“Me too.” There was a pause before Andrew spoke again, his voice just a bit less vulnerable than a minute ago. Neil admired his ability to try and dredge them up from below, “Give some of them to me, when I’m coming down.”

“Two weeks,” Neil smiled slightly, half bitter half happy, at the mention of Andrew’s nearing visit. There was a countdown on his phone, but hearing it made it seem more real.

“Two weeks.”

Neil sat up, trying to blow the hair off his forehead. It was almost 3:30 am, but he knew he couldn’t just go back to sleep now, and he knew Andrew would be feeling the same way.

“Hey, you wanna watch a movie?” he asked, already pushing the blanket off his legs, “I just need to get my laptop.”

Andrew huffed, “Yeah, I do. My choice, though. I’m not watching another Mission Impossible.”

“Admit it, you like them,” Neil said, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth while he got up and padded to the desk to retrieve his laptop.

“Lies and slander,”

A few minutes later Neil was curled up again, his laptop on his legs and the phone on speaker on his shoulder, the world not looking quite as blurry with the shine of the laptop screen and the sound of Andrew navigating the Netflix menu through the speaker.

“Hey, Neil?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re trying. We’re making it work.”

“I know. And just two more weeks. I don’t think I’ll let you leave the room.”

“And what if I want to say hello to our darling coach?”

“I think you’ll be quite happy here, with me.”

There was a pause before Andrew’s reply came back, sending a river of molten sunshine through Neil’s core, “Yeah, I guess I will be.”

#foxsoulcourt #the foxhole court #andreil #tfc #this took me SO LONG #shout out to zara larsson's ruin my life for the final push #i also wanted to include a scene of them Meeting Up but it didn't fit o if you want that i'm wiggling my eyebrows you know #the tldr of this is i love Communication and Feelings and Angst btw #mine #andrewneil

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nickireadstfc · 6 years

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The King’s Men, Chapter 7 – In Case Of Zombie Apocalypse, Grab Your Racquets And Run

In which the saga of Gays On Rooftops continues, everyone is too sassy to handle, I cry at some beautiful Andrew/Renee normalcy, and Andreil are Andreil.

Sounds good? Then it’s time for Nicki to read The King’s Men.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, I had always heard of The Rooftop Scene™ from fandom, but oh, had I been a fool to assume there was just one of them.

Lads, we’re back to being in high places we shouldn’t be, and we’re in for a fun time.

“Give me one good reason to not push you off the side.”

Neil shook a cigarette stick out and lit it. “I’d drag you down with me. It’s a long way down.”

Two sentences into this conversation, and Neil is already being a sassy little shit.

Now this is the content I signed up for.

“I hate you. (…) Ninety percent of the time the very sight of you makes me want to commit murder. I think about carving the skin from your body and hanging it out as a warning to every other fool who thinks he can stand in my way.”

“What about the other ten?” Neil asked.

Perceptive little dude, look at you! Actually noticing stuff Andrew says, I’m so proud.

Also, I’m hoping this was a rhetorical question, because if not I may take my “perceptive” back.

“I warned you not to put a leash on me.”

“I didn’t,” Neil said. “You put that leash on yourself when you told me to stay no matter what. Don’t be mad at me just because I was smart enough to pick up the other end of it.”

I want it to please be known that I am resisting about 20 kinky leash jokes right now.

Thankfully, Andrew waltzes on with the conversation before I can utter any.

Good boy.

“I don’t think it was the money (…) why they chased you so long. I imagine at some point they realized it was far more important to hurt you than to recoup anything they’d lost.”

“So you stay, but you still won’t hit me.”

Neil has become being such a sassy shit to Andrew, I can’t even tell you how much I’m loving this.

Homeboy takes no shit from no one anymore.

Despite Andrew’s unfriendly words, his expression and tone were calm. He said these things like they meant nothing to him. Neil didn’t know if it was a mask or the truth. Was Andrew hiding that rage from Neil or from himself? Maybe the monster was buried until Neil crossed another unforgiveable line.

And of course, Neil being Neil, he instantly searches for that line exactly.

Neil and Andrew, pretty much.

“Good,” Neil said at length. (…) “I want to see you lose control.”

Damn right you do, honey.

Neil feigned confusion as he got to his feet. “Am I bothering you?”

“Beyond the telling.”

“Interesting,” Neil said. “Last week you said nothing gets under your skin.”

OOOHHHHHHHHHH.

Neil, my boy my dude my homie, you are on FIRE today.

Neil mic-drops out of the conversation and gets off the roof – only to be immediately thrown to the ground by the angrier, more vocal version of Andrew.

After several people are needed to wrestle Aaron and Neil free from each other, we find out what exactly has our second favourite twin’s orange boxers in a twist:

“Katelyn’s refusing to see me or talk to me until Andrew and I get counselling.”

DAMN, GIRL.

I knew Katelyn was badass, but this has just propelled her to the very top of the Takes No Shit Charts.

KATELYN YOU WONDERFUL TOUGH HEADSTRONG ORANGE SUNSHINE, LET ME LOVE YOU.

Nicky’s jaw dropped, but it sounded more admiring than anything. “Damn, Neil.”

Same, Nicks.

Aaron shot him a livid look. “Don’t you dare take his side.”

“Why not?” Nicky asked. “It’s not like you ever let me take yours.”

Shots have been fired, tea has been spilled, Aaron has been thoroughly shut up.

What is up with this team and sassy remarks today, you guys. Wonderful.

Neil reunited with Dan’s crowd, who immediately begin questioning the previous violent (and also German) exchange, as any sane person would do.

“What the hell is going on?”

“I’m doing what you asked me to do,” Neil said. “I’m fixing them. (…) If a bone isn’t healing straight, you have no choice but to break it. They’ll be fine.”

Neil has been taking metaphor style notes from Andrew, apparently.

Matt leaned against the doorframe and arched a brow at Neil. “That’s not exactly reassuring. From you ‘fine’ could mean anything from ‘I’m going to hitchhike across the state’ to ‘I’m beaten to a bloody pulp but I can still hold a racquet’.”

Damn, Matt.

This squad is not messing around today.

Matt, Dan and Allison play a fun goodnight game of Getting Drunk Off Their Asses, and while Neil and Renee clean up the mess afterwards, they have a lil talk about y’know, boys.

“Thank you,” she said, “for reaching him when I couldn’t.”

This just in: I still love Renee, thank you for asking.

Renee confirms what we kind of knew already: When Andrew started watching Kevin and the monsters’ backs, Renee was tasked with watching those of the rest. She even offered to take Neil when he arrived, bless her heart. But of course, we know how quickly Andrew snatched Neil’s dramatic ass up into his crew.

“That being said, I tried taking you off his hands at one point.” When Neil looked at her in surprise, Renee affected an innocent look that for once was not entirely convincing. “Andrew refused on the grounds he wouldn’t wish you on anyone except a mortician.”

“Drama queen,” Neil muttered.

First off – lmao @ Andrew for being the drama queen we treasure him for, and lmao @ Neil for finally commenting on it.

But second – how am I to interpret that not-convincing innocent look? Did she just wanna protect Neil from Andrew and now feels about it, for not trusting her friend enough? Or does she know about Andrew’s, ahem, possible ulterior motives?

I’m betting on the latter. As if Andrew doesn’t talk to her about his crushes during their BFF sleepovers. As if.

In order to avoid his teammates’ bad spirit about, well, everything at the moment, when it comes to warm-up on the court the next day, Neil – surprise! – joins Renee and Andrew on their jog.

A lil wholesome conversation will go a long way, folks, even if that long way just goes around the Court walls.

And what does my favourite Brotp in this universe do on their mighty distinguished Break Walks?

They discusss hypothetical WWIII scenarios.

LOVELY.

Seriously, I love this. This is exactly the kind of wholesome normal best-friends-havin-a-chat content I signed up for, and I can’t believe my poor heart is finally getting what it deserves.

Neil is equally delighted by the Goalie BFFs’ choice of debate subject, and his thirsty ass is immediately back the next day.

And it gets better – today, it’s zombie apocalypses.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSES.

Surviving on the run was Neil’s forte, and it was interesting to see how his priorities compared with theirs. Renee stressed the importance of collecting survivors, which Andrew shot down immediately.

Because of course she did, because of course he did.

I LOVE THIS.

Every single thing about this is gold and I want a billion fanarts.

Neil wondered what he would do if an invasion really happened. (…) Chances were it’d be instinctive to abandon all of them if the undead put in a ravenous appearance. It wasn’t exactly an uplifting realization, but Neil could accept the ugly truths about himself.

This, this is so important to me. Neil isn’t magically over his entire upbringing now that he’s got friends, he’ll maybe always have these instincts his mother put in him, but he’s coming to accept this about himself. He’s being open and honest with himself, even if it means addressing bad emotions and bad truths and really man have I mentioned I love Neil Josten recently.

In other news: Renee is apparently texting buddies with Jean now!

And I’m p sure they allowed outside contact with the Foxy Orange Scum beneath their Holy Feathery Feet, so Jean is probably breaking a billion laws (and maybe risking a few fingers) sending memes to Renee, so props to you, my man. You have my approval to be engaging in contact with my fave sweetheart.

Neil is equally on board with this.

“I’m hoping she can weaking his blind loyalty.” Neil thought about it a moment longer, then said, “Maybe that’s why Matt stopped betting on the two of you?”

This is either Neil being the oblivious fuck that we know and treasure, or Neil poking the bear.

Either way, good shit right there if I do say so myself.

To close this chapter off – we’re in for another Prime Andreil Deep Talk. This time featuring: Money!

“It isn’t charity,” Neil said. “It’s revenge. It wasn’t my money in the first place, remember? I told you my father skimmed it from the Moriyamas. If you take some for your car, you’re making Riko fix what his fans destroyed.”

Can your stolen money also fix Riko’s attitude, asking for a friend.

“Revenge is a motivator only for the weak-willed,” Andrew said.

“If you believed that you wouldn’t be planning on how to kill Proust.”

OHHHH burn. Did I mention I’m here for Neil Take No Shit Josten lately?

Also yikes. Almost forgot about that guy.

I’m intrigued to see whether he actually appears in this book.

Andrew retaliates this comment by blowing a fuckton of smoke in Neil’s face, which Neil retaliates by breaking Andrew’s cigarette.

Actual fucking children, I tell you.

“You bought the last car with someone’s death. You can buy this one with someone’s life – my life. That money was going to buy my next name when I ran away from here. Thanks to you I don’t need it anymore.”

Yeah, hi, if anyone needs me I’ll be subtly crying in a corner.

“Make a new deal with me. (…) What would you give me?” Neil asked.

“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”

Neil frowned at him, lost, but Andrew didn’t waste his breath explaining.

Ah yes, and here we are back again with Neil being an oblivious idiot. Jeez, boi.

Ily, but use ya brain.

Mirculously, Neil does, but quite differently than I expected him to – he convinces Andrew to give up cracker dust.

Nice, I guess. One addiction less. Kind of anticlimactic, though.

Next!

Andrew thought it over a minute, then flicked his cigarette at Neil. It singed the material where it bounced off his shirt. (…)

“I’m going to take your temper tantrum as a yes,” Neil said.

The sass does not stop, you guys.

Wonderful.

If you like what I do here and you want me to continue writing fun things for you, why not buy me a coffee? Every lil bit helps, getting me through uni and all that jazz. Thanks so much!

#tfc #the foxhole court #aftg #all for the game #the king's men #tkm #nora sakavic #nicki reads tfc #this was a bit of a filler chapter but I still had fun with it #and a day earlier than I promised #hah suck that procrastination

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okneiljos · 6 years

Text

aftg headcanons pt II

(some more of my ramblings)

• matt and aaron are roommates now since they switched so they’re not just sitting in silence nor talking to each other and ignoring each other’s presences for however years they have left right? the answer is no

— it might have been like that at first but then aaron warmed up to matt and actually started to like him

— katelyn and dan are besties and katelyn teaches her some cheerleading moves

— matt teaches aaron to box they go to the gym sometimes with each other but if one of them had a particularly bad day or an argument or they’re just frustrated and they’re in the dorms one of them will pick up a pair of gloves and the other will just know and then it’s on

— before when aaron would ignore him but matt would still talk to (at) him anyway matt never expected them to be friends but then one day aaron just replied, like one word or a grunt but it was something so matt started talking to (at) him more and then finally he got a full sentence

— nicky just barges in sometimes to complain about the rest of the monsters - especially when he’s forced to leave cause of andreils alone time (; - so the four of them (matt, aaron, kev, and nicky) form like their own little group but only when they’re in matt’s dorm together

— they’ll play games and blast music and do dumb dares and it’s a fun time

— their gfs will come over and bring renee and allison and they’ll hang and gossip and short fights will occur and seriously andrew and neil aren’t don’t yet

— anyway aaron and matt start being friendly in front of the others too and the first time it happened they’re all like “did that really just happen did i really just see that with my own two eyes matt said hi and aaron didn’t completely ignore him he replied???”

— they send each other memes all the time matt was surprised when aaron started it but he saw this meme on Instagram and snorted cause it was so matt and he sent it to him and matt choked on air and then he was crying with laughter and relief and joy cause his efforts weren’t for nothing and aaron was finally responding to him

— but when the foxes and monsters (usually kevin is the instigator) are fighting or any beef arises aaron will send matt the meme of pepe the frog sticking a fork in the socket or stupid funny shit that has matt holding back laughter but grinning at the screen

• matt and kev also become sort of bros

— kevin was drunk and rambling and started talking about history and usually everyone shuts him down because his history rants are almost as bad and long as his exy ones but 1000x more boring but matt listened to him

— he even seemed interested in what kevin had to say and then kevin started talking about his past and his anxiety and matt told him about his own struggles and they never talk about it ever again after that but if there are more understanding looks and if kevin barges in matt and aaron’s dorm to rant about whatever professor/student had pissed him off this time well that’s just coincidence

• kevin and dan bond over their love of wymack

— like they do on little dates and shit cause wymack is their dad and their his kids and abby insisted so wymack insisted so here they were out to eat lunch together

— it was weird and kevin said so but dan only looked at him and hummed then after a while she said, “only cause you’re making it weird. you make everything weird kevin” kevin was offended and shocked and stammered through a retort but dan cut it off with a laugh and kevin saw a little something of why wymack liked her so much and the ice was broken

— kevin stopped dreading these bi-weekly dates and actually started looking forward to them and one day dan takes him shopping because “no what the fuck kevin you cannot wear a track suit everywhere no you can’t—no jesus kevin formal track suits aren’t a thing”

— and “no kevin i don’t give a fuck how many calories are in this you’re going to eat this and you’re going to thank me” or “no kevin i don’t care how many fucking calories are in this i’m going to eat this and enjoy it and i’m not going to spontaneously gain 1000 pounds”

— kevin has a date with thea but he hasn’t seen her in a while and is nervous and doesn’t know what to wear so he goes to dan for help and dan grins at him and he knows then that they’re friends but he asks, “are we friends?” just to be sure and dan gives him this look like he’s an idiot and she says, “yes kevin we are friends. it’s really taken you this long to figure that out?” and kevin smiles at her

— dan is like whoa cause kevin’s true smiles are hard earned and usually related to exy or thea so it makes her feel a certain type of way and she beams and throws herself at him she’s got her arms around his neck and forces him to bend down he says, “jesus dan if this is going to become a thing you need to get a step ladder because i can’t afford to have back problems at this stage in my caree—“

“kevin?” “yeah?” “shut the fuck up and let me hug (love) you.”

• renee and nicky start spending more and more time together. they have lots of quiet but serious and philosophical conversation about their beliefs. nicky tells her about how his religion and the views of his parents twisted his view of his religion and made him question everything

— he told her he hated god or the idea of him for a long time becuase if what he was was so wrong why was he this he didn’t choose to be

— he hated himself for an even longer time but then erik came around and renee listens to him and they discuss it. renee opens his eyes to a lot of things and vice versa

— they don’t have these nights a lot but when they do happen they are peaceful and calm and tranquil and they can just talk about anything or not say anything because it’s just nice to be with someone who gets it or at least part of it

— they have a quiet but strong understanding and respect for one another and this connection between them may not be as strong as the connections they have to others it’s still something where it could have been nothing

• matt and andrew have a little understanding of their own that’s never spoken of between them but it’s still there. matt and andrew both care for aaron in very different ways but still

— also i have this headcanon that matt is as sugar addict as well, not nearly as bad as andrew but still

— okay so maybe one day matt was munching on a pack of reece’s and he has like three packs of four and who needs that many but he’s planning on eating it all

— andrew is sitting near him and looks over just to stare and matt is concerned he’s done something wrong and is about to die when he notices andrew’s not staring at matt but at the candy matt is eating

— he finds it amusing and asks, “do you want some?” andrew must see his amusement as he narrows his eyes but takes a pack for himself anyway

— matt is more than happy to share and now whenever matt has candy anywhere near andrew matt will automatically just give andrew some of it. when andrew has something particularly sugary or sweet he’ll gaze at matt and matt will ask and andrew will give him some

— kevin does not like this exchange of junk food and says so, “you guys are enabling each other’s unhealthy eating habits. eventually you’ll get fat and you won’t be able to play.” andrew just looks at him, “really, kevin, all i had to do to get of this fucking stickball team was become fat?” as he proceeds to munch on his snacks at an even quicker pace. kevin is cursing him and matt is laughing

— now whenever either of them eat something unhealthy in front of kevin (cause let’s be honest they’re in college and don’t have time) they’ll make a show of it just to watch kevin’s face turn red and him grit his teeth and they’ll exchange a look but they don’t talk about it

• when allison discovers kevin passed out drunk on their floor is when she kicks him awake and she starts yelling at him about being a hypocritical little shit

— kevin’s all like “the fuck” and allison is glaring at him and she’s kind of terrifying and it’s really bright and everything’s spinning

— she hits him upside the head and he groans at the explosion in his head she says, “you badger everyone about their unhealthy habits, andrew smoking, the food we eat but you’re fucking killing your liver”

— kevin wants to protest but the words die on his lips and instead of saying anything kevin makes this noise allison stops glaring at him so harshly “you can’t play exy if you’re dying of liver failure, kevin” she says and kevin doesn’t think that’s fair at all he wonders briefly if this is what he sounds like/what the others feel like when he does this to them

— “it’s not that simple,” he says pathetically

— “i know,” she says “but you need to find a new way to cope” he wants to ask how but she’s already there. “i’ll help you.” kevin nods, “okay,” he says.

— anyway that’s how kevin and allison got closer since allison is the first one to call kevin on his bullshit other than andreil

— so whenever something stressful or kevin’s anxiety starts acting up allison will distract him with things like shopping or cooking or anything and eventually kevin learns to cope by himself but he has a special place in his heart for allison even though he still gives her shit

• renee is a big thrift shopper. she goes any time she gets the chance and it’s how her and neil bond even more

— when she sees the polaroid andrew gets neil she starts thrifting cameras for him and sending them to him. by this time he’s already warmed up to her and isn’t so wary so it strengthens their bond

— when they were still at the dorms she went with dan and allison

— allison is Not a thrifter. at all. she only goes cause renee likes it, allison only gets cool little trinkets and books she thinks are cool and history books for kevin

— renee only goes for clothes and hats. most of her sweaters are all thrifted. dan is that shopper that gets all the weird stuff. like plates and curtains and stuff

— dan and renee always also get things they think the others will like. dan gets matt t-shirts and renee gets matt and nicky sweaters

— allison’s only clothing purchases are for other people until renee finds a red velvet dress that she thinks would look amazing on allison and it does becuase lets be real everything looks amazing on my wife. renee is like “there goes my gf, she so pretty”

— renee is a fan of corduroy pants, plaid skirts/pants, and mom jeans (this is random but it was necessary for me to write this down because this image has been in my head a while)

bro i’m on a roll with these. theres gonna be a part three because all day everyday of my life is spent thinking about these characters so i have so many more it’s a problem. sorry for any grammatical errors i just sped through writing this

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atomicjuniper · 7 years

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Okay I know it’s fun to imagine the Foxes with an instagram and twitter and arguing in the groupchat and everything

But guys.

Mid-00′s Foxes. 2006 Foxes!

First of all, can you imagine the hassle Andrew must have gone through to get Runaway Train on Neil’s phone?!

Opening up the internet on a flip phone? Not by pressing the wrong key?

Then when it opens 10-20 minutes later he has to type the title with the number keys.

No results come up, and it takes him a few minutes to realize he spelled Runaway with two ‘n’s. There’s no spell check.

It’s more expensive because it’s a more obscure song and not on the store stored in his phone, which also takes forever to load.

Andrew hides the bill he gets from Cingular.

Neil doesn’t understand technology so he doesn’t understand the struggle and Andrew adds to the list of what he suffers in silence about.

Flip phones?, Neil thinks, Can’t those be tracked? Clearly no one in their right mind would use a flip phone to not be tracked.

Don’t even tell me they don’t have Razr phones.

There are walkie-talkie-like beeps heard throughout the hall when someone is using their phone. Sometimes a voice echoes Hello Moto

The Foxes battle over who’s in each other’s Top Five. Neil flat out doesn’t tell anyone because he doesn’t want to start a war.

There’s a team meeting regarding who “accidentally” taped over one of their games with an episode of Fear Factor.

The band plays an instrumental version of Hollaback Girl at every game. No, every game. Every. Game.

Everything on the radio in general is terrible.

After escaping the marching band Run It! by Chris Brown is playing in their car (and trust me, the Foxes have some opinions on the Chris Brown incident)

They go to Eden’s Twilight and Temperature by Sean Paul is blasting.

The moment they hear My Humps anything that isn’t on a CD is banned from the car.

It fixes nothing because Kevin is going through an Alt-Metal phase.

Aaron is getting sick of Eminem and is going into a Green Day phase.

Nicky just gets his music off of Myspace anyway. And it’s not like there’s a way to play music from the internet to the car.

Neil is in his “hey has anyone heard of this?” phase. Yes Neil, everyone has heard that song. (poor bby he tries)

Andrew thinks it’s pathetic, since in his opinion at least his Pearl Jam teen phase had decent music.

When Kevin comes back from seeing 300 in the theater he rants about the historical inaccuracies on Livejournal.

Allison’s personal pics being uploaded to Photobucket.

At least one of the Foxes is biting their nails in anticipation for the fansub of Death Note.

Some of them are struggling to watch Shaman King or Zatch Bell on Toonami without watching it in front of the others. Their only option is to either tape it then hide the tape, schedule a rerun when nobody is around or they don’t have class, or find an episode in episode in three parts on youtube (it’s frustrating when the second part gets taken down).

There are heated arguments over Lost theories.

Matt is sure the Smoke Monster is nanobites made by a DHARMA experiment. Renee thinks the Smoke Monster can’t be anything but the devil incarnate due to the show’s religious themes. Dan has the quote Live Together or Die Alone on the whiteboard to her dorm. Allison has a poster of Josh Holloway in her dorm. They read a magazine claiming it will all be explained in Season Five, which is a whole three years away.

Sometimes on the benches there are arguments heard in the distance if LonelyGirl15 is real.

Nicky can’t contribute because he only knows LG15 from WhatTheBuck talking about it one time and he doesn’t have the patience to sort through what order the side character channels go in. He rated the video three stars.

2006 memes (were they even officially called memes yet?!)

Neil doesn’t catch on to a lot of what’s popular (YOU’RE THE MAN NOW, DOG, the peanut butter jelly time banana, homestar runner) and what isn’t but some of them stick out in his mind.

One day Kevin’s yelling at Neil on the Court, tells him to get it together

Neil replies “But I am Le Tired”

Kevin is thinking of ways to stab Neil with his racket

He wants to do the same to himself for knowing what that is and the exact words to respond with.

There’s probably a million more I can come up with but that’s all I got for now.

#foxhole court #aftg #headcannons #neil josten #andrew minyard #the foxes

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riteandwread · 7 years

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Foxes On A Boat (Alternatively: I Hate This Title But Can’t Think Of Anything Else To Name It)

Something dumb I started writing when I was bored the other day, not entirely sure how often I’ll update it aside from when the inspiration strikes but it boils down to Neil, Andrew, and the rest of the Foxes going on a cruise simply because I thought the idea of Andrew stuck on a boat with everyone was fucking hilarious and also Andrew has a private Instagram account that only Neil is allowed to follow because reasons (that’s the entire plot so far and chapter 2 is basically just porn oops) ao3

One

Chasing The Sun

“Somebody get these mother fucking Foxes on a mother fucking boat!” Allison cheered from her seat across from Neil as she gleefully hit the confirm button on the cruise line's website.

“How much do I owe you?” Neil asked, letting out a soft whimper as the reality of the moment set in. There was no doubt in his mind that one Allison Reynolds chose to spare no expense for this trip being that it was hers and the other upperclassmen's final spring break together.

“You're paying for you, the monster, Nicky, and Erik?” Allison confirmed.

“Me, Andrew, Nicky, and Erik.” Neil stressed the second name.

Allison only let out a small huff of air, blowing it upwards so it jostled her bangs, “Alright, so for four people leaving from Tampa and sailing to Cozumel for five nights wth ocean view rooms comes out to $404 per person, before tax and fees, which brings your grand total after those are added to...$1,956”

Neil felt all the air leave his body as he tumbled off the couch and to the floor, “Jesus fucking Christ, Allison.”

“Get off the floor, sweetie, you're being over dramatic.” Allison shook her head, “I told you this was going to be expensive when we came up with the idea!”

“I didn't know it was going to be this expensive though!” Neil protested.

“You could have done the research!” Allison laughed, “Or better yet, used your previous knowledge of me and my spending habits to make an informed decision.”

“Whatever, just take it,” Neil huffed, thrusting his credit card in Allison's face.

“I already put it all on mine, you can shower me in cash later.” Allison smiled as she snapped her laptop closed.

Neil pushed aside the looming loss of money and tried to focus on the more positive aspects of the trip and being able to spend a week in the middle of the Caribbean with his Foxes and Andrew was almost enough to quiet the screaming voice of his mother in the back of his brain. Almost.

“Anyway,” Allison sang, snapping him back to reality, “I just put everyone's ticket on my card so they can pay me back whenever. I'm covering Renee, Dan and Matt are splitting it, Kevin already gave me his share, and Aaron refused to let me pay for his and Katelyn's so he's dealing with both of theirs on his own.”

“Sounds like we're good to go then.” Neil smiled.

“Yep!” Allison chirped, “By the way, I also spent $500 to upgrade you and Andrew to a suite, my treat.”

“What?” Neil coughed, “Why would you do that?”

“Cruise ship rooms are small, I was afraid you and Andrew would kill each other in such close proximity.” Allison joked.

“Not funny.” Neil sighed, flicking her on the knee.

Allison rolled her eyes and stood from the couch, returning Neil's flick with one of her own on his forehead, “I wanted to do something nice for you, dumb fuck.”

“I can tell.” Neil laughed.

“You're supposed to say 'Thank you, Allison, I love you.'”

“Thank you, Allison, I love you.”

"You're welcome!" Allison grinned, "This trip is going to do wonders for your Instagram too. I'm fucking tired of seeing Exy memes every time I scroll down my feed."

Neil rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone which Allison promptly snatched from his hand. She pulled him over to her side and held his phone out in front of them, "Smile."

Neil didn't have time to react before he heard the clicking of the camera on his phone and Allison held him at arms length as she opened up his Instagram and posted their picture to his profile. Neil snatched the phone back from her and turned it around to find a picture of him and Allison, his face mid blink and her face looking professionally airbrushed as always, with the caption I love @allisonreynolds more than Exy.

"Not true." Neil mumbled as he looked down at his phone and saw it ping with a notification.

"Jesus, Andrew liked the picture already?" Allison laughed, "Is that his version of peeing on you like a fire hydrant or something?"

Neil only smiled as the notifications rolled in from various other foxes and dozens of strangers that he still couldn't really understand why they followed him.

"This is so annoying!" Allison huffed and glared at Neil.

"What now?" Neil asked

"Andrew's profile!" Allison gritted out, "Why does he even have one if it's locked and he only follows and is followed by one person. It says he has 150 fucking posts, what the fuck does he actually post pictures of?"

Neil bit back another laugh as he navigated to Andrew's page. Allison was right, he only did follow one person, Neil. And he only allowed one person to follow him, Neil. "I'm looking at it right now, there's plenty of stuff here."

Allison jumped up from the couch to circle behind him but he was too quick for her, he locked the phone and stuffed it deep into his pocket before she could get a glimpse of Andrew's private profile. The contents of the profile were a secret he wanted to keep for as long as he possibly could and he was in no rush to help Allison settle the long standing bet about what Andrew actually posted pictures of.

"I will find out before this trip is over!" Allison warned.

"Whatever you say." Neil laughed.

Allison pranced to the door, confident in her looming victory, and swung it open with a resounding thump and Neil resigned himself to following her down the hallway as she banged on every single door. He bit back a smile as Fox after Fox ambled out from their rooms and stood in a line along the hallway. Neil counted them off one by one. Renee, Dan, Matt, Nicky, Aaron, and Kevin. The door to the elevator opened just in time to reveal Andrew who's face morphed into a scowl as Allison pointed a finger at him to get into line.

“Listen up, Foxes!” Allison yelled, pacing back and forth down the line with her hands behind her back like a boot camp sergeant, “The tickets are locked in, on Monday morning we fly out to Florida to board the Royalty of the Seas for five days of debauchery and foolishness with a final destination of Cozumel. Pack your shit accordingly. Condoms, passports, et cetera. I am not going to be standing around the port with my dick in my hand because you forgot to bring anything you need.”

Neil shook his head as he fell into place in line next to Andrew. He turned and gave him a small smile out of the corner of his mouth and was met with a low grunt and an elbow to his ribs. He liked it.

“No one, and I repeat no one,” Allison paused and let her eyes scan the line of Foxes, “is going to mess up my last spring break as a college student.”

“Why don't we get to come?” A junior Fox stuck his head out of the bedroom to ask.

Allison spun on her heal and hissed, “Because you're not invited!”

Neil cringed at the boys reaction as he retreated into his room with the slam of a door. He figured he should probably care, being vice-captain and all, but it was becoming harder and harder every day to give a fuck about anyone on the team who wasn't a part of his family.

“Nicky, Thing Two, you're responsible for getting your significant others to the designated place on time. I will leave you behind.” Allison smiled.

“Fuck this.” Aaron spat, shouldering his way past Allison and stomping down to the hallway towards the door to his room, pushing it open and slamming it behind him with a loud bang.

“What the fuck is his problem?” Allison scoffed.

Renee broke from the line and walked to Allison, resting a hand on the shoulder that Aaron had pushed, and whispered something in her ear.

No one seemed to know what Aaron's problem was and Neil really didn't care. It was hard to drum up any kind of sympathy for Aaron, even on a good day. Though he had a feeling that whatever was going on was coming dangerously close to ruining the trip.

Eventually Nicky spoke, “Aaron told me not to say anything...”

“When has that ever stopped you?” Kevin rolled his eyes.

“Well,” Nicky chewed on his bottom lip, “Aaron just got off the phone with Katelyn and she had to refund her ticket. Her mom got into an accident and had been out of work for a few weeks and she said she would rather send the money from her ticket back home to help them out rather than go on a cruise. They got into a fight because Aaron was going to refund his ticket and stay with her but she wanted him to go, she said it would be good for him to spend time with his friends for one last spring break.”

“Friends?” Neil muttered under his breath.

Neil heard an odd sound come from Andrew's direction that he would almost call a laugh if he didn't know better.

“Great.” Allison groaned, “Now we have to spend a week on a floating prison with a moody midget who hates the world.”

Neil cringed at the thought. He could already see Aaron following everyone around on the boat, drinking and making their lives hell because he was pissed off that his girlfriend wasn't there. More specifically, he could see Aaron making his trip a living hell, taking any chance available to antagonize Neil about his relationship with Andrew. He wasn't going to let the trip be ruined like that, he was fucking determined to make this a week of good memories and minimal bloodshed, and there was only one way to do it.

“Allison,” Neil sighed, “can you add another ticket to our package?”

“What?” The entire line of Foxes, Andrew included, said in unison.

“Can you or can't you?” Neil asked, looking directly at Allison.

“I'd have to call and probably yell at the poor son of a bitch who gets stuck with my call, but yeah. Why?” Allison raised an eyebrow.

“Add another one then, I'll pay for it.” Neil shrugged.

Again, a Fox wide gasp rolled through the hallway.

“Neil...” Matt trailed off, “are you doing something nice for Aaron?”

No.” Neil clarified, “I'm doing something nice for us all. I'm not going to let a week of Aaron sulking around ruin our trip. Add the ticket, I don't care how much it costs.”

“Idiot.” Andrew mumbled net to him.

Neil ignored him and made his way down the hallway to Aaron and Matt's suite, letting himself in and walking across the small living room towards the bedroom, he rapped on the door with his fist a few times and the door swung up to reveal a furious Aaron.

“What the fuck do you want?” Aaron spat.

“Call Katelyn and tell her that she better be at the airport first thing Monday morning.” Neil said, his face flat and devoid of any emotion.

“Excuse me?” Aaron took a step forward, pushing Neil backwards towards the couch.

“Nicky can't keep his big mouth shut. Allison is adding another ticket and I'm paying for it. Your girlfriend is coming with us and that's the end of the discussion.” Neil stepped to the side of Aaron and turned to make his way to the door but was held into place by Aaron's hand on the back of his shirt.

“I don't want your fucking charity.” Aaron said under his breath.

Neil looked up to the door of the suite and saw the eyes of nearly ever single Fox on them. He turned on his heel and batted Aaron's hand off his shoulder, grabbing the other twin by the wrist and pulling him further away from the ears of the Foxes.

“It's not charity, you asshole.” Neil said in a hushed whisper, “This is my last spring break with everyone in the same place and I'm not going to let you and your fucking attitude ruin it. Either call her and tell her that she's coming or don't you dare think about showing up because I won't stop your brother when he inevitably tries to throw you overboard.”

“This changes nothing.” Aaron growled, ripping his arm from Neil's hold and shoving his hand into his pocket to fish out his cell phone.

Neil only heard the begging of Aaron's conversation with his girlfriend before the door to his room slammed shut but the lighter tone of his voice and the small smile that betrayed furious eyes was not lost on him.

Neil ignored the rest of the team as he moved past them and back into the hallway, only concentrating on Andrew who had latched onto his wrist and was pulling him towards the stairs to the roof. They made their way to the top of the tower and sat side by side on the edge of the building and watched as the sun slowly sank into the earth. Neither of them spoke but the lingering touch of Andrew's hand on his when he handed over a lit cigarette spoke volumes.

Neil was content in the quiet air for as long as it lasted, which was until his phone buzzed at his side with a text from Allison.

Additional late fee. Extra ticket was $100 more. Heart emoji. Knife emoji.

Neil let out another pained groan and let his head fall to Andrew's shoulder. He waited a moment to see if he would be pushed off, either to the side or over the edge, and smiled a little when he was allowed to stay.

“Idiot.” Andrew mumbled as he ground out the end of his cigarette and tossed it over the side of the building.

Neil closed his eyes and imagined walking down a white sandy beach with his fingers interlaced in Andrews. He imagined Andrew in a pair of board shorts, the sun filtering down from the sky and shining around his fair hair like a halo. He imagined sitting on the balcony of their room together in silence, smoking and listening to the sound of waves crashing against the side of the enormous boat.

“Worth it.”

#All For The Game #Andrew Minyard #Neil Josten #andreil #andreil fanfic #The Foxhole Court #TFC #Allison Reynolds #I love Allison so I always write her into everything lol #Aaron Minyard #Nicky Hemmick #All For The Game Series

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samanthasroberts · 5 years

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The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms' emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it's time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it's probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We're sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you've done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it's not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder's hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That's led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder's step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it's the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you've never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There's the "this show is so smart normies don't get it" self-congratulation that's so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there's the propensity to doxx the show's female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there's the mass freakout after McDonald's ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that's correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there's going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here's hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and "haters." Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves "bro," don’t call yourselves an "army," and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that's sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

"Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness."

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

"Always punch up" is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet's very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.