It had been a shitty week; Andrew barely saw Nathaniel off the court on Friday night, nor did he get to bash Riko’s head with his racquet. Then Pig Higgins showed up on Saturday, entirely unwelcome and unwanted, the bearer of news that only reinforced Andrew’s belief in how shitty the universe was. He had to deal with another round of questions from Aaron and the upperclassmen. Then there were the terse texts from Nathaniel during the week, sparse that they were, which indicated that all was not well at the Nest (as if one couldn’t tell from Riko’s unhinged interviews where he ranted about the Ravens ‘decimating’ the Foxes during their game on Friday).

Andrew had a little to vent during his training session with Val on Sunday; they were out in the backyard, sweatshirts discarded on the porch and tank tops damp with sweat from the intense practice. Val had taken Andrew down twice so far, but he’d landed a killing blow on her once and aimed to do so again before they called it quits.

Val feinted to the left, which Andrew pretended to fall for while preparing for a strike at his ribs. He ‘dropped’ his knife and caught it with his left hand while he blocked her weapon and allowed her to barrel him into the ground, intent on raising his blade to her throat.

They stilled on the ground, Val half-sprawled on top of him with his knife below her chin and hers off to the side, their eyes locked on the other. Then she laughed as she leaned back onto her haunches. “Ha! That was good.” She rocked onto her feet and held out a hand, which Andrew begrudgingly accepted. “You’re becoming an actual challenge now.”

“So happy for you,” Andrew drawled, voice thick with sarcasm.

“Yeah, you’re a real sunbeam like that.”

for @nekojitachan

i really enjoyed heartlines; thank you for writing it <3 

So I've been reading way down we go (of course) and i really truly absolutely love it but every time they break a cell phone i have to think GOD do they know that they could just get a new sim card. ive been pretending this is an alternate universe where sim cards are not removable. But it's absolutely amazing anyway I'm nearly done with it and it's been barely a week...

LOL, I've had a few (probably more than a few) people point out the SIM card thing, and yes, it's so very true. However, it's much more satisfying to break an entire phone than crack a little-bitty SIM card. The boys (especially Andrew) were venting! Venting, I say! And dramatic AF!

Oh so dramatic.

I’ve reached the Trojans vs Ravens final of Neil’s freshman year in Raven’s Partner, and I was wondering what the Trojans thought of everything that went down. Like, they almost witnessed a murder, they’ve gotta have some interesting thoughts on that whole game

Yes, they almost witnessed a murder, but it was also the RAVENS. I'm sure at some point as they sat stunned in the locker room, one of them pointed that fact out. They may be the Hufflepuffs of Exy, but the Ravens are the Ravens.

That and Jeremy was probably was all 'JEAN! IS JEAN OKAY???? HAVE THEY CHECKED OUT JEAN YET????' Never mind that Jean wasn't the one who was almost killed.

They've better things to talk about.

Hey!! So ive been reading and reading some of your stories on ao3 the past few days and stumbled upon “The Real Thing” in the Ravrn Soulmate Series. Is there gonna be more in that ssries or is it completed? I really really love your writing and enjoy reading and reresding your stories a lot so im happy wither way.. i just wanted to ask to make sure to check back :)

Yes, I really need to finish the part I started (along with everything else) and continue on. I'm slowly getting back into writing!

In Raven’s Partner, Andrew makes a comment about “this is your brain on mood altering drugs, this is your brain after” and says Neil didn’t get the reference (he’s not the partner to have for a pop culture quiz, is what Andrew says about Neil’s confusion), but I didn’t get it either, so what was Andrew referring to?

Ah... Well, it's definitely a US thing, and a bit old? During the... 80s? Maybe early 90s? There was an anti-drug campaign that featured commercials with a person holding up an egg, stating that's your brain. Then they crack the egg into a hot frying pan, and show it being fried, stating 'that's your brain on drugs'. It was referenced in pop culture for a good while, and I can imagine Andrew latching onto it somehow (especially with his eidetic memory).

Hello, i really like your There For You fic and i'd translated it in Russian. Can i publish it? I will specify the link to you

I'm not sure if I replied to this via comment, but sure. Also, while I read every comment left on my fics (I do!), and I mean to respond to some of them, I can get sidetracked (I can often get sidetracked).

My inbox is insane.

As long as you ALWAYS link back to the original fic, CREDIT me as the author, AND don't post the translation on a site where users have to pay to see it/make money off the translation, and keep in mind that others may be translating it, you may translate my stories.

armies is by far my favourite aftg fic of all time just thought i would let you know

Aw, thank you.

I'm still amazed by how many people enjoy that story. Truly.

I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, but why were Bren’s motions “jerky” when he gave Marley the keys to the car after it came out that Neil had no license and Jean didn’t know how to drive?

Ah, good catch! Basically, it's because he knows that Neil can drive (and has caused merry mayhem driving all over Europe/North America), but also, that Neil doesn't have a driver's license (that the Moriyama's/ICHIRO won't let him have one) so as to not cause much trouble, he has to give the keys to Marley even though Neil's the one w/ the most experience (especially when it comes to car chases/trouble).

But really, as a Hatford employee, he wants to give Neil the keys, because WGAF about silly things like licenses and laws???? That and he wants to see what the boy can do behind the wheel.

Have you watched Sandman yet? Can't wait to hear your thoughts. I've finished and went straight back to reread Neil as Death 😍

YES! I finished it the other night, and while I've a few quibbles with it (the way they portrayed Dream, both without the proper eyes and the fact that he's not quite the proper bastard he should be, which really is important with how things play out, toning down the dinner scene, the changes w/ Lyta and Hector, etc.), over all I'm so happy to see it finally come to life on screen and SO HOPE that it'll have future seasons (I read today that they supposedly filmed at least one more episode, possibly two, of the next part of the comics).

The casting (other than Dream - really, he needs to be much colder) was so great. Death and Rose and Desire and Hob and the Corinthian... really great. Lucienne! There were so many breadcrumbs for what's to come, I can't wait. Again, so hope that we get to see the entire series on the screen.

And now I have to finish the Neil as Death series. I've a one-shot I want to write so bad, but I need to wrap up Not in the Stars before I can post it!

Okay, so, I need to do something to get back into writing. I've WIPs I want to finish, several plot bunnies (AFTG and MDZS) demanding attention, and an owed fic. I'm thinking of writing something each day; the MDZS could probably be posted on AO3 daily, but I know the AFTG is usually big chapters. Post here?

I’m rereading Raven’s Partner, my favorite Raven!Neil fic and one of my favorite fics ever, and I was wondering what Neil’s former teammates thought about the Nathaniel Wesninski revelation? What did Susan, Avery, etc. think about learning Neil’s past? That’s gotta be a huge shock, your old teammate is the son of a serial killer. I know the current Ravens rallied around Neil, but I’m curious as to the former Ravens’ reactions.

Well, you have to remember that they're RAVENS. They've seen a lot of stuff, they've seen Riko act like he could get away with almost anything, they've seen their 'Master' beat the heck out of them and other teammates and do whatever he wants when it comes to Exy. You can't tell me that they haven't noticed well-dressed men going up and down from the East Tower. They're in sports, and they have to realize that betting comes into play at some point. I won't say that they're shocked... but they also notice the scars on Neil and Jean's bodies. Especially Neil's body. They notice that Neil/Nathaniel is not someone to approach without warning.

It is a bit of a leap, the whole 'our captain's father is a serial killer', but when considering all the evidence, it explains some things.

Also, WTF does it have to do with Exy?? In the end, what matters is that Neil/Nathaniel can still play, can still be their captain (or else they're going to take his position away from him). Okay, Susan and a couple of others are concerned for his well-being, but they are RAVENS. Exy will trump almost everything else.

Meanwhile, those ex-Ravens who saw someone inexperienced to bash out on court (or worse)? Let's just say they're looking over their shoulder an awful lot, wondering just how much 'Junior' might be tied to his father's business.

I've been re reading armies for the nth time and meant to ask, when Andrew and Neil go to Paris because someone started expanding their personal business aside from the hatfords Abram says he's gone over the books with Simone, but over the book he just mentions Sabine as a close contact in their french partners. Is it someone else entirely or is it meant to be Sabine?

You know... I do believe you spotted an error there. Yes, I probably meant for it to be just the one name, and then forgot which one I picked....

Will you ever continue the sandman aftg fic?

Yes. In fact, I want to write something due to the Sandman series coming out on Netflix next Friday (OMFG FINALLY!), and realize I need to wrap up the last two (??) chapters before I can do that.

Are you the same nekojita that wrote amazing WK fics back in the day? If so, do any of them still update?

Oh, wow, this takes me back. Yes, I am that nekojita. No, not really, due to...things. Well, I keep looking at Armies and have someone (a very dear friend) poking and prodding me to update that, so it's a MAYBE. Also, I wrote her an ending to Violet Eyes because of those 'things', and she gave me the go-ahead to post it, so I have to figure out WTF is up w/ my website so I can post it there.

Hey hey i stumbled upon your acc after years of quitting the aftg fandom (lol) and saw you answering some stuffs about raven’s partner so now my interest is piqued! Sooo am wondering where can i read that fic? 👀 couldn’t find you on ao3 or maybe you’re not there??

Ah, it's on AO3, look for me as 'nekojita' there (that's always been my handle, but it was taken here so I'm 'nekojitachan').