maple-pies

[maple-pies]

I googled Check Please to get a link for a friend, and AI had written this at the top of the search. Burst out laughing ngl.

[maple-pies]

[maple-pies]

not a girl - ashe vernon // i want you to know that i'm awake / i hope that you're asleep - car seat headrest // asoup on tumblr // gleipnir - walton ford // grief lessons: four plays by euripides - anne carson // us against you - fredrik backman // saint bernard - lincoln // war of the foxed - richard siken // the hunger games - suzanne collins // belovéd - yves olade // dishes in the sink by david showalter // rbhvelo on tumblr // crime and punishment - fyodor dostoevsky // the oresteia - aeschylus // birds hover the trampled field - richard siken // the torn-up road - richard siken // how simple - hop along // beach life-in-death - car seat headrest // study of a man - thomas couture // september affirmation (don't be afraid) - keaton st. james

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The first couple of times I read this scene, I thought Thea was interrogating Jean about Kevin's hand, but I just realized that's not what's going on.

When Kevin brings Thea to Jean, he doesn't actually say what she wants to know. He just says she saw his interview and she wants answers. Perhaps Thea was only fixated on Jean's injuries because Kevin had told her she needs to find out what happened to Jean in order to believe what happened to him. But at no point does she make the interrogation about Kevin.

Her first question to Jean is "What happened to you?". When she says she does doesn't believe Riko would "go this far. Not to his Court. Not during championships," she's talking about Jean, not Kevin. In fact, in that whole interaction, Thea only ever talks about Jean and Jean's injuries. In her gruff way, she genuinely just wants to know what happened to Jean. It's Jean who brings up Kevin's hand because he's desperate to get Thea to stop looking into his misery. Jean would probably have preferred it if she had actually been interrogating him about Kevin because he doesn't want to have to tell her about his own suffering. When Thea threatens him with broken ribs, she's not threatening him to tell her about Kevin; she's telling him to stop deflecting and tell her what happened to him.

And even though Jean is bitter about the fact that Thea and the rest of the Ravens looked away from the gory details of his abuse for all those years, he cannot bear to talk about it with her now. And so he deflects and talks about Kevin -- the same way Kevin deflected and talked about Jean back in TKM when Thea asked him about his hand.

It's really interesting that they both find it so hard to discuss their situation with another Raven, even one that wants to believe them. It really shows how ingrained the habit of lying to each other and pretending everything is fine is. They've been doing it for so long, that it's like they almost don't trust each other to believe them when they actually speak the truth they all know deep down.

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rereading check please + listening to a lot of chappel roan

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"well, they were a pretty big deal. like, demolishing-all-of-junior-hockey's-stats kind of deal. like patenting the zimmermann-parson no-look one-timer kind of deal."

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Trojan Team ACCURACY!!! (Div 1 perspective bc I'm annoying hehe)

I don't want to hear anyone say it's unrealistic to have that many LGBTQIA people on a team because while not every team does, plenty do and the Trojan's are none as being good people so it makes sense they would have more

On that note, not all the Trojans are queer. It's Jeremy's friend group that is bc again this book is set in 2007 (i think?) so naturally they are going to be more separated from the rest of the team bc things were less inclusive back then and they can relate to each other more (even though none of Trojan's appear to be homophobic except Lucas sometimes)

(even nowadays gay friend groups on team are still a thing y'all, I found it very realistic)

Laila and Cat just dumping all the drama and sexual history of their friend group on Jean made me DIEEEE!!! It was too real, there's always those moments where ppl just word vomit on the newbies about all the past tea and they sit there like o.o

Oversharing on teams happens all the time, for better for for worse

THE COACHESSSS AHHHH!!! Rhemann's subtle support (he just wants to do right by Jean y'all), Lisinski's tough love reminds me so much of the assistant coach I had as an underclassman, Jimenez saying "you know better so be better" IS THE MOST COACH THING I'VE EVER HEARD AHAHAHAH

having your teammates backs no matter what, Jeremy being there for Lucas even though he acknowledges they aren't close, those are your ride or dies fr

getting close really fast. It's been a couple months are Jean's already pretty tight with Jeremy, Laila and Cat. That's what happens when your around your team like 24/7.

ANYWAYS

I'll probably think of more later

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I just... he had a little sister that he loved more than anything. he followed thea around like a lost little duckling. he was in love with his best friend and it almost destroyed him. he uses pain to both punish himself and stave off panic attacks. he survived five years of brutal torture and abuse by the skin of his teeth. his parents sold him. his little sister is dead. he wants to burn the house down. he cannot cook or shop for himself. he hates his old teammates. he loves his old teammates. he quite possibly loves his new teammates even more. he frets for the safety of people he barely knows. he's terrified of water, of being bitten, of being hurt again. he laughed when his worst abuser was dethroned and beaten and then tried to kill himself in solidarity.

he's finding reasons to live, day by day, one step at a time. a cool evening breeze, rainbows, open roads, friends.

he is jean moreau. he knows his place. he will endure.

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as someone on a team with lots of drama, it's so funny to watch the AFTG fandom go to war over characters having to be friends

like babes at least they have reasoning behind their beef, the biggest feud on my team originated just from not liking each others vibes and now it's evolved into it's own beast

and you know what? as frustrating as it can be, things are way more interesting that way

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YES YES EXY HOUSE!! fingers crossed for the Trojans fr, some of my best memories with my team are from the off campus houses the seniors always get

AFTG from a D1 perspective

As a D1 athlete from a sport where men and women practice and compete together (thought we are separate teams) here are my thoughts ;)

Whenever the Foxes travel and stay in hotels they have to share rooms (but if Wymack is going to drop the $$ for shower stalls they def don't have to share beds like my team does) but I wonder if they randomize the rooms?? lots of potential there...

(however, USC?? They're big enough that I can def seeing them have to share beds hahahaha)

training trip? do they go on training trip Nora I need to know! Lacrosse sometimes does, so maybe exy would idk... (they go to Florida or PR, Kevin gets hella burnt and Neil gets freckles end of story)

Lift?? They have to be lifting!! I know Aaron and Andrew are really into it and Nicky and Allison fight over the aux

there are days where everyone gets along (even people who hate each other) and there are days where everyones HATES each other (even the people who are best friends) it just happens

men are always puking during practice. Aaron personally gives me big barf boy energy (Nicky canonically yaks already lol)

periods. Having men and women practice together means the women don't GAF about talking about periods while the men stare at their shoes and pretend not to hear hahahha

Abby definitely gets pissed at Wymack and lift coach (they have to have one okay??) for working the foxes too hard, it's the trainer's job to get pissed at coaches okay

just NCAA violations in general. We have to do quizzes and shit to show we know the rules we can't break/rules the school and coach have to follow. (I could make a whole separate post about all the NCAA violations broken haha)

this is no way saying aftg is inaccurate, it just means they didn't ever get caught which checks out

speaking of which, whenever Aaron get's pissed he definitely is like "And we went over 20 hours last week!! I could just report them!!" to Katelyn and she calms him down

Interactions with other teams/greek life. I know there have to be some mixers/athlete events, if not the Foxes then the Trojans for sure.

complaining about dining hall food, I know Kevin's pissed about seed oils or lack of protein, something stupid like that

hookups within the team. okay the Foxes are small, but that just makes it more messy. the trojans have insane teamcest I just know it. (being coed means even more hookups than normal) . cute relationship sex, hate sex, random sex between people you would not believe (i def don't know this from first hand experience what....)

I'm so excited for TSC because we get so see how a "normal" Exy team behaves (I put normal in quotations bc ppl need to understand that D1 athletes, esp ones on a team as good as USC, are definitely not normal people ahahha)

this is definitely just part 1

[maple-pies]

hoooo alright, some additions to the atla AU:

1. bitch kid pissy about everything because he’s not the heir to the throne 2. said bitch kid getting his ass kicked, Avatar State style

[maple-pies]

My other piece for @aftgreverse with the Wonderful @jostenlovesminyard

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AFTG from a D1 perspective PART 2

I've been brainstorming and talking to teammates and here's some more tidbits!

to reiterate, my sport isn't technically co-ed but men and women practice and compete together

illness: one goes down they all go down. my current coach freaks out whenever someone gets sick because he knows it spreads like wild fire. my old high school coach would yell at us to shut up if we were coughing during practice lolll (in a funny way I promise)

always hungry, always sore, always mentioning these two things (Kevin: "it shows that your working hard!" *he gets strangled by hangry teammates*)

twitching in your sleep. your muscles get so strung out some people get really twitchy in their sleep, esp men bc they usually have more muscle

fav gatorade colors and debates about them

Irrational anger/emotions during practice. When you’re exhausted and pushing your body to the limit, you are a lot easier to piss off. Even chill people will occasionally snap during practice (Renee? I want to see her yell at someone pls pls)

hyping each other up during lift. I know Dan and Matt def do this and probably all of Trojans. They get really into cheering when people get PRs.

Weird traditions before championships, I don't want to give away my own teams things but it could involve hair dying, braiding, hair cuts etc...

TEAM BRAIDERS: there's always that one girl who's really good at braiding and does all the girls hair. Lowkey I feel like it's Allison, she get's all the girlies looking good before each match. (I headcannon Nicky with longish hair I bet when they get along she braids his hair too)

The training room, ice bathes, heat packs, taping, cupping, etc... there's always those certain athletes that LIVE in the training room. I feel like Jean would be one of those people because of all his past injuries.

your teammates literally see you at your lowest, physically, emotionally it is what it is

while it's weird the Raven's dress the same at banquets (#cult), usually during travel to competitions you will dress the same as your team. we get warmups and matching sweatshirts, sweat pants, t-shirts etc and get clothing schedules we have to follow

I am a chronic forgetter of the clothing schedule, I feel like Seth was too. Nicky def rebels against it to wear his own clothes (ppl get in trouble for this all the time)

coach's sayings everyone quotes. the Foxes def call each other "maggots" or other things Wymack says, I feel like this extends to Kevin too, he definitely has some classic saying that are easy to mock

Lockerroom set up: the Foxes are unique but on the Trojans I bet there's a hierarchy of who gets what lockers based on seniority.

Stealing shampoo and conditioner is a huge thing that happens in the women's lockerroom if someone doesn't buy one of those big ass bottles for a communal supply.

feuds. Foxes got this to an extreme, but it's real life. sometimes the beef is so longstanding no one even knows how it started.

another thing about teams that Nora got pretty spot on is how they bring ppl together who wouldn't otherwise interact or be friends, this creates a lot of challenges but opportunities for growth (this is why Jean on the Trojans is going to be great, it's going to be a challenge for the Trojans to get along with him since he doesn't naturally fit and it's gonna be so interesting)

having to attend random athlete shit. sometimes they are such a waste of time, it drives me insane. maybe PSU has learned to kind of leave the Foxes alone but The Trojan's are definitely very community involved

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open to arguments in the tags 💕 it’s Holster so you’re all wrong but I’m open to them 🫶🏼

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I love the aftg main trio because it’s like the butcher of Baltimore’s son who has managed to make it out alive, an actual fucking guard dog in human form, and national sensation exy star Kevin day. It has real “I am here for yakuza negotiations. I have brought my body guard boyfriend, and also celebrity Kevin day is here. He wouldn’t stop crying when we tried to leave.”

[maple-pies]

AFTG from a D1 perspective

As a D1 athlete from a sport where men and women practice and compete together (thought we are separate teams) here are my thoughts ;)

Whenever the Foxes travel and stay in hotels they have to share rooms (but if Wymack is going to drop the $$ for shower stalls they def don't have to share beds like my team does) but I wonder if they randomize the rooms?? lots of potential there...

(however, USC?? They're big enough that I can def seeing them have to share beds hahahaha)

training trip? do they go on training trip Nora I need to know! Lacrosse sometimes does, so maybe exy would idk... (they go to Florida or PR, Kevin gets hella burnt and Neil gets freckles end of story)

Lift?? They have to be lifting!! I know Aaron and Andrew are really into it and Nicky and Allison fight over the aux

there are days where everyone gets along (even people who hate each other) and there are days where everyones HATES each other (even the people who are best friends) it just happens

men are always puking during practice. Aaron personally gives me big barf boy energy (Nicky canonically yaks already lol)

periods. Having men and women practice together means the women don't GAF about talking about periods while the men stare at their shoes and pretend not to hear hahahha

Abby definitely gets pissed at Wymack and lift coach (they have to have one okay??) for working the foxes too hard, it's the trainer's job to get pissed at coaches okay

just NCAA violations in general. We have to do quizzes and shit to show we know the rules we can't break/rules the school and coach have to follow. (I could make a whole separate post about all the NCAA violations broken haha)

this is no way saying aftg is inaccurate, it just means they didn't ever get caught which checks out

speaking of which, whenever Aaron get's pissed he definitely is like "And we went over 20 hours last week!! I could just report them!!" to Katelyn and she calms him down

Interactions with other teams/greek life. I know there have to be some mixers/athlete events, if not the Foxes then the Trojans for sure.

complaining about dining hall food, I know Kevin's pissed about seed oils or lack of protein, something stupid like that

hookups within the team. okay the Foxes are small, but that just makes it more messy. the trojans have insane teamcest I just know it. (being coed means even more hookups than normal) . cute relationship sex, hate sex, random sex between people you would not believe (i def don't know this from first hand experience what....)

I'm so excited for TSC because we get so see how a "normal" Exy team behaves (I put normal in quotations bc ppl need to understand that D1 athletes, esp ones on a team as good as USC, are definitely not normal people ahahha)

this is definitely just part 1

[maple-pies]

“Then don’t trust ‘Neil’,“ Neil said. "Trust me." 

"Oh, but who are you? Do you have a name?" 

"If you need one, call me Abram.”

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