#I just don’t think aftg is even close

[adamprrishcycle]

Is it popular opinion that all for the game is on the same level as the raven cycle???

[odetojupiter]

so, we know that abuse and victim responses to abuse are very central to aftg, but what i find interesting is how other characters respond to the victim’s reactions, especially when it comes to mourning their abuser. there’s something about kevin mourning riko, aaron mourning tilda, neil mourning mary, andrew mourning cass, thats so important to me because it really truly highlights how even when people are united through similar traumas, the differences in their situations makes it impossible to fully understand the relationship a person has to their abuser. neil, aaron, and andrew are united through the abuse, neglect, or - what the fuck is the word i’m thinking of? permit? condone? i mean, knowingly allowing it to happen and not intervening - stemming from a maternal figure. but neil can’t understand why andrew would hold on to cass for so long - he refused to let her go until aaron came into the picture. and andrew can’t understand why aaron would mourn for tilda, potentially viewing aaron’s grief as a betrayal of their promise. and they all ridicule kevin for his reactions to riko. of course, neil and andrew are also abused by riko, but they still can’t understand the complicated relationship between kevin and riko because, at the end of the day, they just weren’t there.

i mean this is primarily an observation but i really love how trauma and trauma response is depicted as nuanced, complex and overall just difficult to understand from an outsider perspective in the books. it reads as really real, and though it can be frustrating when a character doesn’t understand a different character’s response, you have to understand that their perception of said character’s response is warped by their own experience of abuse.

andrew bounced from home to home, never had stability, so obviously he held tight on to the first mother-figure that didn’t outright hurt him. his self-worth was probably low enough that he thought living with drake was a fine price to pay to keep cass.

neil only ever had his mother, and he’d willingly accept her harsh hands because he believed she was just keeping him safe from the very real dangers that were closing in on them.

aaron was dealing with an addiction, and so was his mother; he was equally dependent on her to avoid withdrawal as he was scared of her anger.

i don’t really have a point anymore but you get what i’m saying

[rweoutofthewoods]

I hope this doesn’t sound rude, I’m just curious about it. how come you don’t read jegulus fics when you write them so much? Is it because you write about it or is there another reason

Hi! Dw it’s not rude at all!

I think I’ve talked about this before but it was a long time ago so I don’t mind explaining again. Sorry in advance if this is longer than it needs to be but there’s a few correct answers here.

Firstly, it’s not like I never ever read it or hard stop refuse to, I still read my friend’s and mutual’s work or little fics I come across that really interest me. It’s just, I don’t go through the tag or actively search out jegulus content. But I pretty much read the entire tag before I even started writing jegulus anyway. so like I originally stopped because I’d see fic recs after fic recs and I was like… I read every single fic on these lists 🥲… even “underrated ones” I was like okay I read that too what now 😭

and around 2023 I started investing all of my time into writing every single day and I stopped reading anything at all, like no fics, no published books, nothing, all I was doing was writing. But I found as I did that and stopped being influenced by other people’s versions of these characters and other headcanons, I felt a lot more free to write whatever and however I wanted and my own characterizations felt clearer and stronger. And don’t get me wrong, I love so many of the different versions of jeggy I’ve read and there’s a lot of fics that will always stay close to my heart, I just also wanted to figure out what my OWN version of them was without feeling influenced. Bc ofc a beautiful thing about a mainly fanon fandom is a lot of fics influence each other and headcanons and things that we then almost accept as being canon. And I just like being able to figure out like which of those pieces of fanon I genuinely really liked and wanted to use and which pieces I just felt like I should use because everyone else did.

So I hope that helps explain why! It’s improved my art, but also like I’ve been on this ride a good chunk of time my guys. before I even started writing myself in 2022, I’d already consumed a majority of the tag. And i genuinely just started reading at all again. So I may go back to my jegulus reading era at some point, but at the moment I’m trying to consume the entire aftg tag, so we shall see! Xx

[simonsrosebud]

kevaaron cause why not

kevneil (both are acespec )

Matt/Nicky (I stan bi matt) Erik and Nicky are still friends but we're previously in a relationship, Erik has moved on (maybe nickys first love??)

andrew/Roland pre -series (theyre like a year apart cause I'm not sure how old Roland is but I've always thought of him to be a gay middle-aged man, but Andrew would be like underage and that's a nono)

Kandrew (acespec kevin?? Maybe on the demisexual spectrum??)

Renee/Allison/Dan or some variant/combination in the same au as Matt/Nicky

Jean/Neil , demisexual spec Neil

Kevin/Jeremy cause they were never given a chance and KEVIN I KNOW THERE'S GAY IN YOU demispec kev

Choose whichever pairing that inspires you most but PLEASE tag me in the writing cause I need more aftg in my life <3

okay i may definitely tag u if i do others but for the first one i couldn't help but do jeremy and kevin I JUST LOVE THEM

The thing about Jeremy, Kevin supposes, is that he really thinks that he could’ve been a Raven if someone had been paying attention all the way in West Virginia.  He had the same talent and stats that other strikers did when joining the line, had more of a height advantage than Riko ever did.

Being a Raven would have broken his spirit.  Kevin doesn’t think he’d ever forgive himself for that, knowing that he probably would have contributed to it at some point.

But then he wouldn’t be this, free and spirited and so fearless in showing unabashed joy.  Here, sitting in Kevin’s car, babbling on about California and how Kevin really should visit him next time so that he can show him around.  “I’m glad the sun has finally reached you,” he’s saying, “You look good with a nice tan.”  And it’s taking too much out of Kevin to keep his eyes on the road.

Jeremy’s hotel is just off campus, but it’s not far, and Kevin does have time, so he leans against the hood of the car while Jeremy lifts himself up onto it because “the height difference isn’t fair”.  It's only three inches, Kevin doesn't dare point it out. And suddenly Kevin is reaching out to smooth his fingers through Jeremy’s hair, soft and smooth and golden in the setting sun.

“Maybe it’s all this hair weighing you down,” he says.

Jeremy smiles, wide and lopsided and lazy, and leans into his touch.  “Never.  The hair is part of my charm.”

Kevin settles his hand on the hood of the car, then, all long legs and tall torso leaning so casually, and he’s pretty sure Jeremy’s eyes linger on his arms for a second longer than normal.  It makes his chest fluttery, so he says, “That’s what I used to tell Jean.”

And oh, Jeremy lights up.  “Yeah?  He tells me it’s unbearable.”

“He’s an idiot.”  Why would anyone ever say that?  “I used to talk about you a lot… in the Nest.”  He doesn’t really know why he says it other than he and Jeremy won’t be in the same place forever and Neil told him to stop holding back just because he’s scared of getting a letter in the mail from Ichirou himself.  So long as you send them their money and stay out of jail, your free time is your own.

With the way Jeremy preens at his confession, he thinks it’s the right call, anyway.  He taps Kevin’s closest finger with his pinky.  “What, about exy?”

“No.”

Surprise.  “Oh.”  Jeremy’s skin is honey gold and bronzed from the constant California sun, but Kevin’s never seen him sunburned.  The tinge of pink on his cheeks may be as close as he’ll get.  “Can I tell you something embarrassing?”

Oh no.  Kevin steels the lead in his stomach.  “Sure, anything.”  He can feel it coming, the inevitable, I feel flattered, you know, but I just don’t-

“I used to have a poster of you in my bedroom at home.” 

God, this was even worse.

“But I took it down once my older brother caught me kissing it goodnight before bed.”

Oh…?

Kevin opens his mouth, but doesn’t know what to say.  Instead, a smirk starts taking over his lips.  “You had… You used to kiss me?  Every night?”

Jeremy’s blush has traveled the length of his neck, but at least he laughs softly.  “Until I was, like, almost sixteen, yeah.”  Kevin taps his pinky finger back.  “Now I just do it in my head.”

Pause.

Kevin whips his head back up, shock surely coating his face.  “You what?”

And Jeremy’s face falls.  “I-I just mean- sorry, I didn’t- oh god, I just made this super,” he slides off the hood of the car, “awkward.  That’s not- I just meant that, like-“

Kevin grabs his hand when he gets too far.  Jeremy freezes, but doesn’t dare move.  Kevin works on his words, lets his mouth fish open while he tries forming them, and eventually says, “If I had a poster of you,” he frowns, “I’d, um…” he looks up at Jeremy, vulnerable and confused and maybe, possibly, the least bit hopeful.  “I’d kiss you goodnight, too.”

Grinning, now, Jeremy lets his hand fall further into Kevin’s, and gives it two squeezes.  “You can, you know,” he whispers.  He meets Kevin’s eyes slowly.  “If you want.”

Nothing could stop the jackhammering in Kevin’s chest, or the rushing of blood in his ears from how red his face probably is, but Jeremy’s voice comes through right as rain regardless.  He gives his hand a tug, pulling Jeremy closer, and steps towards him so that he has to look down at him.  Those three inches are going to kill him.

But Kevin must be taking too long, because then Jeremy’s hand is sliding up the side of his neck and pulling him down, and Kevin’s hands go flying to his sides, falling into the dip of his waist and wishing they could run up along his skin.  Jeremy sighs a bit into his mouth and drags his tongue along Kevin’s bottom lip, and then Kevin is pulling him closer until their chests are flush and his hands can slide underneath the thin t-shirt, hand splaying on Jeremy’s lower back and wanting to curl itself into the skin there.

Jeremy’s tongue is warm and slick and Kevin tries not to be embarrassed when he moans lightly into his mouth.  It makes Jeremy smile against his mouth, which really is Kevin’s own fault because he did not want this kiss to end.  Jeremy tucks back in for one more kiss, shorter but sweeter, his fingers gently scratching at Kevin’s scalp, and searches Kevin’s face from only inches apart when Kevin subtly tilts his head into his hand.

“I kinda had one more embarrassing thing,” Jeremy pants a little, a warm smile poking through, and god, everything about him is warm and sweet, so so sweet.  His skin underneath his shirt is warm like a fresh batch of cookies; tongue like a melted marshmallow daring to fall apart in your mouth;  smile like a rainbow after a hot summer shower and disposition of one that reminds Kevin of his mother’s comfort, of Abby’s hugs and his father’s safety.

Jeremy himself is a son of Apollo, Kevin is sure of it.

But Kevin doesn’t trust his own voice, right now, so he just nods and hums in encouragement.  He holds Jeremy close more decidedly, taking advantage of the contact and flattening his palms along the bare skin of his back and waist below his shirt.  He thinks for a moment it sends shivers down Jeremy’s spine.

For this, though, Jeremy goes up on his tip toes and tilts Kevin’s head to grant him his ear.  He nips at it, first, sending a shiver down Kevin’s spine, and says, “You’ve been number one on my list since I was fourteen.”

“God.”  It’s not intentional, but Kevin doesn’t even care at this point.  He’s heard all about these lists from Nicky.  He knew what it meant.

Jeremy laughs, quiet and contained and goofy, and props his elbows on Kevin’s shoulders to shelter them in.  “Would you like to come up to my room?”

[codename-adler]

is there any reason why Dan specifically? a lot of the foxes have dad issues, but Dan doesn't show any signs of trying to seek out anything romantic from older men becuz of that. if it were any fox, i feel like it'd be more likely to be Andrew? idk how old Roland is but we know he was older than Andrew, and he's a position of authority just like Wymack. I don't WANT it to be Andrew. I just feel like if it had to be someone, its him, yknow?

hmm not sure how to answer this.

i just transposed my experience onto her, as a hc, for shits & giggles. i never said i based myself on canon? was just vibing.

if i did have to justify it, i’d say the EC kind of could point that way, if you really wanted it to be as close to canon as possible? but i’d don’t! cause it’s just for fun! and not that serious!

as for the Andrew thing, um, i feel like i gotta say something. just as nothing in canon points to Danielle having lingering daddy issues / seeking much older male validation because of her past, neither does Andrew. Roland is what? a few years older, max? legally an adult (which is still BAD, in case i wasn't clear......), but not the way Wymack is, a fully grown man in his forties/fifties. he’s not a dad’s age. no dad potential whatsoever. Roland & Andrew is different than the possibility of Andrew seeking out Wymack. you have to know that. it's not the same at all.

the reason Andrew sought out Roland was not specifically bc of his age, but bc Andrew could be in control and Roland would follow his rules, for the most part. when he would not, Andrew could tie him up, and Roland would let him. if there was an age-related reason, it’d be that Roland is a mature, consenting adult in full possession of his independence. Andrew would be inclined to see that as good (for Roland). Andrew would not consider this as also bad (for himself). Roland has no authority at all over Andrew, though. not according to canon Andrew. he may have been his boss at one point, but Andrew is holding the reins of the situationship. Andrew is the one in control.

so to say that Andrew, specifically, would be the one most likely to seek out much older males is… icky. iffy. yucky. you “don’t want it to be Andrew” and why is that? bc of his past abuse, right? and you know that. you know why. i know i’m probably more on the defensive than i ought to be, but there are already harmful stereotypes in aftg when it comes to queer representations and identities. we don’t need more in fanon. i don’t need more in fanon.

Andrew grew up in foster care without a mom or a dad. if he had daddy issues, he’d most likely have mommy issues too, no? but what did he do to his mommy? killed her. for laying a finger on Aaron. that’s a mommy issue alright, but not a mainstream, freudian one. not the kind we’re talking about here. so why would he develop those with older men in parallel? he actively avoids these types of men because of the abuse he endured at their hands. not just Drake's.

it’s just. awfully close to right down saying Andrew is gay bc he was abused by men as a child. that’s a dangerous, slippery slope.

again! in case it wasn't blindingly clear and glaringly obvious! the Danielle post was about Danielle herself. David Wymack would not and never was involved. David Wymack never even knew Dan harbored these misplaced (misplaced!) feelings. she is taking this one to the grave.

if you come from the perspective of personal experience and you’re projecting too, sorry. i don’t mean to invalidate your feelings or your experience.

i think i’m done now.

tl:dr it wasn’t that serious + it doesn’t need to be made serious. just me and my dad-baggage against the world.

[dayurno]

sorryyyy for bringing some type of discourse to your inbox but I just giggle whenever anyone brings up the fact that nora soad andrews a misogynist and their only argument is the fact that he's friends with renee and dating neil who said women are the strongest ppl i know, like i don't personally think he's a misogynist, but i feel like there has to be better arguments for it😭

maybe it's bc the fandom gets on my nerves so I'm more sensitive to any attempts a defanging and making characters more palatable bc I'm not a fan of the widespread fanon versions of the characters also it's sad I feel like the fandom made some sort of progress where discussions were being had about the problems in the series and now after tsc came out it feels like we're back to where the author can do no wrong and it's hard to criticise anything

what do you think about tsc being a triology, I feel like two books can hopefully give Jeremy the depth he needs i remember you found him a bit flat as well when you read the book, I see a lot of people saying he needs to have a mean side or a traumatic past but I feel like a kind, nice character can be interesting without those things and not every kind character needs to have this secret mean side anyway, personally I groaned out loud when I found out it was a triology bc that would mean the fandom would be alive for longer and it's so crazy out of any book fandom I've ever been in for some reason the aftg fandom feels the most obnoxious maybe it's bc the books deal with heavier topics close to the heart so there's more feelings involved🤔the only book fandom who has pissed me off a comparable amount would be asoiaf but that's a whole different thing

I really do try and be happy I'm not even in the fandom anymore and I've never followed aftg twitter accounts and I don't even check the tags I just go on certain blogs but i still see things it's horrible💔like I can't believeeee we're still discussing if Kevins a coward or not and how selfish he is for leaving the nest like we've already argued about this to death on tumblr back in like 2016 now it's the same thing again💔

LOL i understand honestly so many of these discussions are repackaged wide-spread 2015 opinions which don’t reflect the original text that it’s hard to do anything except use the we have this thread every week comrade image and let it go. andrew being misogynistic is not even hard to come to terms with considering it’s not an interpretation or a headcanon it’s the author’s own words and will for the character incorporated into canon. there are things to disagree with nora sakavic for, but ultimately there is a difference between disagreeing with the author and willfully ignoring the intention with which a character was written

& i didn’t really care much for the news, i think the lack of planning and the rushed way the books are coming along are grating on both the author and the fandom, but i don’t blame her for wanting to get this done and over with. it will show more insight on jeremy hopefully, but unfortunately i already don’t care 😭 i think the route tsc took was in general uninteresting and pedestrian enough to not warrant a second thought, and i’m not particularly interested in any plotline beyond what pertains to kevin and the ravens. what surprised me really is the total lack of impact tsc had on the fandom, which is to say, i think it was so in line with the same 3-5 headcanons passed around the last 10 years that it has genuinely done nothing for anyone aside from the people who were already very invested in jean and/or jeremy. it feels like a different fandom from aftg altogether, which i’m happy about if only because it keeps us all locked in different cages, but it still baffles me to see people dedicate so much thought to a book whose characters bar jean are, as of now, the very definition of Nothing burger. all in all the answer to that question and most questions pertaining to tsc is Who cares. because literally who cares

LMFAO staying away from aftg twt is really good for you & honestly all of us. it’s still so funny to me that not even nora sakavic herself wanted to touch that mess. mentally ill white suburbanite teenage shut-in echo chamber ass fandom

[kittkatattacks]

Wip Wednesday 7/31/24

These are hella late but here are my sentences for 7/31 :)

Perfect season 20-22 for:

@happinessisntfun @owlbearwrites @1attheedge @eriquin

“I need you to get some information to the little lord.”

“Ah, I see. And what exactly would I be telling him?”

“Riko is getting out of control. He sent some of the freshman Ravens over to Palmetto to kill one of our players.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes. the player who was attacked saw who it was and I’m sure there’s a paper trail that leads back to the side branch if not to Riko himself.”

“Alright, I’ll check it out and relay your message. Is there anything else?”

“Thank you, and no, there’s nothing else right now.”

“Very well then, I’ll let you go.”

“Bye,” Neil says, and hangs up the phone, handing it back to Andrew.

He pockets the phone, leans back on his elbows and stares out at the parking lot. Neil doesn’t feel like going back inside so he sits with Andrew and stares at him, admiring how the sun lights up his hair and makes his eyes glow gold.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

AFTG space au for:

@enigma-the-mysterious @scifikimmi @auburnlaughter @adhdavinci

Neil finishes signing his email, heart pounding in his ears and sends it off before he can think about it too much. He quickly closes his laptop and leans back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head and then takes a few calming breaths.

In, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Out, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

In, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Out, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

He does this until he feels his heart slow and gets up to get ready for the day. 

Neil barely makes it through his first class; the professor monotonically goes over the syllabus and then keeps them there for another half hour talking about himself and how he ended up in ‘such a fine establishment’. He resorts to alternating between drawing on the handout given to them at the start of class and stabbing himself in the thigh with a pen.

He meets up with Jean for a late lunch and they both talk about how their classes are going so far.

“I’m just saying, that class is shit. I don’t understand why we need to take it.” Neil says, referring to his undergraduate studies class.

“We have to take it because someone,” Jean replies, stabbing a piece of broccoli with his fork, and then pointing it at Neil, “wanted to explore Europe instead of going to college when we graduated.”

“Whatever,” Neil says, swatting the broccoli away. “It's not like I made you come with me.”

“True, but irrelevant. Besides, if you had gone on your own, who would have been there to take care of you after all of the times you got into fights and needed patching up.”

“I could have done it myself or gone to a clinic,” Neil says, already knowing he’s going to lose this argument.

“Bullshit. I’ve never met someone who hates hospitals more than you do. Also I’ve seen you try to patch yourself up, you’re pretty shit at it.”

“Alright, Alright,” Neil says, putting his hands up in surrender, “you win.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

YLPWBOYF for:

@somefishycat @wizisbored

Lola wastes no time getting into his space, knife in hand, crowding him even more into the car door. 

“So, Junior,” Lola says, like she’s gossiping with a friend, “I’ve just got to know, where’d Mary run off to?” She presses the tip of the knife into his cheek when he doesn’t immediately answer, just enough to draw a drop of blood. 

Nathaniel doesn’t flinch despite the pain he feels and replies, “Like I’d ever tell you that.”

“Maybe,” Lola says, “but I have a feeling you’ll tell me sooner or later.”

Nathaniel wants to question how she plans to do that, but keeps his smart mouth shut, his mind already coming up with multiple ways that she could.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

DMRA for:

@zyrafowe-sny @whimsicalmeerkat @aparticularbandit @post-and-out

Aaron can tell he’s struck a nerve, the bulging veins on either side of Hill’s forehead giving away just how much he has. 

Halsey steps between them, redirecting Hill’s attention to him and Aaron takes the chance to give Kevin a once over.

Aaron hadn’t thought much of him when he first walked in, having been more focused on Hill. However, now that he’s really looking, he notices how muscular Kevin’s arms are, his jade-green eyes and how he towers over most of the people in the room, including himself.

Aaron turns his attention back to Hill and Halsey, “I look forward to seeing you in class,” Hill says, but Aaron can tell he is still pissed from earlier despite the smile he wears.

He glares at Hill until he’s gone and turns his attention back to Halsey who checks his watch, “I’ve got to go, there’s a call I need to make. Kevin, could you please show Mr.Minyard the Emergency room.”

“Of course, I was on my way over there anyway,” Kevin says.

Aaron gives Kevin his full attention now that Halsey is gone, “You sure know what to say to impress important people huh?”

“I assume you mean Hill.”

Yeah, he’s a pain in the ass but he’s got a lot of influence here. Let me guess, you’re taking Dr.Hill’s class?”

“Yep.”

“Well, if I were you, I’d tone down the animosity. Getting an F in his class is like a bad review from the New York Times; it’ll ruin your career before it even begins.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

[joanofexys]

Tell me more about these ocs 👀

(Sorry for anon I'm kinda 😅)

you’re all good, hun! anons are always welcome!!

okay okay so I have my main four AFTG OCs

Florian Laska, Mara Fasil, Emiko Moriyama, and Ilya Kostyk

here’s a post essentially rambling about Florian and Mara

key points are:

they were partners in the nest

Florian’s now a striker, Mara’s still a dealer

they play for the US Olympic team

Florian is 19 like Jean and Neil and dropped out of college, Mara is 23 and graduated in 4 years instead of 5

Florian’s an amputee, lost his left leg and maintains it was an accident that happened during practice

they’re extremely codependent still

they’re a PR nightmare, especially Mara

I haven’t actually talked about Em or Ilya much

Summary of Em (she/her):

middle child

25 years old

yes I created an OC who’s a Moriyama sibling sue me

so extremely gay

backliner

also plays for the olympic team

estranged from essentially all members of her family after graduating from EAU

Em’s lovely, not cause she’s a great person but cause she loves her Raven’s fiercely (especially those who have left the team) and she will start any number of fights for them. She’s nowhere near perfect and she should be seeing a therapist but she is trying her goddamn hardest to be the complete opposite of pretty much everyone in her family

I think she gets along well with Renee and once Jean transfers to the Trojans she definitely reaches out to some of them even just to check in. Her and Thea are also good friends. I don’t think she’s worn the color black since she’s graduated, the girl looks like a rainbow and I support her. She’s extremely affectionate with her current teammates which might be partially because of how hard she checks them during practices

I think that’s most of what i’ve got for her

Ilya (he/they):

Is my only non-Raven OC lmao

22 years old

Played for Penn State (graduated in 4 years)

Goalkeeper

If it's not obvious at this point he's a olympic player, i'm basically creating a whole team lmao

transman cause i said so and that's very important to me

has 3 sisters who he's very close to, youngest child

they speak English, Spanish, and ASL and they're teaching Flor ASL

Ilya my beloved. He's such a little shit and I think we're all better off for it tbh. They're so loud and take up space and I honestly think he's the perfect person to show Flor how to do so. I do think he and Florian end up dating at some point in the future cause I think they work really well together.

They are truly just some guy. Grew up in a great and supportive family and they all love him dearly. He's gets on great with most people except for the Ravens and so it takes a minute for him to warm up to Florian and Mara especially and he and Mara still butt heads plenty but he and Florian got partnered together for drills and it was like their little bonding moment

After the events of TKM he truly becomes the foxes #1 fan. He is rooting for them constantly and so annoying about it.

Ummmm idk I have trouble thinking of stuff without specifics to go off of so that's what's bouncing around in my head atm

[jeanmoreaux]

top 9 books

tagged forever ago by @doctorsrose & @rosesau (🫶🫶🫶)

tagging: @lvnchs | @permanentreverie | @tolerateit | @speaknowtv | @henwilsons | @newtmsa | @greenribon | @brimay | @hollyfhumberstone | @tbosas | @alinastarkovz (ofc no pressure <3 would love to hear about your fav books in whatever way you wanna share and if you don't then that's okay too!)

rules: list your top 9 books obviously. like the people before me and probably most people who did this i cheated and put series or several books by the same author as one thing bc rules are made for breaking <3 this is very much both an 'off the top of my head' as well as a 'laboured over this for hours' kind of list that's heavily biased to the present moment.

(1.) all for the game by nora sakavic; i don't even know what to say about this. either you read it and Get why this is on my list or you Don't. and if you haven't read it this is not a recommendation btw. this is just me saying these books did irreparable damage to my developing teenage brain. hit me like no other series probably ever will again because i read this at the Right Time while being the exact right amount of Insane. and just like seed mentioned in her list if you want to know Me and Understand Me then you need to know this series. i am sure there are traces of it in my dna by now.

(2.) the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater; same goes for this one tbh. if you want to know Me and Understand Me then you need to know this series. another instance of Right Time and Right Me. these books burrowed themselves deep into my bones and became a part of my dna. they shaped soo much of my taste in prose, storytelling techniques, tropes, and dynamics. this story and these characters took me apart and put me back together again but rearranged some essential parts inside of me. much like with aftg, i came out of this series irreversibly changed and drenched in blood final girl style.

(3.) frankenstein by mary shelley; a beautifully written story with soooo much room for whatever literary lens you want to apply to it. i know i answered an ask once where i talked about my love for this book in detail but i can't find it. but i found this rant on frankenstein and the creature. i think a lot of my love for this story comes from the fact that i had the chance to work closely with the text several times. but also it's just a heart-wrenching tale about how we define humanity and how love is essential nourishment for the soul. it reminds me of that one quote from the good place: "people improve when they get external love and support. how can we hold it against them when they don’t?" because frankenstein basically answers the question what happens when someone gives you a life you didn't ask for and then opts out of any (emotional) responsibility and leaves you desolate and utterly forsaken.

(4.) the green bone saga by fonda lee; an epic family saga i still think about A Lot. kinda succession without logan but make it fantasy mafia. sibling relationships are a big part of this story too. which if you know me. big fan of that. it's also a series that grows in scope (world building wise) and keeps adding complexity So Naturally it's impressive. amazing storytelling craft at work fr. definitely an underhyped series in my opinion.

(5.) the sword of kaigen by m.l. wang; another fantasy story focusing on family dynamics but also functioning as a character study. it's a self-published work and it shows in the BEST way. there's just something about it that makes me insane one a storytelling level because it breaks so many conventions and you either hate that or love that but no matter your opinion on it i think it's undeniable that this book has some of the best character work written in recent years. i desperately need to reread.

(6.) on earth we’re briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong; another book that fucked me up with its beautiful prose and incredibly gut-wrenching emotional honesty. it really feels like you're reading about someone ripping out the most vulnerable and messed up and complex parts of their soul and laying them bare for you to see expecting nothing but acknowledgement in return. and while my own lived experience is nothing close to ocean vuong's the emotional core of this book rings so true. also i just have to say it again. the prose fucks severely.

(7.) the grisha trilogy & the six of crows duology by leigh bardugo; another (two) series i read in my teens that shaped my taste to a drastic degree. the crows are just forever ingrained in my brain. alina's story will forever fuck me up. you all know. you all understand. w're not getting into it. i think the fact that tgt is so misunderstood and undervalued just makes me love it more. because if you get it. damn. devastating. if you don't. so sorry for you because you're missing out.

(8.) the song of achilles & circe by madeline miller; tbh both of these retellings did something to my brain. you all know these i don't have to elaborate. it's very typical queer of me to fawn over anything to do with greek mythology and retellings but. these two just HIT different. also, the prose? makes me a little insane.

(9.) giovanni’s room by james baldwin; this book has some of the most insane prose i have ever read. baldwin's grasp on language is uncanny fr. every other sentence packs a punch in one way or another. he manages to capture some aspects of the queer (specifically the bi) experience in a way that felt so familiar to me and put words to so many of my internal experiences. it's about the self and identity and being lost and refusing to let yourself be found. it's also about human connections and how you'll wither when you deny yourself to open up to the people closest to you. it's about so many things without being about one think in particular. like all the other books on this list, love and belonging are at the core of it, but in a very distorted way. i don't think you can really understand unless you've read it. it's So Good.

honorable mentions; emma by jane austen (cunty women RULE), wuthering heights by emily brontë (severely fucked up in the most entertaining way. that's how you write drama.) east of eden by john steinbeck (cain and abel shit and deranged women? sign me up), these violent delights by micah nemerever (be gay do crime in the most mentally ill way possible), if we were villains (love it when characters haunt a narrative. also definitely a book about the gay sex that is not happening), women in love by d.h. lawrence (still currently making my way through this one but it's so deliciously messed up and queer i am almost certain it will leave a permanent mark)

[mania-sama]

Hello, just found your blog and I love your posts. Thanks for sharing them.

When I first saw your blog, I thought it will be about classical books like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, etc (sorry for my mistake). I'm new in anime/manga (about last 6 years), before that since my school days, I only read classical books.....So not young in age but young in fandom :D

Are those seven are your fav media : BSD, JJK, Genshin Impact, AFTG, Voltron, Demon Slayer, Haikyuu? Can I ask why you love them? What made them special for you?

P.s

Are you excited for the Haikyuu movie, new season of Demon Slayer, and new spin off for AFTG?

Thanks 🌻

Thank you for sending in another request!! I smiled wide when I saw that sunflower 🌻

I completely understand where you’re coming from. The A Tale of Two Cities is sure to through anyone off. Sorry!! I mainly use this blog to post my ramblings and creative projects that I can’t really put anywhere else, plus a few one shots. I might transfer more of my one-shots to here from Ao3, but I simply haven’t gotten around to it.

Love to hear that you love the classics, though!! I wish I had the patience to read more than I have already. I’m an extremely slow reader, so it makes it difficult to get through classics (even though I love them dearly). For anime/manga, I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan myself. Not that I don’t enjoy it, but I don’t go out of my way to read or watch something in that genre because it’s in that genre. I watch or read anything that may pique my interest, regardless of the format, be it on Youtube, Hulu, Crunchyroll, etc. I haven’t really even seen many animanga myself, to be honest.

I wouldn’t say the seven that you listed are my favorite media, they are just the ones that I have written fanfiction/analyses about and posted it on here. I use that list as a masterlist guide for people to find my meaningful posts easier! So, not my favorite, just whats available to peruse on my account. As for my actual favorite… it’s hard to say. I don’t think I have seven I can list off the top of my head, but I do have some favorites in general.

Interestingly, for most of my “favorites”, I have never written a fanfiction for, nor do I read many fanfics for (with the exception of a couple of favorites). I don’t know why this is. Maybe because I find the original story too good to be expanded upon? I can’t say for certain.

A Silent Voice is easily favorite movie. It’s also my favorite anime, if you don’t require the anime to be a series. I haven’t watched any movie better, animated or otherwise, and I’m not sure I ever will. The characters are all so beautifully human, who say and do the wrong things, who are awful to each other, but who also do kind things, who develop, who change, even as others stay the same. Not to mention that the animation itself is beautiful. I could go on and on about this movie; I cry every time I watch it. I’d say it’s my favorite piece of media in general. Everything else falls behind it. Nothing can top it (at least not yet). Fun fact, if you didn’t already know: the English voice actor for Shouko, the main female lead, is actually deaf. Wonderful voice casting as well, just to top things off.

Bungou Stray Dogs is my favorite manga as of right now. I love it for many of the same reasons I love A Silent Voice; the characters are horribly human and complex, despite their inhuman abilities. Each character is interesting and unique, and while I do have gripes with the main storytelling, Asagiri’s Bungou Stray Dogs: BEAST really makes up for it. All of the character designs are also very unique and thought-out. Each character and their design leaves me spiraling as I think and analyze. It really triggers the autism LMAO.

Child of Light is my favorite video game. While I do have the most hours logged into Genshin Impact (and it is a close second in terms of favorites), Child of Light is simply one of those games that I can never forget. I have a lot of good childhood memories tied with it. I also completed the entire thing in one sitting in about 10 hours, which is the first and probably last time I ever speed-run a video game (speed-run is used loosely here because I am not “speedy” in any sense of the word). Anyway, Child of Light is a very beautiful game both in visuals (with its watercolor game design) and music (one of the best soundtracks in any game, in my opinion). The language in the game is also very unique — every character speaks in a rhyming pattern, all except the Jester character, who you would THINK would speak in rhymes but fails miserably every time. Each character is as fantastical as the next, ranging from a water droplet to a mouse. I wish everyone would play this game, because it’s so fun and so beautiful.

The Grishaverse is my favorite book series, though there are multiple series within the universe. I just don’t have a favorite (definitely not the Grisha Trilogy though 😭). Although it’s been a while since I’ve read the books, I seriously couldn’t put them down when I was reading them. They are a perfect blend of fantasy and realism, with believable characters and powers. While the OG series is genuinely not good in my opinion, the Six of Crows and King of Scars Duologies are actual masterpieces. Six of Crows is full of action, intensity, and found family, while King of Scars balances it out with political intrigue. Very, very well written and well done book series in plot, character, and setting. The TV show is a crime against the books, honestly, but it’s okay, Just read the books, they are better.

Merlin is my favorite TV show. I actually really love watching medieval settings. Not as much reading (not that I don’t like them in books, I just don’t search them out for the purpose of being medieval), but I love to watch them. I like admiring the old settings, buildings, clothes, and lifestyles that are being presented. I also love Arthurian retellings, so Merlin kind of hits the spot. I don’t have as many good reasons for loving this series, I just do 😭. Best (b)romance of the century. I did cry at the end when I watched it. Also, thank you to the Merlin fandom for reaching me what a good fanfiction is supposed to look like.

That’s all I can think of. I don’t really have a favorite individual book, classic or otherwise. I think that’s kind of impossible for me. I’ve read many great series, and I assume I will read a great many more to come.

I’m not sure if I’ll watch the Haikyuu movie. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched the anime, but if I come across it and I can watch it for free, then I’d be down honestly. I have been keeping up with Demon Slayer, with plans to read the manga maybe, so I am pretty excited for the new season!! And don’t get me started on the new All for the Game book!! I need it in my hands right now.

Thank you so much for asking!! I love talking about my favorite medias lol

[the-s-exy-squad]

That goofy little moment when you hear a song and the lyrics spiral into a very sad and heartbreaking au of AFTG and when your brain was done, you started actually crying.

But like what if Andrew never got sent to Easthaven to detox?

He would still be in that stupid induced mania and in a “silly goofy mood” and think the whole thing is funny or at the very least it seem that way to other people, and he’d start pushing literally everyone away even Renee.

What if Aaron saw Andrew’s happy go lucky attitude and deep down he knows it’s the meds but it doesn’t stop him from wondering if it is JUST the meds or if he actually finds the situation funny, and he felt so bad and guilty about it that he started doing drugs again? Andrew gets mad at him over the drugs but bc the mania he isn’t seen *as mad* and looks like he’s just taunting Aaron over actually killing a man and doing drugs again.

Nicky sees the both of them spiral and that pushes his guilt induced depressive episode even farther and he starts wondering about how none of this would have happened if he stayed in the closet and on good terms with his parents . He stops calling Erik as frequently claiming to be tired and exhausted from practice and school but that was only partial truth.

Neil Sees Andrew breaking down over it bc he sees things about Andrew that others don’t and he doesn’t know why (bc demisexuality and yk the “Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t blow you” hasnt/might not even actually happen.) but his heart is shattering at it. His reason for staying wasn’t just the Exy and the only other reason was falling apart and through his fingers and he didn’t know how to help. He’d start to heavily debate running again and gets so so close to doing so if he didn’t actually do it.

Allison sees Aaron’s addiction again and how Andrew seemingly doesn’t care and is seeming to be urging him on and after Seth really triggers her.

Renee is trying to be supportive of Andrew but can’t figure out a way to get through to him without pushing him too far bc the meds. She starts to feel like despite everything Andrew still doesn’t care about how much she cares.

Kevin sees all the chaos and knows that Riko won. He got exactly what he intended by paying off Drake to be at the Hemmicks’ house that night and having him demand the Hemmicks’ ensure the twins are there. He starts drinking more and stops caring about exy bc his life is over. If not literally, at least in that regard, which to him is the equivalent.

Matt seeing Aaron start using again gave an influx on the urges of restarting which made him pull away from the team. He’d go to class and practices but lock himself in his room otherwise to try and minimize that urge and if his roommate was there he’d go sit in the lounge at the court.

Dan was with him throughout it and refused to let him pull away from her but she started to realize that the shit with the ravens was too much and there was no way they could beat them. She starts questioning her self worth and starts thinking abt all the misogynistic things she’s heard.

[odetojupiter]

what if i told you that thea’s raven number - 14 - is an unlucky number because, translated, it sounds similar to ‘must die’/‘will certainly die’ in cantonese, and ‘is dead’/‘will be dead’ in mandarin.

‘her number was 14 for reasons’ - nora sakavic, aftg extra content

what if i suggested that tetsuji gave her that number specifically because he considered a black woman dominating his own sport a threat not only to himself but to his perfect court. not only is tetsuji’s misogyny pretty clear, but we all know the other ravens were killing themselves trying to be given the next perfect court number, but that was never gonna happen because even though the perfect court was actually full of the best players, it was never actually about championing the best players, it was about ownership. so what if i said that tetsuji hated that thea was as good as she was without having any ties to himself, outside of signing on to the college team he coaches. he felt undermined because he couldn’t fully credit himself for her skill, and so he gave her the 14 - on the surface, it’s an achievement to get so close to single digits for the ravens BUT it comes with a hidden threat. you will die if you go too far.

and then what if i suggested that nora also chose 14 because of the way the fandom reacted to thea. i have no idea whether she’d already picked out the number before the series was published but i don’t think it’s mentioned in the original series ?? so i mean…

yes, i’ve seen the list of issues people have with thea but what’s crazy to me is that we know literally nothing about her bar the few tidbits nora mentioned in the extra content, and the few scenes we have in the series. and i know there was probably a full backstory written for her that we never got to see bc of all the hate nora got purely for introducing her, and the subsequent reactions to literally everything we’re told about thea just makes me think that nobody actually learned anything about how people’s trauma can drastically influence how they perceive the world and how they react to things including the abuse of other people - cough. andrew and aaron cough. - her reactions to things are bound to be built off her experiences and she was literally in a cult which would completely rewire her world view so like (even what we’re told in the EC, we don’t meet her until her fifth year of edgar allan so she’s five years deep into this shit guys, and you know tetsuji was physically and mentally abusive to all the ravens u have to know that by now)—-

but anyway this post isn’t supposed to be a defence or a critique of her i just find the number 14 aligns with the way people speak about her as though she’s done something bad enough to deserve death threats, so i just hope you realise when u perpetuate that shit it’s like ur tattooing that 14 right on her face.

oh to add to that, in japanese culture the number fourteen represents imperfection, but specifically beauty found in things that are imperfect. if i say that’s a way of saying no thea isn’t perfect but that doesn’t mean she deserves to die ? what then?

bc no she’s not a perfect person and ill be the first to admit i hated that scene in tsc with jean, but are you really telling me that’s the worst thing an aftg character has ever done?? why is she being branded as the worst when she was literally in the series for like 3 pages?

and do u know what, the fact that she, post graduation, still wears her 14 is 1) a sign of pride that she really is one of the best and 2) a reminder that she is not dead yet, despite the efforts of tetsuji and the literal fandom

[kybelles]

Hello, can I ask from this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/threecheersforinking/677824836625694720/anime-ask-game?source=share

For fandom: Banana Fish, Captive Prince, AFTG, and Fruits Basket.

Thanks 🌻

hi doll! 💖 this was honestly sooo fun 😍

fruits basket

Favorite Character: i genuinely can’t choose between tohru kyo and yuki i’m so sorry!! 🥹

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: i’m a kyoru girl to the end so i’ll go with true form arc!! when kyo called by her name for the first time… let’s just say lives were changed

i also love the ep about baby yuki sm!! the reveal about him being tohru’s savior 🥹🥹 BABY YUKI I WILL AVANGE YOU!

Character I Think is Underrated: momiji 🥺 his backstory makes me wanna kms everytime i think about it and in another life he and tohru were meant to be together 💔

Character I Think is Overrated: hatori 🧍‍♂️ name one useful thing he has done… quickly…

Favorite Ship/Pairing: KYORU 🧡🩷 but i also have a soft spot for yukimachi and yukeru

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: that pretty much every character has an interesting arc! i really love ensemble stories that doesn’t forget about its main characters (cough given cough) and i think furuba had a nice balance about it 🙏

banana fish

Favorite Character: again i can’t choose between ash and eiji i’m sorry 😭

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: asheiji’s domestic life in the condo will always have me in a chokehold… also forever holding a grudge to the anime for erasing eiji’s forever but that part also lives rent free in my mind 🥲

Character I Think is Underrated: SING!! i believe so much mess could be avoided if everyone just listened to sing 🫠

Character I Think is Overrated: blanca 😒 another useless af man who generously told ash to go back to his abuser… DIE!!!

Favorite Ship/Pairing: asheiji till i die 😗 i like unrequited eiji ships too! unrequited shoreiji, singeiji, yueiji… *chefs kiss*

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: honestly i don’t think i can put it into thewords! there’s a reason why banana fish was so influential for so many gay stories that came after it and even though i’m forever bitter about the ending i’ll never not be in awe of yoshida for creating such a beautiful love story

captive prince

Favorite Character: DAMIANOS OF AKIELOS 👑

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: ik this isn’t a very original answer but nesson-eloy will always have my heart! the flirting, the banter, the closeness… simply delicious

Character I Think is Underrated: jokaste ☹️ so many takes about her makes you realize misogyny is well and alive 😍

Character I Think is Overrated: KASTOR 😩 how i wish people would give 10% of the courtesy they show for him to jokaste… what has this balding murderous manbaby ever done to deserve your sympathy people 🧍‍♂️ he’s literally a mirror or regent and yet so many people are ready to believe he was mistreated by theomedes when the canon evidence shows the exact opposite of this claim… ok

Favorite Ship/Pairing: lamen 🫶🏼 but i love me some damenik, damenjo and damenerasmus from time to time 🙈

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: mutual obsession so strong that one of you willingly fucks his brother’s killer and one of you willingly fucks the guy who tortured him… who is doing it like them?

[hella1975]

Finally started aftg and I won’t go chapter by chapter cause your entire blog rn is aftg related rn and I don’t want all of us to spam the same insane parts but fucking hell. I’m two chapters in. This is the most emo book I’ve ever read and while I think I might encounter problems later rn I’m kinda loving it what the fuck is going on. I thought I’d hate it. I need to read more before I have an opinion but. She has so many sentences that are overdone or just not good and then like “Neil knew Kevin's face as well as he knew his own, the consequence of watching Kevin grow up in the public eye from a thousand or more miles away.” “Neil didn't think "good" was supposed to feel like a knife in his chest.” “Still, (Wymack’s understanding) was more than he’d ever gotten. He had to look away.” FOLLOWED BY wild ass shit like “‘Don't be so afraid to die,’ Aaron said as the car kept gliding across the four-lane road to an exit ramp. ‘If you are, you have no place on our court.’” “How stupid, that someone so short could have such presence.” The fact that Aaron not having cigarettes in his pocket anymore lead him to know Andrew wasn’t medicated anymore? Like oh my god what is her brain like. Also I can see her influence in your writing/what you like to write, I do NOT mean that in a rude way like I think you took hers and improved on it bc shes grammatically wack but I’m reading it and I can’t see why you like it from what I’ve seen in your writing. It’s not that the writing itself sounds like you it just seems like the overall thing is something you would write. Less hectic though but as impactful? I had a book I read at 10 that I didn’t remember at all I only knew I loved it and I looked at the synopsis and read to my friend and he was like “bestie this sound like your book, you’d writing that” and the plots aren’t even close to the same or anything it’s just the tropes I guess? Bits of it where I must’ve read it and loved it and kept it in my mind for later, I feel like this book is that but to you. I could be wrong completely tho. Which given how much I like your writing and how I like this so far and how you post about it, I feel this looming sense of dread at finishing this series. I know it isn’t going to go well but I have to continue 😭 - 🫐

you know im really not enjoying the whole 'im reading aftg and am realising a lot of unsettling truths about miss hella1975' trend we've got going on. how about we stop talking for a little while

[foxgloveinspace]

witchy Sleep Token experiences? 👀 it's my new fixation

(Edit: sequel to this ask)

Hi there! I debated for awhile about answering this, just because some of it is still so weird to even think about, talking about it was an interesting experience in itself. But I’m gonna lol.

I wanna start off by saying I think most of it heightened adhd symptoms, and my own witchy-ness. I don’t really think Sleep Token as anything going on (except maybe Vessel has some withy knowledge.) I also wanna say that I am a baby witch. I don’t practice often and most of my practice is gathering knowledge. I don’t live in a safe place to practice more then that. I’m almost more of an herbalist, then anything else. I firmly am of the opinion that Sleep Token is about personal experiences told through Story/Made up scenarios. I also think all of this is the universe bopping me over the head with a paper towel roll like ‘these guys are important to you, have some witchy stuff with them’ cause it knows I’ll like that. But now I have some weird witchy experiences to talk about lmao. There’s little ones I’m leaving out, and all of this is real, even tho it sounds Fake As Fuck.

This one I think is heightened adhd symptoms and my own woo woo stuff. I have this smell that I have up my nose sometimes it either happens when I’m minding my own business, and I’ll smell a light floral scent which makes me go ‘oh sleep token?’ And I either have to stop what I’m doing and listen to them or just think about them for a moment. Or it happens when I think about them deeply for long periods of time. It was very strong when I was writing on of the fics I wrote, like someone has stuck flowers under my nose. It’s an unknown floral scent to me. But I’m chalking this one up to mostly my adhd (with a bit of witchy thrown in) as I have physical things that happen to me when it comes to other special interests. (I feel like I’m getting hugged when I read the end of AftG, ect). But it’s just weird in they way it happens, and how heightened it is and since I can’t place the smell if I find out it it’s the light scent of for-get-me-nots I’m gonna flip my lid lol.

This next one is the strangest one. I remember it very clearly and I still kinda get a little freaked out. The day that I first listened to The Summoning was not long after it came out, I remember finding it through instagram and all the people making jokes about how Sleep Token where insuring that metal heads where gonna have a great Valentine’s Day and babies in November. So I go over to my music app, and I start it up, and immediately I’m like ‘is this even the same song?? Idk I love it tho.’ And then of course it gets to the end and yeah it’s that song. Instantly in love with it and start playing it on repeat but decided I’d wait until I had more spoons to listen to the rest of their discography, and I never look at what bands look like anymore? I let go of looking into bands when I let go of kpop and of course I didn’t end up having the mental energy for looking into a new band until April when I became a changed person lmao. I remember this so clearly, it was a Saturday, I was out shopping late with my family, I was already overstimulated, and this happened in a run down Dollar Tree parking lot with overcast sky’s as it started getting dark out. I listened on repeat while we started heading home. I got a migraine on the way home, not a bad one, (and at the time I didn’t even know that’s what it was, I’ve only recently been like ‘oh I get migraines??’) and so I sat there with my eyes closed, and in the visual disturance/aura, I saw Vessel. And it’s still freaky to think about, I get slight chills up my spine. I don’t normally have figures in my auras, it’s usually just splotches of flashing green and purple. But in the middle of my vision, was a hooded man, and only the lower half of his face was visible and his eyes. It was…. Really fucking weird, and when I put two and two together I just kinda had to be still for awhile (I think I was doing the dishes??) yeah, that was the big one that I’ve had, and it sounds so fake, oof.

I think I’ll leave it there, I’ve had some other small ones that could be chalked up to adhd but I like to think of them as witchy. I might talk about them some other time tho.

[altruistic-meme]

I’ve been stalking your page ever since finishing the latest chapter of (why is there) joy in this poison and FINALLY SOMEONE WHO IS OBSESSED WITH YR AND AFTG.

It’s funny seeing crossovers between fandoms and I like to keep my blog quiet between my many indulgences and hyperfixations but omg!!! I’ve loved both of these series for so long and to see some one as joyed about them as me is so neat!

in all honesty I came here to gush about your writing, how I really enjoy what you made and continue to make for the aftg universe! the way you write Andrew specifically is so unique and defiently made me re-read his lines and certain chapters because they’re just that GOOD! And to see a relationship between Kevin and Neil that’s so near and dear- is so refreshing- I love how much love they have for each other! And DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE ANDREIL MOMENTS!! Ugh the trust those two already have and continue to show each other in such a short amount of time (truly a feat for sir “walls” Andrew Minyard) has me on the edge of my seat for every and all chapters! And who isn’t a slut for sassy Neil really. That kid could trash talk anyone into the ground and I’d be applauding him the entire time!

Thank you truly for the lovely fic weather you choose to continue it or not, I have been blessed either way and definitely will check out your other fics! I’ve got my eye on I’ve Got You, Brother its seem like such a fantastic concept and you’ve got to love some older brother bonding!

Anyway- sorry for my rambling, just thought I’d come and sing your praises and if you see me lurking in your mentions here and comments on Ao3 from now on, don’t mind me!

hi omg ;;; i hope you know this got neither lost nor ignored, ive just been thinking about it nonstop for the last 2 weeks and have wanted to keep it close and easy to reread so i could cry over it

bc um basically AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ya know?

this is so so so incredibly sweet of you!!!!!! like i said ive reread this so many times in the last 2 weeks bc it's just. i cant form words even now, rereading it to reply.

YES aftg and yr are both SO good and im always glad to find more people who like them both!! (and there are a few of us out there! i am certainly not innocent of convincing more than one of my yr friends to read aftg and i will never apologize 😌) but they are both such big big parts of me now <3

thank you so so much for reading (wit)jitp!!! ;;;;; that fic means so so much to me and i swear to you i have no plans of abandoning it, ive just been kind of hitting walls in writing (though slowly ive been finding cracks, and hopefully i can convince the walls to crumble) but i have too many plans to give up now >:] there's still so much in store. you barely even know Nathaniel's plans 😩

SOBBING AGAIN OVER THE PARAGRAPH HERE BTW i am truly awestruck bc i was so so nervous about writing Andrew bc he's such a hard character for me to understand, and to hear your thoughts on him was so amazing for my self-esteem!! (it is also the easiest way to make me scream and cry, to compliment my characterization, since im almost always worried about it but i digress skdhg)

Kevin and Nathaniel's relationship is also something that i could scream for hours about but let me say it has been AMAZING seeing how many people love their love for each other and i will forever be ecstatic to hear it ;;;; and Andrew and Nathaniel!!! two very traumatized boys finding trust in each other bc they both have the same values and can find common ground (and comfort!) with each other where no one else will. ;;;;

also we stan a sassy Neil, you are SO RIGHT literally who wouldn't be a slut for sassy Neil. he deserves more sass, imho.

also omg thank you for giving my other fics a look, too ;;; I've Got You, Brother is definitely a good choice for some brotherly bonding, that's the main focus of the story after all :] (though im debating some ideas which won't feature Wille at all, we'll see how it goes) i definitely need to work on that one as well >>

you never need to apologize for rambling btw!! i love rambles :D (as you can probably tell bc i also rambled... a lot, whoops) but always feel free to send me asks or messages with any and all of your thoughts <3

thank you so so so so so much for this, and for reading my stories, and for being an amazing person!!