#exie’s getting a degree!

[excelsior9173]

I JUST REALIZED I AM FINISHING MY BACHELORS DEGREE TODAY

what the fuck. five years of work, so so so many tears but also so much pride. i’ve worked my ass off for this! there were many moments along the way that i thought i couldn’t do it but here i am! writing my last final tonight. actually crying happy tears right now, i am so proud of myself.

i need to figure out how to celebrate now lol (gotta write this last final but like. can you blame me for jumping the gun a tiny bit?)

[boydsjosten]

the fact that nora is active on social media atm and single handedly rekindling my aftg obsession is NOT GOOD for my final assignments

[foxgloveinspace]

Canada having extreme heat warnings for temps in the 20s is just really gonna make me pull my hair out today.

[phantaloon]

in honor of that post going around about andrew becoming a lawyer once he retires

i raise you, once neil motherfucking josten is allowed to retire from exy and his dues are paid: he becomes a math professor

just imagine that

him receiving a letter one day, when he's in his mid forties, from ichirou, saying that he's paid his debt, that he's free to do what he wants

and neil, bless his heart, instead of allowing himself some much needed and deserved rest, thinks, what else could i make a living out because god forbid he does nothing with his days

(cue andrew screaming into a pillow somewhere)

and like that he goes back to university, gets a degree in teaching maths however that's called, and suddenly they're professor in maths husband with lawyer husband

(honestly that's so hot of them)

like imagine, you're an accountant student, getting ready for your calculus class (or some other difficult physics or math class), your classmate turns to you

"hey did you hear mr. thompson retired? it was about time not gonna lie, but i heard from some girls that he was some messed up looking guy, these people have lost their minds hiring thugs now"

and you nod bc what else are you supposed to do

and you sit there waiting, until five minutes from the start of the class, he walks in in all his auburn scarred glory, your exy idol, the guy who you followed until he retired and dropped off the face in the earth, and you think what the fuck is neil josten doing here

and then

"hello everyone, my name is neil josten, im your new [advanced mathematics] professor, today we're just gonna check the syllabus"

iconic

[simonsrosebud]

nicky COULD have left when the twins went to college. he WAS planning to. even while andrew was on his meds (no hate) and shouldn’t have been left alone! aaron even reminds him that no one’s keeping him there!!

but he stays anyway. and i don’t think it was the free ride or the chance to play exy that made him stay.

the trio was the deal but not because andrew requested it, because wymack offered it unprompted. nicky clearly doesn’t care to get his degree in the US bc of his plans to go back to germany. he was 19 when he took the twins in, he DID his duty now that they were 18 themselves.

no, i think nicky chooses PSU because he knows that the twins need to go to college and that they can’t throw a chance like this this away. he wants it for them, and they’re being so STUBBORN about a free ride. so he does what he can to get them there which is go with them.

[xxxbabyinatrenchcoatxxx]

Angsty thoughts about Neil and if he died at the hands of his father. If Stuart was a few minutes too late.

The foxes would not survive. By that point Dan and Matt had become parental figures in the form of best friends. They would see the quiet places Neil used to occupy and see it empty. No more little quips or questions would come from it. Matt would start sleeping in the girls room again because his room is too quiet. Seth and Neil both dead within the span of 8 months. Their empty beds would be a constant reminder that he couldn't deal with. Allison would lean on Renee like she did with Seth. Renee would push her own feelings behind as she checked on everyone else, making sure they were okay, that they would lean on each other and nothing harmful to themselves. Nicky would still be the connection the monsters have to the upperclassmen. He would keep them updated if Renee or Dan asked how they were doing but he would stay by them for the company only. Aaron and Andrew are quiet in their grief. Aaron would see how Neil's death effected his brother, but wouldn't understand anything more than Andrew lost someone he said he would protect. He would see what would happen if he left his brother. Kevin would be plagued with the truth. He would know the intimate details of how Neil was taken apart, even if they weren't true. He'd remember seeing Neil's father in the Evermore tower and his brain would supply images of Neil in this position. He'd go to Wymack and ask why a father would do such a thing, asking if Wymack would do it to him. Wymack would put the peices together and discover his long lost son in the form of a drunken striker grieving the loss of a brother. Wyamck should have been used to it. Hed lost all of his first pick foxes. Whether it was due to drugs, suicide, or something else. They were all gone. He had high hopes for Neil. Starting as a runaway with trust issues but made connections in the team. He pulled everyone together after Seths death. He pushed the team to be better. He even got through to Wymacks most difficult player. Andrew. Andrew. Andrew would barely make it. He would retreat into himself, allowing his apathy to take full control and let himself drown in his memories. He'd stop going to Wednesday meetings with Bee. Stop responding at all. The monsters would lose him. Renee would find him at the court starting at the pictures on the wall, trying to remind himself that Neil existed and he wasn't a hallucination that he clung to desperately trying to be seen. Neil existed. He was right here, documented on the walls of the Foxhole Court. Andrew contemplates suicide on more than one occasion. First was about a week after Neil's death. There was no funeral. Nothing. No one even acknowledged it other than to say the Foxes forfitted championships to the Ravens. But then Aaron came back and asked if he was going to return to Wednesday meetings with Bee, reminding Andrew of his promises. The next time was after graduation, Aaron going off to Med School and Kevin safe with his father as he played professional Exy. Andrew had gotten his degree, but it didn't mean anything to him. There was nothing for him left in the world. Aaron dropped him immediately and Kevin didn't hold up his end of the bargain. Bee kept telling him things would get easier over time, but that was a lie too. But then Renee texted him asking to meet up for lunch. She asked what his first memory was. He didn't hide, didn't sugar coat anything for her, told her the cold hard truth. Renee wasn't expecting the accuracy of his memory. Then she asked if he killed himself, how would Neil's memory live on? The pictures would eventually be covered up at the court, he would be forgotten in exy. That's when Andrew decided he'd live, if only for Neil's memory to live on with him.

[themiddleofmichigan]

As a math major, I am simply enchanted by the idea of Neil Josten, Math Major. Please enjoy this collection of headcanons I came up with to cope with studying mathematics.

Neil is a pure math guy. There are two big camps of mathematics: pure and applied. Applied math is about applying math to other fields (physics, engineering, finance, etc.), while pure math is like math for the sake of doing math (read: a lot less employable). Neil picking the math major because he's good at math and kind of likes it is a very Pure Math thing to do.

Neil has a whiteboard, possibly multiple whiteboards. Whiteboards are the ultimate tool of mathematics. Sometimes Neil gets stuck on a problem for hours; hunched over his mini whiteboard, working through it over and over again. His fingers get covered in the expo marker residue and it leaves a black mark when he scratches his nose. Andrew huffs that he looks like a chimney sweep and rubs it off with his sleeve (he absolutely does NOT find it adorable, shut up, Nicky). Also, around exams Neil will drag Andrew to the library so he can do his practice problems on the Big Whiteboards. The other people in the library stare at them because this little ginger is filling multiple whiteboards with weird symbols and greek letters; Neil doesn't notice because he's oblivious, Andrew notices and it makes him a smug bf.

One time one of the Foxes asks him for help with their statistics homework and he gives it a shot, because how different could it be? They both quickly find out that he knows absolutely nothing about statistics. "What IS that?" "That's a matrix, it has the variances in it." "Well then why does it have an apostrophe by it?" "That means you flip it around." "That's TRANSPOSING and you notate it with a T" "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of math genius? Shouldn't you know how to do this?" "This isn't math, this is blasphemy."

Aaron has to take calculus for the MCAT and puts it off for as long as possible because he hates math. His TA for the course sucks and he struggles through it for weeks before Katelyn manages to convince him to ask Neil for help. Neil pretends to be annoyed, but he's secretly kind of looking forward to it because calculus is fun and it's nice to do math you already know for a change. When you're an upperclassman in a math degree, though, your brain gets warped by all the theoretical math, and it's hard to get into the mindset to teach something like Calc I. This leads to semiregular hostile tutoring sessions in the dorm, we're talking real Dad Trying to Help You With Your Math Homework at the Kitchen Table type energy. "BUT HOW DID YOU KNOW TO DO THAT?!" "It's a vector space, Aaron, I don't see what you're not understanding here." "A vector WHAT" Andrew chain smokes through these. He has to start leaving the dorm because he's pretty sure the calculus is going to drive him to lung cancer.

The statistics incident gives Neil a totally reasonable grudge against statistics. He eventually gives it up, but only so he can take an elective about sports statistics, because he has exy brain worms.

[moonsnqil]

andrew and neil never adopt or anything but andrew never quite broke the habit of taking in strays. the latchkey kid next door who's failing math comes over every thursday so neil can help him with his homework. andrew noticed a teammate's 8 year old daughter getting teased after one of their games so he scared off the bullies and ever since then she insists on seeing uncle andrew after every game (his teammate doesn't understand why bc this is the same andrew that backed him into the corner with a racquet for saying the wrong thing). andrew meets a foster kid in aaron's clinic with eyes that are a little too jaded for 16 and now he comes over every second saturday of the month (neil teaches him exy. junkie). neil was never very good with kids (he doesn't know how to handle them so he always ends up awkwardly standing and staring) but the lady at the store he always stops a at the end of his morning run brought her baby and she seemed overwhelmed and when she said she was going through a divorce neil offered to babysit to ease some of the tension bc babies always know what's going on even if they don't understand (andrew stared at neil like he grew a second head when he came home and saw his partner standing in their kitchen with a 17 month old). maybe, after andrew retires, he finally puts his criminal justice degree to use and gets a job in some sort of social work or something and he's started keeping candy and little trinkets in his pockets for the younger kids he works with because yeah their situation is shit but he wants them to be able to look back and remember it wasn't all bad (maybe he has an office. maybe he makes the older kids hot chocolate like bee did for him).

[ashestoashes7]

Aaron and Kevin & no. 20. Personality swap, because I can think of nothing funnier than Aaron suddenly being obsessed with exy and everyone having to deal with that 🤭

Reverie - ao3 version

Aaron and Kevin wake up wrong. The Foxes investigate.

cw: implied/referenced child abuse

cw: implied/referenced homophobia

The world fell to ruins on a Tuesday.

Some might claim such a declaration erred on the side of dramatic, but the entirety of the Palmetto State Foxes declared it to be so upon laying eyes on the latest conundrum. Personally, Aaron didn’t see it.

No meteor fell from the sky and flattened the Palmetto area to an orange-speckled pulp, instead starting similarly to most days: with the most annoying alarm clock known to man. A familiar thump cut off the ringing, Matt’s groan sounding off after which Aaron typically took as a sign to attempt to depart from the waking world until Kevin decided to treat the hallway like his personal rage room.

For once, Aaron did not fall back to the tempting curve of his pillow. He turned to place his feet on the floor and pulled himself out of bed, a strange well of excitement bubbling up where reluctance was usually awaiting. It was not that Aaron hated Exy, but waking up at six in the morning for practice with the likes of Kevin Day and Neil Josten usually wasn’t the most enticing of options when his bed was right there.

Early mornings left most of them lethargic, but Josten and Day didn’t follow such human rules of the world. Their enthusiastic energy was ready from the moment the word ‘Exy’ entered their obsessive brains; Aaron had never understood it before. Even with Josten, Kevin’s enthusiasm had yet to find a true match—Josten was held back by Andrew-related reasons Aaron refused to contemplate—but with a new passion humming through his bones, Aaron thought he might just be the perfect match.

Matt dawdled in bed, but Aaron, to his bleary-eyed disbelief, coaxed him out until they were both dressed and standing in an unusually empty hallway. Aaron walked over to the nearest window to see if the others had already left to get in even more time on the court, an understandable pursuit, but the Maserati was parked in the exact same place it had been left yesterday. Aaron stuck his head out a little further, but there was no waft of cigarette smoke to indicate Andrew was waiting nearby for Josten and Kevin to finish squabbling.

Aaron would have to do it himself. A glance at Aaron was all it took for Matt to begin his trudge back toward their room. Aaron stared after him, quizzical. Sacrificing Exy for a few more minutes of sleep wasn’t an option worth considering, but Aaron did not elect to share his wisdom. He could remember when he had been similarly misguided.

Aaron closed the window and walked to the door where the only two people who could possibly understand the incessant need to have a racquet in hand should have been waiting. For the first time since Kevin had joined the Palmetto State Foxes, no sound drowned out his footsteps as he trailed closer to the source of the mystery.

Aaron knocked loudly twice before pulling the door open. All that awaited on the other end was various degrees of annoyance from the freshly roused occupants. Aaron knew from experience that Kevin was in charge of the alarm because otherwise it would be snoozed into what he once thought was pleasant lateness.

Kevin’s alarm clock was on the ground, tilted in a manner that suggested it had been tossed away. The scene was far more shocking than if Aaron had stumbled into an active crime scene. The one time Aaron had fiddled with the alarm clock Kevin had lost his mind in a way even Andrew wasn’t spared from. The petty war of retaliation had been bothersome.

Aaron frowned. After a moment of consideration, he slammed his hand against the wall with enough force a resultant sting bit at his palm. Everyone shot up, looking to be in various stages of conspiracy to commit and cover up his murder.

Aaron ignored them, unimpressed. “Get up! Maybe we can actually make it to practice on time today if you don't dawdle around.”

“What the fuck, Aaron?” Kevin muttered, drawing a hand back through his hair in annoyance. How he could look that attractive with a bedhead that would render Aaron unable to go into public without receiving a much different type of stare was one of the world’s greatest mysteries. Kevin made an aborted motion for where his alarm clock usually sat and then flopped back down with an exaggerated groan. “Practice can wait. Give us five more minutes.”

The descent of Andrew’s head toward his pillow came to a sudden halt. Neil’s rightly enthusiastic swing out of bed froze with his eyes glued on where Kevin unknowingly attempted to slumber away. Andrew reached a hand down to his side, pulled out a pen, put the cap on it, and threw it at Kevin’s head.

Kevin sat up with a curse and a pillow chucked at Andrew. Neil caught it before it could hit him. Andrew blinked back, unimpressed. “Have you finally given up on Exy, Day?”

Kevin ignored him. Andrew’s stare darkened.

“What?” Aaron asked, disbelieving. “We’re here for the court. Missing practice for such a mundane reason is a bad habit you shouldn’t even start to make. Kevin agrees with me—”

Kevin shook his head and murmured sounds of dissent.

The sound of Neil landing off-balance on the floor interrupted him before Aaron could say anything else. “Are you possessed?”

“No.”

Aaron dragged his eyes around until he found the set of keys belonging to Andrew. He didn’t move to grab them. Yet.

Neil turned to look at Andrew. “What day is today?”

“Tuesday.”

“No, is it that prank day Allison was talking about? The one where everyone lies and Aaron pretends to be Kevin?”

“There is no day like that,” Andrew replied, starting up a bout of intense eye contact between them that Aaron did not desire to interpret.. “It isn’t April”

Neil tilted his head and looked over at Aaron as if expecting him to go back on anything he had said. "Are you sure you’re not possessed?”

“I’m not possessed, Josten. If you’re to agree with me on one thing I’d think it would be this,” Aaron said, snatching up the car keys and stepping back into the doorway. He met Andrew’s doubtful eyes with a determination he wasn’t sure he could back up. “If you’re not out in ten minutes, I’m taking the Maserati to the court. I will not let your inability to function impede my practice.”

“Kevin?” Neil asked, casting a glance between them as if expecting the words Aaron was speaking to have come from the best striker in Class 1 Exy. Instead, the best striker in Class 1 Exy waved his hands in a ‘do what you want’ gesture and sunk back into the mattress.

Aaron didn’t stay long enough to see green eyes peeking open to follow his exit or to hear the words exchanged between the room’s other occupants.

Ten minutes passed. Aaron didn’t take the Maserati.

Another day he might have done it to spite the doubt that had painted itself across Josten’s face and the lesser degree of skepticism given away by Andrew’s lack of rapid movement, but the idea refused to turn itself into action. With such potent determination coursing through his veins he thought it to be a real possibility, but when he moved toward the building exit with the keys in hand he just couldn’t do it. His hand settled on the doorknob before the thought struck some intrinsic chord of wrongness that had his feet refusing to take him to where the car waited.

A weight settled in his chest as if someone had placed a barbell over where his lungs lay in their abnormally rapid movement. Uneasiness wrapped itself in his chest and refused to take one step toward something filled with so many ‘what ifs’. Andrew wouldn’t hurt him, but Aaron didn’t want him to hate him, either. Betsy would have a field day with the question of what the car associated inextricably with Josten would be worth compared to Aaron.

Aaron did not know how to drive the Maserati, but he tried to convince himself waiting in the car for their arrival would provoke a much more pleasant response. His feet refused to move and his heartbeat sped up to an unsteady thrum far more violent than he was used to. Indecision clogged up his throat and plucked out any words he could have thought to say.

Aaron wrapped a hand loosely around the base of his neck and slid two fingers up to check his pulse—fast. Unfortunately, the feel of the staccato beneath his fingers did not force the unusual and unwelcome phenomenon into a recession.

This was new; he didn’t like it.

Anger fought past the invisible challenge unwillingly foisted upon him until he was taking the stairs two at a time and stood face-to-face with a beleaguered Matt. He ignored the slight twinge of uneasiness that arose when he chucked the keys into an open drawer and stalked toward the taller man.

“Drive me,” Aaron said with enough confidence that Matt’s mouth snapped shut.

Matt picked up his phone and was in the middle of shooting off a text when Aaron wrapped a hand around his wrist and began tugging him toward the door. A noise of surprise followed by a smothered laugh sounded off behind Aaron, but he paid them no mind. While he wouldn’t break as many laws as Andrew, Matt could get him to the court fast enough to sate the stilted tap of his fingers.

All at once, there was something wrong about the lack of Exy equipment within his grasp and something horribly long about the distance between where the inner court awaited him and where Matt stalled. It was a limb he hadn’t known was missing until he’d woken up with the wound seared into his every movement. He needed to run his fingers over the knots in the net of his racquet, run until his legs ached, live and breathe Exy until the gnawing emptiness narrowed into something more manageable.

If this was what Kevin felt, Aaron could understand why a rare sort of life bled into his every movement when surrounded by plexiglass walls and the red light of victory. There was something more than just wrong about the broken routine—his whole world was knocked off kilter by the minuscule difference between typical and today.

Aaron was more awake than he had ever been for morning practice, adrenaline rising in the sort of anticipation he had never felt before. He needed to be at the court with the same intrinsic severity as he needed his next breath.

Aaron liked Exy. The first day he stayed late and trailed to the run-down gym to watch from the bleachers, he knew the desire was inevitable. He wanted to be a teammate but even more than that he wanted to wear a jersey with his name on the back and feel the warmth of his mother’s approval.

When Aaron wheedled a ticket out of the coach with a promise he would consider joining, he was seated amongst proud parents who cheered through every success and hardship. They pointed at their children in pride rather than disapproval, and Aaron wanted that. A spark of hope lit within him that day; it died soon after. His mother didn’t care, but Aaron never stopped liking Exy even when Andrew was better. Even when Andrew was the one who became wanted.

There was a very short list of things Aaron liked. He wouldn’t let jealousy whittle it down to a number small enough to fit on one hand. Andrew and Exy remained next to each other in fourteen-year-old handwriting as hopeful as when he had first scrawled it on a piece of paper that was now tucked away in the crack of a drawer.

Aaron liked Exy, but he also knew what addiction felt like. He did not appreciate the similarities.

Aaron walked back down with Matt’s wrist in his grasp, not faltering until they stood in front of a blue pickup truck. Aaron’s hand was wrapped around the door handle before Matt had even fumbled the key out of his pocket and received a raised eyebrow. Aaron slipped in the passenger side the moment the door was unlocked, closing it before Matt’s hand had even settled on his handle.

Surprise flitted across Matt’s face. “You're eager.”

“It’s Exy,” Aaron replied like that explained everything.

“Hello, Kevin,” Matt joked with a pass at friendliness that was new enough to have them both wincing. It took Matt until the second stoplight they encountered to work up the gall to meet Aaron’s eyes again.

Aaron tapped his foot impatiently as if the light too would grow tired of the soft thuds and turn from red to green. He was unsurprised when it didn’t listen. Matt’s face contorted into something resembling a glare, but he didn’t say anything. Aaron didn’t stop.

“So,” Matt started once the light had turned, “did you and Kevin make a bet? Switch out for the day and see how long it takes the rest of us to notice? ‘Cause, believe me, we’ve noticed.”

“What’s wrong with all of you? Am I not allowed to like it?” Aaron infused a challenge into his tone.

“It’s six in the morning,” Matt implored, the hand not set on the steering wheel moving about emphatically to illustrate the absurdity he found in the statement. “You are not a morning person.”

“It’s Exy,” Aaron repeated because it was the only answer he could think to give. Exy was everything—survival, joy, a chance at a family that wasn’t six feet deep or loathing his very existence before they had even met. Exy was a believable enough excuse that could placate the hard questions from parents, teachers, and coaches with whom the truth wasn’t an option.

Backliners bruised easily, and no one thought to look too deeply into why Aaron’s equipment elicited more than a perfunctory wince no matter the break between games or practices. The few adults persisting past the blockade he attempted to erect were met with a new volley of excuses: a stick-check gone wrong, stray Exy ball, inconveniently administered check that refreshed old bruises.

For so long, Exy had been one of the only things Aaron had for himself. How could he not love it?

Matt shook his head and bit his lip in the way Aaron had learned he did when waiting for someone to say the punchline of a joke. Aaron held his tongue and stared pointedly out the window, unwilling to waste his words on someone so intent on misinterpreting them.

It wasn’t a joke.

Aaron was used to falling into the category of unknowable entities. He didn't mind it back when he thought it to be temporary. Walking into high school with a doppelganger at his back for the first time and a slew of curious eyes following him in eerie silence had been a novel experience. Aaron had almost been able to convince himself he was some sort of protagonist, that the distant stares were a brief lapse before he was once again folded into the outskirts of their social circles.

A week later, he knew he was wrong. Andrew made sure of that.

If he wore long sleeves or the uncovered skin of his wrists was not visible, even the classmates who occasionally deigned to talk with him devoutly pretended he didn’t exist. In California and Columbia and Palmetto, Aaron was an extension of Andrew even if they had known him first. Andrew liked it better that way; Aaron didn’t.

The Foxes were an interesting dilemma to face after Neil crash-landed through every barrier drawn between them by circumstance and willful discord. Contrary to what a PSU Fox poll that for legal reasons Allison never created would have indicated, Aaron didn’t loathe the rest of the Foxes even without the newfound energy that painted anything Exy-related in vivid multicolor and outlined their faults in glaring red.

Matt was nicer to him than he deserved—than any of them did. With his mind back in Columbia watching Andrew’s latest attempt at isolation play out, Aaron wondered how Matt could even bear to look at any of them. Aaron knew the feeling of the betrayal Andrew had orchestrated—family spinning the wheel of ‘not good enough’ and claiming it was for the best—and of the horrible relief that ensued after. Aaron was going to be a doctor, and Andrew made that possible. That didn’t mean Aaron would thank him.

When Josten had taken up in Andrew’s dorm, Aaron had been the first to suggest he be the one to move out. Surprisingly, Matt helped. While Josten might play mediator when it struck his fancy, Aaron would not have been one to reap the benefits of his actions. Matt held out the olive branch all on his own.

Matt didn’t hate them, so Dan would do it for the both of them. Aaron didn’t like Allison or the feeling of her nails digging into his skin, and Renee was incapable of feeling something as mundane as hatred. Aaron and Andrew were a package deal to all of them even over two years after a first meeting and the ensuing close proximity.

Aaron understood it, in a way. The moment the word ‘twin’ came into play Aaron and Andrew were inextricably linked together, and Aaron would take Andrew’s side over any of theirs no matter the isolation it brought. Aaron was raised to survive solitude; it didn't matter that he longed for a break from the horrendous pattern

Kevin had been the first anomaly. Their proximity had been born of pressure, at first. Kevin was constantly foisted upon Aaron in the dorms or the club or the backseat of Andrew’s car. Aaron hated him because Andrew, somehow, didn’t. Andrew, who turned his nose at any person Aaron associated with, who drew a knife at the briefest whim and sent all of Aaron’s newest attempts at friendship running for the hills, had changed the rules again. Andrew had Kevin, and Aaron could not afford to hate Andrew for it so he drew the sharp edge of his misery on a much easier target.

Kevin was the face he pinned to the dartboard. Kevin, who made his stance firmly on the grounds of eternal disapproval. Kevin, who slotted himself into every place Aaron was meant to fill. Kevin, whose only goal had ever really been Andrew. Before he became a Fox, Aaron watched the Ravens’ games often and accidentally found his way to Kevin’s interviews. He wrote a two on a piece of paper, remembered green eyes glancing over him in disinterest once they had caught the five on his back, and pretended it didn’t sting.

Aaron had thought it inevitable that Kevin would take his brother away. Kevin had Andrew’s attention from the moment he walked in a room—their highschool court, their dorm room, Eden’s Twilight—and made promises that Andrew followed up with a blinding smile. Every moment Kevin was allowed at Andrew’s side and as his confidant felt like a taunt. Kevin was always going to take Andrew away; Aaron just didn’t expect to be there to watch the chasm widen.

Aaron fell into Kevin’s orbit by accident.

Kevin had been curled up on his bed, left hand clenched in front of him, and Andrew had been off to who knows where from which he would eventually come back smelling so heavily of cigarettes that Aaron walked out. Perhaps Aaron had spent a great portion of the day discussing the influence of bedside manner with Katelyn or perhaps he had simply been curious, but some force only hindsight would make him thankful for tugged him away from his textbook and over to Kevin’s side.

Aaron had been with Abby when she looked over Kevin’s hand and had seen the look on his face when the only assurance she could provide him was ‘I have hope’. Kevin looked broken for a moment, but the smile was back in an instant. Right back to the Queen of the Court, to the perfect media darling victim of a skiing accident gone wrong that wasn’t really an accident at all.

The plastic smile was long gone when Aaron circled close enough to catch more of Kevin’s facial features. He looked the same sort of empty that Midnight Nicky tried so valiantly to hide. Aaron had sat on the bed and made up bullshit Exy facts until color came back to his face. It was only when Aaron dared to call Jeremy Knox a disgrace to Exy that Kevin’s eyes sharpened and he began to prod back with a prepared defense whose verbosity could have filled Aaron’s most recent English assignment.

That was the day Aaron learned how hard it was to hate Kevin Day. He tried but suddenly Kevin was everywhere Aaron was even when Andrew had made himself scarce. Staring, watching, and critiquing the way Aaron moved his wrist until Aaron fought back with venomous words or music loud enough to offend Kevin’s delicate sensibilities.

Kevin offered for Aaron to join night practices, once, before Josten was even a blip on the map. He looked so pr—proper and smug that Aaron could do nothing but spit out a harsh refusal.

Looking upon the Foxhole Court with new eyes, Aaron couldn’t believe he had turned down such a momentous opportunity out of what, spite? Exhaustion? Fear that if he looked a little too long into bright green eyes the thoughts in his head would escape beyond the acceptable bounds?

At the end of a freshly opened bottle, his mother had once told him the only thing he did right was be straight. He hated being a disappointment almost as much as he hated Kevin’s lips stretching into that heart-rate-spiking smile. Kevin was dangerous in too many ways to count. He was Andrew’s, he was tied up in chains handcrafted by the same Ravens who had almost and actually gotten Andrew, and he was far too attractive to be a safe place for Aaron to rest his gaze. It was wishful thinking to believe that knowledge would dull the blaze that threatened to consume them both, but Aaron had always been told he was idealistic.

There was one reliable route Aaron could rely on when his eyes strayed a little too long: Kevin was an asshole. He was as Exy-obsessed as he was filterless, and Aaron could draw upon a litany of vicious critiques to prompt a necessary resurgence of anger. If you hold your wrist like that, someone is going to break it. If you check me like you’re pushing through a high school hallway, Aaron, I am going to throw the next ball at your ankles. I thought you were better than this. I can do better with my non-dominant hand in a position I don’t play than you could ever hope to—

It was a tried and true method: add Exy to the equation of Kevin and come out the other end with far more subtlety than Andrew and Josten ever afforded the rest of the seeing world. The lingering and appreciative glance he cast over the freshly cleaned plains of the Foxhole Court told Aaron didn’t think that would work anymore.

An inaudible conversation erupted outside of the empty locker room while Aaron pulled his gear on at record speed. A key was already set into the orange door when Aaron reached it, and he pushed it open with a flourish he felt all the way down to his bones. The inner court was shrouded in too many shadows for Aaron to make out the details, but he closed his eyes and built its majesty up from hazy fragments of memory.

He had not been able to fully appreciate the refurbishments brought by Kevin’s arrival before, but Aaron braced the end of his racquet on the floor and imagined the swirls of bright orange and white arching up the court. The only noise came from a faint discussion out of earshot and his own breathing, but Aaron brought forth memories of the stadium filled to the brim. Crowds stretching up to the nosebleeds, plexiglass the only separation between the outside world and the one Aaron desperately longed to be a part of.

A voice called out from behind him, startling Aaron out of his silent reverie, and the familiar hum of electricity began to bring the court to life. The emergency lights beneath his feet gave an almost fairytale glow to the nearest home benches, but Aaron forced his eyes away toward the main event. Light trailed out from beneath his feet and bathed the court in a warm glow, framing a cinematic masterpiece he had lost appreciation of far too quickly.

The Foxhole Court was beautiful in a way words could never hope to encompass.

A grin stretched across Aaron’s face, real in a way he could barely begin to comprehend, and he started forward before a loud throat clearing caught his attention. He turned slowly, hesitant to put his back to the inner court, and met the eyes of a severely concerned David Wymack.

Aaron had seen a range of expressions on Wymack’s face: post break-in exasperation, Josten is starting shit annoyance, the sort of determination Kevin whispered to Aaron his mother would have loved. Despite the hell the Foxes and the world had put him through, Aaron had never seen such disturbed bewilderment displayed on Wymack’s visage.

Though Wymack was the easiest for Aaron to notice, he wasn’t the only face strewn with confusion. The rest of the Palmetto State Foxes lurked behind him, gazing at Aaron with horror comparable to his own whenever a particularly ill-informed freshman made some remark about his lips being anywhere close to Neil’s.

Aaron frowned as Wymack strode forward and examined him as if he were the type to recklessly hide his injuries the way Josten did. Aaron had borne witness to too many of Abby’s examinations and Andrew’s suspicious stares to risk needlessly exacerbating an injury. He was almost offended.

Footsteps sounded off to the side, and Aaron craned his neck to meet the assessing eyes of his twin. Andrew looked him over as if he were a stranger. “I told you there was something wrong with him.”

“What?” Aaron asked for what felt like the millionth time.

Nicky shot forward and made an exaggerated gesture to the lit-up stands surrounding them. “You looked at the court like Neil did the first time. Like Kevin every time he pushes open that door. We just want to know if you’re feeling okay, Aaron. Don’t look at me like that. Even you have to admit this is kinda weird,” Nicky stopped flailing about for a moment to swivel a finger between Kevin and Aaron. “Did you two switch places or something because I’ve got to say, I am not a fan.”

Kevin was the one to speak up in their defense. “For the last time, Nicky, no. Now if we aren’t going to be productive I would appreciate being able to spend the time your hair-brained assumptions are wasting on my classwork.”

Every eye that was once trained on Aaron shot back to Kevin. Not a single person was capable of looking gleeful when presented with such a contradictory picture: Kevin Day treating Exy as if it were a chore rather than a pleasure. Kevin drew his shoulders in at the attention, trying to appear smaller. It didn’t work.

“Do you need to see Abby?” Wymack asked. His voice was soft enough not to reach the

majority of the Foxes, but Andrew’s eyebrow ticked upwards at the mention.

“I’m fine,” Aaron assured, wincing the moment the words left his mouth. “I don’t understand the issue.”

The moment Kevin nodded his agreement, Andrew walked over to the nearest bench and laid down, uncaring for Wymack’s frustrations. Kevin didn’t say anything. The words that usually belonged to him sat on the tip of Aaron’s tongue until Allison let loose a vaguely horrified laugh.

“I’m calling Abby!” Dan declared, storming off to the locker room to do just that.

As she did so, Aaron trailed the rest of the way down to enter the inner court. It was far more stunning than the images his mind had drawn up. He rested his hand on the plexiglass and walked along the side until he reached the wall equivalent of his preferred starting position and waited for the others to join in. Josten was the only one to follow him, hauling out one of the barrels of Exy balls with him to make the stand-off more than just a staring contest.

The rest of the Foxes didn’t bother to involve themselves, glancing between where Aaron was giving his all and Kevin passed out on one of the benches as if this were some sort of twisted nightmare. In a way, Aaron agreed with them. He would much prefer to be going against a determined Kevin than Josten, but it appeared that wasn’t in the cards.

Kevin sporadically lifted his head to look in their general direction, but the moment he set a foot down to prop himself up his face twisted and he instead exerted his effort on tuning out the rest of the Foxes. Aaron couldn’t watch Kevin as much as he would have liked to. Trying to keep him in sight was a mistake Neil quickly took advantage of, and Aaron wasn’t willing to sacrifice the lightness permeating his every movement to watch Kevin attempt to starfish on a bench not made for such a thing.

Josten was fast but he was also confused. As he tried to force his way toward the open goal, Aaron recited the same critiques Kevin droned on and on about and watched Josten’s lips thin out into something almost resembling a snarl.

When Josten and Kevin collided, it was explosive but Josten was generally placated by the knowledge that every word Kevin spat out at him was done so for the sake of genuine improvement. When Aaron did it, it was a Molotov cocktail of advice and provocation that left Josten’s effort barely diverted to swinging in the hope of catching the rebound of the ball rather than clipping Aaron’s helmet.

Everything Aaron said was factually accurate, approved by Kevin Day himself with an occasional thumbs up or shouted explanation whenever Josten looked a little too close to throwing his precious racquet to the ground. Even as indisposed as he was, Kevin understood that to be sacrilege. Aaron would have been less amused by the thought if Kevin’s additions were not fully in support of Aaron telling Josten how to be a better striker.

Within the span of twenty minutes, the Foxes' death count miraculously did not tick up though it was a close thing. The moment Abby shuffled through the door, lowering the phone pressed to her ear at the same time Wymack did, Aaron was directed to strip out of his gear and join Kevin to be cordoned off in one of the offices like they were ground zero for some new contagion. A face would peer through the window occasionally—usually Nicky’s—only to vanish when Wymack reminded them that they were there to practice, not gawk like tourists at a zoo enclosure.

Aaron didn’t appreciate the comparison or the refusal to let him join in and had been hoping for some support in that regard, but Kevin seemed more resigned than angry.

After a few rudimentary tests, Abby stepped out to ‘give them some privacy’ which was code for ‘contemplating being the Foxes’ nurse for the one hundred and thirty-sixth time’. The Foxes stopped by for a short break, but any suggestions proposed by the team had been met with nothing more than exasperation and mild horror. Wymack had shooed them away before their proposed experiments could edge closer to ethically questionable solutions.

They left and took the hum of conversation with them. There was only so much silence Aaron could tolerate before he snapped, so he tossed torn-up bits of paper at Kevin until he was graced with his full attention. “Do you remember anything unusual we did last night?”

Kevin blinked tiredly at him until Aaron tore off another piece of a discarded envelope. As Aaron raised his hand to throw it, Kevin caught his wrist and glared. “I don’t know, Aaron. It must have been that magical potion we drank labeled ‘personality swap’.”

“No need to be an asshole.” Aaron flipped him off with the hand Kevin had captured.

Kevin glared at him with the promise of violence they both knew he wouldn’t fulfill. “You’re the asshole. If they’re to be believed, this is your asshole-ness.”

“Your mouth, your problem,” Aaron said distractedly as Kevin’s hand slid up from his wrist to link their fingers together.

Kevin’s eyes lit up. “That’s it!”

“We didn’t drink a potion, Kevin. Or get drunk. Magic doesn’t even exist. This is a waste of both of our times when the court is right th—”

“No, your mouth,” Kevin interrupted, holding up his other hand when Aaron frowned. “We kissed, remember?”

Aaron nodded slowly, a smile unfolding as Kevin’s cheeks flushed. “So my mouth is magic now, Day?”

Kevin absentmindedly tapped on Aaron’s palm. Aaron pulled back, unsure if that was Kevin’s way of signaling he wanted to end the brief point of contact, and was met with Kevin’s grabby hands reaching back out to recapture it. “To find that out, I think we need to do it again. For science.”

“For science?” Aaron repeated, skeptical.

Kevin nodded too emphatically to not have ulterior motives. “Don’t you trust yourself? Have a little faith.”

“That’s not how this works,” Aaron stated. “And that's even assuming we had some sort of personality transplant which isn’t only impossible but also—”

“How do you know?” Kevin shot back, encouraged by Aaron’s less-than-frosty reception. “Maybe I’m the one with the magic mout—”

“Shut up and kiss me,” Aaron said, forward in a way he would usually shy away from.

Kevin’s words died off as his eyes glued themselves to Aaron’s lips. Aaron tapped the back of his palm twice, imploring Kevin to take up the challenge. He didn’t have to ask twice.

They came together like they were always meant to be. Kevin braced himself against the desk and Aaron slotted perfectly against him, reaching a hand back to card through his hair. When Aaron’s hand tugged lightly at brown strands upon Kevin’s movement, Kevin pressed him impossibly closer.

The moment Kevin’s hand cupped his chin in an attempt to deepen the kiss, the worst headache Aaron had ever experienced shot through him as if on cue. Aaron pulled away with a start, unsurprised to find Kevin in an equally shaken state. Aaron pressed a hand against his forehead, pain sparking through his body with an involuntary shout for a few agonizing seconds before the feeling vanished as quickly as it had emerged.

Kevin’s eyes fell back to Aaron’s, but before they could pick up where they left off the door burst open. Abby stood in the entryway, wide-eyed and concerned at the source of the sound that had drawn her back.

“We’re normal again,” Aaron said before Abby put her thoughts into words. He stepped away from Kevin before anyone with less respect for privacy could come barging in. “I’m leaving.”

“Practice has barely even started yet!” Kevin protested, a finger ghosting over his lips in what might have been awe before concern fell over his features. “We have the first match of the season in two weeks. Although they might not have the best track record, they have an unusual—”

Aaron made eye contact with Abby. The time he spent familiarizing himself with the aspects of her job she let him in on had made them close enough for her to read the exhaustion behind his eyes. Abby could be trusted to be sympathetic to his cause.

“Kevin,” Abby interrupted, far kinder than Aaron would have bothered with. “I believe it’s best if you both head back to the dorms to sleep off any potential side effects.”

Kevin’s mouth clicked shut. The response wasn’t outright denial, so Aaron prodded Kevin with his elbow and tried for a route that worked more often than it failed him. “Are you really going to risk it this close to a game?”

Kevin glared at him, seeing through it in an instant. “You just want to sleep.”

“You stole my sleep,” Aaron pointed out. “Literally. I think we’re all allowed a daily allowance of bench naps if even <i>you</i> want to indulge in them.”

Kevin’s face twisted into a grimace, and Aaron knew he was remembering everything he had said that wasn’t a declaration of love for his favorite sport. Aaron, having been provided a unique insight into the inner workings of Kevin Day, would have had more sympathy if he wasn’t about to pass out at any moment.

“Fine,” Kevin spat out in a tone that meant the next few days would more than make up for any time they missed for personality swap-related reasons. Unluckily for Aaron, Kevin Day was an asshole. Worse still, Kevin was beautifully passionate when he was acting particularly assholish. Aaron wanted to cave his face in. With his lips.

“I’ll drive you,” Abby suggested, not bothering to hide her grin.

Kevin and Aaron didn’t waste their time arguing about it. Through some overdue miracle, they managed to make it out without being accosted by another Fox. Kevin spent most of the drive staring out the window, focusing on nothing in particular as he ruminated on every word the Foxes would never forget him saying. Aaron met his reflection in his own window and imagined every worst-case scenario his twin and Josten would act out.

They were partners in a shared but distant misery.

Aaron tried to lay against the window, but his head bouncing into the hard windowpane was not an effective or pleasurable option so he soon gave up on that pursuit. He eyed Kevin’s position instead—the several boxes labeled ‘fragile’ taking up the passenger seat having relegated them both to the back—and pressed himself into the crook of his outstretched arm.

“What are you doing?” Kevin stage-whispered.

“I’m going to sleep,” Aaron replied with finality. He closed his eyes and tried his best to ignore the way the tension seeped out of Kevin’s frame the longer Aaron went without moving. Despite his exhausted predicament, the car ride was too short for him to actually drift off, so the moment Abby pulled the car into park Aaron was murmuring a sleepy “Thank you” and pushing open the door.

Kevin followed him upstairs, not saying a word until Aaron went to slam the door in his too-pretty face. “You did well at practice today. The progress you made based on the improved hold I demonstrated was exactly as I predicted. If you continue on—”

“Kevin,” Aaron said, drawing his name out as long as Nicky did when calling for him within the Columbia house. “My muscles hate me right now. And you. I am suffering beyond your comprehension. You got your beauty sleep, someone is going to die if I don’t get mine.”

“While the memories are still fresh is the perfect time to go over the merits of the adjustments you made today,” Kevin stated, voice taking on a serious tone betrayed by the teasing smile he didn’t bother to stifle. “Who are you planning to kill?”

“Neil,” Aaron said immediately. “Wait, no. You. Definitely you.”

“Adorable,” Kevin replied. “Save it for after we discuss the ineffective placement of your feet during turns.”

Aaron moved to pull the door closed, but Kevin stuck his foot further in between. Aaron stepped on his foot. Kevin laughed.

“Fuck you,” Aaron declared without heat.

“Later?” Kevin asked, momentarily taken aback by his own boldness.

Aaron walked further into the room, leaving the door ajar. He stared into the mess the morning had made of his pillows. “Fuck. You.”

“Not later?” Kevin put forth, muffling laughter behind a loose smile.

Aaron threw a pillow at his head; Kevin dodged because of course he did.

He left before Aaron picked up a textbook.

[ninyard]

Okay, so if the concern is about legal realism, the most likely scenario is that Aaron never goes to trial. Most crimes in the US never go to trial.

A decent lawyer could probably at least get a plea bargain for involuntary manslaughter (couldn't make a case for involuntary in court, but the entire plea bargain system is bullshit), which can potentially carry a sentence of parole only.

The main issue is that Aaron wants to be a doctor. However, pleading to involuntary manslaughter would not necessarily preclude a medical license. Now, he would have to explain the whole thing both when applying to medical school and while applying for a license, and make the case in both cases for why killing someone with an exy racket under those circumstances doesn't make him unfit for the profession. But he would probably also have to explain an acquittal on the grounds of self defense: ethics boards ask you to explain what happened if you have ever been charged with a crime. So like. Again, the involuntary manslaughter plea would probably not be much worse for becoming a doctor than the acquittal.

With a good lawyer, he could be off probation by the time he graduates.

But other asks are right, barring plea bargains, from the viewpoint of legal realism, Aaron's case is basically exactly what the voluntary manslaughter statute is intended to address.

Now, the other reason the most likely outcome is that Aaron's case never goes to to trial is that there's every possibility of the Moriyamas leaning on the DA to dismiss it. They absolutely do not want to risk the trial turning up anything that might lead back to the resources Riko used to get Drake where he was, with the FBI still very much snooping around.

That said, to heck with legal realism. Consider the drama.

the idea that most cases never go to trial intrigues me. like, murder trials included? a crime that is punishable by the death penalty in sc?

i don’t really understand much about plea deals/plea bargains. i could see the moriyama’s getting involved because at the end of the day it was rikos mess and neil has a big FBI connection to dangle over their heads that would lead to it being dismissed. BUT i don’t think cass would let it go, even though we don’t know much about her, she doesn’t seem like the type of woman who could be bought out of seeking justice for her son that was murdered. but who knows!!!!

and on your last sentiment i COMPLETELY AGREE. as much as my brain won’t let me be inaccurate about these kinds of details if i keep trying to be realistic about the most unrealistic book series ever, then i’ll drive myself INSANE. i’ll actually have a law degree before i get to the end of the “aaron’s trial” tweet series. so i’m just tryna come to terms with the fact that it may not be an entirely realistic trial but if that’s the case then. blame the american justice system! yeah fuck those guys! it’s not my inaccuracy noooo! it’s the fucked up justice system!!!!!

[joanofexys]

gimme the Jude lore

okay okay Jude Reyes lore incoming

little breakdown first:

26 years old

he/him, pansexual, cis

played for the Trojans for 5 years

graduated with a degree in sports journalism

has adhd and depression (in the rambling bit tw right now for mentions of self harm and suicidal thoughts tying into this)

only child and still upset about it

does the most out of all my ocs to work with college players, spends a lot of his free time flying out to different colleges to work with coaches and teams cause he likes and he enjoys it (gets a lot of teasing about becoming a coach in the future)

knows english and spanish

and oh yeah he's a dealer who will play as an extra backliner if needed

blonde, 6'3, big brown eyes

got his ears pierced cause Mara said he'd chicken out

So yeah Jude graduated from USC at the age of 23 and he was recruited for olympic court when he was 25. He considers the Trojan's his family and still keeps in touch with all the upper classmen who he used to play with. He's very much taken the Trojan attitude into his professional career. He's known as a team player on the court and also a huge activist off the court. He's now involved in presenting the Day Spirit Award every year and he's incredibly proud to have been apart of the team consistently winning it. While Ilya falls into the Just Some Guy category, Jude really takes it up like 10 levels into Golden Child territory. He's the favored one for press duty and is most involved with his teams social media. He's usually the one to sit down for the little games or the ask me anything's or the interviews everyone else deems pointless.

tw for self harm and suicide mentions, you can skip to the next bolded line if you need to

Jude was diagnosed with depression when he was 19 after he came to Rhemann confessing that he had been self harming for a few months after the workload with his class got more difficult for him to manage and he started thinking about committing suicide. He was diagnosed with adhd a few years later when he was 22 and now he now manages both with a mixture of therapy and medication. He's not perfect and obviously that didn't get rid of his depression but he has always had a safe space to talk about it and to get the help he needs. He advocates a lot for mental health in general but especially where athletes where it tends to get ignored with all the pressure put on them and he brings that into all of his relationships with his teammates trying to create a safe space for them. He is a huge factor in actually getting Em, Mara, and Florian to see therapists and he's who Florian calls after his 5th attempt and takes him to the hospital.

okay heavy bit over

I need y'all to know that Jude popped into my head literally today. He was named like 3 hours ago. So this is all just kind of developing as I yap about him. He's big on team inclusion. Doesn't want anyone to feel left out. At first Ilya really butted heads with Mara and Florian cause they were Raven's and Jude was basically the one to get sick of that and tell them they needed to shut the fuck up and put on their get along t-shirt

He's generally pretty outgoing and he loves a good party. And by party he means hosting his team and having some food and drinks and visiting with every one. Though he does go a little crazy after a win and he will probably not get home till like 6 in the morning and then will sleep for a full 24 hours

He comes off as very loud and flirtatious to most people, most people will think he is flirting even when he isn't and he has accidentally agreed to multiple dates before realizing they were dates and having to awkwardly let people down. He doesn't really date much, not seriously, largely because of how involved he is with the media portion of his job. If he does end up dating (and I don't have anyone set up for him yet) it'd most likely be another exy player who is also super involved with the media and interacting with the press

and yeah that's a little bit about Jude

[excelsior9173]

JUST SAW HOZIER

i have to admit that i knew almost no songs, he’s not really in heavy rotation in my listening

i think after tonight though that has to change. what a phenomenal performer. incredible voice, incredibly humble. and holy fuck was he mesmerizing to watch play guitar. i could have a whole concert of him just playing and i would be endlessly entertained

also- i, carrion, from eden, cherry wine, and unknown/nth all made me cry so much

[summerlovingbaby]

Aaron's eating disorder

Aaron handles himself well, in his head he likes to call himself superman, at first it was a childish notion that got him through the day, but soon it developed into a daily mantra. He is nothing short of Superman, he has good grades, a gorgeous girlfriend, a national winning Exy team and was in the gym 6 times a week, the only thing he couldn’t manage to do was eat.

At breakfast he would choke down a few bites of an apple, but it woult turn rock hard in his stomach and sit there making it ache, so for a while it was easier for him to not deal with food. It started with skipping breakfast and dinner, and then the more he thought about it, if he didn’t need breakfast and dinner he didn’t need lunch either. As far as Aaron was concerned his new eating habits were better than his old eating habits. Tilda didn’t grocery shop, and Aaron was already picky eater, even before he got clean. After he got clean for about a year his diet consisted almost exclusively of pickles, almonds, jars of frosting, M and M’s, apple juice and protein shakes.

It didn’t matter how he felt, it only mattered how people saw him. It didn’t matter that he was tired all the time, or how he found himself shivering in 90 degree weather, people only saw you as one thing, and as long as he could pace a mildly impassive expression on his face, and keep his head in his studies people would think he was fine. People only saw you as one thing, and if they saw him as fine he would be left alone. He started only viewing others as one thing. Andrew wasn’t a brother, just a teammate. Neil was just a kid who he would swap rooms with  and a nuisance and Kevin was the idiot lived next door. Nicky was too complicated for his muddled brain to classify so he avoided him as a whole.

He avoided team outings for a week before the team started to pester him about it. He lied and said he was swamped with studying or exams or writing papers, when in all reality he was farther ahead then he had ever been. 

He woke up on Saturday morning, rolling his eyes as he checked the clock, it was another morning practice Kevin insisted was necessary, so he dressed in a hoodie and a long compression shirt. He walked to the court alone, leaving Nicky alone. Nicky had been watching Aaron for weeks and he was obvious with his concerned stare was irritating. He stumbled through pratice with weak footing and a loose grip on his stick, he almost made it completely through pratice before fell over his eyes and he lost sight of the court in a dark haze. The sound of his racket hitting the wood snapped him awake, but he was still confused, as he felt firm fingers unstrap his helmet and take it off his head, and the rush of the cool air on his skin was enough to snap him into full consiouness.

“ You good?” Andrew asked.

Aaron gave him a vague impersonal nod before he was ushered to the bench, he offered little resitance mostly because he didn’t care enough to fight back, and looking his brother in the eye for the first time in weeks and it knocked all the fight out of him. Mostly he was tired, and his head hurt, and he was cold, and vaguely irritated and horribly annoyed.

He sat out for the last hour of pratice, choking down a granola bar at Wymack and Betsys instacne, and drunk an intire gatorade for good measue just to prove the point that he was fine. He had everything under strict control. But that didn’t stop Matt from helping him back to the lockerroom.

“ I don’t need your help,” he said.

“ Well you can barely stand, and I don’t want you to hit your head if you pass out or something,” he said grimly, “ don’t want you to lose your looks of you chip your tooth on the floor or something,” he added hoping to get Aaron to smile, which proved ineffective.

He sat Aaron in front of his locker, offered a prefoctonary smile and went to shower, leaving Aaron alone. Aaron took off his jersey, leaving on his under things, too tired to bother with showering, so shoved his clothes in his locker and walked through the locker room and into the lounge where Coach and Abbey were waiting.

“ You feeling okay?” Abbey said, thumbing through a magazine.

“ Stomach bug,” he lied.

By the way Wymack stared at him, Aaron could tell he wasn’t buying his lie for a second. 

“ Wanna try again?” he suggested.

“ Not really,” Aaron siad.

“ ERC is making monthly physicals madaory again, next one is in two weeks,” Wymack said turning to Abbey who nodded. He waited for Aaron to speak, but when he didn’t, he continued. “ You usually sort your shit out just fine, but if you need help its here.”

“ You don’t have to worry about me,” Aaron said. 

“ Well I’m gonna,” Wymack said, for some reason his typical casual attitude pissed Aaron off more than it should have. “ And for that matter the rest of the team is as well. Andrew and Nicky are… Concerned.”

He didn’t need or want Andrews concern or pity, and he didn’t need it from the rest of the team for that matter. Andrews pity killed his mom.

“ Is that all?” he asked, and when he got no response he left the way he came, and spent the weeked at Katelyns dorm to avoid the foxes, spending most of the night curled up in her little twin mattress. It didn’t matter how many blankets he piled ontop of himself, he hadn’t managed to get warm in a week. He ate the pickles that came with her meal, that she for some reason always ordered even though she hated, but had to return back to his dorm because he had Tuesday classes.

By the time he got there he learned that both of his classes were cancelled so he crawled into bed ignoring the way the pickle churned in his stomach. He was kicked away 3 hours later by Andew who was too busy texting on his phone to even look at him.

“ Get up,” he said bluntly,” team dinner.”

“ Not hungry” Aaron replied rolling over. He really wasn’t hungry, and the last thing he wanted was to sit in a car with them, then poke around at a plate of chicken and commensurate over small talk for 2 hour, if he wasn’t gonna sleep then he should at least study, or do something more productive.

“ Get up and come with us, or I’ll drag you by your hair,” he said.

Aaron could tell by the look of determination on Andews face he was nothing short of serious and put on his shoes before Andrew had an excuse to pull the scalp from his hair. At dinner he ordered a plate of chicken tender, fries and  a coke. He sipped the coke frequently, took a bite of two fries, but didn’t bother with the chicken tenders, spending the whole meal cutting them up into tiny pieces, smiling piolety at the teammates who bothered to talk to him.

The seating arrangement changed, leaving Andrew and Aaron alone. Kevin and Neil was going to the court, and the rest of the team was going fuck knows where, all Aaron wanted to do was go back to the dorm and study for his exam that he had to take in 5 days. His grades were dwindling down to unacceptable and every graded assignment he got back he could only picture his mothers dissatisfied and disappointed face. The car ride back was awkward and uncomfortable, Aarons headache was worse and throbbing, and being trapped in the front seat alone with Andrew bothered him more than he cared to admit. Ever since the trial he handled Andrew with cool composure, but he was really extremely pissed off for a reason that Aaron couldn’t place, nor did he care to. If Andrew wanted to not care, then Aaron would not care either. Aaron didn’t need anyone in his life that didn’t want to be.

“ Matt gave these to me, never been a fan, do you want them?”

Andrew tossed a bag of M&M’s in his lap, and Aaron bust open the package dumping a handful in his hand and popping them in his mouth without a second thought. Andrew turned up to the raido and they drove back to the dorm in silence, while Aaron quietly let the chocolate candies melt in his mouth.

The next day he was rudely woken up by the sound of someone loudly putting away groceries, he rolled his eyes slammed a pillow over his head and went back to sleep shivering.  He was woken by  Nicky 3 hours later, who shoved a plated sandwich in his face. “ Coach said you weren’t feeling well so I made you a sandwich,” he said, Aaron sat up and took a bite of the sandwich and struggled to swallow, ignoring Nickys grimmace. 

When Aaron refused Nicky chewed his cheek and went to play games at his desk.

“ If you’re having food… sensitivities-”

“ Nicky.” Aaron warned.

“ I was gonna say-”

“ I have a headache, you’re not helping.”

“ Aaron,” Nicky insisted.

“ Nicky” Aaron mocked, sitting up. Aaron was idignatnt and stubborn enough to do for hours.

Nicky paused his game and turned to glare, something that bothered Aaron beyond belif, he didn’t need platitudes or pity, and that look that Nicky gave him was a sick mix of both.

“ I’m fine,” he insisted.

Before Nicky could argue the door swung open and Andrew barged his way in. “ You’ve said that word so much in the past month it doesn’t even sound like a word. You look like shit.”

“ Thanks, real confidence booster,” Aaron sighed, wishing Nicky would close the window.

“ Andrew, be nice.” Nicky scolded.

Andrew laughed at the idea, and wordlessly unpacked the grocery bags on his arms, tossing Aaron a jar of dill pickles in the process. When he made no move of opening the jar Andrew took the jar and opened it, fished a pickle spear out with his fingers and put it on a paper plate. When Aaron looked disgusted at the sight of the pickle, with his nose wiggled up, Andrew took the plate, and sliced the pickle, sticking the plastic fork in one of the slices and sitting it in his lap.

He squat down to his level and stared with an expectant look. Aaron was uncomfortable with the weight of it, and clenching his fist was all he could do was not to cry. He hated eating infront of people, and with Andrew looking in front of him made it worse.

“ You have 5 minutes to eat before I hold you down and shove it down your throat.”

Aaron looked at the plate of cut up pickles trying hard not to frown. He knew Andrew would do it, this is the same brother who locked him in the bathroom when he found out about his drug problem. The idea of someone watching him choke down this food made his stomach flip violnetly. And the idea of being force fed made him want to run. He briefly entertained the idea, before he realized that he wouldn’t make it very far. His brother was faster than he was, and who was to say that once he made it to the other side of the door Andrew wouldn’t follow.

“ I need you to not look at me,” Aaron asked.

Andrew stood and went turned and pretended to find interest in Nickys game,and Aaron poked at his food until he put a pickle slice on his tongue, he shivered at the sourness of it, but enjoyed the satisfying crunch enough to eat the rest of them, only stopping when he gave a loud burp.

He looked up to see that Andrew had been staring at him the whole time, he tossed a pack of M&M’s at him, and poured a cup of apple juice which Aaron accepted gladly, the pickle made him thirsty and sparked his appetite.

Aaron looked at the empty plate, he had the distinct feeling that he had been had. Andrew went to the store, bought the only food Aaron would consider touching, not only that but he payed attention to his rather restrictive diet when they were kids, and remembered what he ate. Matt didn’t give Andrew M&M’s, Andrew bought them, along with an obscene amount of almonds, frosting and protein shakes. Andrew cared, hes cared all along. Aaron misinterpeted Andews cold apathey is disintrets, his lingeirng look of  He misinterpereded his lingering looks of concerns one of pity or general disinterest. And even as Andew carefully watched Aaron now, watched as he chewed and swallowed, it was careful and considerate, nothing malicious behind his glare.

“ Can I have some almonds?”

Nicky tossed him the jar, and they watched as Aaron loudly crunched on them by the handful.

Andrew settled himself on the couch, and began texting on his phone. By the chirping of Nickys phone Aaron suspected that they were talking about him.

“ Thanks,” he said without thinking. “ Sorry for-”

“ If you aplologize I will personally break your foot.”

“ Right.” Aaron looked down, with the vague notion that he should be embarrassed. Andrew cared.

“ Listen, having a restricted diet is better than starving yourself, you feel like shit because you weren’t eating at all. You’re allowed to struggle and have problems, but when you do you lean the fuck out and you talk to someone. It doesn’t have to be me, just talk to someone before you get to the point of passing out,” Andrew said. “ You have a whole team that only wants whats good for you, you lean the fuck out or I will push you out, and you won’t like how hard I shove you.”

“ Okay” he said, eating another handful of almonds.

[jtl-fics]

Math nerd au 👀 i love that funky lil accountant

WIP Wednesday Game 8/16/23 (Closed) | Math Nerd AU

"What's 8 x 42?" Matt says as they head towards the front door.

"336." Neil answers without any hesitation waving to the hostess.

".02 x 85?" Matt tries for something harder." Matt asks opening the door for Neil.

"1.70" Neil returns opening the second door for Matt.

"You're seriously just doing that all in your head?!" Matt exclaims as they walk out into the warmth of the South Carolina sun.

"Well, I am here to get my degree in accounting." Neil says with a shrug and Matt can see him visibly enjoying the warmth after sitting in the cold of the restaurant.

"Oh cool!" somehow their own majors and future plans had not come up at any point during the course of their lunch conversation. "I'm in business administration, though I'm hoping to be able to play Exy professionally." Matt says scratching his cheek a bit in embarrassment.

[dvrcos]

Ive been bothering everyone I possibly can by dropping asks abt Aaron in their inbox soo it's ur turn now

Any Aaron hcs? Your opinion on skater boy Aaron?

And because I love Kevin too, any Kevin hcs? I feel like people tend to forget that Kevin likes photography too canonically besides exy and history

OMG I JUST SAW THIS THANK YOU FOR ASKING HEHEHEHE

Skater boy Aaron is real and true and canon (to me at least)

He is the poster boy for the early 2000s skater aesthetic

Part of the reason he continues skating in college is because he enjoys the heart attack it gives Kevin

Kevin doesn’t want him getting hurt and jeopardizing the team and his wellbeing

So Aaron makes sure he finds time to skate everyday

Aaron is a lover of pop culture and is just a fucking nerd dude

He loves Lord of the Rings and read Harry Potter as it came out (and also very actively hates JKR in the modern day)

Aaron Minyard is a chronic migraine girly

He’s a med student and athlete who gets very little sleep so his head constantly hurts

And yaknow what he’s a little bitch about it too

He is constantly complaining to Katelyn and using it as an excuse to be an asshole

(I love him so dearly)

I also think he is constantly cold and has terrible blood circulation

His hands and feet are always freezing

Years of drug use and constantly needing to take Advil for his headaches has just shot his cardiovascular system

So he’s constantly cold and doesn’t run a lot because his stamina is shit

He has a raging addiction to caffeine and his vice is RedBulls

His sleep schedule is absolutely wrecked from both Exy and school so he’s rarely ever without a RedBull in hand

I don’t think he cares a lot about his diet but he does try to keep it pretty nutrient packed bc he knows the benefits of it

But he also has a sweet tooth (not as strong as Andrew’s but still strong) and he favors baked goods like cake and banana bread and pastries

His vision is bad and it just keeps getting worse over the years but he doesn’t wear his glasses often

He usually resorts to contacts but has to switch to his glasses late at night or when his head is hurting extra bad

OKAY KEVIN FUCKING DAY

He loves tea

Like has an extensive tea collection and will spend the money to buy teas from around the world

He also has a mug collection (the Foxes start gifting him mugs every holiday when they find out about it)

His favorite mugs are his vintage Trojans mug, a “history is not boring” mug the Foxes gave him when he graduated, and a Hogwarts mug Aaron gave him

(they read the series together :P)

Kevin’s favorite areas of history to study are Ancient Rome and the history of Ireland

He’s fascinated by the Roman Empire and studying Ireland makes him feel more connected to his mother

I think he continues school on the side and eventually gets a doctorate degree and teaches a bit after he retires from Exy

He always tries to sign with teams in or near the cities the other OG Foxes are in because he doesn’t really know how to function without the familiarity of his people

Kevin works a lot on undoing his Raven dietary habits and since he’s surrounded by people who can’t cook he grows a love for frozen food as well as caffeine

I think he takes a few art classes and really enjoys it even though he doesn’t think he’s that great at it

He’s actually not bad at all and makes a lot of really cool pieces

Kevin exclusively wears 5 inch inseam shorts

Anything longer is blasphemous

He has basically zero sense of style and just kind of mimics what the others are wearing

Until Allison forces him to go to the mall with her and they spend hours building him a real wardrobe that is him

Most of his closest still consists of PSU and USC merch though

And truly would this even be me if I didn’t put kevaaron headcanons? No

Kevin is basically a human radiator, especially after practice

And that is a blessing directly from God in Aaron’s eyes

Kevin comes back from night practice and Aaron just clings to him, absorbing all of his heat as they fall asleep

Aaron is a chronic clothes stealer like he just has sticky fingers when it comes to Kevin’s wardrobe

They spend a lot of time together in the library

They’re both in quite intensive and workload heavy majors so they study together a lot

It happened more as an accident tbh like Aaron was heading to the library to study for a midterm

And basically all of PSU’s student body had the same idea so there was no open tables

But low and behold there was Kevin, alone at a table tucked in the back corner, typing away at his laptop

Aaron joins him without asking and it kinda just becomes their thing

Kevin joins Aaron at the library between regular and night practices

They spend most of their weekends there and bring each other caffeinated drinks and snacks

Eventually they’re not even studying half the time, they’re just talking and spending time with each other outside of Exy and the other Foxes curious glances and prying comments

Aaron takes a history class with Kevin but Kevin refuses to take any science class outside of his required credits

He’s not a science person so Aaron doesn’t take it personally

Kevin can never properly wrap his head around how strong Aaron actually is

It just doesn’t compute for him, like how can so much strength be packed into such a small body

But he is most definitely not complaining, especially not when that strength is so clearly but on display or used against him

Kevin is practically drooling anytime he watches Aaron body check a striker twice his size and send them sprawling onto the floor

They become each others partners/marks during practices and it is simultaneously the best and worst thing to ever happen

They’re just excessively flirting while tripping each other and fighting with their racquets

The other Foxes comment on their “weird and disturbing foreplay” every chance they get

[aurinkos-toybox]

bakery

"Bread pudding?" the witch asked, incredulously. "You were sent to get bread, and you have bread pudding?" "I'm sorry. I think when I asked for bread, they must have heard 'pudding' instead of 'please." the doll replied, it's faceplate shaking a bit under pressure. "I did not know that this even exis-."

"I can believe that." the witch barked. "We will get bread tomorrow, and you'll explain what happened then. You all may keep the pastry, I have no use for it." The witch turned, and smiled for a moment - the confusion did bring a degree of unexpected amusement. What a great story it will make for later days.

Our doll nodded and apologize again, before re-wrapping the bread pudding and returning to the doll's quarters. It steadied it grip with each step, relieved to have escaped punishment. It's witch was not cruel, per say, but prone to anger when unexpected failures occurred. Errands were often a source of these failures.

As it shut the door to the doll's bedroom, aptly annotated by a large "BR" above the door, our doll was greeted by the rest of it's cohort. Nearly a dozen dolls - in felt, metal, plastic, and combinations therein - gathered to see it home. "What was your punishment?" One asked. "Is it true that there was bread in the pudding?" The first of three combat dolls asked, with a second chiming in: "No, it was told that there was pudding in the bread."

"How could there be pudding in any bread?" the third bellowed. It was the strongest of the three, or of any of the dolls for that matter. Leaning down towards our doll, a bright smile contrasting with the plexiglass and transparent, synthetic plastic showing her inner gears, it seemed to know what happened before our doll did. "She let you keep it, didn't she? Did you bring it back?" Nodding, our doll motioned to the communal kitchen. The other dolls chirped excitedly, cramming themselves through the narrow door to see this "bread pudding" with their own eyes.

"It got lucky." said our doll, the Tall One staying back with it. "No punishment. At least, not for now."

"For now."