#the one where someone doesn't know who kevin day is

[everest81]

Even if I'm fine with being called specifically "dude" I fucking dies inside seeing that happen once before I transitioned. I didn't even have Tumblr or really grasped how bad it was but I knew in my gut that it was just... Evil. You're denying a woman's identity for what? Not being able to stare at her boobs the whole conversation? Because you think it's some fucking fetish for others to be happy?

For those who are just on the cusp of grasping it, but can't, try imagining someone doing that to a cis person

This is Kathy. Kathy has been a woman since birth, born with specifically female genitalia and body parts, and has a conventionally effeminate body type by 9/10 normal standards. One day, she gets hired by a tech company that has her testing out websites and occasionally games that are very very early in development.

Around a month or two after she's gotten to know the general group of people she's had to and will work with, a new employee named Toby is hired and put into her group. She doesn't know anyone named Toby, nor does any of her friends or immediate family members. A nephew of hers would gladly tell you about Ticci Toby, his second-favorite creepypasta behind Sonic.exe, but nobody knows any IRL Tobys.

Toby completely refuses to call Kathy by her real name, instead insisting that she's referred to by names like Kyle, or Kevin, ECT, when anyone has to refer to her when talking to him. He acts like someone's joking with him, insulting him, or making up a fake employee when anyone else on their team mentions Kathy by her real name. Toby also consistently uses passive-aggressive language about Kathy —or, should he also be by or going to the bathroom, glares at her and matters things she can't quite catch— whenever she goes to the bathroom, insisting that she should be using the men's room.

On one frightening —and possibly dangerous— occasion Toby physically blocked her from the bathroom by standing in front of the doorway and pushing her away from it. It doesn't matter how gently he pushed her, he still pushed her away from a basic necessity. This was Toby's first strike, according to her boss, but if you asked Kathy, "I cannot tell you how many times I've wanted to fucking punch that guy. He's so fucking annoying — I can never get shit done when I have to work with him in any capacity! Got forbid we have to have a meeting! He's either saying anything about anything else to stall time, or taking my shit and telling everyone that some fuckin'.... Mystery member's been busting his ass off for me in the background, or something...! It's always some Kieth or Kurt or-... whoever the fuck he's made up this week."

Everyone, especially Kathy, is incredibly uncomfortable with how Toby acts. Lately he's been getting especially aggressive, as his passive-aggressive remarks about her and her body have been evolving into outright insults and remarks about how "he's slandering God's image of Adam and mankind". Kathy still to this very day has no idea what happened between them, nor does she have any clue why someone like him wanted to physically assault her, beating her behind her office building with a pocket knife —almost slitting her throat— and scarring both her face and her psyche for the rest of her life.

Toby might have been arrested for assault and attempted murder, but she refuses to walk behind any building that vaguely resembles where she was attacked and almost killed... Because she existed.

I am so sick and tired of seeing the trans women around me being slowly hot coaled into the closet and into essentially being forced back into "Men who would really love being women but Can't because they Aren't". It is so painful stop fucking doing this to our trans women. Stop forcing them to be "Fine" with being called dude bro man he and biologically male stop it stop it stop it you are killing her. You are killing her.

[simonsrosebud]

longest chapter i’ve written in quite a while- i’m so sleep deprived rn so pls just pretend to love it… getting back into my devotion for kevin and dalton

spoiler photo of the house (you’ll know after reading) under the cut

[arimbaudspierre]

Anything You Knead - Doey x Reader (18+) HCs

Some headcanons for my on-going fic (nsfw!), or rather, just some scattered thoughts I have on how I've written some things about Doey, the Player, and other things. Blown away by all the sweet comments and kudos on it, just to say thanks again. HCs below the cut! Probably nothing NSFW but the fic itself is EXTREMELY NSFW so minors please DNI.

‣ Obviously, Doey's an adult in the fic. There's a tape that says that Matthew was at least 15 when he was under observation by Playtime, with the expectation that he was too old to be likely adopted and that they were considering hiring him when he was 18. Given that Doey was made in 1993 and the game takes place in 2005, he's at least 27, but even if Kevin and Jack are slightly younger than Matthew was, they too would be in their early 20s at the least. ‣ To the extent that that matters though, I'm not sure-- at least not for what I've written. I actually don't treat the three personalities as distinct, I have sort of taken a page from Steven Universe on this one, but I like the idea that Doey is his own wonderfully complicated person as a result of the merging, although I know that the game has fairly unsubtle imagery to suggest otherwise. It's part of why I think Doey is so much better written than almost all of the other characters in the franchise though; in their attempt to create a character that exhibits qualities of three different people, I feel like they actually just finally wrote someone who feels three-dimensional and fleshed out, because people are complicated things who are often compelled by many wants and fears within themselves, those of which may even be at odds. So, in the fic, there is no personality that 'fronts' at different times, Doey simply is himself-- for better or worse. ‣ I do think he's tried his hand at a relationship or two before (despite what he claims in Chapter 3 of the fic, slight spoiler), before the Player walks into his life, since there's obvious hints within the game that the Bigger Bodies project has been tried with more than just the orphans (the whole theory surrounding DogDay's true identity, the Prototype, etc) and there are reasonably other hot-blooded adults sharing the space with him. But, it's probably best left to hand-wavy-head-cannon territory since I don't want to spend a whole lot of time explaining that. ‣ The Player is an adorable little bombshell so Doey is quite correct when he calls them pretty. I did a quick lil' drawing of them, taking some fashion cues that I would have worn in 2005 (but much less layering. I am so glad we are over putting flared skirts over flared jeans). They are Hispanic, 28/29ish, and you know we gotta do the pale nude lipstick and sequin 'Angel' shirt. They are based on a Bratz doll, although I don't think the Player is a toy, just a cute little nod to that theory.

‣ I think the Player was an intern or a small-time assistant at Playtime, although I know there are nods within the game that suggest otherwise. There's a part where I wrote that they used to fetch coffee for Harley at some point. If that's true, I know it's possible that they know of Doey, but I really want to put some distance between the Player and Doey in the early days. Would make for some great angst, though, and probably would be better set up for romance if they'd been friends. Someone take that idea and write it for me! ‣ The Player is selectively mute. They can talk, but I think it's rare for them to speak even in their everyday life, and the trauma they've endured at Playtime is pushing that to the extreme. Doey is great at interpreting what they mean, though, and being mute doesn't stop them from talking about their feelings. ‣ The Player's candidness in inner dialogue is also inspired by how my friends and I spoke in 2005. Sick! ‣ One thing that I have loved writing is that both the Player and Doey have aspirations beyond falling in love and sharing intimate moments together. They are both there to do what they need to do, and although it's clear that something is brewing between them, that unfortunately cannot stop what's to come. ‣ I know a lot of you really want it to be a fix-it fic, but I hope that you trust that what I have for the ending must be what it is-- love is not without sacrifice, but I think the core of the issue is that in the actual game, we don't know why the sacrifice was made (narratively, because we are in the dark about the Player's motivations and Poppy's motivations, and thematically, because Doey's crash-out and our conflict with Poppy is largely due to miscommunication). This doesn't leave us feeling like the Chapter had a good conclusion, even though stories can have feel concluded without it being one where everyone we like lives and good, sensible decisions were made. I initially just wanted to write a one-off little smut story, but since I'm tackling some plot, my terms will be that I want to give the canon ending set up that makes the pay off feel earned, but bittersweet. ‣ That being said, 100% I'm rooting for him to return in the next game. :) You can count on more stories if so. That's the end! If you read all this way, thank you. Please share some HCs with me, if you have them, I love any and everything about this stupid doughman. The next chapter of the fic is almost done, and because I am a loving and fair god, it is mostly fluff, and we will get to the angst in the chapter afterwards. Don't say I don't do anything for you guys. Bonus: here's what I listened to almost on repeat while writing the next chapter. -arim

[afurtivecake]

You know what my actual favourite Andrew Minyard line in the whole series is? It's not his sentimental lines like, "...from now until May you are still Neil Josten...". It's not even the best love confession in all of literature line, "Doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you." It's when he says "I'm not as smart as I thought I was."

That one line tells you so much about Andrew's character. That's the line that spells out for the reader that Andrew is smarter than he chooses to let on. That's the line that shows you just highly Andrew thinks of his own intelligence and how much he's been relying on it to survive and to keep his promises.

Consider that up until that point Andrew has presented himself with nothing less than the domineering kind of toughness you'd expect to see in a prison scene in a movie. He openly talks about breaking Neil, threatens multiple people with knives and makes everyone work around him. His "tough guy around town" persona and his ability to inflict violence is clearly something he prizes. AND YET. The first time he admits to any kind of dissatisfaction with himself, it's about his intelligence.

That is the point where the reader realizes that Andrew, in his own mind, is an intellectual. He doesn't actually pride himself on being the toughest guy in the room. He's aware that he's all of 5-feet-nothing and he knows at any given moment there's likely to be someone bigger and stronger than he is. What he's counting on in any given situation is being the smartest guy in the room. Fix any issues before they worsen, anticipate and eliminate any threats before they surface, think his way out of any problem that comes up. His intelligence is what he relies on to keep his promises.

That's the moment Andrew realizes that he's been letting his feelings get the better of his logic. He clocks Neil as dangerous from day one. But he's been telling himself that he's letting Neil stay for Kevin's sake or at least just until he can definitively prove Neil is dangerous. But the real reason he let Neil stay and get away with all his sketchy behaviour is because he let the fact that he likes Neil as a person, overcome his logic.

It makes you think, OH, THAT'S WHY Andrew was so interested in Neil in the first place. For someone who prides himself on his intelligence and KNOWS that no one else can match his smarts, Neil figuring out his twin switcheroo trick is the same as Neil throwing down the gauntlet and challenging him to a battle of wits. Andrew keeps trying to trip Neil up and Neil keeps batting his attempts aside and Andrew ends up helplessly charmed by Neil. Because Andrew LIKES that Neil is able to outsmart him sometimes, that Neil is his intellectual equal. And somewhere along the way, he's let himself forget that he "knows better" than to get emotionally attached, than to let someone else best him at his best quality- than to act like every other idiot in love that he's ever met.

You then realize that Andrew hasn't once thought of himself as brawny jock. That off-putting delinquent/school-shooter vibe and "psycho" reputation is a carefully calculated form of self-defense. It's self-defense in the literal sense of scaring off people who might want to fuck with him, but perhaps also in the sense of protecting himself from being seen. It makes sense, right? If people were to actually try to get to know him with an open mind, they'd soon discover that he IS difficult to get along with in ways they thought they could handle, but can't. Better to act the volatile asshole than suffer the disappointment of people changing how they treat him. And in the unlikely case that people find out that he isn't as tough as he presents himself, they might pity him. And that would be even worse. Much better to be as un-fuck-with-able as possible.

First time reading the book, I was taken in by Andrew's jock-ish façade. But the moment he admitted maybe he ought to be disappointed in himself for not being as smart as he thought he was, I had to set the book down and rethink every assumption I had made about Andrew as a character. The timing of that revelation is so perfect, because it happens just before the Thanksgiving mess. And so as the reader, you're suddenly coming to terms with the fact that Andrew is so much more vulnerable than he's ever portrayed himself to be at the same time that Andrew is being hit with probably one of the worst moments in his life. Like, that absolutely TOOK ME OUT. Which is why, that's one of the best lines in the whole series to me.

[exyrpf]

Exyblr Dashboard Simulator based on what I personally see on sportsblr:

1/?

👑 girlbossriko follow

how many bro jobs do you think it took before riko moriyama and kevin day realized that uh.....maybe this wasn't just a bro thing

👢exyinaphonebooth follow

how many times do they have to come out and say they're like brothers before you freakos stop shipping them

👑 girlbossriko follow

????? do i know u

#it's a tumblr post about two exy players that you'lll never meet in your life it really isn't that deep

558 notes

💃fox-me-up follow

ngl that newest fox is kinda 👀

#psu lb #exy lb

8 notes

👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻 talk-exy-to-me

The NARRATIVE that kevin day and neil josten have........son of exy! scouting the rookie-est of rookies from fuck knows arizona........no listen you dont GET IT winning is EVERYTHING TO KEVIN and he would risk it on the foxes? And NEIL? who has only played exy for a year! NEIL Gets his attention!!!!! And hes good and he's getting better every game and he keeps bitching about kevin's ex on live tv BUT WAIT!???? NOT QUITE WHAT YOU EXPECT! Bc then neil shows up with a number on his cheek BECAUSE WELL it turns out they've known each other since they were KIDS! how is everyone not insane w me THEY'RE LITERALLY PERFECT

#where r my fellow njkd truthers #how r u all not here with me this isnt even the start #kevneil #210 #psu #njkd

102 notes

☀️ usctrojanny

every smiley blonde striker (jeremy knox) needs a brunette wet cat emotional support backliner (jean moreau)

#jerejean #usc trojans #i'm just saying 🤷‍♀️

58 notes

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

did he just......

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

guys please tell me i'm not insane

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

HE'S NEVER BEEN????? SKIIING???? KEVIN WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ?????? KEVIN PLEASE

#i i'm going insane i will literally die if someone doesn't explain this to me HE'S NEVER BEEN SKIING?!!!!

407 notes

🧚 goalie-stan

oh....i'm feeling so weak......it'd sure be nice to have a big strong goalie (renee walker) hold me up (renee if you're free on tuesday i am also free on tuesday.........on tuesday this tuesday, any tuesday?)

#literally passing out just thinking about her holding me don't call don't text i'm busy

84 notes

🌄 softkevinday follow

do u think if u offered kevin day essential oils to heal his hand he'd beat you to death

#it'd be hard for him bc he only has one hand but he could probably do it #legally this is a joke don't do this

284 notes

🗣️ jeremyknoxes follow

feeling normal

215 notes

📜 realexyblog

actually exy rpf is fine, i asked kayleigh day herself and she told me it was fine

112 notes

🐋 sexyexy

'exy is a stupid name for a sport' have you considered that a) i don't care and b) it's named that solely so i can make sex jokes about it

11 notes

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

is he, ya know *mimes jerking off* an ncaa exy player

#i don't believe that straight exy players exist

56 notes

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

Andrew Minyard!!!!!!! 🥰🥰 short king!!!!🤏🤏😋😋 Awwwwwwww the scrunkly!!!!! 🤗🤗🤗 My boinky boy!!!!!🥺🥺 Crinkly doo,,,,shronkle scrimblo......🥺🥺🥺 rb if you'd scrunkle!!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

📖 sapphic-exy follow

he literally killed someone

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

And? God forbid women do anything

#also no proof he did that #yeah there's proof his twin bro killed someone but that's not the same bc theyre different people #almost killing someone doesnt count

807 notes

🐦‍⬛ edgarallenexy

got told i'm problematic for liking the ravens? THAT'S LITERALLY MY SCHOOL OH MY GOD

2 notes

🌸 softexy

Kevin Day - A Study

#kevin day #psu foxes #palmetto foxes #exy #web weave #poetry #psu foxes #palmetto #edgar allen

378 notes

[lottiesgrl]

𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗲, 𝗻𝗮𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲!

cw: n/a

𝗟𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗘

*̥˚✧ anthropology major with a minor in media studies (kinda self-indulgent because of the pictures of courtney with her camera...)

*̥˚✧ criminally rich, offers to pay for literally anything you need. textbooks? don't even worry about it. supplies? she's already bought them.

*̥˚✧ also brought her car to campus and has no shame in driving you anywhere and everywhere

*̥˚✧ takes you to the fanciest places around campus, often with little warning. you'll wake up to a message from her offering to take you to a five-star steakhouse that night and you're like ???

*̥˚✧ for all her grand gestures of love, she enjoys more subtler displays of affection, like giving you flowers she finds on walks or writing you love letters

*̥˚✧ looves to study with you - you two have a favorite study spot on campus that's just secluded enough for you two to steal occasional kisses

*̥˚✧ comes to frat parties with you to make sure you're drinking safely (and to occasionally drag your wasted ass back to your dorm)

𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗘

*̥˚✧ undecided but taking courses for like 4 different majors

*̥˚✧ always knows where the best parties on campus and keeps an eye on you the whole time to make sure no assholes are hitting on you

*̥˚✧ bikes everywhere so when she takes you out the two of you have to walk everywhere... that is until she invests in a two-seater so she can ride you to classes and dates

*̥˚✧ you never see her studying but somehow her grades are perfectly fine?? meanwhile you're out here studying 3 hours a day and still can't manage an a in biochem...

*̥˚✧ stealing all her clothes because you like them better than your own. she sees you across campus wearing her leather jacket and texts you to ask how you're enjoying being a thief. she always pretends like she cares but they look better on you anyways

*̥˚✧ you two end up in the same classes and every time you look back at her, she's looking at you

*̥˚✧ asking to come over to "study" but you and her both know it'll end in you making out on her twin xl bed

𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗡𝗔

*̥˚✧ english literature major with a minor in woman gender and sexuality studies

*̥˚✧ lives in a single after her plans with jackie fell through and you cannot be more grateful. the one time you made out in your own room, your roommate came in and kicked her out. both of you have since learned your lesson.

*̥˚✧ always in the library; if you need her, chances are she'll be there, face buried into a book

*̥˚✧ loves to walk you to classes, even if it means being late to her own class. those who say chivalry is dead clearly haven't met shauna shipman

*̥˚✧ kevin car-nold did make it to college, but he's a little worse for wear. driving in shauna's car feels like a near death experience every time

*̥˚✧ quality time is incredibly important to shauna. her schedule is often so busy that she cherishes any time the two of you get together

*̥˚✧ wakes up FREAKISHLY early, and you have no idea how she does it. when you wake up at 7 am for class, she's already wide awake, laptop in her lap, working on coursework

𝗝𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗘

*̥˚✧ business major

*̥˚✧ plans her classes so she can spend the most time with you. you're free from one to three? funny, her next class doesn't start until three too! (she planned it that way)

*̥˚✧ takes you out on a million picnic dates. sitting on the quad on her cutesy picnic blanket feeding each other strawberries and she doesn't care who sees

*̥˚✧ if she finds a bug in her dorm, she'll call you over to take it outside, even if you live all the way across campus. and you do it every time

*̥˚✧ survives on sweet treats. she'll pout at you for ten minutes straight if you don't go with her to get a treat after class

*̥˚✧ INCREDIBLY jealous when other people get too close at parties. it's ten times worse when she's wasted. someone could ask you where the bathroom is and she'll be stink eyeing them until you two leave

*̥˚✧ is insistent on living with you off campus later on and has an organized pinterest board for every part of your future space together

[spicyvampire]

Let's talk about Mark & his upbringing, mental illnesses, vampireness and emotions processing, can we talk about Mark & his upbringing, mental illnesses, vampireness and emotions processing, please I've been dying to talk about Mark & his upbringing, mental illnesses, vampireness and emotions processing all day

Putting this under read more cuz it go way longer than I planned, okay So

Part 1 : The only child curse

So last episode we learned that Mark grew up in similar ways to Tong but worst, only child, no mother, there really is only him and his dad (probably the people who occasionally visit the infirmary perhaps?) And Mark has been bedridden for so long no outside people can possibly know him (ep 3)

And this is what is way worst than Tong, cuz even if they stopped Tong from doing literally everything ever, at least he was always surrounded by people his age in the orphanage and at least he does have Tonkla (ep 3)

And while Tong feels betrayed right now, Miss Nuan was probably a warm motherly figure too, where as Mark had no one but his father and when he got turned into a vamp (and his dad died) he had no one but Khun Milf

Part 2 : Maybe the real curse was the depression we got along the way

This means multiple things, first of all, the loneliness and depression Mark is feeling as a vampire probably started way before he got turned aka since he was a sick human, it just was what he was used to, being bedridden for years, and it just got prolonged when his life also got prolonged because he knew nothing else (ep 3) (also lol so Mark was sick & frankly dying until he got turned into a vampire, Edward Cullen getting turned by Carlisle cuz he was dying of the Spanish flu anyone?)

Second of all, Mark was probably never properly socialized as a child or before he became an adult vampire, and I think we can all agree that while Khun Milf is a Mother figure for Mark, she is not exactly the poster person to help someone figure out what the fuck emotional processing is (which okay not her fault, alright, she has an entire vampire empire to run and children to grow for their golden blood 😤, go queen), and as a vamp, as he is basically Khun Milf's personal guard dog he doesn't really have friends either (ep 2)

Like Auntie Wan is there and would probably make for a better teacher for all of this emotion stuff but when you've always been a way, you aren't necessarily aware that something is wrong and u need to change it, and again Khun Milf has no advantage in Mark getting better (she got a bag to get, as is her Vampire Empress God Given Right), so I don't see her pointing him in that direction, except that by making him Tong's main guard, she kinda accidentally did?

Part 3 : The Bodyguard (1992) starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner

While since Mark got close to him the changes in Mark have been accelerating (thank you Tong and your fluids we are forever grateful), Guarding Tong has been changing Mark for a while now, emotionally I mean, and how I know this? First of all, the goddamn guitar (ep2)

Like yes it is important you dumbass, like I cannot stress enough how to guard Tong it was not necessary to give him gifts, like this isn't anywhere in the bodyguard handbook, in all those years watching over Tong, Mark genuinely took interests in Tong as a person (which is something Tong craves, because he feels like people consider him as a breakable object needing protection more than a person with an agency), and for someone who has no feeling for anything or anyone, that is a huge goddamn step towards caring for something/someone else, second of all the rose necklace (ep 1)

This fucking necklace, while it was given accidentally at first, is also a genuine gift for multiple reason, like obviously after ep 3 Mark gave that to Tong consciously and permanently, but when it stopped Mark dead in his Golden Blood Lust, it wasn't, and yet that necklace had became of symbol of who he protecting and caring for, so he could not hurt Tong any further

Part 4 : feelings vs vampire senses, unstoppable force vs immovable object (or is it more like hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby?)

So we've established Mark doesn't know how to process emotions or feelings, but the thing is, Mark does know what being a vampire is, he has been that for a while now, so when the emotional changes in Mark started being noticeable by Mark, there was a very huge fucking problem in the way

Tong, being the resident Vampire Tasty Fluids Fountain that he is, a fountain that Mark has sampled multiple times at that, is making it fucking impossible for Mark to differentiate between his feelings for Tong that are slowly growing stronger and the effect of those goddamn fluids on his vampire senses, so when Tong got angry, Mark could not tell why he cared so much about it and immediately blamed it on The Tong Fluids Intakes (ep 3)

But the thing is Mark does genuinely like Tong outside his duty as a vampire bodyguard & the delectable nectar of Tong's various bodily fluids (sweat, as the one that is the most recent), and we know this not only because of the gifts (see part 3), but also because Tong genuinely makes Mark laugh which we only see him do around Tong, and Tong brings out his sense of humor too

He wants to show Tong that he can really take cares of him, and want him to try new things (ep 3)

He also sees how sad Tong is to only be filming a video for Miss Nuan's birthday and immediately decides that he is taking Tong there to see her instead, he let Tong go back to the dorms and to Tonkla, after seeing how restless, bored and lonely Tong is with him and the fight in ep 3, because he thinks that's what Tong would like, even if he thinks Tong would be safer in the house with him

Again Mark doesn't need to be doing all of this, like his job IS to be a bodyguard that's all, but for some unknown reasons (to him at least, my eyes are wide open) he is doing his best so that Tong is comfortable and happy, because he likes seeing Tong comfortable and happy

[joejhang]

KEVIN DAY DISCOURSE

i actually didn't realise kevin haters existed but here it is. i am a defence attorney and my client is kevin day because the discourse i see about him is fucking crazy sometimes.

re: leaving the nest.

i literally just made a post about this but let me dig a little deeper into it. yes, i think leaving the nest in the way that he did definitely did fuck jean over hugely no one is denying that. yes, it was definitely a betrayal when you look at it from jean's pov. yes, there was probably another way of doing it that could've worked things out better (i have no idea what this would be but there might be something). yes, he did it fully knowing the consequences and what would happen to jean afterwards. yes, jean has every right to feel betrayed and to feel anger towards kevin, though i would argue his feelings for kevin in current canon are complicated and kevin's "abandonment" is only one factor in all of it.

however i said it in my post and i'll say it again here: genuinely what would you have him do? think about it for a second: riko has just beaten kevin half to death and broken his hand, literally shattered it with a racquet. even though kevin does recover, in this moment he (and everyone else) thought his career was over. and it's said by wymack, jean and neil that exy is the only thing kevin has in his life. it's what his life has revolved around since his mother's death. without the ability to play, jean makes it pretty clear that kevin literally would've killed himself. wymack also says that if kevin can't play, he can't survive. and that's if riko/tetsuji didn't get to him first. if kevin had stayed in the nest he literally would've died point blank. and jean probably would've as well, since he would have no one to keep his promise to then.

also it's actually insane to say you hate kevin or are angry at him for leaving the nest. would you genuinely have wanted him to stay there? at the place where he had been abused since he was a young child, the place where he was physically, emotionally and mentally broken through cult conditioning and violence? like it took immense desperation and courage to leave such an environment, where he had basically lived his whole life and built his whole life around. yes, it was selfish and had consequences for jean, but it wouldn't have been any better if he had stayed. if you're someone who is angry at or dislikes kevin for leaving the nest genuinely consider the alternative. it's literally so much so so so much worse. kevin stays and riko/tetsuji kill him for being dead weight or he literally kills himself, and then jean follows, and then aftg no longer exists because kevin day is literally the fucking catalyst for the whole thing. you can hold two truths in your mind at once. 1. it was a selfish thing to do and 2. it was the only thing to do. think about that.

re: his relationship with jean

i am fully aware that kevjean have a plethora of problems in the current canon. but i raise you this: almost all of them are because of the environment their relationship formed in. and while kevin is described to have mostly been the bystander in that relationship, kevin did not just get off scot-free in the nest either. jean specifically states that kevin suffered a lot in the nest, mostly emotionally and psychologically, and the damage and lingering effects can still be seen in tgr. i think what people need to realise is that kevin and jean were both bystanders to each other. neither of them were in any position to jump in and save the other, so before everyone starts bitching about kevin just "letting" riko hurt jean think about the fact that kevin doesn't "let" riko do anything, kevin is essentially riko's pet on a leash. riko is literally canonically described as kevin's "owner" do you guys really think kevin had any power to stop riko? and same with jean, he also "stood by" when riko broke kevin's hand and beat him half to death, and i don't really think either of them did anything wrong because genuinely what the fuck do you do in that situation. they were both so powerless and probably fucking terrified. they did the best they could by helping each other in the aftermath of all the abuse. can we free jean from the relentless babying and victimisation obviously he is a victim no one is denying that but kevin and jean's relationship (while obviously problematic and messy) was not one where jean was kevin's victim because i consider them both sort of joined in their suffering in the nest. yes to different degrees in different categories but the truth still stands: they were together in their suffering. i don't consider either of them victims of the other because that's just genuinely so unfair and uncharitable to both of them.

in regards to his current dynamic with jean, there are obvious issues. it's not quite a friendship, as they both say, and it has a lot of problems in its dynamic, because they're both aware of the nest's toxic hierarchy between them, and the difference in their "status" at the nest (kevin being a glorified pet and jean being merely property). it doesn't make for the healthiest or most balanced dynamic, but i think what's important to realise is that they both have very little control over it. what's also important to understand is that they don't really have ill intentions for each other. they don't wish harm upon each other and honestly i would say they care about each other and want the best for each other. people can be rubbed the wrong way about kevin's bossiness and the lingering bitterness between them in tgr but i honestly think that's just always been a part of their relationship. also kevin is literally always bossy he's the same way with andrew and neil they just respond to it differently. also i think kevin and jean were the closest thing they each had to a friend growing up, so i think that's important to take into consideration.

side note: i do think kevin was well aware of jean's feelings for him back in the nest. or he at least had his suspicions. but on one hand he was too focused on the court and the game to indulge an actual discussion about it and on the other hand it's probably better for both of them that it was kept mostly on the down low because it never would've happened or worked out anyway.

so tldr: kevin is undoubtedly a flawed, messy, imperfect character. he can often be selfish and sometimes "cowardly", if we're being particularly ungenerous, but sometimes i think the fandom takes on too much of neil's disdain for kevin and his coping mechanisms/responses to trauma. but the difference is, neil understands and just doesn't really care but i really don't think the fandom has thought this one through. you can hold two truths at once people. anyway yeah.

[ninyard]

Heyy! You said someone should ask you about Kevin under this post about Kevin's struggles from the nest of which we don't know enough... So I'm asking you about Kevin! Please tell us your Kevin thoughts! You always make very good points and I like reading your thoughts!!

cody my friend I am so glad you asked but you might regret it. i hope you're prepared from an unorganised huge convoluted MESS of a ramble

i've been thinking for a few days about this one like... what would a kevin POV look like? what is he hiding? how does he cope? WHO IS HE?

the kevin we ""know"" is a "coward", an insufferable bitch, an asshole and a hardass. other people's opinions and view of him makes up the entirety of our impression of who he is. but that's not who he is. that's just who we're supposed to believe he is.

kevin, born and bred to have this... borderline psychopathic lack of empathy, who can look his teammates in the eye after being told seth is dead or andrew is being committed and say, "what about the game?"

but when the raven's are switching districts; his sense of danger and fear is paralysing. he's three steps ahead trying to figure out how to please riko, how to keep himself safe, willing to put himself back into the centre of his abuse just to stop riko from finding him and killing him. he has to get blackout drunk to deal with any amount of riko. he's frozen with fear by being in the same room as him.

kevin knows where jean's mind and body goes to when hes panicking, knowing his worst place is right back in the nest being drowned by riko. kevin telling neil "do you know what he'll do to you?" and "he'll break you" when neil asks for his ticket. kevin's text to him before he goes into the nest, and staring at neil like he'd seen a ghost when neil returns after the nest (when he looks like the butcher). his comforting "i know what he's like" or "i know how he sees you, i know it means he did not hold back,".

kevin nervous breakdown panic attack day vs kevin smile for the cameras one track exy mind day

im so intrigued by him. how does he cope? his mother is dead, probably killed by the mafia family he was raised by. he grew up into a cult, he was only a child watching neil's father cut a man into pieces in front of him. how many other's had he seen?

how many other injuries cover his body, in places where the cameras can't see? how many rapes and assaults was he forced to watch in the nest? how many beatings was he forced to participate in? what did he have to say to jean in french that he didn't want riko to hear?

he needs someone with him all the time because of the nest. he's a "health freak" because of the nest. his sleep schedule, his anger, his anxiety.

did he say "what about the season?" re: andrew after drake because he doesn't care, or did he think "i've seen this happen too many times. and they've always kept playing,"? did he think "andrew is the strongest person i know. andrew is stronger than me. he would never let this destroy him," knowing that it has?

nobody has protected him in his life apart from the cameras and andrew.

he's scared. he doesn't know what love is supposed to look like.

he's only been a human for a year.

his scars are healing for the first time in his life and they're not being replaced by new ones, but every day he's afraid that that's going to get ripped out from underneath him. his entire life already got flipped upside down when he left the nest. of course exy is the only thing he "cares" about.

because it's the only thing that's been certain in his life, and even for those few weeks or months where he thought he would never play again, he trained and trained, and learned how to use his non-dominant hand because he can't lose this. he can't lose exy like he's lost everything else.

kevin has never had anything stable in his life except for violence and exy. now he has people he's supposed to care about, and he has to change his priorities. he has to learn how live a life that isn't fueled by self-preservation for the first time ever.

jean was only in the nest for five years; and look at him. look at what the nest has done to his social skills, his view of himself, his self esteem. look at what it's done to him, how he expects violence and contrition, coach and always waiting and waiting and waiting for the punishment to come.

kevin might not have had the same level of physical abuse that jean had, but he was there far longer. the ravens existed before him; their mindset and their abuse and their violence and their poison.

he's been drinking the raven poison since his childhood. the only difference between him and jean other than those things above is that kevin had more pressure to hide it, because he was half of the face of the ravens, half of the face of Exy; media trained or PR trained or a master at being a fraud and faking the way he speaks when he's being recorded.

kevin knows how to hide his abuse because he has always had to, and he's had quite a lot of practice at it.

kevin has only been a human for a year. kevin has only been kevin for a year.

so who is he? does he even know?

or is he just Kevin Day, Raven Fox starting striker, number two, six foot two, left handed right handed left handed, heavy racquet, stick size five? is that all he will ever see himself as?

anyways. or something like that. maybe he is just an insufferable bitch for no reason at all. who knows!

[elene78-blog]

Neil Josten doesn't like Jeremy Knox. That man smiles too much. He's too nice. His team listens to him without needing to punch someone (where's the fun in that?). Jeremy is also related to politicians, and if Neil knows anything for sure, it's that politicians and gangsters are only different in that politicians lie worse but hide better.

But what he hates most about Jeremy Knox is the way he looks at Jean Moreau. Kevin sent Jean to the Trojans to recover, not to have Jeremy Knox look at him with stupid stars in his eyes. He also doesn't like the way Jean looks at him. If Neil is known for anything, it's for not keeping his mouth shut.

 "I don't like you, Knox," he tells him directly after a game. That the Foxes lost has nothing to do with Neil being in a bad mood. Jeremy's smile only wavers a little. 

"Oh, wow. Okay." 

Neil expects Jeremy to pick a fight, but Jeremy doesn't seem interested, so he pushes a little further.

 "I know what's going on with Jean, Knox. I might have to beat you up for what you're doing."

Neil isn't sure how Jeremy responds to the threats, but he certainly doesn't expect Jeremy to give a small laugh.

 "I don't know what you think is going on, Neil, but it's great that you care about Jean. See you soon." 

Jeremy doesn't want a fight and pretends he doesn't know Neil wants to start it, so he tries to politely deflect attention. Another thing Neil can't stand about Knox. Oh, he is a well-behaved boy! He's an idiot then.

 Neil's hand shoots to the collar of the Trojans captain's shirt and he yanks it down. Jeremy stops smiling immediately and grabs Neil's wrist at high speed. He squeezes it as hard as Neil squeezes his shirt. 

The Foxes and Trojans are there in a second. Jean arrives before anyone else (probably because of his long legs) and tries to grab Neil with a furious expression, but another microsecond later, Andrew lunges for Jean and the two collide in a brutal tackle. The two grab each other furiously, as if letting go of the other would mean losing their lives.

 "Enough," Jeremy orders loudly. The smile returns, trying to convey calm. "Neil and I are just having a slight argument. Let's not go crazy. We just played a great game. We're not going to taint it with pointless arguments."

 "Neil, let him go," Kevin orders, visibly pissed off. 

"Whose side are you on, Day?" Aaron growls. That's a surprise to Neil. "Knox may be your crush, but Josten is your teammate. Do you need a fucking lesson in loyalty at this point?"

"It's not about loyalty, but about who started first, and that was Josten!" Dermott shouts very angry. "Let it go! If you want revenge we can play again in a few months, there's no need to fight. It's just a game!"

 "Jean, let him go, come on," says Álvarez, addressing Jean, who looks like a rabid wolf.

 "The Circus is in the other direction, knife-throwing dwarf," says Jean.

 "You need to learn to address your elders, Robespierre" 

Jean doesn't let go of Andrew, and Andrew doesn't let go of Jean. Neil is uncomfortable that they do that. He doesn't like either of them to go through unnecessary and violent touching. Jeremy seems worried too.

 "What can I do to make you let go of me, Neil?" 

"I want you to stop doing that with Jean."

 Jeremy frowns. For the first time, he seems genuinely upset, and also a little confused. Neil likes him a little better now.

 "That's not your decision."

 "It's not Jean's decision whether you make him addicted either." 

Now Jeremy looks totally confused. But no one deceives the king of liars! 

"Addicted?" asks Jean, who has loosened his grip on Andrew, completely perplexed. Actually, Andrew seems a bit like that too. He looks at Neil curiously.

"I know addiction when I see it, Knox. The wide-dilated pupils, the intense stares, the constant longing, the intense thirst, the weird acting, like he can't think straight when he's around you. And you're in fucking California.  somo are legal there. I see it in you too. It's clear that you are a total drug addict and you are dragging Jean, right?" 

For a moment there is silence. Andrew then lets go of Jean, who looks dazed and blushing. Jeremy is the same. His face burns.

"They want to fuck, junkie," Andrew says.

"... what?" 

The Foxes and most of the Trojans start laughing. 

"Your boyfriend has a boyfriend, Walker," Dan says, laughing. Renee smile with affection.

 "More like, Kevin's boyfriend has a boyfriend!" Nicky says. 

Kevin puts his hand to his forehead. 

"Not again..." He murmurs. 

"Finally someone says it!" One of the Trojans exclaims. 

Neil slowly lets go of Jeremy's shirt, but Jeremy doesn't stop staring at him. Neil has a hard time taking it seriously with those red ears that look like lanterns.

 "I don't like you very much either, Neil Josten," he says very indignantly. 

And thus began the real feud between Jeremy and Neil.

[wilhelminyard]

compilation of nice/sweet things the foxes said to neil because even though they're a bunch of assholes who'll insult anyone in their vicinity they all just love him so damn much (part 2) :

ANDREW :

"I'm not here for your entertainment" "but as expected you are talented enough to multitask"

"you are neil josten and I am still the man who said he would keep you alive. I don't care if you use this phone tomorrow. I don't care if you never use it again. but you are going to keep it on you because one day you might need it. on that day you're not going to run. you're going to think about what I promised you and you're going to make the call."

"I'm not afraid of you" "that's why you're so interesting"

DAN :

"don't thank us, remember us. we're your teammates. we're here to help you with whatever you need."

"you've got us now"

"that was perfect. but don't do something that reckless again. we can't replace you. hear me?"

"neil, you can use the girls' shower while we're busy"

MATT :

"just try not to think about it until we get there. you won't do yourself any favorite if you spend the ride stressing out about things you can't change."

"if you don't have anywhere to go, I'll drag you home with me"

KEVIN :

"if you get hurt out there, you do something about it. you take it easy, you have coach pull you, you ask abby for help - I don't care. if you ever say 'I'm fine' about your health again I will make you rue the day you were born"

"neil has no place in riko's games. he is a fox."

"run. it's the only way you'll survive"

"you should be court."

"will you still teach me?" "every night."

"I will watch you. if you want to drink tonight. I won't let you say something you'll regret." "you'll be drunk inside an hour. then who'll stop me?" "I would stop drinking."

"you're not going. do you know what he'll do to you?"

WYMACK :

"why did you pay for stalls coach?" "maybe I knew you'd need them one day"

"neil, if you can't be here say so. abby can take you elsewhere until it's time to leave. get out of here and get some fresh air."

"what can I do?" "I don't know" "when you know, tell me"

"sometimes the world feels so big but then I'm reminded how small it is" "big or small just remember you're not alone in it."

"if riko really was behind it somehow, the blame is all on him. he chose to take out his petty rage on seth. he chose to cross a line. you didn't. you hear me? you didn't. don't ever blame yourself for seth's death. that it too dangerous a road to walk down. you keep your eyes on your own path and keep moving forward"

"neil" "I'm fine" "be fine inside where it's warmer"

"look I know I've always told you all to take your personal problems up with betsy or abby. I've said it's not my place to get into anything outside the court. I hope you've figured out by now I'm just blowing hot air. I'm not real good at being a shoulder, but I do have a working set of ears."

"help me" "let me"

"this doesn't mean anything. I'm still a fox." "of course you are."

NICKY :

"kid you're killing me. why do you always get that deer-in-headlights look when someone does something nice for you?"

"you worry about neil's career. I'll worry about his personal happiness."

"I didn't really get into the gritty details last time because those aren't reallt dan and matt's business, but you're family, so I can tell you."

"there's obsession and there's dysfunction. you can't make exy your end-all be-all. this won't last forever, okay? you'll shine bright, then you'll retire, and then what? you gonna spend the rest of your life at home alone with all your trophies? you can't be just this, neil. this isn't enough to live for."

"thanks for taking one for the team, neil. you're a real friend."

"are we? friends?" "you are going to be the absolute death of me. yeah, kid. we're friends. you're stuck with us, like it or not."

"I only see that look on neil's face when someone tries to do something nice for him, but we all know kevin's as bratty as they come. what did you say, kevin, and do I need to defend neil's honor or what?"

RENEE :

"I am not the girl I once was but the shade of my old life will always existe inside of me. that is what helps me connect with andrew. I am hoping it will help me connect with you."

"I do not know your story. if you've trusted andrew with anything, he hasn't shared the details with me and he never will. but if you are as like us as we first predicted you to be, perhaps one day you can also come to see me as a friend."

"if either andrew or I can help you, please know we are here."

"and you neil? are you all right?"

[wormisauce]

I've been told I write too much Kandrew/Kevin angst so

Then it didn't stop. They were still there, the conversations and coffees and dates. The good morning texts and the stupid little memes whenever Kevin was exhausted from practice. Then They started going to games and practices and Kevin never had to look far because They were always there. He wasn't alone anymore and he didn't want to be

Kevin realizing there's no point holding out hope in Andrew. That he's never going to love him back especially with Neil in the picture. They have each other, and Kevin sent his only other friend off to the other side of the country because it was the right thing to do, he'd already been selfish leaving him in the nest he couldn't keep him stuck in the past just because Kevin was.

So he moves on, starts going out more, not to bars not to play Exy but to explore himself. Museums, parks, zoos, art shows and he finds Them. Someone who doesn't know Kevin Day Queen of Exy that one kid that exposed a yakuza cult. He was just a hot mysterious guy on the other side of a history museum. They exchange numbers and talk for hours, about everything and nothing. Kevins favorite artist, his favorite history eras. Their favorite restaurants, what Their parents did, where They went to school, vacations.

It took Kevin months to tell Them about Riko and his mom and Andrew. He thought that would be it. That all of the months of talking and laughing and Them getting to know him in a way no one else bothered to care about would be for nothing.

"I know."

"You know? You knew this whole time?"

"Of course I did, I meet a hot guy the first thing I do is google him."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"After what I read, which was very little, I figured you would tell me if or when you were ready."

"And you don't"

"No, I don't care Kevin, I like you, the person I know. The guy I met in that museum. Not the guy all those articles are about"

He didn't notice the weird looks They got from his teammates, thinking They were just another stalkerish super fan. Chalked up Andrews glares as his usual mistrust of strangers. Neils distance as disinterest. He wasn't spending enough time with them to see their anger and by the time he did, he didn't care anymore

[laurents-laces]

Dumping my thoughts on the new aftg short stories here to contain all the spoilers in one place, because if I don't get to talk about them I'm gonna explode. Someone very kindly made a typed-up version of them here if anyone wants them!

TFC: David

We all know Neil is "distressingly single-minded about Exy" but I'm dying at the revelation that people in Millport knew this about him. He was supposed to be lying low 😭

Kevinnnnnnnn my boy!!!

"This is better. Easier? Better." Ouch

I had a feeling he was seeing Betsy more often than twice a year! And that we just didn't know about it because Neil didn't. That's amazing for him

Wymack is being such a great dad right now and he doesn't even know it

So excited to have one (1) canonical sentence from Kayleigh Day herself

I was headcanoning Kevin as ten when he moved in with the Moriyamas. I know nine is only a year younger but somehow it's breaking my heart a little more

Awww I always thought he looked just like his mom

I hope he looks a little like Wymack too but no one noticed before

I wonder if he ended up telling Betsy who his dad is? I don't think so but I'm sure she'd have kept the secret. Even though it would've been so hard to keep a straight face about it

"Coaches have no honor. Your word is enough. Just yours." I wanna hit every Raven coach with a very heavy stick, starting with Tetsuji. But I love how Kevin's always trusted that Wymack was different. He can be a surprisingly hopeful person sometimes. He's a little like his dad in how he sees the potential in people no one else does

Am I crazy or is Wymack talking about Andrew here?? Because it reminds me of the part in the extra content where Andrew keeps breaking into Wymack's apartment to rant about Kevin, until one day it's Neil he's more interested in

I always thought that Andrew agreeing to protect Kevin so easily might mean he was kind of into him. If canon unrequited kandrew is gonna be a thing then Andrew and Jean should form a Victims of Kevin Day's Big Green Eyes Support Group

TRK: Betsy

I'm so upset right now I don't even have words

It's so interesting to see what Andrew is like alone with Betsy. And I love that Wymack makes him feel safe

He loves his brother!!

"They cannot keep him. I will not let them." I fully believe Andrew would be down to break Aaron out of prison if he got jail time

"One week Neil had been the subject of some very grandiose conspiracy theories, and the next Andrew had only said 'He's Kevin's problem now, the end!' and refused to elaborate." That's the most Andrew response he could've had 😭

And he was so right about Neil being suspicious as hell! I need everyone to look back on the beginning of the year and realize Andrew was right about him

"Everyone knows now, Bee." My heart just broke into a million pieces

"Neil flinched. He'd pushed because he needed to see that horrible smile crack. He needed to know if Andrew was screaming behind the euphoria his drugs fed his veins. But Andrew wasn't, and Neil couldn't live with that. Andrew's medicine was too strong or his psychosis too twisted; either way, tonight didn't mean anything to him. This was a setback Andrew could sidestep and ignore." That part of TRK really stuck with me. It's a good thing he didn't actually try to act completely unbothered by everything that night but it still hurts to hear about

"I know what happened to you today was beyond cruel and that Drake's death will not undo what he did to you. I know our system has failed you every step along the way and that a part of you will carry that distrust and betrayal for many years to come, if not for the rest of your life. And I know you have done astoundingly well despite life's every attempt to crush you. I'm sorry," she said, trying and failing to catch his eye, "and I'm so, so proud of you." She just said everything I'm feeling, perfectly

Chaos and mayhem, or Blockbuster. These books are so 2006. I miss Blockbuster

TKM: Aaron

This was the first one I read and it took me ages to get through because I was laughing so hard. Aaron calling andreil's matching arm bands a promise ring broke me

He's such an asshole. I love him. He might not like it but he's a Fox through and through

"Exy this, Exy that, get a fucking hobby already. Oh, but I guess he did?" He sent a pointed look at Andrew. He's the funniest character actually

I've always wondered if he was a little jealous of a certain mouthy liar who has everyone wrapped around his little finger. Hearing that Ichirou chose Neil over his own brother must've been a wild experience

I also wondered if he actually had a passion for medicine or if he just picked the most respectable career path he could think of. It's so good to hear that it's really something he loves. He's gonna get his dream job and fix things with his brother and marry the love of his life some day, and I'm so proud of him

Neurosurgeon Aaron and paediatrician Katelyn are properly canon now! It's nice to get all these details from the extra content as part of the actual books

A few months ago, Aaron never would have imagined Andrew needed his approval. Finding out how important he was to Andrew was an ongoing, eye-opening experience. Aaron finally realizing how much Andrew has done because of him might be my favourite thing

"His father's people tore up his arms with a lighter and knives, and none of it is going to fade. He doesn't need to see those." Andrew Minyard you fake idgafer. You care so much. So much.

I wonder what would've happened with andreil if Andrew was in less denial about their relationship? I don't think he'd date someone on purpose while the no-dating deal was still in effect

"Andrew didn't want to talk about Neil with Dobson because once he broached that subject he had to either lie to all of them or admit Neil was more important than he wanted him to be." I love that Aaron understands this about Andrew

I love that the only other Aaron POV story we have also ends with him being able to tell when Andrew is lying to himself. The twinyards have their misunderstandings but at the end of the day they get each other

[starrycassi]

Omegaverse au where Wymack was an omega and Kayleigh was an alpha and he was the one who got pregnant.

Kayleigh being the most responsible daddy ever. She took Kevin away from David in the og because she wanted him to be happy. This woman is THEEE most supportive partner ever

They have a sweet home. David raises in popularity alongside her - where she once hid him to protect him, she now shows him off to make him proud. She refuses to be one of those alphas who keep their partners at home and docile

Kevin is still insane that's just the autism dw guys. So they're happy and blissed out and cozy

Then she dies lol #rip

Wymack gets confronted by Tetsuji - he's grieving and alone and "Come on, David, I'll take the boy off your hands for a few days"

Wymack is back to drinking. And he ALMOST sings his rights away, until Tetsuji, who always did bite more than he could chew and was drinking alongside him, says,

"I can even pay you in cash!"

It's meant to be a joke. It doesn't land.

Fast forward to Riko being denied not one, but TWO exy prodigies. This makes him actually treat Jean better-ish. Basically Jean is his Kevin. Like yeah there's still an insane power dynamic. But. Riko is also like deeply insane ofc he goes "this is the universe's payment for my THREE lost brothers" (Ichirou, Kevin, Neil)

There's also an even crazier version of this au where David actually somehow ends up on the run with Mary after Tetsuji corners him. Two mothers protecting their sons. But that won't give me the foxes so uh.

ANYWAYS!! the foxes!! Kevin grows up all with David. And you'll say "surely, Cassi, this makes him less of an asshole"

And I say SIKE

Kevin gets bitter. He's good, and he knows it. He's the heir as much of that fucking raven brat, and he knows it. His dad is too soft, and he knows it. He grows up seeing his dad be disappointed over, and over, and over again. He slowly grows incredibly annoyed with the foxes - fucking teenagers crashing HIS home, bothering HIS dad, taking away from HIS time? Oh, give this boy a break

He's basically having the experience of seeing your mom go back to the same abusive man and slowly resenting her and him for it but the man in question is the worst fucking exy team like dad what the fuck are you doing

He's still kinder than our og Kevin day. Because og Kevin is a level of bitchiness only the ravens could achieve. But he's still pretty much a pain in the ass

Idk guy's I'm having a fever and slightly delirious about it

Also. Kevin is an alpha. For the sake of the plot.

SIKE I need to think about Kevin day knotting someone down like baby come here I will be so happy w u

[sunriseabram]

Yes. Riko was an abuser. Nobody can deny that he hurt, sexually abused and tormented people physically and emotionally.

Yes. Riko was abused. He was hit by Tetsuji when he got things wrong, conditioned to believe that he had to be the best or his life wasn't worth living. He was abandoned by his father because he was second born, ignored by his big brother, and not even congratulated after he tried everything to gain their approval.

Yes. He hurt Jean out of anger. He used Jean as an object because that is all he had ever been to his father and family. He was a way to make money, but his father never saw him as anything more than that. It allowed him to feel powerful and in control of someone when everything else in his life was out of his control.

Yes. He flips after his father dies. Of course, he does. When you've worked your entire life to be acknowledged, spending thousands upon thousands of hours training to win, winning trophies, doing sponsorships, raising great chunks of money for the family, only for your father to die before even showing an ounce of pride for you? Of course, he flips. Jean just happens to be there, someone he knows he can hurt and get away with. Someone less than him at the bottom of the food chain. Perhaps the only person who sees the anger for what it truly is: failure. And Riko doesn't like that.

Yes. He hurt Kevin out of jealousy. Riko grew up in a world where failure was unacceptable. Failure meant pain, death and suffering. Exy was all Riko had and all he ever had. He couldn't stand to be second best because second best is all he had ever been. He would not be second in the one thing he was meant to be the king of. He hurt Kevin out of jealousy, and was beaten to an inch of his life for it.

Yes. He grew up sheltered. Riko was groomed to be a star by Tetsuji. He was groomed and exploited for money by the only person who had ever looked at him and seen something. He lost his mother. His father didn't care about him. He had nobody. He lived underground in the nest for most of his life and played exy every single day for most of his childhood. He probably had no friends his own age until Kevin came along. There was nobody who understood what Riko was going through.

Yes. Riko hurt Andrew. He had Andrew hurt as another power trip. It was to show he had great power and could do what he wanted with it. He had no boundaries. Throughout the series, Riko is shown to be insecure. He craves power and acknowledgement and wants to prove he has a place in the mafia family next to his brother.

Yes. Riko is more complex than a simple villain. He is self-destructive and works to the bone to try and be worth something. He uses anger to cover up his blatant abandonment issues. He is never and will never be enough. And if he can't be enough, then nobody else can. Nobody can take his place.

He is scared of Kevin, frightened of Neil, terrified of Andrew. He is constantly trying to stop his precarious tower from tumbling in the only way he knows how.

If all his mistakes were punished with pain, disappointment and anger, how can he know any different? He doesn't know the world really and hasn't experienced it outside his little box of stardom. He doesn't know what is 'normal.' For him, failing means getting beaten. Failure means losing his status. Failing means falling from power. It always has.

No. Just because Riko was abused and groomed does not mean that his abusive behaviours were justified. He chose to become an abuser, despite everything he had suffered.

No. He wasn't born evil. He is horrible - don't get me wrong - but he shouldn't just be cast off as coming out of the womb with horns and a tail. He was shaped by his experiences, negative and positive. We all are.

Riko thought beating people into submission would show his power and prove his worth to his family. In the end, it resulted in his downfall.

[damiansgoodgirll]

hii! love ur works!! saw u were asking for jey requests so here is one :)

can I request a Jey Uso x reader fic where you guys are best friends who have crushes on each other but never act on it in fear of ruining your friendship. and sami and Kevin try to always make the two of you confess but it never happens. and you get badly injured in a match on raw and have to be taken to an ambulance and jey comforts you and goes with you to the hospital and realizes he doesn't want to lose you without telling you he loves you. and after you guys cuddle on the hospital bed and he takes care of you he just blurts it out and tells you he loves you. and you tell him you love him back and its just really cute :) and when you guys come back from the hospital sami and Kevin are happy you guys finally got together and tease you both about it!

have a great day!! <3

i loved this request 🥹🫶🏻 sorry for not including kevin tho…

jey uso x reader

mention of the judgment day x reader

‼️ a little angst, mention of injury

don’t leave me

you had the biggest crush on jey us. everyone knew it. well, everyone except jey himself.

in your mind, he saw you like a best friend or a sister, not someone he would date. you saw the type of girls he would date and that didn’t include you.

but it didn’t matter to you. you loved being friend with him and the fact that now you were in the same feud against the judgment day together made the things a little more excited.

it was sami, seth, jey and cody against jd, dominik, damian and finn but who was against rhea? it was jey idea to have you on the team and everyone agreed. in sami’s mind it was easier for you to confess your feelings to jey if you were working together practically every day.

you and rhea were friends in real life and she knew about your crush, so the way she constantly teased you and jey on live tv was something that she was doing just to make you jealous and confess but it never worked.

something went wrong one night on raw. you and rhea were supposed to have a match against each other. you knew you weren’t going to win, not against her anyway but you didn’t care. that’s how things were supposed to be and everyone in your team knew it. you just needed to fight in order to creat a mess between your team and rhea’s.

it was supposed to be everyone against everyone and you already saw the boys walking towards your ring when the judgment day come out of nowhere and attacked your team. just like planned.

except, something went terrible wrong.

you were still in the ring with rhea. you were a little too distracted by the chaos that was coming out, from rhea screaming, the crowd screaming, jey screaming, everyone screaming, that you didn’t hear rhea behind you to finish the match between the two of you when she grabbed you and landed you on the ground.

you were distracted. you weren’t ready for that and so you didn’t prepare for the final move. and when it happened you couldn’t move from the ring.

it wasn’t the first time rhea and you competed against each other and everytime you used to smile at her when she won over you. this time you didn’t. that was when rhea knew something was wrong.

your back and neck were hurting, you felt blood coming over your ears and your head was ringing. your vision was blurry and you couldn’t hear what was happening in the arena in that moment.

rhea was terrified but she couldn’t show it. she couldn’t break character so she just took the win and went to damian who was against jey to let him know that something was wrong with you.

damian stopped beating jey the moment he ran on the ring.

everyone stopped.

the arena was on mute.

you were surrounded by medical stuff that were talking to you but you had no idea of what they were saying.

jey tried to talk to you but you couldn’t focus.

“hey hey y/n…” he panicked a little “can you hear me?” but of course you couldn’t answer “c’mon princess…talk to me…” he was about to cry, he didn’t want to break in front of everyone but he was terrified of the outcome.

everyone was worried about you. the judgment day were too - in the end, you were all great friends and seeing you like that made them hurt.

seth was about to cry when he saw you like that. he was the one who trained you when you first joined wwe, you were like a little sister to him.

jey was the one to bring you backstage and into the ambulance that was already waiting for you. the show had to go on but jey wasn’t going to be there.

the ambu rushed towards the hospital. you fainted in jey’s arms before he could get you on the ambulance and he never being that terrified in his whole life.

“please do something for her!” he kept shouting and the nurse had to move him away from your body so they could work on you.

once inside the hospital, it took a whole stuff to keep jey away from the room you’ve been taken to.

“i need to see her! you-you don’t understand…i need to see her, i need to be with her…” he almost cried. he couldn’t handle being away from you, he couldn’t handle you being hurt and in pain.

the doctors explained him that they needed to run a few more tests before they could let him see you. but it took them almost five hours for all those tests and he swore he was going crazy not knowing what was wrong with you.

seth texted him. cody texted him. basically everyone texted him and he had no idea what to say to them.

“you can see her now, she’s, well…she’s not awake yet” the doctor told jey.

“but she will wake up right?” jey almost panicked

“she hit her head very bad while in the ring…we will keep you updated” was all the doctor said before leaving jey alone.

he was terrified.

he needed you to wake up as soon as possible.

he slowly got into your room and he couldn’t handle it anymore. he started crying. he didn’t care if the doctors saw him like that. all he wanted was to hold you into his arms.

he sat next to you and got your small and fragile hand into his bigger one.

“hey beautiful…” he whispered “i know you can’t hear me right now but i need you to wake up, please, for me…i can’t live without you, i may be a little selfish but i need you in my life and i’m so fucking stupid for not telling you how much i love you…” he confessed “i wish i told you sooner…but i was scared of ruining our friendship and i can’t handle not having you in my life. y/n, you gotta wake up…please” he kept begging and he didn’t realise he fell asleep right in the chair next to you.

he was too tired to go back home and in all honesty he didn’t want to leave you.

“jey…” your raspy voice woke him up. he swore he was dreaming but he immediately sat straight when he felt your cold hand on his arm.

“oh my - hey beautiful…” he whispered “you’re awake…let me call a doctor” and with that he was out of the room.

the doctors visited you.

a few broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a concussion. it could have been worse.

it wasn’t a secret that you needed to rest and that you would be away from the ring for a few months.

“you scared the shit out of me y/n…” jey said “you scared everyone in the arena…hunter is still waiting news about you…”

“i’m sorry…i guess” you didn’t know what to say. you knew your job was a dangerous job and injuries were normal.

“it’s not your fault, what matters now is that you’re awake and okay, partially okay” he joked making you laugh.

“i heard you jey…”

“what?”

“what you said…do you really love me?” you asked him.

“fuck…i mean, i do but i don’t want to fuck up our friendship so if you don’t feel the same it’s okay i promise” he started mumbling when you stopped him.

“i love you too” you confessed.

“what?” he was speechless for the second time in just a few minutes.

“you heard that” you smiled.

he felt like he was dreaming “say it again please”

“i love you jey uso” you smiled.

“this is the worst and best day of my life y/n” he said making you laugh.

“you should tell the boys that i’m awake…half broken but awake” you said and jey agreed.

once the news of you being okay came out, everyone was a little calmer.

“you need to rest for a few months and honestly i can’t wait to take care of you baby” jey teased you making you blush.

that night he stayed in the hospital bed with you, afraid that you would sleep and never wake up again. he needed to have you close, he needed to know that you were safe but you knew that his arms were the safest place on earth.