Just Occurred To Me That During The Revelation Scene, Neil Says "you Like Me" Instead Of "you're Attracted

Is one of anyone else's favorite scenes in aftg that chapter in The Kings Men where the team is on the drive to Binghamton and Neil spends the entire second half of the trip talking to Andrew. Like:

Neil wanting to sit and talk exy with the rest of the team but that would mean Andrew would be left alone in the back of the bus.

Neil staring and not knowing what it was he found so interesting (beautiful) about Andrew's figure.

Neil calling Andrew just so Andrew would look at him and he'd be able to better study him. (And not being embarrassed or thinking anything of it because he is just admiring Andrew and he sees nothing wrong with that)

The whole "I knew I’d look out for only me when the world went to hell. I don’t want to be that person anymore. I want to go back for you.” conversation AND ANDREW GIVING IN

Neil talking about his life and all the places he's been and Andrew talking about his life after foster care (just the fact that they had this conversation with each other that they won't willingly have with anyone else)

ANDREW NEVER TAKING HIS EYES OR ATTENTION OFF NEIL AND LETTING HIM RAMBLE

I love something about Andrew being the one who tells Neil everyone is betting on his sexuality.

NEIL SAYING HE DOESNT SWING AND NEVER WILL BECAUSE THE ONLY PERSON HE WANTS IS ANDREW, followed by Andrew's "don't say stupid things", AND THEN FOLLOWED WITH NEIL'S "stop me" AND KISS (that he initiated)

Everything about this little portion of the chapter I love so much.

Jean, Kevin and Neil are all obsessed with Exy, but all three couldn't be any more different.

Kevin looks at Exy as his birth given right. His mother created the sport. He probably held a stick, before he lernt how to walk. Little Kevin and Riko probably watched Exy games instead of shows for kids.

Kevin lived and breathed Exy since he could remember. It is his whole life, there is no way he could imagine living without it. It's not his hobby, it's not his passion, Exy is who he is. Without it he is nothing, he is worthless. He is outraged every time someone does something wrong on the court or doesn't care as much as he does, because it is personal for him. He takes disrespect on Exy as a direct disrespect on him.

He never chose this life, it chose him and he would crumble without it.

Jean plays to survive. He plays, because that is what is expected of him. Playing is his only worth, his only purpose, his only value. Without it he would be treated even worse than he already was and he knows it.

So he plays. He plays so he can have a moment to breathe, a moment for himself. If he can focus on the game, or the practice he can forget about the abuse. He can burry himself in at least one thing he is good at.

Exy doesn't, of course, come without consequences. He makes mistakes and he is punished and the cycle of violence continues. Exy is his curse, if he stoped there would be a chance that he would get a thing he so desperately wishes for.

Death.

But he plays. He plays, because he made a promise to Kevin. he plays, because he is too scared to find out what would happen if he didn't. He plays, because disobedience was beaten (and so much worse) out of him.

He never chose to play, it was forced onto him and even though he wouldn't accept it, a life without Exy would be his salvation.

Neil plays to live. He spent his whole life on crumbs, just surviving, looking over his shoulder and doing everything to see another day. He was in a rush, never stoping at one place for too long, never having someone or something that he chose for himself.

Until Exy, until the Foxes. He chose to play, despite knowing how dangerous it was for him. He played despite every survival instincts telling him to run.

Exy is like breathing to Neil. He loves it with every fiber of his being. He doesn't care if he gets hurt or killed, he just wants to play.

One more game, one more month, one more year, just one more.

Finding Exy again was the best decision he had ever made. It brought him his family, it brought him purpose, it brought him life.

He chose it himself and he would rather die, than let it be ripped away from him.

They are all Exy junkies, but none of them get the other. They think they do, but their obsessions are so fundamentally different, they never could.

So do you think there was like maybe 3 minutes between seeing Neil irl for the first time and Neil opening his mouth that Jean thought he was pretty before he decided Neil is a horrifying creature?

The Sunshine Court being a trilogy just means Nora is treating this story with care and wants the final product to be as fleshed out as possible. It means Jeremy’s backstory is somehow more complex than we thought. It means Jean and Jeremy’s relationship is a slowburn but maybe they kiss in in the second book and figure stuff out in the third (i.e., Jeremy’s family, Jeremy’s captaincy, Jean’s past trauma and his healing.) It means we get another two books of Jean learning to live because he wants to. It means another two books of You’re place is here with me, with us. I’m you’re captain. You’re my partner. We’re supposed to be doing this together, aren’t we? Stop leaving me behind. Look at me.

fox tweets (pt 2.5) ((ft. jeremy))

Everyday I'm reminded of the fact that andrew's arm was under neil's pillow when neil went to reach for a weapon and I lose a bit more of my sanity bc of it

saw a post about how jean and neil are pretty alike so andrew would probably like jean and just. thinking about how andrew could teach jean everything he's learned about bodily autonomy and consent and trust and self worth. thinking about aaron killing drake and neil putting a hit out on grayson. thinking about them both finding partners they trust to respect their boundaries. thinking about neil saying "andrew's taught me about give and take" and how andrew could teach that same lesson to jean. thinking about andrew teaching jean to trust bee and telling him about what he talks to bee about. thinking about jean getting bee a glass figurine for her collection because andrew told him she likes them. thinking about bee getting jean a magnet in return. thinking about how they have like more than a foot of height difference. thinking about them bonding over making fun of kevin. thinking about jean getting to know the person who finally stood up to riko and protected neil from him. thinking about jean learning that neil went to evermore to try to protect andrew from proust. just andrew and jean okay!!!!

Thinking about how the foxes are all technically famous and probably have fangirls. Imagine how many girls are only at those games to see Matt or Kevin. Hell, even Neil. The posters would be insane 😭

I've been thinking about this theory about Riko orchestrating Jean's sexual abuse as punishment for his attraction to Kevin, because Riko is not in the habit of sharing his possessions. And while at first glance it would seem that Riko does this because it's Kevin... looking deeper I get the feeling that his attitude extends to the rest of the Perfect Court too.

Consider Andrew.

Riko sets first Drake and then Proust on Andrew, and the implication is that Andrew cannot get away with "taking Riko's things." This obviously refers to Kevin, but I don't think it refers to Kevin alone. It's significant that Riko brings it up with Neil and Neil only, and it happens during this specific conversation.

Riko uses Andrew to taunt and intimidate Neil, immediately after Neil implies that Riko is not the only thing saving him from his father. We come to understand several things in the course of this conversation:

That Riko considers Andrew to be responsible for Neil's continued refusal to return to his place among the Ravens.

That he believes threatening Andrew's safety will be enough to convince Neil to come to Evermore.

Which means that Riko obviously has an inkling of what Andrew and Neil mean to each other (even if Neil does not yet). He weaponizes this knowledge against both of them, and while Neil ends up going to Evermore, it does not mean that Riko lets Andrew get away.

That's because he never intended to. When Riko refers to Andrew as the miniature one with the disgusting attitude who thinks he can take my things, his "things" refer not merely to Kevin but, to a heavy extent, also to Neil, and he punishes Andrew for his closeness to Neil the same way he punished Jean's closeness to Kevin.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, quite simply put, it's all because of the as-yet unexplained January incident that Jean brings up in The Sunshine Court.

We know that following Neil's departure from the Nest, Zane betrayed Jean by setting Grayson on him. What we don't know is what Riko did to Zane and Grayson afterwards, or why.

Jean brings it up several times, but only refers to it obliquely, and doesn't give us any details:

I don't think Riko cares about what happened to Jean, of course not. But it makes too much sense to me that he decided what Zane and Grayson did was an insult to him, Riko, because how dare they touch his property when he hasn't permitted it? How dare they take his things? How dare Grayson pretend he has some sort of claim to Jean?

I'm throwing this theory out because I have nothing to lose: whatever Riko did to Zane and Grayson was in retaliation to what they did to Jean, but not because Riko cares. He did so only because Jean was another one of Riko's things, and those who take his things away must be reminded of their place.

So, yes, I think all of this is an extension of the fact that Riko has an unhealthy obsession with the people he considers to be his pets or his property. Transgressions against his claim over them deserve to be punished for the insult.

Even if those transgressions are committed by the Perfect Court itself. Riko plays the part of the jealously possessive master, the one they should all devote themselves to, the only one with authority over them. No one else can have them — which means they cannot have each other either.

Matt & Neil 👀

Made this for @s-hanna-h 's birthday hehe 💗✨️