What The Fuck Do You Mean There Are People Out There Liking Jean's And Thea's "friendship" ??? "she Was

i want us all to sit and think more about the "he was jean’s misplaced forever partner, an unfulfilled promise jean had stopped believing in years ago" quote. those words are in jean's pov. are jean's thoughts. he lived for years thinking mournfully of nathaniel, of what he could have had. imagine him meeting neil for the first time and watch him talk to riko without holding back, without fear. i know that maybe he believed that neil would have suffer in the nest because of his bratty attitude but i also know that one part of him was selfish enough to imagine a life where nathaniel was his shield in the nest, of nathaniel talking back to riko because of him, of nathaniel protecting him, of nathaniel making his life more bearable.

little does he know that if only neil were in the nest he would have never left jean behind.

the biggest thing i took away from the short stories is how much andrew minyard cares about people. he signed onto the foxes to give aaron a chance at college. he went through with the kit to give aaron a legitimate chance at trial. he gave neil the armbands so that he wouldn’t have to look at his scars all the time. he constantly sacrifices himself for others so much so that he ends up harming himself sometimes. andrew minyard, who still gets called heartless when he has one of, if not the biggest, hearts in the series.

Might I present the newest print ready EXYLLENT-issue

Thinking about how, after Riko's death, maybe Kevin was given a box when he and Wymack attended the funeral. About Kevin getting back all of his books on history, his favorite hoodie, all of the things that he'd left behind when he ran.

And maybe, just maybe, tucked into the box among his other abandoned possessions, he finds old photographs of himself and Riko as children, grins wide with missing teeth and little league exy racquets in their hands. Of awkward teenagers in suits that make them look like they're playing at being grown as they attend their first press conference. He finds old, folded notes written in Japanese and scrawled on torn sheets of notebook paper passed between them during their homeschooling lessons.

Kevin feels safe enough with his father at his side to allow himself to grieve not only the loss of his best friend of twenty years, but also the people that he and Riko could have been if things had been ever so slightly different.

For the few years that Andrew and Neil are on different pro teams Andrews team knows next to nothing about him. Now since he got off his meds and significantly mellowed out after graduating, its not that his team mates don’t like him, they just don’t know who he is outside of being an amazing player. When his teammates release their lack of Andrew Minyard info the “who the fuck is our goalie” coalition is created. They share all the information they have on Andrew in order to paint the picture of who the hell this man is.

One day one teammate comes across Andrew after practice reading a book in the players lounge. As they step closer to desifer the cover Andrew glances up at them with a questioning look. When they ask what the book is Andrew gives a surprised raise of his eyebrow and gives a shockingkly well put together synopses of the plot. After the player goes home that night they look up the book only to discover that the fantasy adventure novel that was described to them was not only an extremely sappy romance, it was also the last part of a queer YA series.

Andrew is spotted soon after at a local coffee shop drinking some sort of whip cream topped chocolate concoction with reading material much different than before. He sips his drink and peruses some large fancy looking book. With only a quick google search they realize that its some complex scientific book about Homo sapiens through history?

A few weeks later another of Andrews teammates walk in on a pacing Andrew with his phone clutched to his ear. He’s talking in an intense whisper, not angry but concerned, about some sort of cat sitter falling through. After Andrew spots them he hisses out a quick goodbye into the phone and hangs it up. When they ask what the call was about, Andrew contemplates for a second then explained that he’s visiting family and the cat sitter he had sceduled wasn’t going to be able to come after all. When the teammate volunteers to do the job Andrew only sighs but accepts their offer. After a weekend of cat sitting and semi snooping around Andrews apartment the brave cat sitter reports back to the team with all their suspicions confirmed.

Andrews pro teammates have concluded this: Andrew Minyard is not the violent and cruel man the media and his past can make him out to be. Andrew is actually a cat loving book nerd with a spotless apartment decorated in soft cream and earth tones. He is sarcastically funny and incredibly smart. And maybe, just maybe, Andrews pro team are some of the first people to see him for who he truly is under his sandpaper exterior.

nathaniel, neil, nathaniel, neil. andrew flips the two names around in his head like tossing a coin. heads or tails, the coin always comes up abram. nathaniel and neil are two sides of the same coin; forged in a dark basement, in musty hotel rooms, on the exy court. both hate sweets, love to run, to talk back any chance they get.

some days, the coin lands on nathaniel. jack makes one too many comments at practice and neil - no, nathaniel - has him on the ground, raquet to his neck in an instant. he can't hear what the strikers are saying but through the grate of the helment, andrew sees nathaniel's smile.

others, it lands on neil. andrew finds neil and matt splayed out on the couch, three movies deep into a "pop culture lesson". neil motions for andrew to sit and absently cards his fingers through the blond's hair. matt hides his grin in his sleeve.

but abram; he runs to andrew after each winning game to tap sticks, he sits each friday in columbia, talking about escape routes for an alien invasion, he keeps ice cream in the freezer and cigarettes in his backpocket.

heads or tails, doe or minyard, doe or minyard.

doe was made and unmade in california. 13 homes, 13 film reels constantly playing in the back of his mind, each scene driving the cuts deeper and deeper. andrew doe learns the danger of wanting and vows to keep everyone out.

minyard went to juvie for his brother. he crashed the car to keep him safe. he spent years on medication that sent him up up up to protect his cousin. minyard guards himself with knives sharper than his glare; he protects those that are his and fuck anyone else.

heads or tails, the coin starts to come up drew.

it starts small; quick grins in columbia at neil; shared dinners with aaron that don't end in a fight; something like excitment in his stomach before an exy game. when neil is hanging out with the upperclassman, he stays.

heads or tails; the coin lands on growth

How many times do you think the Foxes have joked about similarities between Kevin and Wymack before they knew? They’d laugh about how “you’ve perfected Coach’s look of disappointment” and Kevin would stare off into space for a moment, a little bit wistful, a little bit pleased, before play on the court resumes under Wymack’s direction.

So many of the foxes have sex related trauma.

Dan was a stripper as a minor. I imagine she was regularly harassed at work.

Renee was raped as a child.

Allison was being assaulted when Seth saved her.

Matt lost his virginity as a minor to a prostitute at one of his dad’s parties and let his dad’s friends use him when he was high. He might not consider it rape but I (and the law) do.

Kevin didn’t really have a choice to consent when Riko decided that he and Kevin were going to lose their virginity to Lydia. Plus Riko was in the room for Kevin and Thea’s first time.

Nicky was sent to camp for being gay.

Andrew was raped as a child and an adult.

Neil was beaten by his mother for just kissing a girl.

The only ones I don’t think have anything mentioned are Aaron and Seth.

Aaron, trying to name his kids: Ever use this one?

Neil: 13. Germany. Jumped out of a moving car whilst being chased. Great times.

Aaron: For fuck sake.

I'm like 99.99% sure that Eden's is a gay bar. It makes so much sense. But just imagine Aaron never knowing after 4 years, despite working there with Andrew and Nicky, and Kevin also never realizing.