fFUCK um. listen these are off the top of my head but this was fun to think about!!
–Most Dog –
Matt (catch him in the back yard covered in mud playing tug-of-war with the frisbee with the big ol’ dog he and Dan have and Dan’s like….I see no difference)
Allison (just tell me she wouldn’t have one of those little tiny dogs à la Paris Hilton)
Abby (likes taking a dog out on morning walks!! probably fosters Guiding Eye dogs)
Dan (very seriously, while rubbing the dog’s belly: the patriarchy is an invasive and harmful establishment. are you listening, Socks? I need you in the fight to tear it down)
Wymack (you’d think he’d be closer to the top for how much he complains about cats but shhh he’s a softie) (dogs will always have his heart though bc he had a dog as a kid and they were…his only friend, especially at home, for a while)
Aaron (doesn’t super care but won’t be on the same side as Andrew) (did want a dog growing up tho haha u can guess how that idea went over)
Nicky (he’ll love any animal that will let him pet them)
Kevin (on the one hand: dogs can play catch. On the other hand: you don’t have to pick up cat poop from the side of the road. Also, with his schedule, a cat would be easier)
Bee (cats are quieter and cleaner. she’s got a rescue cat already, the cat is very skittish and Andrew, Wymack, and Matt are the only Foxes besides her who the cat will come out for)
Renee (though she says she likes them equally, of course. Secretly likes rabbits and iguanas better than both but tries to love all animals the same)
Seth(he and Allison fought about it, naturally) (this was not something Seth could admit to his father. Quick question why are men….like that,)
Neil (Immediately tries to adopt every stray cat he sees) (definitely is that cat parent who gets the fancy scratching post and the fancy wet food) (he’s never had another creature to take care of in quite this way and he’s nervous but he loves them)
Andrew (yeah even MORE than Neil, though you didn’t hear that from me)
we all talk about the foxes having social media like twitter or IG because thats like peak celebrity shit but why dont we talk about the foxes with tumblr accounts.
Nicky’s blog is full of bottom memes and he rants in the tags and keysmashes. Allison’s filled with selfies and screenshots of ppl that thrist followed her and sent her dms and she doesnt even censor their urls. Renee’s all pastel and filled with asks of people asking for life advice because she’s always so nice to everyone. Matt’s one is all about music/sports and selfies with Dan, he reblogs her selfies with an all caps caption most of the time. Dan’s mostly a liveblog of events that happen in the fox tower, she has videos and pics of her teammates no one knew existed until they see it on her blog. Aaron is pretty much like everyone’s, selfies with Katelyn, aesthetic shit, book quotes, but he has a lot of posts (some readmores)… the guy wont stop complaining about everything, then he tags said shit as “dont read”
Kevin barely says a word on his exy-filled blog, he’s a phantom, a reblog machine. He gets asks though, and he gives a fucking long ass reply every time, threatens whoever sent it to read all of it. Neil and Andrew post every once in a while, and they’re the ones that get more anon hate for some reason. Neil replies to every single one with something even more clever, maybe someday he just says “the FBI can give me your IP address and you’ll be doxxed” and he suddenly doesnt get a single anon. Andrew after getting so many he replies to just one. “I know who you are” the messages stop right after that. Does he really know? i dont know, but the anon is terrified
neil: could care a lot less about his academics. still, he knows that his being a student at psu is what keeps him playing exy. does better in subjects he’s genuinely interested in. tries his best to do his homework in increments. never does all-nighters.
andrew: gets by almost without studying. well, studying that hard. reads book chapters maybe once or twice, then gets Bs, or even the very occasional A, without a sweat. a silent group mate, but gets the work done anyway. will quite possibly ignore teachers when called for recitation.
aaron: has continuously frowned/rolled his eyes because of the loud guy seated beside him in one of his majors. really good at memorization, but also believes that being good at recall isn’t the way to become a doctor. goes on study dates with katelyn. is an index cards and diagrams person.
nicky: has a highlighting system. he’s the only one who understands his color specifications. is the type to have several pictures of lecture slides and blackboard notes in his camera roll. makes studyblrs and gets clout for it. has friends other than the foxes in his classes that are more than glad to help him out.
kevin: sits at the back of the class on purpose, but asks questions more than most of the class. believes he has to excel in academics as much as he needs to in exy. talks to his professors after class and actually engages in conversations with them. A+ or nothing student. faculty members talk about him during their lunch break.
matt: the type to bring his professors food or coffee. genuinely laughs at jokes made in exam questions. always trying to get the foxes together for a study group whenever finals season rolls around. secretly grade-conscious. makes motivational memes, and sends them to the foxes group chat.
dan: people who mess with her binder are dead. has colored sticky notes and several folded pages in her small planner. claps and cheers whenever her professor finishes an awesome lecture. makes themed study playlists, and sends them to the foxes group chat.
renee: has really good handwriting, and therefore really good notes. does the homework, but volunteers to help people with it, not send her answers entirely. carries the bulk of group work whenever she has to, but leaves incompetent group mates out of the final output.
allison: brings her laptop all the time, and types up all her her notes and reviewers. goes to that one starbucks branch every time she has an exam coming up. has one big online drive of study materials, which she shares with the foxes from time to time. has really bad attention span, and needs people to study with her to keep her on track.
seth: goes into class with a ‘fuck it’ attitude, but half the time, he leaves with the feeling of wanting to do better. procrastinates a lot. favorite mode of procrastination is going to the boxing gym. the longest he’s taken to pass an output after a deadline is around two weeks.
Neil and Andrew stopped by the girls room on their way to the store to see if they needed anything
Dan said “yeah Tampax Active”
From the bed room Allison yelled “tampax pearl lite”
After a pause she added “And the always nighttime pads”
“Orange or purple?” Neil’s asked
“Orange” said Renee
“Okay, gotcha, we’ll be back in like an hour” said Neil
“You know what all that means? I always get so confused when they ask me to buy them” said Matt
“It’s not hard to figure out if you take ten seconds and actually read the box instead of grabbing the first thing you see and running away” said Neil as he walked out the door
He heard a chorus of Ooohhh burn from the girls as he walked away
Once they got to the store they walked straight to the health section to grab the girls stuff
Neil realized he didn’t ask about what size box so he got the middle one for everything.
Andrew grabbed each of the girls favorite ice cream flavors in the freezer isle and stopped by the candy isle to grab three bags of different caramels
As they checked out the teen cashier asked if the tampons were for his girlfriend
“Oh no…. for my sisters” Neil replied
“Sisters, like more than one?” Asked the teen
“Three” Neil said
“Good luck then man”
Andrew threw three candy bars on the belt right and Neil glared at him
“Remember what happened last month?” Andrew said
“Oh yeah… But we’re already getting them ice cream and candy” Neil said
“You can never be over prepared” said cashier, “can I ask what happened last month?”
“I offered Allison the last cookie and she said I could have it and then cried when she got home and found out I ate because she wanted it,” Neil said, “but that was right after a test so she probably wasn’t actually crying about the cookie”
As they left the cashier called good luck after them
They dropped off the regular groceries in their room, then carried the snacks and tampons/pads to the girls room
When Allison saw the candy she started kissing Neil’s head until he mumbled that Andrew picked them out, then she said “I can’t kiss him so I’ll kiss you even more”
Dan and Renee smothered Neil in a group hug and Dan called called out to Matt “See Neil knows how to treat a girl”
uhhh i can’t stop thinking about how andreil is revealed to the press and then this happened
it’s neil’s first season after college
andrew and neil are on rival teams
before their first ever game playing against each other a reporter asks neil “do you think you’ll be able to score on your former teammate, andrew minyard?”
and imagine matt’s on neil’s team and they’re doing press together right
and matt’s trying & failing to keep a straight face
neil just snorts
look he’s oblivious
but he’s not that oblivious he gets the subtext
and all the foxes are like right there because it’s after neil’s first pro game and they all came to watch / have vip access or something so they’re there for the post-game interview ok
and nicky starts cracking up
kevin chokes on his drink and then .2 seconds later starts chugging it because he knows neil can’t pass up an opportunity to screw with the press
because neil’s an instigator™
and kevin’s worried about how coming out will affect neil’s exy career
but neil doesn’t care
neil just looks to andrew and raises an eyebrow like yes or no?
and andrew just stares a him like a challenge
and a yes
so neil smirks at the camera and says “i can score on minyard”
and then “and the goal, too”
allison whistles in audience
matt gives up on trying to keep a straight face & is grinning at dan like wow he’s so proud of his son
nicky’s still laughing
kevin’s still drinking
wymack’s just shaking his head like thank god this idiot is someone else’s pr problem now
It starts, like so many of the things in Neil’s life, with someone being cruel
Allison’s visiting and they’re out grabbing lunch and a passerby cracks a joke about Neil’s scars
And it’s been a hot minute and Neil doesn’t really care but he’s tired of this, tired of people recognizing him as damaged when he’s working on being a whole real person
Allison notices and once she’s finished her biting one-liner coming for the passerby’s life she leans across the table and presses a firm kiss to Neil’s right cheek, directly over the pull of knife scars
Neil’s been learning he likes physical contact, from people he trusts, and he’s surprised but he blossoms under the contact and relaxes
So it becomes a thing
Dan busses Neil’s cheek in greeting when she visits
Renee’s cheek-kisses always leave Neil with the lingering scent of citrus shampoo
Nicky likes to make a joke of it, give Neil’s burn scars a huge smacking kiss when Neil’s feeling down
Matt throws himself into this idea completely, of course
Even Kevin, sometimes, if it’s just them in their dorm and Neil passes Kevin the notes they’re taking on a game, will press a brief kiss to Neil’s cheekbone in thanks
(Aaron doesn’t; but he doesn’t complain when the others do, and that’s– that’s something)
And of course Andrew
Andrew
Never in front of the others, but at night when Neil’s curled against him Andrew will work slow and reverent lips over Neil’s cheeks and nose, dropping down frequently to kiss that mouth that features in so many of Andrew’s dreams
Nothing but My Aching Soul 