Jean Moreau claims to despise the land that Neil Josten walks on, and Neil Josten tries his best to have as much of a poker face as possible when talking to Jean Moreau.
But Jean Moreau has destroyed 2 televisions so far (one while watching the ravens vs foxes match in tkm and one while watching the ravens vs foxes match in tgr) while watching Neil's life being put in danger on live television. And Neil Josten's first reaction to hearing the fact that Grayson raped Jean Moreau was to quietly and nonchalantly make a quick call to his uncle's people to kill him. Jean Moreau was one of the first people that Neil went to when he had to play against the ravens for the final, reassuring him that the foxes would win, Neil included Jean when convincing Ichirou to grant them protection, and Neil went to Jean, again, when he watched Riko die, because he instantly knew that someone had to be there to convince him that it was true, and it couldn't be anyone other than Neil
“I should have let him kill you,” Jean said. “Probably,” Nathaniel agreed MY ASSSSSS THOSE TWO WOULD DIE FOR EACHOTHER STOP THE FAKE IDGAFING
I spend a lot of time thinking about this moment in The Golden Raven and how I think it’s kind of a symbol of Neil and Andrew's first Big Fight as a couple.
Because, don’t get me wrong - my boys are head over heels In Love at this point. But it’s a messy kind of love, and they’re both learning how to put their pieces together and when and how to trust each other as they do so. And while their love is rock solid, it’s not perfect.
Chronologically, this is right after Aaron’s trial, and there’s enough information between the new trilogy and Nora’s extras that we can kind of get a good picture of where they are in their relationship here.
They spent the whole summer together at Abby’s place after they reached an interesting point romantically. That summer comes right after Andrew stops denying that the thing between them means something. It’s also after Andrew feels safe?? enough to confess to Neil that Drake wasn’t the first time he experienced sexual violence as a child growing up. And in response, there’s that really lovely scene at the end of TKM where Andrew cedes ground between them even more by letting Neil touch his chest.
And what I love, love, love in this scene in particular is that Neil knows what this is about. He specifically connects this back to the conversation they had earlier about what happened when Andrew was 7, and how it’s a sign of trust. And then in the same breath, he’s also acknowledging that he knows what this is costing Andrew and that it’s not an OK for free touching between them. He knows this is a promise given on credit that one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, that Andrew is going to be ok with this kind of easy intimacy between them. But he also knows it’s only been a few months since he was raped - and that despite the fact that they’ve made leaps and bounds (Andrew asked him to stay! He felt comfortable enough to cum in Neil’s presence!), a yes today is not a guarantee of a yes tomorrow.
So they spend all summer together, caught up in one another’s orbit, and then we know as soon as school starts, they’re right back in the thick of it with Aaron’s trial.
And while Nora has gifted us A LOT with the extras, one of my favorite tidbits is the one where she talks about how, after the trial, Andrew is rubbed raw by what he has to do. About how, after giving testimony, he’s not going to want to be touched by anyone for a while. It’s bad enough leading up to it that Neil actually willingly goes and talks with Betsy to beg her to mother Andrew during his court appearance.
So we know Andrew is feeling really roughed up emotionally by the trial. Having to admit it all in front of strangers and Aaron and Nicky, being vulnerable in the worst possible way, seeing Cass again, just all of it. And then he makes the trip with Kevin to California right after, and that’s when he learns Neil’s been out and about and told him absolute zilch about it.
What I think is so interesting here is, like all well-written couples’ fights, I get it. I totally and completely see both sides of it.
For Neil, Andrew is dealing with the mess of the trial, and contextually, we can infer that he’s not doing well if Neil is the one to go and talk to Betsy about it. Does he really need to burden Andrew with the extra details about what he’s going through? Isn’t it enough that he told Andrew he was flying out to take care of some business? And then there’s this moment :
It’s not that Neil wouldn’t have been angry as hell about Jean being abused to begin with. But the timing of it is what makes it so interesting to me.
It’s the fact that Jean drops this bit of information at a time when Neil is actively watching Andrew have to deal with the fallout of his own history of SA at this very moment. Jean couldn’t have picked a more charged moment to tell Neil this if he tried - there’s no way Neil is flying out from where he’s leaving Andrew for a few days and isn’t in full-on panic and worry mode about what he’s feeling. Because Fuck. Drake. If Neil could bring him back for the pleasure of getting a chance to kill himself, he would.
But worse than that is the fact that it’s a helpless kind of worry and rage. Neil isn’t going to Bee for a lark. He’s going because I guarantee you that Andrew is playing the game where he shuts down, gets angry, and silent, and isn’t letting anyone in. And how does Neil deal with that? How do you begin to help someone who is hurting and won’t - can’t - even begin to admit they’re in pain to begin with, because that would mean admitting that they’re just human after all?
When Neil orders the hit on Grayson, it’s not just Jean he’s helping - it’s all the rage he has at Drake and Andrew being directed into it as well. It’s the “I’ll pay any price just get it done” of it all. Neil needs Grayson dead just as much as anyone. And it makes total sense why he wouldn’t tell Andrew about it. Yes, he’s helping Jean, but it’s also about him and his anger and his pain over watching Andrew and not being able to make it better.
So by the time we get to Andrew’s “typical” and silent stare out the window, a lot has happened.
Something that really stands out to me about Andrew as a partner is that, despite having a host of very serious issues, he possesses many more positive traits as a partner than he is given credit for. And one of those is that he’s unfailingly honest with Neil. He never lies to him, he keeps his word, and part of his deep-seated anger at Neil through the beginning of them getting to know each other, and even into the early stages of their relationship, is that Neil isn’t. Neil lies to him.
And I wonder how this must hit at this particular moment, where Andrew is still dealing with the aftermath of the trial?
I can see him closing up again, taking two steps back for every step forward, even if it’s just temporary. It would be perfectly natural for him to want to get mad and close up again because that’s how he’s dealt with every problem he’s ever had so far, and it would make sense that he would want ot lean into what felt safe and familiar as far as coping strategies go.
And then there’s the Thing with Neil, and Neil saying he wants to be with Andrew, and Neil saying this thing between them means something, and Neil swearing he’s finally come clean and has no more secrets.
Except Neil just got caught in a lie, AGAIN.
And sure, it’s a lie of omission. He did tell Andrew he was flying out to take care of some business. But he didn’t correct Andrew when he assumed it was Boston, and he didn’t tell him about meeting with Jean, and he sure as hell didn’t tell him about all the business with Grayson. And why is that? Was it because he was trying to coddle Andrew? Did he think he would be too weak to hear about Moreau going through his own private nightmare? As if Andrew would be too delicate to hear the details? And to top it all off, Andrew is being given this particular piece of information WHILE HE’S BACK IN CALIFORNIA.
Neil Josten you are in so much trouble.
I could go on and on about how I think they get out of it and what I think, contextually, we can infer based on some other info Nora’s dropped about what the next major milestone in their relationship is, but I’ve also just written like, a billion pages on this, so I’ll save it for another day. LOL
The fact that Grayson was punished the second time he abused Jean haunts me.
Because the thing is, Grayson was being punished for ignoring consent. But It wasnt Jean's consent he was being punished for ignoring, It was Riko's.
The first time, Riko had allowed It, so this meant Grayson could do whatever he wanted. But the second time, right after the christmas Neil spent at Evermore, Grayson did It without being allowed to. So he and Zane were punished.
This is so horrible because It is meant to do more than showing that in that space Jean's consent doesnt matter. This is meant to be a clear sign of ownership. Riko owns Jean, so the consent that matters is Riko's.
It is so disturbing, but such an insight on the Nest's inner workings. Sometimes It keeps me awake at night.
Whatever absurd amount of cash Neil spent on Grayson's assassination it was WAY TOO MUCH. That shit should've been like two bucks. That should've been a charity service.
Lucas Johnson exemplifies a character who struggles between making comfortable choices and confronting the harsh reality of his beliefs and actions. Rather than remaining in denial, he ultimately opens his eyes to the flaws in his beliefs and takes responsibility for the consequences they bring. Fans who put him at the level of Zane, Grayson, and/or Thea are just haters. In this essay I will…
Something I really appreciated about The Sunshine Court was its nauseatingly realistic depiction of rape culture.
Jean’s (repeated, violent) sexual assault isn’t treated as something horrific; in the toxic environment of The Nest, it’s normalized. The real story — Riko ordering 5 male players to rape Jean as a sadistic way to ‘break him in’ — is quickly twisted by his abusers; Jean is seen as a calculating vixen who slept his way to the top, for a Perfect Court number:
They continuously mock and taunt Jean with senseless jokes about it. There is an element of jealousy at play; Jean is a prodigy player, and, as he says himself at some point in the book, his older teammates didn’t enjoy being shown up by a child. They certainly enjoyed knocking him down a peg, though, by humiliating him and creating an illusion that he only got his spot on the team for sleeping around, not his talent:
Even one of his rapists, Grayson, continues this false narrative despite knowing the truth (or maybe he even convinced himself this narrative is the truth; that Jean ‘seduced’ him for a spot on the starting lineup):
Other ravens who don’t know the truth seem to quickly believe the narrative that a 16 yo chose to sleep with a bunch of his superiors for a personal gain; that is certainly easier than entertaining the thought that your teammates (friends?) are capable of something this horrific. Or maybe they simply don’t question it too hard; after all, Jean can’t tell his side of the story.
The rumors eventually spread outside the Nest. Jean’s reputation is tarnished to the point that this is one of the first things strangers on the internet learn about him:
The most heartbreaking detail about it all is Jean’s age. He was a 16 boy on the college team, the youngest player on the lineup; a foreigner who couldn’t even speak English when he arrived; an outsider. Despite the fact that his young age is something that even the ravens find particularly scandalous about the whole situation, Jean’s agency is never questioned. He’s not seen as a minor who was taken advantage of by older, superior men — and most of them are quite significantly older, having already graduated by the time Jean’s 19; Grayson seems to be the youngest of them and he’s at least three years older than Jean.
As many victims of SA, Jean had no choice but to continue living with his abusers side by side, pretending like nothing happened. Knowing there’s absolutely nothing he can do.
The first time someone voices concern over the questionable circumstances surrounding the whole situation happens in this conversation with Jeremy (to be fair, it seems like Jean's age isn't public knowledge but the ravens obviously know):
And as many victims, Jean internalized his experience as something he deserved on some level:
TLDR: Sexual assault is, unfortunately, a very big part of our culture; it’s not just something that happens in the dark alleys; rapists aren't just scary strangers. They're also your friends, peers, teammates. The way the Nest (and the general public as a whole) turns a blind eye at best and mocks and humiliates the victim at worst is a microcosm of how SA is largely treated in real life. It was genuinely fascinating to see it depicted so realistically, even though it made for a heavy read at several points. I hope Nora keeps up the good work, and we'll see further exploration of the topic and Jean dealing with his trauma in the next book.
Lucas dull and distant. Lucas answering ‘do you feel safe there’ with ‘he is my brother.’ Lucas and his defeated fear. Lucas ‘if you knew what he used to be like’ Johnson. Lucas hit the ground running. bruised from temple to jaw with two missing teeth Lucas. Three hits were enough to knock Lucas clean off his feet. Lucas alone. abject misery.
