#interaction: parker

[foxespsu]

Location: Police station Date: Friday, January 14 Time: Post-Fight (open​)

Parker spared half a thought to worry that the cops might see this as her strike two. Or maybe, if they were counting driving other people's cars as strike one, and racing as strike two, then this would be it—the final straw on the metaphorical camel's back. But cops are fundamentally lazy, she thinks, and digging into the records of everyone on both teams can't be worth it this late in the night.

People paid good money to see the Foxes and the Gamecocks fight it out on the court tonight. With the calls the refs were making, it seemed like they wanted to see some blood too. The other patrons in Eden's tonight should be happy they got free front row seats to the rematch.

In the end, she's right—they get a lecture, very scared straight in tone, but that's it. She doesn't like being here, surrounded by cops and under the too-bright lights of the station, but she'll stomach it when it's clear there aren't real consequences coming her way.

Now, all that's left to do is wait for Wymack. One of her hands throbs, and Parker shakes it out to see if that helps. She's used to throwing punches with gloves on. Used to taking them with armor on, too. She doesn't think anything's seriously injured, but she can feel the difference. The bruising from a real fight hurts worse, her cheek aching in time with her hand.

Parker glances at one of the other Foxes, and throws out the obligatory line. "You should see the other guy." It was that stupid backliner, evidently not satisfied with a shoving match on the court—and fair enough, really, when Parker's the one who riled them up enough to collect double yellows before the end of the night.

Parker might've too, if it weren't for Olivia. She didn't though, and they won, so Parker gets to be smug about it. "Who knew the Gamecocks were such sore fucking losers," she adds, unable to help herself from talking shit even here, because they're moving on this season—and the Gamecocks aren't. "At least we won't have to deal with them in the Championships."

[a-madman-withabox]

Closed Thread for Parker @mischiefmuses​ ! He’d noticed his wallet was missing the moment it had happened. Truth be told, it was quite a hectic day, and he was walking from his flat to the TARDIS when it had happened. He was still trying to sort out how it worked, how to get it functional - for some reason, he’d been absolutely adverse to reading any sort of instruction manual on the matter, and so, the going was a bit lengthy. He’d been hoping the effort would have simply jogged his wiped memories.  Thus far, nothing. But even his most distracted mind had noticed the subtle slip and removal of weight from his back pocket. He’d even glanced to the side and seen the woman in question slip into the crowd. “Oh, you’re good. Very good,” he muttered to himself, and immediately altered his trajectory. The TARDIS would still be there, and would be until he sorted out how to move it, or until Rose got fed up and did it herself for him. He easily ducked through the crowd, moving as parallel to her as he could while still trying to maintain sights on her. No doubt she’d slip away and pause somewhere when she felt it was safe.  And so, it was there that he chose to intercept her.  “You know, there’s a lot more lucrative things to do in this city than picking pockets,” he murmured cheerfully as he strolled up to her. “Especially that one. Sorry - not much in it, I’m afraid.” But rather than being angry, he was smiling at her, friendly and utterly nonthreatening. “...It’s not really my business, but...are you alright? You need help? Money?”

[foxespsu]

Location: Team Retreat Date: Friday, August 20  Time: Night  (open)      

Before this, the closest Parker came to camping was the night her dad’s truck got snowed in. They were supposed to sleep in a cheap motel, and she’d been looking forward to the crappy coffee, the weird wallpapers, and the hard beds. Instead, the roads were too dangerous to drive, and they’d slept in the truck on the side of the road. It wasn’t fun. 

She can still remember her dad’s restlessness. His attempts to distract her, all while his own anxiety mounted. After all, if the wheels weren’t moving, he wasn’t getting paid. Trucking lost some of its charm that night. Maybe for both of them, not that it mattered. That’s her dad’s job. It’s not like he has the luxury of quitting. There’s no Wymack in the wings with a scholarship and team retreats for him.

Obviously, this is different. This is—cabins and s’mores and sleeping away from civilization on purpose. It hasn’t brought her any closer to her teammates so far, but it’s not that bad either. 

She’s by the campfire now, trying to figure out how, exactly, she’s supposed to get the marshmallow toasted without burning it. Not that she lets the burnt ones go to waste, either. It just seems like a shame to use her graham crackers and chocolate on something that tastes vaguely of smoke and char. 

There’s another Fox in her peripheral, but when she glances over to catch who it is—Parker swears as her third attempt at gently toasting a marshmallow catches on fire. Bringing the torched treat out of the flames, she blows on it lightly to cool it down. “I’m gonna figure this out,” she promises. Then, brightening. “Hey, know any scary stories?”

[foxespsu]

Location: Columbia, SC Date: Saturday, Feb 27th Time: Late evening (open)

Spring semester already feels like it’s dragging. They’re two months in, but without games, trips to other states, the flash of cameras and press duties, she’s got too much free time. She piles into couches and watches the games every week like most of the Foxes do, but she can only care so much when it has zero effect on her actual life outside of Kent’s betting pool—and with the Championship teams preparing for sudden death instead of playing this week, they didn’t even have games to watch this weekend.

For the most part, Columbia is too far away to be worth it on the average night. If the whole team’s going, that’s different—especially when she can typically hitch a ride with someone. Otherwise, it’s at least an hour by bus each way. 

But as much as she hates Hartford, there’s something about cities that’s burrowed under her skin from living there. She loved the idea of the road more than the reality of her dad’s lumbering truck, but she hasn’t given up on the dream of novelty. Traveling from city to city, stopping in towns, at truck stops. Places that feel both manmade and strange, if only because she doesn’t know them, because they’ve been twisted countless different ways by the hundreds of thousands of people living there. 

And yes, obviously she’s enjoying Palmetto more than expected, but it’s still too small by her standards when she really stops to think about it. Whether she’s at a party or sneaking into a bar with her fake, she’s starting to recognize half the people she sees. There’s nowhere she feels like she isn’t supposed to be by now, no excitement when nearly the entire town is built to sustain restless college kids like her. 

Columbia it is tonight then. And, since she isn’t carrying the entire team is tow, she doesn’t have to follow the unwritten Fox rule to always party at Eden’s. Sure, it’s hard to beat free drinks, but Parker’s not above pregaming with bottom shelf booze before hitting up a bar either. That’s better sometimes anyway, depending on what she’s looking for—once she’s inside a bar, she usually hears fuck all over whatever bass boosted song they’re blasting.

“Hey,” she says, turning around in her seat to face her teammate as the bus pulls to a stop. “What else does Columbia have? It can’t just be Eden’s, right?”

[foxespsu]

Location: Nashville, hotel Date: Saturday, October 10th Time: Hotel afterparty (open)

The banquet is fun enough, for an event full of coaches and ERC reps and reporters. Hopefully the party in the hotel afterwards will be even better, once they can shake all that dead-weight. It’s hard to seriously cut loose and enjoy yourself with Wymack in the background, even if he pretends not to notice half the shit his team gets up to in their off hours. 

Parker doesn’t necessarily respect him, halfheartedly committed to making faces during his more intense lectures when he isn’t looking, but she does her best to stay on his good side anyway. He’s the one in charge of the scholarships, not her.

Speaking of people in the background: Parker’s more or less avoided Charlie so far, even though they’re stuck sharing a room later tonight—which is such a pain in the ass. They used to share a room when they were kids; she’s done her time. He’s a better option than Indigo, at least. 

Still, she’d bet good money—hypothetically, since that actually needs to be said with the Foxes—that Charlie will be judgmental when she finally makes it back to their room tonight. Parker’s not too far gone yet, sticking with only a socially acceptable number of spiked drinks under Wymack’s supposedly disinterested eye, but the night’s still young.

“Hey,” she says, to no one in particular. There’s enough of them in the lobby that anyone can answer, a mix of her teammates and half familiar faces from other teams. If anything, she’s more excited about the other teams tonight. Brand new people, ones she won’t need to deal with for long after this weekend’s over. Besides: some of their opponents are cute. She can see that now that they aren’t covered head to toe in armor. Hopefully they’re realizing the same about her. 

“What’s the deal with drinks? Do we need to stop by the hotel bar and bring anything?” Parker continues, nodding towards the bar. “Or, like, there’s gotta be some cheap handles sold within walking distance.” Wouldn’t be the first time she swung by a gas station for the kind of vodka that came in those plastic jugs, if she’s honest. Honestly, some of her best nights in recent years have started that way.

[foxespsu]

Location: The Foxhole Court Date: Friday, September 4 Time: Post-game (open)

Everything hurts. Parker’s first college game is her first time playing an entire half too, and that, far more than the dramatic loss, crushes her dreams of going out to celebrate afterwards. A hot shower afterwards feels like Heaven then, and without anywhere better to be, Parker spends twice as long as necessary in the locker room. By the time she’s emerged, the parking lot is an even sorrier sight than it was before. Clearly, people weren’t joking when they said the Foxes didn’t have many fans, even on their own campus.   

For obvious reasons, Parker doesn’t have a car. They’re expensive, she’s irresponsible, and, most importantly, she doesn’t actually have a license anymore. The dorm feels an awfully long way away tonight though, when her legs are already shaky from the game. There has to be someone she can bum a ride off, especially if she loiters long enough. 

In the meantime, she strikes up conversation with the first Fox she sees exiting the Court behind her. “One down, right?” Parker says, smile still in place despite the dismal score. Inappropriate, maybe, when they lost 6-1, but...did anyone actually expect to win tonight? She didn’t, at least. 

Parker’s heard about the Foxes for years through Charlie. More importantly, she’s seen the way their practices go. It’s not a huge surprise that the games don’t unfold any better, and Parker’s not going to beat herself up pretending she can seriously influence a game. For better or for worse, the outcome feels completely out of her control.  

Then again, she’s got reason to put the loss be on anyone’s shoulders but her own tonight—because she scored. It wasn’t exactly a Chariots of Fire moment, but a point’s a point. Exy’s a rush, but never moreso than when she’s the one sneaking the ball past a goalkeeper. So, yeah, they lost, but Parker feels great, in the same kind of visceral, righteous way she did when she crossed the finish line before some asshole. “Can he seriously make us come into practice tomorrow though? That’s gotta be like, illegal. I feel like I need to sleep all weekend.”

[foxespsu]

Location: Fox Tower, hallway Date: Sunday, August 9 Time: Move-In (open)

Fourteen hours isn’t much, especially if you enjoy a road trip, but it still feels like there’s plenty of distance between Parker and Hartford right now. If Parker’s honest, she wasn’t sure this day would ever come, and that leaves her almost giddy as she moves in things into Fox Tower.

Of course, she has to start with Daphne and Velma. They can’t sit out on the curb alone, can they? Parker drapes a jacket over their travel carrier and  makes her way through the hallways carefully. She’s almost positive they don’t allow pets here, but rats are small. Who’s going to know? Just Parker. And her two roommates, whoever they are.

She makes it up to their floor without anyone pointing fingers at least, and as she tries to figure  out where to go next, someone rounds the corner. Parker makes a split second decision, as she she often does, and waves them over. Parker, her two roommates, and them.

“Hey,” she says, in what she hopes is a quiet voice. It’s hard to tell sometimes, especially with all the background noise from people moving in. Similarly, she can’t actually tell if either of her rats are making a sound right now—she read, once, that most of their vocalizations are beyond what humans can hear anyway, even the ones who don’t need their hearing aids—but there’s definitely movement. She can feel the carrier shifting under them. 

They’ve got to be stressed by the move, and as much as she wants to get them settled in as quickly as possible for their sake, she also doesn’t want to get busted on day one. God, her parents would never let her leave the house again. “Do you know all the other Foxes? Can you check around the corner and tell me if there’s anyone there right now who’s like, a total narc?”

[foxespsu]

continued from [x] @go-foxes

"I missed you, of course," Parker says, only the start of a lengthy list. "And not having to do my own dishes in the cafeteria. Not having a curfew. Traveling. Being on TV."

And she'd missed Glory, and being away from home where her beloved and beleaguered parents still can't trust her again, and yes, Exy itself—not just the things that come along with it, but actually going out on the court. Playing a game, even if they lost most of them.

Exy's a rush, and there wasn't much exciting for her back home. Certainly nothing that could match scoring a goal or shit-talking a backliner into making a mistake. Exy has never felt like her future. It's far from the only reason she gets out of bed in the morning, and Parker had her own ulterior motives for joining the Foxes. But she plays for a reason, like everyone else here.

"Being a Fox is exciting," she adds, a dose of something earnest since she does like Olivia. Charlie's not in earshot, anyway, so he can't get on her case about trying harder. She can care about the team without showing it the way he does. "Getting out on the court for a real game is exciting. It's good to be back."