PFP credit to sashadechagny for the amazing cosplay! Also find me at @dimplesandfierceeyes I've only had Jean Moreau for about 2 weeks but if anyone was mean to him, I would go down for murder
I’ve seen far too many wrong takes on the Kevin and Jeremy talking about Jean as they go to get vodka scene, so I’m writing my own personal analysis.
Starting with the quote I most often see misused: “Without a complaint, there is no crime, and there will never be a complaint.” Kevin is not literally saying there was no crime committed, he is saying that since the age of consent in West Virginia is 16, Jean would have to explicitly come out and say it was rape because statuary rape would not apply. If you took the quote out of all context, sure it sounds bad, but the context is that Kevin is trying to explain to Jeremy why speaking up in Jean’s place will do more harm than good. This is in fact explicitly explained a paragraph later when he adds: “Silence is the only way Jean has a voice. He does not have to participate in his own downfall. It is not kind or fair, but it is the best we can do.” It is not KIND or FAIR, Kevin knows it’s messed up what happened to Jean, he knows he deserves better.
Let’s also add the additional layer of the Moriyamas and Riko’s involvement. Multiple times Kevin wants to explain further but doesn’t. This being the even more complicated truth that the Moriyamas physically owned Jean which plays into his treatment. It influences why Jean doesn’t speak up in two ways. One of them being the more obvious one that he was forced to believe he deserved everything that happened to him because he was owned, because he was a Moreau. But it also physically impacts why he can’t speak up specifically about his rape. Riko was the one who “offered” Jean to the 5 backliners and Jean was forced to say yes to anything they asked of him. Just like Jean had to agree he wanted it to the ravens when it was talked about in the locker room, he would have to do the same to the public because he can’t have an investigation opened on the Moriyamas and without the involvement of Riko, the backliners would just be able to fall back on the fact that he said yes. Kevin isn’t stupid, he’s put together most if not all of this. He knows that the Moriyamas still own them and saying something like that would get them killed.
Kevin also knows that the ravens will always defend themselves as a unit and not a single person would support Jean’s claims other than Kevin himself. The raven mentality is pretty heavily shown through the two books, which is that every punishment has a reason and justification. You see this in Jean’s POV, Kevin trying to explain in this conversation, in the Andrew and Jean scene, in the Zane scene and also the Thea scene from the first book. Kevin and Jean have both started to grow from this thought process as shown by them correcting themselves on punishments when talking with Jeremy and Andrew respectively. There is zero evidence that any other raven has made this growth.
The point is, Kevin knows there is a dozen reason to why Jean can’t/won’t speak up. He knows that Jean deserves justice, but he also knows that the consequences for that may not be worth the peace that Jean would have to sacrifice. It also clearly pains him to hear Jean betray himself with the line: “He would have embraced the Ravens’ lies no matter how much it killed him to accept the blame. I have heard it before. I will not listen to it again.”
At the end of the day, Kevin wants Jean to be happy. That’s why he sent him to the Trojans, to the best team he knew rather than keeping him to himself. He is not excusing Jean’s abuse.
jk I probably won't remember to come back tomorrow (today? it's 330 am) so you get the unpolished version
ok so I was gone a lil bit longer than intended
..got sick Again in Jan for 3 weeks, getting a little tired of this
..practiced sobriety for 2 months. wish I could say I felt better / slept better / felt renewed & refreshed, etc etc but the truth is I did not particularly enjoy it. was an interesting experiment though
..QUINNESOTAAAAAAAAAAA
..have bought a truly horrifying amount of books in the last couple months. I am excited about so many of them. hopefully I will eventually read them. at the rate I've been reading it'll only take me like………. 75 years. going to create a 2026 reading list with assigned weekly books, see if having a rigid list solves anything.
..I wish I could talk more about TBC, there are so many parts I want to share.
.."how long is wretchedly long???" well last time I checked we were at 135K and there's probably 50k left to go unless I trim it down any. (unlikely. joy of being self-published is no one can tell me to stfu.) so far we've been pretty even-stevens on POV breakdowns. picking POVs is sometimes the hardest part of writing this set. example a: the chapter I've spent the last four weeks on has changed POVs 6 times. I've rewritten it so many times it has its own "cuts" file separate from the main one.
..the news is horrific! evil people keep winning! keeping faith in humanity is getting a bit difficult these days, but if we give up on ourselves & each other then what else do we have to carry us through
We love to call Neil oblivious or dense for not noticing he was in a slowburn romance with Andrew but how many of us were smacked in the face with the “that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t blow you”the first time you read it then of course you go back and reread and andreil was very obviously there the whole time you just get so caught up in thinking like Neil Josten that you also become oblivious so props to Nora for that
Andrew Minyard uses violence as communication because it is the only language that has ever worked.
People treat Andrew’s violence as random, impulsive, or gratuitous. They frame him as volatile, dangerous, uncontrollable. And while those statements have some weight, none of them tell the whole story.
Andrew is precise.
He doesn’t escalate emotionally. He doesn’t beg. He doesn’t explain himself more than once. He doesn’t argue to be understood. When Andrew acts, it’s because every other form of communication has already failed, or was never available to him in the first place.
Andrew learned very early that words do not protect you.
Words didn’t stop Tilda.
Words didn’t stop the Proust.
Words didn't stop Drake.
Words didn’t matter unless they were backed by force.
So Andrew stopped using them.
Violence, for Andrew, is not about rage. It’s about clarity.
When Andrew hurts someone, he is drawing a line so unmistakable that it cannot be crossed again without consequence. Violence becomes punctuation. A period at the end of a sentence he has already tried to say quietly.
This is why Andrew’s violence is almost always reactive, not proactive.
He does not seek out conflict.
He does not explode over misunderstandings.
He responds when boundaries are ignored, consent is violated, or someone he loves is threatened.
When Andrew hits Allison, fandom loves to flatten it into senseless brutality. But canon makes it explicit: Andrew was doing what he believed he had to in order to defend Aarob.
Because arguing would have taken time.
Because explaining would have required trust.
Because people don’t stop when they think they’re right.
They stop when they’re afraid.
Andrew understands that.
This is also why Andrew’s violence is targeted.
He doesn’t lash out at bystanders.
He doesn’t escalate situations that don’t involve him.
He doesn’t harm indiscriminately.
His actions are always directed at the person crossing a line.
Andrew’s relationship with Kevin is another example. Andrew protects Kevin not with reassurance, but with presence. He stands between Kevin and Riko without posturing or speeches. He doesn’t tell Kevin he’s safe: he makes him safe.
Because Andrew knows that safety is not a feeling.
It’s an outcome.
This is also why Andrew’s rules are so rigid.
“Yes or no.”
“Do you want this?”
“Don’t touch me.”
These aren’t quirks. They’re preemptive violence avoidance. They are Andrew’s attempt to replace physical force with verbal consent. When those rules are respected, Andrew doesn’t need to escalate.
When they aren’t, he does.
Andrew’s violence is not the absence of empathy, it is the result of too much of it, filtered through trauma.
He understands exactly how much damage people can do when they feel entitled, righteous, or justified. He has lived on the receiving end of it. He knows that harm rarely comes from villains: it comes from people who believe they’re allowed.
So Andrew removes the illusion of permission.
And here’s the quietest, most devastating part of it:
Andrew does not enjoy being violent.
He tolerates it.
It is a tool he learned because nothing else kept him safe.
This is why Andrew’s growth isn’t about becoming less violent, it’s about needing violence less.
With Neil, Andrew begins to trust that words might hold weight. That consent might be respected. That boundaries don’t have to be enforced with blood every time.
And still, Andrew never stops being capable of violence.
Because love, to Andrew, isn’t gentleness.
It’s readiness.
Andrew Minyard doesn’t use violence because he doesn’t feel.
He uses it because feeling was never enough to stop the harm.
And until the world proves otherwise, Andrew will continue to speak the language it taught him.
Ilya would have knocked Kevin out by day 2. Meanwhile, Kevin and Shane would have daily arguments that last at least 2 hours each time (it's sexual tension)
Neil Josten - original. Whatever flavor started the whole Redbull sponsored suicide attempt sports shit is what Neil Josten is made of. Gives you wings etc etc
Dan wilds - the red edition/watermelon. Hella good flavor, strong shit, red bottle fits her cuz it matches her more yellow personality.
Aaron Minyard - the coconut edition. White monster equivalent of redbull, def Aaron Minyard. Just look at the guy. Bro probably downs three 24oz in the span of an hour on the regular.
Allison Reynolds - the pink edition/wild berries. Pink can!!! Def Allison vibes, but the flavor is deceptively Not Girly for a berry vibe. Darker than you’d expect from a baby pink can.
Kevin Day - original but sugar free. Kinda similar to Neil except his insanity is measured and regimented and targeted. Neil is feral and rabid Kevin is just psychotic.
Matt Boyd - the green edition/Curuba elderflower. Funky and bold looking can with the bright green, with softer and sweeter flavor inspirations. Gentle giant of redbulls. Matt fr.
Nicky Hemmick - the yellow edition/tropical. He’s literally if pineapple was a person, do I need to explain myself further? Brightest guy you’ll ever meet, but in the kinda acidic and overwhelming way of pineapple.
Andrew Minyard - the blue edition/blueberry. It’s dark, it’s not as popular, it’s rarely ever on the shelves. It’s Andrew Minyard. Blueberry is definitely a hit or miss flavoring for foods and beverages, but this one hits, it’s my boy Andrew.
Renee walker - the winter edition/fuji apple and ginger. My personal favorite, it’s like the hippy dippy version of redbull. It’s limited for now, but so so good, it’s got the sweetness of the apple and the kick with the ginger, def Renee vibes.
renee walker punching zane into the ground in lazarus & also scaring the shit out of him you will always be famous to me
renee “riko can come to south carolina and i will fight him in a parking lot” walker throwing up a peace sign at riko as he furiously watches her drive away after blackmailing her way into the nest to take jean, you will always be famous to me
Neil sending a care package to Jab for the holidays (headcanon that Neil has a soft spot for animals even if it’s not a cat) but he’s Neil so of course he’s got to mess with Jean a little while he’s at it. The package arrives in a plain brown shipping parcel and is filled with things that Jab may not need?? Neil doesn’t know a thing about dogs?? But Neil bought and sent them anyway. Things like chew toys, paw balm for when Jab’s paw pads start hurting; treats and stuffies and leashes- oh my. There are a couple of things from the rest of the Foxes too and the entire thing is actually very sweet. Jer and the girls are beside themselves smiling while Jab gets to work tearing into his new gifts -really they can all be considered toys to a dog as energetic and hyper as Jab- but Jean is sat motionless in his spot. The others are laughing & chattering around him about such a surprise, but Jean is still staring stone-faced at the front of the parcel. In the top corner is the address for PSU complete with the state and zip code, etc- and in the center is the gang’s new address at the lofts. But scrawled above it the receiver is made out to be one “Jabberwocky Josten.”
Jean has Neil on the phone in a heartbeat. Or well, he tries. He is grossly offended on Jab’s behalf and it only gets worse when Neil refuses to answer his phone and Jean has to settle for the alternative: texting Neil things like “He is not a Josten, he is a Moreau!” and “Do not lump my dog in with a cretin like yourself.” He tries again to call only for it to go straight to voicemail and Jean leaves a scathing message about how Neil ought to worry about his own pet on a leash (whether he means Andrew or Kevin is unclear) and how he should know better than anyone not to confuse namesakes.
Jean’s voicemail is definitely what Neil had been expecting in response. He scoffs at some parts and leans a little closer as Andrew boredly listens beside him, the phone set on speaker. Jean rants for a bit and then ends his message with what can only be described as a fumbling noise and someone -Jeremy perhaps- can be heard in the back saying something. Neil can’t catch much but he does hear Jean heave a sigh of defeat before the Frenchman comes back for more, voice calmer and quieter.
“Thank you for his gifts. Your gift may be there after the holiday instead of before. I am not sorry for America’s shitty shipping rates. Either way let me know when you get it.” Then Jean promptly leaves the voicemail to end itself, the little beep dying out. He’ll go on to send a pic or two of Jab eventually playing more with the parcel than the gifts themselves, and it’s no coincidence when Jean also sends a photo of Jabberwocky purposely tearing the name label ‘Jabberwocky Josten’ in half. It’s funny, though.
‘shane fell first!’ ‘ilya fell first!’ BZZT . INCORRECT . they tripped at the same time & bonked their heads together so hard that they mistook love at first sight for having a concussion .
blakekathryn
titsay
romaincrisis
snowghoul
andulkaphoto
pixelskylines
