Aftg Headcanon - Blog Posts

I know for a fact that Jean CANNOT pronounce the word "throughout" without slithering or having a thick ass French accent cuz that word with hella complicated for French speaker to pronounce correctly.

I’m sure some of the Trojans (Cat, Laila, Jemery, …) love to use certain words to just hear Jean’s accent or Jean having difficulties to pronounce a word correctly, Cat and Laila ofc are giggling to not upset Jean too much but Jemery… HES DYING INSIDE HIS HEART IS RACING SO HARD EVERYTIME CUZ JEAN HAVE THE MF FRENCH EFFECT ON HIM.

(I’m sure Kevin love that little French accent from Jean too but his delusional ass will never admit it)

Laila: I swear, if I see one more pigeon staring at me, I’m moving to the mountains.

Cat: Good luck. Mountain pigeons are tougher. They wear tiny leather jackets.

Jeremy: Yeah, and they demand snacks and rent.

Jean: Honestly, throughout (THICK ASS FRENCH ACCENT) history- pigeons..- hum… is that how you say it..? Throuuuughrhgrgout?

Jeremy: *i found the love of my life, he become more and more perfect every day..*

Laila & cat: *fighting to not laugh*

(I’m French btw so it’s hard asf to pronounce that word too😔)

new hc neil being neil knows how to get blood out of clothes we know that because he immediately goes for peroxide when his clothes got stained and the foxes largely ignore him so im thinking one day hanging out with the foxes one of the girls and like shit and aarrggghh i loved these pants but the blood won't come out and neil after "living" with his mom for like 8/7 years just kinda grabs them and cleans them idk i think that neil has a weird assortment of knowledge and skills that only stick because it either helped his mom or it helped him surrive.

AFTG Headcannons!

i'm currently rereading the books and i thinking about the foxes and i just need some fluff in my life.

· First Andrew and his Arms TM. How much he lifts in the gym is notable enough for Neil to point it out. He could out-lift anyone on the foxes and anyone on his new team post graduation. Which is incredibly funny to think about because he's literally 5 foot. Horribly unbalanced. Neil wants to lick his biceps.

· Every one of the foxes has seen andriel making out on the roof. Aaron is scarred for life. Kevin wishes they would spend that time on the court. Nicky has to be restrained so he doesn't take a picture to send to Allison. Wymack heaves a long suffering sigh. Why did the universe set him up with these idiots?

· Neil thinks of half his comebacks in advance. the other half is adapted from his pre-existing list. He talks so much shit in his head he just starts writing it down. Neil is a planner. Andrew also knows about this list. Sometimes Neil writes them down for him to give his critiques.

· Andrew and Aaron learn to fight like normal brothers eventually. Imagining those boys bickering like siblings breaks me in half.

· Aaron has a stage where he dyes his hair brown for like a couple months. He didn't ask for twin, did he? Him and Andrew don't talk much during this little rebellion.

· The foxes actually call drunk Kevin "Kevin Night". I saw a post about Kevin Night being all about destroying his liver and safe to say that is the funniest thing i have ever seen in this fandom. It's a running gag among the foxes and you'll Never Guess who started it. (nicky)

· When Andrew and Neil both eventually quit smoking, Neil takes to drawing all over Andrew's hand to curb his cravings, and somehow it spirals into him sketching on his arms, legs and torso and months later, under his armbands. But it all comes to a head years later when Andrew wakes up with a fox paw on his ass. Neil can't show his neck in public for months.

· One morning after a particularly bad nightmare, instead of Andrew hitting out, it was Neil. Andrew has a bloody nose by the end of it and Neil has never felt worse. More proof that he's nothing, that he's not worthy of the foxes, that all he can do is hurt, because oh god He Hurt Andrew- Andrew puts a stop to it as soon as he isn't dripping blood all over the carpet. Healing isn't linear, junkie.

· Once Andrew gets to the stage where he's ok with hickeys, Neil suddenly can't leave enough of them. If the foxes didn't know better, they would tease the hell out of him but sometimes their self preservation instincts get the better of them. Often, much the Aaron's disgust, the place bets on how many bruises will be on his neck the morning after. Renee refuses to bet on principle.

· Allison teaching Neil to dress himself and taking him on their weekly shopping dates. I just love the idea of it so much. The freshmen thinking they're dating because of it. Allison dressing Neil to kill, for Andrew's sake. Almost all the clothes she buys him end up on the floor afterwards. Allison teaching Neil to do eyeliner. Neil with getting a matching helix piercing with Allison. Everyone dies a little once they see it. Matt drools a little.

· As Neil becomes more up to date with his flirting skills, he realises that "Doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you" is literally the most insane this to say during a conversation. He teases Andrew mercilessly and Andrew does that thing where he blushes with his ears and snogs the life out of Neil. He doesn't believe in regret but even he isn't immune to Neil's particular brand of wind-up.

i dont believe for a second anyone actually thought andrew was straight. HOW did they explain andrew disappearing into the back of a club with their favourite gay bartender every friday... in this essay i will

Allison 100% can speak French and just doesn't say anything because she loves the drama neil and kevin say when they think no one can understand them

Ok just imagine: the twinyards with albinism. For no reason other than that Neil's commentary would be just that bit funnier.

"No, but I would ask coach why your pale ass isn't on drugs"

"No wonder you both wear black all the time, I'd hate to see you two burn"

Neil pointing at white face paint in the Halloween store: Hey Andrew, it's your shade.

They match ghost costumes on halloween without realising and then next year they're both vampires. They learn to coordinate after that.

Just like... the twinyards but the odds are even more physically stacked against them. That is all.

I love you and you are the light of my life

when neil was going to save andrew at the hemmick's house, he knew exactly what kind of wood the door was, and how easy it would be to break through. that's what kind of guy he is. neil doesn't win fights, but he is damn good at a getaway. this is a really good example about how all of neil's knowledge is really selective because of his upbringing. we need more survivalist neil because he shows all these traits in the books, another example is when he hitchhiked from columbia to palmetto. please stop ignoring this because i want to see batshit insane neil on the run fics right now thx

you're so right !!! prison guard andrew breaking out prisoner neil and they run away together fic now !!!

i feel like we as a fandom do not take advantage of the fact that andrew did a criminal justice major and told everyone it was for the meme. i genuinely believe he was going to go out there and change the world and make it better, even if it was just a little bit. i mean can you imagine? CRIMINAL LAWYER andrew minyard. OFFICER minyard. DETECTIVE minyard. SHERIFF minyard! BODYGUARD andrew minyard!!! the possibilities!!

Nicky calling Kevin "as bratty as they come" uhhhh bitch no. Kevin is literally a mother hen. He's literally threatened Neil to take care of himself and prioritise his health! Kevin is a little worrier and cares about all of his fox babies at heart ok ?

this is modern feminism!!!

hc that the PSU cheer coach agreed with Wymack's vision and the Vixens are all people who were in need of a second chance.

AFTG Headcannons!

i'm currently rereading the books and i thinking about the foxes and i just need some fluff in my life.

· First Andrew and his Arms TM. How much he lifts in the gym is notable enough for Neil to point it out. He could out-lift anyone on the foxes and anyone on his new team post graduation. Which is incredibly funny to think about because he's literally 5 foot. Horribly unbalanced. Neil wants to lick his biceps.

· Every one of the foxes has seen andriel making out on the roof. Aaron is scarred for life. Kevin wishes they would spend that time on the court. Nicky has to be restrained so he doesn't take a picture to send to Allison. Wymack heaves a long suffering sigh. Why did the universe set him up with these idiots?

· Neil thinks of half his comebacks in advance. the other half is adapted from his pre-existing list. He talks so much shit in his head he just starts writing it down. Neil is a planner. Andrew also knows about this list. Sometimes Neil writes them down for him to give his critiques.

· Andrew and Aaron learn to fight like normal brothers eventually. Imagining those boys bickering like siblings breaks me in half.

· Aaron has a stage where he dyes his hair brown for like a couple months. He didn't ask for twin, did he? Him and Andrew don't talk much during this little rebellion.

· The foxes actually call drunk Kevin "Kevin Night". I saw a post about Kevin Night being all about destroying his liver and safe to say that is the funniest thing i have ever seen in this fandom. It's a running gag among the foxes and you'll Never Guess who started it. (nicky)

· When Andrew and Neil both eventually quit smoking, Neil takes to drawing all over Andrew's hand to curb his cravings, and somehow it spirals into him sketching on his arms, legs and torso and months later, under his armbands. But it all comes to a head years later when Andrew wakes up with a fox paw on his ass. Neil can't show his neck in public for months.

· One morning after a particularly bad nightmare, instead of Andrew hitting out, it was Neil. Andrew has a bloody nose by the end of it and Neil has never felt worse. More proof that he's nothing, that he's not worthy of the foxes, that all he can do is hurt, because oh god He Hurt Andrew- Andrew puts a stop to it as soon as he isn't dripping blood all over the carpet. Healing isn't linear, junkie.

· Once Andrew gets to the stage where he's ok with hickeys, Neil suddenly can't leave enough of them. If the foxes didn't know better, they would tease the hell out of him but sometimes their self preservation instincts get the better of them. Often, much the Aaron's disgust, the place bets on how many bruises will be on his neck the morning after. Renee refuses to bet on principle.

· Allison teaching Neil to dress himself and taking him on their weekly shopping dates. I just love the idea of it so much. The freshmen thinking they're dating because of it. Allison dressing Neil to kill, for Andrew's sake. Almost all the clothes she buys him end up on the floor afterwards. Allison teaching Neil to do eyeliner. Neil with getting a matching helix piercing with Allison. Everyone dies a little once they see it. Matt drools a little.

· As Neil becomes more up to date with his flirting skills, he realises that "Doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you" is literally the most insane this to say during a conversation. He teases Andrew mercilessly and Andrew does that thing where he blushes with his ears and snogs the life out of Neil. He doesn't believe in regret but even he isn't immune to Neil's particular brand of wind-up.

ok ok but the upperclassmen planning a team bonding night and someone pulls out a puzzle. while they’re building it, neil casually mentions that he’s been there before. after that, it becomes the foxes’ goal to find as many puzzles of obscure places neil’s been as possible. they hide the picture so that neil can’t see it ahead of time, and build until either a) he recognizes it and gives them a random piece of info about that place or b) says he hasn’t been there, but still somehow always has an obscure fact to share about the place

andreil having chocolate fondue with strawberries to satisfy neil’s love for fruit and andrew’s love for sweet things

hc that andrew’s wardrobe is entirely black... except for his socks, which are super colourful with ridiculous patterns

you know what’s painful? before the final match against the ravens when neil says that he can see how much matt loves his mom and that “sometimes he was still surprised at how blatantly that love was returned” 

like?? 

mary did her best to keep neil alive and they had a complicated relationship but, ultimately, neil loved her

this quote hurts though, because neil obviously didn’t really get that love reciprocated - yes, in her own way, mary loved him and tried to keep him safe and as happy as possible given the circumstances, but overall his life on the run was full of pain and fear and his mom added to that

so of course it’s weird for him to see randy love matt so fiercely and so openly, but my heart still aches for him

hc that neil and andrew develop the habit of softly singing their own versions of “these are a few of my favourite things” to themselves or each other on bad days

this idea just randomly came to me and i can’t get it out of my head so: the foxes as texters (we already vaguely know some info but i have stuff i want to add on)

neil is just the worst texter ever. like... one word answers, bland messages, leaves you on read 99% of the time. normally reads the texts at least, but he doesn’t text first unless he needs something, and he doesn’t make an effort to keep the convo going. phone is always on silent but with vibrations - he hasn’t figured out how to turn it off vibrate, and he doesn’t care enough to ask for help (esp since his phone is normally dead anyway). he gets better at checking his phone and answering calls when andrew leaves psu though

andrew either answers within 2 seconds or never answers at all. autocap is off and he never uses punctuation (not even for questions). messages are usually short and to the point, but he’s fun to text if he actually deigns to answer. mix of dry humour, heavy sarcasm, and obscure messages that you can only understand by remembering 6 throwaway comments 

nicky is very enthusiastic!! lots of emojis, instant replies for all, only punctuation he uses are exclamation points and question marks. isn’t deterred by bland texters (re: neil) and will spam you with no regrets. also sends lots of pictures! and he never says “already seen it” when you send a meme that he’s seen before - he’s just happy when someone thinks of him

dan usually replies within a few hours. uses excessive amounts of question marks, and her texts are filled with abbreviations. autocap and autocorrect are off. sends memes constantly, never afraid to ask someone to meet up or to start a convo w someone she hasn’t talked to in a long time. sends a ton of short messages in a row rather than one big one. only uses periods if she’s mad or it’s important

matt’s texts have a ton of typos, even though autocap and autocorrect are both on - he mostly texts w capslock bc he gets easily excited. uses punctuation, but not at the end of texts. gets back as soon as he sees your message, but it could be a while, bc he always puts his phone on silent during practice and classes. uses cute emojis all the time

renee has autocap off but autocorrect on, and she uses proper punctuation. many :) type of emojis but rarely the actual face ones. takes a bit longer to answer bc she wants to formulate the right response, but she’s very quick to reply if it’s an emergency

allison doesn’t answer for hours, unless she actually likes you. always has a ton of unopened messages, and says she’ll get around to them eventually. texting style morphs from person to person - perfect punctuation w neil, no autocap or autocorrect w dan, enthusiactic w nicky, etc. won’t text first unless she likes you or has something important to say or ask for

kevin’s texts are very demanding. def has autocap and autocorrect on. not afraid to spam until you answer him. he’ll send a massive text and then a ton of short angry ones. texts people when he’s bored and drunk texts constantly (you could be getting a play-by-play of his fav exy moments, or an in-depth analysis of an important historical figure, or be completely roasted). he has french, english, and japanese keyboards, so sometimes his autocorrect gives you a multilingual message. sends memes to anyone that they remind him of or that he thinks will enjoy them, but hardly ever answers any memes or posts sent his way

aaron is the sweetest texter ever with katelyn, all cute emojis and smiley faces, but he’s pretty dry w basically anyone else. has fun texting w the monsters though, and he’ll never admit it, but he loves getting spam from nicky and memes from kevin. the only people he sends memes to are nicky and katelyn. the messages between him and andrew could all but be in a different language (and sometimes actually are in german) for how chaotic and obscure they are. he’s the type of person to open your message and then forget about it for a week before answering

seth is direct with his messages and you never know if he’s being sarcastic or just really mean. sends posts to allison all the time when they’re on, ghosts her when they’re off. short messages, but happy to help keep the conversation going if he likes you. no qualms about spamming you if you don’t answer. sappy drunk texts

if you made it through that... good job, this is just a dumping ground for my random thoughts lmaoo

I loved your hc about Neil doing Robin's hair so much 🥺 do you have any more Robin and Neil headcannons?

thank you so much!! and yes omg, i think about robin and neil’s friendship constantly, i’ll add a few of my hcs here :)

they go for runs together. it’s a good way for robin to become comfortable around him because they don’t really have the breath to talk, but she can get used to his presence. it took neil some time to adjust, since he’s used to running alone to escape his thoughts, but it’s nice to have a quiet, determined person with him. plus, it makes her faster on court, so its a sneaky way for neil to get her to be better at exy without actually playing exy 24/7, since she’s not quite as exy-obsessed as him

they bake together!! even though neil doesn’t like sweets, andrew does, and he normally saves them for him (he brings some w him when he goes to visit andrew after andrew leaves psu). robin likes knowing that she took all of these random ingredients and made something delicious. she shares with the team but also indulges in the treats that she’s been missing out on most of her life

sometimes the court is a bit too stifling, too cage-like, for robin, who has way too much experience being locked up. (even though it was the one thing in her childhood she associated w freedom, it’s different to watch the games than to have the heavy doors bolting you in). this is one area where neil and robin can’t really understand each other; robin was stuck for too long to want anything to hold her in place, while neil was on the run for so long that any hint of permanency is something that he latches on to. despite that, he’s always there to help talk her down from her panic, and never feels any frustration towards her when she needs to step out for a bit. those panic days are ones that always end w a quiet run together 

they have secret movie nights together where they try to catch up on the movies that the foxes reference all the time, since they both are seriously lacking in that department. (the movie nights are secret because they don’t want to deal with other people). sometimes they think the movies are worth the hype, sometimes they don’t, but they always enjoy each other’s presence. this is also a great opportunity for neil to practice more complicated braids, and to coach robin on how to do some simpler ones herself

robin slowly becomes more vocal, being so close to neil. she never has any speeches quite as iconic as “you know, i get it”, but her dry humor and sarcastic smiles make her fans go wild

robin learns german! she can communicate w the monsters privately that way, which is something that she’s immensely grateful for. and in neil’s senior year (when the rest of them have graduated), robin and neil become closer out of necessity, like nora said. the german is super helpful then for developing inside jokes and having conversations without fear of everyone eavesdropping

i have to go finish up a final project rn, but i hope those are the sort of things you were looking for! if you want more in the future, let me know :) and same goes for any other character combo hcs you’d like to see!!

andrew joins neil for runs occasionally and denies that it’s bc he cares for him (kind of like how cats are “coincidentally” in the same room as you 90% of the time) and neil chooses the routes that he knows andrew will like best, the ones with viewpoints where it seems like you’re on top of the world bc heights are always a sure fire way to ensure andrew feels something, even if that something is fear

and neil feigns confusion when andrew accuses him of slowing his pace down for him, but while andrew thinks that neil’s trying to coddle him, neil just wants to spend more time doing something he loves with the man he loves and seeing the way andrew’s eyes dart around as if to soak up the world and ingrain it all in his memory when he thinks neil isn’t looking, more interest than he normally shows while playing exy

they talk and neil laughs and they get home sweaty and tired to take lazy hot showers together. neil has always and will always love running, but his favourite morning runs are those precious occasions when andrew joins him and it’s just the two of them against the world. andrew will never admit it, but those just might be his favourite mornings too

jean is very prone to burning in the sun. he needs to be religious with sunscreen and even with it will not really tan, just get red. no matter how much he is outside, he never gets more than a few shades tanner

jeremy burns easily but also gets nice tans. he tries to be good about sunscreen but sometimes forgets and is often a little burnt on his nose. but he tans perfectly and it’s as if it doesn’t fade in the winter (it drives jean insane). however since he is outside all the time and tans so easily, he has so many funky tan lines

cat and laila do not burn. they are both religious with sunscreen for skin cancer reasons and less so they won’t crisp. laila can get burned if she spends all day under the sun and has no sunscreen but like barely and only in extreme circumstances. cat though will. not. burn. even on the rare occasion she forgets sunscreen (which is next to never) she doesn’t burn, she just gets tanner. and she gets tans with sunscreen on too while sunscreen makes jean tan less lol

i need to know what jean thinks of mangos

because mangos fit that specific kind of sweet that i think strawberries and peaches have. not overly sweet and they can have a hint of tartness too. and they are such a fruit of warmth that i don’t think you can eat them without feeling homey. they only grow in warm climates and maybe it’s just me, but i think their flavor calls forth summer storms and heat

but most importantly, mangos are their own kind of rainbow and we know how jean feels about rainbows

neil josten definitely picks at his scabs. and it annoys aaron to no end. imagine that aaron just starts swatting at his hands whenever he tries to pick at scabs because he can’t deal with neil having them for any longer. and andrew just lets him because he knows it’s better if neil actually lets his injuries heal and honestly, it’s funny

continuing this for the upperclassmen:

dan: depends on the shoes. in sneakers or boots, no. in heels, yes. i know what you’re thinking, she was stripper, she has hella experience in heels. and yes, but not with running in them. she can turn up on the dance floor and jump her heart out in heels but will tumble eventually if she tries to run

renee: no way in hell. rain or shine, heels, sneakers, flats, or fucking platform boots, this girl can drunk run without falling. and she is suchhhhh a drunk runner. she gets drunk and wants to run, less for the adventure like nicky and more just because something in her drunk mind tells her too. the instigator in her comes out a bit when she’s drunk and on top of being a drunk runner, she’s a drunk fighter. give her enough drinks and she will square up with any willing participant. and will demolish those dumb straight boys who challenge her to arm wrestle

matt: definitely falls. i’m sorry but he would try to run with nicky and they would both end up sprawled on the ground. i think he loses awareness of how long his legs are while drunk and it makes him fall if he tries to run

allison: again with the too much decorum to fall. she only goes out in heels, maybeeee platform boots if the world is upside down for a day but that requires renee to convince her so usually it’s just her and her heels. and she’s been walking in those since she was 10 and stealing them from her mother’s closet. no way she trips or twists an ankle much less falls in heels regardless of being drunk

seth: no siree. he is far to spiteful to not be the ultimate little shit while drunk and being able to successfully run lends itself to that. he also has far too much experience being intoxicated and some skills are acquired through practice

whether the monsters would fall while drunk running:

neil: absolutely not. that boy has been running since before he could walk and there is no way after all that running under so many kinds of pressure that he wouldn’t be able to handle drunken shenanigans

aaron: can run drunk surprisingly well but also will lose the ability to handle curbs or stairs and has tripped and ended up on the ground before

nicky: yes, 110% yes. definitely a drunk runner. cannot let him out of your sights bc he might decide to go on a little adventure and he largely overestimates his coordination and will be on the ground before he knows it

andrew: honestly i can’t imagine him running while drunk…….. but i don’t see him falling either. he has too much decorum

kevin: yes. less than nicky but yes and he will swear to you otherwise. you’d think after drinking so much he would have a better handle on things but there’s a reason he doesn’t dance and he only had practice controlling his speech and facial expressions while drunk

whether the monsters would fall while drunk running:

neil: absolutely not. that boy has been running since before he could walk and there is no way after all that running under so many kinds of pressure that he wouldn’t be able to handle drunken shenanigans

aaron: can run drunk surprisingly well but also will lose the ability to handle curbs or stairs and has tripped and ended up on the ground before

nicky: yes, 110% yes. definitely a drunk runner. cannot let him out of your sights bc he might decide to go on a little adventure and he largely overestimates his coordination and will be on the ground before he knows it

andrew: honestly i can’t imagine him running while drunk…….. but i don’t see him falling either. he has too much decorum

kevin: yes. less than nicky but yes and he will swear to you otherwise. you’d think after drinking so much he would have a better handle on things but there’s a reason he doesn’t dance and he only had practice controlling his speech and facial expressions while drunk

andrew definitely loves to nap. i just know he gets exhausted from having to be around people at class (and generally just deal with the human species) and as a result, needs quiet time in bed to be able to make it through the rest of the day. especially with their late night practices. and when i say nap, yes i do mean i think he takes naps in the traditional sense where he’s falling asleep for a little while but i also think he just likes to get in bed midday to just rest and reset. like just to be in the dark and not have to deal with anyone while he is horizontal and tucked in. tell me you can’t see it

(also imagine neil finding this out. i feel like some days he would join andrew but knowing andrew is doing this to be able to mentally handle the rest of the day, he would know to give him space and respect that. and when he does join him, sometimes he’ll be invited to just lay next to andrew but a lot of the times he just gets in his own bed and rests too, just providing some quiet company. dorm beds are tiny, even for them, and there’s no way to comfortably avoid contact and the last thing neil wants to do is push andrew’s boundaries especially when he is doing this to reset. but andrew lets him stay in the room when he does occasionally join and i feel like neil would be pleased at that alone, at being able to partake in and witness this ritual of his even without cuddling.)

Daily reminder that there’s other sports teams at fox tower and they co-exist with our exy team

I pity them

so i definitely vibe with the headcanon that andrew gets a medusa tattoo, but hear me out:

so in the actual myth, athena doesn’t curse medusa out of pity or to save her from the men that aim to assault her. she did it out of rage and vengeance after medusa’s rape basically defiled her temple. on top of that, when she is beheaded by perseus, athena then puts her head on her shield to protect herself against enemies.

with this in mind, i think andrew having a medusa tattoo, or relating to medusa in any way, is kind of ironic and takes on a different meaning when you think about it.

he dealt with unwanted attention and sexual abuse his whole childhood. he was raped in cass’s home, a place where he put up with so many advances and assaults, and so much pain and confusion. he loved and respected her, and wanted to protect his brother.

in the end, he was punished for being assaulted by so many people in his life. It’s insinuated that cass knew what was going on, and she let it happen. his uncle blamed him, and his brother resented him in his ignorance.

then he was labeled as a monster, and used for his protection by so many people in his life.

i just think it’s a interesting comparison to make.

so i definitely vibe with the headcanon that andrew gets a medusa tattoo, but hear me out:

so in the actual myth, athena doesn’t curse medusa out of pity or to save her from the men that aim to assault her. she did it out of rage and vengeance after medusa’s rape basically defiled her temple. on top of that, when she is beheaded by perseus, athena then puts her head on her shield to protect herself against enemies.

with this in mind, i think andrew having a medusa tattoo, or relating to medusa in any way, is kind of ironic and takes on a different meaning when you think about it.

he dealt with unwanted attention and sexual abuse his whole childhood. he was raped in cass’s home, a place where he put up with so many advances and assaults, and so much pain and confusion. he loved and respected her, and wanted to protect his brother.

in the end, he was punished for being assaulted by so many people in his life. It’s insinuated that cass knew what was going on, and she let it happen. his uncle blamed him, and his brother resented him in his ignorance.

then he was labeled as a monster, and used for his protection by so many people in his life.

i just think it’s a interesting comparison to make.

i feel like neil is the type to make the most horrendous food combinations known to humanity that actually turn out to be good? like he's used to living off of scraps so he'll find leftovers or random snacks around the dorm and make absolutly monstrous mixtures

andrew and kevin refuse to touch them at first but matt's always there for his buddy, so he'll try it, cry to dan about how good it is, she'll eat it, and then eventually everyone jumps on the bandwagon. one day neil wakes up in the middle of the night and finds andrew and kevin sitting on the kitchen counter scarfing down his newest concoction with way too much gusto for people who claimed they'd never touch his shit food (but they'll deny it if you ask)

Okay, I know I've already sent asks (and made sure to pick the most difficult ones 😂) but this time it's the other way around. 2, 3, 11 and 17? Two of those are literally canon with Andreil 😂.

No pressure, of course!

~ Nem

ayyo these prompts are mad cute i can't thank you enough for picking them

2: interlocking pinkies

3: smiling into a kiss

11: back hugs

17: tugging on the bottom of someone's shirt

~

2.

This was getting out of hand.

The flashing lights and pulsing bass did nothing to take Andrew's eyes off of Neil. Neil, who looked unbearably attractive in a tight black shirt at the bar. Neil, who's hair looked like a beacon in the middle of Eden's.

Neil, who was currently being flirted to death with by a stranger.

Said stranger was a little too Playboy-eque for Andrew's liking. Tall, curly black hair, muscular — he was basically the reverse-Exy version of Kevin (which made the hotness increase from the negatives to embarrassingly high).

Andrew gripped his glass so tightly he thought it might break. Actually, who care if it broke? He'd get glass shards in his hand, they'd have to call an ambulance, the club would clear out, Neil would come back, and Bar Bitch would get the hell away from Neil.

Maybe he was being a tad dramatic.

Taking a deep breath, Andrew tried to relax. This was fine. Neil could handle himself, and he knew Neil wouldn't act on any offers this guy made. Besides, Neil probably didn't even realize he was being flirted with; the man was incredibly oblivious. It would be fine. He was fine.

Andrew was just about calmed down — he was still staring at Neil just to make sure nothing happened, not at all because the lights were reflecting on the glitter on his cheek or anything — when his personal demon from Hell popped up.

"Watcha looking at?" Nicky plopped next to Andrew, his voice slurred from drinks. Andrew wrenched his neck away, but Nicky beamed when he saw the original target of Andrew's gaze. "OMG, so cute! Keeping an eye on your bae. That's so fetch."

"None of those words are in the Bible," Andrew grumbled. "Also, stop trying to make fetch happen, it's not going to happen."

Nicky giggled for long enough that it was weird. "Riiiiight, but currently you're literally too gay to function. So I win."

Andrew rolled his eyes and leaned back in the booth, deciding to ignore his highly drunk cousin. Nicky barely noticed, choosing to hum a random tune as he stared into the crowd. After what felt like hours of this, Andrew finally snapped. "Nicky. Shut the hell up."

"Nooooo," Nicky whined. "I'm like a siren. I'm luring your tiny little boyfriend here."

"He is not my— wait, what?"

"See?" Nicky waved in front of himself and slapped himself in the face. "He's right there!"

Andrew was a bit embarrassed at how fast his head turned.

Sure enough, there was Neil, in all his 5'3" glory. And there — there was Bar Bitch! Following Neil!

Andrew had just about had enough.

When Neil reached close enough to place the tray of drinks on the table, Andrew hooked his fingers in his belt loops and yanked Neil into the booth next to him. Resoutly ignoring Neil's startled intake of breath and Nicky's oddly hard kick to the leg, Andrew linked his pinky with Neil and delicately placed their hands on the table.

Subtle, yet effective.

Neil blinked at him in confusion, but Andrew only had eyes for Bar Bitch. He narrowed his eyes at the tall man, tightening his grip on Neil's finger, until the bitch threw his hands up and stumbled away.

Ha. Take that, asshole.

"What was that all about?" Neil nudged him softly.

"Nothing," Andrew ground out. "Absolutely nothing."

He didn't let go of Neil's pinky the rest of the night.

~

3.

Andrew was a sucker for roof time with Neil; he couldn't deny it. What he wasn't a sucker for was Neil bringing sheets of plays and team stats during said roof time with Neil.

He tried to subtly hint to Neil that he wanted the Exy gone. He laid down on the roof, letting his hair cover the papers (Neil very gently brushed his hair away but continued reading). He placed his head on Neil's legs (Neil rubbed a calloused finger across Andrew's cheek but continued reading). He wiggled up into Neil's lap (Neil wrapped him in a warm embrace but continued reading. Even worse, Neil moved the papers into his line of sight, as if Andrew was interested).

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He leaned forward and snatched the papers out of Neil's hand, throwing the sheets behind them. Neil blinked in surprise at his now-empty hand before looking over at Andrew. "What's wrong, Andrew?"

"Nothing," Andrew said, despite looking obviously annoyed. At Neil's unimpressed silence, Andrew sighed. "Stop ignoring me."

Andrew could practically hear Neil's eye roll.

"Yes or no, Drew?"

Just to be contrary, Andrew huffed out, "No. You can go back to your precious Exy."

He decided to ignore Neil's grumbles that suspiciously sounded like 'drama queen.' "I wasn't ignoring you. I wasn't," Neil insisted at Andrew's glare. "I was just... focusing on Exy at the moment."

"Make a choice, Neil. Exy... or me."

Neil looked a little too panicked at that for Andrew's comfort. "Uh... "

"The fact that you actually have to think about this is very telling," Andrew scowled.

"No, wait!" Neil shook his head frantically. "I mean... Exy is what got me to stop running, but you were what got me to stay. If I have Exy, I'll also always have you, and vice versa."

Andrew jammed a very fierce elbow into Neil's gut. He relished in the misery Neil was feeling. "That was more of a love letter to Exy than me."

"Oh, is that the problem?" the junkie annoyingly perked up. "I can definitely write a love letter to you. Where should I start? You have really pretty eyes, your hair is so soft, your arms are crazy strong, you— "

"Shut. Up."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Fine. But you'll have to make me."

Andrew barely held back a sigh and tried to calm his treacherous heart. "What, did you become the lead in a romcom when I looked away? That was so cheesy."

Neil just shrugged. "Did it work?"

"No," Andrew scowled. "Maybe. Yes or no?"

"Yes, alwa— "

Andrew cut Neil off with a kiss (no matter how bruised his tough-guy reputation was becoming now). He could feel Neil trying to smother a soft smile against his lips, and if Andrew had any shame left in him, he would be a bit embarrassed at how fast his heart starting beating when he realized that.

Because humans unfortunately needed oxygen, Neil pulled back a few moments later but stayed close enough that Andrew could smell the minty gum he had been chewing before they came up on the roof. "See? If you weren't so damn stubborn, we could have been kissing when I first asked you."

Ignoring this logic, Andrew pulled his the junkie back in for another kiss. He wondered in Neil could feel the small upturn on Andrew's lips too.

~

11.

This was just about the worst fucking day of Kevin Day's life, and it all started the day before.

He had been up for hours, starting with Exy at sun-up and ending with Exy at sundown. Except it didn't end with Exy, because he realized humanity was incompetent and then he was forced to catch up on a History essay his groupmates were behind on (5 hours after his detailed schedule!) and then he became too invested in the ruins of Mesopotamia and then he didn't sleep on time and then he missed his pre-alarm for his actual morning alarm and then he wasn't awake enough for his actual morning alarm and then—

Well.

Point was that Kevin was simultaneously cranky, sleepy, and frantically late, which is a shitty combination for anyone but especially for a person named Kevin Day. Which is to say that his perfectionist tendencies were starting to show their negative sides.

And to add company to misery, his fucking roommates had to be the absolute worst.

Kevin stumbled out of the bathroom (and crashed into three walls but that's neither here nor there) with a sock on his arm and one eye shut to make half his face feel rested when he came across the one thing that could possibly make his morning worse. As he sluggishly walked into the kitchen to get at least 3 cups of well-needed, strong-as-shit black coffee, he saw his two roommates directly blocking his access to the coffee pot.

Andrew was fiddling with the pot handle while Neil had his arms wrapped around his back. He was practically leaning all his body weight on Andrew and whenever Andrew murmured something to him quietly, Neil would give him his "Andrew-laugh" and somehow press in even closer. To make matters even sappier, every few seconds he would kiss Andrew — on the shoulder, neck, cheek, even going as far as to bring his hands up and kiss his knuckles!

It was disgusting. Kevin had never been more horrified to have these horribly-in-love-even-though-they-won't-admit-it-yes-he's-happy-they're-together-no-he's-not-happy-he-has-to-witness-this roommates.

Andrew and Neil were fully engrossed in their weird back-hug position, fully disregarding Kevin's coffee withdrawal. Irritated that he was being ignored, Kevin let out a highly unattractive noise that was half-groan, half-shriek, causing the two most hypervigilant people he'd known to jump apart. Except that Andrew was facing the counter so his diaphragm got fully smushed against it, causing the blond to let out an "oof" and Neil had open space behind him so he flailed around until he eventually fell onto his butt on the floor with a groan.

Massaging his stomach, Andrew turned a terrifying glare towards Kevin, who was suddenly waking up enough to realize how bad of an idea this was. Kevin slowly backed away, his hands up in a placating manner.

"Don't mind me," Kevin said. "Keep hugging or whatever. I'll just... go to Matt's room and get coffee."

Stumbling out of his dorm, Kevin crashed his way into Matt, Nicky, and Aaron's room, where Nicky was sitting on the couch on his laptop.

He winced when he saw Kevin zombie-walk to the coffee machine. "Andrew and Neil sexile you?"

As the machine whirred, Kevin groaned. "Something like that. Honestly, the two of them are so affectionate in the morning, it makes me sick."

At that, Nicky's eyes widened. "They're what?! Tell me everything."

Kevin sighed. Maybe he should get a second cup of coffee going.

~

17.

Neil didn't notice the cats until Andrew pointed them out.

The two of them were on a walk walking back over the hill in front of the Fox Tower after their classes. Andrew had made it a habit to pick Neil up after his Spanish class and his own Sociology class every Thursday, and the two of them would drop their stuff off at the dorms and go out to lunch together.

It was very nice, to put it lightly.

Andrew's hand was warm where it was threaded with Neil's, swinging lightly between their bodies. The two were so close to each other that Neil could feel their shoulders brush every few steps, could practically count every faint freckle on Andrew's cheeks if he wanted to.

So he did just that.

"Staring," Andrew glared.

"Yeah," Neil said shamelessly. "You like it."

Andrew squeezed Neil's hand. It was probably more out of annoyance than adorance, but he'd take it.

"You know, in class today," Neil started, mainly so he could hear Andrew's voice when he responded. "This absolute bit— ow!"

Unexpectedly, Neil promptly fell down.

"Typical," Andrew grumbled. "He can come back alive after being tortured by a serial killer but can't walk straight."

"To be fair, it's not like you walk any straighter than me."

After an appraising moment, Andrew shrugged.

Neil finally moved himself into a sitting position while Andrew watched with sheer disappointment oozing out of him. He tied his undone shoelace and was just getting up when he felt a sharp tug on his shirt.

Neil looked at Andrew in confusion, but Andrew had his sights set on something in the distance. Naturally, instead of explaining, he began dragging Neil, who was still halfway bent-over from tying his shoe.

"Andrew!" Neil yelped. "Do you want to let me know where we're going?"

"No."

Fair enough. Neil should have expected that.

Finally, after his shoes untied yet again from the stumbling he did over the hill, Neil finally saw what had caught Andrew's attention. There was a sign advertising a nearby cat adoption, with the directions showing it to be only about 5 minutes away.

Andrew tugged on Neil's shirt again. "We're going."

Neil blinked. "We can't have pets in the dorm."

"We'll sneak them in, it's not like we've never broken the law before."

"Kevin is going to lose his shit."

"You just incentivized me even more."

Neil had to bite back a smile at that. "Fine, fine, we'll visit. But we are not adopting any animals until we can figure out the rules."

"Eh," Andrew turned around, twisting his fingers into Neil's shirt so he'd follow the blond. "I can be very convincing."

"Andrew."

"Neil."

"We are not getting a cat."

"Nah."

"You can't just— Andrew!"