#Where's the fics where Renee and Neil are friends and Matt and Andrew are friends huh?? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

charlotlie · 1 year

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i’m procrastinating studying for my finals & ive been on marauders & aftg tiktok for too long so here it is: my take on the aftg characters as taylor swift songs

- neil: you’re on your own kid (the neil josten anthem, especially the bridge), getaway car (I SWEAR IM NOT TRYING TO BE FUNNY), snow on the beach (tbh i always see this as an andreil song, but it’s just like: neil had never expected to fall for andrew or even trust him in the beginning, so the fact that they’re even falling? fucking weird. also, the line, “you wanting me, tonight, feels impossible” like the idea of someone wanting to touch him without wanting to hurt him ahshajsgs)

- andrew: daylight (just listen), anti-hero (this could very well apply to all the foxes, but the line, “i wake up screaming from dreaming // one day i’ll watch as you’re leaving // cause you got tired of my scheming” seems to be his perspective on nearly all of his relationships), evermore (for me, this song is largely about depression and, tbh, i’ve been reading too many andrew character studies lately, and “that this pain would be for evermore” hurts SO bad when you’re thinking about him. then the song develops, and ends with, maybe this pain isn’t forever. im gonna write a fic on this i swear.)

- aaron: delicate (“my reputation’s never been worse so, you must like me for me” him & katelyn after the whole drake incident im crying so hard😭😭)

- nicky: paper rings (him & erik 🤭, like they are the cute love songs in my head)

- dan: the man, gorgeous (so like,,, dan didn’t like matt at first, right? was annoyed at him a lot, didn’t think he was all that — so she was also very annoyed when she started noticing him and liking him and kinda being attracted to him so i just imagine this song as dan’s drunken confession to matt about how frustrated she is with him and matt’s just smiling at her and it makes her even more frustrated bcs how is he so pretty), sweet nothing

- matt: lover (“and at every table.. i’ll save you a seat, loveeeeer” asfgsgsgs), king of my heart (“and we rule the kingdom inside my room” —> i so imagine dan and matt having the stupidest fun with each other and that feels like listening to this song, like you’re not really part of the inside joke. also, dan is definitely the queen of matt’s heart :))

- allison: the last great american dynasty (she had a marvellous time ruining everything), i know places (headcanon: after renee confesses to her, they slip away for a weekend to just be with the two of them to hide themselves away from everyone else for now), i wish you would (about seth, in this case.)

- renee: new romantics (she could build a castle from all the bricks they threw at her), peace (about how the danger lives in her, how she can never truly bring peace because she doesn’t feel like she can, but still “would it be enough, if i could never give you peace?” she hopes to be enough and tries to make up for her past by caring 4 others ajahhshshs i love her sm), dress (“i don’t want you like a best friend” her confession to allison please 😫)

- kevin: right where you left me (kevin day, the epitome of the freeze ptsd response, always stuck where he in where he was), the great war (“there’s no morning glory, it was war, it wasn’t fair” makes me think of him and jean after riko died)

- jean: epiphany (listen to this while thinking of him istg im crying), exile (“you’re not my hometown anymore, so what am i defending?” about kevin😭), gold rush (jerejean conflict so good, i need new fics)

#andreil #jerejean #aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #aaron minyard #nicky hemmick #kevin day #aftg shitpost #dan wilds #renee walker #allison reynolds #renison #matt boyd #jean moreau #seth gordon #aftg foxes #aftg headcanon

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splishsplashyouropinionistrash · 1 year

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welcome welcome, it’s been a while.

but we’re back now with tumblr’s favorite show: AFTG Hot Takes, where i spew paragraphs and paragraphs of bullshit instead of working on my WIP.

without any further ado, i am proud to present: every AFTG ship, ranked.

this is your friendly reminder that these are just my opinions. if you like a ship i don’t: great! if you don’t like a ship that i love: also great! i’m always happy to hear people’s thoughts, and i love a good friendly debate, but please remember that i’m 17. i’m not here to argue with you about why your ship is the best. i’m just here to have fun.

these probably aren’t all the ships that are out there, but this is everything i’ve seen so far. if i missed one, let me know!

24. Jean/Riko

this one… ew. ew ew ew. every ship with riko is so ew, i cannot begin to explain, but this one is the worst.

i’ve read too many Nest fics to not gag at this tag, cause it’s never consensual.

23. Kevin/Riko

just no.

moving on.

22. Kevin/Thea

y’all know i hate this ship by now, but for newcomers: it’s predatory and neglectful. very very ick.

21. Andrew/Roland

this one… where to start?

i’ll probably make a full post ab it soon, so for now, let’s just say that it’s very similar to Kevin/Thea. The age gap at the time that things started between them… the morals and legality are murky at best.

20. Andrew/Kevin

i’ve said it once, and i’ll say it again: they. aren’t. good. for. each. other.

Kevin doesn’t respect boundaries. he pushes things. and boundaries are the absolute most important thing for Andrew. they just don’t work.

19. Andrew/Neil/Kevin

i very vehemently despise this ship, for the same reason i hate Andrew/Kevin. i think it’s so important for y’all to remember who these characters are and not just ship them because they all have dicks and are nice to each other sometimes. that turns into mlm fetishization real fuckin quick.

18. Neil/Kevin

this is one that i can almost sort of see. if i hadn’t accidentally spoiled andreil for myself, i would have assumed this was canon during my first read.

but it’s just… i love the fact that they’re friends. i think their friendship can be so amazing, and i love reading fics where they’re that close. i don’t think every friendship in media has to turn romantic.

17. Kevin/Jean/Jeremy

remember what i said about kevandreil? apply it to this one too.

ik it sounds like i just hate poly couples. i don’t. i just hate ships like this, that really wouldn’t be healthy but people put together anyway because oh gay people yay! it feels gross and fetish-y and i am not here for it.

16. Kevin/Jean

this is a ship that i can see happening pre-canon, but i’m not the biggest fan of it simply because there’s no way it could be healthy. they went through a lot together, sure, but traumabonds are notoriously unhealthy.

15. Kevin/Matt

this, again, feels like just putting two characters together because they’re nice to each other occasionally, but really? they aren’t. correct me if i’m wrong, but Matt and Kev only have one canon interaction that i can remember, and it’s literally Matt punching Kev in the face.

Not to mention, Dan and Matt. Dan and Matt! i love them too much to accept this.

14. Kevin/Matt/Aaron

listen. again, i don’t hate poly couples. i really, really don’t. i just…

Matt literally… just doesn’t mesh well with Kev or Aaron. at all? i don’t understand the thought process behind this.

13. Renee/Jean

i don’t… i don’t hate this one. i just don’t like it. i feel like both Renee and Jean have wayyy better ships (not to spoil anything, but they both make top 5 in different ships)

i don’t think they’re awful, per se, i just don’t really see the chemistry.

12. Allison/Seth

this is an unpopular opinion, i know. but i’ve read a few “Seth lives” fics that redeem him, so i can’t hate him. i can’t, you can’t make me.

believe me, i don’t like it either, but i don’t run this city, the rats do.

anyway, it’s not awesome and i like Ally’s other options better, but it could be good! it could be great! i read too much redemption fanfic!

11. Kevin/Jeremy

i’ll be honest, it’s not my favorite to read when Jean is also in a fic, but if we’re talking in general?

i adore. fics where Kev is falling all over himself trying to talk to Jer are my bread. and. fucking. butter. quicksand has destroyed me. absolutely ruined me.

10. Aaron/Katelyn

starting off the top ten with one of my favorite minor characters ever, this ship is up here because i love Kate so much.

i read too much fanfiction, i know, but i just think she’s so cool?

honestly, i really don’t think Aaron deserves her. she’s that cool. i love her so much. that’s my lady. my babygirl. simply adore.

9. Abby/Wymack/Betsy

i like this one, i really do. all the Fox parents together? it’s perfect. i love it. enough said.

8. Kevin/Allison

listen. i’ve said i didn’t get it before, but honestly? i change my mind. i like this one. i like it a lot.

their personalities would mesh so well. they’re both dramatic, they’d be the funniest fucking couple in the world. i like it a lot.

7. Abby/Wymack

it’s a classic. i ship it, you ship it, the Foxes ship it too. we all ship it. they’re made for each other, and that’s all i have to say.

6. Matt/Dan

if you don’t like this one, you’re lying. they are. the definition. of love.

they’re so cute? so cute? i have no words?

your honor, i love them.

top five time!!

5. Nicky/Erik

god, these two.

if you know me at all, you know i have a soft spot for Nicky. i relate to his story so much, and i hate how dirty Nora did him.

but god, these two. they are love. they are perfect.

i have no words. i just love them so much

4. Kevin/Aaron

i love this one. you know i love this one. everyone knows i love this one.

they’re both assholes, and they’re both hurt in different ways, and i love when they heal together. when they help each other and lean on each other and just- ugh.

i like watching them heal, and i like watching them do it together. (plus best friend’s brother anyone?? a classic trope)

3. Renee/Allison

i love them so much. i love them so much.

they balance each other out so well? they’re so perfect for each other?

also, we need more wlw couples in media in general, and especially in this series.

i love them so much.

2. Jean/Jeremy

you know. you know i love this one (thank you Hoax, and thank you gus_47. you have ruined my sleep schedule and i have never been happier)

grumpyxsunshine, guys. healing together. i love when people heal together. i love it

also, round of applause to us in the fandom for creating an incredibly popular ship between two people who literally never interact in canon. we did that. i love that for us.

and now, for #1.

1. Andrew/Neil

they are love. they. are. love.

it’s a classic but it’s perfect, and i love them so much. no i will not elaborate (this time)

well! thank you for reading, start a (friendly) fight with me if you want, and drink some water

hugs and kisses <3

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the-s-exy-squad · 10 months

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I have so many headcanons about all for the game and the parts of everyone’s lives that weren’t discussed in depth. Also a few oc/canon character interactions yk. (Another post bc I am not adding it to this today)

To start off, things about canon characters.

I don’t think the entire reason Neil stayed was bc Andrew and Exy. I think he decided at some point whether it be subconsciously or not that even if it results in death, he wanted to help the people who treated him the best. He wanted to make sure that they were better so that he’d have the comfort of knowing that in his last moments when his dad finally caught up to him. He was the foxes team captain and lead most of the practices until he left palmetto and got signed to a pro team with Andrew. They lived together and everything.

Nicky still have spurts of depressive episodes around thanksgiving for sure and during random times bc he feels guilty. Andrew wouldn’t have been there if he didn’t ask Neil to get him to go. Andrew snaps at him once about how it isn’t his fault and he didn’t hand him on a silver plater to drake and that even though he wanted him to go, it wasn’t like he KNEW. Which would also mark the first time Andrew openly talks about the shit drake did to him. He eventually goes back to Germany but makes sure to stay in contact with everyone so he doesn’t miss them too much and can make sure they’re staying out of trouble.

Andrew gets better. He still struggles with his feeling and emotional control but it’s gotten to where he knows his limits and the little tells that his body gives him in regards to what he needs to do to calm down. Mostly includes alone time with Neil and Neil touching his shoulders or hair. I also like to believe that one day he forces himself to budge on his touch boundaries. They start off small like one of Neil’s hands on his arm and when he gains a positive association (Neil) with that touch they do another. I also like to think that he goes back to criminal Justice and gets a career as a social services worker or juvenile court lawyer. He wouldn’t want any kid to get some shitty ruling like he had with the meds and he’d be trying everything he can to ensure it doesn’t go that way bc fuck he knows those meds didn’t do shit but make him find stupid shit funny.

Kevin goes to pro obviously and that’s his entire life. He gets traded to a team and agrees to go because it’s the same city Aaron is a doctor in. He missed his college team and despite how he disregarded their well-being over exy, he hopes they’re doing good. He and Neil still stay in contact and occasionally taunt each other on social media that the fans go WILD for. Andrew rarely pops in with some embarrassingly clumsy thing Kevin did in college or a picture of him half asleep during a practice HE scheduled and the fans eat it up.

Aaron leaves the state and goes to a city that was hiring for doctors. During his intern/probationary period, he would work 3- 12 hour shifts a week and usually pick some up as well because he didn’t like having entirely empty days. When Kevin moved to that city to play exy Asron debated letting him stay in his apartment bc he’d have social interaction and he closer to someone on the team again. I read in a fic once and I absolutely love this idea: Neil is still working on fixing their relationship by making them have calls. I edited it a little to be at least 10 minutes once a week instead of however long once a month.

I think Matt would (since he majored in business administration) just go get a job at some big corporate business of some sort. He’d be the funny work friend guy and a lot of people would ask questions about college and how he and the team get during the whole thing with the ravens to which he’d laugh and say something light hearted about the situation. Even though they asked, they still treated him great and never brought up his life before palmetto.

Renee on god I love this so much. Since she’s adopted, I think she’d start a summer camp for kids in foster care and adopted kids so they didn’t feel alone. I feel like it would be the same way a Christian summer camp is but that wouldn’t be the priority at all. She’d mention it a few times as camp Dean and they’d pray before meals (if kids didn’t want to partake that was entirely fine), but the main thing for the camp is to be able to feel less alone and gain some friendships through exy and religion just like she was. I love this idea sm and it is entirely based off a camp I went to when my dad got full custody of me that was entirely for kids in bad homes or in distaste/was in distaste and adopted.

I think Dan starts her own little league exy team and would take the team to the camp. I just don’t see her slipping out on letting her team go to a camp that’s p much CENTERED around Exy but also super fun and nice and also missing out of her friends.

I believe Allison would also work at camp with Renee bc she thinks that if there’s support at a younger age, kids won’t turn to drugs. When the camp isn’t open, She runs a non profit organization for helping families with struggling kids to work through finding ways to support them. (She would very clearly state she is not a psychologist but she does have a thing for helping people see things through their kids eyes and emotions) she runs a small fashion and clothes/accessories business that she uses for funding the non profit that allows for more people to have a chance at getting assistance through her or other programs. A lot of the kids she works with through her non profit go to Renee’s camp since she can send a majority of them through her business profit. The ones she doesn’t send have stated their stance on it and would rather not go. (Usually it was for it being too overstimulated and/or anxiety about being away from home or with a bunch of strangers).

I DEFINITELY want to believe that since Exy is one of the main topics of this camp, Kevin, Neil and the rest of team go visit for a few summers when they can. Matt would even save up his vacation days so he could go. It’s like a annual reunion with the team (Nicky would call and be on call with them every second he isn’t working or something if he can’t go back to the states to actually be there). All the kids that knew of exy previously would be jaw dropped that the entire team that beat the ravens were standing in front of them.

As for Seth, I think he didn’t cross over yk. I think he decided to stick it out until his found family was happy so he can say he’s seen them happy before he goes to the after life. I think he’s been with them since his death and the beginning broke him. Seeing Allison miserable and so broken. I guess he just wanted closure on their closure. Seeing everyone together and smiling as they played Exy with kids left him feeling genuine joy her never thought he would. They were still foxes, the disfunctional, and emotionally stunted college kids that he knew, but they were happy.

This doesn’t really fit into the the previously stated ones but I think when his old teammates going to interviews he fucks around behind them bc cmon. He would. He’s dead nobody’s gonna see him 😂 and always adds in his own two sense about the situation. He’s also joked several times about his death bc what’s gonna happen? Ghost therapy?

#yes these were thought abt for MONTHS #I think Neil and Andrew would also brin King and Sir as esa/mascots for the camp #I refuse to accept anything that counters these in canon as canon #aftg headcanons #After canon aftg #aftg #aftg foxes

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a-chaotic-being-that-reads · 2 years

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pjo + aftg crossover thoughts time!!

Percy and Neil would either immediately start fighting or making out (platonically) when meeting. I do not know which. It's a 50/50 chance.

PERCY/ANNABETH + MATT/DAN DOUBLE DATES

Andrew would be so fascinated by Annabeth. They'd get on so well. Like the way he does with Renee (I think that's the correct spelling but it's 1 am and I haven't read read aftg properly)

will would appreciate Aaron's help around the infirmary so god damn much because you know nico isn't actually doing anything when he's there

NICO DOES THAT THING THAT HE DOES IN LITERALLY EVERY OTHER SOLANGELO FIC AND HE SUMMONS A SKELETON KITTEN AND IT LOVES ANDREW SO MUCH

and andrew loves it

the Piper/Allison potential omg. NO THE RACHEL/PIPER/ALLISON FRIENDSHIP WHAT THE FUCK

Wymack and Mr d would get on so much and Chiron would hate it bc he's a little bitch. he'd be all like "well I thought I was gonna FINALLY have someone to talk too about dealing with troubled kids but I guess not then" *dramatic sigh as they ignore him*

Speaking of troubled kids. think of the recruiting opportunities for the foxes at chb. They're all mostly fit and sporty and active and all from messed up homes.

ALSO. IMAGINE THE TROUBLE PERCY AND NEIL WOULD DO TOGETHER

they'd get killed for their collective ability to run their mouths and have zero critical thinking before doing something

honestly. For someone who very much so hates crossover fics. i sure do talk to you a lot about them. I'm declaring myself king of pjo crossovers where nothing actually happens they all just become friends.

..........I should go to bed

lemme get this straight: YOU CREATED THIS SHIT LONG POST AT 1 AM????

bitch how-

AnYwayS Imma ignore that fact for a bit to say "wow" to this post

cause WOW-

no but neil and percy would make out just to make andrew and annabeth jealous cause they're them-

no for real I agree annabeth would totally understand him whereas percy + andrew's first encounter would probably be similar to carter and percy's meeting??

YES YES THE KITTEN FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM (i think?? my mind is in shambles right now so i have no idea if that was the place)

oh my gosh.

THAT FRIENDSHIP IS EVERYTHING.

but but

imagine Thalia meeting Allison and they're like, "bitch yes we're the same but we're also different let's be fucking bitches"

i strongly believe that some of the foxes are actually demigods just very distantly related.

FOR REAL FOR REAL

no but chiron would be so fucking fed up with them burning down one of the cabins or irritating the ant monsters in the forest and they start attacking the camp or some shit-

....is that not the best kind of crossover?? plus that's the only kinda crossover I know the fuck-

YES??? gee did that enter your mind just now??

#long posts

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truthfortruth · 4 months

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Aftg Rdr2 AU

This absolutely unhinged au came to me last night, and now I have to share it. I realized as I was matching characters to rdr2 characters that in this au, the Van der Lindes are significantly less doomed.

Foxes(Van der Lindes)

Wymack- Dutch, this is easy, though he would be much less unhinged than the real dutch

Andrew- Arthur, andrew can draw in this au! Arthur just makes so much sense for andrew at his core. I think instead of improperly prescribed drugs, the focus can just be on alcoholism and the debts.

Aaron- John, if andrew is arthur, aaronn is john. I think their pact would have to be different and they might just be adopted siblings in this au. Adding the arthur-john sibling dynamic to the minyard twins would be really fun

Katelyn- Abigail, because aaron is john, katelyn has to be abigail roberts. Jack exists in this au as their son. Love an au where katelyn and andrew are besties

Nicky- Josiah Trelawney, I originally went with Javier for him, but trelawney works so much better! He's gay, he has a ring of 'men down on their luck', he has a secret family in saint denis (Erik!); it's perfect!

Renee- Charles, renee was difficult, but I chose charles because of how he is torn between his identities. She would obviously not be christian, and I think it would be more of her discovering more about her identity as she connects with the Wapiti and her indigenous heritage. Also, Charles is Arthur's bestie (and more in canon if you believe in charthur, though that would not be a factor here)

Bee- Hosea, this was chosen mostly because of bee's relationship to andrew, but also she'd be so interesting as hosea. We'd really get to see her mischievious side :)

Abby- Grimshaw, it fits best for her role. I think this au implies a polycule between abby, wymack, and bee

Dan- Tilly, Tilly is sister to Arthur and I think her personality is in line with Dan

Matt- Lenny, he's the closest fit, but it's a bit of a stretch. I don't know how lenny's backstory would mesh with Matt's. If anyone has a better match, let me know.

Allison- Karen, they are loud, confident, and bitchy. It's an easy match

Seth- Sean, this is less a personality match and more of a role in the story match. Sean's relationship with Karen meshes on well to Allison and Seth too.

Kevin- the one character who doesn't have a match to an rdr2 character. I do have an idea about how he fits in with Kayleigh Day and Riko though

Neil- Sadie, this is another character where the role in the story matches well more than personality. I think he and mary would have been at that homestead and mary was killed there. His father is Nathan Bronte, crime lord and puppetmaster of the political leaders in saint denis

Kayleigh Day- Annabelle, annabelle has zero backstory other than that she died, similar to Kayleigh Day! I think she was involved in the creation of both the foxes and the o'driscoll(ravens in this au) gangs and Testsuji killed her sparking the rivalry between the gangs. Kevin was raised with the O'driscolls and fled to the foxes when Riko broke his shooting hand

Antagonists:

Tetsuji and Riko run the O'driscolls and work with both the Brontes (wesninskis) and Ichirou moriyama, who is a wealthy businessman in blackwater with ties to both the criminal world and the pinkertons. Also a friend of Leviticus Cornwall.

Jean was stolen as compensation from some poor family and is considered riko's property

Misc Characters(chosen for what was funniest):

Roland- Fence in Emerald

Jeremy Knox- Albert Mason

I'm having a lot of fun piecing this au together and I might turn it into a fic if it gets that far!

#all for the game #rdr2 #this is absolutely unhinged but I'm having so much fun combining two special interests #definitely an au for me and me alone

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lesbiansoncaffiene · 2 years

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AFTG As Shit Me And My Friends Have Said (pt. 2)

Y’all like the last one so much (it’s my most liked post as of rn so thank you!!) that we now have a part dos

Also features quotes from my gov class and from my (twin) brother

Matt: I am very happy to declare pawnshops as “EBay irl”

Dan: dear god

——————————————

5:24am

*Nicky named the chat Toothpaste Man Fanclub*

5:25am

*Andrew left the chat*

—————————————

Renee: I cannot believe I have to say this, you’re not allowed to cut into a cake baby

Aaron, his scalpel ready: goddamit

——————————

Matt, drunk: Me when I cut off my ear for the lols

——————————

The AFTG fandom: Gender, in the state of this nation? I think the fuck not

——————————

Wymack: Wow I have a lot of white in my beard

Abby: It’s because you’re old

Kevin: Well the alternative is dead so..

Wymack and Abby: ..

——————————

Aaron, to Katelyn, who always falls asleep during Marvel movies: do you wanna watch a Marvel movie?

Katelyn: *snorts*

——————————

Seth: What if you’re pregnant and go to China, and your baby is born while you’re in China

Renee: You can’t fly in a plane during your 3rd trimester of pregnancy

Seth: Yea but what if you drove

*disappointed sighs*

———————

Kevin: omg I found a picture of my best friend in PreK

Kevin: The one who told me Satan was gonna eat me

Matt: ….I’m sorry what-

————————

Nicky: My only goal in life is to piss off my ancestors by going to the spice section in the grocery store

————————

Kevin: someone tried to mansplain on me in my history class, I hope they know that I’m a self-diagnosed autistic bisexual with a god complex who is going to prove him wrong

Dan: yep time to call Betsy

——————————

Jean: listen I’m aroace but if Mothman ever wanted to fuck…..

Laila: shut uP, ShuT UP-

——————————

Aaron: we have to take care of these egg baby’s in my healthcare class *shows eggs with goggly eyes attached*

Andrew, looking it dead in the eyes: eat it. Eat the baby

——————————

Nicky *on the bus*: SCOOBY DOOBY DOO

Matt: WHERE ARE YOU

Neil, from the back: emotional hell

——————————

Jeremy *about some gossip*: omg what a plot twist

Alvarez: that only happens in books

Jeremy: shhh I’m projecting

��—————————

Renee: wow, that was great parallel parking, you must have aced your drivers test

Andrew: my what

——————————

*3am on a school night*

Dan: Don’t you think it’s weird that getting lab work done is basically walking into the doctors office and asking them to take your life juice?

Allison: if you don’t shut up and go to sleep I’m calling Wymack

————————

Neil: I hope Wymack lets me make Jack do the little lad dance for missing practice

Seth: that would bring all the serotonin that I’m missing back into my life tbh

————————

Andrew: I’m a very slow reader, I should not start a 10K fic at 2:35am

Neil: You going to anyway aren’t you

————————

Allison *showing Renee a meme*: Why was my first thought when I saw this ‘I should send this to my therapist’

Renee: Because you’re mentally ill, babe

———————

Andrew: Why make good decisions when arson is an option?

Aaron: Is arson… not a good decision?

———————

Nicky: okay so how do we let Andrew know that we know he’s gay. I have a few ideas-

Renee: well, we should be subtle-

Nicky, already pulling out a full on rainbow costume: do we /have/ to?

———————

Allison: is my straightener in your room?

Neil: I don’t think anything in my room is straight but you can check

———————

Andrew *on a rant about Adam Levine’s voice*: it sounds like he’s been hit in the balls

Wymack, who woke up two minutes ago when he thought someone was breaking into his house at 3:38am: what the fuck

————-

Neil: My lungs thought it would be funky and fresh to stop working when it is in fact not funky nor fresh

Matt: You just had an asthma attack, can you shut up-

———————

Aaron: I have therapy today

Kevin, trying to be supportive: that’s hot

————————

Renee: I love you but your pizza cutting skills are enough to ward off God

Dan, who cut the pizza into squares: yeah that’s fair

——-

Dedicated to Jess who read these and approved 100% *sorta*

——-

Part 3? Possibly?? If y’all like it???

——-

Part 1:

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sugaroto · 2 years

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So I've been thinking about this for a while,

I wanna put aftg characters into greek school categories

**Lemme explain real quick for the non Greeks, in 2nd grade of High school you have to choose between two paths Θεωρητική (Theoretical) and Θετική (Positive) [idk why it's called that]

So in the theoretical path you have 3 extra ancient Greek classes and 2 Latin that the positive kids don't

In the positive path you have 3 extra math and 2 physics classes

Positive kids keep insisting that the path class is completely different from what we do in class but us theoretical kids still try to figure out where we're gonna use numbers since we supposedly no longer need them**

So yeah I wanna put the aftg characters into Theoretical and Positive

First we have Kevin Day, who is a known history nerd, he would obviously choose the theoretical path that has extra history in the 3rd year

Then Aaron Minyard, as far as I know he wants to be a doctor right? Well in the 3rd year there are more paths (im not completely sure about all of them since I'm in 2nd year but-) to get into the "Health"(biology/chemistry etc that path is obviously for docs) path you need to go through the Positive one the year before (I think you can change paths too but it's easier that way)

Nicky would go to theoretical, 1 gays cant do math, 2 I saw a meme describing theoretical as "🏳️‍🌈", 3 he would read the "Kritias x Thiramenis" fic on wattpad (about the 2 dudes who were fighting all year long at the book of the 1st year) #enemiestolovers, 4 he would make fun of Mantitheus (my dude was talking in 2 paragraphs about his hair pls-), 5 he would probably complain (like my positive friend did) about how the introduction of Latin talks about the biggest poets of all the time and then the 1st poem you read is Ovidius crying and talking about himself in 3rd person

Idk what Andrew's relationship with math is but he has a perfect memory for theoretical classes

Neil.... I don't what the f*ck Neil would do. He loves math but he speaks like 5 languages and that's what theoretical is about. He'd probably choose Positive tho, since he enjoys math (wtf bro) and Latin and ancient Greek aren't languages he would use.

I think in 3rd year there's a path called "Economics" which is supposed to be the easiest out of the rest so I kinda feel Seth would've chosen that (I think you can get into it whatever you chose the 2nd year)

And I've no idea what the rest of the upperclassmen would choose but let's give it a go...

So Allison would be theoretical but one of the girls that are living it, like she would have 24 different highlighters and colorful notes like those⬇️(I didn't even read what it says,I'm pointing out the aesthetic) and maybe she would've number her highlighters like I did who knows (unfortunately I don't have pretty notes but you get the point)

Dan wants to be a coach right? I guess she'd be great at PE but, path? Idk maybe theoretical? (I know dead language sound difficult but it's a class you can get through? Somehow, well history in 3rd year is hell, but... idk... ) now that I thought about it idk.....

And Matt? I've no idea... maybe Economics with Seth?

Damn Neil why couldn't you pay more attention at their classes you're making my life difficult

And I almost forgot Renee, but she would be with Allison having aesthetic notes too. She looks like the girls that do. And she would be great at the classes too.

Edit: @winterxjxsmine pointed out that Seth would've gone to an "Επαλ"(Epal) (according to Google translate that's a) Vocational High School (I thought it was professional high school, but anyway)

That's the easiest choice. No paths. Easy classes and you're supposed to be teached about more in-hand jobs

However, Epals do have a bad reputation (that would fit Seth tbh)

Like you ask your mom if you can go to the epal cause it's easier and she says no cause she doesn't want you doing drugs

Epals are known for the "Epaliotes" (that's what the students that go there are called) that show up at school with a GLX (I don't even know what that is but I suppose it's a motorcycle) smoking in class, exchanging drugs with the teachers or threating them with guns (Ok,ok some are jokes taken too far but you get the point)

Some pics/memes about Epal I found on Google:

I can't find "Γελ" (general high school, you know the one with the paths) memes to compare cause it's spelled like "Gel" and Google thinks I'm talking about that thing you put in your hair

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altruistic-meme · 3 years

Text

AFTG fic recs

Hi all! I just wanted to share some of my all-time favorite fanfics for aftg, for no real reason other than I want more people to read them and send their love to the authors :)

Under a readmore because it got. A little long. But please enjoy!

WIPs

Dangerous Habits by LovelyLittleGrim ( @lovelylittlegrim )

Andrew has run into problems while on undercover jobs before. None of those problems were anything like the troublesome runaway that is one Nathaniel Wesninski

Aka: the fic where Andrew is undercover as a hitman for hire and Neil is the guy who hires him. Things get complicated from there.

Undercover Andrew? BAMF Neil? Hitman AU?? Absolutely. I’m in love. The story is just *chef kisses*

Chapters: 8/9

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, past rape/non-con, Drake Spear (who is his own warning), Butcher Neil,

Negotiations by elesary ( @elesary )

This is what Andrew Minyard knows: his brother is dead, killed by a petty Raven prince who has never learned to keep his hands off of Andrew's things. His brother's daughters are his responsibility, a job that is made infinitely harder when their shitty grandparents want custody. Nathaniel Wesninski is a liar, but he might be the only way to avenge Aaron and protect his nieces. All Andrew has to do is watch Nathaniels - Neil's- back as he carves out his own life and identity from everyone who thinks they own him.

Andrew has always been good at upholding his end of the bargain, has he finally found someone willing to uphold theirs?

This fic has got me fucked up, honestly. I’m emotional over it. It’s fantastic.

Chapters: 11/?

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, attempted sexual assault, Butcher Neil,

the upper hand by plantelty ( @plantelty )

Shortly after losing his mother, Neil arrives in the small town of Palmetto, South Carolina, alone in the world and with an impossible plan to carry through.

At the age of eighteen, Andrew ends up helping a boy stage his own death.

Just two fucked up boys learning to trust each other during the course of a summer, but also: multiple references to songs, twinyard angst (Nicky tries his best), The Plotting of Neil Josten's Gruesome Demise, and shit hitting the fan in a variety of ugly ways!

The cliffhanger has got me on the edge of my seat, but it is 100% worth the read and the wait for the last chapter!!

Chapters: 10/11

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Canon typical violence,

The Butcher’s House by Fire_Bear ( @fire-bear )

Andrew thought something was odd with the house the Foxes had to move into after their Athletes' House had been burnt down. He just wasn't prepared for what was actually wrong with it.

For this was a house full of monsters.

Ghost story! Ghost story! Ghost story! I literally think about this fic every other day, it’s fantastic.

Chapters: 6/?

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: character death (major or minor is unclear), injuries,

Promise of an Unbroken Boy by elesary ( @elesary )

Neil is caught by the police with Mary's burning body and is sent to juvie in Oakland where he is assigned to share a cell with one Andrew Doe, who promises him Exy, if only Neil will tell him all of his secrets. With no access to tinted contacts and hair dye, he agrees, it's only a matter of time until he's killed after all. What does he have to lose?

But Andrew's found someone who knows what a promise means, and he'll be damned if he lets that go without a fight.

Ngl this is definitely in my very top favorites -- I LOVE the idea of Neil and Andrew meeting pre-series, and this fic just BLEW my expectations for that plotline out of the waters

Chapters: 14/?

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Underage, attempted rape/non-con, canon-typical violence,

~~~~~~~~~

Complete

The Nameless Monster by kanekicure ( @kanekicure )

Nathaniel Wesninski wants nothing more than to see his father dead and buried. But when his father promises him the title of The Butcher, Nathaniel quickly realizes that his destiny of following in his father's footsteps is closer than ever before.

So of course, when he gets forced to go undercover for the Baltimore police, he starts seeing what living could truly be.

Andrew Minyard is a newly recruited police officer for the worst precinct in Baltimore, who is dedicated on hunting down the notorious Butcher and his unnamed underling. But when Neil Josten is thrown into his midst as his civilian consultant; he starts to realize some things don't quite appear as they seem.

I love the story telling -- the secret identities, the plotting, everything.

Chapters: 14/14

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Butcher Neil, implied/referenced rape/non-con, implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced slef-harm (I believe there is a scene that is somewhat detailed on this subject), some characters also get drugged at one point,

that’s just something people say by nanatsuyu ( @theoctopusnods )

Neil makes the mistake of stealing the wrong car. Andrew makes the mistake of offering a ride to a liar. They both make the mistake of turning the whole affair into a road trip ‘home.’

Gonna be honest; the summary does not give a big idea as to what is in store and i am SO GLAD I gave this one a try so i’m telling you that you will be too

Chapters: 24/24

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, panic attacks (somewhat grahic descriptions of)

The Story After You by kanekicure ( @kanekicure )

Andrew Minyard does not understand how Riko Moriyama landed Neil Wesninski.

How the snot-nosed, small dick, rich brat, second son of the Moriyama family who also just so happened to own the largest EXY gear and merchandiser company in the world “RAVEN” - had landed smart mouthed, quick witted, stupidly blue eyed Wesninski, was beyond him. Well, unless Wesninski was a gold digger, but Andrew doubted it.

Or; how Andrew Minyard says he doesn't get into messy situations, until he meets Neil and suddenly he is in the most messiest possible situation ever imagined in his life - oh and also, he might be becoming a homewrecker.

Ok I am behind bc I haven’t read the final chapter of this but!! I love the story, it’s very emotional and moving, and I love the characterization in it.

Chapters: 10/10

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Abusive Riko/Neil, abusive relationship, implied/referenced rape/non-con, implied/reference child abuse, implied/referenced self-harm, graphic depictions of violence, some descriptions of injuries/scarring,

This Complicated Life by 5a5b5p5 ( @andrewsbutterflyknife )

“This is exactly why I don’t want you and Andrew to meet,” Aaron says grumpily. “You two would get along far too well.”

Neil grins. “I just like pissing you off,” he says, “It’s not my fault your brother does such a good job at it.”

—

Neil doesn’t expect much from his Sophomore year of college, but when he becomes a waiter at the Palmetto Bistro, his life gets a whole lot more interesting. As it turns out, maintaining friendships new and old as well as navigating an interesting relationship with the head chef of the restaurant—who just so happens to be his best friend’s twin brother—is a lot more complicated than he’d thought it would be.

A much more light-hearted fic than most of the others! Includes a secret relationship, and also chef Andrew >>

Chapters: 10/10

Rating: Mature

Warnings:

When I Fade, Keep Me in Your Memory by demesh

Neil Josten has a secret: he can flicker out of existence.

He can vanish with the turn of a thought; click his fingers, and suddenly he’s not there anymore. Invisible and untouchable, he becomes a living ghost.

Having promised his mother never to let his ability go, Neil teeters the line between faded and real, a person and an echo. He can’t risk getting hurt.

But then, one day, someone sees him when they shouldn’t be able to.

A (flower-shop) AU about how a faded and lonely Neil finds it in him to become someone real.

Another fic that I need to catch up on ;; but anyway it’s amazing and I love Neil’s ability in it, it’s so well explained and well-written about

Chapters: 12/12

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: mentions of past abuse, panic attacks

12 Ways to Woo a Minyard by NikNak22 ( @knickknacksandallthat )

Neil is a math nerd who, by a stroke of dumb luck, falls into a group of friends that are the closest thing to family he’s ever had. So, when he tells them about his new mysterious crush, he shouldn’t be surprised how immediately they come up with a plan to help win them over. One they insist that if Neil follows it, he’ll have them falling for him in no time. But things don’t always go to plan – or do they?

Nicky wants to set him up with someone else. Matt and Jeremy are confused but supportive. Allison and Seth offer lewd suggestions, while Dan does her best to keep everyone in line. Jean and Renee know something, Aaron doesn’t really care, and Kevin just wants Neil to join the lacrosse team.

But one thing’s for certain – whether Neil’s successful or not, everyone’s got money riding on this.

The romance-trope-filled fanfic of my dreams. Sometimes you just need a fic of pure joy -- this is that fic.

Chapters: 14/14

Rating: Mature

Warnings:

finders keepers by moonix ( @annawrites )

Andrew meets Nathaniel through a scavenger hunt app. As their team takes part in a hunt that sends each of them to creepy, abandoned places alone to solve clues and gain points, Andrew and Nathaniel begin a little treasure hunt of their own. The anonymity of getting to know each other in small increments, never meeting face-to-face, allows them a level of intimacy neither are used to. Meanwhile Renee’s friend Neil is acting weird whenever Andrew shows up…

This was one of the first fics I read for aftg!! And BOY what a great start!! All of the little pieces and parts that work together, and just the scavenger hunt itself is fantastic! (I also REALLY wanna know if there is an app like this out there because I would be down to do that)

Chapters: 8/8

Rating: Mature

Warnings: (these all come from the author:) “mentions of historical abuse in a mental asylum, mentions of suicide, mentions of murder and kidnapping, morbid facts, creepy abandoned places including a haunted house at a theme park with disturbing rooms, special appearance of a creepy clown doll, fatphobia and some introspection on body image/complicated relationship with food, mention of self harm scars”

-----

Scared to Live (But I’m Scared to Die) by Major_816 ( @major816 )

Neil Josten goes to the Nest for Andrew, but he stays for a lot more.

"I'm sorry Coach," he muttered.

"For what kid?" Wymack shifted. "You've got to give me something to work with here."

Wymack watched the thin traces of sorrow as paper exchanged hands and he was looking down at a contract with the Edgar Allan Raven's.

"I signed them Coach, I'm sorry."

The one where Neil doesn't come back from Winter Break.

It is VERY dark, and is one of very few fics that I have actually been almost unable to read one of the scenes, so DEFINITELY pay attention to the warnings -- both these, and the ones provided for each individual chapter. I did go through the fic to collect as many warnings as I could find in the chapter warnings, but be sure to take care of yourself.

Chapters: 36/36

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: rape/non-con elements, implied/referenced rape/non-con, discussions of rape/non-con, canon-typical violence, graphic descritions, physical abuse, panic attacks, descriptions of injuries (often graphic), psychological warfare, dissociating, psychological torture, physical torture, use of knives, alcoholism/alcohol abuse, pain-induced delirium, rape/non-con, emotional self-separation, suicidal ideation/thoughts of suicide, emotional distress (which sums up the whole fic and also me while reading it), handcuffs/chains used as restraints, referenced/implied abuse towards animals, vomitting, begging, excessive use of painkillers, drowning, waterboarding, physical restraint, mutilation of an animal, mild hallucinations, non-con drugging, sleep deprivation, starvation, humiliation, the Butcher,

Also one of the first fics I read and 100% my absolute favorite fic!!! Which is adfjhsd a little worrying, considering, but it is what it is. Anyway. This fic absolutely wrecked me, and while it is technically complete, there is a sequel in the works! So! But I am so so excited for the sequel, and I am working on rereading this. It’s amazing. 1000/10.

#also!! btw i would love if anyone has more fic recs >> just an fyi >>#idk if demesh doesn't have a tumblr but i couldn't find one :(#also major816 for some reason i can never tag and idk why #aftg #all for the game #andreil #the foxhole court #tfc #andrew minyard #neil josten #fic rec #rec list

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aftgficrec · 2 years

Note

Omg i finally caught u open! I’m searching for this one fic where neil is having a bad day and is constantly absent minded. The foxes are having dinner at abby’s house for thanksgiving or a party of some sort. Nicky accidentally bumps into a knife and instead of letting it drop neil catches it skillfully and everyone just stares. I’m pretty sure i read it from one of your posts but I lost it 😭

Some asks are immediately familiar, and we say ‘oh, it’s this!’ S has an amazing memory and will pull fic names from the ether like vintage Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent.

This time we zeroed in on two possibilities, but in one of them Neil’s injured by the falling blade. I’m recommending two more knife catching fics — because who doesn’t love this trope?? — and here’s our latest roundup of Neil with knife skills. -A

arrivals/departures by @triquetrine [Tumblr Fic, 5656 Words, 2020]

An explosion burst across the screen. Cars flipped and people dove for cover. The hero, undeterred, ran into the wreckage. Neil tilted his head slightly to the side, frowning. He didn’t get why everything had to be so dramatic, but he supposed that was just how movies worked.

tw: violence, tw: gun violence

Those That Broke Us by writethroughthenight [Rated T, 6652 Words, Complete, 2016]

"Neil doesn't talk about his mom and doesn't think about what she'd do to him if she saw him now. He has a family, he has Exy, and he has Andrew. He has more than enough, more than he ever could have dreamed of.

Neil doesn't talk about his mom until a warm fall day outside the locker room, waiting for the start of their game with his team and family. It's a place that she doesn't belong, where not even a memory of her belongs, but she wriggles her way in and takes root in his chest."

Neil reveals, piece by piece, what life with his mom was like.

tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: dissociation, tw: blood

Neil catches Andrew’s knife

Deadly Affections by NikNak22 [Rated T, 12287 Words, Complete, 2020]

Neil Josten is not soft- has never been in fact. But when an unintended comment from one of the Foxes throws Neil for a loop, he finds himself reminding them why no one should think of him in that way. But why is Andrew suddenly so distant? And what happens when all of these reminders of his past start to catch up with him?

Aka: all the times Neil proved he was a badass, and Andrew reminds him he's an idiot.

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced rape/non con, tw: gun violence, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: alcohol, tw: blood, tw: car accident, tw: dissociation

12 Ways to Woo a Minyard by NikNak22 [Rated M, 69292 Words, Complete, 2021]

But one thing’s for certain – whether Neil’s successful or not, everyone’s got money riding on this.

tw: panic attacks, tw: bullying, tw: negative self-talk, tw: negative body image, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: homophobia, tw: violence, tw: blood, tw: depression

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that-intp-vampire · 2 years

Text

I posted 950 times in 2021

39 posts created (4%)

911 posts reblogged (96%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 23.4 posts.

I added 233 tags in 2021

#light queues the darkness - 57 posts

#light - 52 posts

#light the vampire - 35 posts

#light annoys everyone - 32 posts

#light has talked - 19 posts

#light wishes you to have a horrible time - 8 posts

#someone asked light something - 8 posts

#i light the fire to get you ash - 8 posts

#light likes talking with tan - 7 posts

#someone tagged light!!!!! - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 104 characters

#light is gretchen wieners but she would have ratted regina out if the whole burn book thing had happened

My Top Posts in 2021

I'm done with aftg and-

(spoilers ahead)

Hello??? How can you leave us with an ending like that-

I like this Mafia shit-

Andriel

Ok but in the end I feel sad for Riko-

KEVIN IS A QUEEN NICE ONE TAN

BURN BOOK WHERE TF ARE YOU??

STUART STUART STUART

BUTCHER GOT BUTCHERED MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-

DAN DAN DAN DAN

RENEE RENEE RENEE RENEE

ALLISON ALLISON ALLISON-

MATT'S MOM>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MATT GIVES HEAVY TOLYA VIBES DON'T YOU AGREE-

I JUST IMAGINED " KEVIN WYMACK" I'M SORRY THAT'S HILARIOUS-

KEVIN ILLY MY COLD COLD BABY-

KEVIN PLAYS WITH HIS LEFT HAND AAAAAAHHHHH-

KEVIN DEVELOPING A BIG MOUTH LIKE NEIL-

I STAND FOR BISEXUAL! KEVIN

JEREMY IS SOOOO NICE I SHIP HIM WITH KEVIN BYE-

bitches yes-

@drunk-on-inejs-laughter @kazoo-the-demjin @iambecomeyourvillain @kitandtyarelife @stay-because-now-you-have-a-home @ any single one of you who read aftg-

18 notes • Posted 2021-10-30 08:38:18 GMT

Please-

Andrew is a simp-

And damn Nicky stop being so Jesper-y

Andrew is the KNIFE WIFE

@kitandtyarelife @iambecomeyourvillain @kazoo-the-demjin @drunk-on-inejs-laughter @anyone else who read aftg-

23 notes • Posted 2021-10-22 12:43:00 GMT

*clears throat* So.....um this happened 5 days back but I was busy but uhh here we are?

Light's 69 Follower Celebration

So ummm here's what I planned:

🧛‍♀️- You'll get my positive and negative thoughts on you (works off anon)

🎶- I'll assign you a song (If you're on anon give me a description)

❤️- Fmk :)

🩸- Cyms :)

🐧- Edits (I'm not good with GIFs though, will be uploaded on my edits blog, I'll answer with the post link, can be requested for any non-problematic fandom, aesthetic)

🐻‍❄️- Request a fanfic/fic (Goes on my writeblr, same process as edits)

uhhh tags??

@ashisdeadand-dying

@herondalesunsetcurve @drunk-on-inejs-laughter @kazoo-the-demjin @ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog @andaz-e-seher @stay-because-now-you-have-a-home @suvarnarxpa @sankta-chaosqueen @sammiewswift @thehalfbloodfreak @ethereal-puppet @carstairrs @wafflesandschemingfaces @weirdoismymiddlename @lynx-the-treemoss @inureflower @nnazyalensky @moobrvoobl-moobmoob-oobmpoobroom @iambecomeyourvillain @investmentofmyheart @pureheroiines @thebonecarver @anyone I missed tell me-

31 notes • Posted 2021-11-20 06:16:12 GMT

Yeah I know this is sudden but...look I'm exhausted. I feel so overwhelming and I have started having meltdowns. I never have meltdowns. And it's all getting so melodramatic that I think I'll be taking a break from Discord and Tumblr for idk how long. I might look active but I may just be talking calling a friend or it might be an accidental open.

Since you found this, ig the time I gave myself to reconsider has ended and I need the break. Uhhh tagging some people because sure why not?

@suvarnarxpa @matthias-is-alive @ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog @adams-left-hand @neil-perry-the-platypus @kazoo-the-demjin @nightshade3465 @moobrvoobl-moobmoob-oobmpoobroom

@sankta-chaosqueen

Take care guys

41 notes • Posted 2021-09-01 18:31:11 GMT

MARRIAGE OF TAN AND SUNNY

@kazoo-the-demjin@herondalesunsetcurve

Walk down the isle

*starts throwing books, Indian aunties get SJM hardcover mwahahaha*

96 notes • Posted 2021-10-01 16:55:04 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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abraxos-is-toothless · 3 years

Text

healing and feeling

My @aftgexchange gift for @bayta-darell !!! I’m so sorry that this is late, I went to post at the beginning of the posting week but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I’ve spent the week doing a rewrite. There was more of it (Kevin and Neil having a discussion) but I just wanted you to get something rather than nothing. I really hope you like it. A general foxes type fic where they do some healing. Canon warnings apply- mentioned not detailed.

---------

Twenty minutes. Twenty whole minutes it took of the foxes remaining silent for Betsy Dobson to realise she’d have to make the first move if she wanted to make any progress at all here today.

“David first suggested this for you all once before and you refused, which I respected. I will not force anyone to talk until they are ready. But you’re all here today and I feel I should ask the nine of you, why now?”

Aaron watched as everyone not-so-subtly shifted their eyes to look at Josten who opened his mouth as if to speak before closing it again. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them from where he sat on the floor by Andrew’s chair. There was a space next to Boyd on the plush yellow couch but well...

“This is the second time this week Neil has almost stabbed one of us.” Ah, Reynolds. Always making sure she got straight to the point. Matt glared at her, muscled arms crossed over his chest.

“I said it was fine, I startled him-”

“It damn well isn’t fine, Matt! Were you not a boxer with some good reflexes, he could have done some serious damage.”

Aaron watched them argue back and forth until Betsy politely cleared her throat, her calm, soothing smile never once leaving her face. He admired the woman, he truly did; he couldn’t imagine dealing with people’s shit all day and managing to still look sane and collected. His own mind was enough of an asshole as it was. “I’m glad that we’ve gotten to why you’re all here, but I’d like for us to remain civil in these sessions. Talking about such things can be straining and I want you to remember you’re a team, that you’re friends.” Matt nodded and threw Neil a small smile and Allison simply flicked her hand, bright red nails catching in the sunlight streaming through the window. Aaron caught Neil bringing a hand up to rub at the scarring on his face but then Andrew’s hand came down to hold the back of his neck, thumb rubbing back and forth carefully and the tension Neil was holding in his shoulders eased up. His twin met his stare without faltering and simply raised a pale brow at him, as if daring him to comment. Aaron kept his mouth shut and turned back to Betsy. “Now Neil, would you be able to tell us what might have brought on these outbursts of violence?”

“I’ve always been this way, thanks to my mother.” Aaron saw Andrew’s jaw clench at the mention of Mary Wesninski; he knew well enough how his brother felt about abusive mothers. “But this is different. We lost our most recent game. We’re falling behind a little and if we don’t win the next game, we don’t get to progress any further.” Aaron couldn’t stop his mouth from moving, even if he had tried to.

“You’re telling me that Boyd almost got stabbed because we lost a game? Are you serious right now? It’s not the end of the fucking world!”

“It is for me!” He stopped and said nothing more, turning his face away from them all, ignoring their looks of confusion. He knew Josten loved Exy as much as Kevin, but he didn’t think such a thing was enough to stab someone over. Kevin sighed, eyes closing before he put his head in his hands. Neil’s jaw clenched and he stood abruptly, walking towards the door, Andrew following just a few seconds after. Betsy, bless her heart, she tried to reason with two of the most stubborn beings on the planet.

“Neil, maybe you’re not quite ready to talk, but we’ve only just-”

“I apologise, Dr. Dobson, but I can’t talk with you in the room. Anything regarding that part of my life cannot be discussed outside of the people who already know. I do not wish to implicate you.” The woman wrote a few things down; the scratch of the pen was loud to Aaron’s ears.

“Very well, then. Let David know when you’re all ready to come back, and we’ll schedule something between classes and practice.” Neil and Andrew disappeared out of the door and Aaron and the rest were quick to follow, but not before Renee, ever the peacekeeper, gave the woman a gentle smile and told her they’d see her next week. As if she alone could wrangle them all into another session. He made his way over to the mas with Nicky and Kevin, where Neil and Andrew waited, sharing a cigarette between them, and the upperclassmen left ahead of them in Matt’s truck. No one spoke until they were all in the car and on the move, and of course, it was Kevin.

“This isn’t a good idea.” Nicky leaned across the seats and over Aaron to bat at Kevin with one hand, all the while texting Erik on his phone in the other.

“Shut up. You don’t think that anything is ever a good idea unless it’s one of your ideas.”

“Neil I really don’t-”

“Enough, Kevin. I’m telling them and that’s final. I should have told them all anyway.” Kevin sat back with a huff and Aaron rolled his eyes at the idiot’s dramatics, staring out the window for the rest of the unusually quiet drive back to fox tower, except for the clicking of Nicky’s phone and the quiet giggles he would let out at whatever he and his fiancé were talking about. When they got there, Andrew found the closest parking spot to the building that he could, because his brother preferred not to do any more exercise than being an Exy player forced him to. The others hadn’t waited for them, not that Aaron thought they would have, but he thought at least Allison would have been standing at the doors so Neil couldn’t slip away and get out of telling them anything.

They hadn’t, however, stopped themselves from taking over Aaron’s old dorm room he shared with the rest of the ‘monsters’ before he moved to Matt’s. Dan and Matt were sitting together on the couch, the former tucked into the latter’s side, Allison was lounging in a beanbag while she inspected her nails and Renee was sitting on the floor in front of the small and worn table, sorting Nicky’s nail polishes into some sort of order. “Now that you’re here,” Allison said without even bothering to glance in their direction, “let’s get to this secret you’ve been keeping from us, shall we?” Aaron watched Andrew move over to the window to sit on the sill, lighting up another cigarette. He knew there was no need to worry about the smoke alarm because Andrew had taken it out from the first day they moved into the room. It was clear he wasn’t bothered by any of this, at least Aaron didn’t think he was, which means either he knew what Neil was going to tell them all, or he had guessed early on and hadn’t pushed for a definite answer just yet.

Kevin sat down in the other bean bag, although with how tall he was, he seemed to dwarf the bag. The sight was odd, considering that caused him to slouch more than a chair or the couch would have, something he would moan at the rest of them for when they did it. Nicky sat himself next to Renee, gushing over how she’d organised all of his colours, nodding so enthusiastically that his messy brown curls bobbed with the movement. Aaron went to lean against the wall closest to Andrew, who didn’t acknowledge him other than glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. They were better than they were before, Aaron actually managed to have whole conversations with his brother now and he was no longer hostile towards Katelyn, letting her come along sometimes when they went to Sweeties and Eden’s. He knew it would take time to have some sort of a stable relationship with Andrew but they were trying, and that was okay for now.

Neil stood in front of them all, hands in the PSU foxes hoodie he wore, barely any emotion on his face, as he always was. No wonder he and Andrew worked so well together, Aaron thought, internally rolling his eyes. He got straight to it. “After Nathan was killed, all his debts with the Moriyamas fell onto me. The money my mother took when she decided that we should run belonged to them. In Ichirou’s eyes, they still own Kevin and Jean too.”

“What does this have to do with you turning into a murderous little rage machine?” Matt rolled his eyes at Allison.

“I made a deal with Ichirou.” Dan dropped her head into her hands while Nicky made a choked off sound. Aaron was tired of Josten making dumb decisions and not telling them. This is what happened when the fucking idiot ended up at Baltimore. “I wanted something and to get him to give in to that, I said he could have the majority of our earnings when we went pro.”

“Wait.” Neil turned his head towards Kevin, who was outwardly confused now. “You said he wanted a take of what we earned, that I knew. But you didn’t say it was in exchange for something, what did he give you?”

“I wanted Riko dealt with and he was.” Aaron’s eyes widened at that, as did the others in the room. Kevin went deathly pale and he stood slowly, looking at Neil as if he didn’t even know him. He opened and closed his mouth several times before he gave up and disappeared to his room without a word. Aaron had a feeling there was a bottle of vodka waiting for him to drown his sorrows in. Allison looked mildly impressed.

“We all knew the suicide story was suspicious, but I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I wanted him to pay for what he did. I walked out of that room and I laughed. But that’s why the nightmares have kicked in and I’ve picked up old habits, like sleeping with a weapon under my pillow. If Ichirou notices any slack, he will kill me.” Aaron looked to Andrew again, and his brother was staring back at Neil, as if waiting for him to fall apart. Dan stood, determination on her face and a fire in her eyes.

“Then we help you stay on top of the game. We’ll fit in an extra practice a week and on the free period you share with Matt, he can discuss drills with you.” Aaron saw Matt smile and nod, receiving a dip of Neil’s head in return. “We’ll tell Coach that we’ll have an evening a week at the court, watching old games and seeing what we can take from them. No one gets to ruin this for you, they don’t get to take anything else.”

Nicky whooped and got up to hug Neil quickly, after he got the consent for one. Aaron wasn’t too happy about all this extra work for a sport he wasn’t even that bothered by, but he supposed he owed Neil this. After all, he was the one, no matter how stupidly he went about it, that finally managed their rag tag group work as a team and to become friends. He brought them together, and so Aaron would do this

So that they could stay together.

~~~~~

They did get better over the weeks, and they won their next game, letting them progress further into this season.

The session with Betsy continued, though progress on that front was slow going to begin with. Neil’s confession had broken the ice, and each of them would discuss assignments they were struggling with or the odd everyday problems life gave you. Betsy never pushed them, allowing them to get used to talking first before she tried diving for issues hidden deeper down.

After a few weeks, Allison discussed her parents when she had gotten a phone call from her mother out of the blue. Apparently, they had started to notice how the foxes were on the up and up, and how much more media attention they were getting. Allison’s mother wanted to use her daughter for her own gain, to get their businesses promoted through the foxes and for Allison to start building their incomes through Exy. Aaron didn’t understand a lot of it, other than that his teammate’s parents were some of the most self centred assholes on the planet. After all this time, they hadn’t gotten in contact with Allison to see how she was or to ask about working on their own family issues, but just to see how they could make life better for them. The blonde had said in the one session that she finally told them where they could stick it, and if they wanted to cut her off from the money they could. If they didn’t want to love her as parents should, then she wanted nothing to do with them.

When Allison ended her rant with the words ‘fuck them’, the foxes repeated them- even Andrew, to everyone’s surprise -loud and clear. Betsy tried to be reprimanding, but Aaron could see she was proud and trying valiantly to not smile with them.

~~~~~

Some months or so after that, Aaron was attending one of his sessions where it was just him and Andrew. It was coming up to a year now since they’d first started these double sessions with Betsy, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit he liked coming to them. Yes, sometimes it was bad and they’d end then arguing heatedly, or sometimes, it would leave them exhausted but content that they were managing to get on to the same page with each other. And other times, well, those times managed to bring their walls crashing down.

Today was one of those times.

“Aaron, you don't look as if you’re well. Is everything alright? If you’re unable to sit through this one, you may go back and rest if you like.” He knew he must look like shit, after the night he’d had with his mind torturing him, but he felt as if this is why he’d been so plagued by nightmares the last few nights. Like Andrew had to know about them.

“Nightmares.” His throat felt raw and scratchy, but he supposed that was normal when you wake yourself up by screaming yourself hoarse.

“Are you able to tell us what they were or about?” He nodded, turning on the couch so he was angled to the left, making it easier for him to look directly at Andrew. His brother seemed unfazed as he usually did, but Aaron thought there was something different about him today, though he didn’t quite know exactly what was different. Maybe he felt like today was going to be better for them, too.

“I thought I was already awake, because I was walking around the house in Columbia. It was too quiet, and the house was dark, and it was almost as if I could feel the shadows closing in around my shoulders.” He breathing became ragged and clenched a fist where his hand rested on his thigh. “I thought I heard glass smash and the sound of a thud, like something had hit the hardwood floor. It was muffled, coming from upstairs so I followed the sounds.” He closed his eyes and swallowed hard; it was like he was back in the nightmare and he couldn’t get out.

“Aaron? Aaron, you can stop if you want to.” He shook his head, feeling part of his hair fall onto his forehead.

“The noise was louder up there, coming from your room.” He opened his eyes again, catching his brother’s gaze, hazel eyes that matched his own. And they knew, they knew where Aaron’s nightmare was leading them, yet he didn’t flinch away. “I opened the door and it was back to that day, and Drake…” Andrew did not outwardly show any reaction to the name of his abuser, though Aaron saw his fingers stray to the edge of his armband. As if it soothed him to know he had a way to keep himself safe. “When I tried to get in there, it was like there was an invisible barrier in front of me. No matter how hard I kept hitting it, it never went away. I kept screaming at you, to look at me, so you’d know I was right there but there was nothing.” His cheeks felt wet and brought a hand up to find that those were tears running down his cheeks.

Andrew’s eyes had widened, and the hand that was holding his armband started to drift towards Aaron, but stopped just shy of making contact. He took a few deep breaths before he felt like he could go on. “I closed my eyes after a while but I didn’t stop trying to get to you. Then all of a sudden I could hear laughing, and when I opened my eyes, I was back in that shitty apartment, before you came and Tilda had locked me in the closet. She had her Junkie friends over doing all sorts of shit, music on as high as possible.” He felt like he could breathe, as though someone kept on piling invisible weights on his chest, one after the other. “I had one toy, a couple of granola bars and a bottle of Gatorade, of all things. No matter how loud I shouted for her, she never came to let me out. I woke up screaming after that, scared Katelyn half to death.” He’d kept his gaze on the floor when talking about his mother, knowing she was a touchy subject between them.

There was a quick tap to his knee and, a bit reluctantly, he lifted his head to look at Andrew again. His brother was breathing a little heavier, and Aaron could see the way his chest moved. There was more emotion on his face than he’d ever seen. When he was on the meds it was different, it was just a constant sort of forced excitement. This was real and this was Andrew. His twin. “I’m going to hug you, yes or no?” Aaron almost choked on air at the words. Words he’d never expected to leave Andrew’s mouth. He saw Betsy falter just a little out of the corner of his eye, her own stalling from where she was writing things down.

“Yes.” Then slowly, carefully, Andrew shifted forward so he could pull Aaron into him. His arms went around Aaron’s back, and he hesitated just a little before doing the same. Their cheeks rested against each other and when Andrew spoke next, Aaron could feel the words against his ear.

“We’re okay, you hear me? Both of us. We’re a little bit broken, but we’re doing okay.” Aaron nodded, taking a stuttered breath. And if the two of them, the same yet not the same, held onto each other for just a little longer then that was just fine.

They were just okay.

---------

Again, I’m sorry about the lateness! Hope you liked it:)) I’m also sorry it’s not as long as it was, but trying to remember everything to rewrite was so difficult.

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danwylds · 4 years

Text

Right okay I never actually got myself to write this fic so have my notes for the fic except I haven’t read through them since June when I wrote them and I refuse to edit anything

Right is bakery au but not

Neil either turned down the offer of exy for the foxes or for coach whatever the fuck his name was

He got caught earlier tho which is . Unfortunate

Stuart still comes in

Maybe I’ll have him move back to Britain for a while? To avoid the moriyamas n stuff

He NEVER misses a match of the ravens/foxes tho

Which leads to him seeing the frankly sickening interview of Kevin and riko

Neil is like yo Stuart let me start smth

Stuart is like Neil the only reason you’d go back to the states right now is if you did smth that you could hide and you can’t do that for shit

So Neil is like yk what I’m gonna find a way bc I’m not letting this kid go through this (Andrews quite into this idea when it’s shared)

So he says yo. Stuart. Uncle. Sir. Let me open a bakery or something in the states

Stuart is like no you fucking idiot

And Neil is like but c o n s i d e r

You can get info or smth

Just have another business in the states yk

AND I’d get out of your hair

And Stuart is like hm okay but you’ve gotta live in a complex I choose for you

And Neil is all only if I can choose where it’s gonna be

It’s a deal

He (very obviously) chooses a place near palmetto

Stuart is tired but is like he’ll be under protection n shit so I guess??? And he’s not stupid enough to start something right. Right.

Wrong.

Anyways.

It’s a bakery that starts out kinda slow

But Neil finds he likes baking and Stuart pays for his nephew to have some sort of normal life so it doesn’t matter too much

Renee starts to frequent it

At first it’s to pick up sweets for Andrew

But eventually she starts bringing Allison on dates there bc they have a cute little seating area (figure where Seth fits in? I think he’ll survive?)

Uhhh what’s a timeline

I think this’ll be around the winter holidays (Jewish neil? Look into it)

So thanksgiving will have happened . I think Andrew agreed to go Not bc he particularly wanted to but bc he cares for Nicky and knows he’ll probably go anyways

Yeah so thanksgiving. h

Andrew JUST got off his drugs and he’s so damn protective of his own that he hardly even leaves their sides

Edens is a def no for em

Meanwhile Neil is tentative friends w Renee who has brought all the upperclassmen there a few times

Allison bullies him for his clothing but it’s okay he deserves it

Renee is sweet and stops em from doing anything too drastic which Neil appreciates

Matt,, my baby,, he’s so happy he just asks Neil about random stuff

Dan is sweet too!!

Seth kinda hates him but Neil hasn’t paid enough attention to return the favor

One day close to the winter banquet the upperclassmen are like yeah Neil we’re gonna go to this thing and it should be really fun!! Oh you know what? Our teammate Nicky needs a date and his cousin doesn’t really like anyone from his class and he’s super fucking crazy abt it so if that doesn’t deter you then you should totally join !

Neil is like oh chance to fuck up Riko? Absolutely I’ll go

ALLISON DRESSES HIM

HE LOOKS SO GOOD

when he and Allison emerge from the girls room Aaron is like Who is that

And Allison is “oh nickys date (:”

Andrew gets twitchy and holds a knife to her throat

Renee is like Andrew I stg get away from my gf and Seth is like manic pixie nightmare fuel I’m gonna beat the shit outta you

And Neil is just like same shit every day I guess

And he’s like so you’re Nicky then? COMPLETELY IGNORING YK. ALL THAT

Andrew is like “he is. Don’t touch him”

And Neil straight up says I don’t think you get to set boundaries for people, actually

And Neil has no idea what the effect is of that on Andrew but it’s enough to make him glare

Which is terrifying to everyone but Neil bc again. Dumbass

Anyways Neil very purposely hooks his arm through nickys and they head off to the bus

Dunno what happens there but I’ll figure it out

RIKOOO ROASTTT **AIRHORNNNNSSS**

It’s glorious

Kevin and riko are like who the FUCK are you

And Neil is all wouldn’t you like to know weather boy

They relocate and they’re all like . Ah. That’s why you and Renee get along

It’s kinda funny ngl

Andrew doesn’t think so but fuck him

I think that they head back to the bus when this shit I’d over and wymack is like excuse me what the fuck

And Aaron in german is like thank god he never joined the team bc I could not handle more of that

And Neil in German is like would you believe me I’d I told you I was almost signed

And Andrew is like I fucking Knew it I hate it here

N e ways things go back to normal for the most part

The upperclassmen still show up

Seth has a bit of grudging respect for him

It’s later that all the foxes are getting drunk from a lose that Renee calls him and is like Neil please can I usher them inside for a bit I think they need a place to chill so we don’t get yelled at for being too loud in the dorms

And Neil is like uhh sure why not

It turns out it was not just the upperclassmen

He gives them all water bottles and whatever and lets them lounge around

Gives em some food which they pay for w the coachs card

Uhhh idk time passes and some of the foxes pass out so neil is like y’all can chill in the break room? They have couches

He stays out there bc the bakery is still open

Andrew comes out like hey fuck you but also can I get more of those pastries

Idk I want them to be in love already

Uhh yeah I think they don’t say anything until

“what happened to your face”

“A truth for a truth?”

“If you must insist”

“Fine, my father tried to kill me”

Andrew raises his eyebrow but neils like bitch you said a truth for a truth it’s your turn now

Neil asks him why he wears arm bands

We get the whole knives and scars

They’re quiet again

I don’t know man let them be in love

Uhhh okay

I think Andrew will tell neil like

“[code]”

“Huh”

“That’s the code for the court, Kevin practices at night.”

Neil is like how would you know I’d enjoy playing exy? And andrew is like dipshit that’s how we met

I’m running out of ideas oh no

Maybe they play a couple of night game things

Exchange a few more truths

OHHH OKAY COOL SO THEN NEIL CAN GO TO EDENS W THEM THE WHOLE “DOESNT MEAN I WOULDNT BLOW YOU” THING CAN STILL HAPPEN

sick okay! They start dating but since Baltimore happened earlier they never actually come out to the rest of the team

I like to think when they play against the ravens again neils like haha babe you can have as many sweets as you want if you shut down the goal

Also Neil says it’s hot which is like a big thing to persuade Andrew but shhhhh

Yeah the foxes win they celebrate by getting drunk and they all show up at neils like hello again (:

Same thing happens but this time andrew and Neil are together and basically are doing nothing but making out

At least the store is closed

Nicky comes out and just YELLS

YALLLLLL COME LOOK @ THIS SHIT

Allison wins SO much money

Yeah idk how to end this but happily ever after :3

If you want me to turn this into a fic I will!

#aftg #andrew minyard #all for the game #neil josten #aaron minyard #kevin day #nicky hemmick #renee walker #idk i thought it was cute #i do really love this idea!#matt boyd #dan wilds #allison reynolds #seth gordon #if you know me irl do not interact #i cant handle the embarrassment #embarassment*

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thegreenerartist · 4 years

Text

Random hc’s I have for aftg?

Allison and Seth have a mutual forever break up but they maintain a best friend, brother and sister relationship

Renison <333

The Foxes all pick up mannerisms from one another (like Dan doing a two-fingered salute or Andrew tucking his hair behind his ear when it gets longer or when Renee,,, ok you get the point)

Kevin and Jean talk through their problems with one another. Kevin and Andrew talk through their problems with one another.

MINYARD-JOSTEN RIVALRY FICS ARE MY LIFE LINE (as well as time travel fix its and Raven! Neil’s) IF YOU MAKE THEM PLS HMU!

Andrew listens to my favorite bands/singers (yes I hc him liking Autoheart, Ricky Montgomery and MARINA what about it)

They are the embodiment of the “the LGBT friendship circle doesn’t kick out the cishets. The cishets just realize they aren’t cishet”

Neil wears dresses and Renee wears suits to the banquets. But plot twist, Neil still looks badass and he verbally eviscerates anyone who comments (no more soft sub gnc Neil on my dash). And Renee? Still very beautiful! She will cut you and you’d thank her. She’s still the same Renee, just not in a dress :) (no more compromising character’s personality based on their clothing! We’re in 2020 <3)

Matt makes the most kickass pancakes. Idk where that came from but he seems like he would be amazing at making pancakes (Nicky begs to differ after all the practice he had making pancakes for the twinyards)

On the topic of Matt and Nicky, THEY’RE BFFS NO YOU CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND

Everyone tried getting every Fox couple to sing this

Kareoke-style

Needless to say, it started as a competition, as a bet, and ended with money passed around, multiple broken bottles and a drunk mini fight

Dan and Andrew became reluctant buddies after their shared frustration with the newest striker and their love of books <333

One amazing skit that happened was Andrew and Dan thinking Neil and Matt were cheating on them,,, with each other (since they always disappeared together) but Neil and Matt were sneaking off together to see if Andrew and Dan were cheating on them,,,, with each other

Neil: “I thought you were gay, Drew’,,,” Andrew: “and I thought you were demi,,,”

Andrew: “Go and run off with Boyd. Wilds and I have decided we don’t need anymore men in our lives. Our books are enough to satisfy the holes in our hearts”

Matt: “Dan wait, I can explain-“

Dan: “No Matt,,, we can’t go on like this.”

*cue dramatic crying*

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palmett-hoes · 4 years

Text

this was originally meant to be a response/follow-up to @i-did 's post about race in the aftg fandom (that you should read). i ran it by him first and asked permission to add, but then we decided it was too long so i should make it its own post

---

i want to talk about fandom's take on the twins' race because it's rather glaring in the fandom that andrew (and then aaron by necessity) are often portrayed as the only white characters on the team and i have to question why?

there's nothing in the backstories that would mean writing them as POC would fling them headlong into offensive stereotypes that the fandom hasn't bypassed over to make another fox a POC.

they have a history of addiction? but it's okay for matt and seth to be addicts and be brown.

they're violent? but it's okay for renee to be non-white and a former gang member.

they're blond and 'pale'¹? but allison can be a WOC and bleach her hair without saying it explicitly? renee can have white rainbow hair no matter the AU? neil can be a blue-eyed redhead and still be drawn darker skinned half the time?

'pale' in and of itself is a very vague word that's only brought up in the context of comparison to notably dark skinned nicky. it's completely relative, and multi-racial families where people look wildly different from each other exist (pretty commonly). or if you're prescriptivist how about the multiple ways a POC can still be a natural blond including but not limited to pigmentation conditions or being mixed race? similarly, i think less than a quarter of the FCs i've seen for andrew over the years have been natural blonds themselves.

so if our holdups aren't about racial stereotyping and they aren't about the incredibly vague character descriptions, then why are the twins always white when it's approached as a good thing that no one else is? when i've seen multiple different posts lauding the fandom for adding diversity where nora didn't write it, except for here?

to be completely, bluntly honest, it's because we as a majority-white fandom are uncomfortable when we are not the central characters. or maybe we are uncomfortable when people of color ARE the central characters. i don't think there's much of a difference.

we are comfortable writing and drawing nicky, the upperclassmen, then kevin (in that order) as poc because, simply, we use them as background characters. they are rarely the main characters of fics, or have their own storylines in them; it all revolves around andreil.

additionally, while i've used neil up to now as an example of the fandom being OKAY with writing POC, let's also admit that it's an,, imperfect representation, as he will often be racially ambiguous with no explicit ethnicity, he will be the lightest skinned of the foxes of color, and he will still have eurocentric features. also it's genuinely a toss up as to whether he's drawn brown or not, there are still plenty of white neils, much more than there are white dans and matts and renees (not an attack on anyone who draws white neils, simply a statement) and FCs and edits of him still tend to be white people.

he's a bit of a schrödinger's person of color, not really any one thing or another, very few people being willing to take a hard stance on him and do the work of taking that decision under consideration when writing and drawing him.

(quick shout-out here to @hi-raethia for making content about an explicitly chinese interpretation of neil).

(additionally, to be as clear about my intended message as possible, this isn't a statement on the politics of passing or undermining the ethnicities of lightskinned poc, this is about a lack of detail being put into making a character a character of color in any thoughtful, meaningful, or significant way)

so when i talk about the centralization of white people in fandom, neil gets to be included, perhaps with a footnote indicating that this is somewhat of a more complicated statement than it is with lily-white andrew minyard.

nevertheless, i feel comfortable saying that 75% of fandom content revolves around andrew and neil, major exceptions only being jerejean which are often stand-alone from the foxes, and the rising branch of kevaaron shippers. however both of those ships are actually subject to this exact same criticism, as ships between a a flat-out white character and a dubiously "non-white" character who can also be white sometimes. it varies.

conspicuously, content about the UPPERCLASSMEN tends to revolve around andrew and neil.

fics where the upperclassmen are the pov character are often outside-perspective fics on andreil.

HC posts about the upperclassmen, especially matt, will devote major portions to his time spent helping, hanging with, and thinking about andrew and/or neil.

secondary ships like danmatt or renison tend to be just that, secondary ships moving in the background of andreil-focused works. they get more of a,,, scenic shout-out than a storyline

it is only comfortable for us to write these characters as characters of color if they revolve entirely around white characters

so after all that? what should we do, as a white-majority fandom? what should YOU, specifically, as a white person, do?

i hate to talk about a problem without also talking about solutions, and i try not to carp on something i don't want to be an active part of fixing. public criticism without an action plan only leads to hurt feelings and guilt, and that's never my intention when bringing this up. my goal is to address a general problem, not anyone specific's personal failings.

in all honesty leaning completely into all of the foxes being people of color, though i think neat and i certainly support, is not the best solution, and would be more of a hollow action than anything else without addressing the underlying problems that lead to the development of this dynamic.

i think the best thing to do would be to 1. do some research on writing poc, usually by following some writing-specific blogs like @writingwithcolor or @pocinmymedia . look up the 'black best friend' trope and really spend some time tjinking about it. spend an hour seeking out a random assortment of blogs that interest you that are also run by people of color. checking through tags like drawingwhileblack or blacktober may be good kickoff points.

tumblr is great because with an hour of active work to find these blogs, you can then go months passively seeing content from them. try not to interact, actually, simply watch and listen and become familiar with general trends and concerns in different communities. remember that every blog is run by an individual person, not an elected representative of their race, and always keep this in mind.

you are teaching YOURSELF that people of color are individuals, they have interests and inner lives that don't revolve around whiteness, that don't revolve around YOU

at the same time, 2. challenge yourself as a creator to make more content about the upperclassmen, specifically. make art about them doing stuff as a group separate from neil and andrew's group. find a compilation of 'draw the squad' memes and draw/tag the upperclassmen only. make jokes where they talk to each other. write some meta about their character motivations. write a fic where andreil isn't even mentioned, it can be super short, you can even use a prompt generator.

as a reader, reread their backstories in the extra content. reread son nefes. use ao3's filtering system to read some fics about JUST the upperclassmen, few and far apart though they may be.

if we've decided that the upperclassmen are people of color then lean into that, and learn to CARE about them on their own merit, because they are the most underutilized characters in the fandom. we need to make content centralized around them to combat the fact that fandom centralizes whiteness

#txt #fandom #the foxes #dan wilds #matt boyd #renee walker #seth gordon #allison reynolds #my posts

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writingpuddle · 3 years

Note

Hello congrats on 500 followers! Do you think you would be interested in writing something about the foxes camping? Maybe as a team bonding trip or a reunion? Honestly whatever you feel like I love reading your fics and head cannons! They never fail to cheer me up!

ah anon, you get me. read it on ao3

Moonlight

The smell of campfire smoke saturated the night air. Neil’s soles scuffed against the gravel on the road as he followed the others, the breeze sending a zing of energy through him. The two apple ciders he’d drunk earlier glowed in his stomach like sunshine.

“No, I’m sure it was this way,” Nicky said, his voice too loud and blurry with drink.

“Oh my god, Nicky,” Allison said. “You couldn’t find the bathroom in daylight.”

“The map is confusing!” Nicky protested. “Oh look! The playground!”

Nicky’s shadow darted off the road towards the shadowy structure. The others laughed, stumbling after him. Matt tripped over the wooden frame and nearly hit the ground, but Dan was there to catch him. A second later he gasped softly, dashing towards a tiny wooden horse on a spring. He folded his giant frame down onto the horse and rocked wildly back and forth. Neil had to stifle a laugh at the ridiculous sight.

“This is stupid,” Kevin said peevishly. “You are acting like children.”

Dan and Renee exchanged a glance, then grabbed him by his elbows, dragging him over to a brightly coloured playground merry-go-round. He shouted in protest as Dan trapped him in one of the segments while Renee starting the whole thing spinning around.

“Neeeeeil,” Nicky called. “Teeter totter, now!”

“Don’t use him,” Allison said derisively. “He’s too small to balance.”

“That’s the point! I bet I can launch him clear off the—Neil, where are you going?”

The field sloped away beneath the park, the slightly overgrown grass dampening Neil’s shoes. Leaves fluttered in the breeze. Glimmers of moonlight off the lake peeked between the branches.

“Neil, don’t you dare—”

Neil’s feet had already carried him down the slope a few steps, the allure of the water drawing him away. At the sound of Nicky’s voice, he glanced over his shoulder. Nicky started towards him, and all the buzzing in Neil’s chest lit up at once. He took off at a sprint, laughter frothing in his chest. The grass under his feet was springy and damp and the playground dropped away behind him.

He ducked between the trunks of the trees. The lake loomed in front of him and his feet ripped up the grass as he sprinted towards the beach. The air whistled and he tipped his head up to the sky. His hair blew back from his face, the wind whipping moisture from his eyes.

A body barrelled into him from the side. He went down with a shout, tumbling across the grass and coming to a halt laying on his back. Allison rolled a few feet further, breathless with laughter. “Brat,” she gasped. Her hair had blown free of its braided crown and hung messily over her face.

Neil snickered, dropping his head back against the grass. The stars overhead twinkled. The Foxes had planned this camping trip impromptu after getting booted from the last round of championships; the only person who had bailed was Aaron claiming “midterms” and “assignments” as his excuse. As if they didn’t all have plenty of those they were ignoring. Neil couldn’t say he was that disappointed at Aaron’s absence. Their relationship had gotten less tense over the past year, but they were a long way from friends.

The sounds of running feet and panting approached. Neil didn’t move, stretching his arms out in the grass. Vaguely, he knew the looseness in his limbs was at least partly alcohol, but right then it didn’t matter.

“Neil—you—rat—bastard—” Nicky gasped, stumbling to a stop and doubling over, planting his hands on his knees.

“Why?” Matt whined, leaning against a tree.

Neil shrugged, the grass beneath him tickling his neck when he moved. “I just felt like running.”

“Bitch,” Dan said, without heat as she caught up. A rather green-looking Kevin came up behind her and sat heavily in the grass.

Allison rolled over, a smug look on her face. “Alright, losers,” she said. “You know what’s next.”

“What now?” Kevin said despondently.

Allison looked at the lake, then looked back at them significantly.

“Ally, babe, I love you, but I am too drunk to read your mind right now,” Dan said.

“We’re going skinny-dipping, morons,” Allison said.

“It’s freezing out!” Nicky protested. Matt nodded earnestly in agreement.

“So you’re gonna have to be quick,” Allison said loftily.

“My gay ass was not meant to—"

“Shh!” Allison waved a finger, shushing them. “Nope! Y’all made me sleep in a tent, this is the price. Shut up, Kevin.”

“I didn’t even say anything that time,” Kevin muttered.

“We could’ve rented trailers, but no, we had to do this authentically—”

“Fine, fine!” Dan said. “Come on Matt, I need your furnace-butt next to me if I’m not gonna freeze to death.”

“But Dan—”

“You heard her,” Dan said, and her expression had gone from resigned to devilish now that she’d switched sides. “We’re getting the authentic camping experience. Up, on your feet, all of you.”

Neil rolled over onto his stomach, contemplating the silvery ripples on the lake. It really did look cold.

A shoe nudged his side. “Up you get, Josten,” Allison said. She’d already peeled her shirt off and stood there in only a lacy bra and her skin-tight jeans. Even Kevin was reluctantly stripping down.

“It’s dark out, and nobody is going to see you,” Allison said. “Shy doesn’t suit you.”

Neil poked her ankle with his finger and she jumped. “Fuck, ice fingers,” she snapped. “Get up and get changed, asshole.”

Neil considered pestering her a little more, but the others were already stripping down, so he pushed himself to his feet and ducked behind a tree.

After about a minute he heard Matt hollering, followed by Allison shouting, “Wait, you idiot, we have to go toget—”

“LEROY JENKINS!” Matt bellowed, and then a tremendous splash broke the night. Dan cackled as Matt came up gasping.

Neil leaned out from his hiding place just in time to see Matt’s bare ass poke out of the water before he dove down under again. Renee and Dan had already waded in to their hips, and Allison jabbed her finger at Kevin to make him move. He scrunched his shoulders as he pushed the water out in front of him before all of their attention was seized by Matt surfacing with a great spout of water.

They shrieked as it sprayed over the lot of them, thoroughly distracted. Neil watched as Renee slid smoothly into the water, her moonlit hair glinting before she slipped beneath the surface. A second later a shivering Nicky yelped and vanished underwater, coming up spluttering while Renee laughed like chiming bells.

A fond smile quirked Neil’s lips. He watched their antics for a minute longer before collecting up all of their discarded clothes and heading back up towards the campsite. He was halfway up the field when he heard an outraged shout behind him, and he broke into a trot, the clothes firmly tucked under his elbow.

They had needed two campsites between the eight of them; the fire still burned in the main one, shielded by Matt’s oversized truck. A single figure sat next to it with a flask in one hand. His blond hair shimmered, golden in the firelight.

Andrew looked up as Neil approached, but didn’t say anything. Neil dropped the pile of clothes next to his camp chair and dropped into the chair next to Andrew with a contented sigh.

Andrew flicked his gaze down to the clothing and back at Neil in a wordless question. Neil linked his pinky finger with Andrew’s. “They went swimming,” he said.

A single smooth eyebrow raised, and Neil couldn’t help smirking. He let his gaze drift back to the fire. Andrew had kept it well-fed in their absence, stoking it up to a lively blaze. His shoes were smudged with ash from where he kept propping them up to warm his feet.

“This was a good idea,” Neil said. “This was fun.”

The fire crackling was the only response he got. “I guess you’re not really into fun, anyway,” Neil jabbed.

Andrew’s hand shifted, turning Neil’s over and brushing away the bits of vegetation clinging to it. Neil was pretty sure he’d be picking grass out of his hair until they got back to Palmetto.

“I,” Andrew started, then stopped, a frown forming between his eyebrows. Neil’s attention sharpened at Andrew’s tone, his lighthearted smile fading. Andrew’s frustration was nearly palpable.

“I don’t know how,” Andrew said finally, tucking his chin and staring into the fire. His hand tightened on Neil’s, calloused and warm from being tucked in his pockets.

Neil’s throat tightened a little. Andrew’s control had always been his armour; he didn’t know how to set it down without being afraid. They’d found places where the walls could give, now, but Neil didn’t think they would ever really come down entirely. He dragged his thumb across Andrew’s knuckles, pulling them up and kissing the back of his hand. Andrew watched him with hooded eyes.

“That’s alright,” he said. “Someone needs to keep the fire going.”

Andrew let out a long breath through his nose, shooting Neil an unimpressed look, but Neil thought his shoulders relaxed a little, too and counted that as a win. He took a deep breath through his nose, tipping his head back to contemplate the thin patch of stars visible between the trees above them. “Alcohol, helps, though,” he said lightly.

Andrew snorted. “Lightweight.”

A flash of pale skin dashed past the entrance to the campsite.

Neil bit back a smile as a muffled curse came from behind the shadows, then Allison’s head poked up above the bed of the truck. Her bare shoulders were tense and scrunched up halfway to her ears, her arms tightly folded over her chest.

“Hey, Ally,” Neil said. “You look cold.”

“You slimy little son of a bitch,” she hissed. “Give me the car keys, now.”

Neil snickered and dug the keys out of Matt’s pants. He tossed them over the truck to her and she vanished around the other side. He heard the passenger door open and some shuffling, but he didn’t look up.

Allison emerged wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt Neil thought he remembered Seth wearing around the dorm. Her hair hung like seaweed in straggly tatters and she squeezed a towel around it, wringing out the worst of the water.

She jabbed a taloned finger at him. “That shows me for trying to be considerate,” she said. “I should’ve known better than to take my eyes off you.”

“Yeah, you should’ve,” Neil said. He nudged the pile of clothes with his toe. “Gonna go rescue the others now?”

She regarded the pile for a long moment, then shrugged and threw herself down in the nearest chair.

“They can walk,” she said, and grabbed a bag of marshmallows.

#thanks anon!#prompt fills #camping #aftg #tfc #andreil #the foxes #aftg fic #my writing #moonlight #i havent abandoned my prompt fills i promise i am just very slow #Anonymous

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