#and her not knowing anything about exy is why Andrew likes her so much

[jtl-fics]

Math Nerd AU

I’ve got quite a few time travel AFTG fics banging around in my head but by far the funniest one is this:

Neil dies in 40s to a drunk driver after a respectable professional Exy career, two olympic golds, a very successful and healthy relationship, a steady post-injury career as Ichirou Moriyama’s preferred accountant (kept himself squeaky clean) and years to get his shit together. He wakes up back early on into his runaway life with his mom and is immediately like “oh no I’m NOT doing this shit again.”

He makes a lot of changes, mostly for Andrew’s benefit but also gets Mary to the Hatfords, and gets himself set up in Ichirou’s confidence again because man he’s gonna play Exy again but Ichirou was actually a very solid boss if you’re competent and Neil is very good at managing finances.

Ichirou had plans for Neil. He’s waiting for his father to pass before he brings Neil fully out in the open as one of his since his father is still demanding that the Wesninski heir be given over to his brother and Ichirou is not about to let the only accountant who has ever gotten him a completely legal tax refund go to the NEST. He’s also not about to let the Butcher near Neil so he puts Neil off in the middle of nowhere with a steady paycheck and orders to graduate highschool. Neil picks Millport.

Hernandez still notices that no one ever comes to Neil’s games and that the kid is driven but doesn’t make any real attachments with his teammates despite Millport becoming the Arizona State Champs the year Neil leads the team. So he sends tapes to Wymack and Kevin. Neil is surprised to see them since he’d planned on never getting anywhere near Andrew after he set things up for the blond. (Killed Drake, paid some people to legally adopt and look after Andrew, got CPS to investigate Tilda properly, paid off the right people so that the couple who took in Andrew took in Aaron too, and paid for them to move out to SC (it’s close to the twins remaining family) and then Tilda managed to die on her own from an OD and the twins got the money without Andrew needing to have any part in it.)

Neil ends up signing for the Foxes despite Ichirou having plans for Neil to start attending University of Texas (Great Accounting Program) in the fall. Neil of course completely fails to tell Ichirou this since Ichirou hadn’t said anything beyond finishing highschool and if he had plans for Neil then he should have told him.

Neil, the utterly self-sufficient adult that he is, proceeds to just be the most bizarre stabilizing force the foxes have ever encountered. He knows all about their shit, their issues, their triggers, and how to help them. The Foxes all kind of crave that stability and Neil can take whatever they say unflinchingly. He’ll give as good as he gets but he also makes team breakfast pretty much every morning after he finishes his absurdly early run. Kevin is in heaven with his Striker pick (Neil in this thing is so incredibly boring and well-adjusted that Andrew just cannot believe that he’s a spy so Kevin and Neil start night practices almost immediately & Neil shows Kevin drills that he and Future!Kevin had made and Kevin is just like “I am so good at picking talent. I am a god.”)

The 3 things that make this so funny (at least to me) is:

1. All the Foxes just like not understanding why the hell Neil is a Fox (They’re glad he’s there but it feels like a clerical error that such a nice well-adjusted guy is on the team) until they see him without a shirt and until immediately after the Kathy Ferdinand show where Ichirou shows up and is like “Palmetto doesn’t even have a nationally ranked accounting program!? Also what if this sport gives you a TBI and you can’t do my taxes anymore????”

2. Andrew is just inexplicably and infuriatingly smitten, enamored, crushing, heart-eyes for this BORING ASS MATH NERD. Neil’s sense of humor was honed against Andrew so he’s got like a direct line to Andrew’s funny bone. He never has never once for even a second confused Aaron and Andrew (and they’re a lot closer in this fic because there’s no Tilda angst and the ‘parents’ handled getting Aaron’s rehabilitation handled off the books so he could have a future in medicine.) Even after the whole mob accountant reveal Andrew is seething because even with that Neil is just incredibly well-adjusted and normal despite all the insane shit going on with him. He propositions Neil when Neil mentions having a past male significant other but Neil has the AUDACITY to get all sad-eyed and say that he can’t be with Andrew because his heart still belongs to some CHUMP in his past. (Cue Current!Andrew having an unknowing bitter hatred / rivalry of Future!Andrew and swearing that he’ll woo Neil away from a guy who’s probably in the mob or shitty because Andrew hasn’t seen any evidence of Neil’s SO reaching out to him but he knows Neil isn’t lying)

3. One of the reasons that Andrew is inexplicably and infuriatingly attracted / smitten to Neil is that Future!Andrew did not really spend a lot of time in the future after Neil died and he’s slowly seeping through until Neil’s confrontation with his dad and then Future!Andrew fully wakes up and he’s PISSED because at least in the original timeline Andrew was inexplicably and infuriatingly attracted to the mysterious freshmen who was hiding his appearance, looked like he was seconds away from running across the country at all times, and had a whole aura of danger around him. Now he’s revealed that he’d have fallen for Neil no matter what because he fell for Neil when he was just a BORING ASS MATH NERD and WORST OF ALL Neil went and made him jealous of HIMSELF because Neil didn’t want to cheat on Andrew with ANDREW. What an asshole. He’s gotta kiss his entire face off and tell him that he’s never allowed to cross a street without Andrew again because if a drunk driver is going to take one of them out then it’s going to take BOTH of them out.

#AFTG #All For The Game #Andreil #AFTG fic #Fic Idea #Neil is so happy that Andrew is here #Andrew has never been more embarrassed in his entire fucking life #He was jealous of HIMSELF #They get together immediately and act like an ancient married couple. #Andrew rocks Neil's entire world the second he's out of the hospital #math nerd au #In a Masterpost #Math Nerd - Initial Plot - 01

[josyards]

AFTG Instagram HCS

Andrew

Andrew has social media, but it's a faceless 'user929485829394' kind of account (or aminyard maybe... but nobody thinks it's him) that has no followers because he just goes on there to keep up to date w stuff.

All the foxes find it eventually because someone (Nicky...) saw it open on his phone & the fans are so confused why the foxes all follow this random anon account

(Andrew deletes his account the second people start to realise who the account belongs to and makes a new one that only Neil knows about)

(Nobody questions why Neil follows a random anon account that is private because it's so... Neil of him. So nobody realises that it's Andrew this time around.)

With his only audience as Neil, Andrew posts a little. Not a lot. But it's nice, Neil thinks, when he opens Instagram to see that default icon with the ring around it.

Neil

Neil doesn't really post much but when he does it's of other ppl (primarily Allison and Matt but sometimes there is a 'soft launch' of Andrew which the goalie says he hates but never tells him to delete), his account is mainly centred around exy -- all his stories are exy related etc.

Sometimes he tags Kevin in random shit that makes no sense to anyone but them. One time he reposted this random french tumblr post about mafia relations and tagged Kevin and Kevin was hysterical because what the fuck are you doing neil are you trying to get us killed.

Funnily, his pfp is a photo of Kevin smashed drunk because he found it really funny and Kevin ends up blocking Neil on social media when he refused to change it (and because of the shit he gets tagged in).

Kevin

Kevin keeps his Instagram very professional. He posts his magazine photoshoots & has stupid shit like clips of him on Kathy's show saying. "Thank you for having me @kathy, it was a pleasure." and the fans EAT IT UP.

The foxes don't let him live it down and every time he posts anything the foxes all repost it w stupid music or something like that, or just with "HAHAHAHAHAHAH".

But that's not just it, sometimes Kevin posts photos from practice; sneak shots that nobody realises he's taken. It seems sweet; it would be sweet if he wasn't such a raging asshole when they practice. He also posts their match scores on his story.

What shocks the foxes the most out of everything is how open he is about his obsession with USC Trojans. Sometimes they wonder whether they accidentally followed a Trojan fan account but no, it's just Kevin Day shitposting about Jeremy Knox.

Nicky

Nicky predominantly posts loads of selfies and shit, lots of candid photos of the others!!!! He does 'camera dumps' and 'monthly dumps' of photos. He posts everything that he can and his story is like a vlog.

He's also very outspoken with his opinion of social media and goes live all the damn time. It drives the monsters insane when they hear "hey guys!" from their living room.

He actually gains quite a bit of attention as the only fox who isn't completely shutdown secrative about his life and so his reason for posting is fed constantly.

He likes to do those "ask me question" stories and it's really entertaining to see him suddenly rush up to one of the foxes and ask questions that the fans want to know. If you're a new fan, your go to Instagram is 100% Nickys. His highlights are full of info on everything and everyone.

It surprises the foxes immensely when they find out his Twitter time is more than Instagram.

Allison

Allison is similar to Nicky in some sense but more professional, it has more of a 'model/fashion student' vibe to it; she likes to post random stories of her having dressed Neil up (bonding she calls it) and has a little highlight for him (the foxes appreciate her efforts).

She likes to do reels, like "dress up neil w/ me!". She also does advertisements w/ skincare & makeup groups.

She has a very aesthetic-looking account; she likes to do GRWM's (and sometimes they star a fellow fox which makes the fan so excited for each new release). She's extremely charismatic and draws a lot of followers from industries other than sport/exy.

Dan

Dan posts about Exy A LOT which surprises the foxes because even though they know that she loves the sport they didn't realise she followed it with such ferocity.

She has a lot of Foxes content on her page, like group photos or post-match selfies etc. She always posts something like that with the score of the game in the caption.

Her pfp is either one of her and Matt's eyes or a photo of them kissing at the end of a game (maybe the Raven one?).

Matt

Matt's Instagram is a shrine of Dan...andNeil. His focus is largely selfies w them or candids of them. He has highlights for them, named "<3" & "Neil!" (they used to both be <3 but then someone asked if they were poly and the foxes lost their shit).

Matt doesn't really post about exy that much, his Instagram seems to capture the domestic side of the Foxes that don't get shown too much through the other's accounts.

Matt's favourite passtime is posting photos of Neil where he blatantly crops Andrew out of the photo. So you get: Neil looking in adoration at... someone? something? The fans go crazy every time.

Renee

Renee's Instagram is the epitome of domestic. It's crazy. She's private and only accepts people she knows (aka the foxes). She posts the most beautiful candids of the foxes you will ever see; them in their Halloween outfits in Eden's Twilight, (an extra slide of Andrew and Neil looking at each other (it was a collective agreement to ignore Kevin who was slumped on the table)), them post Raven match which was taken by Stephanie Walker, a games night which Neil somehow coaxed everyone into (including Andrew) etc.

It's an account almost solely for documenting the PSU Foxes adventures together. Sometimes she posts a quote about her beliefs or music that she likes.

Her account is the foxes favourite, though they'd never admit it.

Even at gunpoint.

Aaron

Last (and very much least), Aarons Instagram (post book three) is almost entirely soft-launching Katelyn.

Library study photos where you can see a girl's hand and someone else's book?

Check.

Two coffees one which has a lipstick stain on it?

Check.

He's done it all.

(Pre-book three as well) He also sometimes posts random photos of like locations (#courthouse /j) but nothing more than that, all of it is Katelyn and it makes the foxes ill.

I may do more. or edit this

#all for the game #aftg #alternate universe #nora sakavic #social media au #the foxhole court #the raven king #the kings men #andreil #andreil world domination #andrew minyard #neil josten #kevin day #nicky hemmick #allison reynolds #dan wilds #matt boyd #renee walker #aaron minyard #the foxes #aftg headcanon #aftg textpost #aftg hc

[sammorallee]

coming back to tumblr with yet another au! sketch

this time — an au! in which Neil never been on the run and actually is an ordinary guy from Milport, who lives in an abusive family, who's obsessed w/ Exy and Kevin Day is literally his idol 🤌

yup, basically, i just took all the lore, all the information known about who Neil pretended to be, while living in Milport, and just made it... true.

yay, Kevin got what he took and wasn't traumatised by discovering that Neil-ordinary-talanted-guy-from-Milport-Josten is actually Nathaniel-the son-of-a-serial-killer-working-for-my-step- brother's-family-Wesninski 💀

also, there's no Butcher in this au! (i mean, in the form that we know from AFTG; the Butcher is still there, but he's not Neil's father for obvious reasons) so, yeah, basically, Nathan and Mary are just abusive Neil's parents

Mary is more like over-protecting + controlling over Neil, strict and prohibits a lot of things, but she's often gone to Tucson for her work; Nathan is not satisfied with his son's behaviour and attitude, his hobbies and interests, and tries to change him in every possible way — including violence.

when both parents are at home, they usually argue and Neil still gets involved in their fights. So, that's why he usually stays in school and the school's changing room for the night. While home alone, Neil sleeps in his room, as there are no risks.

Neil has scars — marks of domestic violence (mostly from hoses/slaps on his back, also from burns) — which he tries to hide because he doesn't want to get involved with the child welfare authorities and, after turning eighteen, the police. In Foxes, he'll adapt pretty fast as he sees — everyone is fucked up in here so they absolutely won't call the police on his parents, 'cause come on 💀 FOXES. 💀 CALLING THE POLICE. 💀

Neil is Raven's fan (read as "he's Kevin Day's fan and loves the team he plays for just for playing there") and is (before joining and getting along with them) biased against the Foxes because of their backgrounds — deep down thinking that people like them aren't worthy of playing in Class I Exy, or indeed having someone like Kevin in the team.

((but he, obviously, accepts the invitation from Wymack as he kinda wants to get rid of his parents and live a normal life))

apart from Exy, Neil also has other interests — he loves astronomy and space in general — to him, something as large-scale as open space with an infinite number of universes seems absolutely incredible, mesmerizing and inspiring.

in this au, Andrew won't be interested in Neil so much ('cause he's boring and basically he wasn't hiding anything from the beginning, he's like an open book), and Neil either won't be interested in Andrew ('cause he's obsessed w/ Kevin and wants him in any way imaginable, come on). So, yeah, in this au! Kevneils rule the world.

last, but not least, it's a literal fan-idol relationship with an from admiration to disappointment to hate to love trope and I'm fuckin' IN LOVE with this whole concept I've created.

yup i think that's all what i got for today folks

sorry for this tonne of text, hope you enjoyed

and I also hope I'll have enough endurance and patience to write a whole fanfiction based on this au!

#all for the game #aftg #aftg fanart #kevin day #neil josten #all for the game fanart #au #aftg au #aftg art #aftg fanfiction #aftg fanfic #aftg fic #kevneil #i believe in kevneil worldwide domination

[jsctens]

 ok but have we considered

- before andrew leaves to play pro during neil’s last year of school, he conveniently forgets to pack a bunch of his old ‘MINYARD’ fox merch (definitely not intentionally at all) (he does not like the idea of neil wearing his clothes when he’s missing him shut ur mouth)

- and bc neil can read andrew he knows EXACTLY what he’s up to but he just smiles to himself about it bc if he says anything he’s SCREWED and tbh andrew’s fox sweaters are so much softer than his and they smell better and he’s going to miss andrew so fucking much—

- neil’s worn andrew’s team merch before but only around the dorm or the house in columbia (once, to practice, when he came back from a run half-dead on his feet in the morning and grabbed the first warm thing he laid his hands on in his dresser. the locker room was an insufferable place to be that day)

- neil is somewhat used to missing people now that he’s lived through all of the original foxes leaving, and as much as he knows andrew leaving is going to hurt worse he still doesn’t expect to use the sweaters much except for nights when everything gets too loud and he desperately needs something to ground him

- but nope

- he wears a MINYARD hoodie the day andrew leaves. andrew kisses him just that much harder for it.

- when the semester starts up again and Neil’s loneliness creeps in on him faster than expected, he starts wearing the hoodies and shirts almost everyday.

- especially when he’s on the court. he loves exy regardless of who he’s playing with but being on a court without both andrew and kevin leaves him feeling aching and unsteady. nostalgia is not easy to reconcile, is what Bee had told him when he’d described it to her. he’s never had anything in his life to be nostalgic for. the new feeling sits like water in his lungs.

- so he wears andrew’s team merch to practice, and to team meetings, and basically everywhere he can. for the first 2 weeks of the season, Josten merch is extinct.

- it gets to the point where the entirety of the freshman players just . think neil’s last name is Minyard .

- none of the rest of the team says anything bc they already Know about neil and andrew and even though none of them really understood andrew (besides robin) they understand that neil and andrew are two halves of a whole

- but the freshman are just like . o yea thats captain minyard bc neil is terrifying and no way in hell are they calling him by his first name. they’ve only ever referred to him exclusively as ‘Captain’ on the court.

- the day this gets exposed some dopey freshman backliner walks into the lounge for morning practice and just goes “Hey, has anyone seen Minyard?”

- the entire room (besides the freshmen) FREEZES

- wymack whips around from where he’s been talking to abby and just goes “the fuck?”

- and the backliner is just like uhhh……. our team captain?

- wymack: what, and i can’t stress this enough, the fuck?

- everyone is just standing in utter bewilderment. the freshmen are now confused bc why is everyone else confused????

- and then robin bursts out laughing

- for like 5 minutes straight my girl is clutching her stomach in TEARS

- when she finally comes up for air she just goes “HE MEANS NEIL. NEIL MINYARD”

- at this point Neil has walked into the room and is like wtf is taking everyone so long

- and lo and behold, he’s wearing a Minyard hoodie

- the rest of the veteran team are losing it now. Wymack is holding his head in his hands. neil is, as always, oblivious and annoyed.

- then robin goes, “sorry we’re late, Minyard”. Neil is confused as fuck but also . ouch. he hasn’t heard that name spoken in this locker room in so long it feels like both a punch to the gut and a breath of fresh air hearing it again

- the rest of the team veterans join in on it. “We’ll be right there, Minyard” .”What are our teams for scrimmages, Minyard?”

- at this point the freshman can tell they’re being made fun of. abby takes pity on them and explains that neil’s last name is Josten. Minyard is …. and when she comes up short on a word to describe andrew to neil, she turns to look at neil

- who just goes, “andrew’s my person. get your asses on the fucking court.”

- the team milks the shit out of it. the joke goes on for a good WEEK before the freshman have to be like OKAY WE GET IT . WE’RE DUMB .

- neil isn’t even phased . he will continue to be a sap and wear andrew’s hoodies . (and maybe a tiny little part inside of him that he’s too scared to think about likes being called Minyard).

- eventually the joke dies down. but every once in a while someone will throw in a “See ya, Minyard” or a “What’s up, Minyard?” when they see neil

- wymack thinks the whole thing is somewhat hilarious until neil submits a personal information update form at the end of the year. he nearly files for early retirement the entire time he’s putting in an order for “JOSTEN-MINYARD” team merchandise.

#has this been done before #if it has do not kill me im oblivious #i also cant tell if this is even actually cute it's just a thing that came to me while i was brushing my teeth this morning #abandons my tumblr for weeks at a time and then comes back with a random andreil post #on brand! #aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #andrew minyard #neil josten #kevin day #andreil #andreil hc #andreil headcanon #aftg hc #aftg headcanon #andrew minyard x neil josten #robin cross #david wymack #nora sakavic #tfc #the foxhole court hc

[fandomnerd101]

Neil and Katelyn are best friends

Probably part 1 since I think about them so much

I think that as the twins get closer Neil and Katelyn end up together a lot more often. It started with Neil and Katelyn driving each of their partners to therapy and not having anything else to do while they wait. So Katelyn takes Neil to get smoothies.

Up until this point the only smoothies Neil really has are the one designed to be healthy and nothing else given to him by Kevin. Katelyn has heard of their horror from Aaron and when she finds out Neil has never had an actually tasty smoothie she makes it her mission to fix this.

Neil isn’t super happy about this because 1) he knows Kevin’s smoothies taste like ass so he isn’t expecting these to be any better and 2) he still hates cheerleaders from whatever happened at millport and 3) really the only times he’s talked to Katelyn so far was when convincing her to manipulate Aaron into going to therapy and then watching Andrew threaten her life. Not a great start.

however he knows that with Andrew and Aaron fixing their issues and the fact that Aaron seems bent on keeping her around, he should at least try to get to know her.

He gets the most basic option they have and it’s actually good! It’s fruit flavored instead of Kevin’s terrifying green concoctions! They talk for the hour the twins spend with bee and Neil isn’t really listening because she’s talking about cheer but he can tell she’s really passionate about it. Almost as much as he is about Exy. After that he tunes in more to figure out why exactly she loves it so much. It’s still not super interesting to him but he’s enjoying himself.

The next week they do this again. And again and again and again and they keep doing it until he’s tried every smoothie the business has and he and Katelyn are much closer than they were at the beginning. He even starts to like cheer.

#Neil josten #katelyn mackenzie #all for the game #yeah I’m definitely making a part 2

[exy-shmexy]

What if one day, while he’s mindlessly scrolling through social media, Andrew ends up finding a random post from an organization that helps wild mustangs which have been rounded up by the government find someone to adopt them and offer them a forever home?

The next thing he knows, Andrew is sending an email to the organization.

He tells Neil during dinner the same evening. Neil asks to see the horse, and Andrew immediately shows him the photo. Neil frowns upon seeing it. He carefully reads everything that’s written in her description, and when he’s done, the only thing he asks Andrew is when they’ll go see her.

They go the next weekend. The mare is three states away from them so it’s a long drive. Andrew is practically vibrating from anticipation. He spent all of his free time learning about horses and how to care and handle them. When they arrive, someone immediately walks up to them. It’s a young woman in her early thirties who talks entirely too much. Andrew cuts her off by asking where the mare is. The woman closes her mouth to lead them to the enclosure. The chestnut mare is there, looking even smaller in real life than she did in the pictures. She’s sporting more bite marks too. Her coat looks dull, her mane and tail are completely tangled and instead of staying close to the rest of the herd, she stays in a corner on her own. She looks… defeated. While researching horses, Andrew read about potential health issues horses can have and why it’s important to have a vet come check on them before purchasing one but in that moment, Andrew doesn’t care. She could have three legs, one ear and no eye that he already knows he won’t be going back home without taking her with him. So he signs the adoption papers, pays the ridiculously low price she was attributed and gives instructions to have her transported to a small ranch a few hours away from where he and Neil live the same day. He pays an extra fee for that, but he doesn’t care. He needs to take this poor animal away from here.

That’s how the wild mustang finds herself, after long hours on the road, in a new place that looks nothing like the tall-fenced areas she had been forced into. There are other horses around alongside other animals, all of them rescues adopted by none other than Renee and Allison. They accepted to keep the wild mare in their sanctuary for as long as Andrew wants her there. Thankfully, the Exy season just ended so Andrew has plenty of time to hang around here, and plenty of time he knows he’s going to need.

The mare doesn’t let anyone approach here. From blank emptiness, her eyes have turned into frantic panic. She is lost. Afraid. Alone. Andrew spends the first few days giving her time and space to adjust to all the changes until she eventually settles down. He discusses a lot with Renee on how to best approach the situation, but she keeps repeating the best solution is patience.

Andrew arms himself with it.

The chestnut mare flees away from him every time he approaches. She is taller than him and he’s fully aware of how powerful a kick can be. So he stays on the other side of the fence for hours, slowly but surely letting the mare acclimate herself to his presence and come closer to him. It takes Andrew two weeks to be able to lay a finger against her nose. She bolts away immediately after, but then the next day she allows him to put his entire hand on her forehead. Three days later, he can finally take off the damn tag that’s been hanging around her neck this entire time.

It only goes uphill from here.

Time and patience are indeed the key.

Andrew never forces the mare to do anything. He lets her do her thing. She pulls on some weight, fills in on muscles and even lets him brush her after a few weeks. He knows she is smart. After she understands he means her no harm, their bond is sealed. Eventually she opens up to Neil too, but it is Andrew that she sees as the most trustworthy person so for a very long time he is the only one who can approach her to manipulate her and provide her for the care she needs. Andrew took a chance on a broken thing, one that was alone and afraid, that had given up hope after being misplaced so many times, and Andrew is not a fool. He knows many people would pretend she’s just an animal. But he knows that she understands. So he keeps on working every day to let their friendship bloom until eventually their bond is completely unbreakable for good.

#if you see a typo no you don’t it’s all an illusion #don’t ask me where that came from i have no idea #i can’t sleep and this is all my brain could think about #anyway #this was initially supposed to be about neil but i thought andrew made more sense for this because he would stay very calm and quiet #which is what horses need especially ones who come with a heavy past #mine was like that #not a wild mustang but a former race horse who had been so broken by life he only let me approach him #and he was the greatest buddy i could have hoped for #so yeah tadaaaa #andrew minyard #neil josten #aftg #all for the game #aftg headcanon

[moondal514]

Ok I’m going to rant about something aftg fandom-related that’s honestly not a big deal but it bothers me

TW: eating disorders

So quick note for transparency: i don’t read fics dealing with eating disorders/diet and weight angst that much cuz it’s one of the few tropes out there that I really can’t handle all of the time. Of course, there are exceptions, especially in the aftg fandom where I’ll read nearly anything if you slap an Andreil label on it. I wanna rant about some of those exceptions I’ve read, specifically something about them that I’m very bothered by. Namely, if there is a character with an eating disorder in an aftg fic…why is it usually Neil?

Like what about Neil as a character screams give this man an eating disorder? Is it just cuz he’s the main character? Is it a bad handover from the side of the fandom that likes to feminize him? Is it a fanon!Neil thing? Like truly I’m genuinely baffled by this because canonically the man eats basically anything put in front of him. I genuinely can’t recall if there’s a single moment in canon where Neil refuses to eat something (not counting his refusal to eat sweet things cuz he’s not a fan of them), so to have this whole side of the fandom that’s randomly decided to give him issues with food…why?? Does the man not have enough neuroses already?? Is all the canonical torture he gets not good enough for you?? (obligatory disclaimer: I personally hate adding trauma to Neil when he already goes through so much in canon) Like why??? Seriously. Why???

But more than that, I genuinely don’t understand why a writer would choose to explore eating disorders through Neil when there are like…so many better options of characters to do that with. Like if I were to write an eating disorder fic, Neil would probably be at the bottom of my list for characters I would center the fic around. There are just so many other characters that would to me make more canonical sense to write about having an eating disorder.

Like Allison! Hello??? It’s literally a canonical part of her backstory! Why tf would you fuck around with Neil having an eating disorder when there’s a whole ass Allison who literally had to be put in a clinic to recover right there??? You could write about her entire backstory or, if you really wanted to be angsty, write about her relapsing. That could be dramatic

Or maybe a writer wants to explore men having eating disorders, cuz it’s true the social dynamics/pressures are different for male eating disorders compared to female eating disorders. Ok then, Kevin is right there!!! Like this man is so obsessed with exy that it seeps into his eating practices. He’s so canonically super strictly diet oriented that it really wouldn’t be that much of a stretch for it to turn into disordered eating. Maybe it’s a part of his Nest trauma or something, idk

And of course, who is the character with canonically conspicuously weird eating habits? That’s right, Andrew! That habit he has of tearing up his food into tiny bits? That’s a classic eating disorder tell. When he’s on his meds, we know his diet is fucked up by them, as demonstrated by the scenes where everyone’s eating at Abby’s and Neil notices Andrew hasn’t touched his food. Andrew is a character that is both self-destructive and has control issues, a combination that would lend itself unfortunately well to an eating disorder. Simultaneously quiet self-destruction and a way to exert control over his own body, very Andrew yeah?

Maybe a writer doesn’t wanna write about the Foxes though. Maybe a writer wants to write about the Ravens. Ok. Jean motherfucking Moreau is Right. There. The guy goes through so much fucked up shit in the Nest that isn’t really greatly detailed in canon, so why not add an eating disorder to the mix?

TL;DR: I’m bothered that all the fics in this fandom that center around eating disorders seem to always be about Neil and it makes no sense cuz there are imo much better characters in aftg that are better options for writers to explore these concepts with

Disclaimer: obviously no hate to anyone who has written or does write fics where Neil has an eating disorder. I’ve read many excellent fics with that concept. I’m just trying to understand why they are so overrepresented

#this is just me being annoying #about something small that bugs me personally #I just needed to get this off my chest somewhere #aftg #moonie writes #moonie posting

[foxywrites]

If We Have Each Other Verse

An AU in which Neil and Andrew meet much earlier. Promises are exchanged, deals are made and they become each other's sanctuary soon after meeting.

So wanted to talk about my AU a bit, and drop it here so I don't end up forgetting certain details.

Neil's mother kills Nathan when he is 4 years old before sending him to a 'friend' of hers. She dies soon after and that 'friend' drops him off at the orphanage.

Andrew is 8 and Neil 6 when they meet for the first time in the Spear household.

Mary used to call him Abram, Nathan called him Nathaniel, his mother's 'friend' Chris and than he was named 'Alex'. Andrew is the one who gives him the name Neil, and tells him to stay.

Andrew is 3 years younger than Aaron, and Tilda dies from an accident (Andrew isn't the one to kill her).

Nicky still comes back and tries to take in Andrew, but it isn't easy and he can only get the custody of Aaron- none of the Hemmick's know where Andrew is. (by that time, Andrew would be 10, Aaron 13 and Nicky 17-18)

Andrew Joseph Doe becomes Andrew Dobson and Alex Doe becomes Neil Winfield quickly enough thanks to the accident that puts an end to Tilda.

They are adopted around the time Wymack creates the Foxes. (so pretty much Seth's first year)

Seth:These two are shit-heads, but hurt them, and you gotta deal with me (along with the other four foxes)!

Also Seth: Andrew fucking Dobson! Get your ass over here, Jesus Christ, why the fuck would you think it a good idea to change my shampoo with pink hair dye?!

Andrew: You should be grateful to me! Now both your insides and outsides filled with shit! And you look like one from head to toe too!

Seth: You little-

They meet the three ravens much earlier and promises are exchanged between our duo and two of the raven's.

Neil and Andrew also get to go to the same school growing up and gain the heart of 'a certain captain of USC Trojans Exy team'.

Their childhood is much better after they are adopted, and while in canon their relationship is more 'Enemies to Lovers' it turns into 'Childhood Friends to Lovers'.

Matt just loves picking up Neil and running around with him on his shoulders, but is low key scared of Andrew, because who the fuck gave this kid knives?!

One day, Andrew is in Wymack's office as he is looking at Potential players, and sees Aaron's photo and goes; "I want that one." and Wymack is done with it all, but who is he to say no when Andrew really wants something.

Aaron sees Andrew for the first time after years, and is thinking 'what am I supposed to say' when Andrew straight out tells him that he is only in the Foxes because of him, and yeah, Aaron hates the little menace (not really though) Nicky is apologetic, but Andrew knows how hard he tried to get custody of him, so he doesn't harbor any negative feelings towards him.

Dan is scared of what will happen when the duo is old enough for Uni, because Andrew promised to be a problem for her and she knows that he wasn't joking.

But Lola is still alive and a bitch, so that's nice.

(ft. Andrew never has to take his pills, Neil never has to fear his father the way he does. Mama Betsy and Abby, Uncle Wymack. Andrew and Neil meeting before they are supposed to and coming to an understanding between each other and never really hiding anything from each other. They would def still end up together. Like, after Neil realizes that he can love someone and not get punished for it. Foxes love to spoil the duo.)

#aftg au #andrew minyard #neil josten #the foxes #old foxes #aftg fic #all for the game #all for the game fanfic #neil josten is a menace #matt boyd #andriel #seth gordon is alive #cass spear #fix it #pre foxhole court #& aftg canon rewrite #betsy dobson #abby winfield #au moodboard #moodboard #story moodboard #fanfic moodboard

[iris-nonsense]

Okay i finished All for the game and i have many many thoughts since these books have taken over my brain unfortunately.

I want to preface everything by saying that the series is bad BUT i don't think that it's that relevant. Like from what i know these were self-published on a blog and i doubt that they ever saw a professional editor, no publishing house ever touched them, so judging them as one would judge a professionally edited book is not fair and to be completely honest there are books, even popular ones, that are worse than these on every level.

Now that this out of the way here's my thoughts on aftg in no particular order

I love the main trio sososo much. Probably the main reason why i enjoyed this as much as i did is them. All of their interactions are immaculate. I hoped for a three-way relationship till the end

Neil is such a good protagonist. He's insane but he's convinced that he's normal. The fact that he can't shut up sends me every time and even funnier is that even if everyone knows that he can't keep his mouth shut no one does anything to stop him ever, they just let him. And he is so ace you can't change my mind

I love Andrew he's so edgy. And even if he's so incredibly edgy his backstory still hits hard. Kinda disappointed that all of his obsession with Kevin basically disappeared in the last book (with a couple of exceptions) for no good reason, i wanted it to be more prominent in the resolution but it just fizzled out

Kevin. Kevin is my fave. I love him to bits. He is the dark haired deuteragonist of a sport anime. He is the Kageyama of this series. He has two mood 1 being obsessed with exy and 2 having a panic attack 10/10. And i don't care if he has a girlfriend, to me he is ace. The author can say what they want but i don't give a shit. Ace icon that only think about sport and have mental breakdowns

Speaking of Kevin's girlfriend Thea... she's the most weird character in the books. She's name dropped out of nowhere halfway through book 2, then she's never mentioned again till the second to last chapter where she appears for three pages, she does nothing relevant for the plot and she disappear again. She's one of the few characters who has a proper physical description so we know she's hot but her impact is zero. You can remove her and nothing will change. Kevin would have ended up there even without her so why even include her? Like girl you're hot but who are you and what are you doing here?

Talking about hot girls, Allison is my queen. She's iconic, she never said anything wrong ever in three books. She is the only one asking the real questions and she deserved more pages. She and Renee should have kissed at the end

The only thing that keeps the series from being set in generic contemporary times is the way Matt styles his hair. That is so mid y2k every time it's mentioned i got whiplash

Sad that the slurs disappeared after the first book i found them funny and a good way to convey the year the story is set in

The "your intricate and endless daddy issues" is one of the best line ever written it will never leave my vocabulary

Riko has the worst daddy issues imaginable which is 1 funny 2 makes him a good character and i almost feel for him... but then i remember he hurt Kevin sooooo

Jean is pathetic in a endearing way. But he's french and that makes hin lose a lot of points

I'm sad that the Trojans are there for only one chapter i wanted to see more of them

The way Neil talks about Kevin is hilarious. He can't stand him but he talks about him like the second coming of christ. Everything would have been solved if they just had a make out session in the locker room

Still not over the fact that while this books are very much about sport the yakuza is a prominent part of the story. Like that is an important part, half of the books are about it

The ravens are the least serious element in all of this. There's tension about Neil's lies being unveild and Kevin general well being and you are worried for them... and out of nowhere appears the villain team of a children's cartoon with all of them with the same clothes and walking in v formation how am i supposed not to laugh! And how is no one asking questions about them?? After 5 years of living in a cult they are released into the world and you are telling me that they are well adjusted enough to not rise any suspicion about what is going on in there?? No one is asking why there are living quarters in a bunker under a stadium?? If only one person says something after they graduate they will be fucked, there's no one with a family in that team? Why does the yakuza let this happen?!?!?!

The 16 hours long days during the holidays will plague me till the day i die it makes no sense and i find it hysterical. Why are they doing it? Don't know but they do

Riko has a spit kink i said what i said

#i have more thoughts but this is it for today #i still have all of the extra material to go through this mean i'm still not done with these characters yey #if it wasn't clear i loved the books they were a ride and an experience even with all of the bad #i also bought the physical copies and i expect some bad quality for them can't wait to have them in my book shelf #aftg #i'm not tagging all the characters #aftg spoilers

[happyandticklish]

T,I,C,K,L,E Neil josten?

NOTE: This was sent in whenever I did this ask game the last time, and apparently it’s just been sitting in my fucking drafts for months?? So, my deepest apologies to whoever sent this in, I’m a fucking dumbass

But also, thank you so much for using the acronym idea because that is still the funniest thing to exist

T: Teasing | Their most favorite methods of teasing their lee/ler?

He’s fond of verbal teasing, purely because he knows it gets to Andrew. He doesn’t tickle the others as often, with the exception of Nicky when he’s being a dick that day, as he tends to be more reserved about that form of intimacy. As a lee, he’ll throw himself viciously in front of Andrew during moments where there’s no way he can tickle him, taunting him and showing off and getting to close to him to the point where Andrew is this close to snapping and just pinning him down already. If he’s really desperate, he’ll tickle Andrew, but that usually ends with him getting demolished on the other end so it’s rare. 

I: Interrogation | How well would they handle a tickle interrogation?

Easily. So fucking easily. Don’t get me wrong, he’s far too ticklish for his own good (either because his genetics really didn’t like him, or really fucking did), and he’ll crumple in more light-hearted scenarios, but if it’s serious he could go all fucking day. His ler would easily tire out before he gave up. Neil has endured so much shit in his lifetime and gritted his way through endless tortures; if anything, that would be a familiar zone for him. If it’s with Andrew, same deal. They’ve had sessions that have gone on for hours because Neil refused to crack the second his pride was brought into the game Andrew will absolutely crack before Neil and it’s Neil’s greatest crowning achievement. 

C: Chase | What are their chances in a chase, both as a lee and ler?

I think it depends who he’s up against. He’s got a lot of practice running in from playing Exy, but he’s also got short legs and is on a team of much more experienced players, so he can’t keep up long. The only person he can ever win against is Nicky (who gets to giggly to run), and Andrew (who doesn’t run because what idiot would be stupid enough to tickle him). Occasionally Renee will let him tickle her too, but it’s less of a chase in that scenario, so he doesn’t get to count it. 

K: Killer Move | As a ler, do they have special skills to use against their lees and drive them crazy with?

Not exactly a move, per se, but he’s scarily good at finding pressure points on people and mapping out the nervous system/where’s most sensitive (benefits of getting in fights and having a fucked up father and mother figure), which he applies to tickling with excellent results. Andrew prides himself on being able to resist tickling (at least in the beginning portion), and is extremely annoyed at this skill. He nearly kicked Neil in the face when he immediatelly found the spot under his thigh, and he both hates and loves that Neil knows where to kiss on his neck to cause him to either sigh with pleasure or stifle a half choked laugh. 

L: Laughter | What does their laughter sound like when they are tickled?

It’s very grunt-y at first because he doesn’t want to admit how much it’s getting to him, but after a while a snicker or two will break through, and soon he’s giggling like a madman with the occasional (Andrew’s only achieved it once, Nicky twice) snort thrown in. Very fucking giggly, even when he’s desperate and exhausted they just grow more high-pitched and borderline shrieky. Everyone thinks it’s cute, but Matt is the only one who’s been brave enough to comment on it. 

E: Expression | How do they express their wish to tickle/be tickled?

To anyone else, he doesn’t. Andrew is the sole person who knows to look for the signs, which is why it’s kind of hard to describe. He gets this look in his eyes, and his mood sinks throughout the day, as though something had disappointed him. He also gets more reclusive about touch, ironically, and shrinks back from it when given, worried that the slightest thing will give him away. He doesn’t tickle people much, only Andrew, and this one’s also just a look; it’s this very specific quirk of the eyebrow and nose crinkle of concentration that lets Andrew know that he should fucking skedaddle or things are about to get a thousand times more embarrassing for him. 

Thanks so much for the ask!!

[Send a Character + Letter and I’ll answer with my headcannons]

#neil josten #tickle headcannon #ask game #all for the game #aftg #headcannons #tickling #asks #answered ask #andrew minyard #andriel

[the-chicken-or-the-banana]

andreil and goodbye kisses (pt. 8) ft. wymack (+ a bonus)

part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 || i'm actually feeling kinda sad that this is the last part but also my brain can't come up with more ideas lmao

wymack stands by the fact that he doesn't get paid enough to deal with andrew and neil's shit (both as separate idiots and together)

but he does care for all his foxes, despite all the... difficulties that surround them

and honestly? one of the biggest struggles he faces is how absolutely thick-headed and oblivious the foxes can be regarding andrew and neil's relationship

truly, the heart-eyes neil constantly gave andrew were so obvious, he's not sure how everyone missed them before

but because he's so observant, he doesn't fail to notice how the older foxes keep giving strange looks to neil whenever he leaves andrew's side now

wymack doesn't get in the way of his foxes' personal lives. but if they start causing disturbances on the court, it's his job as coach to get to the bottom of these issues

(okay, maybe he and dan catch up on the so-called "drama" in the team every few weeks but it's for completely exy-related business. ahem. of course)

one day, wymack corners neil and lets him know that he and dan were to meet in his office after practice to talk through some logistics for the winter banquet

neil agrees, and practice goes smoothly (or, as smoothly as it can go with the foxes)

but after practice is... interesting

wymack swears he had no ulterior motives planned with the meeting; it really was supposed to be a genuine discussion

but the outcome of it was certainly unexpected

he and dan both know to wait for neil, that he doesn't like changing in front of anyone

so they wait. and wait. and wait.

it gets to the point where it's nearly 45 minutes after practice and surely neil should be done at this point, no?

wymack gets up, fully prepared to break down the door to make sure neil is okay when suddenly it slams open

neil tumbles out hand-in-hand with andrew, with matching flushed faces and ruffled hair

wymack sighs

dan outright snorts, and neil's head jerks up and his eyes widen when he notices dan and wymack

but before he can say anything, dan stands up and grins at andrew

"fucking neil again, huh?"

neil chokes on a cough and wymack turns to dan with a groan when he notices the mischievous glint in her eye, almost like that was an... inside joke?

with minyard?

wymack is very confused

andrew just scowls at dan. "i will knife you and make it look like an accident"

neil is still recovering from his coughing bout, so wymack turns back to the stabby midget ready to reprimand him

"i'm not scared of you anymore, remember andrew?" dan's eyes are still bright as she tries not to laugh

"shut up, both of you" wymack interrupts their weird jokes conversation whatever gruffly. "neil, do you remember why we're here?"

"huh? OH. oh shit. drew, i'm supposed to be talking with them about some winter banquet stuff"

andrew considers this. "how long?" wymack tells him about an hour, and andrew nods and turns to neil. "i'll stay"

neil just rolls his eyes. "you have a paper due tomorrow that you haven't even started yet. go do that, i'll be fine"

wymack sighs. he's been doing a lot of that lately. "minyard, go finish your homework or i swear to god, i'll make you run three marathons next week"

andrew glares but mutters out a "fine." he goes to leave but neil tugs him back by the wrist

neil then proceeds to kiss andrew on the nose and gives him the most bashful smile wymack has ever seen on the kid's face

neil's happy. it's a christmas miracle! and it's not even christmas yet!

and that kiss... really, it was the last thing he expected out of neil and andrew but he's happy at how comfortable they've grown around each other

and okay, it was a little adorable

(not that he'd ever say that to their faces, of course)

andrew ends up stumbling out of the court with the reddest face wymack's seen as neil turns back to him and dan

"right" he says sheepishly. "banquet?"

BONUS:

abby doesn't believe it when david tells her about the nose kiss

she knows that neil has a heart of gold, she knows that andrew has so much capacity to feel

but a nose kiss? she doesn't think andrew would agree to that

so when her older foxes come over one night after a tiring, but successful, game, she decides she needs to see this for herself

after a hearty dinner, all the kids are sitting in the living room, with andrew and neil talking quietly in the back corner of the room.

perfect.

"neil!" abby calls, and everyone in the room quiets to look at her. "sweetheart, could you help me bring out the dessert?"

nicky immediately jumps up from beside her, saying how he could help if she needed it

"no no, it's alright, i was hoping to talk to neil, if that's okay? it might take a little while"

neil looks extremely worried at this and abby almost feels guilty.

almost

he glances at andrew and then he leans down so quickly that abby nearly misses it

neil kisses andrew on the nose.

abby barely notices andrew's bright blush, nor does she register neil moving towards her

she just feels so proud of her foxes for coming so far in a world that keeps trying to beat them down

it's a sentimental moment, which is completely ruined by kevin's woop and nicky's yell of glee

"YES BITCH THEY DID IT THEY DID THE KISS GIVE ME YOUR MONEY ALLISON"

"fuck you hemmick. fuck you"

neil looks at them wildly. "you guys were betting on us? i didn't think you would..."

matt sighs and slings an arm around his friend. "oh neil, do you still really think that low of us? we bet on everything"

JSKHKKSJ OK IT'S FINALLY DONE i already miss this series but it has been a fun time :) my asks are always open if y'all have anything specific you want me to write !

#wymack is my dad #abby is my mom #neil is my son #there we go #andreil #andrew minyard #neil josten #aftg #all for the game #aftg headcanon #aftg hc #tfc #the foxhole court #david wymack #abby winfield #dan wilds #matt boyd #allison reynolds #kevin day #nicky hemmick #palmetto state foxes #palmetto state university #andreil headcanon #andreil hc #tkm #the king's men #andreil bullet fic

[tamquamalteradam]

Kevin Day x the Gangsey

self indulgent post in honor of being sucked into the aftg fandom... can we talk about how trc and aftg could totally be happening in the same world, early 2000s and all

Gansey

Gansey, standing in line in the cafeteria: hey, Kevin right? I really enjoyed your presentation in World Hist, would you happen to know anything about Welsh kings?

Kevin: you mean like, Owain Glyndŵr?

Gansey: *starry eyes*

They proceed to sit together and exchange history book recs

Kevin has never had anyone attentively listen to him talk about history before and actually care about what he’s saying, so he’s like *what is this feeling???* (the feeling was friendship, but neither of them had ever experienced anyth-)

Kevin helping Gansey in French

KEVIN AND GANSEY LATE NIGHT COMPANIONSHIP

They both can't sleep so Gansey does his ley line research while Kevin does his exy diagramming shit and all you can hear is amicable silence and the scratching of pencils and Gansey occasionally asking Kevin what he thinks about this or that theory

One night Gansey is in an anxious mood and Kevin's like *you know what helps me when I'm anxious? Exy.* so he takes Gansey to the court and teaches him some of the basics

Gansey has upper body strength from rowing but his balance and coordination are shit

So he kind of fails spectacularly but he's smiling by the end of it so Kevin's satisfied (although sorely disappointed in Gansey's lack of Exy potential and trying not to show it-- *one man can't have everything*)

KEVIN'S ONE FLAW, IN GANSEY'S EYES, IS HIS AVERSION TO THE CAMARO

Kevin: I am not looking at anything bright orange ever again.

Gansey: ☹️

Adam

ACADEMIC RIVALS TO FRIENDS. YOU CANNOT CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE. THESE TWO PERFECTIONIST WORKAHOLIC CAPRICORN RISING BITCHES-

It all started when Kevin took Adam’s long held seat as top of the class in biology

Adam is like *who is this new kid* and also *why are he and Gansey thick as thieves*

Of course Gansey introduces them, and at first Adam doesn’t really think much of Kevin given his background and attitude

But slowly they earn each other’s grudging respect

Much like Adam and Declan, Adam and Kevin see right through each other's guises

Also thinking of when Adam recognized the fear in Opal and gave her his watch to comfort her. I think he would recognize the fear in Kevin and post-TRK Adam would try to help (except it's not a Crying Club situation, it would be a much more equal friendship)

Ronan

Kevin: this kid could outlast Andrew in a staring competition

*why does he always carry around a RAVEN, of all animals*

Chainsaw, being a very smart bird, notices Kevin’s discomfort and tries to be extra entertaining (of course, her version of entertaining is singing the murder squash song in her eerily human voice. it does not help.)

Kayleigh Day was Irish right? Imagine them at the Barns, Ronan leading them through the house and Kevin sees a dusty instrument in the corner

Kevin, turning to Gansey: I used to play that

Adam, deadpan: you and Ronan should start a band: "The Bald Bagpipers".

Ronan: *death glare*

Henry

They would be besties. I can feel it in my BONES

Them at Exites geeking out and debating the merits and shortcomings of various Exy racquets

Henry would pretend to know more about Exy than he does but somehow get away with it because he's Henry and his enthusiasm wins Kevin over

As a product of hanging out with Kevin, Henry is now a massive USC stan by proxy and they stream matches on the Litchfield house movie projector (if I had a nickel for every time I talk about the Litchfield house movie projector I'd have two nickels)

Eventually they would rope Gansey in too and they become the unofficial Jeremy Knox fanclub

Blue

Blue meeting Kevin would be Blue meeting Gansey at Nino's INTENSIFIED

Somehow I feel like she would judge him less because he doesn't try to hide the fact that he's rich? (don't forget about the time Kevin was canonically like "yeah i'm expensive, coach should've known when he signed me")

However the mutual wariness would go on for a long time before they warm up to each other

I don't really see them becoming super close but eventually they start judging people together and boy would you get !!!roasted!!! by Sargent/Day

Kevin never lets on that he actually thinks Blue is hella cool but she knows

She knits him some fingerless gloves in the Foxes colors and he wears them occasionally. one day the TV is on in the background while the Gangsey's chilling at Monmouth and they see Kevin talking to a reporter and he's wearing the gloves

No one says anything about it but they're like *ah. blue likes you, therefore you are one of us now*

Noah

Can relate to each other because they are #deadinside and got their bones smashed to bits with long rectangle-esque objects by people who were supposed to be their friends

Ouch

Kevin can't get over Noah being a ghost and how everyone treats it like a totally normal thing

"So he just? Exists? And can? Appear out of thin- Ok. okAY."

Noah pulls his trick of seeing people's thoughts and he's like holy moly there is more to this man than he lets on

Scares Kevin half to death by materializing in the stands during his midnight Exy practices

Bonus: Noah and Andrew LMAO I can imagine Noah messing with him

Andrew: *throws knife*

*knife goes right through Noah and hits the ground*

Andrew: *squints ever so slightly*

#kevin day deserved better!!! #give him ALL the found family #kevin day #trc x aftg #all for the game #aftg #the foxhole court #the raven cycle #trc #gansey #ronanlynch #adamparrish #blue sargent #noah czerny #mine

[paradoxolotl]

Okay, y’all asked for the rest of that Mama Bee scene, so here you go! First part is still attached but now you get the whole thing ~

Bee was late coming home. She was always home by six, because she liked to be home to have dinner together and to be there if Andrew needed help with his homework. He never did, but he had gotten used to her quiet presence in the background, quietly reading or knitting as he did his work. She was always there, and now, it was closer to seven and she still wasn’t home. Andrew didn’t like it when things changed. He didn’t like it when Bee, who had her house and life so very carefully arranged, deviated from the norm.

Frowning at the clock, the second hand a steady marching beat, Andrew dug his fingers into his arms. Something hot and prickly was creeping through his chest, and he didn’t know what it was. Bee kept trying to get him to use the stupid emotion wheel she kept in the living room, telling him it would help in identifying what he was feeling. Andrew didn’t care what he was feeling, he just needed it to stop.

The minute hand ticked over.

Maybe there was more traffic than usual. Maybe she needed to grab something at the store. His fingers dug harder into his skin. They were weak excuses at best, and he knew it. A voice in the back of his mind, growing louder by the minute, said she was at the agency. Telling them to come get him, to take him away.

The feeling spiked.

Lashing out, he knocked a plate of the counter, watching it shatter on the tile floor. Shards skittered towards him, glinting in the sunlight coming in through the window. He stared at them, tiny pinpricks, their edges sharp enough to burrow into his skin. His bare toes curled, his weight shifting.

“Andrew?”

Startling at the voice, Andrew stepped back, a shard digging into his heel. Burying his reaction down deep, he stared at Bee. She was looking at the mess on the floor, brows pinched together. Andrew’s mind was moving too fast, his body feeling too much, and he couldn’t tell if she was angry. She must be, because he broke a plate, and the pieces were blue which meant it was one of her favourites. People usually got angry at Andrew for much less.

She looked up at him, and Andrew felt his shoulders start to creep up. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like standing here, waiting for her to tell him he had to leave. He didn’t like not knowing what she was thinking.

“Andrew-”

“You are late,” he said, cutting her off.

Bee blinked, face smoothing out. “I am, and I am sorry about that.” She looked down at the floor again, and Andrew braced himself. “I’m going to go grab a broom. Stay there? I don’t want you stepping on anything.”

Andrew didn’t care if he stepped on anything else. His heel was burning, and when he shifted, he could feel how the tile beneath his foot was glowing slick. When he didn’t react, Bee stepped back, sending him one last look before disappearing down the hall. Looking down at his feet, at the shattered remains of the plate, Andrew felt something hot trickle down his throat.

He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay here with Bee, where he had a lock on his door and Saturday grocery trips and someone to play cards with and where he felt warm and nice and safe. Rapidly, he ran through the last few months in his mind. There must have been something he did that was the last straw. Something that he could point to and know that that was when he had ruined his chance at a home.

Swallowing, he crouched down. He had always been awful to Bee. It was always his fault. He just wanted to fix this. Picking up the broken pieces, he planned how he would tell her how he would be better. He wouldn’t cause any more problems at school, he would keep the house clean, he would go see a stupid therapist, he would do anything if he could just stay.

The floorboards creaked, and Andrew tightened his grip on the pieces he had gathered, trying to sweep up the rest. His skin stung, tiny points of pain like constellations across his hands. He heard when Bee reached the kitchen doorway, her steps faltering. Looking up, he saw her looking at him with wide eyes, broom clutched tightly in her hands.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to. I’ll clean it up.”

“Andrew,” her voice was tight, and Andrew turned away, picking up another piece. “Andrew, stop.”

His hands were shaking. When he spoke, his voice was strained. “I didn’t mean it. I didn’t-”

“Shh,” she soothed. Her toes came into his vision, and then she was kneeling in front of him. Her hand hovered over his own. “Honey, you’re hurting yourself.”

“I broke a plate.”

“That’s why I went to grab the broom.”

Something was buzzing in his ear. He shook his head rapidly. “It was one of your favourites.”

“It’s just a plate, Andrew. Plates break sometimes. They’re not worth hurting yourself over.”

He shook his head again. She didn’t get it. He needed to fix this. He needed to make it so he was worth keeping.

Bee moved away, and Andrew choked down his words. His hand twitched, and fire ran up his arm. Ruined. He always ruined everything. His chest was tight, and everything felt too hot and too close. Just as he felt as if he was about to snap, Bee reappeared, placing a trashcan beside them. Slowly, she took Andrew’s hands and guided them to the bin.

“Let them go, Andrew,” she said softly. “It’s okay.”

Still unable to meet her eyes, Andrew opened his hands. The pieces fell, creating a small music of their own as they landed. Both of his palms were covered in tiny cuts, dots of red slowly appearing. On his left hand, a jagged piece was stuck in his skin, a stain slowly moving across it. In his peripheral, he saw Bee sweeping the broom across the kitchen, gathering up everything he had missed. He wanted to tell her to stop, that he would do it, but his jaw was locked and the words inside him felt too much like a scream.

Tapping the dustpan into the trash, Bee settled in front of him again. There was the sound of a zipper, as she opened up the first aid kit. Her hands were always soft and warm, and she took Andrew’s gently. He watched silently as she methodically removed all of the slivers in his skin, each one joining the others with a final tiny sound. She dapped each cut with antibiotic cream, not missing a single one. She saved the jagged piece for last, inspecting his hand before finally removing it. Blood pooled immediately, and Bee quickly pressed gauze into his hand.

Closing his fingers around it, he stared down at his hands.

“Your foot is bleeding.”

Shuffling around to sit cross legged on the floor, Andrew accepted the tweezers from her. She knew he didn’t like his feet being touched. Carefully, he eased out the last piece from his body, dropping it into the trash. Cleaning away the blood that had gathered, he kept his eyes on what he was doing, until he pressed a bandage over it. When he had nothing else to keep busy with, he focused on the trash, where Bee was dumping all of the used medical supplies.

“I didn’t mean to cause you any stress,” Bee said as she packed away the kit. “I was late, and I should have called you.”

“Where were you?” Andrew risked a glance up at her face, a pit opening in his stomach at the pinched expression he found. He knew the answer before she even opened her mouth. “The agency.”

She blinked at him before nodding slowly. “Yes, I was.”

“Why.” Why wasn’t he good enough? Why didn’t she want him anymore? Rage and hurt and panic rushed through him, and he curled his hands into fists to hide their shaking.

“I got a call today from a friend of mine. To offer me a job with a colligate Exy team they’re starting. I think their goal is honourable, and I would like to be a part of it.” Andrew blinked at her. That didn’t explain why she had to go to the agency. Her face was calm when she said, “It’s in South Carolina.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. It wouldn’t have mattered then, even if he had been perfect. Bee was leaving, and he couldn’t follow. No matter what he did, he couldn’t keep her.

“Okay,” he said quietly, pulling his knees up to his chest. He didn’t know why it hurt so much. He should have been used to this by now. “When are they coming to get me?”

Bee blinked rapidly before her face fell, “Andrew, honey, no. No one is coming to get you!”

“You’re moving,” he said, panic slowly clawing its way up his body.

“I might be moving, yes. But only if that’s okay with you. I don’t want to uproot your whole life for a job if you don’t want to.”

He stared at her, trying desperately to grapple with confusion and fear and what might have been hope. “It doesn’t matter what I want.”

“Of course it matters,” Bee said firmly.

He shook his head. If he told her that he didn’t want her to go, that he wanted her to stay with him, she would always resent him. She already said she wanted this job. He wouldn’t get in the way of that.

Something broke across her face, and then she was cupping his cheeks, cradling his face. “Andrew Joseph,” she said. “You don’t honestly think I would move without you, do you? If I take this job, you would be coming with me.”

Something in his chest snagged and tangled. “You were at the agency.”

“I needed some information,” she said, brushing his bangs off of his forehead. “I had been looking into this for a while, and with this job offer it feels a bit like things are lining up. If you don’t want it, I understand and won’t say anything else about it again. I’ll do whatever will make you happy, Andrew.”

“I don’t understand,” he said.

Bee’s hands fell into her lap, fingers clasped tight together. “I was thinking, if you would like,” she swallowed and took a deep breath before saying very carefully, “that I could adopt you. I’ve been looking into it for a while, and of course, the decision is up to you. I spoke to the agency, and it is possible to move us without adoption, if you’d prefer that, or we don’t have to move at all-”

She was rambling now, but Andrew couldn’t focus on what she was saying. He was stuck, frozen in time. A small tendril of warmth curled around him, and he held onto it tightly. “You want to keep me?”

Bee finally stopped, her shoulders falling. A smile was on her face, a little wobbly around the edges. “I really do. You’re my family, Andrew. With or without the papers. You can take time to think it over; it’s a big decision.” He could hear the hope threading through her voice, something she was trying to hold back for his sake.

“I don’t need to think about it,” he said, and she stilled, emotions crossing in her eyes too quickly for Andrew to place. Moving along the floor, he stopped beside her and wrapped his arms around her middle, his head falling on her shoulder. She smelled like lavender and sugar, and it filled him with a warmth that he had never truly felt before. Andrew blinked, but failed to keep back the tears gathering. They rolled down to fall onto the soft cotton of Bee’s shirt. He squeezed a little tighter, and her arms came up to hold him close. “Does this mean I get to call you mom now?”

Bee hiccupped a laugh, and she pressed a kiss to his hair. They stayed on the floor, holding each other close, neither willing to let go. When Bee’s fingers tucked his hair behind his ear, her own tears falling, Andrew felt a smile break across his face. For the first time in his life, Andrew had a home.

~~

Here’s a scene from after the move

And the original post, introducing the twinyards

#aftg #all for the game #aftg fanfiction #aftg fic wip #ask para #para’s fics #ask about my wips

[kevingayimeanday]

The foxes main flaws:

(⚠️Please don’t be offended, these are just opinions- everyone is flawed. That’s why they’re foxes.⚠️)

Dan: Stubbornness- Dan is incredibly stubborn, expecting everyone to follow the rules she sets all the time. She also expects Neil to participate in activities even if he doesn’t seem to want to.

Kevin: obsession- Kevin gets obsessed very easily. He’s obsessed with Exy and everything to do with it, he’s obsessed with being the best and proving himself to others. His flaws could also be Hubris/Anxiety. Hubris because he thinks he’s an Exy god and anxiety because of his frequent panic attacks

Andrew: Loyalty- It was a tricky one for Andrew because he’s a flawed character, but in the end loyalty was always his downfall. With Cass and with Aaron if Neil hadn’t stepped in. Loyalty is what put him on the drugs and in juvie in the first place

Matt: Recklessness- Matt throws himself about a lot in the books, and jumps into fights more than once just because he can. He takes the drugs Andrew offers in Eden’s without hesitation

Aaron: Rage- his anger at everything around him; his living situation when he was young, Andrew, the foxes in general. He’s angry all of the time and that anger rarely goes well for him

Seth: Ignorance- he ignored all advice not to go off campus. He shared a room with Matt and did drugs around him even though he could see he was struggling with his past addiction.

Allison: Vanity- Allison’s very vain, and it caused all sorts of issues with Seth and I’m assuming some of the other team members in the beginning. She has no concept of when not to throw her money around. Imagine being a fox with a shitty past and some rich bitch with a pink Porsche pulls up.

Nicky: Insecurity- Nicky’s need for validation upsets those around him and his uncertainty in his place on the team causes trouble more than once

Renee: self-righteousness- Renee’s always got a kind of “holier than thou” attitude. Whilst she’s kind and nice, it definitely seems to make others not trust her

Neil: Impulsivity- “you know, I get it-“ cut to a little while later and he’s being tortured for opening his stupid little mouth. Neil’s impulsivity is where he often goes wrong (see hitchhiking back to campus, going to the nest, his whole running thing, etc)

Feel absolutely free to debate me! I’m definitely not sure about Renee’s because honestly there isn’t that much about her in the books? Like without the extra content and fanon, Renee is…kind of a blank slate? We know her past, and that she changed for the better but that’s it? It’s absolutely wild how boring actual book Renee is, because Neil didn’t trust or particularly like her so he didn’t bother narrating anything about her.

#all for the game #foxes #aftg #neil josten #andreil #andrew minyard #aftg shitpost #kevin day #allison reynolds #dan wilds #matt boyd #aaron minyard #the foxhole court

[foxy-exy]

You don’t have to say you love me (I just wanna tell you somethin’) - Kevaaron

Aaron could have predicted that pretending to date Kevin Day to get back at Andrew would backfire. He just didn't think it would backfire like this.

Another present fic for @starsandgutters !!

It started off as irritation. A prickle of annoyance. After all, Aaron thought, why was his brother allowed to have his stupid little boyfriend who gave him sappy little looks and brushed his fingers when they thought no one was looking? When Andrew spent so much energy and time driving off each and every girl Aaron had ever even smiled at?

When he woke up to Josten curled up in Andrew’s bed, he felt the anger begin to simmer in his chest.

And when he finally walked in on them kissing, Aaron Minyard knew something had to be done.

***

“I’m sick of this.”

Kevin looked up at the slam of Aaron’s hands on the kitchen counter, a ghost of a wince startling him out of his intent perusal of a book — one that looked suspiciously like some kind of soapy dollar store romance. Aaron raised an eyebrow at the chiselled man with an Exy racquet slung across his shoulders plastered across the cover, and Kevin cleared his throat and flipped the book over.

“Sick of, uh, sick of what?”

“Them. Josten being all over Andrew.”

Kevin looked mildly disturbed. “You didn’t… they weren’t…”

Aaron mimed vomiting. Imagine walking in on that. “Oh god, no. They were just making out. But it’s pissing me off. At this point, I feel like they need a taste of their own fucking medicine.”

Kevin lifted a dark eyebrow, uncomprehending. “What do you mean?”

Aaron considered him over the top of his laced fingers.

It wasn’t Kevin’s fault that Aaron and Katelyn had tearfully decided several months ago that the sneaking around just wasn’t worth the effort — attempting to keep their relationship up at a distance wasn’t working, so they’d parted ways. And it also wasn’t Kevin’s fault that he was now the only one who wasn’t related to Aaron that he actually exchanged more than two regular words with.

But the plan that had been quietly brewing in the very back corner of Aaron’s head for several weeks now was, admittedly, immensely helped by Kevin being Kevin. The fact that it was Kevin — of anyone Aaron could hatch this particular plot with — would piss Andrew off like no other.

And ultimately, that was the utmost goal.

“Kevin, what if I were to tell you…”

***

“What.”

“Look, I’ll help you with studying. Or — or something. I don’t know, what do you want? I’ll get you merch for your favorite team. Something for Knox, or whatever? You can put it on your little shrine.”

“This is ridiculous,” Kevin said, but he suddenly looked a little pinker than he was before. “I don’t have a…a shrine.”

Aaron opened his mouth to make a comment about how he didn’t know what else the entire inside of Kevin’s wardrobe was supposed to be, but now was the time to let things like that go. “I know Andrew and Josten piss you off too. If they figured out they needed to chill out with each other, maybe they’d do more practice with you.”

Kevin looked to be considering the proposition, finally, narrowing his far-away eyes thoughtfully down at the shirtless Exy player, only slightly concealed on the counter by one hand. At last, he said haltingly, “Couldn’t you…ask someone else?”

The uncertainty was Aaron’s in. He pushed forward, throwing another Kevin bait into the mix. “If you do it, I’ll practice extra with you too.”

Kevin’s eyes narrowed again, snapping up to sharpen on Aaron’s face. He had him. “I don’t know if you could keep up.”

“Oh my god, you asshole, that’s the point. I’ll put in more effort, you can show me how.”

“You’ll join night practices?” Kevin tilted his head.

A twinge of nervous anxiety in Aaron’s stomach. “I mean, I can’t do it all the time, I have to study, because unlike the rest of you all, my classes actually matter outside of a minimum GPA. But sure, whatever. Sometimes I’ll let you drag me along. If you do this.”

“This is ridiculous,” Kevin sighed again, as he stuck out his hand for Aaron to shake.

“So is your book,” deadpanned Aaron.

(Though if he had to chew his lip nearly to bleed to bite back a smile when Kevin dove to escape with his smut novel with a sputter and a glare, it was no one’s business but his own.)

***

“Greek salad and the turkey sandwich, here you two are. Enjoy.”

Kevin was sporting a sour scowl strong enough to wilt the salad the cafe waiter had placed in front of him — like getting treated to lunch was the lowest part of his week.

Maybe it was, he’d probably prefer to carry out this plan on the court. After all, Kevin preferred to do most things on the court.

Now that Aaron thought about it, Josten preferred the same. Perhaps the next part of this plan could happen on the court. At least Kevin would look less like he wanted to be five miles away from him, which really ruined the entire point of this exercise.

“They usually get coffee here around this time, so we just need to be a little convincing when they show up,” Aaron muttered, once more glancing furtively over his shoulder for Andrew and his annoying redheaded shadow. “But before they get here, Kevin, you did agree to at least pretend to fake date me. Maybe drop the murder glare, it’s not very romantic.”

“What am I even supposed to do?” Kevin hissed, but his glare dropped in favor of the same flavor of embarrassment Aaron recognized from his Knox shrine, eyes darting to Aaron’s face and back away, on repeat.

Aaron scoffed. “You’ve dated before. You were dating — what’s her name, Thea, weren’t you?”

“Not like this,” Kevin mumbled, beginning to shred his napkin.

Aaron watched him shower paper confetti across the tabletop, biting back his own surprise. Granted, Aaron had only seen Thea once or twice before Kevin had ended things with her, and their relationship had never seemed anything like Aaron’s often short lived but whirlwind style romances. Kevin and Thea had read aloof power couple at best, and… dangerously close to toxic old Raven headspace for Kevin at worst.

But still… Kevin Day, unsure of dating. Unsure of himself. A strange sight indeed.

“Well. We’ll figure it out. First, here.” Aaron slid an open palm across the table, and Kevin stared down at it like it was a foreign object.

“Hold my hand. It’s not going to bite you.” No movement, but Aaron knew how to play to his audience. “Or are you not up to the challenge?”

Kevin huffed and slapped his hand down, clamping his fingers around Aaron’s wrist. His hand was very large, and enveloped most of Aaron’s, but the death grip was anything but amorous.

“Prime boyfriend hand holding, Day,” Aaron said dryly.

“Prime plan, Minyard,” Kevin parroted back, as he picked his fork back up, raising his eyebrow. “Have fun eating that sandwich with one hand.”

“Fuck you.”

“Not on the first date, honey,” Kevin smiled around his forkful.

“Oh, of course. I’ll wait til the second to jump you, I’m not a slut, sweetheart.”

The slight choke brought a wave of triumph, as Aaron also managed to pick up half of his slightly soggy sandwich and bit into it.

Kevin was giving him A Look, and Aaron flipped him off with his sandwich hand, smirking.

Even if he’d had another option for this plan, Kevin was fun to poke at. It had been a long time since they’d last properly talked. They rarely spent time alone — Andrew was the Minyard Kevin was most interested in. Aaron’s preoccupation with Katelyn and with his schoolwork had meant he’d rarely spent much time speaking to him, anyway, let alone trading snarky insults.

Kevin speared an olive and stared at it. “So… aside from… holding hands. What are we planning on doing?”

Aaron tried to cough down dry turkey. “We just need to fool Andrew into thinking we’re an item, it’s not that hard.”

“But what kind of terms, Aaron? How far are you expecting…oh shit.”

(Read more on AO3 here!)

#kevaaron #aaron minyard #kevin day #all for the game #the foxhole court #aftg #aftg fanfic #all for the game fanfic #fanfic #andrew minyard #neil josten #andreil #kay fanfic #kaystuff #long post

[altruistic-meme]

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